Intelligence Briefs

With another FCC spectrum auction in the books, many broadcasters may be interested in taking stock of the value of their spectrum usage rights and the likelihood that they may have an opportunity to monetize their spectrum in the future. Ari Meltzer of Wiley Rein LLP is happy to help with this guide.

Media Information Bureau featured columnist Ken Benner offers"a simplified, common sense, good faith effort to suggest compliance with required tower lighting, paint color, registration, lighting requirements, etc., with suggestions for obtaining documentation supporting your efforts to be compliant with this very important public safety effort." It could prove very valuable -- and save your stations from an FCC violation notice and/or fine.

In the world of music there are joyful songs with happy messages.  There are also sad songs that tell tales of woe.  In the world of M&A transactions many are successful… almost as many fail. In the first of a two-part report, DEFcom Advisors CEO Doug Ferber offers his "lyrical guide to successful broadcast transactions."

For 24 years, Brand Keys has created a Customer Loyalty Engagement Index. In an era full of "Fake News," it is using it as a gauge of consumer trust for not only big TV partners, but also TV news organizations. The findings are largely positive for broadcast and cable TV stations offering morning and/or evening newscasts.

Are people who watch YouTube content two times or more per month more committed to TV programming than original content found on the ubiquitous user-generated video platform? A new VAB study released Thursday has some eye-opening stats your C-Suite, and sales pros, will love.

Mike Dudding, the former licensee of KDSN-AM & FM in Denison, Iowa, recently retired after a most successful 40-plus years on the air and in broadcasting. Media Information Bureau Ken Benner salutes Dudding, as well as the licensee of KLQP-FM, serving the Minnesota towns of Madison and Dawson.

Audio.ad, a digital audio advertising firm serving the U.S. Hispanic market; Adsmovil, Audio.ad's domestic commercial representative; and Quriously have teamed up to present a study that offers a deep analysis of the digital audio consumption habits of Spanish speakers living in the U.S.

While there’s a limit to how many SVOD services users are ready to pay for, it is far from being reached. This is one key finding from Ooyala’s just-released State of the Broadcast Industry 2019 report, which maps out the challenges for content creators and distributors as they strive to maintain and grow audiences.

With CES 2019 seeing announcements from both iHeartMedia and Entercom within its first hours of welcoming thousands of guests to the Las Vegas Convention Center, Globalwebindex writer Duncan Kavanaugh offered in a "four-minute read" some of what his organization believes are the biggest media and entertainment trends to watch in 2019. Where's radio ... or audio?

Increases in the minimum wage constitute the greatest number of new requirements for employers in 2019, representing approximately 50% of all requirements that became effective on Jan. 1. XpertHR has some must-read intelligence on how mandatory wage increases may impact your business.

In 2018, Kelly Orchard proposed a diagnosis about radio people suffering from “adjustment disorder,” a treatable condition that in most cases is a short-term concern. Now, Orchard writes that in order to grow successfully, one must introduce methods in company culture and properly adjust or adopt them to engage and encourage teams.

It’s 2019, and to mark the new year featured columnist Ken Benner has pledged to de-clutter his 60+ years of collected broadcast industry documents. He's in his second month of shredding, and just uncovered an item he challenges anyone "to find anything so pathetically and disgustingly over-complicated in the massive historical files of FCC regulations."

Seven years ago radio industry veteran Lee Abrams, co-founder and CEO of V-Satcast (described as “a hybrid broadcast/broadband OTT multicast streaming platform with original highly differentiated branded programming channel”) penned a highly received RBR + TVBR Intelligence Brief. In this Classic installment, Abrams discusses how “traditional” media companies may wish to better attract talent.

The "Breeze" is swaying Radio. Soft AC is exploding. But, is it a smart move, or just another reactionary wave from companies looking for a quick fix to long-term problems? RBR+TVBR reached out to a veteran consultant known for bringing "Softrock" to Boston more than 40 years ago for his view on this newly hot FM programming choice.

Is the ad foundation at Facebook a bit shaky? New data from Standard Media Index, released in response to news that another security leak is plaguing the social media giant, has arrived that looks specifically at Facebook's ad revenue. Guess what? There's some slowing growth in an area that's been healthy of late for radio.