Radio+Television Business Report

U.S. broadband providers are carrying considerable momentum out of the pandemic despite increased competition and impending service maturity with penetrations nearing 90% of occupied households.

That’s according to the updated forecast from Kagan, the research unit of S&P Global Market Intelligence staging the Kagan Media Summit on June 17 as a virtually delivered affair.

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In Northwest Pennsylvania and along Florida’s Suncoast region, the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine has become known as a purveyor of commercial-free Oldies radio.

Now, it is bolstering up its on-air offerings in the Keystone State.

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Taboo until a 2018 Supreme Court verdict, online sports betting isn’t technically a new ad category. But with just over two years of a track record, few would challenge its advertising status as a golden goose, especially within the local TV industry, Nielsen notes in a newly released study on how online gaming ads are boosting free-to-air television revenues.

Currently a $154 million market in the local spot space, online gambling advertising spend has skyrocketed from a mere $10.7 million at the start of 2019.

According to BIA Advisory Services, online gambling has the potential to drive more than $587 million into the local spot TV market by 2024. The company maintains this as a likely forecast, given current trends and the expected addition of sports betting in a handful of states where legislation is pending. This is good news for the local TV market, which accounts for just under 80% of online gambling ads, Nielsen finds.

Forecasts aside, the increase in online gambling ads has been a boon for local TV stations, particularly as many traditional advertisers pulled back or paused in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Nielsen Ad Intel data released in the March Nielsen Total Audience report, U.S. TV advertising dropped to just over $76 billion last year from just over $84 billion in 2019, with the retail (-22%), auto (-17%) and restaurant (-8%) categories pulling back notably.

“Given the sports betting focus of the top advertisers, sports programming is a key way to reach sports bettors,” Nielsen says. “Surprisingly, the largest share of online sports betting ads is currently allocated to news programming. One reason attributable to this fact is that local news stations have much more control over their total ad inventory (versus sports programming which typically occurs in primetime), and as a result, there is more flexibility to place ads in news. It’s also worth noting that the share of these ads in news programming has increased to almost 40% over the past year. The increase isn’t without its merits, as news offers significant reach and an opportunity to engage new spenders, growing the consumer base.”

While sports programming still has the biggest reach (77%) of the country’s sports bettors, local news currently reaches just over half (53%) and growing. Other categories representing possible opportunities for brands seeking greater targeted audience reach for sports bettors include movies and comedy programming, with reach of 76% and 74%, respectively.

Given the ramp-up in spending since 2019, online gambling now ranks 11th among 1,200 product categories for spot TV advertising dollars, accounting for 2.1% share. Comparatively, legal services, the top category for dollars spent, accounts for 7%.

As with any marketing effort, especially when the goal is brand building, extensive messaging across mass mediums amplifies top-of-mind awareness. And to that effect, the top seven advertisers in the online gambling space account for 96% of the spot TV ads in the category. What’s more, the top three are the most prolific spenders, accounting for 82%.

Among the top three spenders, FanDuel and DraftKings focus exclusively on sports betting. “Their ad campaigns are prolific and produced to specifically appeal to the country’s rabid sports bettors,” Nielsen says. “The targeting is spot on, as the 7.3 million daily fantasy bettors in the U.S. have an aggregate income of more than $780 billion, according to data from Nielsen Scarborough. Additionally, the new online sports bettor is younger than other bettors (live sports bettors at casinos, cash bettors at sporting events, organized fantasy league players) and is mostly male (77%).”

In addition to revised federal regulations allowing advertised sports betting on TV, professional sports leagues themselves have increasingly warmed up to the idea as well. Today, NFL Commissioner Roger Goddell says sports betting creates more engagement with fans. That is notably different perspective from back in 2012 when he expressed concerns about possible collusion and fixed games. Some sports teams, such as the New York Giants and Washington Wizards, have physical sports books inside their stadiums.

When it comes to TV, sports broadcasts no longer hedge when it comes to talking about game odds and spreads. In fact, some programming even features on-screen tickers detailing point spreads as the action unfolds.

“The overwhelming sea change across the sports and media industries with respect to betting ads highlights a significant growth opportunity for both local and national television,” Nielsen concludes. “In 2020, online/digital sports betting-related ad spend increased across 180 of the 208 designated market areas (DMAs) that Nielsen monitors. Additionally, online/digital sports betting spend in 185 DMAs exceeded $300,000, up from less than $50,000 across those same DMAs in 2017. So even though gambling activities are limited to select states, advertising in this category, where legal, is increasing across the overwhelming majority of the country’s 208 DMAs. That spells opportunity for local news organizations and advertising agencies alike.”

