Greetings from your broadcast friends out on the Desert…
This is BDR Newsletter 850, Volume 17, #17 for November 26, 2025

C-BAND CHANGES CONSIDERED
At the FCC Open Meeting, the Commission agreed for an NPRM on what to do with the C-Band frequencies that have not already been sold off on auction. The “Big Beautiful Bill” that Congress passed specified that at least 100 MHz would be auctioned and made available for 5G and 6G by mid-2027. The request for Comments asks filers to further discuss use of the other frequencies, around 80 MHz. If the result is to pack those frequencies into the auction, it could very well totally end C-Band use by broadcasters.

MALWARE HACKERS INVADE AT LEAST ONE STATION
Why you need to be very careful if you use Barix boxes: A popular hack for some bad-actors has been to hijack the audio feed to some stations using Barix gear. This past weekend, KFNC in Houston was hacked, apparently due to the Barix unit still running the default longin. The ESPN programmed station had its football game interrupted with a loop containing EAS tones, a vulgar song, and the announcement of several social media sites. The station managed to restore normal programming after a several minutes.

That was not the only station that was similarly hacked. At least one other station reported a similar feed being presented to their system. Fortunately, the EAS received refused to relay the EAS tones, as they were way out of date.

TURKEY DAY CHAT TIME
This week, with so many planning their meal in mid-afternoon, we will still be meeting at 2 PM Eastern to talk radio. We will take a moment to enjoy the Les Nessman on-the-scene report that made for the most famous WKRP episode. And we will talk about broadcasting in general and a few “how I got into the business” stories.

Join us, even if you have to duck out for turkey (duck for turkey?). We should have a good time.

Join us at 2 PM Eastern on Thursday / 11 AM Pacific. You will learn things! link request: www.thebdr.net/TLG/

NOTE:  ARIZONA PRESENTATION TIME IS NOW NOON.

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

DST IS GONE UNTIL 2026, BUT NOT THE DEBATE
In the past couple of weeks since the nation generally went back to “standard time,” all sorts of comments have been made – the usual: Keep DST all year/stay on ST all year. The NRBA is among those wanting to go to standard time, noting many daytime AM stations would have little or no “Morning Drive” during the winter months. Could a new set of Pre-Sunrise Authorizations be the solution? The continued television use of Channel 6 seems to still preclude AM daytimes, LPFMs, and other potential users from migrating to sub-88 FM.

STATION COUNT
The Third Quarter station count from the FCC is a bit late – you know why!  This past quarter saw the loss of 17 AM stations and 8 Commercial FM, but there were 41 more NCEFM and 8 more LPFM.

HOW MANY STATIONS CAN YOU OWN?
Another matter that the FCC is working on, but getting some resistance from the field, including that of the President, is how many stations a company own, and in the TV universe, what percentage of the US can they cover and with which networks. There are many who think the streaming world has changed the whole outlook of the industry. Comments are being sought for what action should be taken.

STREAMING IS IMPORTANT, BUT NOT  THE WHOLE ENCHILADA
A study by Edison Research says 87% of American radio listening is to traditional receivers for ages 13 and older. Mobile device usage doubled … but that only makes 6% – with smart speakers and computers polling at 3% The methodology may be contested by some, but the bottom line is broadcasting is not dead yet – and could survive streaming if it offers something not on the streams.

ONE AUCTION THAT HAS STOPPED
A lot of buzz surrounded the recent auction of audio, video, broadcasting, and computer gear by Radio Free Asia. The agency said it was reacting to the rescission of funds by Congress. Some of the items were being offered for pennies on the dollar, when it became more widely known, the auction was put on “hold” for now.

NOTIFICATION ABOUT NOTIFICATIONS
Do you check “yes” when a site says to “allow notifications?” Here is a note way to be cautious: A new set of malware has been spotted that will will “push” fake alerts using browsers to redirect users to a malicious site. This is a fileless attack because the user “asked” to be on the bad site.

CAN YOU TELL IF IT IS AI?
If you have ever connected to a customer support site that uses AI, most of the time it is pretty obvious what you are dealing with. While I have never tried this, researchers are noting that AI cannot tell the difference between humans and another AI. Can you imagine two AIs talking to each other? There has to be a SciFi movie coming along with this theme. “Live agent, please.”

IHEART PROMISES NO AI
According to Billboard Magazine, iHeartMedia has promised not to use AI “personalities” nor “synthetic vocalists” under their new  the Guaranteed Human initiative. One has to assume that means Max Headroom is not coming back – at least on iHeart.

