Radio & Television Business Report

WBD and Paramount Skydance were asked to refrain from closing on the transaction until after the judicial process concludes by way of a lawsuit filed Monday in federal court by a group of state Attorneys General. With a hard "no" from the companies, the coalition moved forward with the filing of a temporary restraining order.

Since the 2017 incentive auction, LPTV valuations operated in a predictable framework. Values were supported by a steady pace of transaction activity and a defined universe of strategic buyers. Over the past 12 to 18 months, however, that framework has changed dramatically. Here are some of the reasons why that's taken place.

The fresh accord, announced late Friday, immediately returned 54 local broadcast stations owned and operated by Scripps to DIRECTV streaming, satellite, and U-verse customers. The agreement ended a five-week blackout affecting millions of customers across 36 Nielsen DMAs.

A broadcast television station acquired within the last year by Todd Parkin-led Rincon Broadcasting Group as part of a $29.4 million transaction with Sinclair Inc. and today under the ultimate control of Soo Kim has reached an agreement with the National Basketball Association’s Milwaukee franchise.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has granted a request by the Commission to dismiss the appeals filed in the combined Free Press v. FCC case designed to thwart Nexstar Media Group's regulatorily approved merger with TEGNA. It's a win for the Commission and for Nexstar.

He's worked at a wide range of radio ownership groups since joining Mid-West Family Broadcasting's WSJM-FM in Benton Harbor, Mich., in 1994 as a Production Director. Most recently, he served as Executive VP of Content for the former Alpha Media. Starting July 20, he'll be taking a key Cox Media Group role.

A federal appeals court has upheld an injunction won by Cumulus Media against ratings giant Nielsen, agreeing with a lower court that the company likely violated antitrust law by leveraging an alleged monopoly over national radio data to pressure broadcasters into buying local data they didn't want.

In August 2025, Beasley Media Group agreed to sell all of its Fort Myers-Naples market stations to a pair of local operators. Now, that deal is complete, and the new owners would rather not keep the home of ESPN Southwest Florida in operation.

She's been associated with Beasley Media Group since May 2017 and was promoted to her current role in 2019. Now, Heidi Raphael, a highly visible radio industry leader long associated with the Library of American Broadcasting Foundation, the NAB Board, and the Alliance for Women in Media, is taking a key SBA role.

With a logo that pays homage to Nashville's1980s-era Top 40 "Y107," WHIN-AM and its FM simulcast pay tribute to that time with a broad Classic Hits presentation, targeting audiences to the northeast of Music City USA. Soon, that may change, as the facilities have been sold by Kensington Digital Media after a decade of ownership.

It is an agreement the FCC believes is all about "strengthening Payola protections for artists." For the nation's largest radio station ownership group, it requires a compliance plan that effectively terminates an Enforcement Bureau investigation into potential violations of the FCC's Sponsorship Identification Laws.

The Sinclair Inc.-owned CBS affiliate serving Southern Ohio and Northern Kentucky will be airing its final local weekend newscasts on July 18 and 19, concluding 35 years of Saturday and Sunday coverage of Cincinnati and its surrounding communities.

As streaming services face more competition than ever to capture viewers, success is no longer determined by programming alone. With inflation concerns higher than they were a year ago, affordability has become an increasingly important factor in evaluating their monthly spend.

Radio has a fresh lineup of sessions on AI, streaming, and broadcast innovation to look forward to in Manhattan this fall. Registration is now open for NAB Show New York, returning to the Javits Center on October 21 and 22 with roughly 80 hours of programming.

The Media Rating Council has begun an effort to evaluate existing standards and guidelines and develop supplementary guidance in certain focus areas, as it relates to the rapidly evolving use of artificial intelligence and Machine Learning models in areas that intersect with media measurement processes and products.

When it comes to national television spots on broadcast TV, there's one brand that towers over the rest with respect to commitment week in and week out to the medium. For the week ending July 5, this advertiser was linked to nearly 50,000 spots detected by Media Monitors.