Radio & Television Business Report

The Media Bureau head granted, with minor conditions, Nexstar Media Group's merger with TEGNA. It all but erases the 39% national ownership cap, setting up a court challenge being waged by eight state Attorneys General and DirecTV. Divestures have been agreed to, but the terms make it clear any sales are unlikely.

It's not so much a surprise that it happened, but that it happened on March 19 perhaps caught some industry observers off-guard. The $6.2 billion transaction that rewrites local media ownership rules is now complete, with both the Department of Justice and the FCC granting approval of TEGNA's takeover by Nexstar.

It played an integral role in getting the word out that eight Attorneys General have sued to try to stop Nexstar from completing its merger with TEGNA. Now, DirecTV has confirmed that it has filed its own federal antitrust lawsuit with the aim of doing what Washington lobbyists couldn't — killing the transaction.

A new study released Wednesday by Pearl TV, the NEXTGEN TV marketing arm, suggests a large majority of viewers of broadcast TV that rely on an antenna would invest in a set-top box to get ATSC 3.0-powered channels — a move that would "preserve access to free local television."

A new study from the Video Advertising Bureau finds that Americans "overwhelmingly trust" TV news over any other digital media source. When isolating that group of respondents to potential voters, the VAB finds that they are almost nine times more likely to trust TV news than social media platforms.

The  Radio + Television Business Report has independently confirmed that CBS News Radio will be winding down its operations over the next several weeks. The news was shared via an internal memo from CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss and president Tom Cibrowski.

In early February, Mary Quass-led NRG Media shared it is exiting the Omaha-Council Bluffs radio market after more than two decades. Now, broker of record Kalil & Co. has shared the news that NRG Media is agreeing to sell a collection of Wisconsin properties to the privately held operation led by Peter Tanz.

The U.S. Department of Justice has told the FCC it sees no need to formally review iHeartMedia's latest foreign ownership application, clearing a significant regulatory hurdle for the company's proposed ownership restructuring tied to UK radio giant Global and the Tabor family.

Even after he detailed a handshake deal, 107 phone calls, and a dinner, Soros Fund Management says Connoisseur Media CEO Jeff Warshaw's claims of a contract are still too vague to enforce and wants his case seeking 5% of profits from its Audacy acquisition dismissed.

The Black-owned radio network led by Chesley Maddox-Dorsey, has forged a strategic partnership with advertising technology platform AdGrid to launch a new initiative designed to help brands reach and engage multicultural audiences across today’s digital media landscape.

The latest Audio Today report from Nielsen has been released. And, to little surprise, the nation's dominant audience measurement source for Radio says the findings underscore industry's position "as a powerhouse for reach and ROI." But will advertisers and CMOs listen and respond?

Now that Nexstar Media Group effectively owns TEGNA, which saw its stock conclude its trading at a $20.03 valuation and is being converted to "NXST" shares, the company founded 30 years ago by Perry Sook is moving forward with its intent to offer two rounds of senior secured notes to bondholders.

Gray Media and the Atlanta Braves have confirmed that the Major League Baseball Club's 2026 home opener against the Kansas City Royals on March 27 will appear on both "BravesVision" and on Gray-owned television stations.

Advertising performance platform VideoAmp has brought to market new first-party data integrations with NCM and Sirius XM. It is a move that widens the coverage of VideoAmp's VXP planning tool and sends broadcast media yet another message that it has competitors for ad dollars everywhere.

What fascinates public speaking coach Rosemary Ravinal about acceptance speeches is that they compress a lifetime of work into seconds. Winners typically get about 45 seconds, so every word matters. This raises a question: How do you deliver a great acceptance speech when the spotlight suddenly finds you?

Guideline is moving forward with the expansion of its Ad Intelligence Insights service with the release of Local Dynamics, a subscription report designed to enable agencies, publishers, and station groups to meet evolving market demand with transaction-level benchmarking.