Industry News

It’s well-known across broadcast media that Marc Pritchard, the well-respected and admired Chief Brand Officer at Procter & Gamble Co., believes in the power — and Return on Investment — of traditionally delivered radio and television.

In 2020, with some brands pulling back on their advertising activity due to the COVID-19 pandemic, P&G increased its outreach to consumers, according to new data from Media Monitors.

Procter & Gamble aired 22% more spots in 2020 than in 2019.

Specifically, the consumer products goods giant aired 23,154,642 spots in monitored markets on radio, broadcast TV and cable in 2020. That compares to 18,913,975 during the prior year, based on iHeartMedia-owned Media Monitors’ rankings of the top 100 advertisers for the year.

The data combines specific brands under the P&G family, including laundry brands Tide, Gain and Downy; Bounty paper towels; Febreze fabric softener; and, of course, Charmin bath tissue.

By specific brand, GEICO was again the nation’s No. 1, airing 6,984,053 instances – also an increase over 2019 – across local cable, broadcast TV and radio when combined.

BROADCAST TV

CABLE TV

When looking solely at radio, Progressive doubled its number of instances, airing 2,694,039 spots in 2020, up from 1,307,010 instances in 2019, Media Monitors data show.

P&G, when combined, was No. 2 at radio — suggesting that some 20 million of the company’s spots were in visual media.

Don’t be misled by the disparity. “The company increased advertising of its brands in all channels, but particularly in radio, where it increased the number of instances by 44%,” Media Monitors President/CEO Philippe Generali said of P&G’s activity in 2020.

Meanwhile, as the pandemic upended normal routines, an opportunity was created for some advertisers. Language learning app Babbel rode a wave of increased interest in online education, Generali noted. The company advertised more on radio, where it entered the top 10 at No. 5.

Interestingly, Allstate jumped to No. 6 from number 57, while Quicken Loans entered at No. 8, up from number 18. Allstate of late has largely been outside of the Spot Ten Radio weekly reports produced by Media Monitors.

RADIO

“There are many reasons for advertisers to be optimistic about 2021,” Generali said. “With the presidential election behind us, advertising inventory will increase. And now that vaccine distribution is underway, people should  soon be able to move about safely, creating more new opportunities for advertisers’ products and services.”

“The Kojo Nnamdi Show” will end production on April 1, WAMU announced.

The magazine-style radio program is a Washington and regionally focused program well regarded in public radio circles. Nnamdi is a native of Guyana who immigrated to the United States in 1968. He joined WAMU in 1998 and hosted “Public Interest.” The show was renamed for its host in 2002.

Prior to WAMU Nnamdi had worked as a news editor and director, and hosted a TV public affairs show.

He’ll continue to host “The Politics Hour” on Fridays and “continue to serve as an ambassador for the station through his revamped ‘Kojo In Our Community’ event series,” the station announced.

Nnamdi thanked his producers and also mentioned colleagues Diane Rehm, Mark Plotkin and Steve Martin for helping him along the way.

He said his role “owed a great deal to WAMU’s commitments to understanding the Washington region across racial lines — the lines which too often divide us. That commitment continues.”

WAMU plans a new regionally focused show that is yet to be announced.

 

The post Kojo Nnamdi Show to End in April appeared first on Radio World.

Fig. 1: This genset recently kept WNIS running for 38 hours.

David Morgan, CBRE, is the director of engineering for Sinclair TeleCable-Norfolk in Virginia. He enjoys the generator tips we share.

Inspect not only radiator hoses but also the belts on the engine pulleys.

He sent pictures of the emergency generator at WNIS(AM) 790 in Norfolk. It is a G.M. Diesel (from Detroit) Model 4-71. The gray electrical generator portion was replaced in 2003 after the old one self-destructed during Hurricane Isabel.

David reminds us of the importance of checking radiator hoses, seen at the upper end of Fig. 2, and to inspect the belts that interconnect the engine pulleys.

First disable the generator so it won’t start while you are inspecting it. Then gently squeeze the hoses. They should flex, and there should be no visible cracks in the rubber during flexing.

