Radio World

WHERE’S THE DIGITAL?

 

Good article about a good radio (“C. Crane Offers Up a Premium Portable,” Dec. 18, 2019 issue). But why doesn’t the new CCRadio-EP receive HD channels? The good journalists at Radio World should have at least asked “Why not HD?”

I realize station managers and sales reps see no profit in HD Radio, but that is the same thing they said about FM in the 1950s. Some even tried to kill FM because they didn’t think people would buy it. Smart stations persisted in marketing FM. Those that stuck with FM eventually had the last word.

It is a “chicken or egg” thing with HD Radio and receivers. People aren’t interested in HD because stations don’t promote it and receivers are not available. I would have been a lot more excited about this new radio if it was future-proofed and promoted HD Radio.

Kevin Ruppert
Madison, Wis.

 

CORRECTING A DISTORTION

I found Mark Persons’ article “Find Your Modulation Sweet Spot” (RW, Oct. 9, 2019 issue) very informative and helpful. Distortion is a turn-off. And I had never considered the distortion inherent in the garden-variety AM envelope detector in the home receiver. Shame on me. Hopefully, this will lead to better-sounding AM.

One nit to pick: The peak power for a 100% modulated AM signal is four times carrier power, not 1.5 times as stated in the article.

James K. Thorusen
Chief Engineer
Central Coast Electronics
Lincoln City, Ore.

Mark Persons replies: Average power is what I was thinking of when writing the article. Mr. Thorusen is correct in saying that peak power is four times unmodulated power.

 

EAS HOSTAGE?

Once again we have a great example of how unreliably the EAS system is implemented. At least one major supplier of equipment recently sent out emails requiring all stations to upgrade software within a week or be unable to run the system. On top of that, in what feels like an extortion scheme, they required each station, including LPFMs and small markets that are barely getting by, to just find $350 from somewhere.

The units cost a considerable amount, and I think it is obscene to hold the users of this product hostage for software upgrades, I thought that was the reason it cost so much to buy.

I still maintain that if we want a truly functional emergency system we need to revisit the entire system in light of technology developments over the past years since the EAS was designed, and replace EAS with a more robust system that has hardware and software supplied and managed by the FCC.

This kind of haphazard process amplifies the obvious failings of EAS, it is unworkable, and cannot be made workable.

Michael Baldauf

 

LONG LIVE RADIO

I respectfully disagree with the person who wrote that radio is dead.

Having spent much of my career in electronic media, I fully understand how radio, TV, satellites, the internet, etc. all fit together to give us a remarkably flexible means of disseminating information.

Sitting here in my home office at my computer, I can “dial up” radio stations from all over the country (and the world). For example, I can listen to a station 900 miles away in my hometown. Five or ten minutes listening on my computer gets me up to speed on the late-breaking news from “back” home. If there is something really interesting, I can pick up the telephone on my desk and “connect” with someone involved in the story. If I am away from home, I can do the same thing on my laptop.

If the story is really “hot” I can pick up my cellphone and get connected to a real live human being who is involved in the story, regardless of where I am.

Long live radio! The “sound” medium.

Lewis D. Collins
Peabody, Mass.

The post Reader Letters on C. Crane, Modulation, EAS Costs appeared first on Radio World.

In what areas are virtualization affecting radio as we move into 2020? How might these trends change the future infrastructure model for radio in the U.S. and elsewhere?

The newest Radio World ebook explores the topic. In this ebook, brought to you by Wheatstone, ENCO and RCS, veteran engineer Doug Irwin asks technology suppliers and others about virtualization in audio management, production and playout, processing and more, with an emphasis on developments of the past 12-18 months.

To what extent is a cloud-based infrastructure the model of the future for radio media companies? Does the elimination of the main studio rule mean that studios will go away?

What are the technical issues and concerns that are raised by the idea of cloud-based infrastructure? Can the cloud approach be “extended” to a location of the broadcasters’ choosing? What else should broadcasters know today about where these technologies are headed, to be prepared?

Read the new ebook here.

The post Trends in Virtualization & the Cloud appeared first on Radio World.

Among the technical tools apparently being used by iHeartMedia in its dramatic organizational restructure is a music-mixing A.I. system built by Super Hi-Fi.

It’s being reported on today by the Washington Post and was described in some detail in an earlier Radio World interview with iHeart’s chief product officer. It’s not clear the extent to which Super Hi-Fi is at the core of iHeart’s AI, given that company officials are declining to talk about such specifics, but it seems likely to be a central component given that Super Hi-Fi was being tried out in its streaming platform.

The Post reports: “The system can transition in real time between songs by layering in music, sound effects, voice-over snippets and ads, delivering the style of smooth, seamless playback that has long been the human DJ’s trade. The Los Angeles-based Super Hi-Fi, whose clients also include the streaming fitness service Peloton, says its ‘computational music presentation’ AI can help erase the seconds-long gaps between songs that can lead to ‘a loss of energy, lack of continuity and disquieting sterility’.”

The Post described patents that it says “reduce the art of mixing music to a diagram of algorithmic tasks,” including a system called MagicStitch that assesses songs’ technical characteristics, blends songs and interjects other elements. The reporter describes a demo given by the company and points out a comment by iHeart’s chief product officer, Chris Williams, in an interview by Radio World that “virtual DJs” that could seamlessly interweave chatter, music and ads were “absolutely” coming, and “something we are always thinking about.”

“PERFECT TRANSITIONS”

This caused us to take a fresh look at that 2018 Radio World interview.

Super Hi-Fi describes itself as a company “dedicated to the creation of powerful artificial intelligence tools to help digital music services deliver amazing listening experiences.” In the earlier story, Williams described how Super Hi-Fi would add “perfect transitions,” “sonic leveling” and “gapless playback.”

Williams described the technology at the time as applied to iHeartRadio streams rather than over-the-air broadcasts, but the conversation presaged the impact on the latter.

[Read the 2018 interview with Chris Williams.]

“We’re eliminating the periods of silence that users currently experience within streaming music to create an experience that mimics the polished production of live radio,” Williams told RW at the time. “We’ve audited the user experience across all the major services and the average gap is 4-6 seconds between the end of one song and the start of another.”

He said the perception of the gap can be even longer across songs with really long, quiet fades or silence at the end. “This new A.I. takes all this into consideration to create the perfect song transitions just as a seasoned radio programmer or DJ would do.”

