RBR+TVBR 2020 Fall Special Report

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NEW! THE TOP LOCAL TV LEADERS BROADCAST TV EMBRACES ITS DIGITAL TOOLS A GLIMPSE OF TVB ALT FORWARD’S TOP TOPICS

HOW COVID-19, AND TECHNOLOGY, CHANGED TV The future of broadcasting takes the fast track to adapting to consumer trends while preparing to embrace new revenue streams

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HOW COVID-19 CHANGED TV

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TEAMWORK, THROUGH TECH

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THE TOP LOCAL TV LEADERS

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OVER THE AIR, RIGHT ON TARGET

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The pandemic has been a time of unprecedented challenge and change for broadcasters. What do these changes mean for the future of broadcasting?

Local TV stations have had many of the tools needed to operate the station from outside the station. They simply needed a bit of guidance in understanding what was already available.

RBR+TVBR readers salute the leaders overseeing stations on a market-by-market level in this first-ever ranked list.

TVB President/CEO Steve Lanzano offers a glimpse of just some of the topics up for discussion at TVB ALT FORWARD on October 1.

35 HOW AUDIO LIFTS A VISUAL MEDIUM’S AUDIENCE At Westwood One, illustrating the power of audio to drive television audience is one passion point of its Chief Insights Officer, Pierre Bouvard.

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BROADCAST INTERNET: THE NEXT-GEN REVENUE GENERATOR

Did you know that the next-generation broadcast TV standard includes a big money-making opportunity for over-the-air television stations that has little to do with “spots and dots” and everything to do with iOT? If not, this article is for you.

Radio + Television Business Report STREAMLINE PUBLISHING 331 SE Mizner Blvd.

Chairman: Eric Rhoads Boca Raton, FL, 33432 Publisher: Deborah Parenti Phone: 561-655-8778 Editor-in-Chief: Adam R Jacobson www.rbr.com Director of Operations: April McLynn Twitter: @rbrtvbr

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TV TODAY AND TOMORROW, SHAPED BY TECH Seven months. With the release of the Fall 2020 edition of the Radio + Television Business Report magazine, it will be nearly 20 weeks since the COVID-19 pandemic forced broadcast television companies to quickly react and adapt to the unprecedented changes and challenges associated with keeping the lights on — and programming on the air.

From news production to the delivery of local and national content, the work environment has been greatly impacted. Has it changed the way broadcast TV will operate forever? And, what do the changes seen since mid-March mean for the future of an industry eagerly awaiting the full rollout of NEXTGEN TV? In short, the pre-coronavirus technology revolution was sent in many ways into overdrive

by COVID-19. And, in other ways, it put a halt to some projects that had been in the works. As broadcast tech leaders and C-Suite executives at some of the nation’s key TV station ownership groups see it, the virus that awaits a vaccine has propelled the world’s original visual media industry into a new era — with new production techniques, and new delivery platforms, at the heart of that rocket-fueled momentum.

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COST PRESSURES, NEEDED TRANSITIONS For monitoring, visualization and delivery analytics product provider Qligent, like many companies, the pre-COVID environment was squarely focused on a trajectory of moving to the cloud. A set of disciplines and targets for the development of its products was in place. Then, COVID-19 arrived.

“What COVID did was act as a magnifying glass,” says Brick Eksten, the Ontario, Canada-based CEO of the Melbourne, Fla.-headquartered company.

“We then got calls from customers aware of our trajectory and asking us to move faster. It forced us to get really tight and succinct on how we can help our customers the most.”

The biggest concern among Qligent’s media clients: cost pressures associated with gaining remote access to media and content streams. “We ended up spending a lot of time with customers with products already installed to allow them to access technology and work in a remote environment,” says Eksten, Brick Eksten noting that the technology may have been there all along, but knowledge of its full use was limited among some broadcast TV clients.

For those in need of new technology to bring remote work capabilities to life, Qligent’s team wrote new software. And, for companies that opted for a hybrid environment, with a mix of pure-cloud and stationary systems, Qligent moved ahead.

What was Eksten’s biggest takeaway from the experience? “There was a willingness to adapt that wasn’t really there before,” he says, adding that many clients had lengthy checklists to consider before they could even apply remote access to the tasks under review. Then there was the clients’ focus on operational efficiency, ensuring that the right people were in place to effectively communicate to all how to access what they needed while away from their stations.

Of course, shifting to the cloud isn’t free, and Eksten is well aware of the fiscal challenges effectively dampen-

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ing the entire television industry. “It is impossible to talk about a marketplace without talking about a pause when a crisis happens,” he says. “Some customers wanted to press pause not because a move to the cloud wasn’t the right thing to do. It was about how to pay the bills, and getting flexible on contracts on allowing the customer to help them move through the process.”

In contrast, some Qligent clients wanted technology advancement. Now. “There is a whole rack of customers that wanted to move ahead fast, and we had to evolve from the ambition they set out on,” Eksten says, noting that the eSports realm and its willingness to consider traditional broadcast TV distribution in the wake of COVID19 has propelled activity at Qligent.

“Our customers have realized that the operating patterns we are looking at today can be greater assisted with more machine learning and being able to control the stream,” Eksten says. “There’s a lot of focus on technologies that were originally on an 18-month road map, and giving more value to customers today.”

NEXTGEN TV: THE NEXT BUDGETING FOCUS From its Maine headquarters, Dielectric has built and delivered antennas and RF systems for television and FM broadcast stations since 1942. Through the pandemic, Dielectric played an outsized role in the conclusion of the U.S. spectrum repack. Then it immediately transitioned to the rollout of ATSC 3.0 technology on the station level.

Did the COVID-19 pandemic squelch or sideline any of the timelines — or budgets — for any of the TV stations looking ahead to the riches NEXTGEN TV is poised to bring?

Speaking of Dielectric’s product portfolio, VP/GM Keith Pelletier says the company is likely building on the strength of its success with the repack. “Advancements that we made for the repack have been rolled right into NEXTGEN TV,” he says. “Without missing a beat, we’ve been able to develop, using our R&D teams, quite a few products.”

On NEXTGEN TV, Pelletier adds, “We’ve put a lot of time into it. We’ve done it with the help of the consulting community and

developed a theoretical deployment in the San Francisco Bay Area for quite a few Single-Frequency Networks (SFNs) for NEXTGEN TV. In doing that, we’ve been able to design theoretical patterns based on actual sites that are on the outskirts of San Francisco, and take that and develop as-close-as-possible to those patterns, and develop software tools that our consultants can use to develop SFNs throughout the U.S.” While that growth is energizing Dielectric, it has seen nonessential purchases outside the repack process “getting a lot more scrutiny” from its customer base. Pelletier says, “Based on COVID-19 we will see some delays in the remainder of this

Keith Pelletier

year, but hopefully with the economy rebounding quickly as they say, we’ll be well-positioned in 2021 to support all of the NEXTGEN TV services that we need to on the product end.”

Market deployments of NEXTGEN TV have been a focus of late for LTN Global, which saw its video transport network services used for the first commercial deployment of ATSC 3.0 in the U.S., in Las Vegas. Chief Technology Officer and head of strategy Alan Young notes that groups of stations have come up with spectrum-sharing arrangements where one of the stations becomes, effectively, “the ATSC 3.0 lighthouse.” The other stations send their output to this facility, and then it gets multiplexed together.

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Then the ATSC 1.0 signals are sent to the other stations to ensure they remain on the air.

“Of course, that has to happen before the rollout of receivers can happen,” Young says.

And with the exchange of all of these broadcast signals essential, LTN Global has gained a role as the facilitator of such station needs.

Feeding NEXTGEN TV will undoubtedly rely on content, one thing that won’t change and will only increase as the years go by. But, thanks to COVIDAlan Young 19, getting quality content on the air may still involve a patchwork of tools quickly crafted to bring a swift short-term solution to a TV station. Now, many local TV leaders are taking a long-term approach to offsite content creation.

Enter CP Communications, which boasts a remote production — REMI (Remote Integration Model) — broadcast workflow operation from a St. Petersburg, Fla., studio. CP also has facilities in New York and Toronto, and they are expressly designed to produce and deliver broadcast content.

Kurt Heitmann, CP’s CEO, notes the Tampa Bay facility is home to a 1,300-square-foot studio, adjacent to a control room. Until now, it has mainly been used by broadcasters and production companies on feeding stations. As acquisition and content control grow in focus, the delivery side of the equation is being magnified as a concern, Heitman believes.

As he illustrates, TV station news departments each face the same dilemma: Content needs to get from the field into the control room and then be integrated into the studio operations. Like Eksten, CP’s Heitmann opened clients’ eyes to what they already had at hand.

