Greetings from your broadcast friends out on the Desert…
This is BDR Newsletter 872, Volume 17, #39 for April 29, 2026

FCC AT NAB
Each year, the industry does await the FCC’s comments. Often there is a “gift” to broadcasters. This year, the FCC Commissioners and staffers brought the news that they were open to ways to help AM radio survive, possibly including another FM translator window dedicated for AM stations, sometime in 2027. Regulatory burden relief may also be part of the continuing Delete, Delete, Delete initiative, adding to the 1,274 provisions already dropped from the FCC’s rulebook. With the 2027 radio renewal cycle ready to start next year, speculation but no specifics surround at what the FCC will be looking, although Chairman Carr has repeatedly noted the need for stations to operate “in the public interest” – with a focus on local community needs and programs that meet those needs.

A SHORTER HIKE
During the NAB Show, it was true that many broadcast companies were in the Central Hall, especially the upper level. Here is some of what we saw. That meant that while there was much more to see in Central, North, and West Halls, one did not have to walk back and forth nearly as much as last year when your Editor clocked over 15,000 steps in a day. This year, we topped out around 10,000 steps. (Oh, no .. we did not have to go near the South Hall. It was open, not for NAB, but for a wrestling event.)

MAKING YOUR SIGNATURE SOUND BETTER
Every station has a signature sound. It may be based partly or wholly on a preset. And you might be thinking that audio processing has gone about as far as it can. And you might be wrong. The Omnia XII was demonstrated at NAB 2026, and there was a line to see it. What makes this a great audio processor? Well, we have Frank Foti visiting with us this week to share the concepts and how it can be just what your station needs.

Join us Thursday at 2 PM Eastern /11 AM Pacific, and let us learn things. The link request is, as usual, at www.theBDR.net/TLG/ Yes, you can see us on YouTube live – but joining us on zoom makes it easier to ask questions and discuss issues.

May we please recommend this fine company which supports the BDR – and you!

ATSC 3 GETTING A BOOST
There was a fair amount of action in the ATSC 3 booth, with NextGen announcements bringing in attendees seeking information. Not only were a couple of new ATSC 3 converters – said to be aimed at $65 retail pricing – but there was news that Brazil has successfully shut down analog TV in the country. Curiously, there are more then 21,000 digital channels there, plus FM, AM, SW, and more digital transmissions. Over 14 million digital converter kits were placed with low-income households.

RADIO REVENUE MOVING TOWARD DIGITAL
A lot of talk was shown in various booths pushing the idea that radio needs to embrace digital content, from metadata in vehicles to program streams via the Internet. With a large number of new vehicles containing multiple displays, there was a great deal of advice for radio to ensure they did not lose out.

AI … CLOUD … AND TOGETHER
Of course, AI was everywhere in one form or another, from news and commercial copy writing to actual AI voices on the air. Everything from virtual consoles to “just add audio” transmitters seem designed to reduce the equipment in the audio chain.

Without doubt there will be solutions to the challenges of execution but, at least for now, the AI can mostly utilize only the material input by someone. At the other end, more than a few ideas were displayed where program chains are being monitored by AI and transmitted either via the “cloud” or using the cloud to reduce in-house equipment needs. Wide Orbit’s booth exhibited their new Aurora automation system, which focused on the flexibility of using the cloud, on-premises systems, or a hybrid combination to fit the station’s needs.

A NEW KIND OF CONSOLIDATION AT HAND
Merger talks are somewhat preliminary but reports surfaced this past week that iHeart and Sirius/XM are exploring ways to merge and create a terrestrial and satellite combination unlike previous consolidations.

HELP WITH EAS COMPLIANCE
If you are in Alabama, the ABA Engineering services has a project to help stations be certain their EAS are fully compliant with the Rules. You can arrange for their free monitor server to check on your reception and tests, notifying you when issues occur. This is a really good way to solve some issues that might prevent EAS receptions to work smoothly. Other states should do this as well. It would help a lot of small stations manage EAS much more easily.

APPLE TO GET NEW HEAD
Tim Cook has announced he will step down as CEO in September, with John Ternus the new CEO. A lot of Apple emphasis seems to be on AI strategies.

FOR SALE
This week we add a Nautel VX300 and some amplifiers for the BE 3C transmitter. These and other items are online at the ForSale Page. Check it out!

May we please recommend this fine company which supports the BDR – and you!

Here are some of the more recent items of interest:

• Talking Like An Old Hand – Clay Freinwald
• Are you Ready to Buy Your Own Station? – George Kimble  
• Join the Lunch Gathering – Thursday 2 PM Eastern
• Enforcement Watch – Licenses in danger for non-payment / Tower painting NOVs
• New Transmitters and Tubes from Nautel – Barry Mishkind
• MP3 was Only a Beginning – Greg Ogonowski
• AC Problems Solved with PowerClamp – Hank Landsberg
• Enforcement Watch – License deleted / EAS fine: $369k
• Coping with Overgrown Wild Vegetation – Barry Mishkind
• Making Nautel Customer Support Better – John Wilton
• Keep Your Copper in the Ground – Clay Freinwald

May we please recommend this fine company which supports the BDR – and you!

With NAB over, attention turns to shipping dates and availability to users.

