NAB Show Monday: The Doors Open, And Radio Talks About Digital Strategies

Started Today

By PERRY MICHAEL SIMON in LAS VEGAS: After a weekend of engineering panels, the 2017 NAB SHOW starts in earnest on MONDAY (4/24) in LAS VEGAS with a theme of "The M.E.T. Effect," "M.E.T." standing for "Media, Entertainment, Technology" rather than the baseball team, and described as "a cultural phenomenon fueled by hybrid solutions and boundless connectivity that’s changing the very nature of how we live, work and play" at the center of which, the NAB says, happens to be the NAB SHOW.

Convergence and Change

The "M.E.T." theme -- best summarized as convergence of media, entertainment, and technology -- was emphasized at the opening session, with the phrase being worked into JANE PAULEY's introduction and NAB Joint Board Chairman DAVE LOUGEE's opening remarks, and NAB President/CEO GORDON SMITH started his speech with the same theme, inviting attendees to be part of "history in the making"; SMITH was joined by astronaut PEGGY WHITSON addressing the gathering from space.  In his remarks, SMITH touted broadcast TV's success -- 90 of the 100 top TV shows each week -- and broadcast radio's extensive reach, and asserted that technology "has not changed our commitment to our communities" but has only changed the ways broadcasters reach the public.  "We're witnessing a convergency... that is enriching all of our lives," SMITH said.  

Using the late STEPHEN COVEY's there constants -- change, choice, and principles -- SMITH discussed how the way the public accesses content is rapidly changing and how the broadcast business needs to "embrace our strengths," including localism and news; he pointed out that many broadcasters turned down $38 billion in the TV spectrum auction to hold onto their channels, which he said pointed towards broadcasting as the "highest, best use" of spectrum.  As he has in past years, SMITH touted the idea of activating FM chips in smartphones and thanked the four major U.S. carriers for unlocking the chips and added that the industry continues to push APPLE to do the same; he also asserted that the radio industry will aggressively fight to retain its primary position on vehicle dashboards in the connected car era, saying, "Radio needs to be the center of it as well... radio is still the dominant choice for audio entertainment."

"Broadcasting is a great business, it's a public service, and this is an exciting new time as tnew technologies are giving us the ability to improve the delivery of our content," SMITH said, leading into addressing the need to retain broadcasting's principles, like public service, local and national advertising, and "defending our democratic ideals, the right to speak freely without fear of discrimination, and the right of the press to challenge the government and root out corruption in high places, public or private."

SMITH's remarks were followed by ABC NEWS' REBECCA JARVIS interviewing HEARST President/CEO STEVE SWARTZ, starting by bantering about the days when SWARTZ was News Director of his college radio station and moving on to discussing how HEARST's television business is thriving, although SWARTZ warned that "the growth is challenged" by increased competition, and pointed to his company "looking to find pockets of growth within media," including investments in BUZZFEED, ROKU, VICE, and Millennial video outlets.  He described his company's move into business information and business software as an example of taking a company's core competencies and finding adjacent industries with more growth potential in which to exploit those assets. He noted that digital revenue is being grabbed by companies like FACEBOOK and is "not easy" for traditional media to move into, and discussed his company's partnership with SNAPCHAT, saying that the ephemeral video app is "driving a tremendous amount of business" for his brands, although he pointed out that SNAPCHAT takes a large portion of the revenue.  And as for HEARST's stake in ESPN, SWARTZ voiced confidence in the network's current management to ride out the current tough business stretch, stressing the strength of the brand.

Nielsen Interviews Nielsen On Measurement Issues

The "Digital Strategies Exchange for Radio" series of sessions began with NIELSEN Managing Director BRAD KELLY serving in a fill-in capacity for the absent CHUCK DUCOTY of NRG MEDIA (away due to a family emergency), interviewing ROB KATZ, VP for Digital Audio at NIELSEN, discussing measurement issues and NIELSEN's rollout of its NIELSEN Digital Audio Ratings service and SDK to cover more devices and streams.  "We feel that the SDK approach leads to more precise measurement," KATZ said, addressing concerns that the change in methodology will show lower numbers than the present measurement.  KATZ said that he hopes to have clients subscribing to the new service by the end of the year.

The discussion also covered plans for total line reporting, with KATZ saying that all current simulcast rules would apply to streams as well, which would separate streams with ad insertion.  He noted that NIELSEN does sell a total content rating for television that combines viewing through different platforms regardless of ad insertion, and said "we're open to providing the data if the (audio) industry wants it."

And on podcasts, KATZ said that the company continues to try and develop a measurement solution using its SDK and is looking at how to integrate GRACENOTE and how to measure connected car data as well.

The NAB's SKIP PIZZI followed the NIELSEN presentation with a brief update on FM tuner chip activation in cell phones, showing steady growth and "about half the market activated," saying that "the only way we can get any better is to get APPLE."

BONNEVILLE SEATTLE GSM TINA SORENSEN's presentation offered ideas on making money with digital, saying that she tells her staff, "you don't have to sell digital, but you have to pitch it."  Among her ideas were creating regular and premium digital categories, setting a "digital target drive" with a key account dollar amount threshold and target accounts.

Going For The Share

No convention would be complete without a "Millennial expert" telling non-Millennials about the mysteries of the generation, and author ERIN GARGAN played the expert for the Digital Strategies Exchange for Radio program, actually taking a selfie with the audience for her Instagram account and insisting that the radio industry has nothing to fear because her generation does listen, although it spends a lot of time on social media ("it's, like, addictive, okay?").  