The technology also levels the volume across songs from different decades, he said at the time.

“This is important because music plays a role in setting a mood and amplifying an experience. Silence between every song and jarring changes in volume breaks the spell and takes a user out of the flow of their experience. It’s an unwelcome disruption that we can eliminate so that the music does what we intend it to do — enhance the moment.”

Williams said in the 2018 interview that these are not cross fade or segue tones, traditional methods the industry uses to solve a transition problem. “Our solution considers every transition discretely, analyzing the song ending as well as the song playing next,” he told RW. “The transition point for a single song is going to vary depending on what track is following, it is dynamic for each unique transition. Our transitions factor in energy, tempo, instrumentation, vocals, processing, volume, production values and hundreds of other attributes for one transition on the fly.

[Related: “Is Artificial Intelligence Friend or Foe to Radio?” Sept. 2018]

“Each time a new song is ingested, the A.I. learns the characteristics of that track and how to best transition it with every other song in the library, similar to the masterful capabilities of our on-air programmers.”

Williams said there are two parts of programming that affect the user experience and have to be considered: curation and presentation. “The curation, or song selection, is still based on our custom algorithm, which is influenced by the curation expertise of our world-class radio programmers. The presentation, or how the songs are stitched together, is what’s being enhanced using the Super Hi-Fi A.I.”

But asked how “artificial intelligence” could be used in a radio operation, he replied: “For a streaming music service, it allows us to scale this concept across millions of songs and billions of unique transitions in a way that isn’t possible if it had to be done by hand,” Williams said. For radio, “We would have to resort to one of the static solutions versus the dynamic approach that we have adopted.”

Notably, Radio World asked Williams, “Do you envision a day when iHeartRadio streams will have virtual DJs, complete with Casey Kasem/Gary Owens voices delivering chatter, tidbits about the song/artist or even local weather before the song plays?”

He answered, “Absolutely. Being able to add in personality, branding, artist messages and weave them all together with the music in a way that is seamless and respects the music is something we are always thinking about.”

CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE

This week’s Washington Post article quotes the co-founder of Super Hi-Fi, Zack Zalon, saying its system won’t trigger massive job cuts and could lead to new opportunities, but also said he expects that, in a few years, computer-generated voices could read off news, serve interviews and introduce songs.

We note, too, that Super Hi-Fi was not mentioned by name in the recent iHeart announcement, which described “technology- and AI-enabled Centers of Excellence” that consolidate functional areas of expertise “in specific locations to deliver the highest quality products and services.” It did mention “the hundreds of millions of dollars in investment [iHeart] has made in building out the company’s core infrastructure, in addition to strategic technology and platform acquisitions like Jelli, RadioJar and Stuff Media.”

Meanwhile, iHeart spokeswoman Wendy Goldberg was quoted by the Post this week saying that its technical solutions allow the company to free up programming people for more creative pursuits, “embedding our radio stations into the communities and lives of our listeners better and deeper than they have been before.”

The post iHeart’s Tech Strategy Puts Spotlight on “Super Hi-Fi” appeared first on Radio World.

AudioScience Iyo Dante

Audio interface developer AudioScience has announced that its Iyo Dante line of interfaces now supports the Livewire+ AES67 audio over IP protocol.

Most Livewire+ AES67 devices can stream audio to and from an Iyo Dante interface including Axia Livewire+-enabled consoles and mix engines using the Livewire low-latency streaming format.

Because it supports the Livewire+ AES67 discovery and routing protocols the Iyo Dante and its Livewire+ AES67-compatible streams can be discovered and connected using Telos Pathfinder Core Pro VM/appliance or the legacy PathfinderPro software.

[What is AES67? Andreas Hillebrand explains.]

AudioScience President Richard Gross said, “The Iyo Dante Livewire+ endpoints have been developed as a direct response to increased Axia compatibility requests from AudioScience’s long-standing radio station audio card user base. The combination of the Telos/Axia open architecture platform with AudioScience’s technical expertise has helped us provide both a cost-effective and superior density solution in a 1RU.”

AudioScience has prepared instructions for making the best of the new feature.

Info: www.audioscience.com

The post AudioScience Adds Livewire+ AES67 to Iyo Dante appeared first on Radio World.

Pilot, NAB’s technology innovation initiative, announced the winners of its fourth annual Pilot Innovation Challenge. The program will provide support to the winners to develop an AI prototype for Pilot in order to enhance broadcasters’ audience engagement.

Individuals, teams, companies, academic institutions and nonprofit organizations submitted concepts to address the challenge prompt to “build an AI character that can have conversations with individual viewers, listeners or consumers.”

This year’s winners are:

• DeepTalk: A Conversational Agent for Broadcasters — Michigan State University: NextGen Media Innovation Lab, College of Communication Arts and Sciences; i-PRoBe Lab, Department of Computer Science and Engineering; WKAR Public Media. DeepTalk is a conversational agent, like Siri, that can be trained through deep learning to deliver news in the voice of a local broadcaster.
• Jukebot — University of Minnesota: Department of Computer Science and Engineering. Jukebot is a chatbot API capable of answering simple questions and getting feedback from users for music stations.

Pilot is allocating a total of $150,000 between the two winners. Winners will also receive relevant mentorship, feedback during development and a trip to the 2020 NAB Show to demonstrate their prototype.

Innovation Challenge finalists included:

• AI-Driven Interactive News on Mobile Devices — Embody Digital
• Leveraging Conversational AI to Grow Audience, Deepen Engagement and Shape Content Strategy — University of Georgia: Department of Statistics, Institute for Artificial Intelligence; Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication New Media Institute
• Kuralt.AI: 3D Broadcast Avatar — University of North Carolina: Reese News Lab, Hussman School of Journalism and Media

Pilot Executive Director John Clark said NAB looks forward to working with the winners to develop their prototypes and ultimately provide broadcasters the ability to better serve their communities through AI.

 

The post Pilot Announces Winners of the 2020 Innovation Challenge appeared first on Radio World.

Dear Editor,

Scott Dorsey writes, “It is time for some weeding out, so that stations that can take advantage of the actual advantages of AM are able to do so.”

Dave Kolesar sees digital transmission as the salvation of the AM band (Dec. 4, 2019 issue), but AM problems are more social than technical. There are perhaps 20 times as many AM stations as there were in the 1950s, but far fewer listeners. Receivers haven’t improved; in fact on the whole they have got worse. Much of the problem is sheer overcrowding.

