Radio+Television Business Report

In a lengthy 30-minute soliloquy offered in a press briefing Monday by musicFIRST Chairman Joe Crowley, “research” reflecting the public’s view of artist royalties and radio’s “fair share” was a key focus of the conversation.

Crowley cited polling conducted by musicFIRST via a Survey Monkey online poll to get his market intelligence. NAB President and CEO Gordon Smith took direct aim at that, in blasting his remarks.

“NAB strongly opposes a performance fee on broadcast radio, and we applaud the more than 200 bipartisan members of Congress who are standing up for their local radio stations and listeners,” he said. “Not only would a performance fee upend the century-long symbiotic relationship between radio and the music industry, but it would devastate thousands of radio stations across the country.

“As musicFIRST is well aware,” he continued,  “NAB’s door remains open to continue discussions around a holistic solution to this issue that grows the partnership between the music and broadcast industries for another hundred years. It is unfortunate that the record labels’ focus is on gimmicky press conferences and questionable Survey Monkey polling rather than serious conversation.”

MORE LRFA SUPPORT

Three members of the House of Representatives have added their support to a resolution opposing “any new performance fee, tax, royalty, or other charge” on local broadcast radio stations. The Local Radio Freedom Act (LRFA), which signals members of Congress’s opposition to any potential legislation that imposes new performance royalties on broadcast radio stations for music airplay, now has 187 cosponsors in the House and 22 in the Senate.

Adding their support recently for the Local Radio Freedom Act in the House are Reps. Peter DeFazio (D-OR-4), Jake Ellzey (R-TX-6) and Michael Guest (R-MS-3).

A much-publicized press briefing conducted Monday via Zoom saw Joe Crowley, the former New York House Democrat who lost his 2018 reelection bid to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez who now serves as Chairman of musicFIRST, blast the NAB, iHeartMedia and Cumulus Media.

Why? His group, along with such radio industry antagonists as Prometheus Radio Project and Common Frequency, insists that recording artists aren’t getting their fair share from existing royalty fees that AM and FM radio pays each year.

In this InFOCUS Podcast, presented by dot.FM, we are pleased to bring excerpts from Crowley’s press event. Following Crowley’s prepared remarks, RBR+TVBR and co-owned publication Radio Ink were first to ask questions to Crowley. We have his responses.

Listen to “The InFOCUS Podcast: Joe Crowley” on Spreaker.

Under pressure from the VAB and the Media Rating Council (MRC), Nielsen on Tuesday morning revealed that it will now “take the lead” on an “Impressions First Initiative” designed to support an industry-wide move to impressions-based buying and selling in local markets across the country.

The move to impressions will occur in conjunction with the integration of broadband only homes (BBO) into Nielsen’s local measurement metrics in January 2022.

The move to an impressions-based currency will, in Nielsen’s view, “deliver a more complete, precise and representative audience measurement, along with the added benefit of enabling cross-platform audience measurement.”

Citing today’s fragmented media landscape, Nielsen added that the move to impressions lays the groundwork for implementing Nielsen ONE across local, national, and digital measurement.

The inclusion of BBO homes, Nielsen notes, “will enable the industry to rapidly transition to trading on impressions. Impressions represent all viewers regardless of platform—which is especially important given the significant and growing penetration of BBO homes in local markets.”

Nielsen for more than two years has been working with the media and advertising industries in preparation for the inclusion of broadband-only homes in Local TV measurement for its 56 LPM and Set Meter markets.

“Nielsen is committed to measuring all audiences and the complete video consumption across the local marketplace,” Nielsen CEO David Kenny (pictured, top left), said in prepared remarks. “Impressions are the great equalizer across all screens, programs, listeners and viewers. Nielsen’s move to prioritize reporting impressions will help standardize the way it measures ads and content, enabling greater comparability across National, Local and Digital and is in line with Nielsen’s initiative to drive comparable metrics which are foundational to Nielsen ONE.”

Giving its thumbs’ up and full support to Nielsen’s move is the No. 1 licensee of broadcast TV stations in the U.S., Nexstar Media Group.

“We believe the move to impressions and the integration of BBO homes into local measurement metrics is critical to making sure that every viewer is counted,” said Nielsen Chairman/CEO Perry Sook. “It also enables buyers and sellers to make comparisons across all video across platforms, gives them the most complete view of audience consumption and behavior, and facilitates automated buying.”

