Five Reasons Why You Will Enjoy Zoom More In 2022
Please Login to view this premium content. (Not a member? Join Today!)
Please Login to view this premium content. (Not a member? Join Today!)
With Nexstar Media Group‘s merger with Tribune Broadcasting — a transaction originally planned by Sinclair Broadcast Group until the Pai Commission questioned Sinclair’s close relationship to station spinoff partners — the company founded by Perry Sook in Scranton, Pa., became one of the most important affiliate partners of The CW Network.
Now, according to multiple reports Nexstar’s not commenting on, it appears the nation’s largest Over-The-Air TV station group seeks to take a sizable equity interest in the network known for its young adult programming, including just-concluded sci-fi series “The 100.”
Please Login to view this premium content. (Not a member? Join Today!)
By Brian Galante
RAYMOND, ME. — For many low-power television station licensees, the multilevel ROI opportunities associated with ATSC 3.0 and NEXTGEN TV — getting a big splash in Las Vegas at CES 2022 — could mean big dollars for savvy operators investing in the right technology.
Among the companies with LPTVs in its stable taking the lead with ATSC 3.0 is ARK Multicasting. It’s just selected a Sinclair Broadcast Group-owned antenna provider to usher in the NEXTGEN era at its television stations.
Please Login to view this premium content. (Not a member? Join Today!)
The Wyoming Association of Broadcasters are adding two long-time sportscasters to its Hall of Fame: Gene “Gabby” Barrus of Cody, Wyo., and Tim Ray of Grand Junction, Colo. The pair will be inducted into the WAB Hall of Fame at WAB’s annual convention on June 11, 2022, in Cody.
Barrus began his play-by-play career at KODI(AM) in Cody in 1947 and later served as the station’s sports director. Curt Gowdy, 2003 WAB Hall of Fame inductee, once referred to Barrus as “the voice of high school sports in Wyoming.” He spend more than 20 years on air, mostly at KODI, and was a mentor to many future sports broadcasters in the state. Barrus passed away Nov. 20, 1998.
Tim Ray stared on air as a play-by-play announcer at KWYO(AM) in Sheridan, Wyo., in 1980. In 1984, he launched the first sports program on sister station KROE(AM) with play-by-play commentary and weekly live sports-talk shows from a variety of businesses in Sheridan.
In 1987, Ray joined KTWO Radio/Wyoming Radio Network where he did various radio and television assignments for the station and the University of Wyoming, including sideline reporting, play-by-play and studio broadcasting. He hosted a statewide radio talk show with 2005 WAB Hall of Famer George Kay on KTWO(AM) in Caspter, Wyo., radio for nine seasons.
Ray was named Wyoming Sportscaster of the Year in 1986, 1988 and 2003 by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association in Salisbury, N.C.
The Wyoming Association of Broadcasters has inducted 41 Wyoming broadcast legends into the WAB Hall of Fame since it was founded in 2003.
The post Wyo. Broadcasters Name Two Sportscasters to Hall of Fame appeared first on Radio World.
SAVANNAH, GA. — Dick Broadcasting has selected an Operations Manager to lead the programming of its five radio brands serving the Coastal Empire of Georgia.
The individual taking the slot was formerly in a similar role at SummitMedia in Omaha.
Please Login to view this premium content. (Not a member? Join Today!)
The author is owner and chief engineer of WGTO and W246DV in Cassopolis, Mich. His commentaries are a recurring feature at radioworld.com.
I have written in recent years about AM quality, including modulation and bandwidth. There have been several articles from many other experienced and qualified engineers as well.
Today I want to ask a few questions and set the stage for answers that seem to have evaded us for more than three decades.
A brief history
AM radios were at one time rather broad in their front-end response. And while that sounded pleasant, that broad front end caused trouble as the band became packed with more stations. The typical receiver delivered degraded audio, as its wide front end let in adjacent signals that made listening less enjoyable, especially at considerable distances.
The problem was exacerbated by AM stations running boosted high-frequency audio at full unrestricted bandwidth, as the audio demanded.
As a response, manufacturers tightened up the IF so the audio output was less affected by adjacent-station high-frequency modulation. We then saw years of tit for tat. Denser modulation with high-frequency boost was met with more narrowed response by radio manufacturers.
The battle went on until AM sounded more like telephone audio than a quality audio service.
In the 1980s the National Radio Systems Committee set out the honorable goal of standardizing transmission equalization with preemphasis that was matched by complimentary deemphasis in receivers. The goal was a much improved end-to-end listening experience, one that could approach the sound of FM in new radios.
The FCC adopted the transmission preemphasis, along with a bandwidth limit or mask for modulating audio with a cutoff that was as sharp as the edge of the Grand Canyon, blocking anything over 10 kHz from making it onto the air.
Receiver manufacturers said they would soon open the front ends of typical cars and home radios once the new preemphasis and cutoff were adopted.
Fact is the mask cutoff worked so well that you could sit 5 miles from a 50 kW station and tune to a 1 kW first-adjacent 80 miles away and hear it with no interference from the nearby flamethrower on just about any modern car radio. For the casual listener on a consumer radio, the days of adjacent interference were over.