The one major benefit of AM, where AM shines over all other possible delivery methods, is long-distance reception over skip and the ability to deal with severe multipath on rugged terrain. Any digital system for AM broadcast that cannot contend with skip reception or degrades reception in mountainous areas is destroying the one advantage that AM has.

Yes, it’s possible that IBOC MA3 is a great improvement over MA1, in that MA1 not only was inaudible over skip but made adjacent-channel stations unlistenable. MA3 is much less likely to destroy reception of distant stations, but the digital carrier is still destroyed by Faraday rotation.

If your station is not audible on skip, and you’re not in a mountainous area where FM is problematic, you probably shouldn’t be on the AM band. I know a lot of AM stations realize this and would like to move to the FM band but cannot. The FM band is too crowded too.

But we need to sit down and face the real truth that there are too many stations on the AM band broadcasting junk programming that people are not actively listening to. It is time for some weeding out, so that stations that can take advantage of the actual advantages of AM are able to do so.

The NAB doesn’t want to talk about this. The FCC doesn’t want to talk about this. All anybody wants to do is promote technical solutions to the wrong problem.

I would be strongly in favor of digital systems that were able to cope with skip transmission, such as DRM. But there’s an easy way to dramatically improve listenability of the band, it’s just that nobody wants to talk about it.

Scott Dorsey
Kludge Audio
Williamsburg, Va.

The post AM in Digital? It’s a Tech Solution to the Wrong Problem appeared first on Radio World.

ANTWERP, Belgium — As a part of the Stadsfeestzaal events hall and shopping mall’s radio advertising campaign, Belgian broadcaster TOPradio hosted six hours of live radio on Friday, Nov 29 — “Black Friday.”

TOPradio broadcasts six hours live from a mobile studio. All photos are courtesy of Topradio.

“The organizers wanted to go beyond a traditional radio campaign and opted for a full Black Friday concept,” said Wouter De Vries, TOPradio DJ and producer. “So we set up the live broadcast alongside the commercial campaign and promoted it on the airwaves and on social media.”

De Vries added that, with TOPradio being awarded 15 FM frequencies in April 2018 the station now also has a dedicated frequency (104.2 MHz FM) for the greater Antwerp area.

“This was the perfect occasion to highlight TOPradio’s new FM frequency. We enjoy good reception and have gained many listeners,” he said.

“This Black Friday broadcast may mark the beginning of future collaboration with Stadsfeestzaal,” said Wouter De Vries, TOPradio DJ and producer.

“Although we also broadcast on DAB+, the majority of our audience still tunes into FM. And the Stadsfeestzaal is a beautiful venue, on the Meir, Antwerp’s prime shopping street.”

For the Black Friday show, Flexivent, a company specializing in mobile event solutions, supplied the FlexStudio mobile broadcast studio remote trailer, which has space for a presentation desk and all the needed technical equipment.

RadioStudio.be managed the technical integration of TOPradio’s broadcast bubble. “We put in place a Lawo ruby package with an eight-fader ruby mixing console,” said Tom Callebaut, manager of RadioStudio.be.

“For TOPradio’s Aeron playout system, a dump data PC, a copy of TOPradio’s music files databank, in the mobile studio provided the musical content. In addition, the Lawo Ember+ protocol ensured swift communication between the digital components in the studio.”

A huge billboard stage in Antwerp’s shopping street announced the TOPradio broadcast and the DJ sets.

[Read About Qmusic and Joe’s New Studios]

The station used two Neumann KMS 105 condenser microphones for presenters and guests. The Lawo ruby’s AES signal was encoded by a DEVA Broadcast 9000TX audio encoder and transmitted via 4G to TOPradio’s main on-air studio in Ghent.

The station aired between 2 and 8 p.m. with three presenters and a social media editor, providing pictures and stories for Facebook and Instagram.

Radiostudio.be managed the installation of the studio.

There was also a DJ station in the Stadsfeestzaal venue so DJs and media personalities could perform in front of an audience.

“The Black Friday mobile broadcast was a huge success, both for the organizers and TOPradio,” concluded De Vries. “This may be the start of future collaboration.

The post TOPradio Hosts Live Broadcast for Black Friday appeared first on Radio World.

We already knew that Geoffrey Starks believes “America’s broadcasters should look like America.” But on Monday the FCC commissioner took that message in person directly to the NAB Joint Board of Directors.

The commissioner spoke to members of the NAB board during its meeting in Miami. According to a copy of the remarks released by his office, Starks addressed topics of public interest, media diversity and the future of broadcast.

Starks, one of the two commissioners in the Democratic minority on the FCC, said that the proliferation of information options available to consumers does not make it less important for broadcasters to focus on what it means to serve the public interest.

[Related: Read what Geoffrey Starks told the Media Institute Free Speech Gala in November.]

“Not at all. In fact, I think this is your competitive advantage.” He cited data that most Americans still get their local news from local TV stations, and that most of the news consumed online is originated by traditional sources like broadcasters or newspapers.

He also said, “We must find effective ways to move the needle on ownership diversity.” He made note of three House bills. One would reinstate the tax certificate program, which Starks strongly supports, to incentivize sales of stations to women and minorities and encourage investment of capital. Another would improve broadcast ownership data collection and direct the FCC to complete its EEO rulemaking. The third would require consideration of market entry barriers for “socially disadvantaged individuals” being excluded from media ownership.

Starks also complimented the NAB for its Broadcast Leadership Training program and hoped the association can build on it.

[Related: “Pai Lists His Accomplishments of Three Years”]

On EEO, he was critical of the FCC for “failing to make good on its statutory mandate to collect workforce diversity data from broadcasters. It is still not clear to me how, for nearly 20 years, the FCC ignored Congress’s will by not collecting this information,” and said he’d work to re-open the issue. “Until we can adequately quantify the problem, we cannot adequately address it.” He rejected arguments that collecting EEO data or adopting policies to promote diversity would be unconstitutional.

And Starks asked the TV industry to take data privacy and security issues into account as it deploys ATSC 3.0.

“All those features rely on consumer data that will be collected by broadcasters and device manufacturers. How will that data be kept secure? How will it be stored, anonymized or sold? How will consumers be fully aware of what data are being collected and how it is being used? What about the algorithms and machine learning that will be employed to manipulate consumer data to produce targeted ads, viewing suggestions, and the like?”