Nexstar President of Broadcasting Andrew Alford added that the company’s sales teams “have been working toward the transition to selling impressions in coordination with a number of our largest clients, as it is the best way to make sure that no viewer goes uncounted.”

Alford expects Nexstar to be transacting on impressions exclusively in early 2022, “so Nielsen’s decision to implement an impressions-based measurement metric at the same time is a very welcome development.”

Another major broadcast TV customer of Nielsen, Hearst Television, also voiced its support. “Broadcasters have known for years that our content is being viewed inside and outside the home on many devices and services,” said Hearst President Jordan Wertlieb. “This move to impression-focused selling is something that will not only allow the most-watched content to get the full credit it deserves, but will also allow our clients to truly see the unique value proposition we offer: the best environment with the largest reach.”

Concurrent with Nielsen’s support of an industry-wide move from ratings to impressions in January 2022, Nielsen will default its local reporting settings to impressions in its software systems (Arianna, NLTV, eVip) and will lead with impressions in all of its external communications. Ratings will remain available to end-users for planning purposes.

Nielsen, which had previously announced a BBO implementation date of October 2021, made the final decision to begin implementation in January 2022 in response to industry requests.

The new timing will enable Nielsen to publish an official BBO UE that will be audited and reviewed by the Media Rating Council (MRC).

In addition to delivering one month of impact data, a January implementation will include all BBO homes. Adding BBO homes will increase reporting sample sizes significantly and capture impressions that may be missing, especially for sports and OTT.

DigiCAP Co., the South Korean company highly involved in NEXTGEN TV’s rollout, has announced new interoperability for DigiCaster, its virtualized ATSC 3.0 broadcast gateway. This technical achievement enables ATSC 3.0 signals to be integrated with AWS Elemental Media Services and AWS Elemental Live to help accelerate ATSC 3.0 station deployments and open up OTT program distribution opportunities.

Accelerating ATSC 3.0 Station Deployment

This new interoperability enables broadcasters to build a single cloud instance using the DigiCaster ATSC 3.0 broadcast gateway coupled with virtual encoder and transport services from AWS Elemental Media Services and AWS Elemental Live. This combination can be used to create a cloud based STL (studio to transmitter link) that could be deployed using a single instance on AWS Marketplace. Imagine being able to put an entire ATSC 3.0 station STL on the air using a single software download and typing in the IP address for the station’s transmitter exciter input. This can greatly simplify and speed ATSC 3.0 station launches.

Opening an Era of OTT Innovation for Broadcasters

What features can ATSC 3.0 bring to this existing live streaming process? The ATSC 3.0 roadmap includes interactive and personalized distribution capabilities which are a natural fit for a streaming environment. The first requirement for these innovations to begin is enabling ATSC 3.0 signals to enter a virtualized cloud workspace. The first step has been taken!

DigiCAP VP Joonyoung Park says, “We are very excited to provide broadcasters the opportunity to use a single cloud instance to accelerate the ATSC 3.0 adoption process and open the doors for ATSC 3.0 OTT innovation.”

Codec manufacturer Tieline  has announced a new firmware release for Gateway and Gateway 4 codecs supporting RAVENNA, used widely by broadcasters around the world to advertise and discover streams when streaming real-time IP audio.

Integrating RAVENNA support facilitates interfacing between Gateway and Gateway 4 codecs and RAVENNA devices over AoIP networks.

Tieline codecs specialize in streaming low latency, high quality audio over a range of wired and wireless IP transports and facilitate the integration of compressed and uncompressed IP audio streams around the broadcast plant. The codecs are often gateway devices in IP networks bridging between wide area network (WAN) nodes that may include the broadcast plant, other studios (inter-studio links), production facilities and live events. Gateway and Gateway 4 codecs deliver a flexible platform capable of adeptly routing audio between a range of equipment using proprietary AoIP protocols like WheatNet-IP, as well as devices supporting RAVENNA, AES67 and ST 2110-30.

The new firmware release is a free upgrade for existing customers.

For more information on Gateway and Gateway 4 codecs visit www.tieline.com/products or contact Tieline sales at sales@tieline.com

On September 9, a resource management software manufacturer serving the broadcast, studio, media services and video transmission industries planned to launch the Version 10 update of one of its more widely used products at the 2021 NAB Show in Las Vegas.

Then came the Sept. 15 announcement from the NAB that the show would be cancelled.

Where does this leave Xytech?

That’s unclear, with the launch of MediaPulse 10 planned for an event that’s no longer being staged.

