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A coalition of public media workers is calling for a specific day — Nov. 10 — to serve as a way to highlight the need to take action when it comes to diversity.

The National Federation of Community Broadcasters said there have been too many public leaders defending systemic problems or reflecting criticism at those who complain, said Ernesto Aguilar, program director for the NFCB, which is leading the call for action. “It felt like time to say, ‘it’s not just you’ and remind those concerned about the need for public media’s evolution.”

[Read: Community Broadcaster: Inclusive Service Is the Future]

Public Media For All, a coalition of public media workers, is calling on the industry to recognize Nov. 10 as a day for reflection, learning and action. Calling it a first-of-this-generation kind of proactive remediation, Public Media for All is hoping that at least 500 people in the public media industry will use Nov. 10 as a day when they take the day off either to focus on their own mental health or to devote community service hours in an effort to bring attention to diversity, equity and inclusion issues.

“In the last few years, public media has had controversies across the nation,” Aguilar said. “The places are all different but the stories are similar — longtime hosts and managers behaving toward peers and subordinates in ways that do not exemplify a station’s mission; trends of people of color in the industry with identical stories even as they’ve been marginalized; and social media testimony exposing misconduct anonymously, as whistleblowers fear for their jobs amid public media’s economic contraction.”

“It felt like time to say, ‘It’s not just you’ and remind those concerned about the need for public media’s evolution that they are not alone,” he said.

Some of those steps of action and education might involve volunteering with local service organizations supporting communities of color or talking with stations, boards and managers about the importance of diversity for the future of public media organizations.

The public media space is ideal for leading the charge for the need for more diversity in media in general because public media has, for so long, centered the power of people’s lives and stories so it’s natural that this medium is one that is starting to take these matters more seriously, Aguilar said. However, it must be said that the media space as a whole, public and commercial, is having its moment related to diversity.

“The culture is changing, audiences expect better, and old excuses are less acceptable,” he said. “But here, as we are seeing in public media’s most high-profile incidents, institutions, staff and donors are no longer willing to suffer management complicity or leaders attempting to rationalize or slink away after presiding over misconduct.”

There are four silos of action on the Public Media For All’s website, actions that can be taken by people of color, by white allies, by organizations and by public media fans.

What’s most important is that — both before and after Nov. 10 — individuals and organizations make substantive commitments to prioritize diversity, equity and inclusion. “Such efforts can only make our organizations even better,” Aguilar said.

 

The post Coalition Calls for Day of Action for Diversity in Public Media appeared first on Radio World.

A coalition of public media workers is calling for a specific day — Nov. 10 — to serve as a way to highlight the need to take action when it comes to diversity.

The National Federation of Community Broadcasters said there have been too many public leaders defending systemic problems or reflecting criticism at those who complain, said Ernesto Aguilar, program director for the NFCB, which is leading the call for action. “It felt like time to say, ‘it’s not just you’ and remind those concerned about the need for public media’s evolution.”

[Read: Community Broadcaster: Inclusive Service Is the Future]

Public Media For All, a coalition of public media workers, is calling on the industry to recognize Nov. 10 as a day for reflection, learning and action. Calling it a first-of-this-generation kind of proactive remediation, Public Media for All is hoping that at least 500 people in the public media industry will use Nov. 10 as a day when they take the day off either to focus on their own mental health or to devote community service hours in an effort to bring attention to diversity, equity and inclusion issues.

“In the last few years, public media has had controversies across the nation,” Aguilar said. “The places are all different but the stories are similar — longtime hosts and managers behaving toward peers and subordinates in ways that do not exemplify a station’s mission; trends of people of color in the industry with identical stories even as they’ve been marginalized; and social media testimony exposing misconduct anonymously, as whistleblowers fear for their jobs amid public media’s economic contraction.”

“It felt like time to say, ‘It’s not just you’ and remind those concerned about the need for public media’s evolution that they are not alone,” he said.

Some of those steps of action and education might involve volunteering with local service organizations supporting communities of color or talking with stations, boards and managers about the importance of diversity for the future of public media organizations.

The public media space is ideal for leading the charge for the need for more diversity in media in general because public media has, for so long, centered the power of people’s lives and stories so it’s natural that this medium is one that is starting to take these matters more seriously, Aguilar said. However, it must be said that the media space as a whole, public and commercial, is having its moment related to diversity.

“The culture is changing, audiences expect better, and old excuses are less acceptable,” he said. “But here, as we are seeing in public media’s most high-profile incidents, institutions, staff and donors are no longer willing to suffer management complicity or leaders attempting to rationalize or slink away after presiding over misconduct.”

