The newly released S&P Global Market Intelligence Radio & TV Annual Outlook from Kagan finds some good news in this year's ad-revenue outlook and some not-so-good news for the next five years, as core advertising categories continue to slump.

The study forecasts that U.S. TV and radio stations will reach $36.19 billion in total advertising revenue in 2024, up 9.3% from $33.10 billion in 2023, primarily from the influx of record political ad spending in a presidential election year.

S&P Global Market Intelligence Kagan's 2024 projection also shows $24.95 billion from TV stations — including core national and local spot, political and digital/online — and $11.24 billion from radio stations, which includes national and local spot and digital, excluding network and off-air.

However, the report predicts negative growth for TV advertising over the next five years as traditional media continues to lose advertising share.

Amid those declines, the report finds that the local ad market continues to be stronger than the national side of the spot ad business, thanks to broadcast stations’ close ties with the local community.

That will help stations as ad agencies and major brands continue to shift budgets to digital-native platforms as more content moves from linear to streaming.

Even so, core ad categories, including automotive, retail and travel, have continued to see softness due to high interest rates and inflationary pressures dampening consumer spending on big-ticket items. Pharmaceuticals, telecom and professional services continue to outperform other ad categories.

Key highlights from the report include:

• TV stations’ core local and national ad revenue is expected to decline slightly this year by 0.3% to $17.58 billion, with local spot up 1.5% and national spot down 4.5%, while digital could climb 3.0%.
• With the influx of $4.09 billion in political ads in a presidential election year, total TV-station ad revenues are expected to grow 14.1% to $24.95 billion.
• TV-station ad revenue over the next five years is projected at a negative 2.1% compound annual growth rate (CAGR), hitting a high of $25.57 billion in 2028, and then dipping 12.5% to $22.39 billion in the 2029 nonelection year. This five-year CAGR is lower than the 2023 outlook, given that it starts in a presidential election and Summer Olympics year in 2024 and ends in 2029, a nonelection year.
• Over the 2024–2029 projection period, the core national spot ad market for TV stations is expected to decline by a CAGR of 5%, with local spot up 1.5% CAGR, while the ebbs and flows of political ad spending in election years are reflected in the peaks and valleys of total TV station ad revenue.
• The radio station industry’s five-year ad outlook, driven more by the local market and less by political ad uptick, is expected to decline 3.7% in 2024 to $11.24 billion, excluding network and off-air revenue.
• As radio advertising continues to shift to streaming audio and podcasting alternatives, S&P expects a 5% CAGR decline in national spot and a 3.6% CAGR in local spot, as digital ad growth of 5.9% CAGR offsets larger declines with total radio ad revenue contracting to $10.08 billion by the end of the projection period in 2029.

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The FCC has issued an order that would reduce regulatory fees for broadcasters for the second year in a row. The decision follows a major push in recent years by the NAB and state broadcasting association to reduce the regulatory burden on stations. 

Like FY 2023, the FCC calculated regulatory fees for TV stations based on population but reduced the rate to $0.006598. This is down “from the $.007799 per-person-served used for FY 2023 TV regulatory fees,” according to the Common Law Center Blog, which also noted that “Some additional shifts will be caused by FY 2024 fees being the first to incorporate 2020 U.S. Census data into these calculations.”

According to the order issued Sept. 6. the FCC is expecting revenue from the category of digital television of $23,363,518 in FY 2024, down from FY 2023 revenue estimate of $25,463,735. 

Radio will also see a decline in rates by about 6% according to Radio World.  

Overall, FCC has a revenue requirement of $390,192,000, the same as FY 2023, that needs to be covered by regulatory fees. In contrast to broadcasters, cable TV operators will get a rate hike. They will pay $1.27 per subscriber in FY 2024, up 3.24% from FY 2023 according to Policyband. 

While fees are declining for broadcasters, the FCC denied requests by the NAB, state broadcasters, pay TV providers and others that might have further lowered rates.

Once again, the FCC did not move to include YouTube TV and other streamers in its rate calculations even though YouTube TV is now the fourth largest operator with 8 million subs. 

The FCC also rejected a proposal by state broadcasters that the Commission adopt new regulatory fee categories for broadband Internet access service providers and manufacturers of equipment that use spectrum on an unlicensed basis.

In FY 2024, the FCC is also discontinuing three relief efforts to help broadcasters. Those three relief efforts were adopted during the pandemic and continued into FY 2023. The NAB and state broadcasters had pushed the FCC to continue them indefinitely. 

The Full Order can be found here.  

FM6 stations have until Jan. 29 to officially state their intention to continue service and to confirm their operational parameters to the FCC.

These stations are the low-power TV broadcasters that operate as radio stations on frequencies just below the FM band, a practice that earned them the nickname Franken FMs.

Last summer, the FCC ruled that 14 such stations in nine states can continue to provide these analog radio services. They essentially have been grandfathered in, resolving the longstanding regulatory issue.

Many of the stations are in or near major markets, so this outcome essentially means that several big U.S. cities now officially have one more FM station for the many consumers whose radios can pick up the frequencies.

The authorized stations are KBKF(LD), San Jose, Calif.; WMTO(LD), Norfolk, Va.; KXDP(LD), Denver; WTBS(LD), Atlanta; WRME(LD), Chicago; KZNO(LD), Big Bear Lake, Calif.; KEFM(LD), Sacramento; WEYS(LD), Miami; WDCN(LD), Fairfax, Va., near Washington, D.C.; KRPE(LD), San Diego; KGHD(LD), Las Vegas; WPGF(LD), Memphis; and WNYZ(LD), New York. 

The FCC also permitted WVOA(LD) in Westvale, N.Y., near Syracuse, to provide FM6 service subject to certain requirements. That FM6 went back on the air in December at 87.7 MHz.

The commission will not allow new FM6 entrants or the return of other legacy analog FM6 stations that ceased or never previously provided radio service. “Effective immediately, the bureau will not process STA extension requests filed by any FM6 LPTV stations … The bureau also will promptly dismiss any STA requests for new FM6 operations.”

The Media Bureau has set Jan. 29 as the deadline for the 14 stations to notify it of their intent to continue to provide FM6 service and to confirm their operational parameters.

