Katz Media Group has promoted Christal Radio president Christine Travaglini to president of Katz Radio Group, tasked with overseeing the radio rep firm’s nationwide sales operations. She reports to Mark Gray, who had been running the radio rep firm until March 2017, when he was promoted to CEO of Katz Media Group.

A longtime Katz veteran, Travaglini has been president of Katz division Christal Radio since 2008. She will now drive overall business development and strategy of Katz Radio Group’s 14 regional offices that serve as the national sales rep firm for more than 3,300 radio stations and their digital audio platforms. In a news release, Katz said Travaglini “will lead the Katz team in driving maximum results for broadcasters and their advertisers through radio advocacy, innovative marketing solutions and compelling data and insights.”

Travaglini was the first person to rise from an assistant to president within the Katz organization. In 201

Radio and broadcast equipment manufacturer GatesAir has developed a solution designed to cure the occasional hiccups that consumers experience as HD Radio signals lose their digital imprint and switch back to analog. This can create dropouts and temporarily interrupt an HD station’s seamless audio due to buffering.

“As the digital signal transitions to analog and back, the lack of proper time alignment prevents program linearity for the listener due to an eight-second delay between the analog and digital broadcast,” GatesAir explains. “Diversity Delay is a critical component of the HD Radio listening experience.”

Its solution: the fourth-generation Flexiva Importer/Exporter, combined with the company’s new FMXi 4g. Together, GatesAir says they have come up with “the industry’s first HD Radio Importer/Exporter solution to provide dynamic time and audio correction.” The GatesAir-exclusive algorithm inside the FMXi 4g “ensures proper t

Attracting at-work listeners has long been indispensable to the success of AC, classic hits and other music formats. A webinar from NuVoodoo Media Services, “How to Win the Workplace War With PPM Panels & Diary Keepers,” offered broadcasters a tool chest of new information about best practices to reel them in and keep them listening.

The media marketing, programming and content intelligence provider surveyed 3,041 persons ages 14-54 online in January 2018, focused in Nielsen PPM markets.

Calling its sample group “ratings likelies,” meaning those deemed inclined to participate in PPM or diary surveys, NuVoodoo asked participants if they listened to either the radio or a streaming service while at work. In total, 39.1% said yes—with a robust 56.4% of “PPM likelies” responding yes and 59.0% of “diary likelies” saying yes. The percentages were highest for those 18-34, followed by 25-54, 35-54 and 14-24.

Those that tune in durin

Bipartisan support for a proposal to raise the maximum fine for pirate radio to as much as $2 million emerged in the House Subcommittee on Communications and Technology on Thursday. During a discussion into the proposed Preventing Illegal Radio Abuse Through Enforcement or “PIRATE” Act, which is being circulated among members, lawmakers agreed the current fines have come up short in the effort to go after pirate radio operators. “It’s high time we pay more attention to the harm being done to consumers and broadcasters alike,” Subcommittee chair Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) said.

Federal law presently allows the Federal Communications Commission to impose a maximum fine of $19,246 per day for each violation or each day up to a statutory maximum of $144,344. The proposal would boost that to as much $100,000 per day, per violation with a maximum fine allowed by law of $2 million.

The impact of pirate stations may be well known to anyone in radio, but

Christian broadcaster Education Media Foundation continues its recent buying spree with the purchase of WSHA Raleigh-Durham, NC (88.9) from Shaw University for an undisclosed price.

The sale of the station from Shaw, known as the oldest historically black college in the South, has been met with criticism from alumni, with one group saying their offer to buy the station was met with silence.

When news of the intended sale of the radio station surfaced last December, a petition was formed on change.org, which collected nearly 2,000 signatures, the News & Observer reported. A group called “Friends of Shaw” was formed and claims to have made an offer to purchase the station from the University.

“Once we learned of their intent to sell WSHA, a group of alumni actually offered to purchase the station,” 1995 graduate Kesha Monk told the paper. “However, our efforts were blatantly ignored.” Since graduation, Monk went on to a professional career in the r

LBI Broadcasting regional Mexican “La Ranchera Deportes” KEYH/KNTE (850/101.7) Houston/Bay City, TX will be the new Spanish-language radio home of the World Champion Houston Astros under a new multi-year agreement.

The stations will carry all 162 regular-season games, marking the first time that Astros games will be broadcast in Spanish on both AM and FM. Francisco Romero returns to call play-by-play action with Alex Trevino handling color commentary.

“LBI Media is excited to be the new home and partner of the World Champion Houston Astros on Spanish radio,” COO Winter Horton said in a release. “All of the Astros action will be available to listeners on both AM and FM, ensuring Spanish speaking Astros fans of Houston will hear every game all season long.”

The Spanish broadcasts of Astros games were previously heard on Latino Broadcasting Corp. “La Nueva 94.1,” which broadcasts on the Houston, TX-licensed translator K231CN at 94.1

Hubbard Radio has rebranded country KNUC Seattle as “98.9 The Bull” from “Country 98.9.” It’s the latest change at the new station, which Hubbard flipped from rock in December, after Entercom dropped country on KMPS in favor of soft AC as “The New 94.1 The Sound.”

“Welcome to the next evolution of 98.9, a personality all its own,” PD Lisa Adams said. “More Bull, more music, more fun.”

Adams was named PD of the station in January after serving as marketing director for AC sister “Warm 106.9” KRWM. Her programming experience includes the OM/PD post at Townsquare Media hot AC “Mix 106” KCIX, AC “107.9 Lite FM” KXLT and “WOW Country 104.3” KAWO in Boise, ID.

Since her hire, Adams has been staffing up the new country outlet, adding the morning team of Tim Leary, Claire Beverly and Karen (Red) Daiss in February. The trio came to KNUC from Alpha Media country “Bob 106.9” WUBB Savannah, GA, where they anchored m