There are four silos of action on the Public Media For All’s website, actions that can be taken by people of color, by white allies, by organizations and by public media fans.

What’s most important is that — both before and after Nov. 10 — individuals and organizations make substantive commitments to prioritize diversity, equity and inclusion. “Such efforts can only make our organizations even better,” Aguilar said.

 

The post Coalition Calls for Day of Action for Diversity in Public Media appeared first on Radio World.

A Performance Space at KEXP(FM).

A highlight of the upcoming AES virtual convention, taking much of the month of October, will be a look at building and maintaining podcast studios. “Developing Versatile Performance Spaces for Podcast Production Studios” will be an on-demand session.

[Read: History and Mic Hygiene Are on AES Show Agenda]

Co-moderated by John Storyk, founding partner, WSDG Walters-Storyk Design Group, and WSDG Partner/COO, Joshua Morris, the panel will illustrate how dedicated podcast studios differ and how they are being used with respect to workflow as well as live performance production.

Panelists include Kevin Cole, senior director of programming/show host, KEXP(FM), Seattle; Jimmy Buff, executive director/show host, WKNY(FM)/Radio Kingston, Kingston, N.Y.; Steve Shultis, chief technology officer, WNYC Radio, N.Y.; and Austin Thompson, technical director, Gimlet (Spotify), Brooklyn, N.Y.; Los Angeles.

AES Show Broadcast and Online Delivery Track Chair David Bialik said, “The facility design session is usually one of the most attended.”

 

The post AES Show to Look at Podcast Studios appeared first on Radio World.

A Performance Space at KEXP(FM).

A highlight of the upcoming AES virtual convention, taking much of the month of October, will be a look at building and maintaining podcast studios. “Developing Versatile Performance Spaces for Podcast Production Studios” will be an on-demand session.

[Read: History and Mic Hygiene Are on AES Show Agenda]

Co-moderated by John Storyk, founding partner, WSDG Walters-Storyk Design Group, and WSDG Partner/COO, Joshua Morris, the panel will illustrate how dedicated podcast studios differ and how they are being used with respect to workflow as well as live performance production.

Panelists include Kevin Cole, senior director of programming/show host, KEXP(FM), Seattle; Jimmy Buff, executive director/show host, WKNY(FM)/Radio Kingston, Kingston, N.Y.; Steve Shultis, chief technology officer, WNYC Radio, N.Y.; and Austin Thompson, technical director, Gimlet (Spotify), Brooklyn, N.Y.; Los Angeles.

AES Show Broadcast and Online Delivery Track Chair David Bialik said, “The facility design session is usually one of the most attended.”

 

The post AES Show to Look at Podcast Studios appeared first on Radio World.

The author is senior vice president, Connoisseur Media.

WESTPORT, Conn. — At Connoisseur Media, we pride ourselves on our forward-thinking approach to technologies — especially those that help us engage audiences in new ways and give our advertisers intriguing new opportunities to reach consumers.

Advanced and evolving technologies drive our entire operation, which includes 13 radio stations and various digital brands in four markets: Frederick, Md., Nassau-Suffolk, N.Y., New Haven, Conn., and Metro Fairfield County, Conn..

When it comes to back-office systems like traffic and billing, we need technology solutions that will help our sales professionals negotiate and schedule advertising at maximum value.

Of course, any great traffic system needs to streamline and automate workflows and provide seamless, real-time access to consolidated sales, inventory and billing data. For more than 16 years, we’ve met these requirements with Marketron Traffic.

It is the “fan favorite” in our back office. It’s an integral part of our business and a popular solution with our traffic team.

The cloud-based platform gives all of our divisions transparency into the business from multiple locations. With this mature and easy-to-use solution, traffic personnel from various markets are able to step in and cover each other when needed. One of our markets even uses Marketron Traffic Hub — Marketron’s traffic management service — to handle all traffic department functions in that market.

Unified reporting

One of the strongest features of Marketron Traffic is the integrated reporting capability, which enables key personnel from every level of the business to work from the same set of data presented in a common format.

Based on their individual permission levels as governed by Marketron’s multilevel security, everyone — from sales managers at individual stations to GMs of station groups to managers at the corporate level — is able to access the reporting from a single, unified dashboard.

Even if a manager is only permitted to see a slice of the data, it’s the same data that will be reflected in larger data sets. This might seem like a simple capability, but it’s critical for avoiding confusion, reducing errors and unifying our teams.

With a clean cutoff for running reports and the ability to receive automated reports when we need them, we rely heavily on Marketron Traffic for managing key business metrics such as pacing.

