Welcome to the November 20th,
Jump in the stream
Buyer’s Guide looks at products that support your streams, HD2 channels and other distribution channels.
SBE looks to grow abroad
President Ted Hand talked with us about the society’s priorities for 2025.
What’s the forecast? If
Give Part 15 a try
Vol. 48 No. 24 | November 20 2024 www.radioworld.com
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and
A Nielsen shortcut?
The company considers changing an important definition
Paul McLane Editor in Chief
ielsen is considering an important change in how it measures radio listening, and one industry thought leader says the change could result in an increase in reported listening levels of 24% in Portable People Meter markets and 10% nationally.
As Radio World’s Randy Stine reported on our website in October, Pierre Bouvard, the chief insights officer of the Audio Active Group at Cumulus Media/Westwood One, wrote about it on his blog. He said that Nielsen, in private meetings with customers, has discussed potential plans to tweak the way it generates average quarter-hour audiences in the 48 markets that use PPM. Consultant Fred Jacobs also has written about this, as has blogger Jerry Del Colliano. Nielsen is considering shaving two minutes off the time required for a station to garner credit for an average quarter hour (AQH) of listening. A three-minute threshold instead of five would qualify more listening to be counted for measurement purposes.
In fact, that could mean that AM/FM radio listenership would surpass TV in 25–54 average audience ratings, according to Bouvard, and widen its ratings lead over linear TV among 18–49s by 47%.
As Randy reported, Bouvard thinks the implications for radio would be profound: The trend of radio listening surpassing TV would accelerate; 2025 post-buy analyses would overachieve 2024 media plans; and AM/FM radio would achieve “reach” growth in advertising schedules. He believes radio ads could also become more effective as stations increase the number of commercial breaks with shorter durations.
“Since the introduction of the Portable People Meter, most AM/FM radio stations schedule their two commercial breaks around :15 and :45 past the hour. This strategy was designed to maximize five-minute listening durations,” he wrote.
With a three-minute quarter-hour qualification, stations could create more breaks of shorter duration, which he thinks will significantly benefit advertisers. He cited data showing that two-minute ad breaks retain 99% of
the lead-in audience. Six-minute ad breaks retain 85% of the lead-in audience (see graphic, previous page).
The cut from five to three minutes in the Nielsen AQH requirement is important, he says, considering that recent analysis of PPM tuning revealed nearly a quarter of listening occasions are three or four minutes. “Under the current edit rules, none of that listening is credited. Nielsen indicates this listening should be included in PPM market reporting,” he wrote.
Nielsen recently reprocessed all 48 of the May 2024 PPM markets, comparing the listening estimates based
“Nielsen is considering shaving two minutes off the time required for a station to garner credit for an average quarter hour (AQH) of listening.
on the existing five-minute edit rule and the proposed three-minute edit rule. Overall, most of the 24% growth in listening would be due to growth in time spent listening, but reach would be up by mid-single digits in all demographics.
In a video accompanying the blog Bouvard said the change in how Nielsen tabulates listenership would mean a 19% increase in weekly time spent listening and a 4% weekly cume increase.
A projection by Scott Anekstein, VP of research at Westwood One, shows Nielsen Nationwide AQH for AM/FM radio would increase 9% to 10% in 2025 due to the effect of the switch.
Network radio advertisers transact on Nielsen’s national audience service called “Nielsen Nationwide.” Anekstein conducted a national AQH projection using the uplifted PPM markets and the existing diary markets. (PPM metro markets represent about a third of total U.S. population.)
It’s possible some stations will see wider growth in reported listenership levels depending on the format.
“Spanish tropical, hot adult contemporary, rhythmic contemporary hit radio and urban contemporary will show the greatest potential average quarter-hour audience growth,” according to Bouvard’s blog. Read it at https:// tinyurl.com/rw-bouvard
Writer
SBE looks abroad for growth opportunities
We checked in with President Ted Hand about the society’s goals for 2025
As we do annually around this time, Radio World checked in with the leadership of the Society of Broadcast Engineers about highlights of the year and SBE’s goals for the next 12 months.
President Ted Hand answered our questions.
Among the society’s achievements in2024 was the publication of Broadcast Station Self-Inspection Guides in partnership with the National Association of Broadcasters. Guides for FM and TV stations were released in the spring, and a guide for AM stations followed in September. Still in the works are guides for LPFMs, distributed TV services and FM translators, which SBE hopes to release in early 2025.
Hand was enthusiastic about the launch of Eastern Europe Chapter 148, based in the Republic of Georgia, and in October he attended a conference in Uzbekistan organized by Chapter 148 Chair Davit Robakidze.
“And we continue with the heart of what SBE is: our educational certification and mentoring programs,” he said.
SBE Ennes Workshops continue to be a success, including sessions at the spring NAB Show about RF and media over IP; the latter workshop was completely full.
SBE also continues to develop its Technical Professional Training and Mentor Programs. “Mentors and mentees are always welcome,” Hand said.
A society member since 1981, Hand was reelected as SBE president in September, running unopposed. He retired from his role as director of engineering and operations at Cox Media Group’s WSOC(TV) in Charlotte, N.C., in June. While he still does RF consulting, most of his energy now is geared toward his second term.
Search committee
Hand is heading a search committee to replace Executive Director Jim Ragsdale, who left in October to pursue another career opportunity. That news was unexpected, and SBE did not provide further details about his departure.
Ragsdale was the second full-time executive director of the society, having succeeded John Poray in 2021.
Nick Langan
The author profiled engineer Ira Wilner in October.
Above
Ted Hand is sworn in for his second term at the SBE National Meeting in Madison, Wis., in September.
