WASHINGTON, D.C. — The FCC today announced the winning bidders and the final bid totals in Auction 107— also known as the “C-Band Auction.”
Auction 107 net winning bids totaled $81,114,481,921 and gross winning bids totaled $81,168,677,645. Twenty-one bidders won all of the available 5,684 licenses.
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The Federal Communications Commission now has released more details about its plans for improving emergency alerting.
Among other proposed changes, state EAS plans would no longer be publicly visible on the FCC website, for security reasons.
As we’ve reported, the FCC has been instructed by Congress to review the current SECC system, explore internet alerting, gather information about false alerts and take other steps.
Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel announced this week that alerting will be on the agenda for the commission’s March open meeting.
[Read: “The FCC Will Explore Internet EAS”]
Now the 52-page draft Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Notice of Inquiry has been released.
The NPRM would:
And the Notice of Inquiry would:
Among the many items in the proposal is a stipulation that state EAS plans, which are currently accessible on the FCC website, would not be publicly available there except for names and some contact information of the SECC chairs.
This is because “disclosure of the plans, at least in form where each plan is one place and in a uniform and easily searchable format, could highlight potential vulnerabilities that malefactors could exploit, thereby potentially hindering emergency planning efforts.”
The post FCC Releases Details of EAS Proposal appeared first on Radio World.
Here’s some obvious news from Kantar: Total TV advertising declined in 2020.
But, just how bad was the carnage at broadcast television created by the COVID-19 pandemic?
There was none.
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Is it ensuring false information that can incite and create violence and insurrection is blocked from receipt by the American public, or is it an extreme violation of Freedom of Speech?
That’s the big question emerging from Capitol Hill, where Democrats and Republications in the House of Representatives have drawn a line in the sand on how “disinformation and extremism” can be prevented from dissemination by broadcast and cable media outlets.
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An “enterprise-wide partnership” that will bring Futuri’s growth products, including TopLine, TopicPulse, Futuri Streaming, and Futuri Mobile, to all SummitMedia stations, has been forged.
“Broadcasters that want to grow their content, grow their audience, and grow their revenue are at a huge disadvantage if they don’t harness technology to compete,” said Futuri CEO Daniel Anstandig. “SummitMedia knows this and acted on it to revolutionize their go-to-market strategy with listeners and advertisers. The SummitMedia leadership team is among the best in the business, and we’re honored to partner with them.”
Randy Chase, who recently succeeded the late Bill Tanner as EVP of Programming at Birmingham-based SummitMedia, added, “SummitMedia is committed to delivering the best content to our consumers and exceptional results to advertisers, and Futuri technology like TopLine, TopicPulse, and their other solutions give us an advantage in today’s highly competitive environment. Expanding our partnership with a best-in-class technology company like Futuri helps us evolve and innovate at a time when stasis is not an option.”
With Greg Walden now retired as a Member of Congress and at the helm of brand-new K Street strategic advisory firm Alpine Advisors, the Ranking Member of the influential House Energy & Commerce Commission has become Republican Cathy McMorris Rodgers, from the state of Washington.
She’s making her mark in fast fashion. And, she’s steaming mad at her Democratic colleagues for actions she and Communications and Technology Republican Subcommittee Leader Bob Latta (R-Ohio) believe put a threat to freedom of speech, and Freedom of the Press.
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One week ago, the wife of influential talk radio pioneer Rush Limbaugh announced that he had lost his battle with Stage 4 Lung Cancer.
With iHeartMedia offering The Best of Rush for the foreseeable future, is there an opportunity for other radio broadcasting companies — including Entercom Communications — to snag some of Limbaugh’s listening audience?
It’s a question presented by a top financial analyst to CFO Rich Schmaeling and CEO David J. Field during Entercom’s Q4 earnings call on Wednesday morning.
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During its “Stream On” event, Spotify announced that it plans to launch a Hi-Fi streaming plan offering lossless streaming in CD quality later this year in selected markets.