The bureau said all FM6 LPTV stations with unexpired STAs or pending STA extensions will be considered in compliance with its rules as long as their operations adhere to the recent order. Once an operational notice is received, the bureau will add a notation to each LPTV station’s license to reflect that it is permitted to provide FM6 operations as an ancillary or supplementary service. 

These stations are required to maintain online public inspection files for their FM6 service. The FCC also reminded them that television stations that offer feeable ancillary or supplementary services are required to submit an annual report and pay a fee on the revenues from those services. If an FM6 LPTV station offers such services it must pay the fee. 

Details and instructions for the stations are outlined in the order (read it here).

This article originally appeared on TV Tech sister brand Radio World. 

One of the most interesting applications of ATSC 3.0, the new global standard for broadcasting, has been its use not only for television services but also for pure audio (radio) services. 

ATSC 3.0 enables the use of IP (Internet Protocol) as a core part of the standard, allowing enormous flexibility in the potential applications of the specification. If you can send traffic over an internet link, you can also send it over 3.0. At the end of the day, it’s all just bits: video, audio, software, files, signals, and so on. 

As a result, we can deliver audio services through a remarkably efficient, far-reaching and modern system.

Over the past year, we have experimented with a variety of methods of encoding, transport and physical delivery in several markets across the country including Baltimore, Las Vegas, Nashville, Detroit and Washington. The paper “Audio Services Over ATSC 3.0: A Proof of Concept,” given at the NAB Broadcast Engineering & IT Conference, explores in detail the decision-making and testing that led us to the current system design. The key results are summarized here.

Encoding & Transport
First, when it comes to encoding, we found xHE-AAC by Fraunhofer IIS to be the most efficient at the targeted bitrates while maintaining “Good” perceived quality, compared to AC-4, HE-AACv2, HE-AACv1 and AAC-LC. This allowed us to carry audio at 24 kbps for music services, and even less for talk radio. It also has broad compatibility across devices and operating systems, simplifying integration.

Making a choice regarding the IP transport mechanism was a more difficult decision, as the standard options within 3.0 are geared towards much larger data streams than those used for audio, resulting in significant overhead at low bitrates. 

We experimented with UFTP, MPEG TS, muxed MPEG TS, RTP and Pro-MPEG RTP, as well as MMT and ROUTE, which are standard within 3.0. In the end, our decision to use Pro-MPEG RTP was second only to raw RTP for low overhead, but it came with the key benefit of FEC and ease of integration on the receiver side. One other interesting activity that we have been monitoring is BBC R&D’s work with QUIC multicast, which shows great promise in efficient distribution.

While we could simply insert the data at this point, one item within the 3.0 spec we took advantage of was UserDefined signaling, which allows us broad flexibility by permitting any valid non-conflicting XML to be sent as part of the standard signaling bundle known as LLS, or Low-Level Signaling. We crafted our service listing to allow for dynamic channel listing, some basic metadata and the ability to hand off services as a vehicle moves between markets.

Testing in the Car
With signaling and IP in hand, we turned to the physical layer. There are nearly endless parameters that can be tweaked here, allowing us to adjust to any reception case. 

For this activity, we focused primarily on a vehicle traveling 75 mph down the highway and secondarily on surface streets and in urban canyons. There are multiple excellent pieces of software that allow us to estimate reception in these cases, which we used in combination with real-world experimentation to determine a configuration that would result in full coverage of our target market. 

In our Baltimore tests, we were able to receive the signal out to the Delaware border, to 10 miles north of the Pennsylvania border, and down to Washington. In Detroit, the signal made it into Lansing going west and north past Flint. 

In both cases, this outperformed comparable FM stations hosted from a similar location, crossing well into adjacent markets, and notably, taking up a fraction of the bandwidth used to send an equivalent FM channel over the air. To make the math simple, using 20% of a UHF television channel a station can offer one hundred (100) audio services.

These results have several interesting implications for the radio industry and its competitors. 

One recent development is the removal of AM tuners from vehicles, particularly EVs. Being primarily on the UHF spectrum and thus unaffected by the interference plaguing AM receivers, 3.0 provides a convenient “lifeboat” for AM stations to still have a presence in vehicles, the primary location for radio listening. Additionally, 3.0 delivers improved audio quality and reach over traditional AM radio. This, of course, relies on vehicles having ATSC 3.0 tuners in them, but we have reasons to be optimistic on that front. 

It also isn’t just AM that can benefit from the improved quality and reception. FM and satellite can see similar advantages, as it is very simple to tweak the encoding to meet the desired bitrate, rather than being locked into specific quality levels. ATSC 3.0 provides the advantages of digital radio without the quality loss.

Flexible & Efficient
The efficiency of ATSC 3.0 for linear content creates the opportunity to offload expensive internet and satellite delivery onto 3.0, primarily for the satellite and streaming companies, but also for those radio stations that provide online streams of their stations. 

Because of the IP nature of 3.0, it can easily transmit audio feeds and failover to the internet in the event of signal loss or market change. For large-scale providers, it offers the opportunity to bring their distribution costs more in line with those of radio stations, as they can take their most-listened linear streams and dynamically send them over 3.0 as listenership changes throughout the day.

Last, an area being actively explored is the integration of digital radio standards directly into 3.0. We have performed experiments with multiple standards thanks to the cooperation of such entities as Fraunhofer IIS and Xperi/DTS and found the burden of integration to be low. This presents a straightforward way to utilize 3.0 with existing receiver systems by carrying the digital radio data over 3.0 and passing it to the digital radio receiver. Imagine an RF-agnostic delivery method, where a signal could be received over AM, FM, ATSC 3.0 or the internet and presented in the same way to the end user. This would ensure the broadest availability at the lowest distribution cost.

In short, ATSC 3.0 is an immensely flexible and efficient standard, creating significant business opportunities for audio services delivered over broadcast.

This article originally appeared on TV Tech sister brand Radio World.

It’s certainly no secret that radio broadcasting has been moving away from its century-old analog over-the-air delivery platform. 

One large media company, the Sinclair Broadcast Group, is now field-testing a delivery modality that may prove to be the medium’s next step into 21st century broadcast ecosystems. 