“Integrating the tools into their studio was a situation where we really saw they had some of the tools necessary, and never really used them,” Heitmann says. “Now we need them to dust the tools off, and our job is to get the stations to figure out how to use them.”

With more remotes from home seen from market to market, REMI needs have risen to the forefront of a broadcast TV station’s priorities. “Now, we are doing remotes

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from home,” Heitmann notes.

What’s the bottom line for broadcasters? “If COVID is in control room and studio — there was an instance of that at CBS in New York, where the broadcast center was closed — a solution is needed.

Some are renting a studio just to get content on the air because of a delivery problem, and that is aided by a changing infrastructure. Zoom is great. It is just not a broadcast-quality product, and you see the struggles of trying to incorporate a conference call platform into a broadcast product.”

“Zoom is great. It is just not a broadcast-quality product, and you see the struggles of trying to incorporate a conference call platform into a broadcast product.”

— Kurt Heitmann, CP Communications

With remote content acquisition now in focus at broadcast TV, CP’s “CamStream” is one tool that’s helping the transition. Heitmann says, “What we’ve found over the last three months is that the stations have the tools. A broadcaster gets a camera, and he may have an encoder. With a camera and a light kit, he’s got to get that to his talent off site. They may be using LAN at home or bonded cellular on the road. How now do we deal with audio over a cell phone or over a computer with an earphone in?”

The result is a sync problem. “We brought that all into one package,” Heitmann notes. “It makes the process more streamlined and routing to remote studio is accomplished. They have the tools internally to do it. They just don’t have the tools externally to do it. And on-air talent just aren’t meant to be technical.”

That’s why the IQOYA CONNECT, a cloud-based service and

platform of need for radio and TV broadcasters from Digigram, believes its ONE IP audio tool is a good solution for broadcast journalists working from a remote environment. The IQOYA CONNECT features a unified web platform where the user’s custom profiles and audio settings are saved, offering autonomy and flexibility in live situations regardless of the device used.

VIEW-FUELED CONTENT MOVEMENT A different type of tech advancement has been seen since the dawn of the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S.

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Thanks to Pennsylvania-based Strategic Solutions Research, viewer-fueled suggestions on how to improve a local station’s newscast, potentially resulting in higher ratings and revenue, is a key offering many TV stations are eager to learn more about.

SSR President and Founder Kevin Cassidy explains, “The whole basis of what our company is centered around is strategy, and we like to think of ourselves as a strategic marketing company. The difference between marketing and sales is that in marketing, you’re trying to find what people want, and then you adjust your product or your service so you can give it to them. And the marketing is tied in with that because when you’re giving them the product, you need to let them know one of the hot buttons that will make it register and resonate with the consumer.”

This, Cassidy argues, will increase the chances that a viewer will “vote” for the brand — and, in turn, lead to increased Keyur Parikh ratings that, in theory, will lead to increased revenue.

Most of what SSR does in the broadcast TV space is centered around newscasts. “Looking at it from the 30,000-foot view, which television news has the image for credible news, hosts that [viewers] like, the weather, the station they tune to in case of emergency — all of those Kevin Cassidy big things? But we can also get more specific on the types of news stories that they want.”

This paints the portrait of what a TV news department’s strengths, weaknesses and opportunities are, Cassidy says.

Is this designed to have the viewer shape the news stories? “It is all done in a strategic fashion, but whether we

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MEET GATESAIR’S NEW ENGINEERING VP After more than 15 years within the Intraplex business unit at GatesAir, Director and VP/GM Keyur Parikh is now VP/ Engineering. He assumes the role from Tony Kobrinetz, who has retired, concluding a career that included 35 years with Motorola.

Parikh is the chief architect of GatesAir’s Intraplex IP networking products and led a global development team. His innovations include Intraplex NetXpress, an IP audio and data multiplexer; the IP Link family of codecs, GatesAir’s flagship product line for the Intraplex business today; and Intraplex Ascent, GatesAir’s first cloud-based transport platform, introduced last year. He also holds several patents for media transport and synchronization over wide-area IP networks.

Parikh’s promotion came as GatesAir broadened its range of Maxiva transmitters and next-generation software innovations for digital broadcasters, moving forward with bringing to market the first Maxiva liquid-cooled transmitter line for VHF television.

Also moving forward are plans to bring to consumers “several ATSC 3.0 software innovations to address the unique IP networking architecture and security requirements of NEXTGEN TV.” That would be STL Security, a layer that encrypts the ATSC 3.0 content path. These features, along with a secure HTML5 web interface, are available in all Maxiva UHF and VHF transmitters.

should have a standup set or a sit-down or a two-person desk versus one person, those types of things, we can get at with more specific research on what they like and dislike,” he explains. “It’s content testing that we’re really getting at.”

SSR’s research participants are heavy viewers of one particular station in a market. As such, with no viewing of the competition in their routine, their responses are seen as having a higher degree of validity, Cassidy adds.

A similar technology is being pitched to those on the

TV TECH Continued on 34

Teamwork, Through Tech: What’s Empowering Local TV? A common refrain from broadcast technology company leaders across the most recent weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic has been that local TV stations have had many of the tools needed to operate the station from outside the station. They simply needed a bit of guidance in understanding what was already available for use.

Mike Fass, VP of Broadcast Operations at Gray Television, can relate. “We have been very fortunate and we have certainly learned a lot through the pandemic,” he says. “We had a lot of tools in place before the pandemic, but they weren’t really used in this fashion.

Now, they are used to move production and master control to other areas of the building, and then from home.”

Credit the technical media producer who has been charged with putting production and master control into one system. “This has really allowed for a lot of remote flexibility,” Fass says.

Then there are platforms including Microsoft Teams, which has been “a big help” in replacing conference calls or inoffice group meetings. From a newsroom perspective, Fass singles out Gray’s use of Unity Intercom — an IP-based system — for keeping the newsrooms connected with the talent in the field.

What should be handled remotely, and what shouldn’t? That was a key question posed to Nexstar Media Group in the early days of the pandemic. Chief Technology Officer Brett Jenkins says, “The reality is that on the production side, there are certain things not to do remotely and other things we opted to do completely remotely.” This prompted Nexstar to ask about the minimum crew size, from the standpoint of its production process, and making those spaces safe.

More than anything, Jenkins says the biggest plus for Nexstar has been its investments in remote field acquisition and file-sharing and exchanges — providing an opportunity to seamlessly move both files and live video to the station from the field. “These are things that

we’ve been working on over the last several years as the digital technology became more engrained in the broadcast production process. When COVID hit, having that ability in place was probably the most impactful thing.”

For Meredith Local Media, that has been a reliance on bonded cellular solutions that could power smartphone apps to bring a feed from one’s home and to conduct live interviews. “We all scrambled really quickly and took kind of a toolbox approach and built up a box of techniques and procedures to go to at any time,” VP of Engineering and Technology Tom Casey says. “And, since each market has different resources — take, for instance, Springfield, Mass., compared to Atlanta — understanding what tech resources and equipment are available is essential.”

Then there’s ensuring that what gets from the field to the station efficiently can still happen. Anthony Plosz, VP and Chief Technology Officer for Graham Media Group, says, “The ‘old school’ way of doing things has seen feeds transmitted via microwave PTP, and this has been seen since the 1950s. Getting it in the cloud requires encoding and transport — but how do you do that? Cellular networks. They are much faster, but we are not exactly sending highly compressed video. This is broadcast-quality low-compression video. Because we want to put our best product on TV, we want to edit in the native format.”

CREATIVITY CONQUERS CHALLENGES For TEGNA VP of I.T. and Station Operations Robert Lydick, how the company’s local leaders and staff came up

with solutions is paramount to its COVIDera operational prowess.

“The creativity of our local teams in coming up with solutions in a compressed time frame was really impressive,” Lydick says. “The local teams drove innovation and developed creative solutions to get people safely out of our buildings and continue serving our communities with no disruptions of service. We made lasting improvements to our secure remote connection model, which enhanced performance across all stations and offices. We quickly added hundreds of laptops in the field to enable remote work, and fully utilized IP-based video distribution technologies to enable remote studios and workflows. We also accelerated our adoption of cloud- and virtualized-based systems.”

He also cites the newsroom workflow systems of the AP ENPS product, and Bitcentral has been performing well for TEGNA’s stations. “The ability to remotely edit scripts and send in video from the field has been a required skill at TEGNA for the last decade,” Lydick notes.

Meanwhile, Luddites likely won’t be found across TEGNA’s local stations, or at its corporate office in Northern Virginia.

