Industry News

Eric Wiler is senior vice president, technology and operations at Westwood One. This interview is part of Radio World’s current series about the C-Band migration process including radio station reimbursement.

Westwood One provides syndicated content to 250 million monthly listeners via an audio network of 8,000 affiliated radio stations and media partners. The company, owned by Cumulus Media, describes itself as the largest audio network in America.

Radio World: In the typical relationship between Westwood One and a radio station affiliate, who owns the dish and feedhorn?

Eric Wiler: Since satellite has been employed by the major networks, it has been the typical standard that the network provides the downlink receivers and the station installs the dish, feedhorn, LNB, cables and splitters.

RW: We’ve reported on the process set up by the FCC for reimbursing qualified radio stations for modifying C-Band satellite dishes as part of the midband repack. As a radio syndicator with many affiliates, how does Westwood One fit into this process; what role are you playing?

Wiler: We’ve provided recommendations to our affiliates, acting as a conduit for our satellite provider SES, to disseminate information to radio stations. These recommendations included regular communication asking the stations register their C-Band downlink antennas with the commission.

RW: What role are the satellite companies playing? I understand SES and Intelsat are the major players.

Wiler: SES and Intelsat have dedicated extensive resources to their programming providers such as Westwood One to ensure we maintain our ability to continue distribution with the same high level of reliability stations have come to expect with C-Band. They have played an extremely active role in the engineering of a “shared universe” between satellite and terrestrial utilization of the 3700-4200 MHz band.

RW: A key question confronting many radio stations is whether to take the “lump sum” that’s been established by the FCC process, which we’re told is about $9,000 or $17,000 for a typical radio station. How are you advising radio stations on this decision?

Wiler: Westwood One is a programming provider. While we provided the recommendation to follow the FCC guidelines to register all downlinks, the review and acceptance of the terms placed on the downlinks by the “lump sum” is something that should be carefully considered for each situation. As we cannot be clear on the individual dynamics of every business, the lump sum decision must be made by each owner individually.

[Related: “How the C-Band Repack Affects Public Radio”]

RW: If stations take the lump sum, what is their responsibility?

Wiler: My understanding of the public notice is that by accepting the cash distribution, you are agreeing to mitigate the impact of terrestrial utilization of the C-Band to your downlink, while certain video feeds are transitioning to fiber or terrestrial circuits. By electing to receive the lump sum you’re accepting the responsibility for undertaking the necessary transition actions in accordance with the satellite operators timelines. This could be as simple as adding a filter between the LNB and the feedhorn, but this is not a certainty. C-Band is extremely reliable thus the preference over internet or other public terrestrial backup systems.

RW: If stations do NOT take the lump sum, what is their responsibility?

Wiler: Westwood One’s satellite provider is SES. It will be responsible for the transition of your downlink. Their plan is to conduct pre-installation visual site surveys to assess the individual needs. This means when their installer shows up (provided by SES) they will have the additional equipment should something unexpected happened. This option may be best for stations with extremely limited technical resources.

RW: Hardware provider DAWNco told us they’ve been getting a lot of questions, and that one radio station reported being advised by a Westwood One representative “to do nothing” and that this station thus would be entitled to two free filters but would be leaving available money on the table. Is that an accurate summary of Westwood One’s advice?

Wiler: As I noted earlier, as a program provider Westwood One is not really the appropriate authority to provide the ultimate guidance in every situation. SES has indicated to us as their customer if the station doesn’t elect to receive the lump sum, they will provide filters and assistance in maintaining the downlink’s ability to receive programming. If the stations agree to take on the responsibility for technical mitigation, they may receive compensation. Obviously the “lump sum” is much greater than the cost of two filters, but may be less than the total mitigation expense.

RW: Are you hearing from many stations that missed the earlier registration process and thus are apparently locked out of reimbursement?

Wiler: Overall, we’ve heard from a few stations who didn’t register, but the overwhelming majority of stations complied with the initial request.

