ASIA

Our coverage from the 2020 NAB Show in Las Vegas continues with Panelists:Chairman, President and CEO of Audacy, David Field andCo-founder, Chairman and CEO of iHeartMedia, Bob Pittman.Reflecting on the effect the pandemic had on radio, and ever confident and upbeat on the industry, Pittman says, “I get the feeling that we are just getting started, that we have tremendous opportunities, that from the listeners side, you’re picking up people who the year before valued peace and quiet, and now that they’ve got peace and quiet they want something on, and (the audio industry) is the beneficiary of that.”He says that now consumers have replaced the clock radio with Alexa “…in the same sort of rooms the radio was in and getting the same sort of usage, number 1 is AM,FM radio, number 2 is weather, number 3 is music” radios biggest problem is “not thinking big enough. No one dreamed the cable networks would be that big, no one dreamed the internet would be that big”Field agrees saying that “we are on the cusp of the best era for radio…the extraordinary explosion of content and experiences that we are now offering listeners through technology, we are on the cusp of radio and audio surging forward and delivering great results. On the lessons learnt of the last two years, Pittman says, “…we saw in the early days of the pandemic this incredible increase in use of digital devices in the home for radio stations. And they discovered us in some places, I think they would have never discovered something… on smart TVs, Roku and on and on, video game consoles, etc.“And I think and now that, of course, as people return to normal habits, that usage in the home of those devices is still there. So I think from a device standpoint, very important. I think from a bonding with audience standpoint, the number one place people got their news about COVID is radio.“Radio is the most trusted medium for being multiple greater than social. And I think living through that experience and keeping people company, in some cases keeping them sane, I think there’s is a relationship that will be a forever relationship, whatever that bond was, stays.”Pittman says that now the challenge for radio is to take advantage of this change in listening habits, to continue to engage the audience, and to remember what it is like to be the person sitting next to the driver in the car.Radio stations have achieved an elevated role as local broadcasters with trusted news and information, as well as being accountable for the massive amounts of misinformation their audiences are getting on social media. […]

Jacobs Media will release their 2022 Techsurvey in just a few weeks, and radioinfo’s Wayne Stamm caught up with Fred Jacobs at the 2022 NAB Show.Listening to AM/FM radio in cars is decreasing according to the 31,000 core listeners representing the listening habits of 450 stations, and Fred says while radio professionals may be talking about what is happening with the connected car, they may be missing the bigger picture.He says, “I think the bigger piece to all of this is the idea of who does radio compete against, because so often we think about the other stations down the dial as being our core competitors and maybe we don’t think about digital streaming and podcasts and all the other audio that is a part of people’s lives now. “So part of what Tech Survey is all about is to help connect you better with your audience and what they’re doing when they’re not listening to you.”And on the point about car owners becoming a lot more tech savvy about their incar systems, Fred agrees and says, “Because just a few short years ago, the complaints were rampant. I mean, people couldn’t even find the radio in their cars and they didn’t know how to pair up their phones.“But my theory is that as a result of COVID, a lot of mature citizens kind of figured out how technology works. I mean, they had to they had to figure out how Face Time worked so they could see their grandchildren, and they had to figure out how to talk to Alexa so that they could get their content and I think the same thing happened in the car.“And the automakers, I think, have done a better job dumbing it down, honestly, simplifying how all of this works, and the bottom line is just about anybody can connect their phone in their cars.“But even these sophisticated systems, I think by and large work better than they used to work. So, yeah, people are figuring it out.”The new Techsurvey will show a decrease in AM/FM listening in the car and he says, “I think that’s natural. I think that would be happening anyway, but I think the onslaught of technology maybe accelerates that. But the good news is, is that radio can still make sure that it’s meeting the audience where they are on digital platforms.”Techsurvey 2022 results will be available in a few weeks. Last years results are here.The full interview with Fred Jacobs from Wayne Stamm, who is in then USA covering NAB for radioinfo. […]

Radiodays Asia is back as an in-person and online event on September 6 and 7 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.It will be the third edition of the new conference from the team who produces Radiodays Europe, the world’s largest and leading conference for radio and audio development, in collaboration with broadcaster organisations in the Asia-Pacific.Radiodays Asia includes a fantastic line-up of speakers, leading experts and professionals from around Asia, Australia and across the world. Topics ranging from radio and podcast strategy, new digital developments, successful formats and content development, fact checking and investigative journalism, podcast storytelling and business, social media, audio advertising, sales and the latest research about consumer behaviour. The most important trends and new ideas worldwide in one place.The main conference runs over two days with two parallel tracks of sessions. It will have meet-ups and interactive sessions as part of the programme to facilitate networking and sharing of ideas. There will also be an exhibiton area where you can learn the latest about services from our commercial partners. In addition four educational training workshops will be included in the offer, as well as an evening networking event.The main Radiodays Asia conference will be hybrid – in-person in Kuala Lumpur and online for those who are unable to travel.The first Radiodays Asia was held in KL in 2019. It got fantastic feedback from participants, coming from 30 countries. Attendees gave the event an astonishing 4.25 rating on a 1-5 scale.  The second, virtual event in March 2021 saw attendees from 40 countries and the same high rating: 4.25.Radiodays Asia registration will open on 27 April with Early Bird offers. […]

