SUMMER 2021 NEW MEDIA OPTIMISM IN THE TRADITIONAL VIDEO WHO ARE THE BROADCAST BEST LANDSCAPE FINANCE LEADERS OF 2021? CAN HD RADIO DATA SERVICES OR EDGE COMPUTING BRING YOUR STATIONS NEW REVENUE? HOW ‘INTERNET OF THINGS’- POWERED SYSTEMS ARE AIDING BROADCAST MONITORING SUMMER 2021 · RBR.COM IN THIS ISSUE SUMMER 2021 4 A KAGAN MEDIA SUMMIT PREVIEW RBR+TVBR offers an advance look at what’s on the agenda, and shares details of an exclusive chat with S&P Global Market Intelligence Senior Research Analyst Justin Nielson on industry trends and where radio and TV is heading in 2022 and beyond. 7 THE BROADCAST BEST FINANCE LEADERS OF 2021 Media industry CFOs and key finance leaders at radio and TV companies have made it through very challenging times. In recognition of their efforts, the readers ofRBR+TVBR have spoken. Who’s on top in this ranked list? 20 MEDIA MONETIZATION FROM MORE NEW TECHNOLOGY HD Radio data services. Edge computing and the potential for broadcast TV and radio. What’s the potential, and timeline for launch, for these predicted dollar magnets? 22 HOW ‘IoT’ CAN MAKE MONITORING EASIER Using IoT systems to monitor points along the contribution and distribution network, through the studios, headends, and on to the last mile, is a technological advancement broadcast media should know more about. 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 SUMMER 2021 · RBR.COM · 3 NEW OPTIMISM FOR ‘TRADITIONAL’ MEDIA VEHICLES On June 17, television industry executives will once again be gathering in a virtual manner. While COVID-19 pandemic concerns are rapidly melting away, the organizers of the annual Kagan Media Summit opted to forgo traveling to New York just yet. The comfort level of participants will undoubtedly be higher, as the 2020 affair was a digital one, too. ith the Radio + Television Business Report again the RBR+TVBR: You’ll be offering, for the first time, Kagan’s spotlight on official media partner for the summit, same-day the U.S. broadcast station industry. Can you offer us a sneak peek of coverage of key Kagan events produced by the S&P some of the key takeaways you’ll be presenting? Global Market Intelligence group will be delivered to JUSTIN NIELSON: My industry overview will be primarily WRBR+TVBR subscribers at RBR.com. broadcast-focused. I will cover our projections for the TV and radio What can participants expect this year? S&P Global Market station advertising spend over the next 10 years, as well as TV, Intelligence Senior Research Analyst Justin Nielson spoke with retrans, and distribution fee revenue. RBR+TVBR Editor-in-Chief Adam R Jacobson to offer a preview of I will also be covering some of the secular trends in both the event. segments, as well as looking at some of the new advertising for television, such as sports betting. We will also look at some of the RBR+TVBR: In 2020, the Kagan Media Summit was one of the first new technology surrounding ATSC 3.0 and NextGen TV, and some media-industry events to shift to a virtual affair. It saw two days, of the activity in the M&A market and values for stations. on consecutive Thursdays, of events. For 2021, the plan is for a single summit meeting day. What prompted that decision? “Within the next few years we will see JUSTIN NIELSON: From our perspective, we really wanted to look at a couple of specific topics a lot more commercial applications in the TV industry and the video industry. This put a focus on of NextGen TV, and also in spectrum an executive Q&A and industry overview type of summit, as leasing. It could benefit driverless cars.” opposed to having two days of long panel sessions. It seems like now, over a RBR+TVBR: You mention sports betting. That’s a great setup for learn- year into the pandemic, people ing more about the Executive Interview session with Chris Ripley, are getting a little bit of Zoom fatigue in having multiple-day President/CEO of Sinclair Broadcast Group. Given Sinclair’s purchase conferences or long webinars. We consolidated our content into of regional sports networks once branded as FOX Sports and now a four-hour block. Obviously, people can come in for individual linked with the Bally brand, Sinclair is now a key player in bridging sessions if they prefer. Or they can watch the replay after it’s gaming and play-by-play. What can the broadcast TV industry take been concluded. away from gaming’s rapid growth? JUSTIN NIELSON: Sinclair is at the forefront of the reemergence 4 · RBR.COM · SUMMER 2021 of sports programming on broadcast and on cable. They recently RBR+TVBR: Are AVOD and CTV rapidly changing how all should think