“If there was trepidation on moving services to the cloud, that is gone,” Lydick says. “I see us continuing to move more applications to the public cloud and virtualizing anything that must be local.

We are testing a zero-trust network approach, cloud workspaces, and development, on top of communication tools. During COVID-19 we have seen an increase in phishing and malware attacks, and going forward we’ll continue to make security improvements to protect the investments we’ve made that allow for a remote workforce. With any technology change, there can be pushback and questions. COVID-19 forced the industry to cut through any excuses and execute. I hope this attitude and culture stays long after the pandemic is over.”

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CONGRATULATIONS to our own

Debra OConnell

President and GM ABC7/WABC-TV New York

Your innovation and leadership drive us forward and we proudly commend you on your selection as a Top Local TV Leader.

W A B C -T V N E W Y O R K © Disney

Introducing The Top Local TV Leaders

You know the CEOs and the individuals charged with overseeing broadcast media companies from coast to coast. You’ve also met those in the top financial roles at these companies.

But what about the individuals charged with ensuring that a local station’s operations flow as smoothly as possible, while the sales team excels and the local news team shines in the toughest of conditions?

Given the challenges the COVID-19 pandemic has brought to the world, the timing couldn’t be better for the first Top Local TV Leaders list. It’s a ranking compiled by industry peers who selected 15 honorees for their dynamic local leadership and applause-worthy accomplishments.

RBR+TVBR readers — people who know the broadcast television industry from the inside — along with research and editorial evaluation determined our final list.

From social justice protests to the latest on the novel coronavirus, the role of local broadcast television has perhaps never been more important — to owners, employees, investors and everyday viewers. With that, we salute every local TV leader for their dedication and commitment to excellence over these past few months, while honoring the following individuals for their standout performance.

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Her duties also involve oversight of Live with Kelly and Ryan, which originated as The Morning Show, President/GM, WABC-7, starring the late Regis Philbin, in New York 1983 and is still produced by the ABC Owned Television Stations station.

And it’s actually her second It boasts the No. 1-rated local newscasts in the U.S. Its “Eyewitness News” brand tenure at WABC-7; earlier in her is emblazoned in the market’s collective career, she was its VP/Marketing. consciousness. And it is home to the “Thank you for selecting me individual who received the highest level as one of Radio + Television of recognition from peers in the broadcast Business Report’s Top Local media industry. WABC-7 in New York is a TV Leaders,” OConnell said giant among local television stations, and to RBR+TVBR readers. “I am Debra OConnell has shined as its leader, honored to be acknowledged for with RBR+TVBR readers putting her at No. WABC’s achievements and overall 1 on our inaugural Local TV Leaders list. contribution to the U.S. broadcast media business. Running a station OConnell has been with WABC-7 since during these unprecedented times March 2018, when she departed her makes me pause and reflect on the corporate-level role as EVP of Sales and Debra OConnell importance of local news coverage.

Marketing of Disney/ABC’s consolidated As a 25-year industry veteran, I’m proud to say I remain advertising sales group. And she’s steered Channel 7 through two big departures for its early morning newscast, passionate about the work we do and how we show up for the communities we serve. WABC remains the most-watched as Lori Stokes exited (only to show up across town at station in the nation because of the team I lead and their WNYW-5) and Bill Evans departed to become the owner/ countless hours of dedication.” operator of WLNG-FM in Sag Harbor, N.Y.

DEBRA OCONNELL

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CO N G R AT U L AT I O N S RENÉ LA SPINA

Vice President and General Manager, WSMV, News4 Nashville

2020 Radio + Television Business Report Top Local TV Leader EYEWITNESS

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been VP/GM of WTEN-10 and WXXA-23, the ABC and FOX affiliates in the market, rising from Director of Sales. It marks Brehm’s first role as a top leader.

“I’m very honored to receive this nomination,” Brehm told RBR+TVBR. “I’ve been very fortunate to have been surrounded with incredibly smart and passionate leaders throughout my 37 years in the broadcasting business. All of them have greatly impacted my professional career. I’m so proud of my team at WTEN and WXXA, who do such amazing work each and every day, and I’m so thankful for the steadfast support of our corporate leadership at Nexstar. They continue to set the standard in broadcasting and digital operations and create a distinct advantage for the viewers and advertisers in our area.”

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Leading WHIO-7 through all of this is Rob Rohr, who rose to Market VP/GM in July 2016 and shifted over from running the radio stations, a role he gained in December 2012. Rohr’s achievements won over many RBR+TVBR readers — including several colleagues at Cox Media Group’s Tulsa TV stations. He’s been with Cox since 2000.

“Thank you so much for this recognition,” Rohr says. “It is an honor to be listed among this group of talented and inspiring broadcasters. As we all know, broadcasting is a 365-days-a-year team sport, and I am incredibly proud of the team here at CMG Ohio.

They have worked tirelessly and passionately to serve our community through some of the most devastating stories over the past year in an effort to keep them safe, help them understand and, most importantly, help the community heal. I’m privileged to work side by side with them every day.”

JERRY BREHM

VP/GM, WTEN-10 and WXXA-23, Albany-Schenectady-Troy Nexstar Broadcast Group

Travel back in time a decade, and you’d find Jerry Brehm in the role of General Sales Manager for KHTK-AM 1140, a CBS Radio Sports Talk station. It was a nine-month role, following an already lengthy career that saw Brehm open his own consultancy in 2007, following an 8 1/2-year run as Director of Sales for Hearst Television’s KCRA-3 in Sacramento and, from 1996-1999, a similar role at KMOV-4 in St. Louis under Belo ownership. For 13 years before that, the Siena College graduate was at WNYT-13 in Albany, N.Y. As of early 2015, Brehm has been back where it all began: New York’s Capital District.

Jerry Brehm Since August 2019, he’s

ROB ROHR

VP/GM, WHIO-7, Dayton Cox Media Group

It has been an exceptional 18 months for the Gem City of Ohio.

On Memorial Day Weekend 2019, devastating twisters tore through the north side of this gritty but determined metropolis, resulting in a rebuilding project that extended well into 2020.

Then came the mass shooting in Dayton’s Oregon District in August 2019, on a Saturday night, just steps away from the iHeartMedia offices and studios.

For WHIO-7, Dayton’s dominant TV station, station staff and the news team coalesced in ways that also bridged Cox Media Group’s radio stations with the Rob Rohr Dayton Daily News, now a Cox Enterprises property. This ability to deliver the news and strong audience shares became supercharged with the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Miami Valley in midMarch, and continues to this day.

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Mike McClain

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MIKE McCLAIN

“He has proven himself to be a general manager and news director who knows how to build highachieving teams that deliver strong results”

46 in Charlotte. Before that, he was VP/News for WAGA-TV in Atlanta.

Furthermore, McClain has experience at a FOX-branded station in nearby Tampa-St. Petersburg, as he served In mid-July 2019, the staff and manas VP of News for WTVT-13 from July agement at the Fox Television Stations’ 2007 through October 2010.

Central Florida stations learned that McClain cut his teeth in broadcast their VP/GM since January 2013, television at the FOX affiliate serving Allyson Meyers, would be exiting.

Birmingham, WBRC-6.

One week later, her successor took At the time of his hiring, Fox to Twitter to quickly change his title.

Television Stations CEO Jack That’s how eager Mike McClain was — Fox Television Stations CEO Jack Abernethy, on Abernethy lauded McClain. “[McClain] to get settled at the two Fox stations Mike McClain has proven himself to be a general serving Orlando — the market’s manager and news director who MyNetwork TV affiliate, WRBW-65, and knows how to build high-achieving WOFL-35, the FOX network O&O — as their new leader. teams that deliver strong results,” he said.

His role also includes oversight of the FOX affiliate in “I am truly happy to see Mike has reached a new high as a broadcaster,” said one industry leader who thinks highly nearby Gainesville, WOGX-51. But it is his efforts at FOX 35 that attracted accolades from peers across the industry. of McClain. “He was one of the pioneers of 24-hour news McClain is a fast-rising leader in the Southeast for FOX. in Alabama and his dedication to the highest standards of news coverage is needed more intensely today than ever.”

Previously, he spent nearly two years at the helm of WJZY-

SVP/GM, WOFL-35, Orlando FOX Television Stations

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Congratulations to

Tom Ehlmann

on being selected as a 2020 Radio+Television Business Report Top Local TV Leaders

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TOM EHLMANN

PRESIDENT/GM, KXAS-5 & KXTX-39, Dallas NBCUniversal Owned Television Stations What do Tom Ehlmann, Mike Bibby, Luke Walton and Damon Stoudamire have in common?