The key to "decoding Millennial behavior," GARGAN said, is that there is a small correlation between what Millennials look at and what they share; she said that the most clicked on topics are celebrity gossip, pets, and food, but what's being shared are articles about how to be healthy, wealthy, and happy.  GARGAN also noted that 70% of Facebook users only read headlines about science stories before sharing rather than reading the actual content.  She challenged stations to ask themselves whether social media users would "dare to share" station posts.  "You have to go for the share," she insisted.  "The share is everything."

GARGAN divided the Millennial social media personality into three categories: Insider (wanting to be seen as an insider), Experiencer (participatory), and Helper (wanting to be of assistance).

Another Podcasting Primer

The post-lunch panel on podcasting was billed as a look at the medium's outlook in five years, but the actual panel concentrated, as most podcast panels at broadcasting conventions tend to do, on the basics of podcasting as it stands today, with HOWSTUFFWORKS' JASON HICH, NEW YORK PUBLIC RADIO's NATE LANDAU, and ADSWIZZ's ROCKIE THOMAS joining moderator MARJORIE GALAS of VARIETY 411 in discussing topics like the steady but slow growth of actual podcast listening as opposed to awareness -- LANDAU noted that younger listeners don't listen to his radio station (WNYC-A-F/NEW YORK) but encounter his brand through podcasts -- and social media as a discovery too, as well as measurement difficulties existing today and content creation (THOMAS noted that podcasting is "the roots of radio, of good storytelling," aping radio from the Golden Age pre-television).

Digital Dash Presentations

No broadcasting convention can avoid talking about the connected car, so the Digital Solutions Exchange for Radio followed suit with NAB Senior Director, Advanced Engineering DAVID LAYER hosting XPERI (formerly iBIQUITY) SVP JOE D'ANGELO and iHEARTMEDIA's JESSICA JERRICK in a pair of presentations on their companies' digital dash initiatives.  LAYER started out right away noting that the present iteration of the digital dash is complicated to use and discussed his visit to the DETROIT AUTO SHOW and his testing of 41 in-dash systems... with 27% not having a button labeled "radio" or "audio" or "band."  D'ANGELO offered a presentation on the evolution of in-vehicle broadcast radio, saying "we still believe broadcast radio has a dominant position in the car" and that HD RADIO offers competitive services to digital, including images, and serves as a direct link between broadcast radio and car manufacturers and Tier 1 suppliers.  JERRICK said that her brand strategy is to "give the consumer what they want," bringing the company's radio content to users on all kinds of devices.

NextRadio's Progress

TAGSTATION's PAUL BRENNER gave an update on the NEXTRADIO app and the campaign to get FM tuner chips activated in more smartphones, the use of NEXTRADIO data for measurement via DIAL REPORT, and the integration of NEXTRADIO into dashboard audio systems.  He announced that all CUMULUS stations have joined TAGSTATION (which is now being provided for free in a limited version to broadcasters) and his company will also be providing "big data" to WESTWOOD ONE as well. 

BRENNER said that the NEXTRADIO app has been downloaded over 13 million times and is on 63 million smartphone; NIELSEN is evaluating the data generated by the app for possible inclusion in measurement activities.  BRENNER also showed off the implementation of the app in car radios as an embedded version under discussion that would work with APPLE Car Play and Android Auto.  And he previewed version 2 of the app and the total market information it will generate, including behaviors, demographics, and campaign analytics.

Has The FCC Outlived Its Usefulness?

In an afternoon session addressing the issue of FCC process and whether it should extend or cut back on its mandate to regulate, FCC Commissioner MICHAEL O'RIELLY blamed the OBAMA administration for "eviscerating" the Commission and criticized the agency's previous concentration on addressing social issues and overregulating, especially issues that could be handled by other agencies.  He pointed to the Commission's inability to rein in pirate radio operators, warning that the problem could spread to more markets.  "The biggest issue," he said, "is the state of the Commission's Enforcement Bureau," saying that the field office staff is "demoralized," but added that new Chairman AJIT PAI will repair the damage and lauded President TRUMP for selecting PAI to lead the agency.  O'RIELLY indicated that he expects the FCC to finally update its ownership rules, eliminating or updating rules like ownership caps and "voices" tests.

Following O'RIELLY's appearance, one of his predecessors, former Commissioner ROBERT MCDOWELL, joined a panel moderated by WILEY REIN attorney HAP RIGBY and including PEPPERDINE law professor BABETTE BOLIEK, QUADRA PARTNERS' PAUL DE SA, and attorney STEPHANIE WEINER discussing what would happen if the FCC were to be eliminated.  WEINER pointed towards the FCC's expertise, while BOLIEK ascribed some of the talk about the Commission's troubles to frustration over some of its overreaching and the failure to act under some existing rules, but also blamed some of the "outdated" rules.  MCDOWELL said that other agencies could handle the FCC's duties but "it would take a massive reorganization" and is not going to happen.

And MCDOWELL moderated a panel of Congressional and Senate aides to discuss the climate for broadcasting on CAPITOL HILL.  Topics included whether Congress will push to revamp the FCC to recognize the convergence of technologies (including the idea of rewriting the Communications Act, or narrower legislation towards that end), the possibility of Congressional oversight of internal FCC reorganization, the bill to make the Registrar of Copyrights a Presidentially-appointed position, infrastructure, and more.

Some Streaming, But Not The Radio Stuff

Several sessions will be streamed live on the internet, but other than FCC Chairman AJIT PAI's address TUESDAY morning, none of the radio or podcast sessions will be streamed.

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