Convergent TV advertising platform Beachfront has completed a national addressable TV ad execution with VIZIO that it says adheres to the technical specifications of Open Addressable Ready (OAR), the consortium founded by VIZIO to establish an open standard for addressable advertising on connected TVs.

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The nation’s largest owner of broadcast radio stations has flipped the switch on a “first-of-its-kind” Private Marketplace designed to provide advertisers with programmatic buying access to distribute their marketing to audiences across programs found on its podcast network.

The iHeartPodcast Network, which considers itself to be “the No. 1 podcast publisher globally,” will now be accessible to CMOs, media buyers and brand managers that seek their “own unique, tailored marketplaces” composed of specific audience targets and pricing.

The advancement is thanks to new technology developed through iHeartMedia’s recently acquired Voxnest.

The iHeartPodcast Network includes such offerings as “Stuff You Should Know,” the Will Ferrell-hosted “The Ron Burgundy Podcast” and the “Atlanta Monster.” On-air talent from iHeartMedia-owned radio stations can also be found, including “The Breakfast Club” on-demand podcasts.

Brian Kaminsky, Chief Data Officer and President of Revenue Strategies for iHeartMedia, commented, “We acquired Voxnest last Fall with the plan to be able to provide podcast advertisers with additional targetable inventory at scale by allowing the effective and efficient monetization across an entire range of podcast inventory. Voxnest connects all of the fragmented platforms that exist in podcasting – the launch of this Private Marketplace is a huge milestone in the podcast industry and advances these capabilities to buyers. Our podcasts attract some of the most engaged and passionate podcast listeners in the world and now advertisers will have massive scale and highly specific targeting at their fingertips, to reach these hundreds of millions of listeners who are now consuming podcasts.”

With the new Private Marketplace, advertisers will have the ability to reach their specific audience based on three specialized targeting options: Category, Geolocation, and Psychographic.

The company also notes that iHeartMedia’s Private Marketplace will offer advertisers multiple deal types including Programmatic Guaranteed (PG), Preferred Deal (PD), Private Auction (PA) and Open Marketplace (OMP).

Buyers interested can email ProgrammaticAdOps@iHeartMedia.com.

“Results for the quarter were much better.”

That’s perhaps an understatement from Sinclair Broadcast Group President/CEO Chris Ripley, who spoke at length during the company’s Q1 2021 earnings call on Wednesday morning about just how strong Sinclair’s performance was during the first three months of the year.

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“Positivity always wins.” It’s a mantra often repeated by social media guru and entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk, and one the Radio industry may wish to adopt as first quarter 2021 financial results roll out for the owners of AM and FM stations across the U.S.

Mary Berner, President/CEO of Cumulus Media, appears to have gotten the memo. In her remarks about the audio media company’s Q1, she struck a largely positive tone, noting “enhanced operating leverage” and “continued year-over-year sequential growth.”

The upbeat words couldn’t mask the financial realities Cumulus faced in Q1: tough comps and continued pandemic-related ad dollar dips led to a bumpy start to 2021 for the company.

It could have been worse, and that’s the key takeaway.

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MIAMI — It is being described as “the first-ever studio in Hispanic media exclusively dedicated to serving the growing Latino streaming audiences in the US and around the world.”

And, it is the creation of NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises.

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For the first time, audio media company Audacy is taking part in the IAB NewFronts. Additionally, it will have a presence at the IAB Podcast Upfronts.

At each event, the company formerly known as Entercom will preview the latest in digital content and podcast programming.

Audacy says it will be the lone “audio-only company” at NewFronts; Estrella Media was present.

For David Field, Susan Larkin and the Audacy C-Suite, it offers an opportunity for the company “to reinforce the power of audio to move business (or for advertisers)” and —importantly — to reintroduce itself to the industry under its new brand.

Audacy Chief Marketing Officer Paul Suchman noted, “At this year’s IAB events, we will demonstrate the unique ability of sound to connect, immerse, captivate and engage audiences like no other medium.”

The Audacy IAB NewFront virtual presentation was scheduled for, May 5 at 3:15pm Eastern. Virtual experiences from Audacy’s Cadence13, Pineapple Street Studios, and Podcorn companies will be seen at the IAB Podcast Upfronts, scheduled for May 13 at 12:50pm Eastern.

Audacy’s NewFront presentation will open with spoken word artist, poet and 2020 winner of “America’s Got Talent,” Brandon Leake. It closes with a performance by Hot Adult Contemporary chart act AJR.

Audacy’s Podcast Upfront presentation will showcase exclusive launches from Cadence13 and Pineapple Street Studios. This will include global superstar Demi Lovato discussing her forthcoming podcast with Cadence13; Ghostwriter, an upcoming C13Feature from Cadence13’s pioneering scripted studio focused on feature-length fictionalized audio “movies for your ears;” a look at the 2021 audio documentary slate from the Peabody-nominated C13Originals studio; Crooked Media co-founder Jon Lovett on Pod Save America in 2021; and Pineapple Street Studios’ upcoming slate of original series and its branded podcasts from partners including HBO, Netflix, and Nike.