GatesAir, a global leader in wireless, over-the-air content delivery solutions for radio and TV, today announced that Thomson Broadcast has signed a definitive agreement to acquire GatesAir from an affiliate of The Gores Group. The transaction is subject to certain regulatory filings and is expected to close in the second half of 2022. Details of the transaction were not disclosed.GatesAir is a renowned company in the Broadcast industry with a history of powering over-the-air networks worldwide with unparalleled reliability over the past 100 years. GatesAir has recently seen strong growth, coming off a very successful participation in the North America Spectrum Repack program. GatesAir worked with Bowen Inc. on a robust process which involved interest from several strategic and financial parties, with Thomson Broadcast prevailing due to its highly complementary fit. The combination of GatesAir with Thomson Broadcast will create a scaled, comprehensive platform with greater capabilities in innovation, design and product efficiency and an expanded portfolio of holistic, turnkey broadcast solutions.“GatesAir is already an undisputed leader in the broadcast industry, and our combination with Thomson Broadcast will create a combined company of larger scale even better suited to meet the ever-evolving needs of our customers all over the globe,” said Bruce D. Swail, CEO of GatesAir. “I am very proud of the GatesAir team for its stewardship of and innovation in this industry over the past century and look forward to entering the next 100 years as an even stronger business leveraging the strengths of two legendary broadcast brands. On behalf of everyone at GatesAir, I’d like to thank Gores for their strategic guidance which was invaluable in growing our business and driving innovation.”“Over the course of our successful partnership with Bruce and the management team, GatesAir has driven tremendous growth and transformation through organic and inorganic initiatives, establishing itself as a premier, independent broadcast company with market leading technology and service,” said Edward Johnson, Senior Managing Director at The Gores Group. “We have no doubt GatesAir will continue on its successful trajectory and strengthen its market leadership alongside Thomson Broadcast.”For more than 100 years, Thomson Broadcast has forged extensive experience in the fields of Digital Terrestrial Transmission (DTV) and AM Radio, including DRM. Thomson Broadcast is an international French company well known in the broadcast sector. Over the past two years, Thomson Broadcast has received awards for providing exceptional DTT turnkey solutions to large-scale digital migration projects in Africa.“In 2018, we have set the goal to establish ourselves in the US Market. With Thomson Broadcast and GatesAir now united, these two companies will make us stronger in America and globally as well,” says Ylias Akbaraly, Chairman of Thomson Broadcast.“Thomson Broadcast and GatesAir together can bring innovative and revolutionary products to the broadcast industry in the centuries to come,” says Aby Alexander, President of Thomson Broadcast USA.“We are delighted to have reached this point,” says Amine Oubid, CEO of Thomson Broadcast. “From the start we were excited to work with the GatesAir team and saw the obvious fit of the two companies. The transaction closing can’t come fast enough for us. We’re very proud to participate in the rallying of two century-old companies and excited to start working together.” […]

Jhannah Villegas, a hard-hitting radio broadcaster in Maguindanao province of southern Philippines was shot dead by unknown gunmen on Good Friday.If her killing is related to her work, she would be the 24th Philippine journalist to be killed since President Rodrigo Duterte came to power in 2016.Villegas, 38, worked as a reporter for community newspaper Sagad and Bugso as well as a blocktimer broadcaster for Radyo Ukay in Kidapawan city, North Cotabato province and Energy FM 106.7 radio in Manila.A known critic of local officials, she also headed Mindanao Balita, an online news blog covering local political events across the region.According to her husband, she had received a death threat on Thursday night. She was attacked at her home by three armed men who shot her at close range.The Philippines is considered one of the world’s most dangerous places for journalists. Since 1992, about 90 Philippine journalists have been killed because of their work, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. […]

India’s first-ever radio channel for the visually impaired, ‘Radio Aksh’ was launched in the city of Nagpur on Tuesday, April 12.Launched by the Blind Relief Association Nagpur (TBRAN) and Samdrushti Kshamata Vikas Avam Anusandhan Mandal (Saksham), this concept was created to help the visually-impaired gain seamless access to education resources and audiobooks.The content is created by a dedicated team of 20 trained volunteers, mostly women, which can be streamed to the visually impaired across the world.The channel is available on Play Store and via Zeno Radio on Apple devices.In order to run it 24×7, Radio Aksh would initially have six hours of content that would be put on repeat mode four times a day. Later, the content will be increased to 24 hours phase-wise, Makarand Pandharipande, president of TBRAN, told The Times of India.Shirish Darvekar, the coordinator of the channel and a member of Saksham told ANI: “For the last few years, visually impaired people used to come to us and get their audiobooks made by us on their devices. But COVID-19 put this to a halt. It affected their learning so we had to think of a stand-by arrangement. We got to know of launch of internet radio in India and we got in contact with a company making software for it. Unlike FM and AM, internet radio has no geographical limits,” he added.Darvekar said that their channel has got limited, yet an overwhelming response from people.“In just two to four days, we have around 161 listeners. It paints a very encouraging picture,” he added. […]