Radio+Television Business Report

Thanks to the efforts of Bryan Broadcasting in Texas and the ingenuity of Dave Kolesar, a Senior Broadcast Engineer at Hubbard Broadcasting, the future of the AM radio band is a bit brighter thanks to the technological innovations HD Radio-only broadcasts can bring.

Sadly, that hasn’t stopped licensees from turning in their licenses for forlorn stations in the kHz band. Cumulus Media did so one year ago; Beasley Media Group also opted to do so with one South Florida AM. Saga Communications did so last week. Now, another licensee has done so, in Portland, Ore.

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The Media Bureau of the FCC is reminding applicants about an upcoming filing window for applications for noncommercial educational (NCE) FM new station construction permits.

As previously announced, there’s an opportunity to file for one week, in early November.

The window will open at 12:01am Eastern on Tuesday, November 2. It will subsequently close at 6pm Eastern on Tuesday, November 9.

The window is available for FM reserved band (channels 201 –220) proposals.

All new NCE FM applications must be filed electronically on FCC Form 2100, Schedule 340
in the Bureau’s Licensing and Management System (LMS). Applicants should select the application “New NCE FM Construction Permit Application” in LMS.

The application deadline will be strictly enforced.

Applications submitted before or after the window will be dismissed, without further consideration, so please adhere to the window put in place by the Media Bureau.

In conjunction with this filing window, the Commission will not accept FM reserved band minor change applications or FM non-reserved band adjacent channels (channels 221 –223) and intermediate frequency (IF) (channels 254-274) minor change applications after
11:59pm Eastern on October 4.

The freeze will continue in effect until the close of the window.

The latest Media Monitors Spot Ten TV report shows that, like at Spot Radio, the cold and flu season has led to a sudden influx of commercials for one popular allergy, sinus and cold medicine brand.

At the same time, there is a flurry of new activity from a host of brands and a QSR at No. 1.

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When looking at the iHeartMedia-owned Media Monitors’ Spot Ten Radio report, one must discount all of the iHeart-related promotional spots and podcast ads to get an accurate account of what brands are actively spending on AM and FM commercial announcements.

This week, Vicks is back — in a big way — while Capital One is also back in the Spot Ten.

As shown below, the sinus and flu medicine brand is now seventh by play count, soaring from No. 39 last week.

Then, there is DuckDuckGo, a new fan of AMs and FMs. They are the big leader by paid play count.

Lastly, Capital One is No. 10 with its latest campaign as Indeed and Progressive are the only other advertisers meriting slots on the Spot Ten this week.

 

The FCC’s Media Bureau is reminding licensees that the window for the submission of 2021 broadcast biennial ownership reports is now open.

All licensees of commercial and non-commercial radio and TV stations must file biennial ownership reports with the Commission in odd-numbered years.

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Salem Media Group, the owner of Christian-themed and secular conservative Talk radio stations saw investors snapping up shares of the company’s stock across Friday’s trading session.

Volume was exceptionally high, pushing Salem’s shares to a price last seen in mid-July 2018.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. — Until earlier this year, a heritage Hot Adult Contemporary station filled a format void in the Washington, D.C., market, although its programming and advertisers largely focused on the small city of Winchester, along I-81 due west of the National Capital area.

That big, booming signal was sold by Allen Shaw to Educational Media Foundation. The station’s programming shifted to a pair of Class As. Now, one of those two FMs has been spun again. The buyer? A broadcast ministry that’s already in control.

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Inyo County, Calif., is a remote area of the Golden State, located between the Sierra Nevada mountains and the Nevada state line. There’s one town of significance, Bishop. While Fresno and Bakersfield may appear to be near, high terrain and highways make the distance greater.

As such, Bishop is, believe it or not, within the Los Angeles DMA. That’s exactly why a TV station licensed to this little town has just been purchased by the owner of the MeTV Network and related Oldies radio brand.

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“At Saga Communications, we believe local media has the power to affect communities,” the radio broadcasting company’s website reads. “For more than 30 years all of our brands have been operated by local managers committed to building positive relationships with our audiences and clients.”

That said, one of its brands no longer exists, with web traffic routed to the very page on Saga’s corporate portal offering that quote.

What happened? Saga pulled the plug on the AM in a mid-sized market, and surrendered the station’s license to the FCC.

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MIAMI — The owner of unaffiliated Spanish-language television stations serving South Florida, which is awaiting FCC approval of its acquisition of a Spanish-language AM Talk station accused of spreading information the state’s Democratic Party has judged as false, has failed in its attempt to appeal a bankruptcy ruling made earlier year by a Federal District Court.

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Next year will likely be another record-breaking political cycle. How big? One competitive ad intelligence SaaS company is projecting $8.9 billion in political media spend — the highest ever for a midterm cycle.

When asked for a breakout of broadcasting and cable dollars, and for dollars only going to broadcast media, there’s clearly some substantial growth.

But, there’s also one big question that can be asked: Where are 96.4% of the dollars that aren’t going to broadcast media going?

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Audacy employees who receive their pay check via Direct Deposit were left scratching their heads, and perhaps deeply concerned of a major problem, after waking up on Friday, checking their bank accounts, and not seeing their normal infusion of funds.

What happened? A “technical issue” is to blame, and it was quickly resolved.

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Marketers have asked for it. Now, thanks to Media Framework and Nielsen, they’re going to get it.

In one week, the “most comprehensive and validated diverse-owned media list in the industry” will be released. And, it will be paired with a “Diverse Owned Media Planning and Investment Guide” full of profiles and aggregated metrics of diverse-owned media on TV, radio and digital platforms and their related audience descriptions, estimated reach and gross impressions.