This announcement is significant. But, is it noteworthy and of concern to radio broadcasting companies in the U.S. and Canada?
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WASHINGTON, D.C. — Until now, the Northern Virginia-based broadcast TV station owner once known as Gannett has been largely known for owned-and-operated stations including the CBS affiliate serving the Nation’s Capital and two digital multicast networks.
Now, True Crime Network and Quest are getting a sibling. And, it’s putting its focus on women — and perhaps LGBT audiences, too.
RBR+TVBR OBSERVATION: Is TEGNA too shy with who this new multicast network is really appealing to? C’mon, TEGNA — get out of the closet and say this offering is for the LGTBQ crowd. The name alone suggests it. [More below, for Members Only].
TEGNA Inc. this spring will officially launch its third multicast network.
Welcome to Twist, which TEGNA describes as “a women-oriented channel featuring lifestyle and reality programming.”
Initially, Twist will include home, food, and reality content, “much of it featuring exciting reveals – or twists – at the end of each show.”
Programming will be comprised of unscripted TV programs including Clean House, Top Chef Masters, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, Dance Moms, Tabatha Takes Over, Tiny House Nation, and Flipping Out.
In a regular feature on the network, Twist will encourage viewers to submit their own videos of twists they’ve been thrown in life and how they persevered through them in a positive segment called “Share Your Twist.”
Brian Weiss, President/GM of TEGNA’s multicast networks, commented, “Twist will provide an exciting new viewing option for our female audience with content that has not been available through a multicast channel until now. The launch of Twist will enhance TEGNA’s leadership among non-fiction multicast networks, delivering the kinds of free content that over-the-air viewers crave.”
Carriage will be seen in 41 TEGNA markets. And, to bring it to New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Philadelphia, a newly reconstituted Univision Communications has agreed to add it as a digital multicast offering. Seven other Univision markets have committed to Twist.
Even more, Twist will be added to 31 stations presently owned by HC2 Broadcasting.
These arrangements will bring Twist to DMAs covering 70% of U.S. television households.
And, additional distribution agreements are expected to be announced by summer, TEGNA says.
A preview reel can be seen at www.watchtwist.com.
— Editing by Adam Jacobson, in Boca Raton, Fla.
RBR+TVBR OBSERVATION: Is TEGNA too shy with who this new multicast network is really appealing to? C’mon, TEGNA — get out of the closet and say this offering is for the LGTBQ crowd. The name alone suggests it.
For a generation of LGTBQ adults, Twist was a popular nightclub in the heart of Miami’s South Beach. And, some may recall its association with the “Men on Film” skit as seen on the FOX sketch comedy program In Living Color some 30 years ago.
Yes, some may believe it is stereotypical to simply assume Twist is LGTBQ friendly because of Queer Guy. But, all of this programming isn’t singularly enjoyed by women. And, given the disposable income and show preferences of the LGTBQ community, particularly among gay men, TEGNA could see bigger riches and, believe it or not, free promotion from any group that may protest its arrival.
Strictly catering to women is limiting and not exactly a slam dunk, revenue-wise. Just talk to Meredith Corp.’s national media leadership. By bringing a LGBTQ-friendly, if not laser-targeted, digital multicast network to life, TEGNA could only further bring over-the-air TV’s longevity story in a world where cord-cutting stories have been hijacked by deep pocketed AVOD, SVOD and OTT platforms in a place no different than podcasters were in 2018.
Be bold, TEGNA. Give viewers a new twist by fully realizing Twist’s audience potential.
One of the nation’s largest audio media companies, with investments in podcasting and a growing streaming app, is rapidly recovering from not only COVID-19 fueled detriments to its revenue, but also from challenges largely associated with the November 2017 tax-free merger it successfully completed with CBS Radio.
Entercom Communications early Wednesday released its Q4 and full-year 2020 earnings report. While its revenue was down 22.8% year-over-year, it surpassed Wall Street estimates. Entercom’s earnings per share? That’s another story.