He advised TV broadcasters to “widen your aperture to be aware of and conscientiously think through complex issues involving data and privacy that are going to dominate our shared future.”

Read the full speech.

 

The post Commissioner Starks Takes Diversity Message to the NAB Board appeared first on Radio World.

SAN FRANCISCO — KQED(FM) recently began a project to remodel and expand our studios in San Francisco. The plan is two-phase. The first was to move the station’s operations to a temporary facility, followed by a transition back to our newly remodeled original complex.

Caroline Smith, producer, Forum, uses the Telos VSet 12 handset and Broadcast Bionics’ XScreen (her left screen) at the KQED temporary studios.

I created an initial plan so that the system could be configured well in advance of our move. Then the team at the Telos Alliance took my plan, checked that it made sense from a technical standpoint and added a few important modifications to achieve a modern and highly reliable on-air telephone system, one befitting a 24-hour news and information operation that is often the number one station in the San Francisco market.

Good hardware with a good plan is still lacking without good implementation. To this end, we also opted for on-site configuration and training by Telos Alliance Support, and the experience that we received from team member Shaun Dolan was above and beyond helpful. Many configuration pieces of the VXE system had to be worked out on-site, such as the network configuration using non-Cisco switches for the phones and programming the Asterisk server and VXE for the new SIP trunk.

The new SIP trunk provided by TPx had a few temporary numbers — actual KQED numbers would not be available until the studio moved. With Shaun’s help we were able to preprogram all of the numbers we would eventually be using. At cutover time, the training I received came in handy. I set up a VSet-12 phone at my workbench and pre-programmed multiple “shows” to include all of the numbers expected in the SIP trunk. As TPx moved the numbers one at a time, I was able to test them immediately. Some of the numbers didn’t work, and thanks to my training I knew where to look for problems and make the necessary corrections to a few typos that I had made during the process. All the talk show lines, including the toll-free number, worked as expected. I believe the SIP trunk provider, TPx, was pleasantly surprised at how quickly the KQED cutover went.

Programming the VXe system phones to work with the many studios and shows is a breeze. The lines are displayed clearly on the phones, and the users easily can understand which lines are available for different purposes. We set up the VXe system to flash a light in the control rooms instead of using the ringer. This ensures that the studio engineers never miss a call due to the ringer being turned off.

Our talk show people learned how to operate the new phones much more quickly than I expected. They are happy with the new phones operation and information filled displays, as well as the overall quality of the VSets. They were used to the old Telos producer/talent software, but quickly came to like the Broadcast Bionics xScreen software. They especially like that, through xScreen, they can see how many times someone has called into the show. They know the show is really popular when the regular callers are crowded out by a bunch of new callers. Broadcast Bionics worked with KQED to optimize xScreen for our needs. We really appreciated their willingness to listen to our suggestions for their product and improve it for our needs. The transition to the new studio was so smooth, our listeners and callers were unaware that anything had changed.

People are now used to the new equipment and work flows at our new studio location. But of course, this new location is only temporary while the old studio complex facility is being fully remodeled and expanded.

Early 2020 we start the planning for reconstructing the newly rebuilt facility. For the move back I expect we will get another new VXe and Asterisk phone system and make the one we are using today a backup in a fully redundant system. After our last experience, I’m sure we will get Telos back out for another configuration.

For information, contact Cam Eicher at The Telos Alliance in Ohio at 1-216-241-7225 or visit www.telosalliance.com.

The post User Report: Telos Supports Smooth Transitions in San Francisco appeared first on Radio World.

Erika Beasley

Beasley Media Group has promoted Erika Beasley to vice president of digital content. She will now oversee the content creation for Beasley’s digital platforms.

Prior to this announcement, Beasley was corporate digital content director for local markets. Before that role, she spent more than three years as the Fayetteville, N.C., vice president and market manager. She also had a two-year stint as general sales manager for the Tampa market, preceded by nearly two years as local sales manager for Philadelphia stations WXTU(FM) and WRDW(FM) — now WTDY — and eight years as account manager for WXTU and WRDW. 

Her first gig with the family business was in 2004, when she was hired as a traffic manager for the Ft. Meyers, Fla., stations. 

Beasley Media Group Chief Content Officer Justin Chase said she has contributed to “the company’s digital transformation” and noted that her work “speaks for itself.”

Beasley graduated from North Carolina State University and continued her education through the National Association of Broadcasters’ Broadcast Leadership Training program and the BMI & Radio Advertising Bureau’s Rising Through The Ranks program, where she was recognized with the Mentoring and Inspiring Women in Radio Group’s Rising Star Award.   

She also has served on the board of the North Carolina Association of Broadcasters.

The post Beasley Names VP of Digital Content appeared first on Radio World.

There are clear rules regarding the broadcasting of live and prerecorded programming. And for those stations that don’t follow those rules, there will likely be consequences.

That was the case for Salem Media Group after the Federal Communications Commission began an investigation into a possible violation of the commission’s live broadcast rules. According to the FCC, Salem violated its live broadcast rules by broadcasting prerecorded programming as “live” without announcing before the broadcast that the programming was prerecorded.

[Read: Alleged Deception Costs FM Broadcasters Their License]

Salem agreed to settle the matter by entering into a consent decree and pay a $50,000 civil penalty. The company admitted that it failed to announce that the programming was actually prerecorded and agreed to implement a compliance plan to help ensure future compliance with commission rules.

In announcing the consent agreement, the FCC reiterated that it has a “longstanding goal of protecting consumers by ensuring the public knows when certain program material is ‘live’ rather than taped, filmed or recorded.”

The commission specified that any time there is an impression that the event is occurring simultaneously as the broadcast, a broadcaster must clearly identify if it is actually taped, filmed or recorded. “Doing otherwise may mislead the public,” the FCC said.

 

The post Salem Agrees to $50,000 Fine After Violation of Live Broadcast Rules appeared first on Radio World.

The National Association of Broadcasters said its opponents have given the FCC no reason to deny NAB’s request that it clarify its disclosure requirements for third-party political ads and follow NAB’s “rationally tailored approach.”

That came in a reply to comments on its request for that clarification.

