Intelligence Briefs

Nielsen on Monday released its April 2018 cable network Universe Estimates, and there's one thing in particular that sticks out for Pivotal Research Group Senior Research Analyst/Advertising Brian Wieser. The "bottom line" on the new UEs: there's an ongoing decline in traditional pay TV network penetration rates, led by lower traditional MVPD subscription levels.

In September 2017, Toyota teamed up with one of America's biggest Urban stations for an experiential marketing effort that placed its redesigned Camry at the center of its sales efforts. What transpired is another tale about radio's ability to deliver strong results for brands looking to build relationships, along with profits. This story comes courtesy of NYMRAD - New York Market Radio.

In this guest Media Information Bureau column, Fincons Group executives Greg Jarvis and U.K.-based Oliver Botti discuss how traditional broadcast TV and OTT each have significant strengths, but have "limitless" opportunities when combined.

"Media channel buyer bias must end." "Junior buyers need to be better educated." Sound bytes from a meeting with Entercom President/CEO David Field? Nope. That's what top radio industry executives are moaning about in Australia, based on a study conducted in Great Britain.

"Our work in traditional media has seen its challenges," notes broadcast leadership expert Kelly Orchard. "The recent bankruptcies of two of the largest radio broadcasters, as well as mergers, acquisitions, and transitions, are main topics as I continue to engage in conversations with my colleagues. Their opinions are as varied as the size of their radio markets." In this column, Orchard reviews "the good, the bad and the ugly" of the radio industry, while reviewing today's top concerns for smaller markets and, in particular, family owned stations.

One of the most important documents for any radio or TV station is FCC form 854-R. This is the tower registration form required for each tower over 200 feet and puts into writing the coordinates to be reported to the FAA for tower-beacon light outage. The registration number on this form is required to be prominently displayed on or close to the tower, with large enough numerals to be read from the closest public access to the tower. In some cases, rented towers owned by non-broadcast entities and the tower owners were not aware of this requirement. Here's what Media Information Bureau featured columnist Ken Benner has to say about that faux pas.

"Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own."  One Forbes contributor, former Media Life editor Gene Ely, just penned a guest commentary with the provocative headline "In The IHeartMedia Bankruptcy, Expect A Major Selloff Of Radio Stations." Really? We asked top D.C. attorneys and one broker for their opinions. Here's what they say.

The D.C. Circuit has just issued a long-awaited decision involving the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). According to Scott Delacourt and Eva Reed of Wiley Rein LLP, this has "widespread implications for broadcasters and other media companies that rely on modern calling equipment (including text messaging) to reach their audiences." How could this decision, which resolves an appeal of the FCC’s 2015 Omnibus TCPA Order with a unanimous panel but a split decision on the merits, impact your radio or TV station?

Among the dozens of e-mails Media Information Bureau columnist Ken Benner dumps each day with nary a glance was one that caught his attention well before hitting the "delete" key. The note to Benner suggested the FCC was about to focus on AM directional antenna compliance. "I normally keep pretty good track on what the current FCC fine-focus is, and this was news to me," Benner says. "I could locate nothing from the commission or the various publications I scan each week." Is AM directional antenna compliance a new concern to put on your radar?

In this guest Media Information Bureau column, Tribe Pictures CEO and Creative Director Vern Oakley discusses how "fake news" is old news and why "fake video" is the new threat — thanks to emerging technology that will allow the manufacturing of authentic-looking video your staff may not be able to flag as phony. Reading this could very well keep your stations' integrity in check.

The 2018 Infinite Dial Study by Edison Research and Triton Digital, unveiled Thursday, offers radio industry professionals the latest research in digital audio, social media, mobile, smart speakers, and podcast consumption. What's the biggest takeaway from the latest report from Edison and Triton? The two most talked-about sectors in audio today—podcasting and Smart Speakers—post significant gains in this year’s study, compared to 2017.

On Tuesday morning, a seismic sale of an FM radio station in the Windy City rocked the radio industry. WLUP, known as "The Loop," was sold. Many were quick to lament the loss of a station viewed as iconic. Our Editor-in-Chief sees it differently: It's a perfect example, he says, of how the radio industry fails at keeping brands meaningful. On the contrary, the company buying WLUP is an expert in creating brands with strength and lasting power.

Believe it or not, TV went digital a long time ago. This is why so many U.S. homes have TV set-top boxes and there exists a plethora of over-the-air broadcast sub-channels. It is also the reason The Nielsen Company had to change the basis of its TV-measurement system from tuner frequencies to network codes embedded in program content. The digital TV discussed today is a bit different from those early days, thanks to "over-the-top" (OTT) apps. What does this mean for broadcast TV, and what does it mean for advertisers? Guest Media Information Bureau columnist Ed DeNicola, Head of Television for Cambridge Analytica, chimes in on the subject.

A new global study on who is paying for streaming video services shows the U.S. and Canada far and away the leading nations where "OTT" is eating away at cable TV. Here's a look at how many households are paying for these services, and what the worldwide SVOD outlook is for the next five years.

As featured Media Information Bureau columnist Ken Benner on February 17 prepared the first draft of this latest column, he was fielding panic calls and e-mails from frustrated broadcast licensees attempting to file their FCC biennial ownership reports after being warned of substantial fines for failing to do so. Benner attempted to access the appropriate FCC database, mimicking what these licenses had experienced. He quickly realized their frustration.