RW: What other questions have you been asked by affiliates, and how are you answering?

Wiler: The biggest question has been timing. Filters must be installed by December 2021 for the largest 46 PEAs (markets). The rest of the nation has until December 2023 to mitigate C-Band terrestrial signals.

RW: Anything else we should know?

Wiler: This is a highly complex issue with legal, technical and financial implications. There is a lot of information coming at stations as well as the networks and we’re all on the same side, to maintain the continuity of our programming. By using all available resources the answer for your individual station’s situation should be clear.

[Read more of Radio World’s coverage of this issue.]

The post How Westwood One Views the C-Band Migration appeared first on Radio World.

The Weather Channel and Skyview Networks announced an agreement intended to help the weather content provider expand its radio network sales and distribution.

Skyview is a technology, syndication and national network sales company. The announcement was made by Weather Channel President Tom O’Brien, Skyview Networks President/COO Steve Jones and Skyview EVP/GM Jeanne-Marie Condo.

O’Brien was quoted in the announcement saying that The Weather Channel radio network wants to expand its reach and brand awareness. The network is heard in approximately 100 U.S. markets.

Condo highlighted The Weather Channel’s “impressive reach and wide portfolio of formats, including A18-49 and strong female-skewing audiences” in radio.

Send business news and Who’s Buying What announcements to radioworld@futurenet.com.

The post Skyview Signs Weather Channel to Sales Agreement appeared first on Radio World.

Leading U.S. radio networks are urging buyers and sellers of network and national radio commercials to use the fall 2019 ratings as their reference, essentially asking them to ignore the upcoming spring 2020 nationwide data.

“The Network Radio Research Council (NRRC) is recommending that all network/national buying and selling be based on the Fall 2019 Nationwide survey, which is the latest data available prior to the COVID-19 pandemic,” it stated.

“The NRRC’s recommendation follows a statement from Nielsen that future buying and planning decisions should not be made using COVID-19 impacted audience estimates, which includes the upcoming Spring 2020 Nationwide survey.”

The NRRC is a group of syndicators and other companies with an interest in accurate national radio audience measurement. Its members include AdLarge Media, American Urban Radio Networks, Crystal Media Networks, Premiere Radio Networks, Sun Broadcast Group, United Stations Radio Networks and Westwood One.

“The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has caused an unprecedented divergence of traditional patterns of media consumption, including, AM/FM listening and the streaming of audio,” the group stated.

“Listening behaviors were significantly altered starting in mid-March 2020, as the public adjusted to remote work environments and shelter-at-home mandates across the United States. The broadcast month of April represents the first month of Nielsen’s Spring 2020 [April-May-June] Nationwide survey. Each month subsequent to April has demonstrated consistent increases in listening, and there is confidence listenership will continue to stabilize and approach pre-Covid-19 levels.”

The group says the Fall 2019 Nationwide book “represents the best solution for the upcoming 2021 network radio upfront and Q4 scatter buys.”

The group quoted this statement from Nielsen: “Given the anomalous nature of audience behavior during the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency, it is Nielsen’s position that future buying and planning decisions for periods that fall outside the COVID-19 crisis should not be made using COVID-19 impacted audience estimates.”

The post Networks Say Ad Buyers Should Discard Spring Survey appeared first on Radio World.

The author is sound supervisor for Oregon Public Radio in Portland, Ore.

I began working at Oregon Public Radio 15 years ago and am now the sound supervisor. In essence, I work for the news department and am responsible for the final sound quality.

My job varies day by day, hour by hour. On any given day, I’ll hop from engineering something for a live broadcast, to mixing a music session for an audience in our performance space, to doing post-production mixes for a documentary series on our own channel.

When stay-at-home orders were put in place in Oregon, we needed to work quickly to get our staff set up to work outside the studio.