NAB joined with Hearst Television, Graham Media Group, Nexstar, Fox, Tegna and Scripps to ask the FCC to narrow its definition of non-candidate ads on “any political matter of national importance” (i.e. “issue” ads) and the disclosure obligations on broadcasters to identify the issues in those ads.

That came in NAB’s petition for reconsideration of the FCC’s order resolving complaints against broadcast groups for failure to properly identify political ads.

Broadcasters want to narrow the interpretation of “national importance” by specifying that the term applies only to national political actors in position to take national action, which would exclude ads targeted at state and local races.

Commenters opposed to NAB’s request said the association’s interpretation of “political matter of national importance” is contrary to statutory intent and language, but NAB said campaign finance reform disclosures are about soft money and issue ads influencing federal elections and should not apply to “thousands of state and local elections merely because they may mention issues discussed at the national, as well as state or local, level.”

Besides, NAB pointed out, the FCC’s overbroad interpretation of the disclosure requirement would be “virtually impossible to administer.”

“Even the opposition recognizes it would be ‘impracticable’ for stations to draw ‘fine distinctions between federal and state issues,’ which is precisely what the Political File Order requires,” said NAB.

 

The post NAB to FCC: Ad Clarification Opponents Have It All Wrong appeared first on Radio World.

The 16th European Digital Radio and Audio Show drew to a close on Saturday Jan. 25.

The exhibition floor at the 2020 edition of the European Digital Radio and Audio Show.

According to organizers, the three-day event attracted 8,100 visitors, an 8% increase over the 2019 gathering. It also played host to 183 exhibitors.

Sporting the theme “Solid Radio. Liquid Audio,” some 500 speakers animated the conferences, workshops and masterclasses. Session topics ranged from virtualization to advertising and from media education to diversity in radio.

LOOKING AHEAD

While many of the sessions that made up the three conference tracks were in French, a few were in English. One such panel was “The Future of Audio Under GAFA Hegemony.”

The “The Future of Audio Under GAFA Hegemony” session analyzed the future of radio in relation to the arrival of tech giants such as Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon.

Moderated by consultant Gary Kline, the session looked at the future of radio and how broadcasters should adapt to changing consumption patterns and expectations with the arrival of tech giants such as Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon.

The panel also featured Alexandre Saboundjian, CEO, Targetspot;  Philippe Generali, CEO of RCS; and James Cridland, radio consultant and founder of Podnews.

In addition, the 2020 event showcased Germany and Austria’s work in the industry. More than 15 German and Austrian exhibitors were present, including Audi and its e-tron automobile, featuring its latest infotainment system.

NEW ENTRY

A new entry to this year’s lineup was the POD.Village, a space dedicated entirely to podcast professionals and podcasters.

There was also an In-car XP stand on embedded digital radio and audio experiments in the automotive industry, while the DAB+ pavilion offered updates on digital terrestrial radio around the world.

Charlie Gawlie accepts the “Product of the Year” award at the show. Also pictured are Alexi Saillant (left) and Paul Guibouret of SAVE Diffusion. The company is Tieline’s distributor in France.

As in previous years, organizers held a ceremony to honor notable talent and products. Tieline took home an award for its Via codec in the “Product of the Year” category and IP-Studio won the “Service of the Year” award for its virtualization studio.

The 2021 edition will take place Jan. 21–23 at Grande Halle de la Villette in Paris, where Italy will be the country of honor.

The post European Digital Radio and Audio Show Eyes Future appeared first on Radio World.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai wants to be seen as an action-oriented reformer who works through consensus.

That has been evident before but is reinforced by an 11-page punch list just released by Pai’s office of what it sees as his accomplishments over three years.

[Read: Chairman Pai: The Radio World Interview]

Of interest to radio broadcasters, the list includes elimination of the main studio rule, streamlining of EAS reporting and the creation of a Blue Alert event code to notify the public of threats to law enforcement and to help apprehend dangerous suspects.

Pai also said the FCC had “moved aggressively” to combat illegal broadcasts during his tenure, including proposed maximum fines against two apparent Boston-area pirate operators and “hundreds” of actions against illegal operators, as reported on its online dashboard.

It also mentioned his modernization of media regulations initiative, elimination of paper filing requirements and the move of public files to online, among other steps.

More generally, Pai is proud of the commission’s decision-making approach.

“Chairman Pai has restored the collaborative and consensus-based tradition of FCC decision making,” his office stated. “Under Chairman Pai, the commission has voted over 80% of items on the monthly meeting agenda with bipartisan support and over 70% without dissent. Under the previous administration, fewer than 50% of agenda items were voted without dissent.”

And it said that in 36 meetings under Pai, the FCC has voted and adopted 221 items in open meetings, which it said is more than double the amount over the previous three years under Chairman Tom Wheeler.

The overall list is broken into major categories like bridging the digital divide, promoting innovation and investment, protecting consumers and enhancing public safety.

Read the full list here.

 

The post Pai Lists His Accomplishments of Three Years appeared first on Radio World.

Community service is a pillar of local radio. Stations have created a “Veterans Dire Needs Fund;” campaigned for mental health awareness; collected 913 tons of food; and raised more than $14,000 for a child advocacy center. And those were just the winners of the 2019 Celebration of Service to America Awards.

In 2020, the National Association of Broadcasters Leadership Foundation continues its tradition of honoring these efforts with its annual community service award program. Interested stations and broadcast ownership groups should submit entries illustrating their efforts to the NAB Leadership Foundation by March 6. 

According to the foundation’s website, submissions should “describe the campaign, project or program and how it met the needs of your local community” and should illustrate “how this entry made a lasting or meaningful impact.”

The call for entries page also offers submission inspiration through videos and audio clips highlighting the 2019 winners.

Service to Community Awards will be presented to radio and television stations in categories according to whether the entry was on behalf or a broadcast ownership group or an individual station in a certain market size. Eight honorees will be chosen.

This year’s black-tie gala and award ceremony will be held June 9 at The Anthem in Washington, D.C. The event will also recognize the 2020 Celebration of Service to America Leadership Award honoree.

The Celebration of Service to America Awards is sponsored and produced by the National Association of Broadcasters Leadership Foundation and financially supported by the NAB, Bonneville International and Hearst Television.

The post NAB Leadership Foundation to Honor Stations’ Community Service appeared first on Radio World.