All are former members of the University of Arizona Wildcats men’s basketball team.

Ehlmann was on the 1976 squad, but none of the others can say they went on to lead one of the biggest local TV operations in the U.S. Ehlmann has been at the helm of NBC O&O KXAS-5 since 2008, and added similar duties for Telemundo sibling KXTX-39 in more recent years. He arrived in Dallas after serving as VP/GM of then-Tribune Broadcasting flagship WGN-9 in Chicago from 2004-2008.

And there’s a good chance he can talk up a great hoops conversation with nationally recognized KXAS-5 Sports Director Newy Scruggs.

Of course, there’s a whole other dynamic to Ehlmann’s success at KXAS and KXTX, which hasn’t been easy against such market powerhouses as WFAA-8, the TEGNA-owned ABC affiliate; FOX O&O KDFW-4; and CBS O&O KTVT-11.

Then there’s Telemundo 39, which has become a strong Hispanic media hub for North Texas against Univision and Estrella Media.

“It’s truly humbling to be honored by broadcast peers … I’m very grateful,” Ehlmann says.

“I believe the recognition truly speaks to the Tom Ehlmann talented team of NBC 5 and Telemundo 39, professionals working on many fronts each day to bring North Texans relevant and accurate news and information. I’ve been privileged to lead several incredibly motivated and dedicated station teams through the years, and I’m proud to be part of an industry committed to serving local communities.”

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TEGNA salutes our own

Rob Mennie President and General Manager, First Coast News

Congratulations on being selected as one of the Top Local TV Leaders in the media industry.

Your leadership, vision and dedication are invaluable to all of us at TEGNA.

Rob Mennie

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ROB MENNIE

GM, WTLV-12 & WJXX-25, Jacksonville TEGNA

In North Florida, the biggest market has always been unique. Today, Channel 4 is a local independent, while “First Coast News” is the unifying brand for WTLV-12 and WJXX-25, the NBC and ABC affiliates serving Jacksonville. It competes against “Action News JAX,” a combined operation of the CBS and FOX affiliates.

But make no mistake — First Coast News was the operation singled out by RBR+TVBR readers, with six-year GM Rob Mennie a standout selection for at least one industry peer.

“Rob is a TV veteran and, hands down, the best GM I’ve ever worked for,” said one reader. “Rob genuinely cares about not only his employees, but the viewers and the community. He’s shown his care through the COVID-19 crisis by putting the health of employees first and having frequent

staff meetings to update everyone. We’re asked to have our cameras on during these Zoom staff meetings because ‘he misses seeing us.’”

In fact, prior to the pandemic, Mennie would cook for all attending staff meetings, and he’s been seen cleaning spots off the carpet.

“His door is actually open to anyone who works there,” said one colleague. “Most managers say that ... Rob’s really is. He writes thank you notes or places calls to clients. He’s just the best person I’ve ever worked for and he’s the best manager in the country.”

Commenting on his honor, Mennie says, “This recognition is a testament to our strong team in Jacksonville. They bring their best every day to serve the greater good of the First Coast community through impactful investigations, innovative news and solutions to meet our clients’ needs. I couldn’t be prouder of all we’ve accomplished and continue to accomplish together.”

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7

RICHARD REINGOLD

VP/GM, WHEC-10, Rochester, N.Y. Hubbard Broadcasting

In July 2018, Richard Reingold took the reins at the NBC affiliate in this gritty Western New York metropolis that touches the northern portion of the picturesque Finger Lakes region.

It wasn’t easy. In early 2019, Reingold took to the airwaves to apologize for a racial slur in reference to Martin Luther King Jr. Park by its meteorologist during an evening newscast. Reingold moved quickly to defuse the situation, even as the meteorologist was fired and subsequently sued the station over his dismissal.

Then came COVID-19, and social justice protests. And then, in the wee hours of Aug. 16, 2020, a gunfight outside the station’s studios shattered windows. Employees were inside the News10HEC operations center and dropped to the ground when they heard the shots. No one was injured.

Through it all, and in the face of a competitor eager to report on WHEC’s challenges, Reingold and his team have taken the high road — and have come out winners. It started in 2018, as Brett Davidsen and Jen Mobilia took WHEC to the No. 1 slot in adults 25-54 at 11pm. That strength led many RBR+TVBR readers to salute Reingold for strong leadership through difficult times, and for steadfastly stewarding WHEC to continued success.

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Richard Reingold

Reingold was previously VP/GM of WCTI-TV in New Bern, N.C. “I really appreciate it,” Reingold says. “Thank you very much for this recognition. I am honored to lead one of the Hubbard Broadcasting TV stations.”

8

LLOYD BUCHER

VP/GM, WPTV-5, West Palm Beach The E.W. Scripps Co.

Lloyd Bucher could say he’s on Easy Street. But in an ever-changing competitive landscape that spans two distinct regions — and Mar-a-Lago, making President Trump a local viewer — long-dominant WPTV-5 can’t rest on its laurels.

As such, WPTV is a standout Scripps property, thanks in part to such trusted veteran news anchors as Kelley Dunn and Michael Williams.

But it comes with strong leadership against Sinclair Broadcast Group and Hearst Television stations that are equally impressive in their own right.

For the readers of RBR+TVBR, Bucher is singled out for his tenure at WPTV, which dates to January 2007, when he joined as Director of Sales. Bucher rose to VP/GM in April 2015, and has been in Florida since July 2005, when he took the role of GSM for WPLG-10 in Miami.

Lloyd Bucher Bucher’s career in TV began as LSM

of KYW-3 in Philadelphia, in January 1995.

“WPTV has long partnered with the community for news, but also community-driven initiatives,” he says. “I am proud of our employees, grateful for our viewers and optimistic for our community.”

“WPTV has long partnered with the community for news, but also community-driven initiatives. I am proud of our employees, grateful for our viewers and optimistic for our community.”

— Lloyd Bucher

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9

PAM FORSYTH

GM, WICU-12 & WSEE-35, Erie, Pa. Lilly Broadcasting

When it comes to Erie, Pa., there are few in the media industry who quite know this burgh some two hours north of Pittsburgh like Pam Forsyth.

Forsyth is a graduate of Fort Le Boeuf High School in Waterford, Pa., a suburb of Erie. She began her broadcast media career in Erie, at the old WSEG “Red Hot 102” in 1980, under Ronnie Gee as acting GM and Sales Manager.

After five years, Forsyth moved on — to teaching. She co-founded the Great Lakes Broadcast School and from 1985-1987 was a teacher there. Then, seemingly, Forsyth had enough of the media world. She became a sales director for Howard Johnson/Prime Management — yes, the famed hotel and ice cream parlor brand.

By 1988, Forsyth was back in broadcast media — this time as a senior sales and marketing executive for “SJL of Pa.,” otherwise known as Lilly Broadcasting’s Erie, Pa., properties. She’s been there ever since and in May celebrated 32 years at the company. Today, she’s the GM of WSEE-35, the CBS affiliate; NBC affiliate WICU-12; and the CW Network found on WSEE’s DT2 signal.

To say that Forsyth is admired by her peers and those across the Keystone State is an understatement.

RBR+TVBR received a plethora of votes from colleagues and industry leaders far and wide — all of whom saluted Forsyth for her ability to bring “Erie News Now” to great heights. That goes for the sales efforts at the three stations, too, as Forsyth also serves as GSM for the three network affiliates.

“Pam works tirelessly to be an integral part of the community,” said one senior-level staff member at the stations. “Because of her leadership we are always first to respond to our community’s needs.”

Another employee saluted the rarity of having a woman lead a group of stations for more than three decades. “It’s not often that you see women in a role of this stature,” — the Lilly colleague said. “She does an amazing job at keeping everything running smoothly at the station. If you are from Erie, I guarantee that if you don’t know her yourself, you know somebody that does! She is integrated very well into the local community and genuinely cares about keeping it local.”

Reached for comment by RBR+TVBR, Forsyth was quite humble in discussing her honor. “I am so grateful for my job, and for our staff and our community,” she says. “If you are not making a difference and trying to help your community, you are not living up to your responsibilities as a member of it. I try to make a difference. There is always a way to help others and to learn from them. I feel blessed every day for the people I work with and the community we serve. I am so appreciative to be nominated for this RBR+TVBR Local TV Leader honor … thank you!”

Pam Forsyth

“I feel blessed every day for the people I work with and the community we serve.

I am so appreciative to be nominated.”

