Why is Sheridan’s Davenport Bullish on Radio?

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Ron-DavenportSheridan Broadcasting Corporation General Counsel and Radio Division President Ron Davenport Jr. says the company is moving ahead and “bullish on radio,” after the settlement of the legal dispute with former AURN partner NBN/Access.1.


Sheridan owns three AMs: WUFO, Buffalo, WATV, Birmingham and WIGO Atlanta.

Asked about the FCC’s AM revitalization effort, Davenport says Sheridan’s three AMs “power down considerably” at night. “We would be in favor of [operating] 24/7 and not having to power down.”

However radio’s future, he believes, is digital.

Davenport tells us he has a patent for a technology he’s calling telestreaming. “There’s an opportunity in radio to stream audio and visual [elements] as you broadcast over-the-air,” says Davenport.

According to the abstract: “The present invention provides multi-media video streams via high speed internet to a worldwide audience by using a specialized automation system with audio and video switching capabilities. This system provides video media streams to multiple platforms such as, cell phones, internet websites, and cable television subscribers.”

Monetization for broadcasters comes from replacing each over-the-air audio ad with a different audio/visual ad on the stream using ad replacement technology.

He’s looking to test a camera developed by C360 that allows the user to place themselves “in” a live event, like a game or performance, and “move” around in the picture. It would be a “compelling pay-per-view event for a radio station” Davenport believes.

An AM station could use one of these cameras for a local game or performance and generate revenue from that, he tells us.