We ordinarily have about 120 people, including talent and reporters, working in the building on any given day. In March, we had to cut down to 12, but we were still producing all of the shows we normally do, including our locally-produced “Morning Edition,” a locally-produced “All Things Considered” and our flagship daily talk show called “Think Out Loud.”

On that show, newsmakers come on and discuss what’s happening in the state of Oregon and southwest Washington. The focal point of my effort when stay-at-home orders were put in place was making sure that that show stayed on the air — it gives us our highest ratings, and it’s where people tune in for information.

We’ve been using the Comrex Access codec since it was first released. They have always been important to producing “Think Out Loud” because they allow us to go into parts of rural Oregon and broadcast the show from places that usually wouldn’t get a visit from a radio show like ours. We’ve gone all over the United States to do the show with Access units.

Now, we’ve been using them to make sure that our hosts don’t have to come into the building. It’s been pretty huge to keep everybody remote — the fewer people here, the safer we all are.

ISDN is not an option, and it hasn’t been for a long time — it’s not possible to get a line without a good deal of planning from any provider. (Not to mention, it’s prohibitively expensive — one time, an ISDN line was accidentally left connected over a four-day weekend, and we were stuck with a $6,100 bill.) Access has been a great solution for us because in addition to sounding great, it doesn’t come with a line charge.

We’ve been using Access in concert with other Comrex products. We have Comrex Opal for guest interviews, and we have three Comrex Access rack units to connect with our hosts from their homes. We also have one Comrex BRIC-Link here which we use to connect to all our remote bureaus — it’s a dedicated link that lets us connect to other stations throughout Oregon and Washington.

I have the host of “Think Out Loud” outfitted with a portable Access unit, the attachable mixer and a headset mic, and he’s been broadcasting from his son’s bedroom.

The only hurdle is the quality of his home internet, but so far, it’s been smooth. Because he can’t be in the studio, we connect him with multiple guests simultaneously using a combination of tools.

For instance, we routinely have multiple-participant interviews where one guest is connected over Opal, a second is connected with BRIC-Link, and our host is using an Access, and they’ll all be talking to each other. These tools enabled us to come up with a smooth solution for working outside the studio in the course of just a week.

I’ve been an evangelist for Comrex for a while, and our experience with its codecs over the course of the COVID pandemic has confirmed why. If we didn’t have effective equipment, we wouldn’t be on the air. But because we’ve had Comrex, we haven’t had to sacrifice any of our programming.

Radio World User Reports are testimonial articles intended to help readers understand why a colleague chose a particular product to solve a technical situation.

For information, contact Chris Crump at Comrex in Massachusetts at 1-978-784-1776 or visit www.comrex.com.

The post User Report: Oregon Public Radio Broadcasts Through Chaos appeared first on Radio World.

The author wrote in July about “Why WWV and WWVH Still Matter.” 

It may seem improbable that two radio stations that announce the time could end up being world-saving superheroes. But one day Colorado shortwave station WWV and its sister station WWVH in Hawaii may do just that.

The reason: If a massive solar coronal mass ejection from the sun ever supercharges the earth’s ionosphere, the resulting power surge would overload satellites and ground-based digital communications systems. The internet would be just one of the casualties: This planet’s unshielded electronics could be fried.

Actually, the right term is not “if” but “when.” In 1859, a massive solar flare hit the atmosphere; it was named the Carrington Event after UK astronomer Richard Carrington, who spotted the flare and deduced what was coming. The resulting nighttime auroras were so bright that sleeping miners in the Rocky Mountains woke up and made breakfast.

[Letter: “WWV Is Nice But Not All That Critical”]

At the time, telegraph networks in North America and Europe were the only electronics in widespread use, and the Carrington Event flare definitely affected them. The current induced into the telegraph wires was so strong that some operators received serious shocks. Others discovered that they could send and receive Morse Code over the network, without having to connect power sources to it.

In our modern world, a Carrington Event-sized solar storm “could lead to power loss for a period of weeks or more,” according to a 2013 analysis prepared by Lloyd’s of London and Atmospheric and Environmental Research.

“This would cause major disruption to transport, food supplies, emergency and hospital services … It is also likely that financial markets (especially as the financial sector is generally concentrated in the areas most at risk i.e. the northeast of the U.S.) could be significantly disrupted by a severe space weather event.”

When the next Carrington Event-sized solar storm hits the Earth, WWV and WWVH will step up to quell the chaos.

The reason: Not only do WWV and WWVH’s powerful shortwave radio signals easily cover North America and much of the world, but the facility has a generous supply of diesel standby generators, screened/shielded facilities to protect equipment from power surges and a robust, non-digital transmission infrastructure.

“Quite frankly, much of our equipment is tube-based analog technology,” said Glenn Nelson, an electronics technician at WWV and sister time code station WWVB. “This mean it is less vulnerable to power surges damage than digital equipment.”

With Assistance from MARS

WWV and WWVH won’t be the only superheroes working to bring order back to a world blasted by a solar storm (or a man-made electromagnetic pulse; either will do). The stations will be joined in their efforts by their partners in the Department of Defense Military Auxiliary Radio System. MARS members are amateur radio volunteers trained and certified to operate on DOD frequencies using military messaging protocols in order to communicate with the U.S. military.

MARS was established by DOD back in 1925, to enlist the help of hams during man-made and natural disasters, and to serve as trained pool of radio operators to support the military.

“It is always difficult to coordinate rescue officials and volunteers when there is a widespread communications breakdown, especially on the scale of a Carrington Event,” said Paul English, who runs the U.S. Army’s MARS program. “Hams will play a vital role in such emergencies gathering situational awareness information for the military on a county level,” he told Radio World. “They’ll tell us what’s the status of electricity, water and transportation, and we’ll compile that information on a national level to help guide the nation’s response.”

Using their powerful transmissions and broad coverage, WWV/WWVH will serve as central information hubs for MARS team members. The team will be packed with hams from across the United State, “who use their own equipment and donate their time to provide this service,” said amateur radio operator Cal Zethmayr (ham callsign W4GMH). WWV and WWVH’s broadcast will keep everyone on the same page and working together despite the chaos.

Getting Ready for Disaster

Mindful that solar storms can strike at any time, DOD holds MARS exercises on a regular basis. Since April 19, 2019, WWV/WWVH have been a part of this process, by announcing current and upcoming MARS exercises during their 24/7 time broadcasts.

“The WWV and WWVH announcements will provide information to Amateur Radio participants regarding the purpose, dates, times and locations of the exercises and other information,” states the WWV web site at www.nist.gov/pml/time-and-frequency-division/radio-stations/wwv.

“WWV will air MARS announcements on the 10th minute of each hour, and WWVH will use the 50th minute. The announcements will air for about two weeks, prior to and during each exercise.”

It is impossible to say when the next Carrington Event-level solar storm may hit our planet. It could be hundreds of years from now; it could be tomorrow. But when this storm does strike, the staff at WWV/WWVH and their MARS team members will be there to help quell the chaos. They’ll be real-life superheroes aiding the U.S. government in finding out which Americans urgently need help, so that it can be sent as soon as possible.

“When you look at today’s world where we are completely dependent on computer-controlled electronics in all aspects of our lives, a Carrington Event-sized coronal mass ejection could be devastating,” said English. “WWV, WWVH, and MARS will help us cope in such emergencies.”

Information about upcoming MARS exercises can be found at www.dodmars.org. Read about a recent exercise from the Army point of view here.

The post WWV/WWVH Stand Ready to Fight Global Chaos appeared first on Radio World.

IP audio networking equipment developer Barix says that it is “bringing its IP paging and intercom expertise to large broadcast and emergency response networks with RackBox, a universal cloud-based, any-to-all platform for widespread delivery of critical messages.”

[Check Out More Products at Radio World’s Products Section]

The 1RU RackBox can provide standard and emergency paging and intercom needs inside and outside the a broadcast facility. The IP backbone can facilitate messaging across a whole network, putting everyone on the same page. As a native IP device, it will be at home on standard IT networks.

A front-panel XLR connector allows for connection to a microphone. An onboard speaker provides for feedback. It uses a Linux-based heart while supporting major audio formats.

Info: www.barix.com

The post Barix Releases the RackBox appeared first on Radio World.

As we’ve been reporting, the Federal Communications Commission has published a “cost category schedule” that describes potential expenses and costs that users of earth stations in the United States may incur as a result of the C-Band repack, and put in place a reimbursement program that includes a possible lump-sum payment to earth station owners including many radio stations.

We asked NPR Vice President, Distribution Michael Beach how this is playing out in public radio.

Radio World: Why should public radio stations know about this process now?

Michael Beach: To give some context, we’re talking about existing satellite services that will be repacked in the C-Band’s upper 200 MHz.

Here at NPR Distribution we serve public radio stations in two ways using C-band satellite-based technology.

First, we share the programming of more than 70 active, national radio-content producers with local public radio stations.

Second, we support distribution of content to more than 30 regional public-radio networks. Impact to each of these systems will be minimal because we are transitioning all our networks to the upper band. That move will protect our stations from interference by 5G systems entering the lower part of the band.

RW: Are there risks of interference?

Beach: Risk will occur if any of the new 5G facilities either transmit outside FCC limitations or are physically close to a satellite earth station. To help mitigate these risks, the FCC is providing funding to add a passband filter to each satellite antenna to guard against and lower the risk of potentially interfering signals coming from the lower part of the C-band that will be occupied by 5G.

RW: Are the proposed reimbursements fair?

Beach: The FCC has provided three options for earth stations that are registered and on the list of qualified antennas.

One: A station can take no action and allow its satellite operator to provide and install the filter at no cost. In the case of PRSS stations, Intelsat is the operator. If Intelsat does that work, it will seek reimbursement from the FCC.

Second: An earth station can purchase and install a filter on its own and seek reimbursement directly from the FCC. Details of reimbursement expenses are included in the guidelines of the FCC’s Cost Catalog.

Third:  An earth station can receive a one-time lump-sum payment. If a station chooses this last approach, it has a deadline [now extended to Sept. 14] to file its intention with the FCC. The election and electronic filing process is included in the FCC Public Notice.

[Related: Dawnco Urgest Stations to “Take the Lump Sum”]

RW: What if an earth station is not registered with the FCC or not on the list of qualified stations?

Beach: The FCC published a list of registered C-Band antennas on August 3, 2020. If a station is not registered, the station will need to purchase and install a filter at its own expense. The station will not be reimbursed, and the satellite operators will not provide the filter or installation.

RW: What is the lump sum amount that the FCC is offering?

Beach: The lump sum is $8,948 per registered and qualified antenna. FCC documents indicate the amount was derived after considering many different potential migration costs and averaging them.

RW: What are the downsides of either taking that lump-sum option or self-installation and seeking reimbursement?

Beach: By choosing the lump-sum option, an earth station operator assumes all costs and risks with no future option to change its mind. If for any reason an operator selects a filter that does not meet specifications, or installs it incorrectly, the operator’s recourse is to spend more money to correct the problem. This risk also exists if the operator does its own installation followed by seeking reimbursement.

RW: What else should radio engineers and managers know about how this process is going?

Beach: It’s not clear from the FCC’s currently available information what the timetable is for when an earth station can apply for reimbursement. Also unknown is when the filter specifications will be published. So, today, we also cannot identify for our PRSS stations the specific manufacturer part numbers that meet the specifications.

The good news is there is some time; potential interference is not imminent. The FCC auction won’t happen until later this year, and the lower part of the band only has to be cleared in certain cities by the end of next year (2021). The auction for the remaining part of the band and additional cities will be even later. It also means the FCC will not have funds for reimbursements until sometime after the auction, and likely not before June 2021.

The post How the C-Band Repack Affects Public Radio appeared first on Radio World.

Below are the recipients of the 2020 Service to America Awards from the National Association of Broadcasters Leadership Foundation. These awards recognize outstanding community service by U.S. broadcasters.

Descriptions are as published by the NABLF and include links to multimedia presentations about each station’s efforts.

Recipients were announced during the Celebration of Service to America Awards program, which was conducted virtually this year.

Service to Community Award for Radio – Ownership Group
Zimmer Radio of Mid-Missouri, “Miracles for Kids Radiothon”

Raising awareness and money for the University of Missouri’s Children Hospital is personal for the Zimmer Radio & Marketing Group, considering members of the staff have needed this hospital for their own children. Radio stations KCLR, KTXY, KATI and KSSZ came together to host the 13th annual Miracles for Kids Radiothon to tell the hospital’s story and raise money to benefit sick kids in mid-Missouri. The 2019 event raised $309,000, bringing the total amount raised for this local hospital to $2.81 million. The team at Zimmer Radio is committed to doing their part to make sure kids have the best doctors, nurses, staff and equipment when it comes to battling illness.

Service to Community Award for Radio – Major Market
KIRO-AM Seattle, Wash., “710 ESPN Seattle and Coaching Boys Into Men”
Bonneville International

With a goal of ending domestic violence, KIRO decided to take the issue back to where it starts, focusing on homes, schools and role models within a local community. In partnership with Coaching Boys into Men, this campaign aimed to prevent domestic violence by teaching high school coaches and athletes how to be community leaders. The station hosted a training program for winter sports coaches, offering incentives for those who completed the program. Through this partnership, KIRO has reached more than 33,000 students with a 42% implementation rate throughout the Seattle area. Thanks to the team at KIRO and the Coaching Boys into Men training, this local community is closer to developing leading examples of role models and athletes for the next generation and putting an end to the cycle of domestic violence.

Service to Community Award for Radio – Medium Market
WSGW Saginaw, Mich., “WSGW’s Sharing Hope Radiothon”
Alpha Media

To help curb increasing homelessness in the area, 100.5 and 790 Newsradio WSGW hosted the 14th annual Sharing Hope Radiothon to raise money for the Rescue Ministries of Mid-Michigan and its local shelters. With cross promotion from sister station 94.5 The MooseWCEN, this 12-hour campaign exceeded its fundraising goal and raised more than $47,000 while also educating the community. To show continued support for their sister station, WSGW partnered once again and helped raise awareness and donations for the two-day St. Jude Kids Radiothon to raise another $83,250. These two campaigns strengthen the ties of local radio and continue to better the community through the sharing of hope and resources.

Service to Community Award for Radio – Small Market
WKXW-FM Trenton, N.J., “New Jersey Judges”
Townsquare Media

In July 2019, WKXW launched a series of reports highlighting misconduct within the New Jersey Family Court regarding rape and sexual assault cases. These investigative reports included the shocking details of local judges blocking prosecutors’ requests to try juveniles as adults as well as a pattern of victim blaming. This news series encouraged the community and local lawmakers to respond to these injustices. As a result of this series of investigative reports, the state Supreme Court accepted the resignation of one of the judges, took action to remove another from the bench and implemented mandatory sex crime training for all judges.

The post Radio Service: Listen to Award-Winning Stations appeared first on Radio World.

The offices of equipment manufacturer Inovonics are closed temporarily due to fires in its part of California.

“For those of you who have read about the CZU Complex Fire in the Santa Cruz Mountains, California, we wanted to let you know that we are fine,” wrote company President/CEO Ben Barber in an email to customers today. “Thankfully, everyone at Inovonics is healthy and safe from harm.

“The Inovonics factory in Felton is also fine although located in the evacuation zone. As a result our offices are closed temporarily.”

He thanked industry colleagues who had expressed concern, and said the company will respond to communications remotely through email for the time being. Tech support issues should be sent to tech@inovonicsbroadcast.com while sales inquires are being answered at sales@inovonicsbroacast.com.

“Order Processing: For those with pending orders, we will ship as soon as we are able and will keep you informed as information becomes available,” Barber wrote. “Stay tuned as they say in the radio biz…”

The post Inovonics Factory Affected by Evacuation Zone appeared first on Radio World.

It’s a good thing that U.S. radio stations now have a couple of extra weeks to explore their reimbursement options for tweaking their satellite infrastructures. Those options are part of the C Band repack supporting national expansion of 5G, and there are plenty of questions flying around about it, which is natural because there are thousands of dollars involved.

Radio World is featuring a series of Q&As with various participants around the industry. (Read recent background here).

We asked John Joslin, director of sales and marketing at satellite hardware supplier Dawnco, for his take on it.

Radio World: For the typical U.S. radio station, what is the lump sum amount that they’re being offered?

John Joslin: Most radio stations will get [approximately] $9,000 or $17,000 per registered satellite antenna.

Email a picture of the feedhorn on each dish to Dawnco, and we can identify which amount makes sense for each dish. You can make the determination yourself by looking up in the front of each dish, to see the feedhorn that the C Band LNB bolts onto. If the feedhorn has only one port with one CLNB bolted to it, your lump sum is $9K; when the feedhorn has two ports with two CLNBs bolted to it, your lump sum is $17K.

Sometimes, the feedhorn has two ports with one CLNB bolted to it and a cover plate over the second port; this is a dual-polarization feedhorn and may qualify for the $17K lump sum.

RW: Do you think these amounts are fair, too much, too little? How does it compare to the hardware outlay for a typical station?

Joslin: The vast majority of dish-registered radio stations will have tons of money left over with the lump sum, if their existing dishes are good. And even if they buy a new dish they’ll have money left over after getting the lump sum. The 5G C Band repack will require most radio stations to install less than $2K of new filters and parts per dish, if the current satellite antennas are in good condition with plenty of signal quality margin.

If the old dish is not performing well now, you’ll probably need to buy a new 3.7 meter dish package for less than $5K. For a small number of radio stations with roof-mounted dishes that need to be replaced, the lump sum may cover most but not all expenses, due to the high cost of roof-mounting structures.

RW: Do you think most stations will choose the lump option?

Joslin: When they know all the facts, nearly all radio station decision-makers will choose the lump sum payment, which gives them surplus money after buying all needed filters and parts. The only other option is to have the big satellite owners (SES and bankrupt Intelsat) provide filters and gear to them, which leaves no opportunity for surplus money for the radio station.

The $17K lump sum even makes sense for the few stations that need expensive roof structures to hold new dishes on the roof.

Some stations may miss the lump sum opportunity because their dishes were not previously registered, or they missed the lump sum filing deadline [now Sept. 14], or they weren’t given enough time to learn all of the facts.

RW: What happens next if a qualified station chooses the lump sum option?

Joslin: Radio stations must act quickly to decide they want the lump sum, then immediately make their lump sum filing with the FCC before the Sept. 14 deadline.

Call Dawnco or email us a picture of the dish-feedhorn, and we can help determine if the dish qualifies for $9K or $17K lump sum. We put all stations in touch with a respected Washington, D.C. area firm, who has the experience and connections to handle the lump sum filing, priced at $1,250 plus $75 per dish. Our recommended firm is very familiar with this FCC filing process. They are very likely to get stations the amount they are entitled to.

If you file yourself and make an error, you may not get what you need.

RW: What happens next if a qualified station does not opt for the lump sum option?

Joslin: When a station doesn’t take the lump sum or misses the filing deadline, their only other option is to have the big satellite owners (again, SES and Intelsat) provide filters and gear to them.

They will need to log onto the website for the big company that owns the satellite they are receiving signals from (usually SES for radio), navigate to the 5G C Band repack page, and enter a request for filters and equipment. There will be procedures to follow, questions to answer, and a wait time for obtaining answers.

At some point the big satellite company will ship the needed filters and gear, for the station to install themselves. Upon request, the big satellite company can schedule a roving crew to pass by the station for a quick installation of the filters.

RW: What option if any is available to stations that did NOT register their earth stations in the earlier window for that?

Joslin: The FCC documentation makes clear that the lump sum is not available to sites that did not previously register their satellite antennas with the FCC.

Unregistered sites can make a request for free filters to the big satellite company that they are receiving signals from (usually SES for radio). It is not clear if the big satellite company will provide filters or other gear to unregistered sites (time will tell).

Hundreds of radio stations did not register any of their dishes, or improperly registered for only some of the dishes they own. [Related: “SBE Issues Reminder for C Band Dish Users“]

Many unregistered sites are only finding out now that they made a big error, which may cost them thousands of dollars for new equipment needed to cope with the mandated 5G C Band repack. [Related: “C Band Repack Could Be Costly for Many Radio Stations“]

Many stations have expressed how they didn’t know they had to register, or didn’t realize that not registering would expose them to big costs. I guess the unregistered sites can talk to their congressmen to try for some political pressure on the FCC to extend the registration date.

RW: What support if any are the satellite operators, radio syndicators like Westwood One or networks like NPRSS providing to these stations?

Joslin: We speak to many radio station owners and engineers each day. At this point in mid-August, many individual stations are just now hearing about the 5G C Band transition, and realizing that it will affect them. The vast majority of radio stations do not realize that 60% of C Band for satellite will be removed within three years, or that filters will need to be installed in front of every single C Band LNB.

Management at the big station groups are aware of the 5G C band transition, but some are not aware of all of the details of Lump Sum compared to getting filters from the satellite operators.

RW: What recommendations are you making to radio stations about this decision?

Joslin: File for the lump sum if it is available to you. Don’t choose the option of using the big satellite companies, unless it is your only option.

RW: You mentioned confusion in the marketplace.

Joslin: Here is an interesting conversation I just had with a radio station that addresses one of the questions you asked me earlier. We presented our customer with an explanation of the lump sum opportunity. He had recently called to Westwood One, asking what he should do, regarding the 5G C Band repack. They told him to do nothing. We told him that because he had already registered his two satellite dishes, he was qualified for a $26K lump sum payment for his radio station ($9K + $17K).

Both of his dishes are in great shape, so his only cost for his rural site is $1,600 for two filters. He walks away with a surplus of $24K that he can put in his pocket. If he had taken the advice of the Westwood One representative, he would have been entitled to two free filters but zero surplus money. There seems to be some misinformation out there.

[A Westwood One official told Radio World on background that the syndicator is “not advising people/stations on what they should do on the lump sum decision. That’s their own decision to make.”  Radio World shortly will publish a Q&A with Westwood One’s Eric Wiler about the company’s perspectives on the reimbursement program.] 

RW: What else should we know?

I just saw a Radio World article stating that stations have the ability to get reimbursement from the FCC Clearinghouse using the cost catalog, which is not exactly true. Stations can ask the big satellite companies to provide needed filters and equipment.

SES or bankrupt Intelsat can file with the FCC Clearinghouse using the cost catalog, to obtain reimbursement for the cost of equipment they give to the stations. For example, SES and Intelsat will be reimbursed up to $900 for each C Band bandpass filter they provide to stations.

By the way, think what would be possible if that $8 billion bonus money to the big satellite operators, was instead equally divided by the 15,000 satellite antennas in the USA. It would be $533K for every dish!

[Related: “Lump Sum Option May Not Be Best for All”]

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