Every morning, I get a PDF report in email with all of the data I need for daily management. It’s truly “set and forget it” — you give the system your own reporting parameters and it handles the rest. Without having to spend time churning out timely reports, our back office team is more efficient, and managers don’t have to spend their time pulling their own data out of the system.

Moving forward, we’re continuing to partner with the Marketron team as they refine their traffic solutions and introduce innovative new solutions.

For instance, we recently introduced the team to Marketron Pitch, an integrated digital ad platform that has allowed us to build up a substantial digital advertising business. Pitch takes into account the significant differences between digital sales workflows and more traditional radio, such as downstream partners that often need to be prepaid.

We’re currently testing a new beta version of Pitch that integrates seamlessly with Marketron Traffic; the result will be an end-to-end electronic workflow for our digital business from proposal to invoice.

With Marketron as our mainstay traffic partner, our radio business is poised for the next generation of profitability. With everyone in the company speaking the same financial language based on accurate and up-to-the-minute data, managers don’t have to work for the reports they need to make informed decisions that facilitate revenue growth.

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

For information, contact Todd Kalman at Marketron at 1-612-790-8464 or visit www.marketron.com.

 

The post User Report: Connoisseur Finds Marketron a “Fan Favorite” appeared first on Radio World.

The author is senior vice president, Connoisseur Media.

WESTPORT, Conn. — At Connoisseur Media, we pride ourselves on our forward-thinking approach to technologies — especially those that help us engage audiences in new ways and give our advertisers intriguing new opportunities to reach consumers.

Advanced and evolving technologies drive our entire operation, which includes 13 radio stations and various digital brands in four markets: Frederick, Md., Nassau-Suffolk, N.Y., New Haven, Conn., and Metro Fairfield County, Conn..

When it comes to back-office systems like traffic and billing, we need technology solutions that will help our sales professionals negotiate and schedule advertising at maximum value.

Of course, any great traffic system needs to streamline and automate workflows and provide seamless, real-time access to consolidated sales, inventory and billing data. For more than 16 years, we’ve met these requirements with Marketron Traffic.

It is the “fan favorite” in our back office. It’s an integral part of our business and a popular solution with our traffic team.

The cloud-based platform gives all of our divisions transparency into the business from multiple locations. With this mature and easy-to-use solution, traffic personnel from various markets are able to step in and cover each other when needed. One of our markets even uses Marketron Traffic Hub — Marketron’s traffic management service — to handle all traffic department functions in that market.

Unified reporting

One of the strongest features of Marketron Traffic is the integrated reporting capability, which enables key personnel from every level of the business to work from the same set of data presented in a common format.

Based on their individual permission levels as governed by Marketron’s multilevel security, everyone — from sales managers at individual stations to GMs of station groups to managers at the corporate level — is able to access the reporting from a single, unified dashboard.

Even if a manager is only permitted to see a slice of the data, it’s the same data that will be reflected in larger data sets. This might seem like a simple capability, but it’s critical for avoiding confusion, reducing errors and unifying our teams.

With a clean cutoff for running reports and the ability to receive automated reports when we need them, we rely heavily on Marketron Traffic for managing key business metrics such as pacing.

Every morning, I get a PDF report in email with all of the data I need for daily management. It’s truly “set and forget it” — you give the system your own reporting parameters and it handles the rest. Without having to spend time churning out timely reports, our back office team is more efficient, and managers don’t have to spend their time pulling their own data out of the system.

Moving forward, we’re continuing to partner with the Marketron team as they refine their traffic solutions and introduce innovative new solutions.

For instance, we recently introduced the team to Marketron Pitch, an integrated digital ad platform that has allowed us to build up a substantial digital advertising business. Pitch takes into account the significant differences between digital sales workflows and more traditional radio, such as downstream partners that often need to be prepaid.

We’re currently testing a new beta version of Pitch that integrates seamlessly with Marketron Traffic; the result will be an end-to-end electronic workflow for our digital business from proposal to invoice.

With Marketron as our mainstay traffic partner, our radio business is poised for the next generation of profitability. With everyone in the company speaking the same financial language based on accurate and up-to-the-minute data, managers don’t have to work for the reports they need to make informed decisions that facilitate revenue growth.

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

For information, contact Todd Kalman at Marketron at 1-612-790-8464 or visit www.marketron.com.

 

The post User Report: Connoisseur Finds Marketron a “Fan Favorite” appeared first on Radio World.

Coming in November is the 100th anniversary of the birth of modern radio broadcasting. In this issue, Radio World features a special report by James O’Neal about how KDKA came to be the standard-bearer for an industry.

Read it online here.

Prefer to do your reading offline? No problem! Simply click on the digital edition, go to the left corner and choose the download button to get a PDF version.