The position has been posted and the committee is gathering résumés. “We’ll be interviewing candidates and we will turn it around as quickly as possible,” Hand said.
Hand is pleased with SBE’s international growth. “We’re very successful in the U.S. and North America but we’re trying to move toward a more global reach for SBE,” he said. A virtual chapter in Canada is moving along nicely.
SBE hopes to get a chapter going in Australia and has been in talks about an educational partnership there.
To support such growth, Hand believes the society needs to adapt its educational and certification programs to regulations and practices in other countries. The society is also exploring the possibility of translating its programs and content into other languages.
But SBE’s 100+ local chapters are likely to remain its hallmark.
“There are a lot of good chapters in the U.S. doing excellent work,” Hand said. “Some chapters have fallen a bit, and we’re working to help them get back on track.” Activities such as transmitter site tours help to engage membership; Hand participated in one recently with Charlotte’s Chapter 45. “We’re coming up with ideas for programming and content and trying to help the best we can,” he said.
Exploring AV
Nourishing society membership is a constant challenge given the demographics of the engineering profession. The organization was at its largest in 2004, with approximately 5,900 members. Today it has around 3,800. A membership drive this year attracted 80 people.
This fall the society awarded five rising broadcast engineers its annual Ennes Scholarships. But attracting youth into the profession remains a challenge. “Our core group of members isn’t getting any younger,” he said.
To help, SBE has considered offering production-based AV certifications in fields like education or religious work.
“We do RF, we do streaming and now we’re trying to attract AV personnel in school or ministry settings who are looking for training,” said Hand. He directs and runs cameras for his local church every Sunday and knows that many people are eager to learn and become certified.
For better coordination, Hand said SBE’s educational and certification committees now meet jointly once a year in addition to their ongoing regular meetings.
“They’re working hand-in-hand because if we’re offering certification, we want to be sure we have the webinars to help people prepare for the exams,” he said.
Hand said the society is also in talks with IEEE’s Broadcast Technology Society about possible educational partnerships.
The SBE has gotten positive feedback about the Broadcast Station Self-Inspection Guides but Hand wants to take a step further in 2025 to address the shortage of inspectors for the Alternative Broadcast Inspection Program.
Top SBE’s booth at the NAB Show in April.
Above
A panel discusses the new selfinspection guides at the spring NAB Show.
“A lot of the guides help stations determine what they need to pass inspection,” Hand indicated, “but we’re trying to fill the gap by creating a certification level for inspectors on the other side.”
Hand is proud of SBE’s annual compensation survey. It continues to show that individuals who hold SBE certifications earn higher salaries as compared to their noncertified counterparts. “It pays to be SBE-certified,” he said. A certification lasts for five years. “It’s no substitute for hard work,” Hand said, “but the data shows it makes a difference.”
While many members stay current with their SBE certifications, lapses do occur. In response, SBE is promoting its Diamond Project, in honor of the society’s 60th Diamond Anniversary. If your certification lapsed before Jan. 1, 2023, you have until the end of this year to regain it without having to retake the necessary exam.
SBE also continues to focus on protections in the RF spectrum. A recent focus has been in the upper 6 GHz band, which could be allocated toward wireless microphones, among other devices. The organization has also focused on existing bands in the Part 74 spectrum. Spectrum Manager RJ Russell and Frequency Coordination Chair Bob Weller are working with the Department of Defense to ensure spectrum protection around military bases. “Around areas like Huntsville, Ala., and Norfolk, Va., this is a very big deal, and by all accounts our efforts are going very well,” Hand said.
Writer Paul McLane Editor in Chief
Emily Lindner
Sustainability in Radio
Establish a baseline, then jump in
Lindner says companies need rigor in their management of costs
ARadio World ebook explores the subject of sustainability in radio; find it at radioworld. com/ebooks. This is an excerpt.
Emily Lindner is founder and CEO of TruNorth, which helps clients manage technology and energy assets, including the elimination of waste and costs from underutilized services.
What does sustainability mean to you in a broadcast organizational context?
Lindner: It means “doing it right over the long term.”
Sustainability in broadcast goes way beyond the energy efficiency of things like media processing and distribution. It encompasses the entire lifecycle of content and involves every employee in a company.
And it’s tied to a company’s values. This shouldn’t just be a topic that comes up on an earnings call. There is an adage that states, “How you do anything is how you do .” Does the CFO recycle their soda can? That relates to how the company plans its cap-ex investments and is making the right decisions for the long haul.
Where radio broadcasters are struggling right now is that they don’t think they can “afford” to make these investments. I put that word in air quotes; but radio broadcasters are focused on survival. Many feel that any discussion around sustainability is a privilege reserved for companies that are thriving; so it feels like radio is being forced to follow, not being inspired to lead, in this arena. Also, attention to this topic comes and goes. I sit on a lot of earnings calls. In 2022 I saw a spike in analysts asking CEOs and CFOs about their ESG initiatives, including sustainability. Now I think we’re seeing that interest decrease.
Many companies react; they do only what they have to do to satisfy analysts, instead of leading for the greater good while enjoying cost savings. We should all be asking “can we do well by doing good here?”
Engineering is the closest to the topic, and it has the loudest voice, because transmitters are the primary source of energy consumption for broadcasters. Between 60% and 80% of a radio broadcaster’s total carbon emissions comes from the transmitters.
We know that engineers are working 20 hours a day with only 20% of their desired budget. So doing the math around how a cap-ex investment can lead to an op-ex payoff needs to be a priority.
Initiatives that are driven top-down often fail because company values are not drafted in the boardroom; they’re revealed during times of crisis or in the general workday. With radio in survival mode, I don’t think sustainability will be driven from investors, the board or the executives. It’s going to come bottom-up, driven by some of the most innovative humans I know — radio broadcast engineers — as well as from a younger workforce and an investor base that care passionately about the survival of our planet.
