Radio+Television Business Report

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting has awarded grants to public media stations in areas with high COVID infection rates.

The extra funds are designed to help them address “misinformation” in their communities.

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She’s spent 27 years as an active member of the Chicago local TV world.

Now, ViacomCBS is appointing her to the role of President/General Manager of CBS News and Television Stations’ local businesses in Chicago.

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Ronna Corrente has gained national acclaim for her leadership of Gray Television’s FOX affiliate in New Orleans.

Now, Gray is promoting her. She’ll be leading     the company’s Louisville operation.

What does that mean for WVUE, “FOX8”?

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Earlier this year, respected Local TV Leader Marla Drutz revealed that she’s retiring. Now, the Graham Media Group executive who oversees its flagship property in Detroit is formally ready to pass the baton to her successor.

Who’s getting the role?

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The former Chief of Staff and General Counsel at the Federal Communications Commission has joined one of Washington, D.C.‘s most respected law firms as a partner in the communications and information technology section of its regulatory practice.

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In an era of big data, content platforms are seeking personalization now more than ever. Among the newer video streaming entrants, it’s a trend Nielsen has noticed.

In a new observation piece, the nation’s dominant audience measurement and consumer data company shares that, compared with the early days of streaming, a handful of platforms are taking a more focused engagement approach.

This yielded some intriguing findings as to OTT consumption among Blacks and Hispanics.

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In early 2020, a Kansas City radio station operator made headlines for its decision to air six hours of programming each day from Russia-sponsored Sputnik Radio, as a result of a lease agreement with Florida-based RM Broadcasting LLC.

Now, the station’s owner has opted to part ways with a far-suburban silent FM translator. It’s a deal that will bring “vida” back to this dormant facility.

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John Moesch, the Vice President and General Manager of the West Texas Radio Group, oversees a group of radio stations in a region known as Permian Basin — and it’s a place where his company competes against another local operator, and against Townsquare Media.

What should media buyers and planners in places such as New York or Chicago know about locales including Midland and Odessa? How does local compare to national in a region of the country not widely known for its affluence?

Moesch answers these questions and more in this InFOCUS Podcast, presented by dot.FM.

Listen to “The InFOCUS Podcast: John Moesch, West Texas Radio Group” on Spreaker.

At the start of the lockdown when our lives migrated to Zoom, a CEO coaching client of veteran PR professional Rosemary Ravinal said he welcomed being distanced from the audience because his legs shake from nerves when speaking in person. He was excited about being able to read from a script on the screen seated with his legs out of sight.

“Can you guess what happened when we practiced for a high-stakes online speaking opportunity?,” Ravinal says.

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On August 16, Gen Media Partners rebooted its radio network sales and affiliate sales arm that was known as Sun Broadcast Group, rebranding it as G Networks. The shedding of the Sun name follows the late July exit of Danno Wolkoff as COO and Laura Wolkoff as Sun’s VP of Operations.

It is now known that their exit was a bit acrimonious. The Wolkoffs have filed a wrongful termination suit against the company.

As first reported in Streamline Publishing’s Radio Ink, the Wolkoffs are seeking a $2 million judgment against G Networks and GMP. The Wolkoffs first came into the GMP fold in 2020, when it acquired Envision, the company the Wolkoffs launched in the early 2000s.

The lawsuit alleges that the Wolkoffs received a termination letter alleging “gross negligence and gross incompetence in the performance of their duties and take reasonable measures to cured their conduct and its consequences within 30 days.” The Wolkoffs also say their salaries were also “suspended until further notice as a partial offset of the damages to its business caused by them.”

The Wolkoff suit also claims the termination notice failed to identify any specific conduct of Daniel and Laura Wolkoff that allegedly constitutes gross negligence, gross incompetence or willful misconduct. Plus, the notice failed to identify which duties the Wolkoffs allegedly performed with gross negligence, gross incompetence or willful misconduct and that the notice failed to identify what reasonable measures it deems necessary to cure the couple’s alleged gross negligence, gross incompetence or willful misconduct.

As reported by Radio Ink, Danno Wolkoff earned $250,000 at the time; Laura Wolkoff was being paid $200,000. They claim they were fired without cause and, as such, are owed  $2.1 million for a breach of their contract.

— Ed Ryan, with additional reporting by Adam R Jacobson

ATLANTA — Television viewers with the latest NEXTGEN TV-equipped capabilities in the largest city in the South can now enjoy viewing programs delivered with the new ATSC 3.0 digital broadcast standard.

Five channels, including all “Big Four” network homes in Atlanta, have their NEXTGEN TV signals up and running.

Participating stations include Meredith Local Media’s WPCH-17 and CBS affiliated WGCL-46, Cox Media Group’s ABC affiliated WSB-2, FOX Television Stations O&O WAGA-5, and
TEGNA-owned NBC affiliate WXIA-11.

For those pushing the voluntary rollout of NEXTGEN TV, the ignition of broadcasts in Atlanta promises viewers “an enhanced live broadcast viewing experience.”

Tom Casey, VP of Engineering and Technology for the Meredith Local Media Group, also notes that NEXTGEN TV “exclusively offers Voice + audio from Dolby, so viewers can
hear every voice, while also experiencing movie-theater quality sound and uniform volume
across different channels.”

Television models equipped with NEXTGEN TV capabilities are presently available from LG
Electronics, Samsung, and Sony, although features available on NEXTGEN TV vary by device.

Anne Schelle, managing director of Pearl TV, the broadcaster business group that is coordinating NEXTGEN TV station launches, is pleased that many NEXTGEN TV sets are available across the country ahead of the fall football season.

In January 2020, Brenda Floyd and James Allgood closed on their purchase of a pair of FM radio stations in Louisiana. The $200,000 deal was brokered by Bill Whitley of Media Services Group.

Now, one of those 50-50 ownership partners is selling their stake in the stations.

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Across New England, “Super” Frank Copsidas is well-known for his investment in local broadcast television. Earlier this year, Copisdas expanded his low-power TV holdings by grabbing a facility in Texas, and in late 2020 entered Indiana.

Now, Copsidas is getting recognition for an act that doesn’t even involve a Form 314 filing with the FCC, but has everything to do with how Washington, D.C., and Wall Street impact and shape the low-power television business.

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It’s official: With under two months until the start of the first NAB Show since spring 2019, and associated co-located events such as the Radio Show set for an in-person October affair, National Association of Broadcasters EVP/Managing Director of Global Connections and Events Chris Brown has revealed that all attendees and participants must show proof of COVID-19 vaccination should they wish to attend any of the Las Vegas conferences and vendor expos.

The announcement, distributed to the NAB Show Community just past Noon Pacific Time, came less than 24 hours after the Consumer Technology Association said all CES 2022 in-person attendees must provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination.

“We have worked for the past several weeks to finalize protocols that will maximize the experience and safety of all members of the NAB Show community,” Brown said, noting that the process involved “extensive consultation with health and safety experts, gathering feedback from a range of exhibitors and attendees, and a review of safety measures recommended by local and national health authorities.”

Brown added that there’s a “strong eagerness” among the NAB Show community to return in person, and “steady attendee registration” is being seen.

This is key for the NAB, as it is holding out on offering any sort of hybrid option, eschewing a digital access option. This is being offered by CES 2022 as well as the ANA Masters of Marketing Conference the week prior to the NAB Show, in Orlando, Fla.

NO FACE MASK MANDATE

The other big takeaway for the NAB Show, aside from no digital log-in option, is that there will be no requirement for attendees to wear a face mask.

Potential NAB Show attendees were asked specifically about a potential mask mandate in a two-day online poll conducted through Wednesday (8/18).

With the Delta variant of the COVID-19 virus still wreaking havoc among the unvaccinated and a select number of vaccinated Americans, it shows that the NAB is turning to its community in deciding to make face masks fully optional and based on local guidelines.

The survey asked specifically if a mask mandate for all participants would aid, or lessen, one’s comfort while at the NAB Show; and if a vaccination and mask mandate would make an attendee more or less comfortable. The NAB also asked in the poll if it should require participants to provide proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test.

Meanwhile, the National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters is outright snubbing the Radio Show by scheduling its 45th Annual Fall Broadcast Conference and 21st Power of Urban Radio Forum from October 13-15 at the Urban One-owned MGM National Harbor Resort & Casino in Maryland. The NABOB conference will again be held jointly with the U.S. Black Chambers, the national advocacy organization for Black-owned businesses.

A company that has filed an application with the FCC for a license to cover a FM translator station in Oklahoma is facing a potential monetary forfeiture for two key violations of the Commission’s rules.

For one, it did not submit its License to Cover Application until after the necessary submission date. Furthermore, this licensee also operated the FM translator after its Construction Permit expired.

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From the town of Spring Harbor, Mich., a Class A FM serves the cities of Jackson and Albion with a student-run Christian music format. Until now, it has reached the Ann Arbor area via a FM translator outside of the city that’s home to the University of Michigan.

Soon, that will end, as the school that owns the FM translator is selling it to another religious broadcaster.

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The use of a low-power TV signal to reach communities that may not have access to a full-power station’s signal due to distance is one that’s increasingly common, especially in an era of “cord cutting.”

Perhaps that’s why The E.W. Scripps Co. is agreeing to purchase a LPTV construction permit in the Southernmost City in the U.S.

At the same time, Scripps is adding a LPTV in a swath of Southern California it presently has no presence in. Could this point to an expansion of Scripps’ digital multicast networks?

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While linear TV vehicles have long been a mainstay of political ad spending, viewer consumption habits have changed drastically in the last year alone. Now, new findings suggest that in the next election cycle, 17% of political ad spend will to shift to streaming.

That’s a whopping $1.5 billion not going to broadcast or cable television.

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SAN LUIS OBISPO, CALIF. — For years, Sirius XM has turned to its customer retention department to keep its churn level as low as possible by offering existing customers deep discounts off the “rack rate” for an annual subscription. There are also free trials for new users of the satellite radio service.

For one California man, those promotional rates are unfair, as they don’t justify the “regular” pricing structure at Sirius XM. As such, he’s suing the New York-based company in Federal court.

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On August 30, the Construction Permit for a 250-watt FM translator serving a city in northern Louisiana expires.

Rather than rush to put it on the air, or risk losing the license, the mini-station’s owner has opted to sell it by hiring Kalil & Co. as its broker. The buyer? The nation’s second-largest licensee of radio stations.

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