Before turning the generator back on, conduct a visual inspection of the belts. (A strong trouble light will help in this inspection.)

Locate the longest unsupported section of belt and inspect it for abnormal wear, such as glazing on the side of the belt or missing chunks of the belt. The latter can be caused by high temperatures from the heat of the engine or friction due to belt slippage.

Next, start the generator up and listen. Noise is the first indication of belt (and possibly pulley) problems. Belt squeal during start-up signifies slippage. Check for glazed sides of the belt. Also listen for squeals during a load test as the station’s electrical load is transferred to the generator. Under normal conditions, changes in RPM should not cause the belt to slip.

As the engine runs, watch for erratic movement or flutter in the belt as it turns. Either warrants further inspection by a generator technician.

As with a car tire, friction between the belt and pulleys will wear the belt away. The most common area of wear is on the tops and walls of the belt ribs. Eventually, this friction causes the grooves of the pulleys to bottom out on the grooves of the belt, with belt slippage as the result.

Poor alignment with the belt and pulleys is the biggest cause of noise. This condition can also cause belt fraying and premature wear.

The best way to inspect for this condition is to sight down the side of the belt to make sure the belt edge doesn’t make any bends away or toward the engine. Any deviation you can spot with your eye is excessive.

One other maintenance tip concerns care when adding oil or coolant to the generator engine. If either comes in contact with the belt, slippage can increase, and the slippage can cause even higher friction temperatures, resulting in more belt damage. Also inspect the seals around the water pump and the engine oil seals; leaks can contaminate the belt surface.

These tips about squealing belts also apply to air conditioning air handlers. If you hear a squeal, investigate!

Slow-leak finder

David wraps up his comments by noting that this generator recently powered the station for about 38 hours after Tropical Storm Isaias blew through the Norfolk area. Even older generators, when properly maintained, can provide long and reliable service.

David adds a comment about using soapy water to detect leaks in transmission lines and the associated manifolds and nitrogen tank fittings.

To spot difficult or very slow leaks, he has found it easier to use blue leak detector spray, such as Cal-Blue Plus brand from Nu-Calgon (www.nucalgon.com), which was developed for HVAC technicians to spot refrigerant leaks.

Fig. 3: Cal-Blue Plus stays really gooey for some time after spraying. This makes it easier to spot difficult or very slow leaks.

Unlike soapy bubble water, this spray stays really gooey for some time after spraying; the adhesion allows time for slow leaking nitrogen to bubble out. And because of its high viscosity, the bubbles are last a long time. The viscosity also enables the product to remain in contact with the applied surface for an extended period, making slow leaks easier to spot.

Cal-Blue Plus is non-corrosive to metal, meaning fittings and copper tubing will not be damaged by the compound.You can find it at places like Grainger and Home Depot, or via Amazon.

John Bisset has spent more than 50 years in the broadcasting industry and is in his 31st year writing Workbench. He handles western U.S. radio sales for the Telos Alliance. He holds CPBE certification with the Society of Broadcast Engineers and is a past recipient of the SBE’s Educator of the Year Award. Workbench submissions are encouraged, qualify for SBE Recertification, and can be emailed to johnpbisset@gmail.com.

The post Maintain Equipment for Long Life Spans   appeared first on Radio World.

For nearly 20 years, a 50kw Class C2 FM serving Selma, Ala., has served local listeners — most recently as a Black Gospel-tinged R&B station.

In April 2012, however, the station’s license was canceled and revoked, only to be reinstated in November of that year.

Now, this station has largely escaped another FCC matter of importance.

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Uncle Sam and Procter & Gamble were the two most frequent advertisers on U.S. radio in 2020.

Media Monitors issued rankings of the top advertisers for the year as measured by the number of spots they ran. (See charts at bottom; the first ranks the top parent companies, the second shows the top specific brands.)

It said the federal government ran about 5.9 million radio spots in measured markets, including ads promoting the census, while P+G ran about 5.3 million. Those two organizations also held the top spots last year.

But Progressive Insurance doubled its number of instances, airing about 2.7 million spots in 2020, rising from No. 9 to No. 3.