Clay Freinwald, a principal in Clay Freinwald Technical Services, enjoyed reading “A Dead Battery Can Ruin Your Station’s Day” (Workbench, Nov. 13, 2019). Clay tells us that in his opinion, batteries are ticking time bombs waiting to attack their surroundings chemically. The losses and frustrations caused by this problem can be significant.

As for the BE transmitters with a 9 volt power set-point memory system, Clay is familiar with this approach; he said someone on a design team must have loved the idea, for it was used across a number of BE products. Not only did the designer place the battery right on the circuit board, they used a mechanical fastening system that Clay found frustrating. The battery was then hidden away, out of sight, behind a panel. The result, he feels, was a trap for an engineer who had no clue it was there.

Clay is not one merely to complain; he offers a solution to this problem. Pictured in Fig. 1 is a fix that Clay has deployed over the years. He constructed this “jumper” easily out of a couple of retired 9 volt batteries.

Fig. 1: A low-cost jumper to prevent battery corrosion and leakage inside equipment.

Peel back the metal case with needle-nose pliers or a pair of diagonal cutters (dykes) and remove the contact board. Observing the polarity, connect the two connector boards with a chunk of Belden 9451. Then plug the jumper into the socket on the printed circuit board. The other end of the jumper connects to the battery.

Clay’s design accomplishes a couple of things. First, it keeps the battery away from the circuit board. Second, you no longer have to deal with the frustrating battery clasp. If you construct one of these jumpers, as mentioned, be sure to watch the polarity as you solder the wires!

Further, in some cases, Clay has placed his battery assembly inside an empty plastic pill bottle; there is usually room in the BE rigs to hold this. Should the battery go bad or be forgotten, your loss is minimal; you can throw away the whole corroded thing.

Using “dead” 9V batteries to provide the contact board reduces the cost of this jumper assembly to nearly zero.

When I maintained these transmitters and other gear with “memory-keep-alive” batteries inside, I added a label on the front of the equipment labeled “BATTERY INSIDE,” and left space to mark when the battery was last changed.

* * *

 

Jay Melnick works for ColoRadio Communications Group. He has been following what has become a series of suggestions on keeping rodents out of your transmitter sites.

Jay offers a great resource for a variety of traps: YouTube! Particularly a channel named “Mousetrap Mondays.”  The site has been around for a few years, and all kinds of traps for unwanted guests are tested. Some of the solutions are do-it-yourself.

* * *

 

Charles Cooper provides engineering services in West Africa, where they too have rodent issues at transmitter sites.

Chuck reminds us not to forget to add pieces of charcoal along the rodent “Super Highway,” better known as the intersection of vertical walls to the floor, where mice usually travel. Chuck has found the charcoal will repel the rodents — maybe the smell of impending barbeque?

To keep the charcoal in place, drop a couple chunks in the toe of a woman’s old nylon stocking and knot the end. The smell still permeates the room, but the stocking reduces the chance that bits of charcoal or dust will dirty your site.

* * *

 

Dan Slentz sent me a really neat link for engineers who are turned on with orderly wiring.

Especially in this day of audio over  IP, you usually end up with a cabinet or rack full of cable spaghetti — Cat-6 Ethernet cables of differing lengths, with no easy way to lace them up to make the bundles look orderly.

Dan’s “find” is a product called the Patchbox Plus+ from Austrian company Patchbox. Its retractable cables provide the perfect length cable every time. Network cable installation is also faster; you’ve got to see the video of their Patchbox Speed Challenge and how quickly interconnect wiring is installed. The company offers a number of pictures showing “traditional wiring” versus Patchbox Plus+ wiring. You’ll be amazed.

Here’s the website: https://patchbox.com/patchbox-plus.

* * *

 

Set a goal — and maybe earn a pay raise — by getting certified by the Society of Broadcast Engineers in 2020.

Successful completion of any level of certification not only provides you with a professional certificate but also a letter to your boss from the SBE, complimenting you on your achievement. An ideal combination for a salary review! Remember, recertification credit is provided to engineers who share a tip published in Workbench. Thank you for sharing your tips and high-resolution photos by sending them to johnpbisset@gmail.com.

John Bisset has spent 50 years in the broadcasting industry and is still learning. 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.

The post Avoid Battery Contamination on Circuit Boards appeared first on Radio World.

BLANTYRE, Malawi — In March, Malawi’s communications regulator, Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (MACRA), embarked on a drive aimed to refarm or reorganize its radio frequencies in an effort to manage interference and FM frequency congestion.

MACRA says the frequency refarming scheme will help radio stations enhance sound quality. Station host Madalitso Phiri (on the console) is pictured with Yankho Chilunga and Kulleza Banda (far right) in the Capital FM on-air studio in Blantyre. Credit: Lameck Masina.

In July 2018, MACRA stopped issuing radio broadcast licenses due to saturation in the 87.5 to 108 MHz band, meaning it temporarily could not accommodate new radio stations.

SOLUTION

The decision to address the problem followed a recommendation from Davood Molkdar, managing director for Casitel, an independent consulting firm that MACRA hired in March to help with the country’s spectrum and frequency audit.

MACRA Director of Broadcasting Fegus Lipenga told journalists, when unveiling the outcome of the audit in Blantyre in December, that the refarming would require some broadcasters with two or more transmitters in close vicinity to “reduce transmitting power to avoid interference.”

Lipenga also explained that in addition, “Other broadcasters would be reassigned new frequencies, and that the initiative would economically benefit broadcasters since they’ll eventually be using fewer transmitters.”

For the past few years Malawi has witnessed a saturation of the FM band mainly due to the increased growth of the broadcasting sector.

The radio boom followed the liberalization of the airwaves after the passage of the Communications Act in 1998.

According to MACRA, Malawi today has more than 80 licensed broadcasters, 56 of which are radio stations and 27 are television.

NEW APPLICATIONS

FM frequency congestion and interference have caused listeners like Lingilirani Moyo to have difficulties in tuning in to their favorite radio station. Credit: Lameck Masina

MACRA set up a 12-member task force comprising broadcasters and officials from MACRA to implement the scheme.

The task force is responsible for collecting data on current FM license allocations, gathering data on actual occupancy and obtaining statistics on FM transmitters.

Following the initial March spectrum and frequency audit, MACRA asked Zodiak Broadcasting Station to remove four transmitters, Radio Islam to remove two and Times Radio to remove one because they were believed to interfere with other stations.

