Jeff Winemiller and his Lowcountry 34 Media has been divesting low-power television stations in various locales across the U.S. for more than a year. Among those transactions is the June 2020 sale of W26DT-Din Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Now, Lowcountry 34 Media is engaging in another deal involving the same buyer of that Grand Strand property. This time the locale is Music City USA.
Please Login to view this premium content. (Not a member? Join Today!)
Updated at 11:30am Eastern
On February 11, 2020, RBR+TVBR offered its first coverage of the COVID-19’s impact on the global broadcast media world. At the time, the report on how the owner of KHTS-FM in Santa Clarita, Calif., Carl Goldman, and his wife and travel companions were among the thousands of quarantined passengers aboard the Diamond Princess in Yokohama, Japan, was questioned by some readers as being too peripheral to the business of broadcast media in the U.S. The pandemic, to these industry figures, was seen as a largely Asian concern.
Nearly two years later, COVID-19 remains a global threat, thanks largely to the Omicron variant. And, with days until CES 2022 commences in Las Vegas, COVID-19 is now placing that mega-conference’s attendees on high alert — especially now that several high-profile companies have withdrawn, including the biggest audio content and distribution company in the U.S.
According to the New York Post, CES 2022 is not in danger of a full-blown cancellation, at least as of Tuesday evening (12/21). The report came just hours after RBR+TVBR reported that NAGRA is adding virtual meetings to its CES 2022 action plan. “As many people are not attending CES, NAGRA is scheduling virtual meetings to share their news,” the portable audio recorder company based in Switzerland said.
By Wednesday morning, the “On The Money” columnists at the newspaper learned that Nvidia, JPMorgan, and PepsiCo are each withdrawing from CES. The cancellation of Nvidia from CES is particularly unsettling, given their traditionally major presence at the technology conference and expo.
For broadcast media, iHeartMedia told the New York Post columnists they, too, will not attend CES 2022.
It is now known that the company’s iHeartRadio “Live @CES” in partnership with Medialink has been scrubbed. In a statement, iHeartRadio said, “We were looking forward to seeing you at our iHeartRadio Live at CES party at Area 15 on Thursday, January 6, 2022 to share a special performance by Swedish House Mafia — but to keep our friends and partners safe during this unpredictable time, we’ve made the decision to cancel the event.”
While unconfirmed, RBR+TVBR hears key iHeartMedia executives will still be in attendance at CES 2022 and that only this event has been cancelled. It marks the second time a radio industry event featuring Swedish House Mafia has been impacted, as it had been the closing performer at the Audacy Beach Festival on December 5 in Fort Lauderdale, only to be removed from the bill less than 24 hours before showtime due to COVID-19 exposure among members of the act or its tour team.
Meanwhile, the “On The Money” team says journalists from CNN, Forbes, TechCrunch, Engadget, MarketWatch, The Verge and The New York Times’ Wirecutter feature are also not planning to attend CES 2022.
The Post report coincides with a CNET story noting that T-Mobile, Twitter and Meta are also withdrawing from CES 2022.
While these high-profile withdrawals are generating headlines, CES 2022 remains a go. As such, the Jacobs Media Strategies “VIP Private Tour” is on schedule for Thursday, January 6 at 2:30pm Pacific at varying costs for clients and non-clients. “Our 90-minute private tours are limited to 15 guests and led by an expert employed by the CTA,” Jacobs Media says.
From 5-7pm Pacific on January 6 is the CES 2022 Radio Reception, located at the Bellagio Las Vegas Resort & Casino. The invitation-only event is co-presented by Radio Ink and Radio + Television Business Report in partnership with Beasley Media Group, QUU, Xperi, Benztown and vCreative.
CES requires proof of vacination.
It’s a 98,000-watt Class C FM serving North Texas and since April 27, 2001 has offered sports talk programming.
Now, “ESPN Dallas” will soon be saying farewell to this over-the-air home.
VCY America is agreeing to purchase the station.
Please Login to view this premium content. (Not a member? Join Today!)
No bids, please.
The Office of Economics and Analytics (OEA) and the FCC’s Media Bureau have confirmed the cancellation of bidding in “Auction 111,” a closed auction of mutually exclusive
applications for low power television and TV translator station construction permits.
Why? It’s quite simple.