Actually it’d be great if both happened simultaneously — if a company’s board installed a chief sustainability officer at the same time that its engineers were bringing forward evidence of possible cost savings.
But it’s getting cooler to be green. Our industry should give “green engineer” awards for the most innovative ideas and the most impactful results.
What should an engineer or manager do to get started?
Lindner: Inventory your equipment. Document the energy consumption of your transmitter over the past 24 months. Infuse sustainability into your conversations with equipment manufacturers and tower owners. Act on the results.
What can be done about it, and by whom?
Lindner: Broadcast engineers and finance need to have this conversation.
Also talk with your peers. One thing I love about radio is the belief that rising tides lift all boats; engineers share their best practices. For example if an engineer replaces a transmitter and reduces his energy bill every month by
Sustainability in Radio
$3,000, that investment might pay for itself within three years — I’m speaking generally, but the math is there — and then other engineers will connect the dots about the energy consumption that drives all that beautiful equipment.
Consider that a tower park owned by an American Tower or a Vertical Bridge may have 18 different broadcast companies on-site. Those engineers see and talk to each other about their initiatives, their vendors and their ideas; they’ll share information about how sustainable equipment will generate less heat and require less cooling.
And I think broadcasters should approach those tower site owners too, and ask: “What are you doing for sustainability? You own 30 acres in a cornfield or on a mountaintop where you have lots of sun and wind.”
Let’s lead our supply chains — our transmission networks; our data centers with their high energy consumption; and even our equipment manufacturers. How can we more sustainably dispose of our specialized broadcast equipment?
In a previous conversation you described how one of your radio customers uses your dashboard to see the state of every power meter and every account expiration date on various utility accounts across his company.
Lindner: Energy is a critical real-time commodity with high infrastructure costs and environmental impact. It is complex and prone to volatility. Finance leaders have to deal with questions like, “Why did we see our Texas natural gas bills triple last month?”
So clients need rigor and tools to track their contracts, their rates and consumption month over month and year over year. This is where TruNorth fits in. Data collection and reporting can be a colossal undertaking, pulling up energy bills from all of a company’s markets for 24 months. Our tools and robots do that automatically and then track them going forward.
Also, many companies want to buy from green suppliers. When you can select from among a dozen energy suppliers, you can choose one based on price as well as where that energy comes from; perhaps it’s wind or solar. We help a client get the data they need to make better decisions.
Engineers and finance teams deserve a dashboard of energy insights; then with their baseline data in hand, they can start to test green initiatives and prove out ROIs. Maybe they install motion-sensor lighting in just one of their business offices, then track it over 12 months to see if it yielded. Then they’ve got the math to say, “Our investment was X, the reduction is Y. It took 13 months to pay for itself, so let’s do this across the company.”
John Bisset
CPBE
The author is in his 34th year of writing Workbench. He handles western U.S. radio sales for the Telos Alliance and is a past recipient of the SBE’s Educator of the Year Award. Send your tips Workbench submissions are encouraged and qualify for SBE recertification credit. Email johnpbisset@ gmail.com
This forecast may help you predict interference
Check out William Hepburn’s DX Info Centre Tropospheric Ducting Forecast
In his time in radio and television, Dan Slentz more than once has had to explain the effects of atmospheric ducting. It seems the more stations that are squeezed in, the higher the likelihood of a stray signal on or near your frequency being “ducted” down on you from far away.
William Hepburn runs the DX Info Centre Tropospheric Ducting Forecast site. It provides a six-day forecast of potential VHF, UHF and microwave radio and TV anomalous propagation. Colored interference zones are displayed on a map of the United States.
The forecast predicts areas where the necessary atmospheric conditions are present where tropospheric bending of TV and radio waves could occur, extending the range of radio and television signals far beyond their normal limits.
As I write, the map shows marginal/fair interference conditions over Florida, but severe interference conditions from Richmond, Va., north to Delaware. Use the maps from this site to explain to your manager or PD why interference is affecting your signal, and it’s not your fault. Check it out at http://dxinfocentre.com/tropo.html. Dan also shared a tip for those of us who maintain translators.
You’ve probably experienced the frustration of having to drive for miles just to reboot equipment because the internet has proven to be less than reliable. Dan recommends installing a device that monitors net traffic and reboots power on the connected AC receptacle. This will restart the cable modem or 5G device if it loses the network.
Proxicast sells the ezOutlet5 at www.proxicast.com. The single-outlet version at $79.95 is a reasonable solution
Workbench
when one considers the cost of the engineer’s time, not to mention the price of gasoline for a round trip to the transmitter site. There’s also a dual-outlet version; and the company’s MSNSwitch2 has the capabilities of the ezOutlet but adds enterprise-grade features for advanced applications and finer control over various events.
Good ideas? Check.
In October, I told you about the new self-inspection guides for FM, AM and TV that the SBE provides free to members.
On a related note, Larry Wilkins and the Alabama Broadcasters Association offer a free Transmitter Site Checklist, which will be especially helpful for an IT personturned-RF engineer. It is a comprehensive list to help you get the most out of your next transmitter site visit.
As a former contract engineer, I think the guide would be useful in explaining to a manager what a trip to the transmitter site entails and to document that you are following good engineering practice.
Drop an email to Larry at lwilkins@al-ba.com. And if you haven’t signed up for his Monday Morning Coffee and Technical Notes email, ask him to add you to the list.
A Tonne of good ideas
The website of Tonne Software offers “an uncommon catalog of original and useful electrical engineering programs” for Windows operating systems from Windows XP up to Win 11.