The ATSC 3.0 or “NextGen TV” IP-based digital television transmission system is being rolled out rapidly across the country, with a projected availability in 82 percent of U.S. markets by year’s end; and the technology is being beta-tested at a Sinclair-owned ATSC 3.0 Class A television property in the Washington, D.C. market, WIAV(CD). 

But for (TV Tech sister brand) Radio World readers, the story of interest here is that, in addition to multiple streams of NextGen TV content, the station is providing a “multiplex” of audio services that includes Hubbard Broadcasting’s all-news operation in the nation’s capital, WTOP(FM). 

An Open Door?
Mark Aitken, Sinclair’s senior vice president of advanced technology and president of One Media 3.0, says the initiative is part of a larger effort exploring the full potential of the hybrid over-the-air/internet digital television transmission standard in terms of new business models and opportunities for broadcasters.

“We’ve been building out the Baltimore/Washington marketplace with some ATSC 3 showcase applications for automotive,” said Aitken. “ATSC 3 opens the door for providing additional content beyond television services.”

The package of a dozen or so audio services, including WTOP, is available free to owners of ATSC 3.0 television receivers. This is enabled through an app that’s easily executed on the sets themselves as a function of the NextGen TV interactive layer.

“With an ATSC 3 television set, the user launches the app that’s announced on the channel,” said Aitken. “The app lists the available services. We launched the audio services inside of STIRR XT (Sinclair’s brand for NextGen TV alternative services). 

“When you turn to the channel there’s a very recognizable icon that looks like a remote control that questions the viewer about launching the app. Using the remote control the user can navigate around various services; weather, news, traffic, headlines, etc. As well, there is STIRR XT, and inside of that are music services which include country, rock, classical and other services. The WTOP audio is just one piece of this [although] it’s at the top of the audio service list as we wanted to bring local radio into the environment.”

Aitken added that the “radio” app is not specific to one make of NextGen TV but is designed to install on any of the LG, Samsung and Sony sets that offer ATSC 3.0 capability.

The music channels accompanying WTOP are by a third-party Stingray, which provides customized audio services.

Alternative to Satellite?
Aitken noted that this NextGen TV audio delivery service is thought of as a possible alternative to that provided by satellite broadcaster SiriusXM, but with the addition of existing local radio services that’s already familiar with listeners.

“If we can include local radio in different markets as part of that whole experience, we believe that there’s a compelling consumer proposition to offer that as a paid service. You might get 100 channels that are uniformly the same and not much different than SiriusXM — for example ’70s, ’80s, ’90s channels, an Elvis channel, a classical channel, all of those — but part of that mix should be local radio.”

Aitken said the inclusion of local radio programming streams and other audio with television makes sense, especially with the plethora of consumer devices for consuming content that exist today.

“When content comes in on different platforms … this is a barrier to many consumers — having to switch from one platform to another,” he said. 

“Part of the equation is getting the user interface right. People don’t like having to push buttons other than ‘channel up/channel down’ and ‘volume up/volume down’ in between services. NextGen TV can be the common platform that brings different services together for a great consumer experience.”

Aitken envisions using the enhanced capacity for delivering data that’s part of the ATSC 3.0 standard for delivery of perhaps 50 to 100 or more audio services, without affecting the capability for simultaneously providing very high-quality television.

“[With ATSC 3.0] we’re doing HD video with 3 mbps typically, if one of the channels is operating with HDR (high dynamic range), we might use more bits. However, the bits used [for AC-4 audio] right now are inconsequential. You could do a voice-only service using xHE-AAC compression with only 6 or 7 kbps. You can do stereo music services starting at 12 kbps. So, you’re not talking about using up a whole lot of capacity. 

“What that means on the inverse side is that you can provide a very robust tier — a very robust PLP (physical layer pipe) inside ATSC 3 with a very robust modulation and coding formulation — and provide excellent indoor and mobile service without having to sacrifice a lot of spectrum.”

(The original ATSC 1.0 digital television compression scheme caps data rates at about 19 mbps within a 6 MHz television channel, while the much more efficient ATSC 3.0 coding methodology can provide upwards of 25 mbps within the same 6 MHz of broadcast spectrum at similar SNR.)

When asked about promotion of the ancillary audio service available on Sinclair’s D.C. TV station, Aitken said that there had been none. 

“There’s been no advance publicity; people discover it through the process of discovering ATSC 3. The response to [the audio service] has been positive, based on data analytics collected on those devices.”

Useful Feedback
Such data analytics leads to another big plus that’s associated with ATSC 3.0, whether the programming being consumed is video or audio. The hybrid OTA/internet connectivity of the NextGen TVs provides a return channel from consumers that can provide content producers or distributors with “instant” demographics on how their content is going over with consumers.

“In the ATSC world where the smart TV is connected to the internet, we can get real data about consumer actions,” said Aitken. “This is real data, not data extrapolated through Nielsen.”

Aitken said that at this point in the trial his company is not paying a lot of attention to such feedback for actionable activity, but it could be valuable as the concept of radio-via-ATSC 3.0 takes off. 

He mentioned that the potential interactivity between content originators and consumers afforded by NextGen TV is starting to get some creative juices flowing within the radio community.

“Some of the radio guys have ideas about things that they’d like to do, but can’t do in radio today, like promotions for concerts,” said Aitken. He said Sinclair has been approached by some radio groups for more information about “3.0 radio.”

Sinclair is not currently in the radio broadcasting business, but has owned properties in the Seattle market in the past, and previously experimented with airing radio audio there in connection with its ATSC 3.0 TV broadcasts. Asked if the company is considering re-entering radio, Aitken replied that there had been some discussion, but nothing has been decided yet. The on-going D.C. market “proof of concept” trial is being conducted just “to show that there are automotive and audio business opportunities.”

“As we’re not in the radio business [now], we’re probably looking at partnering where we sell the bits and someone else provides the audio service.”

He observed that while the audio services are now provided free, this would eventually change in today’s world of “bits for bucks,” especially when 3.0 capabilities are extended to automobiles.

“In the automotive environment, we think that such services should be for pay,” said Aitken. “We think that there are opportunities, or certainly value, in providing competition to SiriusXM, [which comes] with an interactivity that’s not available on any other platform.”

