Radio+Television Business Report

The National Association of Broadcasters had been pushing for President Biden’s FCC nominee Gigi Sohn to recuse herself from several broadcast issues. The NAB was concerned about her time as a board member of Locast, a nonprofit which was ordered to shut down after illegally streaming programming.

In a letter to FCC general counsel Michele Ellison Sohn has now agreed to recuse herself from matters involving retransmission consent or television broadcast copyright for the first three years of her term. She has also agreed to recuse herself for four years from a docket concerning the rules governing retranmission consent.

While it’s still unclear if Sohn has the votes to be confirmed by The Senate, NAB CEO Curtis LeGeyt said that’s good enough for the NAB. “Ms. Sohn’s recusal agreement resolves the concerns NAB raised regarding her nomination. NAB appreciates Ms. Sohn’s willingness to seriously consider our issues regarding retransmission consent and broadcast copyright, and to address those concerns in her recusal. We look forward to the Senate moving forward with Ms. Sohn’s confirmation and are eager to work with her and the full complement of commissioners in the very near future.”

Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas has accused Sohn of supporting free speech only if it involves speech by liberals.

— Ed Ryan

A leading podcast database is partnering with and “enhancing” the podcasting capabilities of Audacy, the multi-platform audio content and entertainment organization formerly known as Entercom.

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The FCC late Wednesday (1/26) released a Report and Order that updates the Commission’s political programming and recordkeeping rules for broadcast licensees, cable television system operators, Direct Broadcast Satellite (DBS) service providers, and Satellite Digital Audio Radio Service (SDARS) licensees.

What does this mean for you? A Fletcher Heald & Hildreth attorney provides an easy explanation for curious radio and TV industry executives and staff that will need to abide by the revised regulatory policy.

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On July 23, 2019, Entravision Communications filed an application proposing to upgrade one of its stations. It is still waiting to do so.

But, it is one step closer to this goal — one that sees the station’s simulcast partner moving ever-closer to claiming the 106.7 MHz on the west side of the Valley of the Sun. It is thanks to a Memorandum Opinion and Order issued this week by the FCC.

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Gray Television has decided when it will host a conference call to discuss its operating results for the quarter ended December 31, 2021.

The broadcast TV station owner will unveil its latest fiscal health report on Friday, February 25. Key company executives will participate in a conference call for investors and Wall Street analysts at 11am Eastern on that day.

The results come as Gray shares have retreated to a price last seen on a regular basis in April 2021. That said, the fluctuations for GTN, which trades on the NYSE, are minor. With Gray shares at $20.18 as of 3:25pm Eastern on Thursday (1/27), it has a 52-week high of $25.24 seen on Nov. 3, 2021. More importantly, its 52-week low was seen exactly one year ago, with pricing at $17.03.

Faced with a Hearing Designation Order that will put his continued ability to own the station in the hands of FCC Administrative Law Judge Jane Hinckley Halprin, Roger Wahl was all but expected to participate in a pre-hearing conference scheduled for January 13.

That didn’t happen. Halprin expressed her disappointment. Now, a new date has been put on the calendar for this all-important event, which could be Wahl’s last gasp at holding on to ownership of his Pennsylvania FM radio station.

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Until January 20, we have to admit that we barely knew LocalBTV existed. Yet, here it is — with 15 new DMAs added to its roster in 2021 after six launched in 2019. An additional 20 DMAs are on the way.

Is it a folly, with a big hurdle ahead as it needs to ink retransmission consent agreements to come close to what the now-shuttered Locast offered, but legally? Or, can it be successful as a “virtual over-the-air” TV service focused on digital multicast channels and PBS Member stations?

Those questions and more are asked by RBR+TVBR Editor-in-Chief Adam Jacobson in a fresh and provocative InFOCUS Podcast featuring LocalBTV founder and CEO Jim Long.

Listen to “The InFOCUS Podcast: Jim Long, LocalBTV” on Spreaker.

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A 22-page VAB PowerPoint presentation that seeks to place a spotlight on the “billions of lost TV impressions” it believes are linked to a Nielsen undercount of television audiences between September 2020 and December 2021 has come under scrutiny by the Media Rating Council.

As the MRC sees it, the VAB’s characterization of the group’s analysis of Nielsen’s undercounting of linear television consumption isn’t a correct representation of the facts.

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On Wednesday, all eyes will be on Washington, D.C., for radio industry leaders that have collectively voiced their opposition to any legislation that would impose new royalty fees on music their stations play.

