Radio & Television Business Report

For more than forty years, he was a familiar face to morning news views of TEGNA-owned WWL-TV in New Orleans. On September 18, he stepped away from the station after revealing that he was recently diagnosed with a "fairly aggressive" form of cancer.  On Saturday, Eric Paulsen passed away. He was 74 years old. 

The nation's No. 1 owner of broadcast TV stations already enjoys the highest valuation of any publicly traded media company on the stock market. Now, Nexstar Media Group can revel in the fact that it has pushed its stock price back to a level last seen in early August.

Three decades of service as Beasley Media Group's Chief Financial Officer will conclude at the end of October for Marie Tedesco, as the publicly traded radio station owner in markets such as Tampa-St. Petersburg, Boston, Detroit and its home of Fort Myers-Naples has revealed her successor.

Looking for what promises to be a realistic, no-holds-barred analysis of the current and future value of broadcast assets? A Forecast 2025 panel discussion to be moderated by someone with leadership experience in both radio and TV is just the place you'll want to be.

The individual who served in the role today held by Adam Symson between 1985 and 1998 has died at the age of 89. Larry Leser is being remembered by many across the industry, including former Scripps head Rich Boehne, who calls Leser "a brilliant strategist, decisive and never afraid of taking risks.”

For many years, the New York City Marathon, one of the world's most revered 26.2-mile running challenges, has enjoyed extensive live television coverage on WABC-7. Come Sunday, the event now sponsored by TCS will have its first-ever live radio partner, and veteran sports commentator Len Berman will anchor all of the audio action.

Satellite and app-based audio content creator and distributor Sirius XM has unveiled its annual extensive holiday music channel lineup, with some 26 dedicated offerings available either in-dash or exclusive via its streaming services. Among the new offerings is a channel hosted by the host of "The Tonight Show" on NBC.

The owner of a Class D AM radio station serving the Southwest Corner of Missouri and towns near Joplin is coming to terms with the collapse of its 75-year-old radio tower, and what to do next.

"We have made significant progress on our plan to create a more sustainable future following challenging industry wide conditions and increased competitive intensity this past year." That's what Corus Entertainment co-Chief Executive Officer Troy Reeb said as total fiscal Q4 revenue was off 21% year-over-year while profits dipped by 9%. The Radio segment had a particularly difficult quarter.

As "Jen Myers," she was a key air personality for "Y98" in St. Louis and began her career some 25 years ago in Buffalo. In 2022 she stepped down to focus on fighting breast cancer. That battle concluded on Thursday.

We don't mean to scare you, but when the ghosts, goblins, and monsters come out on Halloween, it's going to frighten away the early bird bringing the discounts to Forecast 2025. Lock in your seat now before registration rises to its full price on November 1.

Jeff Winemiller and his Lowcountry 34 Media are at it again when it comes to buying and selling low-power television stations. This time around, the entrepreneur has signed off on two agreements that involve facility sales. One of the buyers is HC2 Station Group.

Canada's largest multimedia company, owner of radio stations including flagship CHFI-FM in Toronto and an array of broadcast and cable brands including CityTV, SportsNet and CityNews, has released its third quarter earnings report for fiscal 2024. And, its earnings per share fell short of analysts' estimates by some 14%.

"Downward stock moves have gone hand in hand with negative earnings revisions," notes MoffettNathanson analyst Rob Fishman. "The media landscape has grown bleak, and most media stocks have seen a similar picture." Yet, Fishman asks, for all the negativity out there, "Is it possible we have hit a bottom?"

As younger audiences gravitate toward streaming platforms, sports media companies must adapt to the growing demand for streaming options and on-demand content to remain relevant.  That's the key insight offered to TV station owners seeking to grow revenue and audience share through live sports programming from a new study released by Harker Bos Group.

In Rosemary Ravinal's view, the truth is that many bosses use jargon-filled language to conceal their weaknesses or fears. Yet, she says, no amount of colorful language can compensate for the lack of leadership and know-how.