announced that they are going to go direct-to-consumer with some about “television”? With a grand change in how consumers are view- of their Bally Sports programming as well as integrating some of ing content, are we in the midst of a huge transition, much like the one the sports betting opportunities in certain markets. experienced in 1948 when TV exploded in growth, impacting radio in In some markets, the NBA will even allow betting at the games. myriad ways? There’s a lot of advertising around fantasy sports leagues like JUSTIN NIELSON: I really do think that the last year of the DraftKings. It’s an emerging category, and obviously Sinclair thinks pandemic has just accelerated that trend. We had been seeing it is going to be a very large category for advertising. It’s poised to subscriber churn off of traditional MVPDs for quite some time. But provide substantial growth for their business. over the past year that just surged, with new streaming services Looking at it from the broadcasters’ side, the big focus has arriving. Alternative options for video and the on-demand and always been around news and sports. Local news is one of their key SVOD give so much out there for consumers to access. It’s really products. Sports has always been, with NFL packages and other changed viewing habits profoundly across the entire ecosystem. packages. In terms of generating viewership, these are their bread and butter. That aligns very well in going after the regional sports RBR+TVBR: The presence of FuboTV co-founder and CEO David as well as new categories — and, potentially, eSports. Gandler is intriguing, given the digital TV service’s transition from an OTT-powered soccer game source to a vMVPD. What does Gandler’s RBR+TVBR: Sinclair has taken a leadership position in the develop- perspective bring to the mix for Kagan attendees? ment and rollout of NextGen TV in the U.S., something the consumer JUSTIN NIELSON: It was really interesting to see that he agreed press hasn’t necessarily provided in its coverage of the company. to speak with us at the Kagan Media Summit. He brings a very What can Kagan Media Summit participants expect to hear from Rip- unique perspective on how they are positioning their company in ley on the data capabilities tied to ATSC 3.0, and the monetization of the video marketplace. They are very geared toward the sports this, given what Sinclair has done in South Korea and in the U.S.? fan, and no qualms about it. They are delivering the most sports JUSTIN NIELSON: A lot of talk in the press has been around programming in a streaming service to date. the 5G rollout, and there’s not much press around ATSC 3.0 and NextGen TV — the ability for that new standard to expose people RBR+TVBR: The Kagan Media Summit concludes with a 1:45pm ET ses- to programming that they haven’t been able to reach over the air, sion focused on the “evolution of video.” The participants are Warner- delivered in 4K, along with different audio streams, interactivity, Media Sales and Distribution Head of Sales and Partner Management targeting in terms of advertising. From the business side, it Jennifer Mirgorod; Tubi Head of Global Business Development Andrea definitely opens up a lot of opportunities. Eventually there will be Clarke Hall; AMC Networks EVP/CFO Christina Spade; and Lisa Knutson, subscription on-demand pieces as well. who became Scripps Networks President following The E.W. Scripps It also opens up the possibility for them to be on multiple devices, Co.’s merger with ION Media. either in the home or outside. Within the next few years we will Knutson’s presence is particularly of interest to RBR+TVBR readers, see a lot more commercial applications of NextGen TV, and also in and we’re curious as to where digital multicast networks fit in Kagan’s spectrum leasing. It could benefit driverless cars. worldview of the total viewer universe. What can you share, as free- to-air TV and ATSC 3.0 offer new opportunities for broadcasters and viewers even as a major shift to digitally delivered programming plat- forms is unfolding, and fast? “Over the past few years we’ve seen a JUSTIN NIELSON: Over the past few years we’ve seen a pretty significant increase in the number of available multicast networks pretty significant increase in the number and channels across the nation. With the Scripps-Ion merger, you’re just going to see more of that. And, with Scripps and Ion of available multicast networks and programming combined, one can look to the potential development of an AVOD platform, allowing for growth on the streaming side for channels across the nation.