Regulation

AM Advocates Watch and Worry

The chief of the FCC Audio Division deems the AM revitalization effort “a big success story,” but critics fault the effort for not going far enough and focusing mainly on adding FM signals. What comes next?

Digital Radio

Taking the Fear Out of Hybrid Radio

A session of the virtual Radio Show will focus on RadioDNS and how U.S. broadcasters are beginning to support hybrid radio capabilities.

Also in this issue:

• Workbench: Time to Prepare for Ice and Snow
• Buyer’s Guide: Media Asset Management/Automation
• College Radio Grapples With Pandemic’s Implications

 

The post Inside the September 30 Issue of Radio World appeared first on Radio World.

Coming in November is the 100th anniversary of the birth of modern radio broadcasting. In this issue, Radio World features a special report by James O’Neal about how KDKA came to be the standard-bearer for an industry.

Read it online here.

Prefer to do your reading offline? No problem! Simply click on the digital edition, go to the left corner and choose the download button to get a PDF version.

Regulation

AM Advocates Watch and Worry

The chief of the FCC Audio Division deems the AM revitalization effort “a big success story,” but critics fault the effort for not going far enough and focusing mainly on adding FM signals. What comes next?

Digital Radio

Taking the Fear Out of Hybrid Radio

A session of the virtual Radio Show will focus on RadioDNS and how U.S. broadcasters are beginning to support hybrid radio capabilities.

Also in this issue:

• Workbench: Time to Prepare for Ice and Snow
• Buyer’s Guide: Media Asset Management/Automation
• College Radio Grapples With Pandemic’s Implications

 

The post Inside the September 30 Issue of Radio World appeared first on Radio World.

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The Federal Communications Commission will vote this month on whether to allow AM stations in the United States to convert to all-digital HD Radio if they wish to do so.

Commission watchers have expected some action this year. Commissioner Ajit Pai announced the planned vote on his blog, calling AM revitalization “a passion of mine.”

Based on anecdotal evidence, the commission will likely approve it.

The details of the proposed report and order are expected to be public shortly. Among questions to watch for are whether all-digital AM operation would be allowed both day and night; what provision the FCC makes for a station to change its mind later; and whether the commission will waver from its stances on not allowing the use of other platforms like Digital Radio Mondiale and not allowing multicasts of an AM digital signal to be carried on translators.

Industry support

Industry comments on the idea of allowing optional all-digital operation have generally been favorable, with the caveat that any such transition must be voluntary.

It’s unknown how many owners would take advantage of the option, at least right away. The amount of real-world broadcaster experience is limited to only two stations that have tried it, one of which soon turned it off during the day after hearing listener complaints, and later ended its testing.

One veteran engineering professional told Radio World recently that he sees “no major U.S. radio companies showing any interest in investing in AM all-digital; and that for many owners, keeping their AM stations on the air now is pretty much just about retaining their FM translator footprint rather than keeping the AM on the air on its own merits.”

[Related: Read our special report on the AM revitalization effort to date.]

But the possibility that the FCC would allow a station to go all-digital is notable, and marks a potentially important milestone in the overall expansion of digital technology on U.S. radio stations.

If an AM station turns on all-digital transmission, listeners with analog-only AM radios will not be able to hear the signal. For that reason, for many years broadcasters swore that they’d never consider it.

But with the AM band’s ongoing problems; with more HD Radio receivers available in recent-model cars that can receive the signals; and with many AM owners now able to reach their markets with FM translators, the idea seems at least marginally less scary. Calls to allow the all-digital option have increased in recent years under the commission’s AM revitalization umbrella.

“Due to a number of technical constraints of the AM band and limitations of the HD Radio hybrid mode, fewer than 250 AM stations have implemented hybrid operations,” Pai wrote Monday.

“This October, the commission will vote on a Report and Order that would give AM broadcasters the option to convert to all-digital operations, which offer listeners a higher quality audio experience over a greater area.

“Since all-digital broadcasting would be on a voluntary basis, AM operators would decide for themselves if the transition is right for them and their listeners.”

Pai pointed out that WWFD in Frederick, Md., which has transitioned to digital AM through special temporary authority, has gone from having no ratings in the market to a being a Nielsen-ranked station.

“This hints at digital AM’s potential to bring AM stations back from the brink of extinction to become competitive players in the market.”

[Watch Radio World’s webcast “Digital Sunrise” for AM Radio.” ]

Three AM stations have received STAs to operate with all-digital AM; only one is currently active.

