When Esther-Mireya Tejeda and Jen Morales each exited the company formerly known as Entercom Communications, the audio media company hit the reset button on its corporate communications and public relations efforts.
Today, that company bears the name Audacy. And, it now has a three-person PR department.
It lured a Tiger to make it happen. Seriously.
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It covers stories of Black people “from Kampala to Atlanta,” and spurred the recent launch of a television network featuring African American-focused content.
Now, the owner of The Grio — Byron Allen’s Allen Media Group (AMG) — has named a SVP of News and Entertainment for the unit.
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George G. Beasley, who purchased WPYB-AM in Benson, N.C., in December 1961 and would go on to build what is today Beasley Media Group, died Wednesday morning at the age of 89.
“While best known for his many trailblazing achievements in the radio broadcasting industry, George will be most remembered for his humility, kindness, integrity, work-ethic and love of family and friends,” the Naples, Fla.-based company that recently expanded beyond radio and podcasting with investments in eSports said in a statement.
Mr. Beasley was born on April 9, 1932. He grew up working in the tobacco fields in his hometown of Ararat, Va., a tiny town to the north of Winston Salem, N.C.
“His drive and determination led him to enlist in the army to pursue a degree in Education through the G.I. Bill,” Beasley Media said.
Upon completing his B.A. and M.A. from Appalachian State University, he taught in Virginia before moving to North Carolina in the late 1950s to become a high school principal and coach.
His career then took a pivot into radio broadcasting, and ownership. Mr. Beasley built WPYB-AM in Benson from scratch.
It provided the spark for what today is a publicly traded company led by his daughter, CEO Caroline Beasley, comprised of 62 radio stations across 15 markets.
Mr. Beasley stepped back from his role as Chief Executive Officer in 2016. However, he continued to serve as Executive Chairman of the company’s Board of Directors.
An avid philanthropist, George served on the board of the North Carolina Association of Broadcasters (NCAB) for eight years as President, Vice President and as a member of the Board of Directors. In 1996, he received the NCAB’s organization’s Distinguished Service Award and was inducted into NCAB’s Hall of Fame in 1998 upon accepting the prestigious “Distinguished Broadcaster of North Carolina” Award.
In November 2016, George Beasley was inducted to the 28th annual National Radio Hall of Fame. In 2019, he was inducted into the Pennsylvania Broadcasters Hall of Fame.
George Beasley received numerous awards and accolades throughout his life. In 2020, he was inducted into the Country Radio Broadcasters Hall of Fame and received the Broadcasters Foundation of America Lifetime Achievement Award. In addition, George Beasley was recognized as a “Giant” by the Library of American Broadcasting in 2012. The Florida Association of Broadcasters named him “Broadcaster of the Year” in 2011 and the Country Radio Broadcasters presented him with the distinguished “Tom Rivers Humanitarian Award” in 2010. The Nevada Broadcasters Association also inducted George into the organization’s Hall of Fame in 2008.
In 1990 his alma mater, Appalachian State University, designated George Beasley as one of the institution’s Distinguished Alumni. “Among his proudest professional accomplishments was receiving an honorary doctorate and the unveiling of the George G. Beasley Media Complex on campus to provide future generations of students with the opportunity pursue their entrepreneurial dreams in broadcasting,” the company said.
In prepared remarks, Caroline Beasley said, “George’s unconditional love for our mother, Ann, and our family, along with his passion for the radio industry, helped to guide him throughout his lifetime. A loving father, mentor, and friend, I will especially miss his incredible wisdom, keen insight and gentle smile.”
NAB President/CEO Gordon Smith also offered his sympathies to all at Beasley Media and to the Beasley family.
“[The] NAB is deeply saddened by the passing of George Beasley,” Smith said. “George was a pioneer in broadcasting and a giant in his field, building Beasley into one of the premier radio station groups over the course of 60 years and serving the radio industry with distinction. We join with the entire broadcasting community in mourning our friend, and extend our thoughts and prayers to the Beasley family on their loss.”