You’ll find about 20 programs from Jim Tonne such as Elsie, an electrical filter design and analysis program. Another allows you to design and print professionalquality meter scales on your printer. A Windows filter design and analysis program expedites the design of lowand high-pass filters using standardvalue components. Amateur radio
operators will find much of interest. Consultant Frank Hertel with Newman-Kees Measurements and Engineering shared the site, which is at www.tonnesoftware.com
Need light? Use your head
Hall Communications Lakeland Market Engineer Steve Tuzeneu writes that when you’re working in the dark and need both hands, a headlamp like the Braun model pictured above is invaluable. Its bright LED lamp can be adjusted to illuminate your work. This would be a great holiday gift for any broadcast engineer. The rechargeable one shown here costs around $35. Find a variety of styles at your favorite online shopping site like Harbor Freight or Walmart.
Don’t break my Windows, Microsoft!
Longtime readers know that they can find many past Workbench columns at www.radioworld.com/columns-andviews/workbench. You can, too. These can come in handy even years later.
Broadcast engineer Matt Jones was researching quarterwave transmission line stubs used in the FM world to protect against lightning damage; he pulled up a column from November 2021 in which we discussed Xenirad’s quarter-wave shorted stub.
In that same article he noticed a warning about using certain versions of Microsoft in automation playout systems because of periodic Windows updates that interrupt 24/7 operation. If you’re faced with this problem, Matt suggests you use a form of Windows called LongTerm Servicing Channel or LTSC. This version of Windows software is meant for automation and use cases where servicing updates will break critical functionality. Matt uses it in commercial and government implementations for system control and automated messaging.
At https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/ search for “LTSC” to learn more.
Right
and
remote power switch with reboot is made by Proxicast.
Andre Ferrer joined ZTransform as senior design engineer. The announcement was made by President Erik Utter, who called Ferrer an “all-star in the world of broadcast system design and integration.” He has held senior positions at NEP Integrated Solutions, Diversified Systems Group and Venue Services Group.
Lawo has named Nick Pemberton as global partner business development director, a new role at the company. He will be responsible for leading development of its global partner ecosystem. He is based in the U.K. and reports to Deputy CEO Jamie Dunn. Pemberton has held international roles at companies including Sennheiser, Harman and Avid.
Emmanuel Franco has joined GatesAir as service support engineer. Franco was with Broadcast Electronics for 15 years, installing and servicing AM, FM and TV transmitters among other support responsibilities. GatesAir cited his experience with troubleshooting, software installation and customer relationship management.
The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) named Sally-Ann D’Amato as interim executive director. D’Amato has been with the engineering society and international standards-setting body for 23 years, most recently as director of events and governance liaison. Amato succeeds
David Grindle, who stepped down in October.
Tom Jones, a longtime Alabama radio engineer, died at age 75. He is shown at left in the photo, receiving the Broadcast Engineer of the Year Award in 2014 from SBE Chapter 118 in Montgomery, of which he was a founding member.
His passing was noted by the Alabama Broadcasters Association engineering newsletter. “Tom was chief engineer for over 40 years for WBAM(AM/ FM) in Montgomery,” wrote ABA’s Larry Wilkins.
“WBAM(AM) was part of Deep South Broadcasting, which had four 50,000watt AM stations. He also served as a contract engineer for numerous stations in the state.”
Writer
Paul Kaminski
The
Radio’s new playing field
Here’s how broadcast radio shows up in two of the latest-model cars
To a casual observer of the automotive scene, the trend toward big infotainment displays is somewhat like the horsepower wars of the mid-1960s: More is much better.
Two years ago I wrote about the increasing size of dashboard screens and the decline in the use of physical control knobs. I’ve had a chance to update that experience when two model vehicles recently made their way into my driveway for episodes of my program “Radio-Road-Test.”
Before I can start putting test miles on a new vehicle, I increasingly find myself having to answer the question: Where’s my radio?
Different looks
The 2025 Genesis GV80 is that luxury brand’s flagship sport utility vehicle. With a sticker price near $80,000, you’d expect, and you’ll find, creature comforts and performance to match.
In the front cabin, the 27-inch infotainment and instrument screen dominates the dash. The instrument part of the display behind the steering wheel is for vehicle information such as the speedometer; the center part is the portal for infotainment.
Below
Digging through the menu, I was able to find the controls and screens from which to select radio options. There are traditional knobs for volume and tuning below the display, but the system also provides touchscreen and voice responses.
Toyota’s 2024 mid-sized Tacoma TRD Pro “mild hybrid” pickup is one of that brand’s top-of-line models. Besides the technology of the mild hybrid power train, there’s a 14inch screen that occupies the center stack of the dash.
Infotainment and vehicle information also
author wrote in June about the retirement of Kris Specht of Comrex.
The Genesis GV80 provides 27 diagonal inches of infotainment display. Besides the touchscreen and voice command controls, there are the classic volume and tuning knobs for radio.
Paul Kaminski
Connected Cars
Above
The GV80’s infotainment system displays data including traffic info and fuel prices, delivered to the car by HD Radio. Several carmakers use HD Radio to deliver such data services.
Below
It took some menu diving, but Floyd Media station WQBQ in Leesburg, Fla., shows up on the GV80’s infotainment display. The artwork here is delivered by DTS AutoStage.
Tuning is by touchscreen or voice response; there’s a knob to adjust volume. Apple and Android phones can connect wirelessly. On-board subscription-based internet access allows other audio options.
The infotainment systems in both the Genesis GV80 and Toyota Tacoma can receive AM, FM and HD Radio signals. There’s a lot of ancillary information that’s also available. In the GV80 one can get baseball scores, gas prices and realtime weather.