At the same time, radio’s C-Suites — and those for television broadcasting companies — will have their eyes and ears attune to a just-confirmed House Judiciary Committee hearing that will consider the nomination of a highly controversial selection of the Biden Administration to serve as a FCC Commissioner.

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Comscore has agreed to renew and expand its agreement to provide broadcast station owner Gray Television with its “full suite” of local market currency tools, including Comscore’s Advanced Automotive Demographics segments.

Importantly, Gray TV will now be using Comscore’s audience data as primary selling currency across 199 stations in 96 markets including its largest, Atlanta, and will serve as Gray’s exclusive currency in 95 of those markets. It’s bad news for Nielsen, which remains the television industry’s dominant provider of audience measurement and consumer psychographic data.

“Gray Television has been a terrific partner of Comscore’s for many years, and we are very excited to once again renew and expand our commitment to each other,” said Comscore Chief Revenue Officer Carol Hinnant. “Comscore’s local measurement service provides Gray and all of our clients with the audience insights made possible by our industry-leading and currency-quality measurement footprint of over 30 million homes across the U.S.”

As of today, there’s a new individual charged with overseeing the day-to-day management for the eight ABC-owned television stations owned by The Walt Disney Company.

Now President of ABC Owned Television Stations, which comprise properties in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Houston, Raleigh-Durham and Fresno, is Chad Matthews.

He reports directly to Debra OConnell, President of Networks at Disney Media & Entertainment Distribution.

“Chad is an exceptional leader who has a track record of success, always championing innovative content and storytelling, programs that have a meaningful impact on the community overall, and achieving and maintaining the highest standards of operational excellence while driving enormous success across linear and digital platforms,” OConnell said. “His strategic vision, passion for local news, forward thinking roll-up your sleeves attitude and commitment to teamwork are among the many attributes that will ensure that under his leadership our Owned Television Stations will continue to thrive.”

Matthews commented, “I am truly honored to be given this opportunity to lead the best station group in the country! The great eight as I like to call it. The team members who make up the ABC Owned Stations are the best in the business. Their talents, innovation, perseverance and flexibility are sources of constant inspiration. I am very much looking forward to working with them to further grow the business while continuing to find new ways to super serve our viewers and communities in a way that raises the bar for local television.”

Matthews presently serves as President/GM of WABC-7 in New York, overseeing the station known for the most-watched newscasts in the U.S. and for its role as the hub of “Live with Kelly and Ryan.” The syndicated program was born out of the WABC Morning Show, starring Regis Philbin and Kathie Lee Gifford, in the mid-1980s.

Matthews started his career at WABC in 2000 and was promoted to senior executive producer in 2002. In 2012, Matthews exited WABC for a five-year stint as Assistant News Director at NBC-owned WTVJ-6 in Miami-Fort Lauderdale. He returned to New York in 2017.

 

FROM THE RBR+TVBR ARCHIVES:

WABC-7 Selects OConnell’s Successor Adam Jacobson In fall 2020, Debra OConnell was elevated to President of Networks for Disney Media & Entertainment Distribution, thus leaving the role of President/GM of WABC-7 in New York open for her replacement. ABC Owned Television Stations has just chosen that individual, and it is WABC’s News Director.

If at first you don’t succeed, try again? That’s what the Richmond, Va., City Council has done with respect to a casino referendum which, if approved by voters, will bring a casino resort owned by Urban One to fruition.

The 8-1 move comes following a devastating November 2021 election defeat of the original proposal.

As first reported by Streamline Publishing’s Radio Ink, Richmond City Council on Tuesday evening voted 8-1 to place the ONE Casino + Resort proposal on the ballot for another vote.

While local media outlets were relatively mum on the decision, Richmond BizSense, the city’s business newspaper, offered a full update on the move. The key difference with the new referendum, the newspaper notes, is “a promise to cut the real estate tax rate as a sweetener.”

This would bring the ONE Casino + Resort project back to the fold for Richmond, and prevent Urban One from seeking out sites in other Virginia municipalities, which CEO Alfred Liggins III said in November was something he was prepared to do.

The City of Richmond’s Tuesday vote saw leaders note that Urban One “didn’t show its full cards” in the first referendum, and that the benefits from the $565 million proposal are simply too good to pass up.

Of the nine members of the city council, Katherine Jordan of the Second District was the sole dissenter at the virtual meeting held on Zoom due to continued COVID-19 concerns.

In November, some 51.4% of voters disapproved the referendum. Now, they will get a new pitch touting not only positive economic impacts, but job creation and other benefits. These include a commitment to a two-cent reduction in the city real estate tax rate, and $560 million in capital investment specifically to Richmond Public Schools and city projects, Richmond BizSense reports.