“Several new brands entered the top 10, including Babbel, which entered the top 100 at number five,” Media Monitors stated. “In September, the company reported its app had been downloaded more than 10 million times. Allstate jumped to number six from number 57, while Quicken Loans entered at number eight, up from number 18.”

Home Depot slipped in the rankings to No. 3 after being first last year; Lowe’s climbed to No. 4. Companies shooting way up the ranks from last year include T-Mobile and Allstate.

Falling out of the top 10 from last year’s parent rankings are former No.3 Live Nation Worldwide, which presumably reflects the loss of events during a pandemic, as well as Indeed Inc. and McDonalds.

 

 

The post These Companies Ran the Most Radio Spots in 2020 appeared first on Radio World.

Noted broker Larry Patrick, Managing Partner of Patrick Communications, is also a licensee of radio stations. And, he’s poised to gain control of three FMs as a court-appointed receiver, and immediately facilitate their sale to VCY America.

There’s just one small problem. The individual who lost control of the trio of radio stations, Ed Stolz, is engaging in what Patrick’s legal counsel calls “willful interference with court orders.” Now, it wants the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California Judge that’s been overseeing the case to send Stolz to jail until Patrick gets the properties and can sell them — per the court’s directive.

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By Mario Xavier Carrasco

America is often described as a “melting pot” of different nationalities, ethnicities, and cultures. Much to the dismay of Teddy Roosevelt (who in a 1916 speech noted “There is no room in this country for hyphenated Americanism”), Americans have perfected naming each ethnic group within our borders distinctly, and those names have evolved.

For example, we dove into the names by which Hispanics prefer to identify. Responses ranged from “Latino/Latina” to country of origin, to the hotly debated yet emerging term “Latinx.”

We see a similar pattern among Black Americans, who do not identify with labels such as “African American” despite its use in the U.S. Census, media, and other databases.

But what about the fastest-growing ethnic group in the U.S.: Asians? As with Hispanics, marketing to Asians must be nuanced because of the complexity of their demographics. Hispanic audiences span 20 countries of origin.

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American households are cutting the cord on their cable subscriptions more rapidly than previously reported.

That’s according to fresh data from more than 2,100 U.S. consumers reviewed for the second Future of TV survey by The Trade Desk.

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The CEO of Townsquare Media will be presenting on behalf of the local media company at NobleCon17 – Noble Capital Markets‘ 17th annual investor conference.

Bill Wilson will take the spotlight at approximately 4:30pm Eastern on Tuesday, Jan. 19.

And, he’ll have a virtual podium, as the COVID-19 pandemic has led Noble to hold an online-only affair accessible at no cost by visiting www.noblecon17.com.

Additionally, a high-definition, video webcast of the presentation will be available from Jan. 20 on the equity investor relations section of Townsquare’s website.

The webcast will be archived for 90 days following the event.

Townsquare Media shares concluded Monday’s trading at $7.21 and were down 2 cents with seven minutes remaining in trading on Jan. 12.

On November 30, 2016, DirecTV gave birth to a virtual MVPD designed to provide a “skinny bundle” to consumers who weren’t interested in a costly monthly subscription plan. Branded as DirecTV NOW, it didn’t require a contract.

At first, consumers seemed to like the vMVPD. Then came a name change to AT&T TV NOW, and a decline in subscribers following a summer 2018 peak.

Now, AT&T TV NOW packages ‘”are no longer available for new customers.”

There’s no official notice — just a marketing note informing consumers that AT&T TV NOW has merged with AT&T TV.

While no new customers are being accepted, current AT&T TV NOW customers will continue to have access. However, there’s no indication for how long.

The move comes as industry chatter persists that AT&T will eventually sell DirecTV to Dish, creating a DBS scenario akin to the satellite radio arena, where Sirius and XM merged to establish a financially viable operation.

Meanwhile, the U-Verse platform AT&T operated in the TV space prior to its merger with DirecTV is still being phased out.

The end of AT&T TV NOW follows the end of Sony PlayStation Vue, a “skinny bundle” that had been a feature tied to the popular video game console.