Industry News

Bill Sanders, a second-generation Iowa broadcaster and a former chair of the NAB Radio Board, has died. He was 77.

According to his obituary, “His work life started and ended in the world of radio broadcasting.”

Sanders grew up around KICD in Spencer, Iowa, which was owned by his father Ben. Sanders eventually purchased the station and served as general manager until retiring in 2000.

KICD, now owed by Saga Communications, posted an appreciation that includes audio clips of Sanders. It noted that the station was owned by the Sanders family for 54 years.

Sanders was also a former board member and president of the Iowa Broadcasters Association and was inducted into the Iowa Broadcasting Hall of Fame. He served on the NAB Radio Board in the late 1980s and was chairman of the board from 1989–90.

[Visit Radio World’s People News Page]

He was also former chairman of the National Association of Farm Broadcasters, which honored the longtime broadcaster with a special achievement award, and a former member of the advisory board of the Associated Press.

The obituary said Sanders was diagnosed over time with several rare cancers, starting in 1984.

“He was the most optimistic person on earth and he oozed positivity every single day,” the obituary read. “The man never had a bad day. Even when the cancers took away his ability to smile/laugh/eat/drink and talk he continued to look forward. He was not going to let the disfigurations stop him from living life to its fullest.” [Read the obituary.]

The post Former Iowa Broadcaster Bill Sanders Dies appeared first on Radio World.

The GM of Gray Television‘s NBC affiliate in Louisville, formerly the head of its WVUE-8 in New Orleans, is being promoted to a senior-level position.

At the same time, Gray has created the position of Regional Vice President/General Manager and is elevating five General Managers into this new role.

Please Login to view this premium content. (Not a member? Join Today!)

Until this morning, the ninth work stoppage in Major League Baseball history appeared to gain investor angst on Wall Street, with an Opening Day delay poised to eat into Bally Sports revenue, thus impacting Sinclair Broadcast Group shares.

At the Closing Bell on Nasdaq, SBGI was down 7.1% to $26.04.

Friday could be a big rebound day for the stock. Some 45 minutes before the end of Thursday’s trading, the 99-day lockout appeared to be over.

Please Login to view this premium content. (Not a member? Join Today!)

There are no more fall Radio Shows, but the NAB Marconi Radio Awards will still be held in the autumn.

The National Association of Broadcasters says its 2022 Marconi presentation will take place during NAB Show New York in October.

April Carty-Sipp, executive vice president of industry affairs at NAB, said the move makes sense given the “prime location and ideal timing in the fall when the Marconis have traditionally been presented.”

“We look forward to celebrating the best in radio in October.”

The awards honor radio stations and on-air personalities for excellence in radio broadcasting. The nomination window will open in May. NAB Show New York will take place at the Jacob Javits Convention Center.

The post Marconi Awards Move to NAB Show New York appeared first on Radio World.

USSI Global says it has completed the first phase of its project management services for Intelsat’s C-band clearing and relocation activities.

“Completed in October 2021, USSI Global provided logistics and field services that were essential in supporting Intelsat’s customer service transitions, technology upgrades and earth station filtering required to meet the aggressive Phase I schedule as mandated by the FCC’s Report and Order,” the company said in a press release.

It is working with Intelsat and other satellite companies to relocate radio, TV and other contribution and distribution services to a different part of the C-band spectrum. The FCC’s initiative is opening 300 MHz of the C-band for 5G mobile services by the end of 2023.

[Related: “USSI Global Supports SES in C-Band Transition”]

Intelsat hired USSI Global as one of its vendors to manage the transition. The vendor said it started with contacting the owners of 2,500 sites to inventory their antennas and assess the needed transition work.

“USSI Global’s program management and logistics team subsequently handled all equipment procurement and logistics for these sites,” the press release read, “ensuring that systems were delivered in alignment with transitional deadlines.”

Its technical staff installed 5G passband filters and antennas at about 300 sites. New satellite IRDs were installed at some programmer affiliate sites to facilitate an upgrade in compression technology.

Phase II will start shortly and require about three times as many sites and antennas to be transitioned, the company added.

The post USSI Global Preps for Phase II for Intelsat appeared first on Radio World.

With CEO Ed Christian “unscripted” and sharing with investors and Wall Street analysts “what happens in the kitchen” in describing how Saga Communications gets its revenue each quarter, SVP/Operations Chris Forgy offered a peek at what the company’s top three ad categories were in the final quarter of 2021.

At the same time, CFO Sam Bush shared details on something Forgy praised as “beautiful” to Saga’s bottom line — its Local Direct prowess.

Please Login to view this premium content. (Not a member? Join Today!)

A 19-year veteran Allen Media Group employee who first joined as Vice President of Advertising Sales has been given the new role of Chief Revenue Officer.

Before his 2003 arrival at the Byron Allen-owned operation, he spent over a decade in national broadcast buying.

Please Login to view this premium content. (Not a member? Join Today!)

Of the broadcast media companies offering rich dividends, Saga Communications has consistently delivered, with the company’s stock going ex-Dividend on March 21 and a $0.16 per share award scheduled for an April 8 delivery.

In Q4 2021, the numbers were good, showing across-the-board improvement from 2020. That said, Saga still has a way to go to return to 2019 — or 2018 — dollar totals.

Please Login to view this premium content. (Not a member? Join Today!)

There’s been much chatter about where the presentation of the 2022 NAB Marconi Radio Awards will be, now that the Radio Show has been abandoned, with sessions integrated into the annual NAB Show schedule.

The honors won’t be in Las Vegas in late April. Rather, they will be held on a Wednesday evening in mid-October as part of NAB Show New York.

The awards, which honor radio stations and on-air personalities for excellence in radio broadcasting, will take place during a special dinner program at NAB Show New York on October 19, 2022 at the Javits Center.

Established in 1989 and named after inventor and Nobel Prize winner Guglielmo Marconi, the NAB Marconi Radio Awards have emerged as a signature awards program for the Radio industry.

For those questioning the choice of NAB Show New York for the awards dinner, NAB EVP of Industry Affairs April Carty-Sipp replies, “NAB Show New York is the perfect venue for the Marconi Radio Awards with its prime location and ideal timing in the fall when the Marconis have traditionally been presented. We look forward to celebrating the best in radio in October.”

The entry window for the 2022 NAB Marconi Radio Awards nominations will be May 1-31.