But, said Mussa Abdul, head engineer for Radio Islam “The final decision will be reached upon recommendation from the task force, which is currently going around the country assessing whether a radio station really needs to remove a transmitter or if it can resolve the issue by reducing antenna power or relocating to a new frequency.”

In the meantime, MACRA lifted the suspension on issuance of radio licenses in early December and has begun inviting new applications.

The post Malawi Reorganizes FM Band appeared first on Radio World.

AlmaVision Radio in Miami is a “Franken FM” station, and hopes to remain one.

The nickname Franken FM refers to the two dozen or so licensed low-power TV stations on analog Channel 6 in the United States that target radio listeners with audio on 87.7 MHz, just below the standard FM dial. These unique operations will disappear once analog service is eliminated; the digital audio portion of TV6 stations will no longer be received by standard FM receivers, according to the FCC’s public notice.

(A decade or more ago, the term Franken FM — evocative of an unnatural stitching together — appeared on a technical listserv and was picked up by Radio World in our coverage. RW’s use of the term goes back at least to 2009. Some in the LPTV community consider the term pejorative. The FCC calls them “Analog Radio Services operated by Digital LPTV Stations as Ancillary or Supplementary Services.)

The commission has set a deadline of July 13, 2021, for all LPTVs to terminate their analog services. But it is also taking comments from around the industry about the Channel 6 audio service issue.

[Related: “Is There an Afterlife for ‘Franken FMs’?” Oct. 2019]

AlmaVision Hispanic Network, licensee of WEYS(LP), VHF TV 6, in Miami, Fla., operates AlmaVision Radio on 87.7 MHz. It told the FCC in filed comments that WEYS provides ethnic programming using the station’s 87.7 MHz signal to reach a potential 2.2 million Spanish-language audience within the station’s coverage area.

“AlmaVision Hispanic Network supports the grandfathering of analog 87.7 FM LPTV stations such as WEYS(LP) so that they may continue to provide their valuable and unique local programming. It is unquestionably in the public interest that the FCC permit these ongoing successful programming ventures to continue to serve their communities with their local programming,” according to the broadcaster.

The commission in December asked stakeholders and interested parties for fresh feedback on whether LPTV stations should be allowed to continue to operate this FM-type service. Specifically, it asked if digital LPTV stations should be allowed to operate analog radio services as ancillary or supplementary services.

The FCC acknowledges that some Channel 6 LPTV stations have operated with “very limited visual programming and an audio signal programmed as if it were a radio station.”

In addition to providing Spanish-language programming and music on 87.7 FM, the Miami broadcaster said in its comments it provides emergency alerts in Spanish and has considerable local support from sponsors of content and local events, as well as advertisers.

“The station is a vital religious, educational and civic component of the Spanish-speaking community in the Miami metro area,” according to AlmaVision Hispanic Network.

Juan Bruno Caamano, president of AlmaVision Hispanic Network, said AVHN supports expanding into a digital TV6 service with an analog carve out for its 87.7 FM signal. This would allow the broadcaster to greatly expand into multiple video streams in support of the Spanish-language community in the Miami market, and to keep its successful and well supported radio service.

“AVHN supports technical testing of a combination digital LPTV station and an 87.7 FM signal, to ensure that all current and potential future operations do not cause interference to other radio, LPFM and TV operations,” Caamano commented.

The commission first asked the question in 2014 of whether the Franken FM audio services should be allowed to continue past the analog LPTV deadline and what that audio service would look like. It sought to update the record in December. Reply comments in MB Docket No. 03-185 are due on or before Feb. 6.

 

The post Miami “Franken FM” Makes Its Case for Survival appeared first on Radio World.

iHeartMedia is doubling down on the newly legalized sports betting action. 

In 2019, the media company launched its first gambling-themed format: Philadephia’s “Fox Sports 1350 AM, The Gambler.” iHeart is now taking its churn to Ohio, where it’s launching the same brand in Cleveland on the same frequency. 

The station plans to air information from Vegas Stats and Information hourly, as well as “programming offering betting guides, handicapping and betting strategies,” according to the press release. In addition to BetR Network’s “My Guys in the Desert,” traditional Fox Sports Radio shows are in the lineup. A Cleveland-specific show, “The Lombardi Line,” anchors the Gambler to its new town, since the program is hosted by former Browns GM Mike Lombardi.

However, in a recent RW article about the emerging format, Barrett Sports Media President Jason Barrett said of the original Philly Gambler: “They’re going to need more than a catchy name, one afternoon show and one national sports betting show if they want to own that identity. The path they’re taking won’t likely produce big ratings, but it should serve them well from a revenue standpoint,” 

Apparently iHeartMedia’s programmers either disagree with Barrett or aren’t shooting for ratings success in Cleveland. The second Gambler’s mode appears identical to the original’s: take a sports talk format and add some additional competitive flair. 

[Radio Gambles on Sports Betting]

iHeart handicappers must have a hot tip that the Buckeye State will soon approve the gambling bill currently at work in the state legislature. 

In the announcement, iHeartMedia North Ohio Region President Keith Hotchkiss said, “The Gambler is the future of sports radio. We are thrilled to bring this hot new format to the market, helping Clevelanders navigate the ever-growing world of sports wagering.”

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signalled his desire to approve sports betting in late 2019, but the legislature is still debating which agencies would have oversight and other regulatory details.

The Supreme Court legalized sports betting in 2018, and many states have taken steps to regulate and mainstream the practice. According to a November 2019 Axios article, 13 states already OKed placing money on a favorite team, and six others have passed a bill that is awaiting further action. 

The implications of both the legal and formats remain to be seen, but neither trend is likely to burn out soon.

Read more about radio’s efforts to capitalize on sports betting here.

The post Sports Betting Station Takes Air in Cleveland Ahead of Expected Legalization appeared first on Radio World.

Former Eagles player David Akers and Sean Brace, host of “Daily Ticket,” during a pregame show at Xfinity Live. iHeartMedia promotes it as Philly’s first daily sports gambling show.

Who would have thought that a Supreme Court decision would spur the growth of a new talk radio format? But that’s what appears to be happening since May 2018 when the Supreme Court ended the federal ban on sports betting. 

Today, sports betting is legal in 11 U.S. states, according to BusinessInsider.com, while 24 more states have legalization legislation pending. In line with this trend, iHeartMedia station WDAS(AM) in Philadelphia relaunched as “Fox Sports Radio — The Gambler” in August 2019. The station now features a mix of sports talk and betting content. (Previously WDAS was “Breakthrough Radio,” in partnership with the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia offering variety hits and health features.) 