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

 

Some recent articles of interest:

Some recent items of interest:

• Inside the EmPower: Intelligent Control – Matt Rigdon
• Resisting the Spam Flood – Mike Langner
• Is It Really EOL for Windows 10? – Barry Mishkind
• Join the Lunch Gathering – Thursday 2 PM Eastern
• Enforcement Watch – FM station spur on ATC channel
• Critter Control – Jeff Welton
• Why is 50 Ohms the Standard? – Barry Mishkind
• The Evolution of Broadcast Technology – Ron Schacht
• Planning Your Studio Before You Build – Gordon Carter
• Dana’s Daily Deals

More newsy items here…

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

 
MANUFACTURERS’ NEWS

Audio-Technica produced a very informative video to mark the new System 20 wireless control system. The video discusses understanding wireless operations on 2.4 GHz, zigbee, BlueTooth, and WiFi. Planning and using wireless microphones on a system purpose built for “robust transmission in congested environments.”

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Broadcast Electronics latest AudioVault edition, the AV-xI is now available free to current users and at a discount to former AV users. You can see Joe Myers showing AV-xI off here. User screen customization is among the new features.

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StreamGuys wants to help stations get the benefits of their Barix Reflector service, so for the next couple of quarters, they have a special deal – the reflector service is priced 40% off, on a year’s contract.

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The Telos Alliance has released an update for Axia. The Axia xNode2 v1.2.3 software update is available for all xNode2 devices. The upgrades include networking security updates, audio engine improvements, and enhanced audio quaxlity logging.

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

 

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

• 8 years ago (11/29/17) Cumulus filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy. Company stock had dropped to $0.15 per share.
• 25 years ago (11/27/00) the Beatles had the #1 album in the US, “1,” a collection of their 27 chart toppers.
• 33 years ago (11/23/93) the FCC “solved” the AM Stereo issue by choosing the C-Quam system.
• 47 years ago (11/25/78) Fictitious station GM Arthur Carlson uttered one of the most famous lines in TV history. *
• 49 years ago (11/25/76) a star-studded cast joined The Band for its farewell concert, “The Last Waltz.“
• 50 years ago (11/29/75) “Bohemian Rhapsody” hit #1 in the UK, and then in the US. **
• 57 years ago (11/23/68) the Beatles hit “Hey Jude” was coming to the end of nine weeks at #1 – and the Beatles were getting ready to split.
• 58 years ago (11/25/67) the Strawberry Alarm Clock hit #1 with “Incense and Peppermints.“
• 62 years ago (11/23/63) Dr. Who first arrived on Earth from Gallifrey. (Who? (no pun) would have thought he’d become a she?).
• 66 years ago (11/29/59) Bobby Darin was named Best New Artist and had the Record of the Year. ***
• 96 years ago (11/29/1929) NBCs Chimes first were used – bong, bong, bonnng.

…and 100 years ago (11/28/1925) the Grand Ole Opry started on WSM. A one hour “barn dance” There have now been over 5,000 broadcasts.

… and here are some other historical events of interest:

• 37 years ago (11/23/88) Hockey great Wayne Gretzky scored his 600th goal.
• 47 years ago (11/25/78) 918 people died in Jim Jones mass murder-suicide in Jonestown, Guyana.
• 54 years ago (11/27/71) Mars 2, a Soviet space probe, was the first man-made object to reach Mars.
• 73 years ago (11/25/52) “The Mousetrap” opens in London – the world’s longest continuous play (until the pandemic).
• 78 years ago (11/29/47) The U.N. voted to partition Palestine, setting off decades of conflict.
• 89 years ago (11/23/36) Life Magazine was first published.
• 130 years ago (11/27/1895)  The Nobel Prize was established.

… and 242 years ago (11/25/1783) British soldiers finally left from New York.

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

 

* Yep, he really did think turkeys could fly! (At least that was the story!)

** The song went to #1 again after the release of the Biopic “Bohemian Rhapsody.“

** “Mack the Knife“

MIDWEEK BONUS

Do you blink more when you are listening to music? Not only is the answer yes, but it appears people blink in sync with the beat of the music – even if it is played backward! Check it out.

During the recent theft at the Louvre in Paris, did you hear about the “Fedora Man.” Talk about unintended fame.

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PLEASE INVITE A FRIEND
We sure hope you are finding the BDR and the Newsletter to be of value to you. If so, there are two things that you can do to ensure the BDR keeps pulsing along:
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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?

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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.

barry

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Yes … you might have seen it before, but we should do this: some extra stuff .. some important … some just interesting.

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