A memorial service will take place for family and friends in Naples, Florida. Details will be forthcoming. A private burial service will be held for the family in Ararat, Virginia.
FROM THE ARCHIVES:George Beasley is survived by his wife of 67 years Ann; five children; 16 grandchildren; and 12 great grandchildren.
In lieu of flowers, the Beasley family requests donations be made in his name to The Broadcasters Foundation of America, 125 West 55th Street, 4th Floor New York, New York 10019. Online donations may also be made at www.broadcastersfoundation.org.
In February, RBR+TVBR first reported on the sale of nine radio stations owned by Sound Communications in the Twin Tiers of Northern Pennsylvania and Western New York.
The deal, brokered by Michael J. Bergner, has now closed — making the company led by Kristin Cantrell a dominant player in the region.
It didn’t even own stations here in 2017.
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The Triangle region of North Carolina has long been known as a technology innovation center. For the television industry, this has seen Capitol Broadcasting Corp. become a NextGen TV pioneer, with its WRAL-5 and WRAZ-TV at the forefront of the new broadcast TV standard based on ATSC 3.0.
Now, the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill market is the latest to gain access to new technology that the NAB and the nation’s Big Four networks have tried to exterminate.
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The Board of Directors for broadcast television company Gray Television has signed off on a quarterly cash dividend.
The announcement could only further fuel Gray’s stock price, which hit a five-year high on Tuesday (6/1).
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There’s a new Market President for the iHeartMedia radio stations serving Salt Lake City.
At the same time, a member of the sales team has been elevated to a Sr. VP position in that department.
Why are the changes being made? Stu Stanek, who has been with iHeartMedia for more than 20 years, on Monday retired.
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The woman who has served as President/CEO of the Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council (MMTC) is no longer in the role.
Effective today, Maurita Coley has retired from the Washington, D.C.-based advocacy group.
Her replacement is immediately taking over her position.
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With the Memorial Day holiday weekend leading one department store chain to bump up its ad spend, one health and beauty brand greatly accelerated its spending at spot TV to finish at No. 3 in the latest Media Monitors Spot Ten TV report.
At the same time, a big Procter & Gamble Co. brand is back on the weekly report.
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By Rosemary Ravinal
Masks off! … If you are fully vaccinated. Yet, some people may opt to continue to WFH, at least part of the time. Knowledge workers have become accustomed to working remotely, and splitting time between the office and home is expected to become the new normal, according to a PwC’s Remote Work Survey 2021.
How should businesses combine the flexibility of remote work with the opportunities of in-office interactions? Hybrid solutions provide the best of both worlds with employees rotating in and out of offices configured for the virtual world.
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When it comes to retransmission consent fees, there’s perhaps no more touchier subject for both broadcast TV station owners and for MVPDs that earn revenue for bringing crystal-clear signals of these stations to their customers.
For companies such as Gray Television, Nexstar Media Group, TEGNA and The E.W. Scripps Co., retrans consent revenue is more important than ever, as broadcast TV’s core advertising trends remain hazy against local digital growth and evolving viewer habits.
Then, there are the “cable” and satellite TV providers, who consistently finger-point at broadcast TV owners for demanding more and more from them, even with substantial investments in local news departments and ATSC 3.0 NEXTGEN TV transitions.
The MVPDs have lamented that they have no choice but to pass the increased cost in carrying local TV stations on to customers. That’s exactly what is now happening for those who rely on Charter Communications’ Spectrum services. Higher bills are on the way.
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HOBE SOUND, FLA. — Until now, a licensee of radio stations in Upstate New York and the South has seen the involvement of two principal owner-operators and the investment of a Palm Beach County-based private equity and growth-oriented entity “that provides patient capital to exceptional management teams.”
It seems this investment has proven to be a smart one, and puts Jim Leven and Bruce Mittman in a positive light. They have filed paperwork to buy out this equity investor’s stake in their company, Community Broadcasters.
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On October 19, 2020, a broker release obtained by RBR+TVBR revealed that Ramar Communications had agreed to sell The CW Network affiliate in Lubbock, along with two low-power facilities, to Gray Television.