But like those horsepower wars, there’s a safety concern with touchscreens and big displays; that’s the distraction
factor. At 70 miles an hour, one travels the length of a football field in just under 3 seconds, which is more than enough time to crash or worse. If one’s looking at a big screen (or any screen) rather than the road ... you get the idea.
That piece of automotive real estate in the center dash we call an infotainment display is extremely valuable, especially when paired with on board subscription-based internet access. That’s the arena in which radio stations compete. Some show up well; others not so much. This begs the question: How do they compete?
“The 27-inch infotainment and instrument screen dominates the center dash.
Right The Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro has a 14-inch infotainment display in its double cab. There’s only one knob for the infotainment system; it turns the system on/off and adjusts volume.
Right
A display for an FM translator of WVLG(AM), a Villages Communications station in Wildwood, Fla., as heard in the Tacoma TRD Pro. We were not able to confirm which metadata platform delivered these visuals.
Learn more
Read the free ebook “Recipes for Visual Display” at radioworld. com/ebooks
Connected Cars
In past connected car features, I’ve stressed the importance of stations presenting the best signal technically possible and ensuring that the metadata accompanying the signal is technically correct, accurate and up to date. Metadata that worked well for a two-line dot matrix LED display won’t show up well with big OLED screens, especially when competing with sources using rich displays of album art and the requisite resolution.
The question that managers, programmers and talent must answer is whether the program we’re producing is compelling enough for listeners to search for it through multiple menus on a big screen?
Paul Kaminski has been a Radio World contributor since 1997. He produces and hosts the weekly msrpk.com program “Radio-Road-Test.” You’ll find him on X at msrpk_ com.
NEW NODES
Telos Alliance introduced its xNode interfaces 12 years ago and has shipped 37,000 of them. Now it has announced a fresh version.
“xNode2 carries on as the ultimate ‘universal translator’ between external analog, microphone and AES/EBU devices
and Livewire+ AES67 AoIP networks,” it said in the press release.
Dual 1000 MB network interfaces provide compliance with SMPTE 2022-7, allowing streaming to separate network branches for audio redundancy and automatic failover to the available RTP stream.
Features include a high-resolution, multi-function LCD color display and an improved user interface. AC and PoE+ provide redundant power.
The new version retains the half-rack fanless form factor of its predecessor. xNode2 is offered in five variations: Analog, AES/EBU, Microphone, Mixed-Signal and GPIO.
Info: www.telosalliance.com
SPEC SPOTS
ENCO has added more features to its SPECai tool.
LeadGenie is a lead-generation tool that automatically creates a spec spot as part of an email pitch to a current or potential advertiser.
“Upon using SPECai’s responsive workflow and software toolset to create scripts, add voiceovers and select music beds from Benztown’s libraries, users can select a new option to email an example to a current or prospective client,” the company said in a release.
SPECai will produce an email from a template with a link to the ad that the user can adjust and customize for each client.
The company also added a feature that allows users to create a spot by entering a URL for a website or webpage. “InstaSpot immediately analyzes the landing site for information relevant to the spec spot and presents the user with three script options for the spec ad.”
Info: www.enco.com
and Streaming Tools
About Buyer’s Guide
In this issue we focus on products to create, process, monitor or manage online streams, digital subchannels or other “ancillary” distribution platforms.
PCn1600 brings an original sound back around
Orban tool boosts NY’s Original HOT 103/97
Disclaimer first: In “real life” I work for Audacy, but they have nothing to do with this stream. “NY’s Original HOT 103/97” is my own labor of love and I don’t make any money from it at all.
I grew up in a suburb of New York City listening to amazing radio stations like Z100 and WPLJ. Then in the late 1980s, WQHT(FM) came along — first as HOT 103 and later HOT 97 — and took New York City radio to another level. I, like many others, loved the music and highly processed sound. And a lot of people, especially me, experienced withdrawal when the station flipped to a hip-hop format in 1993.
Screenshot of the Optimod PCn1600
More Info www.orban. com/overviewpcn1600
The original format was rebooted as a stream in the early 2000s by the original station’s programmer, but after 10+ years, he could no longer keep up with it and shut it down in 2014. Listeners of the stream (including me) were heartbroken, and just like when the station flipped to hip-hop, once again found ourselves without our favorite radio station.
NY’s Original HOT 103/97
During the Covid lockdown, with the blessing and support of staff from the original station, I decided to take
my 20+ years of programming and engineering experience, and bring back the original sound of the station with my own stream. You can find it at http://hot103and97online.com.
From the start, my goal was to not only bring back the music and imaging of the original station, but to completely recreate the original “sound” of it, including its signature audio processing in the late 1980s and early ’90s. At the time I started the stream, I had an Optimod 6200 DAB processor on hand. I did what I could with it, but it wasn’t the same as a fullfledged FM processor.
To really achieve my goal, I needed the powerful limiters, clippers, stereo enhancements and other benefits of a full-featured FM processor, but those were too pricey for a personal project.
Then through an industry friend, I found out about the Orban Optimod PCn1600. He helped arrange a demo for me. It went live on the stream a few weeks later.
I honestly cannot say enough great things about this processor; it floored me! Using the Optimod PCn1600, I have been able to recreate in painstaking detail every element of the original station’s processing, without sacrificing sound quality. The Optimod PCn1600 algorithms allow me to drive the processing hard while minimizing distortion. The result is a stream that captures the unmistakable heavily processed sound of the original New York City FM station. To this day, I can’t believe it comes off a tiny little computer in my home office and not “from the top of the Empire State Building.”
