Legacy

Have you taken the 2021 Television Sales Compensation Study yet? If not, do it now before the deadline hits at the end of the day, July 23! It will only take 5 minutes of your time to complete. Your responses are important to help us track changes in television sales compensation.

As the clock strikes Midnight, low-power TV stations that haven't been built yet and haven't secured extensions from the FCC will disappear. For some, the race against the clock meant engaging in deals before time expires. These fresh transactions involve such companies as HC2 Holdings and Gray Television, and noted brokerage Kalil & Co.

On Monday afternoon, two items were deleted from the agenda for Tuesday's FCC July Open Meeting. One deals with steps to combat contraband wireless devices in correctional facilities. The other eliminates and/or amends "outmoded or unnecessary broadcast technical rules."

The latest quarterly broadcast station totals have been released from the FCC. And, when one compares the numbers to the end of the first quarter of 2021, a clear trend can be seen: AM radio stations continue to be in decline, while FM translators are more numerous than ever. 

It is licensed to Ashland City, Tenn., but has a signal that covers all of Nashville during daylight hours. While the AM has just 35 watts at night, there's a 100-watt FM translator that allows it to cover Nashville's west side. These facilities are heading to a new licensee, pending FCC approval. And, it is a certainty that "The Mighty 790" is involved in their future.

Its a tiny town in Lewis County, Mo., that had under 550 residents in the 2010 U.S. Census. It's important enough of a locale for Gray Television to make a deal for a low-powered TV station based in this tiny burgh. There's a perfectly good reason it is buying the facility, when one looks at a map.

TV transactions of late have also included deals involving unbuilt low-power TV stations. With a sign-on deadline of Tuesday, time is rapidly ticking for those seeking to spin these facilities and cash out. Then, there's a group of LPTVs for sale that are a bit unique. How so? They don't need to be built until 2023.

Orban Labs, the maker of audio processing systems for AM, FM, DAB+, HD Radio, television and Internet broadcasting, is "reorganizing" sales of its PCn1600 audio processing software. Translation: years of exclusivity have ended for two entities that had exclusive sales licenses. 

Chevrolet has alerted consumers that certain model year 2021 and 2022 pickup trucks will not come with Xperi's HD Radio. And, the automotive company says, it is due to a chip shortage.

"The American Music Fairness Act" arrived last week. It looks not so dissimilar to previous attempts to get legislation favoring recording acts passed by Congress, except for one big difference: a tiered royalty structure based on a radio station's annual revenue. Is that enough to woo Members of the House and Senate? Early indicators point to a resounding "No."

An "expansive collaborative effort" is now underway to launch NEXTGEN TV service in the Nation's Capital, and it is calling on the academic resources and tech team of Howard University's public broadcasting TV station in Washington, D.C., to get the ball rolling.

The connected TV/OTT advertising platform launched by TEGNA that as of 2020 sees Gray Television as a minority stakeholder has widened its partnership with IHS Markit. The move is designed to bring Polk data to Connected TV and OTT campaigns for automotive advertisers -- something broadcast TV should very much take note of.

On September 19, 1921, one of America's oldest radio stations will celebrate its 100th anniversary. On June 11, the 100 day countdown to a century of serving New England began for a station currently offering an all-News format, owned today by iHeartMedia.

These interactive discussion sessions have covered a broad range of engineering-oriented topics, providing an opportunity for engineers to learn and discuss ideas with their peers. Nautel says they will continue.

The Wall Street whizzes at Zacks Equity Research have conducted an assessment on Townsquare Media's stock. They conclude that TSQ, while enjoying swift share growth, is a good investment to consider today.