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Pam Forsyth

10

ALAN CHATMAN

GM, WCJB-20, Gainesville, Fla. Gray Television

If there’s any individual among our Top Local TV Leaders who can scream “Go Gators!” before offering any words of thanks, it’s Alan Chatman. He’s a University of Florida graduate and has been at the ABC affiliate serving Gainesville, home to the university’s main campus, since joining as GSM in 1994. In May 2017, Chatman was promoted to VP/GM, while keeping GSM duties.

That elevation in rank came as Gray Television completed its acquisition of WCJB-20 from Diversified Communications. It was part of an $85 million deal that also included a Bangor, Me., property.

WCJB-20 in Gainesville is known for being the first local station to have a news department. Today, it offers The CW+ and MeTV on digital multicast channels tied to WCJB-20.

“WOW!!” Chatman writes via e-mail to RBR+TVBR. “I am humbled, honored and thankful to have been selected by my peers as one of the Top Local TV Leaders by RBR+TVBR! I have never been one for personal accolades. For me it has always been about the success of my teammates/employees and the company I represent. I am blessed to have spent my entire 39-year career working in a profession I enjoy and love … broadcasting!”

Alan Chatman

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11

MARLA DRUTZ

VP/GM, WDIV-4, Detroit Graham Media Group

Of the former Post-Newsweek stations now housed within Chicagobased Graham Media Group, “LOCAL 4” — WDIV in Detroit — is perhaps a standout. Much of that success can be attributed to Marla Drutz.

Drutz has been at the helm of WDIV since July 2008. Under her leadership, LOCAL 4 has been dominant both on-air and online. Among the station’s achievements: LOCAL 4 has the toprated and most-watched newscasts in the market, and is the No. 1 NBC affiliate in the top 20 media markets.

Furthermore, WDIV-4 has been named Station of the Year five times by the Michigan Association of Broadcasters.

Drutz’s leadership is aided by her Marla Drutz longtime presence in the Motor City.

Prior to joining WDIV, Drutz worked at the E.W. Scripps Co.’s ABC affiliate in Detroit, WXYZ-7, as Director of Programming. Earlier in her career, she was the Marketing Director at WJBK-2 in Detroit.

Drutz started out as a research analyst at WJW-8 in Cleveland.

“Thank you for recognizing Marla — she’s one heck of a leader,” says LOCAL 4 Creative Services and Programming Director Jamie Kaye Walters.

When reached for comment by RBR+TVBR, Drutz paused … and thought of the late Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple. “I always loved the Steve Jobs quote, ‘Great things in business are never done by one person; they’re done by a team of people.’ To me, that’s the essence of our success here at WDIV-LOCAL 4 and ClickOnDetroit.com, because we have an incredible team and we elevate each other’s performance.”

Outside of WDIV, Drutz is actively involved in many local literacy campaigns. This includes “Bookstock,” Metro Detroit’s largest used-book sale, which supports and raises funds for local teachers and education projects.

Additionally, this Leadership Detroit graduate is currently the Chairwoman of the Detroit Metro Convention and Visitors Bureau and is on the Board of Directors for the Michigan Association of Broadcasters Education Foundation. Yes — that’s her on Page 2 of the Spring & Summer 2020 edition of Visit Detroit magazine.

In that magazine, Drutz said, “While I grew up in Louisville,

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many of my family’s closest relatives lived in the Detroit area. I can vividly recall going to Belle Isle, the Detroit Zoo, and getting dressed up to shop and have lunch at Hudson’s department store with my aunts and cousins. I always felt like I left Detroit smarter, more refined, better cultured and definitely hipper.

“That’s why I jumped at the chance to work in Detroit 30-plus years ago. Not only was it the motor capital of the world and one of the top television markets in the country, but my memories of Detroit as a child had made a permanent impression. I wanted more Detroit. The city’s energy, resilience, innovative and creative spirit, and the sheer determination of its residents, resonated with me on a personal level.”

Now, with Detroit a metropolis in the midst of an incredible renaissance, Drutz is one of its biggest cheerleaders. “It’s about time that Detroit received the national R-E-S-P-E-C-T that it deserves,” she wrote. “But for me, I didn’t need a national magazine or newspaper to tell me what I already knew. Detroit is a place filled with optimism and appreciation of hard work, a place where you can be a part of a community that has a rich multicultural and multiracial makeup. Detroit is certainly a place where dreams can come true. I am so proud to say that Detroit is my hometown.”

12

ARIEL ROBLIN

President/GM, KETV-7, Omaha Hearst Television

On May 13, 2020, the successor to longtime KCRA-3 President/GM Elliott Troshinsky was revealed. Taking the job was the highly successful President/GM of KETV-7 in Omaha — one of the nation’s most successful ABC affiliates.

It seemed to be a perfect fit for Ariel Roblin, who graduated from the University of Miami in 1997 with a theater and film business degree and six years later found herself in Honolulu, taking a sales position at KGMB-TV. At the end of 2005, Roblin returned to the mainland and became GSM of two stations just up the road from her current abode of Sacramento — ABC affiliate KRCR-7 in Redding, Calif., and semi-satellite KAEF-23 in EurekaArcata, Calif.

Based on her success in Northern California, Hearst Television appointed Roblin to the top role at KETV. It is her accomplishments in Omaha that merited a place among the Top Local TV Leaders for RBR+TVBR readers.

Ariel Roblin “Ariel truly embraces the important responsibility of a television station in a local educate Americans about the five freedoms guaranteed community,” said Hearst Television President Jordan in the First Amendment. The original “Think F1rst” Wertlieb. “Her commitment to local journalism and Nebraska campaign was created after Media of Nebraska tireless community engagement have helped KETV members noted polls showing that many Americans become one of the nation’s leading affiliates. Ariel’s lacked even a basic knowledge of the First Amendment, proven success in leveraging a station’s legacy in a particularly in articulating the five freedoms that it contemporary media landscape makes her uniquely guarantees. In a civics survey taken by the Annenberg qualified.”

Public Policy Center, nearly 4 in 10 students couldn’t In Nebraska, Roblin was a board member of Omaha name even one of the five freedoms guaranteed by the Crime Stoppers, the Gretchen Swanson Center for First Amendment. Media of Nebraska members worked Nutrition, the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce, together to outline a campaign to combat these statistics. the Bluebarn Theatre, and the Nebraska Broadcasters “The reality is, we aren’t really free if we don’t know Association, for which she served as Chairperson from what our freedoms are and don’t exercise them,” Roblin 2018-2019. said in July 2019. “Freedom is a mission of national In this role, Roblin gained national attention for the importance. We’re proud to expand the opportunity to “Think F1rst” campaign, launched in summer 2018 to join this campaign to every state in our union.”

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Congratulations

ARIEL ROBLIN KCRA/KQCA President and General Manager

and all of the

2020 Radio + Television Business Report Top Local TV Leaders

13

TONY D’ANGELO

VP/GM, WSYX-6, WTTE-28 and WWHO53, Columbus, Ohio Sinclair Broadcast Group

Like many of our honorees, D’Angelo is a veteran of the trio of stations in Ohio’s state capital operated by Sinclair. ABC affiliate WSYX is an O&O, while D’Angelo maintains oversight of an LMA with Cunningham Broadcasting for WTTE, the FOX affiliate; and a shared services agreement with Manhan Media’s affiliate for The CW Network, WWHO-53.

D’Angelo has been at the stations since 1996, and before that was Sales Manager for then-PostNewsweek CBS affiliate WFSB-3 in Hartford.

If the surname rings a bell, it is because Tony is the son of Columbus, Ohio, TV pioneer Gene D’Angelo, who died in 2018. Tony’s father was the Chairman and President of WBNS-TV and Radio in Columbus for 21 years.

“Having been involved in broadcasting for 40 years, it’s an honor to be a part of a great industry with a great company,” D’Angelo says. “There are many professionals I’ve worked with over the years whose values and Ideals I’ve tried to emulate. Thank you for the recognition.”

Tony D’Angelo

14

BOB KRUMMENACKER

GM, WBNG-12, Binghamton, N.Y. Quincy Media

In May 1981, Bob Krummenacker became VP and Station Manager of a heritage VHF station serving the Southern Tier of New York — WBNG-12. It’s one of the biggest CBS affiliates, and has a rich history.

Krummenacker has been a big part of those events, and his time at WBNG began under Gateway Communications ownership and through Lilly, Granite Broadcasting and, ultimately, Quincy Media, which obtained the station in November 2014.

More recently, Krummenacker in 2018 helped bring a “massive makeover” and upgrades to the WBNG newsroom.

In 2019, top honors at the New York State Associated Press Association banquet went to the station. Investigative & Watchdog Reporting was a key category.