Right
Johnny Palumbo Below
Writer Johnny Palumbo
Tech Update
DTS AutoStage Provides Key Insights
DTS AutoStage is a global entertainment platform for connected cars that combines linear broadcast with IP-delivered content “in a unified, user-centric experience.” It is deployed in 7 million cars and supported by 12 auto manufacturers.
A key feature is the Broadcaster Portal, which provides radio broadcasters access to in-vehicle listener data insights from vehicles globally equipped with the DT S AutoStage platform.
“Through the portal, broadcasters gain unprecedented insights into who their in-vehicle audiences are, where their audiences are listening, when they are listening, how long they are listening for and what content they enjoy the most,” the company says.
Among the metrics available from the portal’s dashboard are market share, average session length, audience listening heat maps (shown) and audience flow visualizations, indicating how, and which, content their audience tunes into and out of.
“These data analytics are available for any day of the month, going back a year or longer, and in rated and unrated markets. This unique window into audience behavior can help broadcasters more
specifically understand listener engagement, better connect with target demographics, power new revenue opportunities with brands and advertisers, optimize choices, and much more.”
Broadcasters who participate in the DTS AutoStage ecosystem have access to the geographic definition of the audience; popular locations and thoroughfares; program performance, including most popular formats and content; and retailer heat maps, showing shopping locations in proximity to station’s audience.
Stations can access the Broadcaster Portal whether they are broadcasting digitally or via analog, by registering through at https:// onboarding.connectedrad.io/
Info: https://dts.com/autostage/
Tech Update
NextKast OnAir Launches Split Stream Ad System
NextKast OnAir has introduced the Integrated Split Stream Advertising System.
“This innovative tool addresses a common missed opportunity: running distinct advertising content on online streams versus overthe-air broadcasts due to differing regulations,” it states.
To expand the revenue potential of online broadcasting, NextKast’s system allows stations to split their commercials, broadcasting one ad over the air while running a different, targeted ad on the online stream. NextKast’s built-in encoder handles the simultaneous broadcast of on-air and stream-specific ads.
Tech Update
“This functionality not only enhances ad revenue but also allows broadcasters to tailor their ads to different audience segments, maximizing their digital reach while ensuring compliance with both terrestrial and online regulations,” it says. This simplifies the process for broadcasters, removing the need for additional software or external systems.
Info: www.nextkast.com/onAir
Monitor Your Streams With the 611
Inovonics has expanded the functionality of its 611 Streaming Monitor, a second-generation monitor for IP streaming and internet radio.
The 611 is a hardware solution for monitoring network streaming audio. It provides balanced analog and AES-digital outputs as well as self-logging alarms that constantly check for audio loss, stream loss
and internet loss. If power is lost, the 611 automatically resets to the correct URL once power is restored.
Inovonics introduced the 611 in spring of 2023. It has added enhancements since then. Firmware upgrades are free and accessible from the 611 product page or Product Downloads Web page of the company website.
Stream Rotation allows users to monitor up to 30 streams sequentially. The Stream Failover function automatically switches to backup streams. The 611 supports HTTPS streams and streaming formats HLS along with Icecast/Shoutcast. SNMP is fully supported. The compact 611 can be mounted with an optional rack kit accessory that allows broadcasters to combine it with INOmini or Half-Rack Size products.
Info: www.inovonicsbroadcast.com
Tech Update
Summit Bolsters Streaming Platform
Summit Technology Group has added features to its TundraCast audio streaming platform to assist stations with streaming monetization and performance rights reporting.
The new Companion Advertising feature delivers text and image-based advertising content via the web player when triggered by a commercial spot played over the air. The enhanced content can be applied to all or select spots and delivers image, text and a customizable call-to-action button. Reports can be generated to show impressions, click-through rates (CTR) and other metrics so the effectiveness of a campaign can be evaluated and used to further a relationship with an advertiser. Improvements have also been made to how metadata is used and presented to the listener in the web player.
The addition of a Show-Mode accommodates the needs of news talk and public radio stations that focus on spoken word. This mode delivers text and image-based content to listeners to identify the current and future shows on the station. The content can be general
information about the show or changed daily to account for different topics of discussion or special guests.
Stations that provide both spoken-word and music content can use the automatic mode or programmatically switch the mode using a command in their automation system.
The company also has made improvements in its music reporting tools available to broadcasters. These include automated SoundExchange logging and reporting as well as the ability to generate reports for other performance rights organizations such as BMI, ASCAP, SESAC and GMR. Summit says new reporting tools support a more time- and cost-effective workflow.
Info: www.summittechgroup.com/tundracast
Radio One streams with ST-Enterprise
“We strive to have the cleanest, non-fatiguing audio possible on the stream”
Radio One is running 122 instances of STEnterprise from Thimeo Audio Technology, with 61 main channels and 61 on backup.
Mike DePolo is vice president of engineering and digital operations at Radio One. “ST-Enterprise is being used for streaming, HD2/3 and connected car processing,” he said. “We have used many other PC-based systems. I have found that ST-Enterprise is the most advanced system on the market.”
ST-Enterprise is an audio processing solution based on technology developed by Hans van Zutphen and his team at Thimeo, which also created Stereo Tool and MicroMPX.
It can run up to 50 FM, AM and/or HD processors on a PC, with a single interface to control them and an overview screen that shows the status of the incoming and outgoing signals. RDS, RDS2 and MicroMPX encoding are built in.
By sharing resources between instances, ST-Enterprise makes more efficient use of the available resources, mainly the processing power, and it allows the user to share input sound cards between multiple processing instances.
ST-Enterprise supports built-in Nielsen PPM, Kantar and Intrasonics watermarking for audience measurements. Common applications include both streaming and FM broadcast.
