Tech Roundup

For years, the 107.9 MHz signal serving the Windy City has had penetration issues inside The Loop, due to high-rise buildings and other infrastructure blocking the station licensed to Aurora, Ill., from fully reaching listeners across much of Chicago. Now, the current owner of the station on that frequency has a solution, thanks to the adoption of MaxxCasting technology created and owned by GeoBroadcast Solutions.

If you use the SGrecast live stream repurposing, rebroadcasting and podcast management system or have contemplated adding it to your broadcast station, now may be the time to make a plan of action. New audio transcription features will make their European debut at IBC2018, and California-based StreamGuys is making a big promo push for the update.

A San Francisco Bay Area tech company focused on delivery IPTV solutions to the smallest of MVPDs has just forged a relationship with upward of 50 communications companies across the U.S. The deal brings the MOBITV Connect platform to some 1 million cable TV subscribers across the U.S.

SeaChange International has made "a significant deployment" of its new cFlow video solutions portfolio with Atlantic Broadband. The new IP VOD service is now available in Atlantic Broadband’s Connecticut, New Hampshire and Maine service areas, with deployments planned for other markets including Miami Beach, Fla., by year’s end.

On July 16, Gray Television broke ground on a new 30,000 square foot facility that will house the CBS, NBC, MyNetworkTV, The CW Network and Antenna TV stations serving the Augusta, Ga., market. While that facility is expected to be completed in late 2019, Gray has just celebrated the opening of a brand-new facility housing its two stations in a South Dakota market.

With the rapidly growing Podcast Movement conference getting underway on Tuesday in Philadelphia, a company known for a tech platform that's powering the digital audio advertising ecosystem has launched a "Podcast Platform Partnership Program" with the first wave of top platform and tool providers.

OmniPlayer is returning to the IBC show, one of the world's biggest showcases for broadcast media technology. The event is scheduled for September 14-18 in Amsterdam, and OmniPlayer plans to make a splash in the Netherlands through the introduction of the newest generation of its Radio Automation Software in a fully virtual radio studio.

The FCC's Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau and FEMA are readying the next nationwide combined test of the Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) and EAS. All EAS Participants are required to participate in this nationwide test.

The 732 Advanced Dynamic RDS Encoder is now available from Inovonics. It promises to include "the latest RDS tools, along with the obligatory broadcasting song title, artist information, and station IDs."

The NAB technology innovation initiative launched a new program that provides grants to NAB members to establish paid engineering or media-technology internships at their radio and TV stations. The program will be launched in partnership with NABEF as part of an effort to grow technical and engineering talent for the industry.

Automation, content management and integrated channel specialist Pebble Beach Systems has further optimized its Marina playout system to ease the migration from legacy and aging EOL systems such as ADC, Omnibus, and Sundance automation systems.

New data from NPR and Edison Research confirm that new smart speaker owners are emerging as "a distinct audience" in terms of user profile, behavior and media habits, while the first movers in the space remain highly engaged with their devices. That's a key learning from the Spring 2018 edition of The Smart Audio Report.

The Next Gen TV local simulcasting rules have received the approval of the Office of Management and Budget. This means that permissive voluntary use of the ATSC 3.0 broadcast standard is a go — another milestone for TV operators seeking an addressable advertising solution and superior audio and visual quality.

Don't think that Snapchat is a legitimate ad threat to your radio or TV station? Think again. Nielsen has confirmed that its premium audience segments will now be available on the social media app's ad buying platform.

A firm that has carved a niche for itself through measuring eyes-on-screen attention of TV programming and ads has gained access to millions of dollars in capital. As such, it has named its first president and COO.