Industry News

The biggest licensee of radio stations in the U.S. has completed an exchange of warrants into shares of its Class A or Class B common stock.

Here’s what this means for iHeartMedia.

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The audio media giant on Friday announced that it had completed an exchange of iHeartMedia Warrants into shares of iHeartMedia Class A Common Stock, the company’s publicly traded shares, or Class B Common Stock.

This means that the total shares of Class A common stock jump from 65 million as of Dec. 31, 2020 to 110 million, following the exchange.

At the same time, the number of Class B shares rise from 7 million to 29 million.

How many warrants are outstanding? The exchange reduces the amount from 75 million to 7 million.

The exchange was authorized by a FCC Declaratory Ruling approving an increase in iHeartMedia’s authorized aggregate foreign ownership from 25% to 100%.

But, some shares of Class B Common Stock and Warrants were not converted into Class A Common Stock “due to current regulatory restrictions applicable to certain shareholders.”

That’s only a matter of time: iHeart expects additional conversions of Class B Common Stock and Warrants into Class A Common Stock to transpire in the near future.

Holders of iHeartMedia Warrants that were not issued stock in the exchange and have not otherwise sought to exercise their Warrants can request the exercise of their Warrants for shares of Common Stock by contacting the Computershare Call Center at 800-736-3001 within the United States, or at 781-575-3100 outside of the United States. Holders of iHeartMedia Warrants that were issued stock in the exchange can obtain updated account information from Computershare by logging into their Computershare accounts or by calling the numbers above.

PASADENA, CALIF. — The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) has awarded the parent of the primary NPR spoken word station serving the Los Angeles market with a hefty 24-month grant designed to boost the level of content created expressly for younger and “underserved” audiences.

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Southern California Public Radio has received a half-million-dollar boost for its LAist Studios division.

LAist Studios is SCPR’s podcast development and production arm. The money is a two-year grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to advance the growth of the division and its “mission of addressing the content needs of young and underserved audiences.”

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LAist Studios launched in 2019 and aims to “go beyond the surface to reflect the rich cultural landscape of Los Angeles and embrace the diverse voices of the region’s community.” Its shows include “The Big One,” “Servant of Pod,” “Hollywood, the Sequel,” “California City,” “California Love,” and “Norco ’80.”

SCPR noted that “California Love” made Apple’s Favorite Podcasts of 2020 list, and Spotify named it one of the Top Podcasts of 2020. “California Love” has also garnered several awards from Adweek and Bello Collective.

CPB and SCPR said Latino audiences make up nearly half of the Southern California region. “The funding will support staffing and help LAist Studios empower up-and-coming content creators by giving them the tools to develop shows and engage diverse young audiences,” according to a press release.

The announcement was made by CPB Senior Vice President, Radio, Journalism and CSG Services Kathy Merritt and SCPR Chief Content Officer Kristen Muller.

The post LAist Studios Gets $500K CPB Grant appeared first on Radio World.

For reporters and stations covering civil unrest, the Minnesota Broadcasters Association shared links to several helpful resources.

“It goes without saying that journalists and broadcasters are in the front line,” the association wrote in an email to members. “Tensions are expected to rise leading up to and through the inauguration.”

Most if not all of the resources below were published prior to the events of last week.

-Poynter published “23 guidelines for journalists to safely cover protests” last June as demonstrators protested police brutality and the death of George Floyd. Sample advice: Your attitude is crucial; clearly identify yourself; have a constantly updated escape route; and consider hiring your own security.

-Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press offers tips for both before and during protests, including researching riot control tactics for the area ahead of time; having a plan in case you get “kettled” along with protestors; avoid breaking the law yourself; and how to handle police seizures of equipment.

-The RTDNA offers guidelines for journalistic best practices, such as being skeptical of crowd estimates and not using words like protester and rioter interchangeably. “Protest can be legal or not. Rioting is by definition a crime.”

-The National Association of Broadcasters said last summer that it was “gravely concerned about recent violence against journalists who are legally covering the protests taking place across the nation.” The NAB posted a lengthy list of relevant resources that touch on topics like best practices for covering crises on Twitter;  guidelines for journalist arrests; a protest curfew order tracker; and a verification handbook for covering user-generated content during emergencies.

[Related: “How WTOP Covered the Assault on the Capitol”]

The post Best Practices for Reporters Covering Unrest appeared first on Radio World.

Gray Television in late December 2020 moved forward with the submission to the FCC of a formal Good Faith Complaint against Frontier Communications in response to the MVPD’s failure to reach a new retransmission consent agreement tied to one of its legacy systems for an ABC affiliate serving Sarasota and Manatee Counties along Florida’s Gulf Coast, and two stations in South Carolina.

On Monday (1/11), Frontier filed its response with the Commission.

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The National Association of Broadcasters Leadership Foundation has announced that it is now accepting entries for the 2021 Celebration of Service to America Awards, recognizing outstanding community service by local broadcasters.

Eight Service to Community Awards will be presented, with one radio and one television honoree in each of the following categories: Large/Major Market (TV DMAs 1–50, radio markets 1–50); Medium Market (TV DMAs 51–100, radio markets 51­150); and Small Market (TV DMAs 101­210, radio markets 151–300).