Hubbard’s WWFD has been using all-digital for three years. WIOE in Fort Wayne, Ind., recently tried all-digital both full- and part-time but now is not using it; the owner has said listeners weren’t ready. WTLC in Indianapolis has an STA but its owner Urban One has expressed disappointment that the FCC  did not approve its request that multicast channels of the AM test signal be rebroadcast over those two FM translators.

It has been seven years since then-Commissioner Ajit Pai hosted a session at a spring NAB Show exploring various possible futures for AM radio including an “analog sunset.”

At that time, then-CBS Radio Senior Vice President of Engineering Glynn Walden deplored AM solutions that “nibble around the edges.” The AM band, he said at that 2013 session, “is a hostile environment,” and Walden called for the commission “to declare an analog sunset” and for AM radio to move to an all-digital service.

Few broadcasters then or since have spoken publicly about any such enforced “sunset,” and this month’s planned vote to allow all-digital goes nowhere near that outcome.

The post The FCC Will Vote This Month on All-Digital AM appeared first on Radio World.

The Federal Communications Commission will vote this month on whether to allow AM stations in the United States to convert to all-digital HD Radio if they wish to do so.

Commission watchers have expected some action this year. Commissioner Ajit Pai announced the planned vote on his blog, calling AM revitalization “a passion of mine.”

Based on anecdotal evidence, the commission will likely approve it.

The details of the proposed report and order are expected to be public shortly. Among questions to watch for are whether all-digital AM operation would be allowed both day and night; what provision the FCC makes for a station to change its mind later; and whether the commission will waver from its stances on not allowing the use of other platforms like Digital Radio Mondiale and not allowing multicasts of an AM digital signal to be carried on translators.

Industry support

Industry comments on the idea of allowing optional all-digital operation have generally been favorable, with the caveat that any such transition must be voluntary.

It’s unknown how many owners would take advantage of the option, at least right away. The amount of real-world broadcaster experience is limited to only two stations that have tried it, one of which soon turned it off during the day after hearing listener complaints, and later ended its testing.

One veteran engineering professional told Radio World recently that he sees “no major U.S. radio companies showing any interest in investing in AM all-digital; and that for many owners, keeping their AM stations on the air now is pretty much just about retaining their FM translator footprint rather than keeping the AM on the air on its own merits.”

[Related: Read our special report on the AM revitalization effort to date.]

But the possibility that the FCC would allow a station to go all-digital is notable, and marks a potentially important milestone in the overall expansion of digital technology on U.S. radio stations.

If an AM station turns on all-digital transmission, listeners with analog-only AM radios will not be able to hear the signal. For that reason, for many years broadcasters swore that they’d never consider it.

But with the AM band’s ongoing problems; with more HD Radio receivers available in recent-model cars that can receive the signals; and with many AM owners now able to reach their markets with FM translators, the idea seems at least marginally less scary. Calls to allow the all-digital option have increased in recent years under the commission’s AM revitalization umbrella.

“Due to a number of technical constraints of the AM band and limitations of the HD Radio hybrid mode, fewer than 250 AM stations have implemented hybrid operations,” Pai wrote Monday.

“This October, the commission will vote on a Report and Order that would give AM broadcasters the option to convert to all-digital operations, which offer listeners a higher quality audio experience over a greater area.

“Since all-digital broadcasting would be on a voluntary basis, AM operators would decide for themselves if the transition is right for them and their listeners.”

Pai pointed out that WWFD in Frederick, Md., which has transitioned to digital AM through special temporary authority, has gone from having no ratings in the market to a being a Nielsen-ranked station.

“This hints at digital AM’s potential to bring AM stations back from the brink of extinction to become competitive players in the market.”

[Watch Radio World’s webcast “Digital Sunrise” for AM Radio.” ]

Three AM stations have received STAs to operate with all-digital AM; only one is currently active.

Hubbard’s WWFD has been using all-digital for three years. WIOE in Fort Wayne, Ind., recently tried all-digital both full- and part-time but now is not using it; the owner has said listeners weren’t ready. WTLC in Indianapolis has an STA but its owner Urban One has expressed disappointment that the FCC  did not approve its request that multicast channels of the AM test signal be rebroadcast over those two FM translators.

It has been seven years since then-Commissioner Ajit Pai hosted a session at a spring NAB Show exploring various possible futures for AM radio including an “analog sunset.”

At that time, then-CBS Radio Senior Vice President of Engineering Glynn Walden deplored AM solutions that “nibble around the edges.” The AM band, he said at that 2013 session, “is a hostile environment,” and Walden called for the commission “to declare an analog sunset” and for AM radio to move to an all-digital service.

Few broadcasters then or since have spoken publicly about any such enforced “sunset,” and this month’s planned vote to allow all-digital goes nowhere near that outcome.