“Years of working in small-market television have shown me, time and again, that broadcasters have the ability to truly make a difference in our community,” Krummenacker said when reached by RBR+TVBR. “I am proud to work among a group of dedicated broadcasters who honor this opportunity through the ideas, storytelling and dedication they bring to our audience, locally owned businesses and community causes each day.”

Bob Krummenacker

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15

RENE LASPINA

PVP/GM, WSMV-4, Nashville Meredith Local Media

René LaSpina

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After six years overseeing the Nexstar Media Groupowned CBS affiliate in the market that is home to the Buffalo Bills NFL franchise, René LaSpina started 2019 by heading south to a new leadership role that could see her eventually embrace a Bills rival — the Tennessee Titans.

The relocation saw LaSpina take on VP/GM duties for WSMV, a resurgent station in a highly competitive marketplace. “René has an impressive track record of increasing station revenue, as well as success driving share and ratings growth,” Meredith Local Media Group President Patrick McCreery said in January 2019. “She is a strategic leader and focuses on building winning teams.”

The readers of RBR+TVBR feel the same way, as LaSpina made the Top Local TV Leaders list with plenty of reader support. Much of that is likely tied to a team that includes Steve Watt, the Station Manager and Director of Sales who in July 2019 joined WSMV, reporting to LaSpina. There’s also News Director Mitch Jacob.

It’s been a heck of a year for the News4 team, and for Watt and LaSpina. Before COVID-19, tornadoes that tore through Nashville and Putman County in the early hours of Tuesday morning, March 3, brought devastation. Just 48 hours later, the Meredith Local Media’s NBC affiliate partnered with the American Red Cross and CMT in helping raise nearly $400,000 during a Rebuilding Tennessee Telethon.

That effort alone is cause for celebration by the readers of RBR+TVBR.

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15

DUJUAN MCCOY

Owner/GM, WISH-8 & WNDY-23, Indianapolis Circle City Broadcasting

“When you love what you do and do what you love ... and work with great people who feel the same, great things happen!”

Those are the inspiring words of DuJuan McCoy, the outspoken owner of Circle City Broadcasting in Indianapolis, home to the market’s affiliate for The CW Network and MyNetwork TV. “It is a real pleasure being a community servant. Thank you for the recognition,” he says.

McCoy has been very much a part of the news spotlight across 2020, from his participation in the widely acclaimed RBR+TVBR Black Media Symposium to his racial discrimination lawsuit against AT&T tied to a lengthy retransmission consent fee battle with DirecTV.

“I believe what we are doing, and the branding we have been able to establish since September as ‘the only locally owned and operated station’ has seen the market taking kindly to us. People want to have a station they could call their own.”

— DuJuan McCoy

“Owning these stations, and what I am doing, is very rare,” McCoy said in an August 2020 interview. “It gives me the flexibility to positively reflect my community without corporate approval. And at WISH we now have 80 hours of news programming. This has increased since the loss of the CBS affiliation, which ended with Media General’s sale of its stations to Nexstar, before I acquired WISH. I’ve owned WISH since Sept. 19, 2019, and I added an additional five hours of news a week.

“I believe what we are doing, and the branding we have been able to establish since September as ‘the only locally owned and operated station,’ has seen the market taking kindly to us. People want to have a station they could call their own.”

And those efforts led RBR+TVBR readers to salute McCoy. McCoy today is focusing his efforts on his Indianapolis

DuJuan McCoy

holdings. But, three stations he previously owned are in the good hands of another pioneering African American TV station owner: Byron Allen.

In May 2019, McCoy’s former company, Bayou City Broadcasting, agreed to sell its assets in Evansville, Ind., and Lafayette, La., to Allen’s Allen Media Broadcasting.

The transaction sent to Allen dual CBS/FOX affiliate WEVV44 in Evansville, Ind., and FOX affiliate KADN-15 and NBC affiliate KLAF-LD 46 (simulcast on KADN-15.2) in Lafayette, La. The stock sale transaction was valued at $165 million.

It was quite a payday for McCoy: He acquired the Lafayette stations three years ago for $40 million, and in January 2015 snagged the Evansville stations for $26.8 million. That represents a $98.2 million profit for McCoy, money he will invest into WISH-8 and WNDY-23.

McCoy is a member of the NAB’s Television Board of Directors, and has been on the board since June 2012. He has also been on NABOB’s Board of Directors since December 2013, serves on the Broadcasters Foundation of America board, and completed the NAB Broadcast Leadership Program in 2008.

ABOUT RBR+TVBR’s TOP LOCAL TV LEADERS: This inaugural Honor Roll is produced from RBR+TVBR reader nominations, which were gathered in August 2020. Rankings are based on nomination totals, in addition to research and analysis by the RBR+TVBR editorial department. © 2020 Streamline Publishing.

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Over The Air, Right On Target On October 1, the TVB ALT FORWARD conference will be staged as an entirely digital event with the look and feel of peering in on a live in-person affair. TVB President/CEO Steve Lanzano offers a preview of what’s on tap for discussion — including NEXTGEN TV and its forthcoming revenue riches, and the current challenges facing TV station owners.

RBR+TVBR: It has certainly been an exceptional year for broadcast TV. From social justice protests and the COVID19 pandemic, local over-the-air television has played an outsized 32 · R B R . C O M · FA L L 2 0 2 0

role in bringing consumers vital information while also protecting their staff from harm. How has this helped broadcast TV in making its case to advertisers and marketers?

STEVE LANZANO: Obviously, it has been an unprecedented year, something that’s difficult to plan for.

But, clearly, local news growth shows people’s insatiable appetite. Nielsen just did a study based on what people really want, and it was local news from their local network affiliate — and there’s a reason for that.

One is trust. Trust has become a really big issue with advertisers now, and it is one of our “Five Pillars of Our Success” in the rebound stage of the

pandemic; that is No. 2 for us. could support businesses through a Second, the advertiser wants to “Takeout Tuesday.” That helped. reach a mass audience, and we see the We’ve gone through the pivot, when scale. But the question has never been the pandemic happened. Now we about inventory. It has been about are in the rebound phase. When we demand, and that’s what we have been get beyond October 1, we expect the working on from the beginning. “Who “moving forward” period when we can are the low-hanging fruit?” “Who really focus on 2021 to begin. may still be advertising?” Home The difficulty in all of this is that improvement, landscaping, staycations, we don’t know what will happen day etc. Now, we’re seeing healthcare, real by day. What’s going to happen with estate and financial rebound. sports? We do have the Olympics, and Third was something we didn’t moving the Olympics to next year was see because of people working from kind of a benefit to the stations. They home remotely, and that is the size already have a significant source of of our viewership, and using that to income in retransmission consent pitch advertisers on how they can fees, which is helpful. This is an reach people in a premium, trusted election year. This is going to be a environment. record year. Without any rallies, we Advertising locally, where flexibility is are the biggest megaphone that’s so important, put us in the sweet spot really out there right now. on all of that. A third of our business was lost — 33% in the second quarter.

RBR+TVBR: If we look at other But, sequentially, there have been media, particularly radio, improvements across the third quarter. the shift of a major revenue

RBR+TVBR: In the second quarter, revenues were down roughly one-third year-over-year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet local TV ratings experienced a tremendous spike. What can TV station GSMs and senior ad sales execs do to help bridge this gap?

STEVE LANZANO: The issue is supply and demand. We have plenty of supply.

It’s creating demand, so we are helping in terms of new prospects — especially in real estate.

There is optimism by new construction companies, and we really see a gain. People are going back in terms of preventative health care, and that’s starting to come back. And there is education — people are trying to figure out what to buy.

Early in the pandemic we worked with stations in creating a day with local restaurants where people

generator such as the Summer Olympic Games could have been particularly devastating. But, thanks to that retrans revenue and political dollars, furloughs have been seen at a far lesser extent than in radio. How has local TV been able to prevent staff reductions across the COVID-19 pandemic?

STEVE LANZANO: A lot of that has to do with the stations. Number one: There are great managers in this business in operational efficiencies, and [stations are] making themselves more efficient. And, with NEXTGEN down the road, there’s another revenue opportunity.

RBR+TVBR: Is the TVB working with local broadcasters to explain the whole revenue picture of ATSC 3.0?

STEVE LANZANO: We’ve had a lot of discussions with them about the data they will be receiving, and getting a better understanding of the consumer.

Obviously, the holy grail is addressable TV and being able to do advertising to a specific device. NEXTGEN is OTT on steroids, and it is a big opportunity.

RBR+TVBR: TVB ALT Forward as of mid-August already had more than 1,000 registrations, which is highly impressive. What can those attending the event look forward to, with no need to deal with LaGuardia Airport construction or a costly hotel and taxi in Midtown Manhattan?