The event won’t be a traditional ceremony at a location but rather a produced one hour program with “celebrity guests, past honorees and D.C. policymakers commending local radio and television stations from across the country for their exceptional commitment to public service and the extraordinary measures taken throughout 2020 to keep communities informed, supported and safe.” Award winners and finalist will also be honored during the event, to be available in the summer.

NAB members and nonmembers are eligible to enter. Entries must be submitted by March 5, at 11:59 p.m. PST. More specific details can be found here.

The post 2021 Celebration of Service Nominations Open appeared first on Radio World.

MIAMI — One day after rival Univision Communications announced a series of major leadership changes in its C-Suite, NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises has revealed it is expanding its Revenue Strategy and Distribution business unit “to develop and
grow content monetization opportunities in the U.S. and around the world.”

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LG Display and Eyesafe, a low blue light consumer electronics industry specialist, have teamed up to roll out the first Eyesafe Certified television display.

And, they are using the virtual CES 2021 conference and expo to do so.

The new display, which will serve a 65″ OLED television model, was designed to meet Eyesafe requirements for low emissions of blue light and optimal color performance. The certification was conducted by leading independent testing and certification firm TUV Rheinland.

The new 65″ OLED display ushers in a new era of advanced television displays that are designed for human health. LG Display expects many new Eyesafe television displays to come to market throughout 2021, as the television industry begins adopting Eyesafe Standards in an effort to communicate health and safety to end-consumers.

While the average number of hours spent in front of displays – which includes television screens, smartphones, laptops, and other digital devices – has been growing at an alarming rate in recent years, it has skyrocketed in the past year due to the global pandemic. In the U.S. alone, a recent Nielsen report indicates average screen time exceeds 13 hours a day.

The new display was the subject of an open letter issued by the Vision Health Advisory Board commending LG Display and Eyesafe for their leadership in bringing Eyesafe Certified Displays to the marketplace.

The Eyesafe Display Standard is developed in conjunction with over 250 leading ophthalmologists, optometrists, and engineers who have been conducting and analyzing clinical health and safety research on the impacts of exposure to high-energy blue light.

The LG Display television display has met the Eyesafe Display Standard requirements and will receive an AK Certificate (Certificate of Conformance) issued by TUV Rheinland, including the test report. Consumers can obtain information on certified products on the TUV Rheinland certificate database Certipedia, which helps facilitate consumers’ understanding of a product and enhance confidence in the purchase.

“Given the growing body of research around the breadth and scope of potential eye and systemic health impacts related to blue light exposure – amid a global pandemic which has forced many of us to adopt e-learning and work-from-home routines into our daily lives no less – the timing for the world’s first-ever Eyesafe Certified TV Display could not have been more timely,” said Davis Lee, a senior advisor to Eyesafe, the former Senior Vice President of LG Display and most recently the global head of monitors at Dell Technologies. “Through our partnership with LG Display, our mission is to work together to develop an array of display solutions that are designed to support consumer health, and we intend for the majority of the world’s brands to adopt Eyesafe.”

For more information on the LG Display television display designated as meeting the Eyesafe® Display Standard, please visit Eyesafe.com.

It’s a small world, after all, thanks to Zoom and the stay-at-home edicts some continue to endure across the globe as a result of the now 10-month old COVID-19 pandemic.

For some media organizations, this has increased the need for content — and, perhaps, breaking the language barrier. Guess what? Some 200 media organizations including the BBC now have access to a product that uses cutting-edge AI and hardware technology to offer verbal translation to English of content in a foreign tongue.

Introducing the M2 Translator Earbuds courtesy of TimeKettle, billed as the “world’s first offline” device of its kind. It’s been featured as part of the CES 2021 Innovation Awards, and via the American crowdfunding website Indiegogo has raised $770,792 toward its dissemination as a product with global reach and use.

Timekettle M2 translator boast multiple functions aside from translation, including phone calls, music listening, and access to a voice assistant.

Then, there is the Remote Mode capability, which allows up to 40 people to translate content from 40 languages simultaneously; this means people can enjoy group chatting and remote video calls via Zoom or Skype.

What about distinct accents? The device can detect 93 accents among the 40 languages it can translate — including 13 accents, allowing someone from Hawaii to easily communicate with English speakers in Timaru, New Zealand; Leeds, England; Edinburgh, Scotland; Boston; Frankfurt, Ky.; and Odessa, Tex.; with ease.

Sound quality is provided by a Qualcomm aptx 5.0 technology.

The M2 runs off mobile devices, requiring iOS 11.0 or higher in an iPhone and Android 7.0.

It also requires Bluetooth 4.2 and above for tech specification.

HOW TO LEARN MORE

Time Kettle operates a U.S. office from an office building directly opposite the famed Chinese Theater in Hollywood. Perhaps it is fitting, as Time Kettle is headquartered in Shenzhen, China.

General Questions: info@timekettle.co

After-sales Questions: support@timekettle.co

For Marketing/Branding: social@timekettle.co

For Business: dorothy.cui@timekettle.co

Address: 6922 Hollywood Blvd., 4th Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90028

Operation Hours: Monday – Friday 9:30AM – 6:30PM

Less than 24 hours after a major shakeup in its corporate ranks, Univision Communications has moved forward with its widely discussed plans to launch an advertising-supported streaming service serving Spanish-speaking U.S. Hispanics.

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