Lawo’s Edge One merges comprehensive audio and video I/O into a compact, SMPTE-ST2110-native IP-connected stagebox to streamline infrastructure. It provides SDI, HDMI in/out, MADI with SRC, analog/digital audio, GPI, sync/ref/WCL, and DSP; SW-licensing for on-demand capability

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The Telos Alliance’ new Omnia XII provides maximum FM + HD power, punch & precision with captivating warmth and clarity that feels absolutely effortless – even when driven hard. Stuffed full of advanced audio shaping tools, comprehensive RDS, QuickTweak rapid tuning, and all the I/O you’ll ever need.

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Broadcast Electronics’ AMX transmitters can put as much as 5 kW in 5 rack spaces. The silicon carbide transistors bring a new level of power capability to the field.

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We sort of ran down a number of these and other items that caught our attention. Take a look here.

May we please recommend this fine company which supports the BDR – and you!

Do You Remember? This week in history:
Broadcast related items:

• 2 years ago (4/29/24) Taylor Swift claimed a record Top 14 Spots on Billboard Hot 100. Swift also charted 32 of the top 100 spots- a record for a female artist.
• 23 years ago (4/28/03) Apple launched the iTunes store.
• 33 years ago (4/30/93) the World Wide Web consisted on one page: http://info.cern.ch/hypertext/WWW/TheProject.html
• 40 years ago (5/3/86) Robert Palmer jumped to #1 with a team of look-alike models and “Addicted To Love.”
• 45 years ago (4/27/81) Ringo Starr married Barbara Bach.
• 47 years ago (4/24/79) Ray Charles sings “Georgia On My Mind” at a ceremony to make it Georgia’s official State Song.
• 47 years ago (4/28/79) Blondie hit #1 with “Heart of Glass.“
• 48 years ago (4/28/78) The movie “FM” debuted in theaters – theme by Steely Dan.
• 48 years ago (4/25/78) Martin Scorsese’s documentary “The Last Waltz” about The Band’s last concert opened in theaters.
• 55 years ago (5/3/71) All Things Considered debuted.
• 61 years ago (5/1/65) Herman’s Hermits hit #1 with “Mrs. Brown You’ve Got A Lovely Daughter.“
• 61 years ago (4/27/65) The Real Don Steele and Boss Radio first boomed out of LA station KHJ – it was the start of an era.
• 65 years ago (4/24/61) Bob Dylan’s professional debut: Playing harmonica on Harry Belafonte’s “Midnight Special.”
• 68 years ago (5/2/58) popular disc jockey Alan Freed hosted a rock concert at the Boston Arena (a hockey rink) that did not go well. (The city did not host another rock concert until 1964.)
• 92 years ago (5/2/1934) W8X0 (WLW) officially became the first – and only – US “super power station” with 500 kW, daytime. President Roosevelt activated the transmitter.

… and 104 years ago (4/28/1922) these stations were first licensed by the Department of Commerce (the actual First Day of Broadcast was not always the same as the license date for the early stations.):
        04/28/1922   WOI-640    Ames, IA       
        04/29/1922   WTVN-610   Columbus, OH          
         04/29/1922   WFUZ-1240  Wilkes-Barre, PA   

And here are some non-broadcast memories:

• 17 years ago (4/27/09) GM announced plans to phase out Pontiac models.
• 34 years ago (4/29/92) riots flared in LA after a video of four policemen beating Rodney Davis. His words?*
• 53 years ago (4/30/73) the US withdrew from Vietnam.
• 81 years ago (4/29/45) the Dachau concentration camp was liberated by U.S. troops. 
• 81 years ago (4/30/45) while holed up in a bunker under his headquarters in Berlin, Adolf Hitler commits suicide by swallowing a cyanide capsule and shooting himself in the head. Soon after, Germany unconditionally surrendered.
• 95 years ago  (5/1/1931) the Empire State Building in NYC was dedicated.
• 100 year ago (5/1/1926) Ford factory workers got a 40-hour work week.
• 167 years ago (4/25/1859) Ground was broken for Suez Canal.
• 224 years ago (5/3/1802) Washington, DC became a city. Or something else. At least it was a municipal Charter.
• 226 years ago (4/24/1800) the Library of Congress was established.

… if you really want to get technical, according to the German mathematician Kepler it was 7002 years ago this week when the universe was created (4/27/4977 BCE). More recently, estimates of 14 to 16 Billion years have become more accepted (… and which also seems to be the actual age of something in the back of the refrigerator at many stations!).

May we please recommend this fine company which supports the BDR – and you!

* King famously said: “Can’t we all just get along?”

MIDWEEK BONUS

You may have  seen the opening of various museums related to Route 66, the Chicago to LA highway of legend. The actual opening date was on November 11, 1926, about six months from now. In the meantime, there are several new and existing museums along the way, including ones in Winslow AZ (of course!), Albuquerque NM, and the one just opened in Baxter Springs KS. Anyone for a summer field trip?

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We sure do appreciate you spending time with our Newsletter. And even more so when you recommend us to your colleagues and friends.

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PLEASE TELL US WHAT’S WHAT
There are so many areas into which we would like to expand, but it is feedback from you that helps us decided where to go first. Are you interested in a certain piece of gear or technology? Let us know. Even better, would you be willing to do a user report and share your experience?

barry