The NAB’s decision, however, isn’t likely to put a stop to product rollouts and upgrades, and the latter is what Xytech, which purchased ScheduALL in April 2021, is ready to share.

“Over the course of the past year, significant upgrades have been made to the platform to upgrade performance, security, transmission, project budgeting, asset management as well as major updates to the scheduling system and application UI,” Xytech says.

The three areas of concentration for the MediaPulse 10 update are mobility, the cloud and
features to support the changing nature of the business. “The MediaPulse Managed Cloud is faster and more secure, and the new mobile features support a customer base with new remote needs in a very different and evolving environment,” Xytech says.

The new budgeting module addresses the need to control costs on projects of all sizes including large annual facility projections, it adds. “Xytech is also tapping into the ScheduALL client base and has developed new features across the transmission and scheduling modules to make MediaPulse more impactful for users.”

For more information, visit xytechsystems.com.

In response to the rapidly growing immersive audio market and growth of the Dolby Atmos format in film, television, gaming, and music production, a Finnish loudspeaker manufacturer has brought to market an amplifier designed specifically for the needs of multi-channel workflows.

By combining the latest advanced Class-D technology and in-house designed proprietary buffer stage, Amphion‘s Amp400.8 offers up to 410W of power across up to 8 identical channels.

“Atmos is naturally of great interest to us and we have been digging into it deeply,” says Amphion CEO Anssi Hyvonen. “It has the potential of being something very interesting to the end customer, but only if it is done right. We strongly believe that the only way to utilize the considerable, often updatable DSP processing power of the latest immersive monitor controllers is to keep the monitoring chain as transparent as possible. Therefore, it should be free of any unnecessary additional DSP or other electrical circuitry. As the number of channels grow, even the slightest shortcomings in monitoring lead to lack of cohesion, which is clearly audible through speakers as well as headphones.”

Amp400.8 is available for $4,500 and is shipping now.

For more information about Amp400.8, please visit: http://amphion.fi/create/

From Podcast Business Journal

Baton Rouge-based radio broadcasting company Guaranty Media has launched a new podcast network.

The company owns four stations in the Louisiana market, and the new podcast network has six shows.

Full details on the network, including an interview with Digital Content Director Jay Parker, can be found HERE.

What does Evergrande have to do with Entravision, Nexstar or Nielsen?

Absolutely nothing. Yet, media stocks were swept up in a decisively down day on Wall Street, fueled by what some are calling the potential collapse of a Chinese property Goliath.

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A global media company operating 42 TV channels and multiple digital products across six continents that’s a major player in content distribution and broadcasting worldwide is joining forces with Paris-based Canal+ Group.

CANAL+ is taking a 70% majority stake in SPI International. It’s a move that’s also a vote of confidence in SPI, as has pledged to keep the current management team and operational structure in place.

SPI’s Founder Loni Farhi and CEO Berk Uziyel will continue to manage and develop SPI’s business with the support of their executive committee. “The parties will be able to generate reciprocal synergies to further strengthen the two groups’ presence in the
international markets,” Canal+ says.

In a joint statement, Farhi and Uziyel said, “It is very exciting news and the start of a new era for SPI INTERNATIONAL. CANAL+ and SPI share a common vision for continuous growth and a strong international presence. We have been strategic partners for years, where we have built a great tradition of collaborations and achieving mutual goals. Now we will have the chance to join forces under one roof. SPI will further accelerate its growth with CANAL+ while leveraging natural synergies. SPI International has an amazingly talented team that has produced incredible growth in the last decade. Now, with this great team and with much enthusiasm, we are delighted to become part of the CANAL+ family. Our joined forces will strengthen the existing entertainment products and expand the distribution of our compelling content to far larger audiences.”

Maxime Saada, CEO of CANAL+ Group, adds, “The acquisition of SPI INTERNATIONAL is
part of the strategy we have been implementing for several years. We have set ourselves the goal of reaching a minimum of 30 million subscribers by 2025, and SPI INTERNATIONAL will certainly be a key asset in achieving this ambition.”

The completion of the transaction is subject to regulatory approval and is designed to help CANAL+ expand its content investment strategy, which already includes Studiocanal, and Kino Świat in Poland.

The power of the auto insurance brands can be seen once again at Spot Cable.

The latest Media Monitors Spot Ten Cable report is out, and for the last week, four of the top 10 spots by play count are represented by auto insurance specialists. Who’s at No. 1?