The FCC eventually approved the deal, consummated by Ramar following the February 11, 2018, death of its founder, Ray Moran, at the age of 82.
Now, Moran’s legacy will live on as Ramar is purchasing a low-power TV station in Colorado.
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Many know him as the face of Wedel Software. Now, he’s the CEO of a brand-new ad sales platform for radio advertising called Adthos.
Raoul Wedel joins RBR+TVBR Editor-in-Chief Adam R Jacobson from the Dutch city of The Hague to share more about the new product release.
How does Adthos from what is presently available in the marketplace? The Adthos Ad-Server is free … so how does Wedel make money?
Get the no-nonsense answers to these questions in this fresh podcast, presented by dot.FM!
It’s “listener-supported radio from Towson University” that brings the Baltimore metropolitan area a blend of eclectic Adult Alternative music that’s not so dissimilar to widely known WXPN, just up the road in Philadelphia.
That will soon change, however. But the new owners of WTMD-FM promise there will be no other differences, once this deal closes.
And, we’ve got the price tag to share.
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Workflow automation, media processing, quality monitoring and test and measurement product maker Telestream has brought to market a cloud-native service that the company describes as an API-driven, cloud agnostic, media processing and transcoding service.
Introducing Telestream Cloud Transform, “built from years of proven media transcoding and workflow technology.”
Leading up the rollout is Tim MacGregor, the Senior Director and Head of Strategy and Product Development for Telestream Cloud.
“We’ve taken proven technology, the Telestream Media Framework, that’s the foundation of Telestream media workflows all over the world and built a cloud-native, API-driven, media processing and transcoding service that runs on our customers’ cloud provider of choice. Transform’s media processing pedigree ensures a future-proof path as standards and technology evolve, even as organizations develop their own workflow orchestration solutions.”
Transform is designed to empower development teams writing their own code for media processing pipelines to access Telestream’s transcoding and media processing technology. According to the company, Telestream Cloud Transform represents “the most efficient way to process video content using a cloud-native API, taking full advantage of the performance and scalability offered by a range of popular cloud providers.”
MacGregor said, “As more companies seek to adopt the cloud for cost and efficiency reasons, many have determined that their unique requirements preclude a one size fits all approach. These organizations need a service that can be started within minutes with a powerful API that allows easy automation with their existing systems.”
Telestream Cloud Transform supports a wide variety of codecs and formats including AVCI, AVC Ultra, DNxHD, DNxHR, IMX, J2K, XAVC, XDCAM, and ProRes 422/444.
For company and product information, visit www.telestream.net.
Inovonics has released its new DAVID IV 719N FM/HD Radio Broadcast Processor with Network Interface.
The updated offering adds Web Access for set-up, control, and increased networking capabilities to the company’s existing DAVID IV 719 processor.
And, the new model comes minus any price increase.
Ben Barber, President & CEO of Inovonics, says the addition of a Network Interface to the 719 processor gives it two important features. One, the Web GUI can be controlled from any web enabled device; adding SNMP “makes remote management and control a breeze.”
The 719 DAVID IV processor dates to 2011.
The new model adds an intuitive, menu-driven Web interface for remote set-up, monitoring and control.
For more information about price and availability, please contact Inovonics at 831-458-0552
Something new and exciting is on the horizon for radio stations, an answer to today’s most
pressing challenges – changing consumer behavior, ROI expectations of advertisers and of
course keeping step with developments in the digital space.
But before we find out more about that, let’s look in more detail at how the land lies currently.
The world of radio continues to evolve, new innovations and changes in consumer habits
are forcing broadcasters to think in ever more creative ways to target listener advertising.
New technology allows the integration of finer data points such as location, device and even
audience profile to support truly targeted approaches. And with the continuing steady
creep of digital into the space we can expect to see an even split between terrestrial/digital
ad-playout before too long. Campaigns are now routinely multi-platform, highly targeted
and data-driven, creating multiple challenges for broadcasters. Radio advertising is arguably facing the biggest upheaval in its long history.
