CBS-TV and the Golf Channel will broadcast the annual Farmers Insurance Golf Tournament at Torrey Pines beginning Wednesday, January 24. The broadcast uses cameras placed throughout the course and requires many wireless communications channels. BSI has received a Special Temporary Authority from the FCC to operate comms on UHF-TV channel 14. Some control and intercom devices are expected on shared 450 and 455 MHz Broadcast Auxiliary System channels, coordinated by SBE volunteer Gary Stigall. If you experience interference, contact Gary.
Bill Thompson Memorial January 28
A memorial for recently deceased veteran broadcast engineer Bill Thompson will be held Sunday, January 28, at 2:00 PM at the Kearny Mesa Moose Lodge, 3636 Ruffin Road, San Diego. Social quarters will open at 1:00 PM with the memorial service starting at 2:00 PM. A light lunch will be provided after the service.
The family says additional parking is available at 3634 Ruffin Road, but they ask that you do not park under the building. A second parking lot is available at 3626 Ruffin Road, but “do not park near the main entrance or under the solar canopy, and do not use the EV charging stations.”
KUSI and KSWB-TV Begin Their NextGen Broadcast
On January 16, 2024, KUSI and KSWB-TV began their shared broadcast in the NextGen ATSC 3.0 format on UHF-TV channel 18 in San Diego.
Viewers who want to continue to receive KUSI over the air will need to perform a RESCAN on their TVs. This is generally done by entering the MENU, then looking for SIGNAL or RF or ANTENNA, selecting AIR (not CABLE), and AUTO-PROGRAM or SCAN or ADD CHANNELs on the MENU.
Their December 11, 2023 FCC application specified having the KUSI channel 18 transmitter hosting KSWB-TV “Fox 5” and ATSC 1.0 on the KSWB-TV channel 26 transmitter hosting KUSI, each atop Mt. San Miguel.
The FCC recently approved Nextstar’s purchase of KUSI. The two stations are now co-owned and are moving into the established KUSI studio facility in Murphy Canyon.
Some models of commonly available television sets now include NextGen tuners. KRPE-LD channel 6 on Mt. San Miguel was the first area station to begin the NextGen service.
RF Specialties Joins Chapter 36 as Sponsor
Many thanks to Jeff Motta, Sales Manager of RF Specialties of California. Jeff made a generous donation at the end of 2023 to help support Chapter 36. RF Specialities has been based in San Diego since 2018, when Dennis Pieri acquired the West Coast divisions.
RF Specialties distributes several major brands of broadcast RF hardware, including Nautel, Dialectric, Jampro, Kathrein, RFS Systems, Bext, and Anywave. They also represent many brands of broadcast infrastructure, including DASDEC, Sage Alerting Systems, D2D Technologies, Inovonics, Mackie, and so on. Check out all of their equipment lines here.
Audacy Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection
Radio Insight reports that the Audacy group filed for bankruptcy to reorganize in order to service its $2.66-billion debt load. Another $926-million of debt will mature later this year. Audacy management said it has restructured its debt with a “supermajority” of its debtors in order to reduce its service payments to a realistic level.
A memo to employees said, “Audacy will operate normally during this process. There will be no disruption to your wages and benefits. Our current leadership team will continue to lead the Company, and day-to-day roles and responsibilities will not change. Overall, it will be business as usual….”
It’s no secret that the broadcasting industry has been hit hard with reduced advertising spending as alternative media, such as streaming, grab a bigger slice of the listening audience pie.
In San Diego, Audacy stations include KBZT “Alt 94.9”, KYXY 96.5, KWFN “97.3 The Fan”, KXSN “Sunny 98.1”, and KSON 103.7 “New Country.” These stations were derived from CBS and Lincoln Financial ownership that consolidated through a merger with Entercom in 2017, then rebranding as Audacy in 2021. Audacy manages 235 radio stations in 48 markets, according to Inside Radio.