The present
It has been more than 30 years since that agreement was made at the NRSC table, more than a generation since the plan was drawn up.
We have gone through many phases since then — AM stereo, which died. AM hybrid digital, which frankly sucked. And now finally a move to go all-digital.
But we know that analog radios will be around for years to come. Most of the senior engineers from the manufacturers who were working in the ’80s have long since passed away. But the standards that were supposed to change never did.
[Read More from Larry Langford at Radio World]
I often wonder why the NRSC or NAB could not twist some arms and why the FCC left the room when asked to mandate the new receiver standards; but that is another story.
AM portable and most car radios still have audio response that rolls off like a ski slope after 2 kHz. But every station in the United States and some other areas have adopted the 10 kHz cutoff.
The question and challenge
A lot of people read Radio World so I am looking for someone to answer the question in technical detail of why, after all these years and tests, the standard AM radio is still unnecessarily narrow and bad-sounding.
I want someone with credentials as a manufacturer to step up and tell us what possible reason they have for not redoing the basic chipset in 30 years to accommodate the NRSC standard.
The argument has gone on for decades, but I have never seen a written word from any trade group or individual representing radio manufacturers that really explains this position.
Manufacturers promised the NRSC they would make radios to compliment the new standard, even though the FCC never made the receiver improvement mandatory, while making every radio station modify transmission systems to meet the new standard.
Makers did respond quickly to the expanded band, cranking out radios that went to 1700 kHz at record speed; and now they are slowly making digital radios for more car models. But no one took the simple step of changing the mass-produced chipsets to something that would better resemble decent fidelity since 1988.
Someone tell me why improvements were not made to increase bandwidth to any reasonable degree. Is there a political answer? I cannot think of an engineering answer, but I wish to open the floor for someone to stand up to explain this archaic practice of tightly limited AM bandwidth — at a time when most AM listening is local, and adjacent interference at that range is rare. Is there anyone from the manufacturing side who will offer testimony? Is there someone to come forward or will we hear only country crickets in the night?
Comment on this or any story to radioworld@futurenet.com. The author can be reached at larrylangford@aol.com.
The post Time to Come Clean on AM Quality appeared first on Radio World.
“If its start is any indication, 2022 is going to be a busy and productive year at the FCC.”
Those are the words of Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, who shared on Wednesday a preview of what the Commissioners will consider at its January 2022 Open Meeting on Thursday, January 27.
Please Login to view this premium content. (Not a member? Join Today!)
Should a television station licensed to Opelika, Ala., offering content from diginets THISTV and NBCLX be given “must carry” status for the Atlanta DMA, something its owner believes should be enforced by DirecTV?
The Media Bureau of the FCC says no.
Please Login to view this premium content. (Not a member? Join Today!)
LAS VEGAS — Despite the negative press, lines of CES 2022 registered attendees were seen at McCarran International Airport awaiting their official credentials on Wednesday.
At the same time, the NEXTGEN TV team was busily sharing three big stories involving the rollout of the ATSC 3.0-powered broadcast television technology — making Day 1 of the three-day affair a significant one for next-generation television.
Please Login to view this premium content. (Not a member? Join Today!)
Add Consumer Technology Association president Gary Shapiro to the list of those strongly endorsing Gigi Sohn for the fifth seat on the Federal Communications Commission.
President Joe Biden resubmitted Sohn’s nomination to the Senate on Jan. 4 as the administration attempts to finally secure a Democratic majority after a year in a political 2–2 tie. (Nominations must be resubmitted to a new session of Congress unless they have been held over by the relevant committee, which Sohn’s was not.)
It will take that majority to tackle potential regulation of broadcasters and internet service providers, s9mething Republicans are unlikely to vote for.
[See Our Business and Law Page]
In a blog post as CTA kicked off CES 2022, Shapiro called Sohn a “pragmatic problem solver who understands what it takes to make innovation thrive.”
Support from Shapiro comes hardly out of the blue. He and Sohn were on the same side of several fair-use fights when she headed advocacy group Public Knowledge.
He pointed to her opposition to the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and PROTECT IP Act (PIPA), which CTA also opposed.
“Good government depends on the leadership of good people — individuals who are committed to principles over partisanship, open to diverse perspectives and dedicated to acting in the public interest,” wrote Shapiro. “As the U.S. Senate considers a nominee for Commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), I urge them to confirm a candidate who embodies these qualities: Gigi Sohn.”
Sohn also received the endorsement of a trio of Obama-era FCC Homeland Security Bureau chiefs this week.
She has already had a nomination hearing, but has yet to get a vote out of the Senate Commerce Committee, after which she would need full-Senate confirmation.
Some Republicans have taken issue with her tweets about Fox News and past positions on net neutrality, but others concede elections have consequences and respect her intellect and her integrity.
The post CTA’s Gary Shapiro: Confirm Gigi Sohn to FCC appeared first on Radio World.
Please show your support by using the Ko-Fi link at the bottom of the page. Thank you for supporting REC's efforts!