Radio & Television Business Report

Twenty-one Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee have a message for Senate leaders as another Republican FCC nomination looms: don’t confirm one without the other party. Specifically, the full-term renomination for Commissioner Anna Gomez.

The Republican National Committee and Republican Party of Texas have taken a quarrelsome FCC question about who pays what for political airtime to a federal court in Amarillo with a request that would either widen candidates’ rate break or, as a fallback, end it.

A Consent Decree with the Acting Chief of the FCC's Media Bureau clears the way for the license renewal of certain Nexstar Media Group properties under a Commission microscope for the amount of commercials airing during children's programming. An online public inspection file flaw was also under review.

With the opening of U.S. financial markets on Wednesday, investors and impacted Scripps staffers are digesting the news that some 400 employees were let go on October 27. Scripps acknowledged the layoffs early Wednesday, and also shared a positive update on political advertising guidance.

A big reduction-in-force, another in a series of transformative moves by The E.W. Scripps Co.. has taken place at the publicly traded company. The latest effort under the direction of CEO Adam Symson was shared in an internal memo sent to employees on Tuesday. Hundreds of positions have been eliminated.

The Crystal Radio Awards entry deadline has been extended to Friday, November 6, giving NAB radio member stations an extra week to showcase their outstanding community service. 50 finalists and 10 winners will be chosen and then honored in Washington, DC, during the NAB State Leadership Conference.

Select Beantown listeners could soon hear something different on 104.5 XLO (WXLO). Cumulus Media plans to bring ZoneCasting to the station in the first quarter of 2027. In partnership with Aktira, Cumulus says the approach lets the station serve specific parts of Greater Boston

A law firm that worked on iHeartMedia’s 2018 bankruptcy is preparing to shut down after 95 years. Weil, Gotshal & Manges has recommended an orderly wind-down, with a partner vote expected within days, following failed merger talks and a string of high-profile partner departures.

Some FM stations that lose a tower can’t move to another one because the FCC’s spacing rules say no. A petition now open for comment would let them, as long as the move causes no added interference and Urban One’s chief executive is among its backers.

Cumulus has prevailed in two federal courts, and Nielsen wants the US Supreme Court to take another look. A November date at the high court is now attached to that request, though that mark on the calendar only decides when the justices look.

Audacy’s local sports stations have been on SiriusXM for less than two months, and the satellite company is already pointing to the results. That comes as profit, cash flow, and the full-year forecast all moved up in Q3, while some other areas of the company slipped, causing some new concerns for the remaining two months of 2026.

Shae Hopkins, who rose from a temporary pledge production job to the top post at Kentucky Educational Television, has died. Public television leaders are remembering the 40-year KET veteran, who had planned to retire at the end of this year after nearly 17 years leading the network.

FOX’s television business carried the company to a record fiscal first quarter, with the World Cup, a busy political calendar, and Tubi’s growth lifting broadcast advertising. The gains pushed company revenue and EBITDA to first-quarter highs and left the Television segment far ahead of last year.

Sharing visions. Projecting revenues. Discussing the strategies that will guide and drive the broadcast industry in the coming year. Streamline Publishing's Forecast conference is where the high-level executives are free to share it all ... and exclusively in the room where it happens. You can still be a part of it all.

The people who keep broadcasting on the air, and the ones pushing its technology into the future, will once again get their chance to shine in fabulous Las Vegas as the National Association of Broadcasters has opened nominations for the 2027 NAB Technology Awards.

The Broadcasters Foundation of America is widening a college scholarship that once reached only broadcast families. Students with no industry ties can now apply, and six new awards join the original $10,000 scholarship, bringing the yearly total to $25,000 across seven awards.