Entercom’s adjusted net income shriveled to $23.04 million (translating to a non-GAAP earnings per share of $0.17), from $53.38 million ($0.40).
Wall Street analysts expected non-GAAP EPS to come in at $0.18.
On a GAAP basis, Entercom’s EPS was negative, at -$1.21. That was far off from Street prognostications, as profit of $0.02 per share was forecast.
Total net revenue came in at $319.5 million, compared to $414.12 million in Q4 2019.
That said, year-over-year comps are being downplayed by the radio industry, which is intent on showing sequential quarterly improvements from the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic. And, those sequential improvements paint a positive picture for the owner of key Sports Talk properties as WFAN-AM & FM in New York and podcast players Cadence13 and Pineapple Street.
Total net revenue in Q2 2019 was $175.87 million, off from $380.67 million in the second quarter of 2020.
Of course, perspective is everything: Revenue was down 22.8% year-over-year in Q4. Revenue was down a steep 53.8% in Q2.
What was Entercom’s non-GAAP Station Operating Income (SOI)? In Q4 2020 it totaled $80.69 million, slipping from $129.66 million.
Then, there are the non-adjusted numbers, which show a diminished net loss in Q4 2020 of $162.4 million, from a net loss of $487.54 million in Q4 2019.
Lastly, Free Cash Flow, a largely important figure for the radio industry, came in at $37.97 million. While that’s down from Q4 2019’s FCF of $59.52 million, it’s a big swing from negative FCF of $47.87 million seen in Q2 2020.
POLITICAL PROWESS
The Q4 2020 results, while pointing to positive growth, are propelled by something that likely won’t be repeated for some time: incredibly strong political ad dollars.
Entercom in Q4 saw political revenue of $18.89 million — a record high that dwarfs Q4 2018’s revenue of $12.3 million.
Importantly, the record-crushing political didn’t diminish Entercom’s sequential improvements in spot revenue, or its network revenue.
Then, there is Entercom’s digital story. Not only has the company returned to growth, something finally seen in Q4 2019 after months of mediocre revenue trends, but it established a new division record in Q4 2020 — finishing at a mighty $58.8 million.
It’s extremely encouraging news for Entercom, which has invested heavily in its Radio.com streaming app and platform, inherited from the CBS Radio merger and completely rebooted.
The other interesting positive for Entercom: Sponsorship and event revenue isn’t totally comatose, with sequential gains pushing it to $9.6 million in Q4 from $7.24 million in Q2 2020. Year-over-year? That’s ugly, given the loss of holiday-themed live events Entercom would normally stage during the final three months of the year.
In a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, Entercom offered revenue by “format,” splitting its music stations from its Sports and News/Talk broadcast properties. The improvement in revenue on a sequential basis is most noticeable at its music stations.
EXPENSE CONTROL
Entercom’s C-Suite, ahead of its earnings call for investors and financial analysts, also pointed to a slash in station expenses in Q4 as a key factor in achieving revenue growth.
Station expenses for the fourth quarter declined 16% to $238.8 million year-over-year and corporate expenses declined 6% to $20.2 million.
The big black mark for Entercom in Q4: Operating loss for the quarter was $204.9 million, as this includes a non-cash impairment charge of $247.4 million. Yet, this compares to an operating loss of $455.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2019.
In prepared comments ahead of Entercom’s 10am Eastern quarterly earnings call, Entercom President/CEO David Field pointed to “strong sequential operating improvement,” with podcasting and sports betting contributing to across-the-board revenue growth.
“While the pandemic continues to hobble a large number of our advertisers, particularly locally, we are optimistic about a strong recovery in our local ad sales later this year driven by vaccinations, fiscal stimulus and pent-up consumer demand in heavily impacted categories,” he said.
In particular, Radio.com enjoyed 34% year-over-year growth in monthly active users in the fourth quarter and 53% growth in smart speaker listenership.
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