The post The FCC Will Vote This Month on All-Digital AM appeared first on Radio World.

“DAB is now firmly established as the core future platform for radio in Europe.”

So argues WorldDAB, citing its most recent data on receiver sales, household penetration and the number of stations on the air.

[Read: DAB+ Lends a Hand in a Time of Crisis]

WorldDAB is an industry association that promotes DAB digital radio. “By the end of Q2 2020, over 93 million consumer and automotive DAB/DAB+ receivers had been sold in Europe and Asia Pacific, up from 82 million one year earlier,” it stated.

It released a detailed presentation offering a visual report card about DAB/DAB+ compared to FM in Australia, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland and the U.K.

“DAB is now firmly established as the core future platform for radio in Europe, a position underlined by a number of recent regulatory initiatives and the growing popularity of consumer and automotive DAB+ receivers worldwide,” it stated.

“On a pan-European level, the European Electronic Communications Code (EECC), adopted in December 2018, requires all new car radios in the EU to be capable of receiving digital terrestrial radio from 21 December 2020. Several EU countries — including Germany, the U.K. and Italy — have already introduced regulations to implement the EECC directive into national legislation, while other countries — including France, The Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, Austria, Greece, Czech Republic, Poland and Malta — have initiated procedures to implement the EECC into national legislation.”

WorldDAB President Patrick Hannon cited interest as well in Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

View the WorldDAB presentation here.

The chair of Digital Radio Mondiale, another digital radio proponent, was asked by Radio World to comment on WorldDAB’s assertion that it is “the core future platform of radio in Europe.”

Ruxandra Obreja said the data from WorldDAB “gives impetus to the digitization of radio, in general.”

“We fully welcome the increase in numbers of receivers sold by DAB and the fact that the UK (DAB and DAB+), Germany (DAB+) and Norway (DAB+) continue to be on top,” Obreja wrote in an email to Radio World. “Detailed listenership figures to match the sales figures would enhance the announcement.”

She said uptake of various solutions in different countries shows that “flexibility is needed to respond to different geographic, social-cultural needs. After all, any technology, whether DAB, DRM or both, can only be the platform for good and multimedia services, excellent and attractive content which should be available to all the listeners wherever they are.”

 

 

The post WorldDAB Highlights Its Advances appeared first on Radio World.

“DAB is now firmly established as the core future platform for radio in Europe.”

So argues WorldDAB, citing its most recent data on receiver sales, household penetration and the number of stations on the air.

[Read: DAB+ Lends a Hand in a Time of Crisis]

WorldDAB is an industry association that promotes DAB digital radio. “By the end of Q2 2020, over 93 million consumer and automotive DAB/DAB+ receivers had been sold in Europe and Asia Pacific, up from 82 million one year earlier,” it stated.

It released a detailed presentation offering a visual report card about DAB/DAB+ compared to FM in Australia, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland and the U.K.

“DAB is now firmly established as the core future platform for radio in Europe, a position underlined by a number of recent regulatory initiatives and the growing popularity of consumer and automotive DAB+ receivers worldwide,” it stated.

“On a pan-European level, the European Electronic Communications Code (EECC), adopted in December 2018, requires all new car radios in the EU to be capable of receiving digital terrestrial radio from 21 December 2020. Several EU countries — including Germany, the U.K. and Italy — have already introduced regulations to implement the EECC directive into national legislation, while other countries — including France, The Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, Austria, Greece, Czech Republic, Poland and Malta — have initiated procedures to implement the EECC into national legislation.”

WorldDAB President Patrick Hannon cited interest as well in Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

View the WorldDAB presentation here.

The chair of Digital Radio Mondiale, another digital radio proponent, was asked by Radio World to comment on WorldDAB’s assertion that it is “the core future platform of radio in Europe.”

Ruxandra Obreja said the data from WorldDAB “gives impetus to the digitization of radio, in general.”

“We fully welcome the increase in numbers of receivers sold by DAB and the fact that the UK (DAB and DAB+), Germany (DAB+) and Norway (DAB+) continue to be on top,” Obreja wrote in an email to Radio World. “Detailed listenership figures to match the sales figures would enhance the announcement.”

She said uptake of various solutions in different countries shows that “flexibility is needed to respond to different geographic, social-cultural needs. After all, any technology, whether DAB, DRM or both, can only be the platform for good and multimedia services, excellent and attractive content which should be available to all the listeners wherever they are.”

 

 

The post WorldDAB Highlights Its Advances appeared first on Radio World.

iStock/Getty Images Plus

This fall marks the seventh anniversary of a Federal Communication Commission Notice of Proposed Rulemaking intended to take a fresh look at the elder broadcast service in the United States and to try to shore its licensees up.

