RBR+TVBR InFOCUS Podcast

In just a few months, a 1,000-watt Class C AM radio station serving Marshalltown, Iowa will celebrate its 100th birthday. Today, this station meshes syndicated talk programming with a local morning show and high school football — a big draw for this town some 35 miles from Des Moines but with interests far different than what those media outlets can provide locals.

That's why KFJB-AM is so vital to this part of the Hawkeye State, and why owner Todd Steinkamp believes the continued presence of AM radio in vehicles is essential and life-saving — even as his century-old outlet enjoys an FM translator.

Steinkamp shares his thoughts on KFJB today in this exclusive interview with Radio + Television Business Report Editor-in-Chief Adam R Jacobson for the latest InFOCUS Podcast, presented by dot.FM.

Anne Schelle, the Managing Director of Pearl TV — the business organization of broadcast TV companies with a shared interest in the voluntary rollout of NEXTGEN TV — chats with RBR+TVBR Editor-in-Chief Adam R Jacobson ahead of the 2023 NAB Show to share more about the voluntary rollout of ATSC 3.0-powered NEXTGEN TV, and other updates tied to the new broadcast TV standard.

What's the NEXTGEN platform's process on getting signals to cable TV consumers? What is the consumer interest in "dongles" that can enable them to get NEXTGEN TV without the need to purchase a new television?

Schelle shares these updates and more in this 20-minute on-demand conversation.

Caroline Beasley, the Chief Executive Officer of Beasley Media Group, returns to the InFOCUS Podcast, presented by dot.FM, to talk about what the upcoming NAB Show will bring to her team and perhaps add to her knowledge sphere.

Caroline also shares a little more about an invitation-only Cocktails and Conversation reception during the show expressly for radio industry pros that is presented in part by Beasley Media Group, Quu, Benztown, vCreative, Skyview Networks, Xperi, Jacobs Media and Streamline Publishing’s Radio Ink and the Radio + Television Business Report.

On February 1 Mary DelGrande rose from SVP of Sales to the role of Chief Executive Officer at vCreative. Since then, the company known for its multi-platform workflow software for broadcast media companies made headlines by signing a contract with Yamanair, the creative service for radio.

What does this bring to vCreative’s clients, and what may this presage for the year ahead? She answers these questions and more in an exclusive interview appearing in the forthcoming Spring 2023 RBR+TVBR Special Report, our biggest-ever quarterly publication. It’s available via download from April 10 and in print at the NAB Show in Las Vegas from April 15.

As part of that conversation, Mary shared what attendees of an invitation-only Cocktails and Conversation reception during the show for radio industry pros can expect at that event, presented in part by Xperi and Streamline Publishing’s Radio Ink and the Radio and Television Business Report.

It's in this InFOCUS Podcast, presented by dot.FM.

The owner of "The Big WECK" and "The Keys' Yacht Rock Station," Buddy Shula, returns to the InFOCUS Podcast, presented by dot.FM, to share more about two key promotions. One involves his former boss, a veteran of Buffalo stations owned by Audacy Corp. who has excelled in radio sales. The other becomes VP/GM of a full-service advertising agency aligned with but wholly independent of Shula's Oldies station serving Western New York's biggest city.

Did we say ad agency? Yes. Is there a learning opportunity for other independent radio broadcasters looking for revenue enhancement without investing in the metaverse, podcasting or e-Sports? Listen in to learn more, plus get an update on what it is like to see fast growth with a new FM in a city where Radio is the main local media choice: Key West, Fla.!

The 2023 NAB Show is fast-approaching, and Xperi Corp., parent of the DTS brand that's getting a lot of buzz for its DTS AutoStage technology and of HD Radio, too, is gearing up for the big affair.

With some 70,000+ attendees expected this year, what is Joe D'Angelo, Xperi Corp.'s SVP of Broadcast, looking forward to sharing and learning at the NAB Show? What is D'Angelo's opinion over all of the renewed chatter about preserving AM radio, even as companies ranging from Beasley Media Group and Audacy Corp. are turning in licenses for AM radio stations and selling off the land where the station's towers sit since that's a better business decision than trying to sell the stations to another operator?

He shares this thoughts -- and the key to entry to a special radio industry "Cocktails and Conversations" event during the NAB Show -- in this InFOCUS Podcast, presented by dot.FM.

What has historically survived? Radio. And, AM radio "is the foundation of the national emergency response system," Craig Fugate, the FEMA director during the Obama Administration, reminds us.

With much discussion about AM radio's removal from electric vehicles and a sudden response to save AM from across the industry, Fugate shares why AM "is such an interesting communication and warning system" that proves to be more resilient than a smartphone or television in this InFOCUS Podcast, presented by dot.FM. "You don't have to get a lot of stations to serve as a primary entry point when you use AM radio," Fugate says.

Jacobs Media is one of several sponsors of a Cocktails and Conversation reception that will be held once again at the NAB Show. Radio Ink and the Radio and Television Business Report are helping to put the event together, and to share a little about it – in addition to all that he’s looking forward to at the NAB Show this year – is Jacobs Media VP/GM Paul Jacobs.

Cumulus Media President/CEO Mary Berner shared on the company's Q4 and full-year 2022 earnings call that national advertising remains a key challenge for the company. What else did Berner have to say with respect to ad trends and what 2023 looks like from her C-Suite in Atlanta? We share her thoughts in this InFOCUS Podcast, presented by dot.FM.

It was established 75 years ago and today just agreed to pick up its 15th owned-and-operated radio station — a 100,000-watt powerhouse covering a very important part of the United States. It includes towns with a population of eight.

KBRY-FM 92.3 in Broken Bow, Neb., is being acquired by the Nebraska Rural Radio Association, led by Tim Marshall. Why does this group exist? What's the business sense of owning radio stations, let alone buying one more?

Marshall shares his thoughts in an exclusive conversation with Radio + Television Business Report Editor-in-Chief Adam R Jacobson in the latest InFOCUS Podcast, presented by dot.FM.