Broadcast Tech & Engineering News – GS Broadcast Technical Services acquires Ron Paley Broadcast

GS Broadcast Technical Services (GSBTS) has announced its acquisition of Ron Paley Broadcast (RPB), adding the full line of Wheatstone products to its portfolio, including the VoxPro, AudioArts and Wheatstone Processing lines. Led by Richard Sondermeyer and Sarah Haslip, Mississauga-headquartered GSBTS specializes in broadcast facility design, project management, installation and maintenance. In a release, Paley said the sale will allow for more focus on DJB Radio, the automation software the Paley family acquired in 2012 with the purchase of Ohio-based Digital JukeBox (DJB). RPB has represented Wheatstone in Canada for the last 18 years. Read more here.

Blu Digital Group has expanded to Canada, setting up a Montreal operation, offering post-production, localization, and distribution services. Their expansion into Canada follows several strategic acquisitions, including Dicentia Studios in Denmark, which serves as a media management and localization hub for Northern Europe, and localization specialists Haymillian, bolstering Blu’s presence in Latin America, Europe, and the Middle East. The acquisition of Central Post LA, an award-winning audio recording facility in Hollywood, has also expanded the company’s English dubbing capabilities.

SoCast has launched SoCast Reach Enterprise, a sales solution that connects digital ad sales with existing over-the-air ad sales, created for longtime client Stingray. With digital ad sales now accounting for over 20% of radio’s ad revenue, SoCast says the solution was built to address issues of attaining scale in digital revenue growth while integrating workflow across multiple departments. The toolset integrates with WideOrbit as well as demand-side platforms (DSPs) like Google, Meta and others.

Triton Digital has announced its partnership with ID5, an identity provider for digital advertising, to introduce rich audience data to Triton’s Audio Marketplace. Triton says the  partnership will improve advertising targeting and addressability in the audio space while complying with privacy regulations globally. Australian broadcast and on-demand audio company ARN, a partner in the proof-of-concept phase, says the tech allowed it to convert 60% of its unaddressable audience to addressable, benefiting advertisers.

ATSC (Advanced Television Systems Committee), the broadcast standards association, is working to add the international video compression method Versatile Video Coding (VVC) as an option, in addition to the High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) technology used in the current roster of ATSC 3.0 broadcast standards. Even more efficient than current methods, VVC could provide a path to 8K broadcasting via ATSC 3.0 and may also be utilized to efficiently deliver broadcast video services while simultaneously conserving bandwidth. As an ATSC “Candidate Standard,” VVC is currently being evaluated as a possible advanced compression system for ATSC 3.0. 

The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) has announced Sun Sachs, Senior Vice President of Digital Products at Townsquare Media, as the recipient of the 2024 Digital Leadership Award. He’ll be honored during the Broadcasting Hall of Fame ceremony on the Main Stage at NAB Show, April 15. The Digital Leadership Award honors an individual at a broadcast station, group or network who has had a significant role in transforming a traditional broadcast business to succeed on digital media platforms in a measurable way. Since joining Townsquare Media in 2010, Sachs has been instrumental in driving audience expansion and revenue growth, including growing unique visitors from 1 million per month in 2010 to 75 million this year. Sachs previously served as VP of Product at AOL Media.