Please Login to view this premium content. (Not a member? Join Today!)
The capital of the Keystone State has its first locally based NEXTGEN TV station. And, for those who have televisions capable of receiving the non-backwards compatible signals powered by the new ATSC 3.0 broadcast standard, turbo-charged ABC programming courtesy of the local affiliate can be seen.
It’s thanks to Nexstar Media Group, which has made Harrisburg the 17th market in 2021 to usher in the NEXTGEN TV era.
Please Login to view this premium content. (Not a member? Join Today!)
For whatever reason, Walmart has not been among the biggest brands using spot radio of late.
In contrast, it absolutely dominates Spot Cable, the latest Media Monitors data show.
Please Login to view this premium content. (Not a member? Join Today!)
For the week ending December 19, spot radio was not a medium of choice for some of the biggest holiday retailers or biggest brands across multiple categories.
In fact, Macy’s is the lone big retailer to appear in the latest Spot Ten report from Media Monitors.
That is thanks to some 35,601 spots tied to the retailer for the week. But, that pales compares to the paid spots placed by Indeed or State Farm.
There’s also stagnant activity at the bottom of the Spot Ten report, absent of Walmart or JCPenney, and with no automotive activity of significance.
MINNEAPOLIS — A veteran local media executive widely known for his time at CBS-owned WCCO-4 has been selected for the role of VP/Brand Strategy and Development at CBS Stations.
Casey Kespohl will work under CBS News and Stations President and Co-Head Wendy McMahon in the newly created role. He’ll partner with the local management teams at the 27 ViacomCBS-owned television stations found across the U.S. and is charged with “helping to evolve and strengthen” CBS Stations’ branded content and marketing across broadcast, streaming and digital platforms.
Please Login to view this premium content. (Not a member? Join Today!)
In May, RBR+TVBR reported on the $3.8 million sale of a valued commercially zoned chunk of land at 4002 W. Gandy Blvd., midway between downtown Tampa and St. Petersburg, by iHeartMedia.
With the land sale, a relocation of the company’s Tampa Bay market operations was put into motion. It is now known where stations including “933 FLZ” and “98Rock” will be headquartered come 2022.
Please Login to view this premium content. (Not a member? Join Today!)
The “country rock station of North Georgia,” a Class A FM at 104.3 MHz serving the auto racing haven of Dahlonega, has been spun.
Whether or not the format will be heard across 2022 and beyond will soon be up to the Augusta Radio Fellowship Institute. And, there’s a good chance some “Good News” will be coming soon to the station.
Please Login to view this premium content. (Not a member? Join Today!)
In November 2016, Univision Communications agreed to a transaction that was, at the time, considered a surprising one. The Hispanic media giant’s three radio stations in El Paso, Texas, were sold to an entity tied to one of Mexico’s biggest AM and FM operators.
Now, thanks to a stock purchase agreement finalized on November 30, the ownership of the radio trio hugging the Rio Grande is evolving.
Please Login to view this premium content. (Not a member? Join Today!)
In January, Joe D’Angelo appeared on the InFOCUS Podcast, presented by dot.FM, to offer some key takeaways from CES 2021.
Today, the SVP of Broadcast at the parent of both DTS and HD Radio is here to offer a preview of sorts for CES 2022, which includes a January 6 invitation-only Radio Reception presented in part by Xperi.
ALEXANDRIA, VA. — The AWARN Alliance has elected the chair and vice chair of its AWARN Steering Committee for 2022.
John Taylor, Senior Vice President of LG Electronics North America, will serve another term as chairman. Jim DeChant, Vice President of Technology for News-Press & Gazette Broadcasting, will return as AWARN vice chair.
The AWARN Steering Committee serves as the governing body of the AWARN Alliance.
Also elected to serve on the Steering Committee are:
Bischoff and Sockett were re-elected to another term.
Other members of the Steering Committee are:
“2022 is shaping up as a year when things start coming together for AWARN,” said AWARN Executive Director John Lawson. “With over 60 markets on the air with ATSC 3.0 and Sinclair launching the first advanced alerting app in Washington, DC, we expect to see further progress toward development of advanced alerting and continuing emergency messaging with NEXTGEN TV.”
Lawson added that AWARN will continue to focus on the institutional and human side for the development of what it calls “next generation emergency messaging,” or NGEM.
