Seven members of the House and two senators joined as co-sponsors of the Local Radio Freedom Act (see 1503170042), NAB said in two news releases Wednesday. The resolution opposes new performance fees, taxes, royalties or other charges on local broadcast radio stations, NAB said. The representatives are Austin Scott, R-Ga., Frank Guinta, R-N.H., Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, Jeff Duncan, R-S.C., Lynn Westmoreland, R-Ga., Robert Wittman, R-Va., and Steven Palazzo, R-Miss. The senators are David Vitter, R-La., and Richard Burr, R-N.C. The resolution has 154 co-sponsors in the House and 13 in the Senate, NAB said.

"Preliminary registered attendance" at the NAB Show reached 103,042, NAB said in a Tuesday announcement. The show's exhibition floor had 1,789 companies using 1.015 million net square feet of exhibit space, NAB said. The data are based on preshow and onsite registration and are "subject to an ongoing audit," it said. The show closes Thursday after four days of exhibits and six days of conferences. Final data from last year's event showed 97,915 attended and that total exhibit space was 947,000 net square feet, NAB said.

"Everyone should be able to enjoy this golden era of entertainment, no matter where they live," Comcast Executive Vice President David Cohen wrote in a blog post Tuesday. If approved, a combined Comcast/Time Warner Cable would offer millions of Americans access to "the most robust" VOD platform, with more than 55,000 choices, he wrote. Comcast customers can access 80 live TV channels and more than 22,000 on-demand choices with its Xfinity TV Go app, he said. Comcast's cable division spent almost $10 billion on programming expenses last year, he said. A united Comcast/TWC would allow greater investment in programming and independent networks to "reach millions of households they wouldn’t otherwise," he said. As the parent company of NBCUniversal, Comcast focuses on entertainment and delivering diverse content and theme park attractions, he said. NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment networks will air more than 140 original series in 2015, he said. Comcast will continue to bring the future of TV to consumers and partner with content creators after the TWC transaction closes, Cohen wrote.

SES is partnering with broadcast and TV “technology innovators,” including Sony, at this week’s NAB Show to build a “full end-to-end” Ultra HD transmission system and deliver three days of “live and linear” Ultra HD broadcasts to a cable system on the floor of the show, it said in a Monday announcement. Sony is contributing content and Bravia 4K TVs to the project, SES said. Other partners include Harmonic, PacSat, Sinclair, Superior Satellite Systems and TelVue, it said. PacSat is providing uplink services from a truck parked next to an SES Ultra HD studio at the front entrance of the Las Vegas Convention Center’s South Hall, it said. “A mix of pre-produced content, feature coverage of events throughout Las Vegas, and live interviews with Hollywood and television celebrities and executives will be broadcast in Ultra HD to a fully operational cable system in the SES NAB booth” in South Hall, it said. NAB attendees “will be able to watch the live Ultra HD broadcasts” when they visit the SES, Harmonic and Sony booths, it said.

The FCC should provide immediate, short-term help for AM broadcasters for AM revitalization, Commissioner Ajit Pai said in a statement Monday. Pai applauded Chairman Tom Wheeler's announcement that he will circulate an item addressing AM revitalization (see 1412040059) in the next few weeks, he said. "There is nearly unanimous support in the record for the ideas put forward by the Commission under Acting Chairwoman [Mignon] Clyburn’s leadership," Pai said. The commission should work on these proposals in the next months, he said.

Raycom Media has selected Livestream for News for all of its TV news stations, a news release from Livestream said Thursday. It said Livestream for News is now deployed at more than 200 commercial TV news stations across the U.S. -- equal to about one-third of the market. Livestream for News lets stations insert online ads into the broadcasts’ commercial breaks, creating a new online revenue stream for broadcasters, it said. Livestream is also the primary streaming provider for Fox Television Stations, Media General, Schurz Communications, Tribune Media and others.

Comcast will extend its commitment to workforce and programming diversity to millions more Americans after it buys Time Warner Cable, Comcast Executive Vice President-Chief Diversity Officer David Cohen wrote in a blog post Friday. The media company has a "clear and proven track record of serving" and reflecting diverse communities, including through its board of directors, Cohen wrote. Twenty-two percent of Comcast and NBCUniversal's workforce is African-American, he said. The number of African-Americans increased by 20 percent in director-level jobs and by 26 percent at the vice president level, from 2010 to 2013, he said. Comcast and NBCUniversal spent $1.3 billion in 2013 with diverse vendors, he said. Cohen said Comcast carries 15 networks focused on the African-American community and supported the launch of Aspire and Revolt, African American-led networks, in 2012 and 2013. Internet Essentials, a broadband adoption program, connected more than 1.8 million low-income Americans to the Internet, he said.

The FCC proposed switching KOHD Bend, Oregon, to Channel 18 from 51, said a Media Bureau Video Division NPRM released Friday. Licensee TDS signed a voluntary relocation agreement with T-Mobile USA and said operation on Channel 18 would remove potential interference with authorized wireless operations in the lower 700 MHz A Block adjacent to Channel 51 in the Portland, Oregon, market, the bureau said. TDS requested expedited treatment of its channel change petition due to the upcoming pre-auction licensing deadline, which states facilities have to be constructed and licensed to be eligible for protection in the repacking process part of the TV incentive auction, the bureau said. Comments are due April 24, replies May 15 in docket 15-88.

IHeartMedia created and launched a programmatic and automated advertising buying platform for its broadcast radio stations, it said in a news release Wednesday. It's powered by cloud-platform provider Jelli, iHeartMedia said. The platform will let iHeartMedia offer ad inventory to advertisers and agencies interested in improving the buying process and reducing administrative delays, it said. Through the platform, iHeartMedia will use data sets to target ads, including music-based psychographic groups, weather and traffic patterns, purchase behavior and other trends, it said. IHeartMedia said its Katz Media Group, a national sales firm representing radio broadcasters, also launched Expressway from Katz, a programmatic buying ad exchange for radio, using the same technology.

CBS reached agreement with the CBS affiliate board for its digital subscription service, All Access, the network said Thursday. In a news release, CBS said it has secured early deals with a number of affiliate partners, including Dispatch, Graham Media, Gray, Hearst, Lilly Broadcasting, Meredith, Morgan Murphy, Morris Network, Neuhoff Media, Nexstar, Raycom and Withers, with more expected. The live linear feeds in many of the 12 affiliate groups' markets will begin rolling out this month, CBS said. The new option is a VOD and Nielsen-measured live streaming service, CBS said. It said the ability to live stream local CBS stations through CBS All Access is provided by Syncbak, in which CBS has a minority investment.