This article originally appeared on Radio World.

Saying it wants to bring “final resolution” to the Franken FM issue, the Federal Communications Commission has opened a notice of proposed rulemaking.

The debate over whether to allow FM6 stations could have a much broader impact than expected, depending on how the FCC ultimately acts. Because among the questions it is asking are these two: whether to allow future FM6 operations beyond those that currently have STAs; and more dramatically, whether to license additional NCE FM radio stations on 82–88 MHz in areas where Channel 6 LPTV and full-power stations are not operating. The latter idea has been proposed by NPR.

FM6 stations are the low-power digital television stations whose audio can be heard on many radios at 87.75 MHz — just below the official FM broadcast band — and which are essentially operating as FM stations. Thirteen stations currently have special temporary authority to do so.

Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel had indicated that the commission would take some action on the matter this month. But the FCC did not wait for that meeting, it has opened the NPRM asking for comments on whether it should allow FM6 as an ancillary or supplementary service under specified conditions.

It is also asking whether it should eliminate or revise the television Channel 6 distance separation rules for low-power FMs, noncommercial educational FMs, Class D (10 watt) FMs and FM translators that operate on reserved band FM Channels 201–220, which is 88.1 to 91.9 MHz.

Background
The commission thinks that nearly 30 FM6 stations existed prior to the digital TV transition. But many in the industry expected the question of Franken FMs to go away once LPTVs were required to go digital in the summer of 2021, because the digital portion of their signals could no longer be received by FM radios.

However, as has been documented on in a series of articles on TV Tech, FM6 stations have sought to maintain their service in the new digital TV age, arguing that they provide an important service.

As long ago as 2014, the FCC noted, Venture Technologies Group proposed to use an ATSC 1.0 digital television transmitter on Channel 6 and a separate analog radio transmitter tuned to 87.75 MHz to simultaneously operate a digital LPTV station on Channel 6 and an analog FM radio-type service. It asked the FCC to treat the analog FM audio transmission as an “ancillary or supplementary” service under the commission’s rules.

That year the commission took industry comments on the concept. A coalition of broadcasters supported it, while FM broadcasters, including National Public Radio and other noncommercial educational FM broadcasters, as well as full-power television stations licensed on Channel 6 opposed it, citing interference concerns. In 2019 the commission took another round of comments, again without taking final action.

But the LPTV digital transition was completed in July 2021. Shortly beforehand, Venture filed a request for STA to convert its Channel 6 TV station in San Jose, Calif., to ATSC 3.0 digital and to operate an ATSC 3.0 transmitter and a separate analog FM radio transmitter on 87.7 MHz in an analog format as an ancillary service. The Educational Media Foundation, which provides programming to the station, supported that request.

The Media Bureau granted its STA subject to a number of conditions. The station must operate in ATSC 3.0, not 1.0; it cannot create interference; it must file regular written reports; the audio and video coverage must reach similar populations; and the station must provide at least one full-time stream of synchronized video and audio programming on the ATSC 3.0 portion of the spectrum. There are several other requirements as well.

Twelve more STAs have since been granted under the same stipulations.

NPRM
The FCC now is asking:

• Whether FM6 operations serve the public interest and should be authorized to continue in any capacity.
• If existing FM6 operations should be authorized as “ancillary or supplementary” services and, if so, be subject to a rule that contains provisions similar to those in the 13 current STAs.
• Whether the FCC can or should limit FM6 operations to only those LPTV stations with active FM6 STAs right now.
• Whether to adopt NPR’s proposal to license additional NCE FM radio stations on 82–88 MHz in areas where Channel 6 LPTV and full-power stations are not operating.
• Whether to eliminate or revise the TV6 distance separation rules for LPFM, NCE, Class D (10 watt), and FM translator stations operating on reserved band FM Channels 201–220.

Those are the broad-brush questions. Among the many specific issues being raised in the FCC NPRM are these:

• Is it an efficient use of spectrum to use a 6 MHz television channel to provide a 200 kHz aural service?
• Could FM6 programming be delivered in a more spectrum-efficient way, e.g. as a digital audio-only stream on one of the LPTV’s multicast channels, through the internet or via traditional FM or LPFM licenses?
• How is analog use of a digital channel “consistent with” the digital technology mandated by the FCC for the provision of advanced TV services?
• Should the FCC limit LPTV stations providing FM6 operations from modifying their facilities?
• Should it limit such stations from being transferred while FM6 operations are being conducted, to avoid license speculation?
• Does the fact that stations are using ATSC 3.0 change the potential for analog FM6 to interfere with or disrupt the station’s digital TV service?
• Should FM6 stations be held to the rules that require public inspection files, border frequency coordination and other aspects of Part 73?
• If FM6s are allowed, should they be subject to a 5% fee, as required of certain digital TV ancillary or supplementary services?
• If the FCC decides to limit FM6 only to stations that currently have STAs, should it “grandfather in” any LPTVs that have pending applications for CPs that conducted FM6 operations in the past?

Since 1985 the FCC required FM stations on the reserved band to protect Channel 6 stations. In the NPRM it noted that four years ago, in weighing tweaks to the LPFM rules, it had considered whether to change that requirement, the idea being that the current provisions “significantly overprotect” TV6 stations and could be reduced with little impact. But it didn’t act.

So now that “analog television is … truly a legacy service” and the industry has experience with respect to digital TV6, the FCC asks again about the continued need for TV6 interference protection rules, including the possible impact if FM6 operations are retained — “that is, if FM6 and LPFM and NCE FM stations are allowed to come into closer proximity if the TV6 protection rules are eliminated, would that increase concerns about interference from FM6 to LPFM/NCE FM stations — an important factor in our FM6 considerations?”

The deadlines to comment in MB Docket No. 03-185 have not yet been published.

You can read the full NPRM here.

This article originally appeared in Radio World. 

CINCINNATI—Thomson Broadcast announced today that it will acquire GatesAir, a leading provider of radio and TV transmission systems. Thomson is buying GatesAir from an affiliate of The Gores Group ("Gores"), which acquired the Harris transmission business in 2012 and rebranded it as GatesAir.  The transaction is subject to certain regulatory filings and is expected to close in the second half of 2022. Details of the transaction were not disclosed.

The acquisition comes after Thomson Broadcast's announcement in 2019 that it was expanding its focus in the U.S., anticipating a strong market for the spectrum repack (which was completed in 2020) as well as for ATSC 3.0 transmission systems. It opened a New York office and distribution center to meet demand for its low-power to high-power transmitters.

GatesAir has a storied history in the broadcast industry over the past 100 years and  has recently seen strong growth from the spectrum repack program. GatesAir worked with Bowen Inc. to find a buyer, eventually settling on Thomson Broadcast. 

The combination of GatesAir with Thomson Broadcast will create a scaled, comprehensive platform with greater capabilities in innovation, design and product efficiency and an expanded portfolio of holistic, turnkey broadcast solutions, the companies said. 

“GatesAir is already an undisputed leader in the broadcast industry, and our combination with Thomson Broadcast will create a combined company of larger scale even better suited to meet the ever-evolving needs of our customers all over the globe,” said Bruce D. Swail, CEO of GatesAir. “I am very proud of the GatesAir team for its stewardship of and innovation in this industry over the past century and look forward to entering the next 100 years as an even stronger business leveraging the strengths of two legendary broadcast brands. On behalf of everyone at GatesAir, I’d like to thank Gores for their strategic guidance which was invaluable in growing our business and driving innovation.”

“Over the course of our successful partnership with Bruce and the management team, GatesAir has driven tremendous growth and transformation through organic and inorganic initiatives, establishing itself as a premier, independent broadcast company with market leading technology and service,” said Edward Johnson, Senior Managing Director at The Gores Group. “We have no doubt GatesAir will continue on its successful trajectory and strengthen its market leadership alongside Thomson Broadcast.”

Based in France, Thomson Broadcast has been in existence for more than 100 years, and has extensive experience in DTV and AM Radio, including DRM. Over the past two years, Thomson Broadcast has received awards for providing exceptional DTT turnkey solutions to large-scale digital migration projects in Africa.

“In 2018, we have set the goal to establish ourselves in the US Market. With Thomson Broadcast and GatesAir now united, these two companies will make us stronger in America and globally as well,” says Ylias Akbaraly, Chairman of Thomson Broadcast.

"Thomson Broadcast and GatesAir together can bring innovative and revolutionary products to the broadcast industry in the centuries to come,” says Aby Alexander, President of Thomson Broadcast USA.

“We are delighted to have reached this point,” says Amine Oubid, CEO of Thomson Broadcast. “From the start we were excited to work with the GatesAir team and saw the obvious fit of the two companies. The transaction closing can’t come fast enough for us. We’re very proud to participate in the rallying of two century-old companies and excited to start working together.”

WASHINGTON—One hundred years ago today, Nov. 2, the era of electronic mass communication began with the first recognized commercial radio broadcast in the U.S. on KDKA, a Westinghouse Electric-owned station, in Pittsburgh, announcing the results of the 1920 presidential election.

The broadcast industry is celebrating this historic anniversary in a number of ways. NAB has been using the hashtag #Radio100 to recognize key moments in broadcast radio history. Individuals and radio stations have also been using the hashtag to honor the “pioneer station of the world.”

TVT’s sister publication, Radio World, recalls how KDKA was able to achieve the first radio broadcast.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai released a statement on the original broadcast, which, as he describes, “set the stage for a long line of radio broadcasts that have shaped the story of America.”

“As the earliest electronic mass communications medium, radio has allowed us to listen in on some of the most momentous occasions in American history, from President Roosevelt’s famous ‘fireside chats’ to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s ‘I Have a Dream’ speech,” said Pai. “It has entertained us, from ‘The War of the Worlds’ to ‘The Jack Benny Program’ to ‘American Top 40’ with Casey Kasem to ‘The Steve Harvey Morning Show.’ And radio still keeps millions of Americans company on long drives, enthralls us with coverage of our favorite sports teams, and when disaster strikes, is one of the most valuable resources for life-saving information.

“Radio has given us a way to come together in times of strife and times of triumph. On behalf of myself and the FCC’s dedicated staff, it is my honor to join all Americans in recognizing this milestone. Congratulations to radio broadcasters on a century of excellence. We look forward to the stories that radio will continue to tell.”

WASHINGTON—Several groups representing users of private land mobile radio (PLMR) systems are urging the FCC to enforce rules that prevent interference from TV stations that recently moved their transmission facilities during the three year-channel repack that recently concluded.

In a letter to the FCC, the Land Mobile Communications Council asked the commission to take action against numerous instances of radio interference from stations that moved to new channels as a result of the 2017 spectrum auctions that transferred portions of broadcasters’ 600 MHz spectrum mostly to wireless carriers seeking to upgrade to 5G. 

These PLMR facilities have been in operation for decades and provide essential fleet dispatch communications for a broad range of business and governmental users, including hospitals, school buses, roadside assistance, highway maintenance, refining, petrochemical production, high voltage electrical repair and firefighting.

Interference issues between the two systems is nothing new. In the mid-2000s, the FCC had to intervene when reports of garage door openers were also interfering with PLMR systems. Those situations and others like that, the LMCC said, were temporary and usually fixed in a reasonable time period and didn’t have the same impact. 

“This interference is so strong that it takes the PLMR systems off the air and is occurring for many hours several days a week or even multiple consecutive days,” the LMCC told the FCC.

LMCC says the situation represents a threat to public safety and to the loss of business. 

“This interference has rendered affected PLMR facilities entirely unusable in certain markets, resulting in hundreds of thousands of dollars of lost revenue as customers of commercial systems are forced to search for alternative communication options and incurred expenses as licensees have sought remedial action by the broadcasters and/or acquired other spectrum to which their operations could be moved,” the LMCC said. “The interference with what had been reliable communications endangers the safety of employees, disrupts operations at affected facilities and poses a major threat to public safety in certain instances. The urgency of the problems demand FCC action to enforce those regulations and policies as promptly as possible and to avoid the creation of similar problems in the future.”

LMCC said it assumed that the stations causing the interference are ones that recently moved due to the repack and as such, are obligated to resolve the interference issue.

PLUS: Repack Crosses the Finish Line

“In such cases, the FCC has relied on its long-standing ‘newcomer’ policy pursuant to which new licensees are responsible for resolving interference caused by their operations even if all parties are operating in accordance with the rules and the terms of their authorizations,” it told the commission. “In this instance, it is vital that the newcomer DTV stations assume this obligation because there are no anti-interference solutions available to the PLMR licensees.”

Citing rules that require TV stations to identify potential interference before construction, the LMCC said the issue can be easily resolved if the FCC enforces those rules. 

“A number of new permittees have been diligent both in identifying potentially affected PLMR systems and, more importantly, in implementing the necessary filtering to avoid causing interference,” LMCC said. “Their success makes clear that those facilities can co-exist when appropriate interference mitigation measures are taken by the DTV station.”

The Enterprise Wireless Association echoed LMCC’s concerns and calls for action. 

“Some EWA members are so frustrated that they wonder if the reaction of a few TV stations might be ‘There is nothing we can do; the environment is the root cause; we didn’t want to move in the first place; or, maybe the PLMR incumbents will go away in time and leave us alone,’” said EWA President Mark Crosby. “Of course, these are unacceptable responses as the PLMR industry is as vital to the well-being of this country as are broadcasters, even if not as well known. The LMCC seeks only a fair hearing and the FCC’s active support towards a resolution. That should not be wishful thinking. EWA remains optimistic.”

The LMCC’s report citing specific interference cases is available here. 

WASHINGTON—The National Association of Broadcasters has added a “resource designed to equip new employees with information they need to succeed in their new roles,” according to NAB Executive Vice President of Industry Affairs Steve Newberry.

This new online educational program, dubbed “Broadcast Essentials,” is intended to help broadcast stations and new employees of both radio and TV stations. NAB members can access the content for free, and nonmembers can purchase each suite for $499 per station or cluster.

The first course is entitled “Radio Employee Onboarding Suite” features six videos that address:

• Radio station licenses and content delivery methods
• A typical station’s organizational chart
• Content and revenue streams
• How commercials are created, scheduled and aired
• Radio’s role in the local community and economy

More courses are slated for the coming months.

WASHINGTON—Radio stations should not have to pay “out of pocket” just to stay in business as a result of the TV auction repack; the U.S. government’s repacking process should allow reimbursement to “bystander” FMs for costs they incur to maintain their service through the transition. So argues an NAB official.

The TV band is on Channels 2 to 51; the TV auction will shrink it Channels 2 to 36; as many as 1,000 TV stations will be relocated to a new channel. Now National Association of Broadcasters Vice President of Spectrum Policy Patrick McFadden has blogged about the potential impact on radio, a topic that has worried some in radio for the past year or two.

“Relocating television stations to new channels following the close of the TV broadcast spectrum incentive auction will be the most complex transition the Federal Communications Commission has ever overseen,” McFadden wrote. “We know that many stations will be repacked, we know that there are constraints on the resources available to perform this work, and we know there are hugely complex interference relationships between broadcast television stations But we don’t yet have a full picture as to which stations will be moving to new channels, and what the ramifications of those moves will be.”

He noted that many towers that are home to repacked TV stations also serve FM radio stations, which are not being repacked. “During the incentive auction rulemaking, NAB and others asked the commission to allow repacked television stations to reimburse other broadcasters, including FM stations located near repacked television stations, for costs those stations might incur during the repack,” he wrote.

“It seems reasonable to us that, if an FM station, an innocent bystander to the repack, needs to construct alternative facilities to stay on the air during repacking work performed on a nearby television station, this should be considered a reasonable expense associated with the repack. The FCC disagreed, citing the language of the legislation authorizing the incentive auction.”

McFadden said those FM stations and their millions of listeners are still there. “They still face the real possibility that repacking may disrupt their operations, even though they have literally nothing to do with the incentive auction. Work on nearby television antennas may require FM stations to reduce power, or seek alternate facilities. A repacking plan that does not take FM stations into consideration risks depriving listeners of local radio on which they rely.”

The answer, he wrote, is to coordinate repacking efforts to minimize disruption while reimbursing bystander stations for costs they incur to maintain service, “not to make them collateral damage.”

McFadden said TV stations already know confidentially about their new channel assignments, and that the information should be available publicly in April. “A balanced, reasonable repacking plan will treat all stakeholders fairly, including all affected broadcast stations, whether they are repacked or not.”

Expect to hear more about this. Congress allocated $1.75 billion to compensate TV stations that will be repacked into the smaller part of the spectrum. NAB believes that’s not enough money to cover all TV station costs. The association plans to seek a legislative “fix” that covers the moving costs for all TV stations forced to relocate, along with any costs that these “innocent radio station bystanders” may incur as part of this TV repack.

This story originally appeared on TVT's sister publication Radio World. 

NASHVILLE, TENN.—Up on a hill just south of downtown Nashville, the “NASH Campus” of Cumulus Media has been demonstrating the future of radio and video integration for more than three years now.

The NASH campus (credit: Scott Fybush)

The former home of two local FM stations, WKDF(FM) and WGFX(FM), the building was gutted and extensively rebuilt in 2013 as the new national headquarters for the company’s country music programming.

Three studios were purpose-built to house the national “America’s Morning Show” (recently renamed “Ty, Kelly and Chuck”), “NASH Nights Live” and country star Kix Brooks’ “Kickin’ it with Kix” and “American Country Countdown.” Each was built from the start not only to handle the radio broadcast but to be future-proofed for video.

“Every studio is equipped with five stationary video cameras,” says NASH Program Director John Shomby. “Anyone who comes in knows there’s always video being taken. When the mic’s open, the video’s running.

PART OF THEIR DNA

Each of the three studios at NASH was designed to project a specific image on video.

Brooks’ corner studio was built to look like a living room and office, with comfortable sofas and chairs in the center of the room, guitars along the walls ready to be grabbed and played, and a desk and table in the corner adorned with Brooks’ music memorabilia.

Down the hall, the morning show studio puts the hosts and guest on a small stage with audience seating in front of them. And just off the lobby, the “NASH Nights” studio looks most like a traditional radio studio but with plenty of custom lighting and fun visual details such as guitar bodies in place of the usual legs that support the console and desk.

Control room for “Ty, Kelly and Chuck.” (credit: Scott Fybush)

The ORAD camera system at NASH depends on voice activation to direct most of the video switching, automatically choosing video shots based on who’s speaking in front of which mic in each studio.

For Shomby, though, what matters about the visual radio aspect of the NASH campus isn’t the technology but the programming. The veteran programmer says he’s seen a big change in just a few years in how “radio” talent adapt to performing for video. Today, he says, being video-friendly is an essential part of being on the air at a national level.

“I don’t think I have to do anything (to train them),” he says. “Today’s talent is already in that mode. I don’t have to remind them to do video; they just do it. They’re on Facebook Live, they’re on Snapchat, it’s just part of their DNA. Maybe five years ago, I would have had an issue with it but not now. The talent that’s at a network level has already been through that change. When we brought Ty Bentli on for the ‘Ty, Kelly and Chuck’ show, (his video skills) were very important.”

In the radio world of 2017, Shomby says it’s no longer a question of whether video and other digital content helps the bottom line; it’s simply a part of doing business in today’s media environment now for talent and management.

“They’ve all been schooled very well in this on the way up,” he says. “They know it’s part of the job description now. What goes on the radio is always first priority, after that comes everything else, but it’s all a part of it. It all supports what you’re doing on the air and helps your ratings. In the old days, a personality came in and did the show, maybe they answered request lines, but not much else. Now you’re a multifaceted personality.”

Shomby says this means being comfortable in front of hundreds of thousands of people on a daily basis, which comes more naturally to today’s younger talent.

“You have to be comfortable with it, and those are the ones who succeed,” he said, “but those are also the ones who grew up in front of cameras. The generation that’s coming up now, my 18-year-old is the IT person at home. People are so used to the technology that it’s a part of their life. If we threw them in a studio and took everything away and told them just do a (radio) show, they’d be lost. The older people like me know they’ll be left behind if they don’t learn it.”

That’s changed what Shomby looks for when he’s seeking out new talent for NASH, too.

“You have to think about what someone’s going to look like in front of a camera, how they act, how they communicate socially, all of those things wrapped into one,” he says. “That’s all part of the package. You’re not just doing bits anymore.”

It has also affected another kind of talent: the musicians who make regular treks up the hill to the NASH campus to perform and talk about their work. Shomby says there’s something special about the country format that’s made it easy for those performers to work well with the video aspects of NASH programming.

“They’re very media-savvy,” he says. “It’s part of the process for them to become an artist in Nashville, learning how to be natural, because they make the personalities feel like they’re friends. We’ve had guys over here doing cornhole tournaments.”

As an example, Shomby mentions country star Lee Brice, who played college football for Clemson. Before Clemson’s national championship game, Brice stopped by the NASH campus to make a bet with morning co-host Chuck Wicks. With the cameras rolling, Brice picked Clemson to win, while Wicks picked Alabama. If Alabama had won, Wicks challenged Brice to come back to the show wearing an Alabama jersey and sing “Sweet Home Alabama.” (Alas, Clemson won.)

In this screen grab from a NASH video, co-host Kelly Ford looks on as Chuck Wicks makes a bet with country star Lee Brice.

“I can guarantee you right now, Rihanna wouldn’t do that,” Shomby says. “The country artists definitely have a spirit of cooperation, and there’s a spirit of camaraderie between the labels and the artists that doesn’t exist in other formats.”

MORE TO COME

The NASH campus makes it easy for artists to get ready for the video spotlight with some features that weren’t part of traditional radio studio design. Down the hall from the studios, there’s not only a green room but a makeup area where visiting performers can make sure they’re camera-ready.

For now, the video that’s generated from the NASH shows and studios isn’t seen in real time; instead, digital producers edit shorter bits of content that appear on each show’s social media outlets and can be used by affiliate stations. Shomby says that will change soon, with live streaming in the works.

Later this year, he’s planning to roll out podcasts, which he says will be more than just replays of live show content. “It has to be more than just putting show stuff up on a podcast,” he says. “It’s showing other things that person can do, too.”

Also expect to see some views from above. “I’ve got a drone sitting in my office right now with a GoPro camera sitting on top of it,” Shomby says. “I don’t know yet what we’re going to do with that.”

It’s all part of a future that’s much more than just radio, as Shomby sees it.

“When people walk in here, I try to tell them it’s not a radio station, but what you’re seeing here is really the future of radio,” he says. He arrived at NASH in 2016, after the campus was completed, and praises the facility designers. “They had the vision of what radio is going to be 10 years from now, cameras in every studio, very expensive lighting, that’s where I think it’s headed for everyone,” he says.

Radio broadcasters across the country are placing more emphasis on live and recorded video, in part to gain traction with their social media platforms.

Experts say webcams and digital video recorders are now common gear for radio broadcasters as they launch additional multimedia channels. Some radio stations are now training personnel as videographers and purchasing programs like Sony Vegas Pro, Final Cut Pro, MediaShout, Logic Pro and ProPresenter to edit video.

Radio stations also are developing video marketing strategies and campaigns for advertising clients in an effort to monetize video products and services.

Here are several examples of radio broadcasters embracing video as a means to expand their listener base:

VIDEO IN EVERY FIBER

Public broadcaster KEXP(FM) in Seattle has found many ways to incorporate video into nearly every fiber of the alternative and indie music radio station.

The KEXP YouTube channel

KEXP video is everywhere on social media from Facebook and YouTube to Instagram and Vimeo. Its new state-of-the-art live performance studio, which opened in 2016, is tricked out with first-class video production facilities so performances by visiting bands can be captured live and later uploaded to YouTube.

Jim Beckmann, online content manager and senior video producer, says he is amazed at the level of the station’s in-house video distribution.

KEXP video began organically, he says, with no real strategy other than a desire to capture some of the bands who were already visiting KEXP to perform in its live room.

“Within several years though, we were filming regularly and noticed that our presence online, particularly on YouTube, was growing to a surprising degree,” Beckmann says.

Today the radio station sees video as a core method for expanding its mission, Beckmann says, which is to champion music and promote discovery.

Beckmann says the radio station considers YouTube as its main digital video platform. KEXP currently has nearly 1 million YouTube subscribers, and this is still where KEXP sees the long tail, “where people continue to discover artists through archived videos that may even be seven or eight years old.”

But the station also shares live music sessions through Facebook Live; even without much promotion, a session there will get thousands of views.

KEXP, which has a video staff of four employees, uses BlackMagic gear to film and live stream video, Beckmann says. Video editing is done with Adobe Premiere. The non-commercial radio station also relies on a handful of volunteers to help with video projects.

Technical tools, though, are only part of what make for good video, he says.

“Matching cameras, good lighting and access to a stable non-linear editing program, whatever it might be, are the most important tools,” Beckmann says. “That, and talented videographers with as much an ear for music as an eye for good framing.”

Beckmann says it is always a challenge to integrate radio and video effectively.

“We are continually looking for ways to bring our vast video viewing audience back to our station, to our website, the online radio stream, the great photographs, engaging events and everything else,” he says. “We are still trying to figure out ways to better connect our YouTube viewers to everything else that’s going on at KEXP.”

VERSATILE SPACE

Radio America, a broadcast network based in Arlington, Va., has built its own video arm of the company. Its hybrid “Video Studio 66” studio consists of two rooms. The studio half includes a green screen, two Sony NXHD cameras and professional lighting while a control booth includes several Mac editors, a Newtek TriCaster video switcher and a Telos Axia control board.

“It’s really a radio studio and video studio. It’s a versatile space that also allows us to do a new community outreach project for our military veterans,” said Rich McFadden, director of operations for Radio America.

The radio network, in cooperation with its sister organization The American Veterans Center, preserves the stories and legacy of vets by telling their stories in video form, McFadden says.

“We have veterans in for tapings with a studio host and that are edited down to four- or five-minute-long oral histories that end up being shared on YouTube and the website www.americanveteranscenter.org,” he said.

Radio America produces a video project for Newsmax TV called “Behind the Curtain” with host Jack Burkman, a registered lobbyist in Washington

Radio America, which serves approximately 500 affiliates as well as American Forces Radio Network and Sirius/XM, also produces a video project for Newsmax TV called “Behind the Curtain” with host Jack Burkman, a registered lobbyist in Washington.

“We try to use video across several different platforms. Our daily shows that we own, including the ‘Chad Benson Show’ and ‘The Dana Show,’ are also in video form. We repurpose nearly all of our radio content for video to be used on Facebook Live, YouTube or Periscope. It’s an easy way to reach a new audience and it’s another outlet for our advertisers. It really builds value for advertisers.”

McFadden, who has used Skype and chat rooms with video for the network’s programming through the years, calls the production of video a big step for radio broadcasters.

“The best tip I can give anyone is to get a Lynda.com account. The online training service has just about any video editing software program or video production training you can think of. Then learn a basic video editing program, whether its Apple’s Final Cut or Adobe Premiere. And learn Photoshop,” McFadden says.

Monetization of video is the next big step for radio, according to McFadden. “We make some money by charging clients for production time. And video is an add-on for our advertisers, but you have to try and create a revenue stream outside of the number of YouTube views.”

And the future of employment in the radio business might soon also depend on a person’s video skills, he said.

“I will tell you that anyone with video skills has their résumé go to the top of the pile here,” McFadden says.

AUDIENCE DIVERSIFICATION

KCRW(FM) in southern California has been at the forefront of using multimedia. The public broadcaster, located in Santa Monica, Calif., started producing video as early as 2000 and launched a YouTube channel 10 years ago. The station has added much more complimentary video since then, including virtual reality film of concerts in its performance space.

Joey Caroni, creative director, strategy and audience development for KCRW, says the station views video as a means to diversify its non-terrestrial listening audience.

“Our video production is quite robust. We are producing content for video and using it as a marketing tool in an effort to drive listening. We have added a lot of video capabilities, like virtual reality, with all new distribution channels to reach a more global audience and introduce the KCRW brand,” Caroni says.

The NPR affiliate is now producing Parallax videos, including companion video for an audio series called “Below the Ten” that examines life for folks in south L.A., Caroni said. Parallax videos use a special effect, utilizing Photoshop, to create motion in images from still photographs that are then combined with audio. (View previous KCRW Parallax videos here.)

KCRW is producing Parallax videos, including a series called “Below the Ten,” which examines life for folks in south L.A. Parallax videos create motion in images from still photographs that are then combined with audio.

“We created a whole new experience that took those audio stories and placed them into a whole new video format. Then we distributed the video to a new audience group via channels like Facebook, YouTube and Instagram, though Instagram is mostly used for short-format video content. Video is much more sharable than just audio on most platforms,” Caroni said.

KCRW began pushing more live video to Facebook in 2016, Caroni says, which resulted in nearly 600,000 live stream views last year.

“We plan on focusing on more dual-format content this year including more episodic podcasts and episodic video series. And we will focus more on distributing video and not just having people come find videos on our website. That’s a big difference. A big chunk of my job is to think about format types and ways to distribute video.”

Caroni said the AAA format station is expecting to push more video through Periscope this year, not just live events but also produced content.

“We are also looking to get KCRW into the mix of video content producers used by other distribution channels that aggregate content for audiences. I think that is the next step for us. We have a wealth of culture and music content to share on video,” Caroni says.

The radio station, which employs two full-time video producers/editors, uses a range of video editing tools, including Final Cut Pro, Adobe Premiere, Adobe After Effects, Adobe Illustrator and PluralEyes.

Caroni says he encourages radio broadcasters interested in venturing into video to invest in some low-tier hardware first, such as placing GoPro cameras in master control to simply “pull back the curtain” on radio.

“There are those who want to watch radio to see how it works. That’s very low hanging fruit that’s easy to pick. You start there and then you develop projects by maybe partnering with a local production house that has video expertise. They might very well be interested in the access you can grant them,” he says.

“Also reach out to local artists who work in video and leverage the exposure you can give them. There are people with video cameras who have the desire to build their portfolio and are interested in working with other media creators.”