“We do not aim to make our streams sound like our terrestrial audio,” said DePolo.
“We strive to have the cleanest, non-fatiguing audio possible on the stream. We prefer this for the fewest encoding artifacts and highest quality listener experience
More Info www.thimeo.com/ st-enterprise
on smart speakers, earbuds, laptops and mobile devices.”
He found it easy to attain the desired sound. “The flexibility in adjustment and the ability to choose as much or as little processing as desired is its strength. The ability to bypass certain processing stages when not desired is essential.”
DePolo also was impressed with the ability to manage multiple instances from a web interface. “The PPM watermarking feature has helped us eliminate large quantities of wiring, I/O and wasted rack space associated with outboard PPM encoding.”
ST-Enterprise for streaming sells for $970 with no additional service fees; the FM version sells for $1,950. Prices include free updates.
“The flexibility in adjustment and the ability to choose as much or as little processing as desired is its strength. ”
Above ST-Enterprise overview page.
Right Mike DePolo
Tech Update
Futuri VoiceAI
Powers Local Content
“Less than 30% of stations in the U.S. today have more than one live and local daypart,” Futuri states.
“There are more dayparts/stations than ever with recorded content — or worse, just repetitive canned imaging and liners. Have we lost the local edge that our stations were once known for?”
The company says Futuri VoiceAI can help by providing broadcast-ready AI voices that can create spec spots, do local service elements and host an airshift.
The technology gives listeners local content by analyzing what is trending in your market on social media and on 250,000 news sources and then voicing weather, local trends and talk breaks about the songs you’re playing.
You can clone a top talent’s voice or choose from among AI voices in a library. Futuri’s tools can also be used to create spec spots and produce commercials.
Info: https://futurimedia.com/solutions/futuri-voice/
Tech Update
Forza HDS Audio Processing Software for HD and Streaming
Omnia Forza HDS is a software-based audio processing solution for HD and streaming applications. The company says it gives audio delivered via digital channels a consistent, polished audio signature.
“Forza HDS represents a fresh approach to streaming audio processing. Although it employs a time-tested five-band processor design, Forza HDS was designed from the ground up, using a fresh approach with new processing algorithms, all-new AGCs and multiband limiters purposefully designed to meet the unique demands of HD and streaming channels.”
It said the result is a pleasing signature sound that doesn’t sound busy or overly processed.
Forza HDS includes Omnia Sensus codec conditioning technology, which helps compensate for aural effects often heard in bit-reduced audio. A LUFS target-driven ITU-R BS.1770 loudness controller ensures that broadcasters don’t exceed loudness targets when delivering to platforms with specific loudness requirements.
The one-page user interface provides smart controls that allow users to adjust multiple parameters simultaneously.
Omnia Forza HDS software can be hosted onpremises on a commercial off-the-shelf server or with a services provider. It can also be pre-installed on the Telos Alliance AP3000 Hardware Platform, which can host up to four simultaneous instances of Forza HDS processing.
Info: https://tls.al/forza.
Hector Serpas
problem through the presence of encrypted tokens on the listener’s side that offer immediate authentication.
“We can now prevent unauthorized access to our streams,” said Serpas. “That’s a very big deal because we can both protect our IP and more effectively monetize our content.”
Monetization was also on the checklist. “In addition to securing our content and repurposing our content
Below KLVE in Los Angeles is among the radio stations owned by TelevisaUnivision.
in creative ways through SGrecast, StreamGuys has deployed a geoblocking service that is essential for licensing compliance in sports carriage,” said Serpas.
“It also ensures we deliver a different experience for listeners when they are blocks due to regional restrictions, instead of fading to silence.” He said StreamGuys helps the company deliver a seamless experience to every listener.
“Wannabes” should consider Part 15
The FCC allows legal, license-free broadcasting over a small signal footprint
Michael Baldauf’s article “Streaming Offers ‘Radio Wannabes’ a Way to Start” caught my interest as a former stream operator and active radio broadcast engineer.
However, I’m not convinced that streaming is the ideal cure for the “radio wanabee” crowd. Depending on the motivation for the pursuit, streaming may leave the operator either exasperated or cleaned out!
In starting up a deep-oldies webstream, I’d cultivated some loyal listeners, though it was less than 30. To my surprise, once my stream was discovered by the tuning service integrated into Apple’s iTunes, the unexpected inrush of new listeners required increasing bandwidth multiple times to accommodate listener demand. The royalties for online streaming had my wallet hemorrhaging cash.
Two of the kindest and most dedicated listeners stepped up to help keep the stream from getting too far into the red; but I felt it was unfair for these souls to shoulder the lion’s share of listener contributions. After three and a half years of their kindness, I shuttered the stream.
Streams with pitifully low listener counts will leave an operator frustrated, while those with crazy high listeners counts could leave the operator perpetually broke. Besides, online streaming just isn’t the same as modulating carriers. Now that’s real radio!
Building a community
A few years after I discontinued my webstream, my full-time employer embarked me on a project that could provide a solution to the “radio wannabe” crowd on either the AM or FM broadcast band.
As part of the construction for a new high school, I was enlisted to build campus television and radio station suites. With insufficient spectrum available to file for a licensed radio facility, I decided to employ FCCcompliant, legal, license-free broadcasting under Part 15 regulations.
By the time I was asked to get involved, progress of construction made things a bit more difficult, as walls and ceilings were in place. We installed leaky coaxial cable in the hallway ceilings to provide an FM signal within the building; a Potomac FIM-71 field strength meter ensured Part 15.239
Writer Bill DeFelice hobbybroadcaster. net
Above The author at WMNR(FM) in Monroe, Conn., where he started his career in the 1970s. The photo was taken on the occasion of installing a new Nautel transmitter.
levels at the exterior walls of the building. Meanwhile we put a Hamilton Rangemaster FCC-certified AM transmitter on the roof, adjusted for Part 15.221 compliance via a Potomac FIM-41; it provided a usable signal to football field listeners in the bleachers for play-by-play coverage.