“The legalization of sports gambling is happening all over the country and the numbers are only increasing. Folks want to have fun, throw a couple dollars on a game and be entertained,” said Sean Brace, program director/afternoon host at The Gambler, and former host on local sports station 97.5 The Fanatic.

“Our goal at the Gambler is to give the right information — the stuff that is important to a gambler — all while be entertaining.”

The Gambler isn’t the first U.S.radio station to adopt the sports betting format. That honor goes to Longport Media’s WBSS(AM) in Atlantic City, which relaunched as “AM 1490, Sports Betting Radio” earlier in August. Unlike The Gambler, Sports Betting Radio is hardcore: It offers around-the-clock sports betting talk.

“We are very proud that our AM 1490 Sports Betting Radio is the nation’s very first terrestrial radio station devoted to sports betting 24 hours a day,” said Paul Kelly, Longport Media’s president/general manager. 

“It’s exciting to see more stations beginning to follow suit with people realizing just how big sports betting is around the country, even in markets where it’s not legalized.” (Note: Sports betting is legal in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, ensuring that both stations are operating within the law.)

WHAT’S ON AIR?

Although The Gambler does offer sports betting information, its format is still anchored on the sports talk format. And given that the station is branded as “Fox Sports Radio” first, it does rely on that network’s talent.

“The Gambler” airs “It’s a Hard Rock Life” on Friday evenings from the Hard Rock Cafe in Atlantic City. Shown is Hard Rock President Joe Lupo with host Jerrold Colton.

“Right now, our content is a solid mix of national voices — Dan Patrick and Colin Cowherd from Fox Sports — and my show ‘Daily Ticket with Sean Brace,’ from 3 to 6 p.m., Monday to Friday,” said Brace, whose show mixes betting information with sports talk.

“RJ Bell’s ‘Straight Outta Vegas’ is on right after my show, so for four straight hours you get the latest line movement, odds and pertinent information at the perfect time. Most games go off at 7 p.m. on the East Coast, so we have you covered right up until kickoff.” 

At AM 1490 Sports Betting Radio, it’s all betting talk; all the time. 

“Our station partners with Gow Media’s new BetR Network that launched in August, and their programming is unmatched in terms of the knowledge and sports betting acumen of the hosts,” said Kelly. “I believe our product is better not only for sports bettors but for sports fans in general, because our hosts actually talk about the games and the players and what’s happening on the field, instead of the nonsense you hear on typical sports talk stations these days.”

When Sports Betting Radio launched, all of its content came from the BetR Network, with plans to expand its own content.

“We’re now beginning to add local programming as well so we can put more of a focus on the local teams and have more local listener interaction,” Kelly said earlier this fall. “It also allows us to get out and take the station to the people with live on-location broadcasts.” 

REVENUE OVER RATINGS?

Jason Barrett is president of Barrett Sports Media, a sports radio consultancy in New York. “I think The Gambler chose a great lane to establish itself because WIP and The Fanatic are already well-established successful sports talk brands in this market,” said Barrett.  

“However, they’re going to need more than a catchy name, one afternoon show and one national sports betting show if they want to own that identity. The path they’re taking won’t likely produce big ratings, but it should serve them well from a revenue standpoint.”

Barrett’s assessment was echoed by Don Kollins, president/CEO of DK Media, a radio consulting firm in San Francisco. “I like the idea of a sports format such as The Gambler: I see a real opportunity to stand out in the mix of others,” he said. “Of course, the station will need to be entertaining and engaging; giving the listeners the ‘goods,’ so to speak, and celebrating the wins. But all in all I salute the company for thinking out of the box.” 

Jason Barrett is bullish about the sports betting radio format in general. In fact, a large number of groups are in a rush to own a strong position in the space because there’s a feeling of it being an area where brands will be able to reap the rewards financially through advertising, events and direct-to-consumer subscriptions, he said. 

Meanwhile, although the sports betting radio format is new, betting information on radio is not.

Brent Musberger is host with the Vegas Stats & Information Network (VSiN), a streaming network founded by his nephew Brian. VSiN content is carried on the BetR Network.

“Currently, Fox Sports, NBC Sports, ESPN, VSiN, The Action Network, RADIO.com, Bleacher Report, The Ringer, SiriusXM and Barstool Sports offer content that focuses on sports gambling,” said Barrett. “It may be a niche space that won’t appeal to the entire audience, but those who do listen are people who potentially are more valuable because of their willingness to part ways with dollars.”

This last point is echoed by Longport Media’s Paul Kelly. “The sports betting format makes a lot of sense for pretty much any business looking to target men with disposable income,” he said. “You don’t need to be a sports betting business to advertise on this format any more than you need to be a music shop to advertise on top 40 radio.” 

According to Kelly, roughly 70% of sports bettors are men, and the overwhelming majority of them are in the “money” 25−54 demographic. 

“Sports bettors are also twice as likely to make more than $100,000 per year than the average person, so this is a very sellable demographic for radio,” he said. “According to the American Gaming Association, nearly 40% of adult Americans, about 100 million people, are either current or potential future sports bettors. That’s 40% of a market’s cume that’s potentially interested in this format.”

RESULTS TO DATE

These are early days for sports betting content on U.S. radio but early results appear promising.

At AM 1490 Sports Betting Radio, “so far, so good.” said Paul Kelly. “The product is entertaining and very informative at the same time and people seem to be genuinely enjoying it. We’ve been able to generate instant results for those advertisers in the sports betting industry since our format is so targeted to exactly the people they’re trying to reach.”

Over at the Fox Sports Radio — The Gambler, “It’s way too early to look at any data or numbers but the show is going really well,” said Sean Brace. “Our pregame show, ‘Live with Eagles Hall of Famer David Akers,’ was amazing. We are also live on remote at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City every Friday.” At the first remote, he said, “the energy inside the sportsbook/casino was off the charts.”

As for the future of the concept? “The sustainability is going to depend on the appetite in local markets towards gambling,” said Jason Barrett. This said, “Revenue is projected to increase in this category, and to not be active in it when radio is fighting for every last penny would be foolish.

The post Radio Gambles on Sports Betting appeared first on Radio World.