Liggins appeared at the virtual hearing. He commented, “Many referendums are reheard, particularly if the project and the benefits of the project have changed. I applaud the administration and council for starting the discussion tonight on the main issue I heard from people of where the dollars are actually going, who was going to benefit.”

The project is estimated to cost approximately $563 million and Urban One’s aggregate capital investment in RVA Entertainment Holdings, LLC (RVAEH) is anticipated to be up to approximately $100 million. The company’s investment will be sourced from a combination of cash on Urban One’s balance sheet and/or capacity from the company’s undrawn $50 million revolver. The company also anticipates investment from local investors in the amount of $11.5 million as well as a personal investment by Liggins, Urban One stated in a recent SEC filing.

A veteran local media executive who most recently served as VP/GM of the CBS affiliate in Atlanta recently transferred to Gray Television through its merger with Meredith Corporation has returned to the Golden State capital affectionally called by some as Cowtown.

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RBR+TVBR OBSERVATION There’s much discussion about the lack of success for current product on the Contemporary Hit Radio (CHR) charts in the U.S. Why? An opinion piece in The Atlantic seeks to discover the reason, tying radio to the conundrum in his hypothesis. Is that a fair assessment? Our editor-in-chief argues it is not.

 

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It is known for creating “fresh, insightful and responsive content for multi-platform audiences from diverse backgrounds.” Now, it has revealed the three PBS Member stations selected as Regional Digital Centers of Innovation.

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A company veteran who began his career as a Senior Editor for FOX Latin American Channels has been named SVP of Engineering, Operations and Technology for FOX Television Stations (FTS).

Who are Broadcast Media’s Top Tech Leaders? There’s only one place to find out who’s on the list. RBR+TVBR’s first-ever Winter 2022 Special Report, a full-color digital magazine, is now available. But, you need to be a RBR+TVBR Member to receive a copy of this publication. Not a Member? Join your peers — and your competitors — by clicking here!

 

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A low-power television station serving the Redding, Ca., area is being spun to an operator known for its radio, TV and digital offerings focused on Christian-themed programming.

The purchase will help in bringing additional offerings from “theDove” to a region known officially as “Jefferson.”

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It’s known for the Ave Maria Grotto and for being the halfway point between Birmingham and Decatur, Ala. Now, this town of some 18,500 people is in the news as a low-power television station licensed to this municipality is heading to a new owner.

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LOS ANGELES — It’s known as one of the few live audio streaming platforms to offer direct access to radio stations across the globe. Now, it is augmenting its already rich array of Spanish-language content from across Iberoamérica with the addition of radio stations tied to one of Mexico’s largest spoken word radio broadcasting companies and the regional Mexican-formatted stations held by a U.S. multimedia company based in Southern California.

TuneIn has inked partnerships with Estrella Media and with Grupo Fórmula, respectively.

For Estrella Media, known for such radio brands as “Qué Buena” in L.A., TuneIn will help expand the company’s revenue opportunities by reselling instream advertising outside of the local markets of Estrella Media’s 11 stations, all of which are now on the TuneIn platform.

According to a recent RIAA study, which TuneIn cites, revenue from online radio based Latin content grew 24% in the first half of 2021, which has helped pave the way for TuneIn’s collaborations with Estrella Media and Grupo Fórmula.

“Both Estrella Media and Grupo Fórmula are market leaders in Spanish-language entertainment and news radio content,” TuneIn CEO Richard Stern says. “We are extremely pleased to be expanding our Spanish-language offerings to a new generation of Latin radio fans and listeners around the world through the TuneIn platform. We’re also thrilled to help Estrella Media’s local stations increase monetization outside of their local markets as an added benefit of our partnership.”

René Santaella, EVP of Digital & Streaming at Estrella Media, adds, “Our partnership with TuneIn amplifies our popular shows like Don Cheto Al Aire and our Regional Mexican music stations by being available for free on all streaming platforms including the rapidly growing smart speaker and auto markets. It is a great pairing of our programming expertise with TuneIn’s scale and innovative distribution.”

Isaid Mera, Digital Manager for Grupo Fórmula, comments that the partnership with TuneIn represents an opportunity for the company to amplify the reach of our content and to increase profit for our clients. “We live in a hyperconnected world where we have access to much information, that’s why we need serious and trusted sources,” he says. “Grupo Fórmula achieved our goal of ‘Keep Mexico Well Informed’ by using our multi-platform presence and adding alliances with other important organizations who can help us in moving forward. Here is where TuneIn plays an important role as it lets us reach listeners during all moments of their days.”