STEVE LANZANO: The agenda is available at TVB.org, and it is expanded, compared to our normal one, with discussions on automotive to political forecasts to a discussion on how CMOs have shifted marketing dollars to local media. Automated TV and measurement are big discussion points, and the future of Connected TV — and how it will impact local TV — is a discussion topic.

And, if you can’t get to these sessions on the afternoon of October 1, you’ll be able to go on demand to see the event.

Importantly, it is not a Zoom conference: You will actually see me on stage, and we really wanted the feel of watching a conference as if it is on stage.

RBR+TVBR

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TV TECH Continued from 8 creative side of the local TV world.

Realeyes, which calls itself an “emotion AI” television advertising research firm, uses front-facing cameras, given to opt-in panelists, to measure the attention and emotion of viewers to advertisements. Most recently, brands that offered commercials tied to the national social justice and “Black Lives Matter” movement from the Disney Channel, Nike, McDonald’s, Procter & Gamble Co. and the National Football League were studied.

Another tech advancement the broadcast TV industry has seen over the last six months includes cloudbased media workflow offerings their radio industry brethren have long enjoyed, courtesy of vCreative.

President/COO Susie Hedrick explains why such tools can be especially helpful as broadcast TV stations gain insight on new revenue sources from the data side of ATSC 3.0, the new NEXTGEN TV broadcast standard.

Increased productivity is one benefit. And then there is the elimination of errors. At vCreative, the vPro for TV product is being marketed to achieve these goals.

“How do we make the lives of our users better and easier?” Hedrick says.

“It improves communication between departments, and in particular those who work on the creative elements of a campaign.”

When vCreative looked at the TV business, it found that some of the exact problems that exist in radio are also present in television.

In a similar vein, the use of artificial

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half (54%) of respondents currently making efforts to implement AI. Meanwhile, Veritone found that budgetary restrictions and lack of knowledge around what AI is and how it can help TV organizations are the top factors preventing AI from achieving widespread usage, according to 50% of respondents.

Susie Hedrick

intelligence (AI) by the TV industry and increased interest in it on the local station level is getting more attention at Veritone. In June, a report based on a survey of individuals representing over 100 TV industry organizations found that while more than half of the industry is currently making conscious and strategic efforts to implement AI internally, the use of AI to track, analyze and monetize content more effectively is still in its infancy.

“There is still enormous unrealized potential to fully leverage AI as a differentiator,” said Veritone President Ryan Steelberg. “Dominance in television and broadcast in the future will largely be driven by how well organizations take advantage of AI technology, especially now as the industry shifts to more remote work.”

Among the report’s key findings is that the opportunity for differentiation attracts television companies to AI solutions, with 73% of CEOs citing innovation and differentiation as drivers for AI adoption. The majority of CEOs are in the driver’s seat for adoption, with 63% saying that strategic efforts are being made to use AI for automation. Further, AI adoption is growing, with more than

THE SPACE BETWEEN The COVID-19 pandemic has also created a new need for both radio and TV industry personnel: separation, to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus. A distance-monitoring device that came to market in July from Riedel could be the perfect tool to ensure employee safety.

Worn around the neck or carried in a pocket, the company’s DisTag is an instrument that alerts its wearer via haptic, visual and acoustic signals whenever the mandatory minimum distance from other people is about to be breached.

“After weeks of quarantines and other limitations due to the coronavirus pandemic, our society is gradually returning to normal — but it’s a new type of normal,” said company founder and CEO Thomas Riedel. “Slowing the spread of the virus is still a number one priority as key industries, organizations and institutions start to reopen and people begin returning to work. In recent months, we’ve learned as a community to adapt to new behavior patterns and situations, and a fundamental aspect is for employees, visitors and customers to maintain a safe distance between each other.”

RBR+TVBR

How Audio Lifts A Visual Medium’s Audience Multiple Nielsen case studies have demonstrated how AM/FM radio ad campaigns lift TV viewership. For Cumulus Media’s Westwood One national radio arm, illustrating the power of audio to drive television audience is something Pierre Bouvard is passionate about.

Bouvard is unabashedly one of the radio industry’s biggest cheerleaders, ceaselessly searching for any tidbits of research that make AM and FM radio advertising look better than any glamorous Google-powered effort. And he’s done it again.

As Westwood One’s Chief Insights Officer, some of Bouvard’s more recent activities have included a client webinar to present an April 2020 analysis of Continuous Diary Measurement markets. In markets ranked No. 50 to No. 100, it was found that there was no audience impact to local radio from COVID-19. In June, Bouvard closely examined the results of a second review of U.S. consumer sentiment on COVID-19 recovery and purchase intentions that yielded a stark comparison of what Americans thought at the start of May versus their views at the end of May. By month’s end, a “seismic bump up” in terms of how positive consumers felt by June 1 was lauded by Bouvard.

In mid-September, Bouvard offered commentary based on his deep look at Nielsen’s “Promo Effect” study, which

uses an 80,000-strong PPM panel. It’s good news for radio — and for broadcast and cable television.

How so? “The ability to measure AM/ FM radio’s ability to drive viewership to TV premieres and events is now exceptionally accurate,” Bouvard says.

The Nielsen study reviewed the viewership of television programs among those exposed to AM and FM advertisements encouraging TV tune-in, as well as those who did not hear the audio ads on a radio broadcast. The difference in TV audiences between those exposed and not exposed is the “lift” generated by the AM/FM radio ads.

With campaign weight considered for the maximum desired campaign effect, a determination was made: 150175 GRPs is the recommended AM/FM radio campaign weight for TV tune-in campaigns.

Says Bouvard, “Buying a little bit of AM/FM radio on the day of a TV show’s premiere is ‘spray and pray,’ an insufficient investment yielding tiny amounts of reach. To make an impact, TV tune-in AM/FM radio campaigns

Pierre Bouvard

should generate at least a 45% reach via 150 GRPs.” For example, a $625,000 investment in network radio was mapped out, with regard to ROI. Assuming a $5,000 cost per point, reach of 42% of adults 25-54 over the course of a week can be had, Bouvard says. Boost that investment to $875,000, and your GRP gets to 175 — representing a 47% allocation.

What’s “spray and pray” investment activity, as determined by Bouvard?

Allocation of between 8% and 26%, or a GRP range of 10-50.

TV, PROMOTING BEYOND TV Promoting what’s coming up on a given TV channel is beneficial for reaching the heavy TV viewer.

For the medium to light TV viewer, AM/FM radio ads can drive awareness

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and interest, Bouvard argues.

“TV promos for shows on a network do a great job of reaching heavy TV • To be effective, TV tune-in campaigns on AM/FM radio require a 45% weekly reach and at least 150+ GRPs. Buying a handful of GRPs on premiere day is “spray and viewers and existing network viewers,” pray” ineffectiveness. he says. “AM/FM radio ads excel at • While on-network promos and paid TV buys reach heavy TV viewers, AM/FM radio reaching light/medium TV viewers that TV tune-in campaigns reach medium and light TV viewers. miss promos and paid TV ads running • AM/FM radio campaigns generate outsized incremental reach and audiences on other networks and cable.” among younger demographics. As such, the younger the demo, the greater the lift It’s not exactly breaking news. A in TV tune-in viewing. series of five incremental reach studies • An eight-part documentary series used AM/FM radio to generate a +52% lift in conducted by Nielsen concludes that viewing and an even greater increase in multi-episode tuning.

AM/FM radio ads “excel” at impact• The returning season of a scripted cable drama ran an AM/FM radio campaign that ing hard-to-reach medium and light represented only 5% of the media plan but generated 20% of the total campaign TV viewers, Bouvard says. But the impressions. 70% of the AM/FM radio impressions were from persons 18-54, while takeaway is certainly headline-worthy: half of the paid TV and TV promo impressions were from persons 55+.

Across the five campaigns, AM/FM • A historical mini-series’ AM/FM radio tune-in campaign generated a +44% increase radio ads generated a 78% lift in increin viewing. The vast majority of the viewers AM/FM radio delivered were new and mental reach among light TV viewers. light viewers of the network.

That also reinforces a widely held belief reinforced earlier this year on a global scale.

Three TV tune-in case studies were and promos running on their network In late spring 2020, the Cannes Lions measured in Nielsen’s “Promo Effect” and co-owned networks,” Bouvard recalls. and marketing research firm WARC review.

