Radio & Television Business Report

Gray Media-owned television stations whose viewers rely on Dish for their local channels are now prevented from accessing any Gray-owned property. Blame it on the latest retransmission consent impasse to impact consumers.

The Smullin family's South West Oregon TV Broadcasting Corp. has struck a deal that will see Sinclair Inc. fully acquire a full-power property and four associated TV translators serving Douglas County, Ore., for nearly 70 years. The deal comes four years after a transaction in Eugene, Ore., involving Cox Media Group.

One of the nation's largest financial institutions, home to veteran media industry analyst Jessica Reif Ehrlich, has reportedly teamed with other undisclosed banks in launching a leveraged loan to assist the nation's largest single owner of broadcast television stations in its quest to acquire TEGNA.

Welcome to the latest retransmission consent negotiation to result in the removal, by law, of broadcast television stations from a MVPD — this time frequent "blackout" artist DirecTV. Sticking to its guns is the Wisconsin TV station ownership group founded with a newspaper in 1890 that remains family-controlled today.

Cumulus Media's days as a publicly traded broadcaster are at an end. The company's prepackaged Chapter 11 bankruptcy plan lays out a reorganization that wipes out current shareholders entirely, sees an entirely new board, and could lead to new executive leaders.

Lenders taking control of Cumulus will ultimately decide whether and how aggressively to pursue the case once the stay lifts, a decision that will fall to an entirely new board. Every current Cumulus director is deemed to have resigned upon the plan’s effective date, as the broadcaster goes private.

Three months ago, it was dropped by Sirius XM ahead of a shift to iHeartMedia. Now, the nation's top audio content creation and distribution platform is rolling out its incarnation of TikTokRadio with digital and HD multicast access across the U.S.

How did Salem Media, the company focused on conservative secular and Christian-themed spoken word content, perform during the fourth quarter of 2025? That's not exactly clear, as the company opted to release its full-year 2025 fiscal health analysis on Wednesday, which doesn't include any Q4 breakout data.

In late February, Hall Communications announced that it was exiting Florida, with a transaction giving MARC Radio Group ownership of Country WPCV-FM, two AMs and three FM translators. Now, Hall is saying goodbye to another Country station, and a Red Wolf is grabbing it in a deal brokered by Dick Foreman.

The Commission has given its regulatory approval to an agreement announced in November 2025 that will see four stations owned by Alpha Media and obtained by Connoisseur Media through its merger with the former Portland, Ore.-headquartered radio broadcasting company.

A cloud-based management, traffic, billing, sales, and AI-powered production platform designed specifically for broadcasters co-founded by Fletcher Ford has been acquired by a provider of 24/7 music formats for broadcast radio.

With a hand from WPP Media to help facilitate and negotiate the partnership, The E.W. Scripps Co.'s unit led by Brian Lawlor and digital financial services company Ally have come together to present the first nationally televised Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) game.

Hearst Media Production Group (HMPG), in partnership with fire safety brand Kidde and Epic Entertainment and Media Group, has set a premiere date for a new original series airing weekend mornings on ABC stations nationwide as part of the Weekend Adventure educational/informational programming block.

Media multitasking is no longer just a Gen Z habit. According to new research unveiled this week at Connected TV World Summit 2026 in London, more than half of adults aged 45–54 now watch video clips on their mobile phones while watching television.

With celebrity-led teams, live competitions, a platform for global fan participation, and next-gen media experiences, the Global Gaming League (GGL) is building "the first entertainment system for the world’s largest and most engaged audience." The nation's top radio ownership group believes in its growth potential.

Television "continues to play a powerful role in creating brand awareness and influencing consumer purchase decisions." That's a key finding from a study conducted by the trade association squarely focused on attracting marketers and advertisers to local broadcast TV.