At the end of January, AWARN and partner organizations will co-host a roundtable discussion at KEYT-3 in Santa Barbara, Calif., with TV station GMs, news directors, local emergency managers and other alert originators from across Southern California.
KEYT is owned by News-Press & Gazette Co.
“The goal of the Santa Barbara Roundtable is to explore the creation of NGEM, which is really a voluntary, interoperable ‘network of networks.’ We plan for this to be the first of several regional roundtables across the county in the coming year,” Lawson said.
“As many people are not attending CES, NAGRA is scheduling virtual meetings to share their news.”
That’s the somber news from the portable audio recorder company based in Switzerland, as the rapid increase in cases of the Omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus has increased the threat of lower attendance to the upcoming event.
The choice of a virtual session or an in-person meeting may become standard for all CES 2022 attendees, as the Las Vegas mega-conference’s chances of even being held at all are now in question.
For NAGRA, interested CES attendees that wish to go with a virtual meeting can use this link: Book NAGRA meeting (Virtual, Zoom)
For those attending CES, one can book a meeting with NAGRA at its meeting suite by using this link: Book NAGRA meeting at CES meeting suite
The highlights of NAGRA’s showcase at CES 2022 include:
The nation’s dominant audience measurement and consumer data analytics firm has said it will reveal “a major step” toward its single cross-platform measurement product by showcasing its newest offering — “deduplicate ad measurement.”
It gets its debut under the Nielsen ONE Alpha banner at CES 2022 in Las Vegas.
Alpha is the first iteration of Nielsen ONE, a company spokesperson says. It will continue to evolve with new feature additions, enhancements, and model improvements leading up to the launch of Nielsen ONE in the fourth quarter of 2022.
Joining in the launch are The Walt Disney Company and MAGNA, in addition to “several agencies, advertisers and publishers” as Nielsen ONE Alpha participants from both the buy and sell sides of the industry.
“There’s a critical need for the evolution of measurement to truly reflect audiences and engagement, and Disney is uniquely positioned to help define and develop that roadmap,” said Julie DeTraglia, Head of Research, Insights and Analytics, Disney Media & Entertainment Distribution.
Nielsen ONE Alpha will be specific to ad campaigns, unveiling what the company claims is “the first cross-platform measurement system of its kind that offers both comparability and audience deduplication across all screens (linear TV, connected TV, computer and mobile).”
Nielsen continues, “Media buyers and sellers will for the first time have the most holistic view of their ads across consumer delivery systems and platforms in a harmonized and holistic manner—crucial as the linear and digital landscapes continue to rapidly converge. The deduplicated ad measurement metrics account for age and gender information.”
Nielsen COO Karthik Rao added, “All our hard work this past year has positioned us to take this significant step in fundamentally changing the game and providing the industry with what it wants, needs and deserves. We are on track to deliver our single cross-platform measurement solution in the fourth quarter of 2022, as planned and in a manner that will support the $100 billion video advertising ecosystem. The Alpha launch serves as a clear proof point in our ability to deliver and we are working closely with a diverse group of clients on this important step. In fact, Nielsen ONE will bring together all the intelligence we have to date in order to help clients capitalize on consumers’ rapidly shifting media habits.”
Tightrope Media Systems, developers of the Cablecast Community Media broadcast automation, playout and content publishing platform, has hired a “PEG” media executive as the new Vice President of its Cablecast business unit.
In this newly created position, Dana Healy will oversee Cablecast sales and operations. She will also work closely with the marketing team to connect with all Cablecast customers on an ongoing basis. Healy will start the new role on January 3, 2022.
“As a user of Cablecast products for many years, I can see how passionate they are about their customers and the market,” she said. “I’m excited to be joining a company that truly believes in going above and beyond for their users, and proud to serve the PEG community alongside colleagues so dedicated to preserving community media. I look forward to chatting with customers about PEG strategies at upcoming trade shows and industry events.”
Cablecast Community Media President Steve Israelsky commented, “Dana’s skills and experience make her a perfect fit for this key leadership role. Having worked within community media organizations for over two decades, she has unique insights into their needs and the challenges they face in the evolving media landscape. We are constantly striving to improve our engagement with our customers and the PEG market at large, and we’re thrilled to have Dana join our team to help us achieve these goals.”