How did AM/FM radio impact the released “The Effectiveness Code,” a The first involves an eight-episode marketing mix of TV promos and paid study from marketing effectiveness documentary mini-series. The AM/FM TV for this cable network? experts James Hurman and Peter Field. radio campaign lasted four weeks — the “AM/FM radio accounted for a small The report analyzed 4,863 effectiveness two weeks leading up to the launch and percentage of the media budget but case studies from every major market during the 10-day period of the minigenerated significant impressions and in the world. One key finding: As the series. Westwood One retained Nielsen incremental reach,” Bouvard says. number of media channels increases, to measure TV audiences for each epi“Although AM/FM radio only repreeffectiveness grows. “Along with spend sode from live viewing up to seven days sented 5% of paid media, it delivered and campaign duration, there is a strong of time-shifted exposure.

20% of total campaign impressions.” correlation between the number of The result? The AM/FM radio The paid TV campaign reached media channels used and effectiveness,” campaign generated a 52% lift in 37.3 million Americans. AM/FM radio Bouvard says. viewership to the series. And, for added an incremental audience of This led to a Nielsen AM/FM radio and those questioning radio’s reach 15%, bringing 5.4 million new sets of TV incremental reach study that saw among Gen Z and millennials, chew eyes to watch the series. And, once Nielsen upload commercial advertising on this: The younger the demographic, again, compared to TV, AM/FM radio occurrence data for television campaigns the greater the lift of TV tune-in. delivered a much younger audience: (from Ad Intel) and for radio campaigns “Exposure to the AM/FM radio 70% of AM/FM radio impressions came (from iHeartMedia’s Media Monitors). campaign drove a 28% lift in TV from 18-54-year-olds.

Advertising occurrence data was then audiences among 55+ viewers and an The third case study involves a twomatched to the 80,000 Nielsen PPM 86% increase among persons 25-54. week historical mini-series airing on panel in the top 48 markets to determine Among millennials 18-34, there was a “a major national television network.” commercial audience exposure.

119% lift,” Bouvard says.

Advertisements aired across the This set the foundation for the “lift” The frequency sweet spot occurred Westwood One network. Among perstory radio can bring to television. among those exposed two or three sons 18+, those who were exposed to Over the five studies, Nielsen found times to the AM/FM radio tune-in the AM/FM radio campaign were 44% that some 63% of the incremental campaign. Viewership among permore likely to tune in to the program reach generated by AM/FM radio is sons 18-54 was double among those than those who were not exposed. from light TV viewers. “It’s virtually exposed two or three times to the AM/ Among persons 25-54, there was a impossible to reach the light TV viewer FM radio campaign (15%) versus those 27% viewing lift among those exposed. with TV ads,” Bouvard says. According who were not exposed to the AM/FM “AM/FM radio successfully grew to Nielsen, 49% of persons 25-54 in radio campaign (7.4%). interest in the program and directly America are light TV viewers who The second case study involves a influenced tuning behavior,” Bouvard generate only 9% of total TV time returning season for a scripted drama on says. “For TV campaigns needing to drive spent. “AM/FM radio reaches 90% of an undisclosed cable television network. viewership, AM/FM radio makes tune-in America’s light TV viewers.”

“Their media plan also included paid TV campaigns better.”

KEY TAKEAWAYS

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Broadcast Internet: The Next-Gen Revenue Generator Everybody knows about 5G. But did you know that the nextgeneration broadcast TV standard includes a big moneymaking opportunity for over-the-air television stations that has little to do with “spots and dots” and everything to do with iOT? If not, you’re one of the few.

“Broadcast internet” via ATSC 3.0 is a topic that is gaining more relevance than ever. To be clear, it’s not something that will compete with broadband as a two-way internet apparatus. Rather, it’s a burgeoning one-way digital communications opportunity as more and more aspects of everyday life move to automation and the “cloud.”

As an esteemed group of TV technology experts sees it, broadcast

internet — in the words of ONEMedia 3.0 and Sinclair Broadcast Group PR representative Cora Leighter — is “a one-to-many enhancement to the public internet that enables

specific new business cases for local broadcasters and entrepreneurs.”

The subject of broadcast internet was the focal point of a webinar from the ATSC 3.0 Monetization series presented in late summer 2020 by Sinclair.

Among the participants in the September 1 event, focused on how to make money with ATSC 3.0, was Sinclair VP/Spectrum Engineering & Policy Louis Libin.

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“If you have spectrum and ATSC 3.0, you can have multiple unrelated services,” he says. “It’s not all video and audio any longer.”

At present, the nation’s wireless networks deliver individual signals to individual devices. This, as many know, causes dropped connections and delays.

This will likely worsen, ARK Multicasting CEO Josh Weiss predicts.

It’s one reason Texas-based ARK Multicasting has invested in deploying broadcast internet across a portfolio of 283 low-power TV stations.

How clogged could the internet get?

The early days of the COVID-19 pandemic paint a bleak picture. In March, traffic on Verizon’s network clocked in at roughly 6.5 exabytes. On average, streaming video accounted for about 80% of that. By comparison, ARK’s ATSC 3.0-enabled Dallas LPTV station is capable of handling nearly seven times that amount of data within the North Texas market alone. As such, it makes the broadcast internet ideal for offloading video traffic. Offloading can also include such things as software updates and connected-car or distancelearning content. No return channel is necessary.

A BOOST FOR LIVE REMOTE PRODUCTION For TV stations, the advent of broadcast internet can deliver benefits for the delivery of live productions.

Jerry Gepner, the Chief Technology Officer at CP Communications, notes that ATSC 3.0 allows for a series of services “that are completely unique to the broadcast community.” And, these services are especially relevant during these COVID-19 times, he said.

The key, Gepner believes, is to “leverage technology to reduce the number of people on site and to make better use of remote-control things — robotic camera, drones and virtual cameras.”

This means using more wireless technology, but in a new way. As of today, Gepner builds out custom commandand-control infrastructures and juggles licensing, radiation and interference negotiations.

With broadcast internet, Gepner says, a low-power transmitter near a sports venue and connected to a

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truck or a TV station could deliver a Deere subsidiary are using edge AI to command-and-control fabric as well as calculate crop herbicide and pesticide multiple video and audio feeds in such application. a way that walls, licensing and interThe advent of broadcast internet is ference are not an issue. being heralded by some as aiding the “This is a way for broadcast stations “fourth Industrial Revolution.” to get back in the game very quickly,” How so? As Leighter points out, “With he said. “Commercially, it’s a passive today’s wireless infrastructure choking revenue stream for the broadcaster. It on video, it’s not likely to fully accommocan help defray some of the costs of date the ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution,’ getting to ATSC 3.0.” an era defined by smart technologies, connectivity and automation.”

AN ‘AI’ ACTION PLAN It is an era “in which ATSC 3.0 is Broadcast internet also has a unique beautifully positioned to play a major ability to support “edge-dependent part,” says Lynn Rowe, a principal at technologies,” such as the voiceOne World Technologies. activated Xfinity recommendation The FCC agrees. The Commission engine employed by Comcast. It’s one recently adopted a ruling allowing reason computer graphics company multiple broadcasters to offer ATSC 3.0 NVIDIA is eager for broadcast broadband services. For Libin, further internet’s development. modifications to the FCC’s rules would For Xfinity’s platform, the help make coverage more uniform and recommendations come from artificial better able to support emerging indusintelligence residing on the edge — a trial smart applications. server or node located closer to the Hiren Surti, director of Production end user than the origin server.

Development for communications “The edge matters because you infrastructure provider Crown Castle, can’t wait on a response,” said Michael described how to fortify the broadcast Kaplan, global leader for Media & internet for this purpose. First, Entertainment and Pro VR at NVIDIA. fiber-connected low-power towers “Speed is important. Latency is super would “densify” the network, laying important here.” the foundation for single-frequency Enter ATSC 3.0, which has latency networks, which can support hypercapabilities free from possible overlocalized data and content services. used network slogs.

Much of the computer power and There are other NVIDIA partner management of this network can edge-enabled AI applications, including then be virtualized and operated medical uses, real-time noise suppresby AI in a cloud environment where sion, audience “sentiment analysis” and new applications and services can be a destination-and-prediction engine cherry-picked or customized without a that Mercedes- Benz plans to roll out huge commitment or investment. in 2024. Also getting a potential boost: For broadcasters, the opportunities fit the AnyVision smart camera system, in with a goal of ATSC 3.0 established at which can detect 115 million individuals the very beginning of its development. in 0.2 seconds — using an amount of As Libin notes, “It was to provide computation highly impractical to have broadcasters with a new set of tools housed in the cameras. to allow them to construct their own The agriculture industry also has a business models, flexible and evolvable, winning proposition: NVIDIA and a John and I think that is a big success.”

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