The ongoing effort to “revitalize” the AM band has created opportunities for licensees to use FM translators, modified some coverage standards for daytimers, and introduced some commonsense technical rule revisions including elimination of the “ratchet rule” and the introduction of moment method proof-of-performance.

Al Shuldiner, chief of the FCC’s Audio Division, told Radio World that the commission views AM revitalization as “a big success story.”

Several observers told Radio World that these moves have provided AM broadcasters some relief but that the economic model for AM licensees, still challenged, has been clouded further by the COVID-19 pandemic.

By far the biggest impact has been the introduction of cross-band FM translators of AM license holders. Now those licensees can serve communities 24/7, reach more listeners and have more of a presence at night.

But critics say that handing out more FM signals isn’t doing anything to help the actual AM band.

“It’s in the oven”

According to the FCC’s latest tally there are 4,570 AM stations licensed in the United States. Approximately 2,800 of them rebroadcast on one or more FM translators.

The number of AMs on the air with hybrid digital HD Radio is unclear; over the years about 250 told the FCC that they were using the format, but many turned it off later, and the commission doesn’t track who remains on the air with it.

According to the commission, fewer than 250 are authorized to operate in the HD Radio hybrid mode, which combines digital and analog transmission; and it’s unclear how many of those actually are airing AM HD Radio.

Commission Chairman Ajit Pai has advocated for AM broadcasters for years. However the commission has yet to take action on additional proposals such as allowing all-digital AM or reducing nighttime signal protection for 50 kW Class A AM stations. There is no open comment period at present.

[Update: Chairman Pai announced on Oct. 5 that the commission will vote on the all-digital option later this month; read that story here.]

Ben Downs, vice president and general manager of Bryan Broadcasting, is an active interested observer. He says AM revitalization hasn’t exactly stalled but that the industry is waiting for the next puzzle piece to fall into place. “Just like the Domino’s pizza tracker, I’d say it’s in the oven,” he said.

Bryan Broadcasting petitioned the FCC in 2019 to authorize the MA3 all-digital mode of HD Radio for any AM station that chooses to do so. Advocates such as the National Association of Broadcasters support this idea.

“We have an FCC that is willing to look at the problems AM stations face and work with them to come up with solutions,” said Downs.

Technical questions raised by the FCC in its NPRM about all-digital are complex, Downs said.

“There were issues of calculating operating power in digital versus analog, coverage area, measuring modulation, emission masks, efficiency and impact on adjacent channels. One of all-digital’s benefits is that it occupies much less bandwidth than the current hybrid mode; thus less sideband hash,” Downs said.

Shuldiner at the FCC noted the “strong industry support” for voluntary all-digital on AM.

But the level of radio owner interest in actually switching off analog signals remains uncertain. Existing analog radios would not be able to pick up these new transmissions; and some observers also doubt that major groups would be eager to convert assets to all-digital in the middle of a pandemic.

Goodbye to skywave

Much has been written in Radio World and elsewhere about the experimental effort of WWFD(AM), licensed to Frederick, Md., and owned by Hubbard Radio, which operates in all-digital mode under special temporary authority.

Joel Oxley, senior VP/GM for Hubbard’s Washington, D.C., cluster, said the band cannot survive in its current form.

“I firmly believe AM needs go digital and say goodbye to the skywave. Having stations that are unlistenable when the sun goes down makes no sense. The extra coverage for just a few stations is not justified in this day and age,” Oxley said. “If changes aren’t made quickly to improve distribution there will be no viable business plans for most AMs.”

However, he said, the commission will only support all-digital if the radio industry expresses support for it.

Another station received experimental authority to test all-digital this year. WIOE in Fort Wayne, Ind., broadcast in MA3 for a few days in the spring but it received listener complaints, after which it ran in all-digital mostly at night. It concluded the digital experiment in September; owner Brian Walsh indicated that his listeners weren’t ready for all-digital AM.

Multicast play

John Garziglia, communications law attorney for Womble Bond Dickinson, wonders whether receiver manufacturers will make radios capable of carrying multicast signals for digital AM stations.

“Receiver manufacturers have not shown an inclination to make such receivers available, absent the FCC taking a proactive stance,” he said.

“The question is whether receiver manufacturers have to manufacture such receivers first for the FCC to move its regulatory roadblock to the carriage of multiple AM sub-channels on FM translators, like is now allowed for FM HD and FM translators — or more to the point, if the FCC does not encourage AM all-digital with multiplex sub-channels and carriage on FM translators.”

