Industry News

It appears that spot radio isn’t the only way one big home athletics brand seeks to gain more customers.

The latest Media Monitors Spot Ten Cable report shows an increase in play count that’s certainly worth noting.

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A Class B AM serving Kansas City, simulcast on an FM translator covering the Kansas portion of the metropolitan area, is being spun.

The buyer is a non-profit dedicated to serving the Hispanic population in the region, one of America’s top emerging Latino markets.

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It’s always nice when a new ad category takes shape at broadcast media. Radio may have found one, and the pandemic could’ve played a role.

In a silver linings story, Peloton has emerged as an active user of national radio to help attract more users.

As shown in the latest Media Monitors Spot Ten Radio report, the home athletics brand has surged to become the third-largest brand at Spot Radio by play count.

Only Progressive and Indeed, heavy users of radio for months, are ahead of Peloton.

The activity from Peloton puts it far ahead The Home Depot, which is taking a post-Memorial Day break in its heavy spot activity.

Also new this week: Mattress Firm, as the home update shopping season starts.

The National Association of Broadcasters is expressing concern about what it is calling a significant increase in regulatory fees by the Federal Communications Commission on broadcasters.

For the third consecutive year in a row, the commission plans to increase fees to “unfair, unsustainable levels,” particularly in light of the economic impact that the COVID-19 pandemic had on the broadcasting industry, the NAB said in its filing.

The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking proposed a 5 to 15% increase in regulatory fees for radio broadcasters face a (with TV broadcasters fee factor jumping nearly 9%) even though the commission’s general salary and expenses budget increased by only 0.5%, the NAB said. The FCC proposes to collect $374 million for the 2021 fiscal year, with Congress appropriating expenses into two separate categories: $341 million to cover FCC salaries and expenses and an additional $33 million specifically to cover costs associated with the implementation of the Broadband DATA Act.

Ann Marie Cumming, NAB senior vice president of communications, said in a statement that the NAB objects to its members being used to pay for the funding the Broadband DATA Act. The legislation is designed to improve accuracy of the FCC’s broadband availability maps to help close the digital divide that exists between urban and rural areas.

Not only does the FCC fail to explain the reasons for this year’s fee increase, but it’s clear that the commission is forcing broadcasters to subsidize the regulation of other entities that are either contributing less than their fair share of fees or being given a free ride altogether, she said.

In its filing, the NAB said that the commission has an “obligation to ensure that its regulatory framework enables TV and radio stations to serve the public interest in free, over-the-air broadcast service, which means that the broadcast industry must remain economically viable in an increasingly competitive marketplace.”

The NAB urged the commission to adjust its proposal so that only the beneficiaries of the commission’s Broadband DATA Act initiatives pay for the associated costs. The NAB also pressed the commission to expand the base of fee payers to include big tech and other unlicensed spectrum users that use a substantial amount of the commission’s resources and benefit from its activities.

“Many broadcasters simply cannot afford unnecessary expenses in a year when revenues continued to decline due to the economic impacts of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and a slow-moving recovery,” the NAB said in its filing. “The commission must confront and correct the elements of its regulatory fee proposal that impair broadcasters’ ability to remain economically viable in a competitive marketplace, and undermine their ability to provide quality, free service to the public.”

The broadcast industry must remain economically viable in an increasingly competitive marketplace, the NAB said, a situation made all the more tricky because broadcasters cannot simply pass on regulatory costs to consumers.

The FCC is seeking comment on its proposed changes, which are available through Docket Number 21-190 at the FCC’s ECFS comment database. Reply comments are being accepted through June 18.

The post NAB Questions Fee Hike Proposed by FCC for FY2021 appeared first on Radio World.

He has been a researcher and writer for the Senior VP of News at Sinclair Broadcast Group for the past three years.

Now, he will be that C-Suite executive’s Chief of Staff — a position that appears to be unique to Sinclair.

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From our “Who’s Buying What” page: Connect said Monaco Media Diffusion is using its KYBIO monitoring and control platform.

MMD is a radio and TV operator for the Principality of Monaco. Connect is part of the WorldCast Group.