Presentations will also showcase Podcorn’s influencer marketplace, a self-and full-service platform for brands to connect with independent influential podcast creators for native advertising.

“We’re seeing that digital audio campaigns are working harder when a total audio strategy is utilized – across the board – whether the goals are web visitation, sales, or brand lift,” said Ken Lagana, EVP/Digital Sales at Audacy. “Audacy helps brands and agencies take full advantage of a multi-channel ‘total audio’ strategy. Our proposition will resonate well with audiences at the IAB events. It’s easy to buy an impression, but it’s much harder to make an impression. Audacy excels at making an impression by delivering the most engaged audiences at scale.”

Sinclair Broadcast Group has turned to broadcast management company Operative Media for an effort the ATSC 3.0 pioneer believes will “transform the way local and national media is transacted across all digital and linear platforms throughout the industry.”

A multi-year enterprise partnership agreement has been executed, one that will see Sinclair become the first local television broadcaster to consolidate all sellable assets across its platforms and markets into a single ad sales system, creating a unified brand experience for customers and sellers.

The deal calls for Sinclair to use Operative’s advertising sales management technology platform, AOS, to facilitate the movement of all of its inventory types (linear and digital) to a common impression-based currency.

Operative’s AOS platform automates workflows across planning, order management, inventory management, stewardship and billing, driving efficiency into the way Sinclair works internally across its portfolio and externally with its customers.

This will support Sinclair’s current products, such as Compulse 360 and ZypTV.

“We already provide a unique opportunity for marketers to engage consumers of all kinds, and Operative’s technology will further consolidate and simplify our sales process,” said Rob Weisbord, President of Broadcast & Chief Advertising Revenue Officer of Sinclair. “It will bring this concept to our markets in a way that is easily managed by our various sellers and the portfolios of inventory they represent. It will provide them flexibility to dynamically manage audience and spend allocations across Sinclair’s broad asset catalog.”

As Sinclair sees it, the introduction of yield tools helps deliver improved outcomes for both Sinclair and their customers by optimizing inventory utilization, delivery and make goods.

“This is an opportunity to align our proven track record in the broadcast industry with Operative’s technological expertise, to create a simple solution that we believe will change the way advertisers connect with consumers across all devices,” Sinclair Chief Information Officer Brian Bark said. “This new platform will empower advertisers with the ability to optimize campaigns across Sinclair’s distinguished portfolio of content, while altering the way the industry does business — paving the way for other media companies in the process.”

Estrella Media, the fast-growing reborn Hispanic-focused multimedia company formerly known as LBI Media, has selected Google Ad Manager for monetizing its live and on demand streaming TV platforms.

The Burbank, Calif.-based company calls the move “another important step” in its digital transformation and expansion of its content distribution in the streaming and digital universe.

Know Latinos. You’ll say ¡ñooooo! to the new revenue.

More at www.hispanicradioconference.com

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WASHINGTON, D.C. — Another Congressional session, another statement against additional royalty fees levied against broadcast radio stations for the music it plays over-the-air.

A bipartisan coalition of 77 members of the House of Representatives and eight Senators have joined together to introduce resolutions in both bodies of Congress that oppose “any new performance fee, tax, royalty, or other charge” on AM or FM radio in the U.S.

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On April 13, Grupo Televisa, S.A.B. and Univision Holdings shared for the first time that they plan to merge, with Miami-based Univision — thanks, in part, to Google — making the binational deal happen.

Now, Univision is going to the bond market to finance the deal.

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In the view of American Enterprise Institute Visiting Scholar Mark Jamison, White House control of FCC regulatory analysis is a bad idea.

A better idea, he says, is to set transparent standards for such analyses, including public review.

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It’s despised by the nation’s “Big Four” networks and the NAB isn’t quite fond of it, either.

That’s not stopping Locast from rolling out its not-for-profit “donation”-fueled model of delivering local TV stations via an IP-based delivery platform in yet another market.

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Adjacent to the broadcast tower for Nexstar Media Group’s WKRN-2 in Nashville is the transmitter for a FM translator serving Brentwood, Forest Hills and tony Belle Meade, on the south side of Music City USA.

Until now, it’s been used for Middle Tennessee State University‘s MTSU Jazz Network. That’s about to change, as the facility has been sold.

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Thursday is shaping up to be one of the busiest in ages for media industry analysts and investors, with a half-dozen Q1 2021 earnings calls competing with Estrella Media’s Upfront presentation and a webinar showcasing Edison Research’s Moms and Media Study.

In the middle of all of these noteworthy events is Jacobs Media‘s presentation of its Techsurvey 2021 results. We’ve got a smidge of the details prior to this May 6 online affair.

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LOS ANGELES — The National Association of Television Program Executives (NATPE) has four new board members, following their election to the organization that hosts the annual NATPE Miami conference each January in Miami Beach.

BE SURE TO FOLLOW RBR+TVBR ON FACEBOOK!

Now on the board are the following individuals:

• Sarah Aubrey, Head of Original Content, HBO Max
• Sean Cohan, Chief Growth Officer and President of International, Nielsen
• Dan Cohen, President of Global Distribution Group, ViacomCBS
• Laura Kennedy, CEO, Avalon 

The new appointees will serve a term of three years.

The NATPE is comprised of 41 members from all areas of the content industry.

 

A wider net loss. Lower station operating income. Those are the key takeaways for Beasley Media Group, which released its Q1 2021 earnings results on Tuesday morning.

Investors reacted by shedding shares in BBGI. Within the first hour of trading, Beasley’s stock price was down by nearly 9%.

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Many high-power broadcast stations have few options for staying on the air while replacing a transmitter. Acrodyne Services, focused on transmitter installation and service, has developed the Mobile Acrodyne Transmitter (MAT) — a self-contained UHF transmitter housed in an enclosed trailer.

As an external system, MAT maintains broadcasting without interfering with the removal of the old transmission system, room prep, electrical modifications, and new transmitter installation inside the facility. MAT can broadcast ATSC 1.0 or ATSC 3.0 signals.

“Stations and TV groups are continuing to upgrade their broadcast infrastructures by replacing old transmitters,” Acrodyne GM Andy Whiteside said. “There are low-power solutions and other workarounds, but none of them are ideal, especially for stations that have limited space or run into unexpected delays because of logistic and structural issues. MAT provides a clean, external, and high-power solution that allows broadcasters to conduct business as usual.”

Whiteside added that the UHF version has been deployed successfully several times, and a VHF version is currently being prepared for deployment later in 2021.

Dale Scherbring, Director of Engineering for RF transmission at Sinclair Broadcast Group, described MAT as a “full-power transmitter on wheels that was designed by Acrodyne engineers who get their hands dirty.”

The climate-controlled trailer features a one-rack, liquid-cooled Rohde & Schwarz THU9evo UHF19kW transmitter with 12 amplifiers, Dielectric tunable mask filter, patch-panel, test load plus pumps, and separate heat exchangers for the transmitter and test load. Stations only need to provide AC power and an input signal from master control. Acrodyne provides a run of coaxial flex line to connect MAT’s output to the antenna to maintain regular broadcasting.

Sinclair Broadcast Group Manager of TV Transmission Engineering Rusty Mooney was part of MAT’s initial deployment in June 2020 at the company’s two stations serving Raleigh: WLFL-TV and WRDC-TV. Both transmitters were in the same room and both needed to be replaced. Plus, a new filter for WRDC needed to be installed. “There just wasn’t enough room for all of that work,” Mooney recalled. “You’d run out of wall space trying to keep one transmitter running while trying to build a new transmitter.”

With MAT parked outside the facility and transmitting, the old WRDC transmitter was removed – and when the new WRDC transmitter was commissioned, MAT was quickly reconfigured to broadcast for WLFL while its transmitter was replaced. “MAT allows you to offload your signal to the trailer,” Mooney said. “Then you can gut the room and start with a clean slate for the new install.”

MAT’s next stop was KDNL-TV, a Sinclair station serving St. Louis, in early January 2021. According to Mooney, the small RF facility required extensive renovations in addition to a new transmitter. The station stayed on the air until late March with MAT while it replaced its two-cabinet IOT transmitter.

Acrodyne’s “transmitter on wheels” concept was first developed during the recent FCC Repack, when hundreds of UHF stations across the country transitioned to new channels. Last September, WHKY, an independent station owned by Long Communications that serves part of the Charlotte market, rented an earlier version of MAT while renovating its facility and replacing its old transmitter.

Between the four-cabinet transmitter and two very large filters for the channel 14 UHF station, the building did not have room to accommodate a second transmitter. “I had to get the old transmitter out of the building,” said Tom Long, one of the station owners. “MAT makes it a lot easier. It got everything out of my way and it’s self-contained.”

Once all its Repack projects are complete, Sinclair is expected to replace the remaining IOT transmitters in about 20 of its stations with solid-state transmitters. Scherbring expects to use MAT at those locations and at the VHF-to-UHF conversions currently being considered. However, he said MAT can also be deployed for emergency or disaster situations, and the system can be operational within a day. Both VHF and UHF versions of MAT will be available for use by all broadcasters, subject to demand.