— Brian Galante
How big could political advertising be for local advertising in 2022?
It could very well make next year a banner one for linear and digital media focused on local consumers, newly revised data from BIA Advisory Services show.
In fact, BIA believes its total estimate for 2022 will be $11.8 billion than its previous forecast.
Please Login to view this premium content. (Not a member? Join Today!)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Senators Roy Blunt and Ron Wyden have come together to propose legislation that, if passed, would strengthen spectrum rights for some low power television (LPTV) stations.
In particular, the “Low Power Protection Act” would open up a filing window qualifying LPTV stations to apply for and receive Class A status. The NAB is supportive of this bill.
“Local television stations play a unique and critical role in their communities, keeping viewers informed, entertained, and alerted in an emergency,” said Blunt. “The Low Power Protection Act would help ensure smaller stations, especially those in Missouri’s rural areas, are able to continue providing coverage that people depend on. I appreciate Senator Wyden’s partnership in this effort and the strong support the bill has received from local, state, and national broadcasters.”
The bill came on a day when Springfield, Mo., became the latest market to rollout NEXTGEN TV. Among the stations using the ATSC 3.0-powered technology is Gray Television’s low-powered ABC affiliate serving the market.
“Low power television stations provide diverse, locally-oriented broadcasting in small communities across Oregon, especially in rural and remote areas of our state,” said Wyden. “I’m proud to join my colleague Senator Blunt in introducing this common-sense, bipartisan bill to empower LPTV stations that serve their communities.”
LPTV stations usually provide locally-oriented or specialized service in their communities. However, LPTV is currently considered a secondary broadcast service by the FCC. As such, LPTV licensees are not granted protections from harmful interference or displacement, and must accept harmful interference or displacement from full power television stations.
In 1999, in an effort to protect LPTV stations from harmful interference or displacement during the transition from analog to digital broadcasting, Congress passed the Community Broadcaster Protection Act (CBPA). The law created the “Class A” station status, and opened a one-time filing window for stations to apply. CBPA directed that Class A licensees be subject to the same license terms and renewal standards as full power television licensees, and that Class A licensees be accorded primary status as television broadcasters as long as they continue to meet the requirements set forth in the statute.
Blunt and Wyden’s Low Power Protection Act would require the FCC to open a new filing window during which qualifying LPTV stations could apply for and receive Class A status.
Class A status would protect LPTV stations from being bumped off-air by harmful interference. That, in turn, “will help ensure they are able to continue providing local coverage, and allow them to better protect existing investment and incentivize further investment in their stations and communities,” the senators say.
Frank Copsidas, Founder and President of the recently formed LPTV Broadcasters Association, says his advocacy group strongly endorses the bill.
“It is an essential, meaningful initiative to serve the public interest,” he said. “The Act is cited as ‘The Low Power Protection Act’ and a key word is ‘protection.’ Much attention has been given to encouraging support for local journalism and jobs, and protecting television stations for the viewers they serve. Secure, trusted local news and culturally diverse content is the foundation of the programming that our members uniquely broadcast on a daily basis. Simply stated, this bill allows LPTV stations to grow to the next level in serving the public interest with both protection of broadcast coverage area and the ability to secure crucial small business financing. The LPTV Broadcasters Association on behalf of its members around the country is committed to seeing this legislation be passed.”
The NAB also took a moment to applaud the bill’s introduction, as it would offer “some community-oriented low power television stations a long-overdue opportunity to gain important interference protections. Millions of viewers across the country rely on LPTVs for local news, weather, community affairs and emergency information, particularly in rural areas and smaller markets. This legislation would ensure Americans’ access to these vital stations and provide assurance that their signals can remain on the air. Broadcasters thank Sens. Wyden and Blunt for their efforts to help LPTVs and their viewers, and we support swift passage of this bill.”
The state broadcasters associations of Oregon and Missouri also support the bill as does the National Hispanic Media Coalition.
For NHMC President/CEO Brenda Victoria Castillo, “Negative portrayals of the Latinx community and the perceptions that come from them are often due to the appallingly low levels of Latinx broadcast and media ownership. Low power television (LPTV) broadcasters tend to provide more unique and diverse programming directly to Latinx and marginalized communities, but often find their frequencies assigned to larger operators that disregard diversity. NHMC is proud to support the Low Power Protection Act–a solution that promotes media diversity by empowering LPTV broadcasters as Class-A licensees.”