The company said MMD is using KYBIO to oversee operation of its FM and DAB infrastructure including 136 devices such as transmitters, satellite receivers and audio processing.

KYBIO can be purchased as a cloud-based SaaS or on-premise license; MMD chose the latter, with a five-year support contract. The company says its users include RAI, Bell Media, Sutro Tower and Disney Television.

MMD’s managing director is Thierry Poyet. Technical contact is Guillame Asso.

The post In Monaco, MMD Puts KYBIO to Use appeared first on Radio World.

ORLANDO — At first glance, it seems like all is functioning normally for the website of Cox Media Group Classic Rocker WMMO-FM, which serves Central Florida.

“Desire” by U2 is playing. A “First Responder Fridays” nomination form can be filled out and submitted. The “Listen Live” button is ready for a push. Once it’s pressed, an “audio temporarily unavailable” message appears. Still.

“You may be offline,” it reads. “Please check your connection and try again using the Retry button.”

The problem isn’t that of the user, however. WMMO, like all of CMG’s radio and TV properties, have fallen victim to a ransomware attack — a cyber nightmare that began late last week.

It’s just the latest in a string of incidents involving radio broadcasting companies. What would you do if your operation is next?

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TORONTO — On March 10, the latest PPM top-line radio statistics for Canada’s largest media market were released by Numeris, the nation’s measurement services company.

Among all of the radio stations appearing in the report, a Rogers Sports & Media AM that 28 years ago today dropped its 20-year-old Top 40 format for all-News was the No. 2 radio station by cume, and again one of North America’s most-listened-to stations on the AM dial.

That ratings supremacy has no bearing on branding, however, and the growing trend of optimizing advertising and marketing opportunities in a cross-platform, national manner.  As such, “680 News,” along with four other Rogers-owned all-News stations, are getting a name change once autumn brings fall foliage to full tilt.

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Ralph Justus, who for many years was at the center of technology developments in U.S. broadcasting and consumer electronics, has died.

He was known in our industry through roles at the Federal Communications Commission, National Association of Broadcasters, Consumer Electronics Association and Electronics Industries Alliance. Among other accomplishments he was credited with playing an “instrumental” role in the development of digital TV standards starting in the late 1990s.

According to his obituary, he died at age 72. Justus finished his career as a patent examiner for the U.S. Patent Office.

According to a 2004 profile published by the Advanced Television Systems Committee, Justus started in broadcast technology in the late 1970s as supervisory electronics engineer of the FCC Television Branch and a staff engineer in the AM and FM radio branches.

In 1983 he moved to the NAB to become director of engineering, regulatory and international affairs, working on issues involving radio and television technologies, auxiliary and satellite systems, spectrum management, proceedings at federal agencies including the FCC, EPA, FAA, Department of State and participation in the International Telecommunications Union, according to the ATSC article.

He then moved over to become director of engineering for the CEA (now called the Consumer Technology Association), where he worked on radio and TV system design and performance, TV antennas, audio technologies, regulatory activities and consumer electronics/cable TV compatibility.

For several years starting in 1999 he chaired the ATSC Technology Group on Distribution, or T3. In that role he was “instrumental in guiding many new DTV standards,” according to the 2004 article.

In 2003 Justus also was elected president of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers’ Consumer Electronics Society, according to a Radio World story at the time. He also was a former president of the IEEE Broadcast Technology Society.

At the CEA he was promoted after eight years to the post of vice president of technology and standards, a position he held until he left in 2005, according to his LinkedIn page. He later worked for the Building Performance Institute and as a consultant before joining the USPTO in 2012, working on radio, television and satellite communications, telecom technologies and intellectual property patent applications.

Justus also was active in technical organizations such as SMPTE and the AES. He was a graduate of Georgia Institute of Technology with a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering.

The post Ralph Justus Dies; Former Tech Executive at NAB, CEA appeared first on Radio World.

Its two TV stations have gained international recognition for their roles as pioneers in the advancement of ATSC 3.0-powered NextGen TV in the U.S.

Now, those stations’ owner has re-evaluated its access to local TV ratings data, which in recent years has seen an exclusive relationship with Nielsen.

That’s about to change.

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