So, all of this begs the question – how can radio stations make the most of these changes
and not be left behind? After all, so many are dealing with legacy systems, with manual
tasks often needed to bridge the gap between these and new technologies. And where
there are manual tasks there are inefficiencies, and by association an impact on flexibility.
How long before the march of progress threatens to overwhelm the capability of
broadcasters to deliver true value for their advertisers?
What’s the answer?
But instead of focusing on what’s lacking, let’s look instead at possible answers to these
questions. Any solution should be easy to integrate – or even better, require no integration
at all – with existing technology. No overhaul or replacement (or downtime or high cost) to
plan for and manage. The ability to easily sell, schedule and execute multi-platform
campaigns with minimal intervention and maximum automation should also be high on the
wish list. And not forgetting the flexibility and capability to make the most of all that
valuable data to support truly targeted ads.
A breakthrough in broadcasting
It’s this set of needs that have led to the creation of the Adthos Ad Server, the first of its
kind ad-serving technology specifically created for radio. A lightweight yet powerful addition
to any existing traffic or playout system that allows digital audio and radio to be sold
seamlessly within a single integrated campaign. Instant reconciliation and an intuitive
customer interface provide for updates and insights on a complete campaign at a moment’s
notice, with the ability to replace a spot in real time delivering incredible responsiveness.
And this is just the first release of many that Adthos will do this year.
But perhaps the most surprising thing about the Adthos ad-server: it’s absolutely free.
Want to know more? Of course you do. www.adthos.com
With The Home Depot in command at spot radio, its biggest national competitor has responded by upping its radio spot load.
Meanwhile, a big retailer is back, thanks to a Memorial Day Weekend ad campaign designed to woo shoppers to its stores.
That’s the gist of the latest Media Monitors Spot Ten Radio report.
As shown below, Macy’s and Lowe’s are back on the report, while Indeed and Progressive are bested by Home Depot.
TORONTO — Imagine Communications has expanded its storage portfolio with the release of Versio IOX Express NAS, providing broadcast and production facilities with “a high-availability shared storage solution that enables on-air scalability and pay-as-you-go expansion.”
The ability to manage a system from tens or hundreds of miles away is no longer a luxury, but a necessity.
That’s why Imagine believes Versio IOX Express offers all the tools needed for simple and effective storage management, whether onsite or working remotely.
The products are offered in bundles of predefined capacity and bandwidth and are delivered with software and hardware ready for immediate deployment. For 24/7 broadcasters, Versio IOX Express provides a flexible path forward, enabling scaling of capacity or bandwidth ― without having to take the system off air.
“Our goal in developing Versio IOX Express was to hit all the technical requirements we know broadcasters demand, but do it at an unprecedented price point,” said Steve Reynolds, President of Imagine Communications. “With the latest addition to our IOX portfolio, we can now offer our customers affordable, high-availability storage, delivered as defined, packaged solutions with all the software installed. All they need to do on site is connect the network and start delivering content.”
Powered by the EditShare EFS solution, built on Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) enterprise-grade hardware, Versio IOX Express is designed to sustain prolonged operation in the most demanding environments. True shared storage access eliminates the need for resource-intensive asset transfers, making it ideal for fast-turnaround environments such as news and sports. Coupled with the parity stack and RAID protection, Versio IOX Express guarantees the fastest client recovery time of less than 20ms, providing effectively uninterrupted service to on-air playback servers or editing applications.
Versio IOX Express is offered in predefined bundles, allowing users to choose capacity and parity stack topology to suit their needs. This simplifies the order process and makes pricing transparent. Users can choose from a single device, relying on the internal RAID-6 protection; a 1+1 configuration with stack mirroring; or a high-availability N+1 single-stack parity architecture. Available options include configurations that provide as much as tens of gigabits per second of assured bandwidth across the network, even during degraded or rebuilding modes, guaranteeing the performance required in high-pressure applications.
— RBR+TVBR Canadian News Desk, in North York, Ontario
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