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The Alliance for Women in Media Foundation is putting the final touches on Tuesday’s presentation of the 46th Annual Gracie Awards.

The fete, which celebrates women in the industry who “continue to inspire and support
others, break down barriers, and lead by example in creating opportunities for
future generations,” will be hosted by Lauren Ash, the Canadian actress and comedian known for her role as “Dina” on the NBC sitcom Superstore.

The event, which will be held 7pm ET/PT on October 5, also features performances from recording artists Jewel and CeCe Winans.

The 46th Gracie Awards will stream exclusively at @AllWomenInMedia on Facebook.

The list of Presenters is as follows:

● Adam Rodriguez will present to Caitriona Baife.
● Angela Yee will present to Selenis Leyva and Maitreyi Ramakrishnan
● Beth Behrs and Tichina Arnold will present to This Is Us
● Candice Patton will present to Sara Sidner
● Charissa Thompson will present to Erin Andrews
● Devery Jacobs will present to SciGirls
● Gabriel Iglesias will present to Gina Brillon
● Hailie Sahar will present to Between the World & Me
● Judge Judith Sheindlin will present to Robin Roberts
● Kandi Burrus will present to Hoda Kotb & Jenna Bush Hager and
Morgan Radford
● Kelly Hu will present to Mobituaries: Anna May Wong – Death of a
Trailblazer
● Marin Hinkle will present to Eve Lindley and Shannon Thornton
● Marla Gibbs will present to Black-ish
● Medalion Rahimi will present to The Estelle Show and Julie Anne
Robinson
● Omose Ighodaro, AWM Foundation & Ford Motor Company Fund
Scholarship Recipient to Mrs. America
● Paula Madison and Dr. Imani Walker will present to Lindsay Czarniak and
DeDe McGuire
● Yvette Nicole Brown will present to Kelly Clarkson, Alexa Mansour and
Aliyah Royale

Sponsors of the Gracie Awards include Crown Media, Ziploc, CNN, Apple Music,
FOX Sports, Premiere Networks, Katz Media Group, NCTA – The Internet &
Television Association, Meruelo Media, Beasley Media Group, Marketplace and
TEGNA.

At present, the FCC is conducting a review of its broadcast and cable Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) rules and policies.

As such, it is accepting comments on the matter, officially known as “MB Docket No. 98-204.”

For Foster Garvey PC and a coalition comprised of 18 licensees, the Commission’s proposed rule for how the Commission can recommence the collection of data on the Broadcast Station Annual Employment Report needs an update.

The gender choices listed simply aren’t enough, given today’s USA.

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“What a set of circumstances.”

Twenty months after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the automobile industry’s agenda appears to be completely upside down. Chip shortages have wreaked havoc on many an automotive brand, including Hyundai.

What’s a broadcast ad sales leader to do? Jason Stein, CEO at Flat Six Media, painted the automotive portrait of today for TVB Forward Conference attendees during a Thursday address.

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The “very hot topic” of Measurement was a major part of the discussion at the TVB Forward Conference on Thursday.

And, it was a subject addressed first and foremost by Sinclair Broadcast Group President of Broadcast and Chief Advertising Revenue Officer Rob Weisbord during an afternoon Q&A session conducted by Operative CEO Lorne Brown.

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With thousands of industry executives participating online from their computers and tablets, TVB Forward Conference 2021 kicked off on Thursday morning with welcome comments from both President/CEO Steve Lanzano and the Chair of its Board of Directors, Debra OConnell.

For OConnell, who serves as President of Networks at Disney Media & Entertainment Distribution, a highly positive and encouraging tone was struck.

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Every day we hear of another ransomware attack or data breach, and it seems that the cyber adversaries are taking over companies, catching them off-guard and ill-prepared.

How are the cyber adversaries doing it? Why are people and companies in the dark when it comes to cybercrime? What should you do to protect your organization?

A Forecast 2022 session featuring the founder of Cybersecurity Ventures and Editor-in-Chief at Cybercrime Magazine is a must-attend for those who don’t want to deal with the issues many radio station owners and one big tech company serving radio just suffered through.

Cyber security expert Steve Morgan chats with WABC-AM in New York’s Juliet Huddy at Forecast 2022, November 16 at the Harvard Club in midtown Manhattan, for a provocative interview delivered free of technobabble.

Morgan has written more than 500 articles for Forbes, CSO, and others. He is co-author of the book “Women Know Cyber: 100 Fascinating Females Fighting Cybercrime” and named on numerous lists including LinkedIn’s 5 Security Influencers to Follow, Onalytica’s Who’s Who in Cybersecurity, and the Top 100 Cybersecurity Influencers at RSA Conference.

 

“The value of a business depends largely on how well it guards its data, the strength of its cybersecurity, and its level of cyber resilience,” Morgan says

Forecast 2022 explores the most critical challenge facing business and industry today — cyber security — with a session packed with information you need to know and answers to questions you have – or should have. Seating is limited. Register today for Forecast 2022 and take advantage of early bird pricing. Registration include admittance into the Broadcast Leadership Reception honoring the 2021 Top Radio and Television Leaders. Always a great networking event, this may be a one-of-a-kind opportunity this year!

 

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Who knew that the Chief Research Officer of the not-for-profit trade association representing America’s local broadcast television industry would be as hard-hitting as a 60 Minutes journalist?

Hadassa Gerber proved to be quite the moderator at a TVB Forward Conference session on “the future of measurement,” the first of a series of panelists delivered across the TVB’s virtual affair on Thursday.

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