FCC Part 15 broadcasting for the radio “wannabe” has a notable advantage: Once you’ve purchased the desired equipment, there’s rarely any ongoing cost beyond electricity.
As of this writing, only BMI has music licensing available for Part 15 broadcasters, but the payment (for those who elect to do so) is dramatically less expensive than what online streamers are subject to.
My experience on the McMahon campus project led me to create HobbyBroadcaster.net (also accessible via CampusBroadcaster.net). The website has been providing “radio wannabees” the resources to build and operate their very own Part 15 compliant radio station for almost 17 years now. Hobbyists and academic institutions have used the FCC legal and technical resources, product reviews, equipment manuals and station profiles with audio and studio showcases to become Part 15-savvy.
The site has the distinction of having published “The AM Transmitter Challenge,” the only side-by-side comparison of various Part 15 transmitters installed in a 100% Part 15.219 compliant manner and measured with the Potomac AM field intensity meter. A new version of that challenge is planned for 2025 once several upcoming Part 15 broadcasting products have been released to the public.
A community forum also is available, where members can ask questions and share tips and tricks. The membership not only consists of novice “wannabes” but seasoned folks allied to the electronics and broadcast industries such as Radio World contributor Al Peterson, Angry Audio’s Michael “Catfish” Dosch and Inovonics Broadcast founder Jim Wood.
In fact, with collective input from the HobbyBroadcaster forum membership, Jim Wood designed an analog AM multi-band broadcast audio processor and an AM modulation monitor, purpose-built and priced for the Part 15 broadcast community. Jim makes them available via his Schlockwood Laboratory.
Low-Power Radio
A half-dozen forum members have graduated from Part 15 AM to licensed low-power FM stations, thanks in part to the resources and advice they gleaned via the site and forum.
Scratch that itch
You can put a Part 15 station on the air with professionalsounding audio using audio sources such as an automation program — free, freemium or for-purchase software — audio processing and your transmitter of choice.
My site’s broadcaster profiles demonstrate hobby broadcasters as well as campus-limited stations whose studios range from a self-contained setup via a simple laptop all the way to those wishing to emulate the full radio studio experience.
Will Part 15 broadcasting satisfy all radio wannabee? Perhaps. I’ve measured signals for Part 15-compliant AM
Readers’ Forum
Keep Marianas, Close Martí
I read with great interest the article by T. Carter Ross about the shuttering of the Voice of America’s Robert E. Kamosa Transmitting Station in the Northern Mariana Islands. He not only addressed the imminent closure but explains the site’s history and raison d’être.
In light of China’s expansionist efforts in that region, it makes no sense to me to close a shortwave station that is not beholden to the machinations of the internet. The justification for its closure, according to the article, is that shortwave listeners are “migrating to other media” as well as the costs to repair antennas that were destroyed in recent storms.
The VOA, under its parent organization the United States A gency for Global Media, would be better off fixing the antennas and transmitters to current standards and shutting down that worthless service to Cuba, Radio Martí. I am not mixing apples with oranges, since the Cubans get enough American media directly out of Miami without the need for VOA. Just the advertising alone from those Miami AM stations is enough to get the so-called “American point of view” across to Cubans. They get it.
China is another issue entirely. China is not our friend. China is an adversary and a significant one at that. Cuba collapsed a long time ago, having the worst economy in the Western Hemisphere, with only Haiti as a close second. We should spend taxpayer money where it counts. Let’s keep those transmitters up and running in the Marianas and shut down the ones that make little or no sense at all.
Lawrence M. Cohen Utica, N.Y.
signals out to about a mile, and the ground conductivity here in Connecticut is the poorest in the United States. Odds are those folks who enjoy better ground conductivity would enjoy greater range.
My own signals blanket my hyperlocal neighborhood for those desiring to listen while affording controlled costs. In comparison, online streaming involves ongoing expenses for bandwidth and music royalties. A typical Part 15 “broadcast” station also uses so little electricity that there’s little worry about leaving it operate 24/7, though the AM frequencies that are clear in the daytime suffer from interference during evening hours, reducing its listenability.
The author is former chief engineer of WMMM(AM)/ WCFS(AM) in Westport, Conn., a freelance engineer and the webmaster of the History of Westport Connecticut Radio website. His Part 15 website is hobbybroadcaster.net.
Kudos to NPM
Re “What’s Next for the MEP Code,” RW Oct. 23: Paul, the origins of MEP can be traced back to a Native Public Media Summit held in Phoenix in May 2023. When I was discussing the rising missing person crisis that disproportionately affects people in Indian Country, we formulated a proposal to make alerting in these situations easier to understand and a clearer option for authorities.
Loris Taylor, NPM’s president
How to submit Radio World welcomes comment on all relevant topics. Email radioworld@ futurenet.com with “Letter to the Editor” in the subject field.
the heavy lifting. She is responsible for the National Council of American Indians resolution that was delivered to the FCC and FEMA. That resolution rapidly wound up on the FCC chair’s desk. From that point on MEP was unstoppable. The FCC public vote was held just 15 months after that NPM Summit!
The credit goes to Loris and Native Public Media, a small organization that moved the FCC forward. They were looking out for not only their people but every missing and endangered person across the nation.
Al Kenyon Customer Support Branch Chief | IPAWS | NCP Federal Emergency Management Agency
