Tech Roundup

If you weren't convinced that broadcast media is on the cusp of a possible at-home consumer renaissance, NPR and Edison Research just served up a bright report right on cue, as stormy weather blew east and the sun returned to Southern Nevada on Wednesday. Thanks to a 2017 holiday sales surge, some 16% of Americans now own a voice-activated smart speaker.

The latest audio solutions from HD Radio are set to be shared with alongside imaging and semiconductor bonding solutions from sister companies DTS, FotoNation and Invensas at the world's biggest consumer electronics conference and expo.

It's already been a notable CES 2018 for the nation's No. 1 radio company. On Monday at the biggest event on Earth for consumer electronics, iHeartMedia unveiled multiple new integrations for its iHeartRadio-branded digital music, podcasting and live streaming radio service.

As first reported by RBR+TVBR on Dec. 20, a major provider​ ​of​ ​FM​ ​and​ ​AM​ ​transmitters​ ​in business since 1959 — and a 40-year player in the transmitter sales arena — has been acquired by a global manufacturer of FM transmitters based in Ferrara, Italy. ​​Elenos is now the owner of Broadcast​ ​Electronics​ ​(BE)​. In an attempt to try to answer some of the many questions about the deal, BE Director of U.S. Sales and Marketing Jeff Wilson spoke with Elenos Group President Leonardo Busi and BE President/CEO Tom Beck.

Programmatic TV has passed a key milestone on its way to becoming a mainstream method for buying and selling advertising: WideOrbit’s WO Programmatic is now the first and only platform to offer local ad inventory on more than 1,000 TV channels.

The JBL by HARMAN 3 Series MkII powered studio monitor, new from HARMAN Professional Solutions, has officially been unveiled ahead of its official launch at the 2018 NAMM Show, to be held later this month in Anaheim, Calif.

The network owned by Cumulus Media known for its nationally distributed play-by-play sports programming and several syndicated general entertainment programs is "making good to advertisers on its promise to provide analytics for native advertising and live reads." In doing so, it is expanding its partnership with Veritone.

For 10 years until June 2014, Tim Sabean served as Sirius XM's SVP for the Howard Stern Channels, responsible for the development and growth of the satellite radio offerings. As of today, Sabean is now an employee of Westwood One, and has taken a newly created role at the Cumulus Media-owned operation.

Just in time for CES 2018 in Las Vegas, LG Electronics has unveiled what it is boasting to be a "superior, clearer and smarter lineup of premium audio products that promises to change the way people think about home speakers." New for 2018 is Meridian Audio’s advanced high performance audio technology "to deliver more natural and warm sound. But, perhaps the biggest takeaway is the South Korean company's first smart speaker to go to market—the ThinQ.

Why voice control technology is no longer a rising trend and now standard was the crux of a lively webinar conducted earlier this month with Veritone Sr. Product Manager Michael Kennedy and Apps Engineering Manager Steve Shaffer. Here's a quick recap of what the executives discussed, and some of the key takeaways that could boost your business in 2018.

To further advance its spectrum repack initiative, RFS has appointed an industry veteran with more than 30 years of consultative sales and sales management experience for capital equipment in highly technological markets its new Director of Broadcast Sales.

The FCC has approved the first-ever wireless "power-at-a-distance" charging technology. The "WattUp" from Energous could allow multiple devices to be recharged up to three feet away, regardless of manufacturer. This could mean added audio and video consumption opportunities for your station's streams, and we spoke with a former FCC Chairman and Emmis head Jeff Smulyan for their reaction.

On Dec. 14, the FCC voted in a 3-2 party-line vote led by Republicans to remove Title II classification of broadband internet. Democrat Mignon Clyburn describes the vote as one that "dismantles" the agency's 2015 net neutrality rules. As a long-standing champion of net neutrality and one of the two FCC Commissioners who vociferously objected to last week’s decision, Clyburn believes it is important for consumers and small businesses to understand what happens next. Here's what she has to say.

A Karlsruhe, Germany-based supplier of next-gen "smart set-top box" platforms for pay-TV, IPTV, and OTT operators now has a stateside distributor, giving it wider access to the robust North American marketplace.

A major provider​ ​of​ ​FM​ ​and​ ​AM​ ​transmitters​ ​in business since 1959 -- and a 40-year player in the transmitter sales arena -- has been acquired by a global manufacturer of FM transmitters based in Ferrara, Italy.