Month: April 2020

FCC Proposes Higher Regulatory Fees For Radio In 2020.

Topics:

For the second consecutive year, the Federal Communications Commission is proposing to increase the amount charged to radio stations, although the hike won’t be nearly as steep as a year ago. The Commission is slated to begin the rulemaking process at its May 13 meeting that would, if left in place, boost the annual fee paid by radio by 4% to 5%. That’s roughly half the increase adopted last year.

Stations continue to be assessed a fee based on their class and the number of potential listeners their signal reaches. In the case of the FMs with the biggest reach, the FCC proposes a $21,375 annual fee for 2020 – a 4.3% increase compared to a year ago. The smallest AMs would see their regulatory fee go up by 5.3% to $1,000. Various other fees for things would also go up. The charge for an AM construction permit would increase 4% to $620 while the fee for an FM construction permit would jump 7.5% to $1,075.

As in the past the FCC doesn’t offer any insight into what went into its decision-making process about which services it regulates would pay more or less. It does say, however, that regulatory fees cover three types of expenses – direct costs such as salary and expenses, indirect costs, such as overhead, and support costs, such as rent, utilities and equipment. Ultimately, the agency must collect $339 million in regulatory fees to cover the 2020 appropriation it has received from Congress.

Contact info:

FEMA Effort Provides Masks to Broadcasters

Topics:

State associations are the conduit; NAB is helping coordinate

An effort is underway to distribute washable cotton masks to essential employees of U.S. broadcasters, those responsible for maintaining operational continuity of operations, during the coronavirus pandemic.

In Georgia, members of the Georgia Association of Broadcasters received an email this week that stated, “FEMA is providing every broadcast facility in Georgia the opportunity for free cotton masks to protect their employees as they perform their broadcast responsibilities during COVID-19. Please click the link below to fill out the form to request masks for your station.” It added that masks would be sent in packages of 10.

Contact info:

Security Issues Concerning Operation of EAS Equipment

Topics:

I hope everyone is staying safe and abiding by the guidance concerning Covid-19. Second, most broadcast operations are now being handled off-site, which could create security problems. Hackers know this and can take advantage of these opportunities.

Login and Password
It stands to reason that engineers should review the station security features including firewalls, passwords and any access to the open internet by station equipment. One area of concern is the EAS equipment, including any RBDS encoders. Creating secure login information is vital to blocking hackers from getting to the system. While I visit stations as part of the ABIP program, I still find some that are still using the default password that came with the unit. It is not difficult to create secure passwords and change them regularly.

Thankfully, most EAS devices force you to change your password when you first configure your device. Some EAS devices also periodically remind you to change your passwords. When you first install your EAS device, you need to change that default password. If you haven’t done this since you first installed your device, take this as a reminder to go change it as soon as possible. If your device didn’t prompt you to change your password, that is also probably a clue that you are running old software on the EAS device that needs to be updated.

Other reasons to change your EAS device passwords:

  1. When you have changes in personnel. Even when changes in status happen on friendly terms, it is a wise idea to “change the locks” on key station equipment – including EAS equipment – when staff or contractors quit, retire or are terminated.
  2. After a security incident, such as evidence of unauthorized access to EAS device (even internally).
  3. You suspect someone who should not have access might know the password.
  4. You somehow logged into the EAS device from outside your station, or from a shared or public computer. First, you should not access your EAS equipment from outside the station, unless you are using a secure link (such as a virtual private network). Fix that right away. Then change your passwords.
  5. It’s been a year or more since you last changed the password.

Network Connections

Although it is tempting to place the EAS equipment on an outside static IP address, this gives an open door to those wishing to do harm. If you don’t have an IT staff or someone who understands IT systems, you might ask, “How can I check to see if my EAS device is directly accessible from the Internet?”

  1. The easiest way to see if your EAS device might be directly connected to the Internet is this check: Are you accessing the device from a remote location – from home, or an off-campus hotspot, from your smart phone, etc. If you are, and it always “just works,” then your device is on the internet, and you might not have a firewall. A firewall usually requires you to access the device from a known IP address, or to connect through a VPN or other access limiting system. If you’ve never heard of these, and haven’t spent any time setting it up, you need to investigate if you have a firewall.
  2. Check the IP address of your EAS device. This will be the address you use to check your logs. Some EAS devices will display their IP address on their front panel – check with your manufacturer.

Some IP addresses are non-routable, and some are routable. If you have a non-routable address, then you are not directly connected to the internet – but you might still have a problem. Sometimes your network will have a device that is redirecting connections from an external routable address to your non-routable internal address. Such a device will often also have firewall capabilities. The non-routable addresses will always look like one of these: 10.xxx.xxx.xxx, 172.16.xxx.xxx through 172.31.xxx.xxx, and 192.168.xxx.xxx. If you have anything other than these, then you are probably directly connected to the Internet. You NEED A FIREWALL. Find out of you have one.

The firewall will permit only certain IP addresses that you select from getting from the outside internet directly to your EAS device. You usually need to limit such access to just the HTTPS port (443). SSL will add additional protection against outsiders gaining information by watching the flow of data between you and your EAS device. Even if you are going to permit remote access to your EAS device, only give access to just the ports you need; not all the ports, because an IP address can be spoofed.

