Industry News

The Netherlands government has announced a three-week partial lockdown for the country, beginning 8 p.m. local time on November 12.

The new restrictions mean people will be asked to work from home as much as possible, and sporting events will be played behind closed doors. Schools, theatres and cinemas will remain open, but with limited capacities, and cafes, bars and restaurants will be told to close at 8 p.m. Restaurants are able to deliver orders after 8 p.m. local time.

The restrictions will be revisited on Friday, December 3. There is currently no updated guidance on international travel into or out of the country.

This year’s IBC show is due to take place at the RAI in Amsterdam December 3–6, 2021. IBC subsequently announced that its December show was on track to go ahead in a “safe and comfortable way” as it was exempt from the measures due to it being organized within a perimeter where everyone must show proof of vaccination or a negative Covid test before entering the premises.

It is also believed the government is considering bringing back mandatory social distancing measures, legislation that would reportedly take up to two weeks to pass through both houses of parliament.

The number of new coronavirus infections in the country was recorded at more than 16,000 for the second day running today, with the current infection rate of 93.5 per 100,000 people the highest since the pandemic began.

The Netherlands government updated its Covid protocols as recently as November 2 when it reinstated mandatory face mask rules for the public from 6 November in public areas where no Covid entry passes are used, including supermarkets, shops, libraries, theme parks and train stations.

We will have more on this story as it unfolds…

The post Dutch Government Announces Three-Week Lockdown appeared first on Radio World.

A Class B AM serving the Gateway City as a Sports Talker since April 1993 is changing hands.

The transaction has been in the works for months, and led to the August resignation of John Hadley as General Manager over “poor communication” between him and the incoming owner.

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A hybrid return to normalcy offers a brighter outlook for film and broadcast station advertising, while posing challenges to momentum for subscription streaming, broadband and global pay TV amid persistent semiconductor supply constraints.

That’s according to the just-released 2022 Technology, Media, and Telecom (TMT) Outlook from S&P Global Market Intelligence.

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In January 2020, the owner of a Class A FM in rural Kentucky offering listeners an Americana format passed away.

Now, the license of the station is formally being passed on to the deceased owner’s wife.

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TORONTO — One year ago, the owner of U.S.-based MVPDs Atlantic Broadband and some 23 radio stations across Quebec and Ontario escaped a hostile takeover bid that saw Rogers Media team with Altice USA for a $8.4 billion CDN offer that expired without execution.

Today, Cogeco remains a major media force in the markets where it owns stations, including Montréal. And, thanks to the ongoing recovering from a difficult pandemic, the company’s revenue grew by nearly 5% in its fiscal Q4. The problem? Adjusted EBITDA declined by 2.1% as Free Cash Flow tumbled by 34%.

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Movo is a company that seems to have come about to help budget-conscience video creators, gamers, and podcasters and they’re often coming out with some interesting items. On a few occasions, they’ve presented their mics as options for broadcasters.

Recently they shipped to me a microphone they labeled as the VSM-7. As someone who has done voice work for years, I’m always interested in mics, but I’m also a hard-sell for a good voice mic.

[Read: Quick Take: Movo MA5L Lightning Microphone]

Mics tend to be like favorite flavors and favorite colors. The favorite mics is based on a person’s own voice and what they like. Whether it’s a Neuman TLM 103 (or even the big U 87), or the Shure SM7, the Sennheiser MD 421 or MD 441, or my own favorite the Electro-Voice RE320 (even over the RE20 or RE27).

So when I received the Movo VSM-7, I really wasn’t expecting much. A big reason for the low expectation is based on a price of $124.95 list, whereas the previous mics mentioned can cost $300 to over $3,000.

With that said, here are the specs. First, the mic requires phantom power. The frequency response is listed at 20 Hz–20kHz. The mic measures just over 7 inches tall (207 x 115 x 185 mm) and just under 2 pounds (29 ounces). It’s made of metal and it has a very solid feel. The three switches are solid and lock in place with one being pattern selection (cardioid, omnidirectional and bidirectional),  one is a pad (0 dB and –10 dB), and the third is a flat/bass rolloff selector. There’s no fancy case or even bag, but the box is designed to protect the mic with a custom foam insert. The mic ships with a fairly inexpensive 10-foot XLR cable, a very nicely-designed shock mount, and a great working plosives/pop filter. Included is also a spare shock mount band (which was nice thinking on Movo’s part).

The real story? Nice!

Surprisingly, this microphone actually sounds much more like a high-priced broadcast mic. The response on my voice (a lower range voice) is very clean, and with or without the roll-off, it produces a sound that I could use for any voice over work. The patterns are interested, and if used as a single mic for an interview (host on one side, guest on the other), I have no doubt the bidirectional/figure 8 would be ideal.

The omnidirectional truly IS an omni, so it does pick-up in a very consistent Omni pattern. For voice work, most would go with a cardioid for noise rejection (and it really did reject noise from everywhere but the front). The plosive filter did an excellent job and would be just fine as the only filter needed, and it didn’t seem to color the audio at all.

If there is one thing I found with this mic, is that it is subject to proximity effect. With people (like myself) who “work a mic” (meaning “get closer” to talk quietly, or “back away” to project excitement), this mic will enhance the low frequencies when you work it closely. This is one of the features of the EV mics I’ve always loved is the ability to maintain a very flat response at any distance. In some cases, many voice people actually like a warmer bass by working the mic closely, and this one would be very good for that.

Overall, for $124.95, this is a well-built, nicely-designed mic. For cost-conscious people running tighter budgets, this would be a very good choice for a studio mic. For people less concerned about cost, it’s actually still a very nice mic. I’d certainly have no trouble throwing it in as a guest mic or in a production studio.

Info: www.movophoto.com

 

The post Quick Take: Movo VSM-7 Large Diaphragm Condenser Microphone appeared first on Radio World.

As 2021 comes to a close, the Video Advertising Bureau (VAB) has taken a look back at TV advertising trends for the first half of the year.

What stands out from the VAB’s research is the lingering effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the TV advertising landscape.

How has revenue recovered from the onset of a pandemic that saw generally steep declines and where some categories continue to experience slower than hoped for rebounds? A panel of experts will come together Tuesday, November 16 at Forecast 2022 for a provocative discussion about who is going to “show us the money” in the year to come. Moderator: Jack Myers, Media Ecologist/Chairman, MediaVillage
Leah Casterlin, Founding Partner, Media Fortitude Partners
Mark Gray, CEO, Katz Media Group
Steve Lanzano, President/CEO, TVB
Jen Soch, Executive Director/Specialty Channels, GroupM The session is just one of several across Tuesday that you simply need to see for yourself. Secure your seat in Midtown Manhattan for Forecast 2022 by clicking here!

 

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A change of setting and the company of loved ones can shift your outlook. But, respected public relations professional and “Zoom expert” Rosemary Ravinal did not anticipate that her seven-year-old grandson, Mo, would provide a fresh perspective on storytelling during her visit.

“The books he selected for our morning reading time heightened my awareness of the immense power of children’s literature to unveil new ways to influence and captivate the world of business,” she says.

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A new report detailing Americans’ growing investments — time and money — in watching television has been released.

What’s the main conclusion? U.S. consumers are spending more money on TV subscriptions and the devices to optimize the viewing experience, and the chances of cancelling a pay TV service remain high.

But, are the findings biased based on the entity that conducted the research?

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The movers and shakers
The visionaries and prognosticators
The issues and opportunities
The ambiance

For 19 years, the Harvard Club has been the site of Forecast, the exclusive financial conference that brings together owners, CFOs, group executives, private equity, and Wall Street investors, as well as industry analysts, to discuss conditions and predictions for the coming year in broadcasting.

This is a distinct — some would say, elite — crowd. These are top-level decisionmakers. These are the people who will chart the course, write the checks, and set the criteria for broadcasting both as a business and as an investment in the coming year.

HERE ARE A FEW OF THE COMPANIES ATTENDING FORECAST THIS YEAR!

This is Forecast. This Tuesday, November 16, at the Harvard Club in New York City.

Do it for your business. Do it for yourself. And let’s not forget the fabulous luncheon and elegant Broadcast Leadership Reception. Classy perks we know you’ll enjoy.

Forecast – it walks the talk. See you there!

President/Publisher, Radio Ink & Radio + Television Business Report