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As social media and technology companies face criticism for not doing enough to stem the flow of misleading information on their platforms, a new Pew Research Center survey finds that some 48% of U.S. adults get news on social media sites “often” or “sometimes,” a 5 percentage point decline from 2020. 

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The latest Media Monitors Spot Ten Radio report has one big takeaway with respect to the most active ad category at broadcast media: auto insurance brands.

At radio, there is a leader that is not present at Spot Cable. It shows that broadcast media is the preferred way to go for achieving stronger ROI.

That’s because Progressive is the category leader at Spot Radio once again, with GEICO at No. 9.

Some 46,194 spot plays are attributed to Progressive, as DuckDuckGo is the No. 1 paid advertiser by play count for the week.

Meanwhile, it is another big week for Babbel, and it and McDonald’s are back in the Spot Ten.

Cumulus Media has selected two individuals who will serve in newly created positions across its Music & Entertainment and Sports divisions.

Their role: to lead new content development across the audio content creation and distribution company’s platforms.

Reporting to EVP/Content and Audience are Doug Cohn, who’ll take the role of SVP/Music & Entertainment, Content and Audience; and Bruce Gilbert, filling the role of SVP/Sports, Content and Audience.

Cohn was formerly SVP/Music & Talent for Nickelodeon, where he played a key role in the career success of JoJo Siwa. He previously spent more than a decade at such entities as Atlantic Records and VH1.

For Gilbert, the role is a promotion for the 7 1/2-year company veteran, who will continue to direct all sports programming for Cumulus’ stations and for its Westwood One Sports arm.

For two generations of rock and roll fans, it was a South Bay monster, gaining steam against a direct format rival in the early 1980s with such industry veterans as Ken Anthony in afternoon drive. By 1998, powered by the Lamont and Tonelli morning show, signals were added around the San Francisco Bay area to expand the station — perhaps the first opportunity to “microcast” and target specific communities.

Now, thanks to GeoBroadcast Solutions technology being tested, the ability to narrowcast for this station, now targeting Bollywood music fans, by using one FM signal appears to be a success.

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SiriusXM has selected three new senior marketing executives as SiriusXM continues its current growth initiatives by launching a new national brand advertising effort designed to reach larger audiences.

Now reporting to Chief Marketing Officer Denise Karkos and supporting the company’s SiriusXM and Pandora brands are:

• Jasmin Chanana, Senior Vice President, Digital and Customer Experience
• Anne Milan Alo, Executive Creative Director
• Kimberly Wilson, Senior Vice President, Brand and Advertising

Karkos comments, “Their collective experience across major consumer and business-to-business brands will help accelerate our brand and business growth. The diversity of this set of leaders at my table is imperative in our pursuit to build SiriusXM to new heights.”

Chanana joins SiriusXM from EY, where he was a Managing Director in their Digital Practice, leading the New York office. Milan Alo joins SiriusXM from Netflix, where she was the streaming services Head of Creative Studio, Title Promotions, leading a multi-disciplinary creative team responsible for fully executing the creative campaign for The Queen’s Gambit.

Wilson joins SiriusXM after a 16-year tenure at The Walt Disney Company where she served as VP/Multiplatform Marketing and held several distribution marketing leadership positions. Wilson previously worked for iHeartMedia and BET Networks. Wilson will lead SiriusXM’s brand marketing and advertising, digital content and audience engagement teams.

NEW YORK — There’s a new over-the-top (OTT) and connected TV offering that’s now available for viewers across the U.S., accessible via such platforms as Roku and Amazon Fire TV. It allows viewers “to connect with local news and information relevant to their lives.”

Yes, there are plenty of apps that do this already. But, this is the first to involve Hearst Television stations.

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As Zacks Equity Research sees it, “One company to watch right now is Entravision Communications.”

The company’s shares have been on the rise across 2021. Still, Zacks wonders if EVC is undervalued.

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As the first half of 2021 ended, Cumulus Media could count itself among a select group of publicly traded broadcasters that were enjoying strong interest in investors on Wall Street. Shares reached $14.75 after bottoming out at $9 on May 4.

With hours remaining in trading on September 17, Cumulus shares are moving closer to that six-month low point, punctuating a 90-day decline for the company’s stock.

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It has been tied to the company’s Flint, Mich., radio stations yet has a signal that’s based in Lapeer and covers such Michigan towns as Sandusky and Almont, to the east of Port Huron and Midwestern Ontario.

Now, Townsquare Media has decided to part ways with this outlier. The buyer? A religious noncommercial broadcast operation.

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