— Additional reporting by Adam Jacobson, in Boca Raton, Fla.
Four broadcast TV stations serving Southwest Missouri have become the first in the market to offer local viewers NEXTGEN TV stations.
The launch of the ATSC 3.0-powered signals involves Nexstar Media Group’s local stations in Springfield, Mo., and the Mission Broadcasting property Nexstar operates.
The Springfield market launch includes Mission-owned CBS affiliate KOLR-10; Nexstar-owned FOX affiliate KRBK-TV and MyNetwork TV affiliate KOZL-TV; and Gray Television‘s KSPR-LD 33, the market’s ABC affiliate.
KOZL is the “lighthouse” station for the NEXTGEN TV signals.
BitPath, which is developing new data broadcasting services, led the planning process
and deployment efforts across the four television stations.
Gordon Smith isn’t the only radio industry leader saying farewell to his longtime role come January 1, 2022.
The current CEO of Salem Media Group is stepping aside and will transition to the newly created role of Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors.
Who will succeed Ed Atsinger III as Salem’s Chief Executive Officer? Look no further than its President of Broadcast Media.
With Atsinger’s transition, Salem’s Board of Directors has appointed David Santrella to become Chief Executive Officer.
There’s more shifting in the Salem C-Suite: David Evans, Salem’s President of Digital Media and Publishing, is being promoted position of Chief Operating Officer.
Meanwhile, the current Chairman of Salem’s Board of Directors, Stuart W. Epperson Sr., will resign and transition to the position of Chairman Emeritus on January 1.
As such, son Stuart W. Epperson Jr. will join the Board of Directors, filling the vacancy created by his father’s departure.
“These changes reflect the Board’s ongoing succession planning and are designed to provide leadership continuity as the company continues to execute its strategic initiatives,” the company says.
Since founding Salem in 1974, Atsinger, along with his brother-in-law, the elder Epperson, has grown the company from a single radio station into a multimedia company specializing in Christian and conservative spoken word content.
To be certain, Atsinger will continue to be engaged full-time and focus more of his attention on macro strategy and planning, M&A, external relationships, government affairs and leadership development. “This will allow the company to continue to benefit from Mr. Atsinger’s decades of experience and skills,” the company said on Monday afternoon.
“I am pleased to serve as Executive Chairman and to oversee the succession to the next generation of leadership of our company,” Atsinger said in prepared comments. “I am looking forward to working with the executive team to continue Salem’s vitally important mission of serving the media needs of the audiences interested in Christian content and public policy programming with a traditional conservative focus.”
Atsinger continued that, in his view, Salem is “well-positioned for continued growth into the future.” As such, he said, “now is the right time to take the next step in implementing our long-term leadership transition.”
He concluded, “Most of all, I am blessed to lead our talented and dedicated team. I am extremely proud of Salem’s employees and personalities who create and distribute the content that allows us to serve our loyal and dedicated audience of listeners, readers, and now viewers. It is this talented team that has allowed Salem to become the business it is today. Building and expanding this platform over nearly 50 years has been and will continue to be the focus of my life’s work.”
Commenting on his promotion, Santrella said, “I am deeply honored to have been appointed as Salem’s next CEO. I look forward to working in close partnership with David Evans to take advantage of the tremendous opportunities that exist in today’s media landscape, to further the mission of our company and to grow our business. I am blessed that I will have Ed alongside me in my new role.”
Evans added, “I am looking forward to working together with Dave and the rest of our talented leadership team as we further combine traditional media and digital media in new transformative ways. We have a substantial and passionate audience that accesses our content and brands in many ways and we’re focused on ensuring they can enjoy it and engage with us across multiple platforms.”
The senior Epperson, who has served as Salem’s Chairman of the Board of Directors since going public, said, “Our Board of Directors has engaged in thoughtful long-term succession planning, and today’s announcement demonstrates the strength of that process as well as the depth of talent at the executive management level to drive the company’s continued growth and success. I am confident that David Santrella and David Evans are perfectly qualified to continue working with Edward and the rest of the management team to build on our success and drive Salem into the next phase of its growth.”
Please show your support by using the Ko-Fi link at the bottom of the page. Thank you for supporting REC's efforts!