As we’ve reported, Garziglia’s client Urban One received permission to operate WTLC(AM) in Indianapolis experimentally with all-digital, but the company’s leader told Radio World the test might not happen because the FCC refused Urban One’s request to rebroadcast digital multicasts of the AM test station over two analog FM translators.

“AM radio is at best beyond challenged, and at worst headed towards extinction,” Alfred C. Liggins III said. “Any digital applications that improve coverage and the ability to deliver multiple streams of content are critical to AM’s survival.”

As of mid-September those were the only three stations that had received STAs. As of early October WWFD remains the only all-digital AM on the air.

Tail wags dog

One veteran engineering professional told Radio World he sees “no major U.S. radio companies showing any interest in investing in AM all-digital; and that for many owners, keeping their AM stations on the air now is pretty much just about retaining their FM translator footprint rather than keeping the AM on the air on its own merits.”

The FCC says it has no plans at present for additional windows for FM translator applications exclusively for AM licensees.

Another expert envisions a day when AM broadcasters are able to geo-locate several FM translators around its service area to offer hyper-localized content — “with the FM translators carrying discrete local programming elements and the AM station carrying programming elements that cover the entire area,” this observer said.

(Such ideas for translators have been in the news recently because technology company GeoBroadcast Solutions wants the FCC to allow FM stations to air unique content on synchronized FM boosters, to create very localized “geo-targeting” ability. A group of two dozen owners then told the FCC that if it were to allow that, it should also allow translators to originate content, potentially a much bigger change in the FM landscape. It’s under such a scenario that an AM station could create the geo-targeted cluster described above.)

The unnamed expert, however, added, “There is also a chance the secondary status of cross-band translators could result in an AM station losing its paired FM translator service someday.”

Awaiting true reform

Ben Dawson, consulting engineer at Hatfield & Dawson, doesn’t believe AM revitalization really ever started.

“The real meat of the AM revitalization NPRM was to finally make realistic changes in the basic allocation rules to reflect modern noise and propagation conditions, which are significantly different than those of the 1930s, which the present rules are based upon,” he said.

“And that simply hasn’t happened. When we’ve talked with FCC staff about it, the impression we’ve gotten is that the upper echelons of the commission just don’t think it has much importance.”

Dawson believes the cross-service FM translators allocated to AM licensees have cluttered the FM band. “Translators and low-power FM stations are just being sandwiched in.”

Digital AM in the United States faces an uphill battle, Dawson said, in part because many owners and large groups object to paying licensing fees. (While Xperi has offered AM stations a license for all-digital HD Radio technology in perpetuity without fees, that offer is seen as a kickstarter rather than a long-term policy.)

“The adoption of FM, NTSC, FM stereo, digital TV; none of those had licensing fees,” Dawson continued. “And neither should digital AM. And of course, DRM [Digital Radio Mondiale] doesn’t and is already being employed in some countries.

“But we need to develop the allocation rules for all digital and movement toward that has been very slow.”

Dawson added, “The commission did change the antenna efficiency rules, which was a help, but the proposed changes in daytime groundwave overlap and returning to using only co-channel stations in skywave RSS calculations and going back to 50% rather than 25% exclusion can be considered separately from the Class A station imbroglio.”

The latter refers to contentious proposals to change the Class A “clear channel” rules, an idea that has not advanced.

On that point, veteran attorney David Oxenford of Wilkinson Barker Knauer LLP sees a possible rift among large and small radio broadcasters.

“The issue seems to be a battle between local stations that want more local service full-time at the expense of the clear-channel stations whose signals would receive interference if that local service is granted, and potentially sacrificing some of the service from what are among the few still successful AM stations in major markets,” Oxenford said.

But at the commission, Al Shuldiner cited concerns from the Federal Emergency Management Agency about the possible impact on presidential alerting if Class A protections were altered. “We remain open to working with the industry to find a path forward on these proposals but do not have any immediate plans to change those protection levels.”

Strictly voluntary

On one thing, broadcasters have been clear: They oppose any kind of mandate to go all-digital — for reasons of cost, digital receiver availability and opposition to government mandates in general, and because some AM operations are in fact successful businesses.

iHeartMedia, which owns 245 AM stations, told the FCC earlier this year that it appreciates the commission’s goal of providing stations flexibility to adopt alternative technologies.

“However, it is imperative that all-digital AM service be wholly voluntary for each individual AM station, as each licensee can best determine the value to its listeners of such an all-digital transition based on the degree of digital-receiver penetration in that AM station’s demographic and market, as well as the economic costs of such a conversion.”

Read more of Al Shuldiner’s interview with Radio World.

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