Intelligence Briefs

With the first phase of the post-incentive auction repack rapidly approaching, licensees of full power and Class A television stations should be mindful of upcoming deadlines for notifications to multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs), medical facilities, and viewers, Wiley Rein associate Ari Meltzer, partner John Burgett and of counsel Joan Stewart note in this report. 

The relationship between streamers and traditional TV is a close one, new details from Nielsen's Local Watch Report show. According to the report, traditional programming "shows impressive resilience in today's digital age." The big takeaway for broadcast TV companies: "Even the heaviest of streamers can't seem to shake broadcast viewing."

Don't mistake this column for a grumble session from our octogenarian Alternative Broadcast Inspection Program (ABIP) pioneer. Rather, he's come to praise the current Commission leadership, not bury it with a spoonful of grumbling goulash. 

What's a "deal killer"? How can you avoid them? To help best answer these questions, Garvey Schubert Barer communications attorney Erwin Krasnow and DEFCom Advisors CEO Doug Ferber created a new limited series of podcasts based on a 2017 Media Information Bureau column on this very subject. RBR+TVBR Editor-in-Chief is the host, and the guests are the operating partners of Community Broadcasters.

Mick Mulvaney, for those of you who don't follow Washington politics, is the current head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. He's said a thing or two about lobbyists. Why should this matter to radio and/or TV station owners? This column from Media Information Bureau featured columnist Ken Benner explains it all. It could make your lawyers testy.

We've read about the #MeToo movement. But, did you know there's also a #SeeHer movement, led by the Association of National Advertisers (ANA)? The people behind #SeeHer teamed up with TiVo for a research study on ads that feature women. What does it find? Positive portrayals matter.

AM and FM station owners are giddy over the opportunities that smart speakers bring for increased listening in the home. Now, data from Edison Research's just-released "The Infinite Dial: Heavy Radio Listeners" finds that one in five of broadcast radio's biggest users already own such a device.

"Many agree that Facebook needs to make some changes," Bloomberg View columnist Michael Strain wrote in an April 20 column. Four days later, the digital and social media giant started to make some changes, at least on Capitol Hill. It put a former FCC head in a lead D.C. role. Will this make "fixing Facebook" any easier? What does that mean for radio and TV?

The following column from Media Information Bureau featured writer Ken Benner has been requested by at least three licensees over the past few weeks. Why? "This is apparently due to the recent requirement to place public files online." As a public service to broadcast radio and TV stations across the U.S., Benner is pleased to provide his "Handout Sheet No. 34." It could just save you hundreds of dollars in potential forfeitures, with checks made payable to the FCC.

Recording artists Brant Menswar and Jim Trick recently conducted a survey to determine the ways people want to make change in their lives and the biggest obstacles stopping them. The results are in, and they could help you as a manager while also aiding you in reaching your own personal achievement goals.

The CMO Council today released a report that investigates how some of the nation's top marketers and advertising decision-makers are calling for more transparency. Titled "Engage at Every Stage: An Investigation of Video Activation," this study finds that inaccurate, questionable and false digital media reporting measures have already caused 21% of marketers to pull back on advertising spend. Additionally, the study finds that media spend in this area will be very much linked to reporting accuracy. Is this another opportunity for radio and TV to strike back at digital and social media?

"I must be the happiest, passionate and most peaceful person in radio today ... and I don’t even work inside a radio station." Those are the words of Kelly Orchard, who spent 20 years operating family-owned radio stations and is today a licensed psychotherapist and alternative FCC compliance specialist. In this exclusive column, Orchard diffuses the ticking time bomb of "living with the daily pressure most broadcasters experience." There's a way to get rid of that negativity. Here are her suggestions for how to achieve that goal.

It's been suggested by the head of the BBC that "the smartphone generation is our biggest challenge." RBR+TVBR Editor-in-Chief Adam R Jacobson has a one-word response to the Beeb: Bullocks. In his view, radio and TV can continue to win by "doubling down on your biggest asset." What would that be?

At the end of 2013, more than 60% of the U.S. population owned a smartphone. The latest research showed that many of them are actively researching local businesses on the fly. That led Martin Kristiseter, today a senior VP at Marketron Digital, to pen a Media Information Bureau column that concludes Radio, whose audiences are predominantly local, can play a huge role in leveraging mobile to help local retail. In turn, mobile, which is far-reaching, can boost local radio. We revisit Kristiseter's column more than four years later, as his advice still holds true today.

For one hour on Wednesday CMO Inc. founder Peter Horst and Jebbit president and co-founder Jonathan Lacoste made some predictions and "bold claims" in the wake of a marketing and advertising world controversy surrounding Facebook, third-party data use, and dollar allocation from brand managers. Our Editor-in-Chief tuned out halfway through, upon realizing that, in his view, ads on Instragram are a complete waste of money and that radio was a much better ROI delivery vehicle. Do you agree? Read on.