For the best protection for your EAS device, a firewall should reject ANY incoming connection to your EAS device it receives from the Internet. If you must permit remote access, the best choice is to only permit a connection to the HTTPS port (443). Some EAS devices will use different ports for different things, and you might want to allow access on these ports, but start with a locked down system, and know what you are doing when opening any other ports.

Software Updates
As with all computer devices that connect to a network, keeping the firmware and software updated is important. EAS device software updates contain modifications to meet FCC rule changes, they also contain critical security patches, functional updates and bug patches.

  1. FCC compliance updates. The FCC has modified its rules several times over the past few years, changing the way alert time is handed for national alerts, adding EAS event codes, modifying FIPS names, and other rules. If you are not updating your software, you run the risk of not being complaint with current FCC rules.
  2. Security patches. Security patches address vulnerabilities that bad guys might use to gain unauthorized access to your EAS equipment. And, let’s face it, anything connected to the Internet – even behind a firewall – should be treated as vulnerable. It is very wise practice to keep current with these security updates.
  3. Bug patches and functional updates. From time to time, EAS manufacturers find a flaw or a bug in their software and issue a software update to address it. They also release helpful improvements and new features.

Should you have questions about the EAS equipment configuration, contact the manufacturer directly. Should you have questions regarding your firewall or network configuration, you may want to consult with an IT consultant or the manufacturer of that equipment.

Contact info:

Pandemic Offers New Role For Local TV News

Topics:

New findings from international research and strategy firm SmithGeiger show a resurgence of linear TV over SVOD viewing during the pandemic with Americans flocking to local news.

It’s a significant bump that local TV stations can convert to a longer-term, multiplatform trend says Dr. Seth Geiger, the firm’s co-founder.

In the March 2020 survey of more than 1,300 U.S. news consumers aged 18-64, SmithGeiger found that 85% of Americans have seen their lives affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Contact info:

Higher Rates, But Some Concessions For Radio In New Deal With BMI.

Topics:

Broadcast Music Inc. (BMI) has begun notifying the 10,000 radio stations and broadcast groups that license its music about the new terms of its agreement with the radio industry. Under a settlement to the four-year old dispute between the Radio Music License Committee and BMI, broadcasters will pay more for the music they use from its repertoire for the period that covers January 2017 through December 2021. The agreement calls for stations to pay 1.78% of their annual gross revenue for on-air spins, less a standard deduction of 12%. That’s a modest increase compared to the 1.7% rate under the previous deal and higher than the 1.4% rate the radio industry had initially proposed in 2016.

Salem CEO Ed Atsinger, who chairs the RMLC, says the rate is “in line” with what the industry has paid to ASCAP and BMI for decades. “While the RMLC certainly would have preferred to report a rate decrease,” he said in a letter to broadcasters, “during the course of negotiations, BMI was able to substantiate that its affiliates’ radio spin share had increased relative to ASCAP’s.” He also said pointed out the two agreed to maintain a sliding scale based on station revenue, which will be especially helpful in the current business climate. “The percentage-of-revenue license structure means that fees will adjust along with station revenues during these uncertain economic times,” said Atsinger.

Contact info:

Is AM All-Digital Right for Your Station?

Topics:

It could be if you are ready for the needed investment in time and effort

Xperi, digital radio, HD Radio, AM HD RadioThe author is director of broadcast business development for HD Radio intellectual property holder Xperi.There is an important AM digital comments filing approaching on Monday. That means it is time to get serious about all-digital AM broadcasting.And that means that with all you may have heard recently about the pros and cons of going all-digital with your AM station, it’s about time for some plain talk about what kind of AM station this conversion could potentially benefit, and where it might not yet make financial sense.

First, in the interest of full disclosure, as a 50-year broadcast veteran with a large collection of working antique AM radios, I have to admit to mixed feelings about any AM station dropping their analog signal for all-digital. I was that kid in the Midwest who grew up listening at night to WABC in New York, WCFL in Chicago, KDKA in Pittsburgh, WLW in Cincinnati, WOAI in San Antonio and so many other 50 kW clear channel stations.

Contact info:

Bipartisan Effort Pushes for Local Media Support

Topics:

House members call on colleagues, President Trump, to support local media during pandemic

WASHINGTON—Supporting local media—including TV stations, radio stations and newspapers—has become a bipartisan effort in D.C., highlighted in part by a recently issued letter from four House Representatives to their colleagues and President Donald Trump calling for action.

Reps. Debbie Dingle (D-Mich.), Bill Flores (R-Texas), Marc Veasey (D-Texas) and Fred Upton (R-Mich.) have sent out a pair of letters to other members of Congress and to President Trump asking that federal advertising funds be redirected to local media outlets to support them during the current coronavirus pandemic.

Contact info:

Study: Radio Listening Up Across All Dayparts During Pandemic.

Topics:

As tens of millions of Americans enter week two, or three, of working from home, radio continues as a companion even outside the traditional workplace setting.

Nearly 40% of those who took part in a recent study conducted by NuVoodoo Media Services say they are listening to radio more during the health crisis. Breaking it down by daypart, 37% say they are tuning to radio more on weekday mornings; 36% are spending more time dialed-in during middays; 38% say they listen more during weekday afternoons and 26% are listening more at night. Additionally, 39% are spending more time with radio on weekends.

While there are concerns about less listening due to fewer commuters on the road, only 19% of respondents say they are listening to radio less on weekday mornings and 16% less in afternoons.

Contact info: