Radio & Television Business Report

In her new role, Ronna Steber is being asked to "drive advertising sales strategies and establish best practices throughout Gray’s extensive portfolio of top-rated local television stations and digital assets." She spent more than two decades at "FOX 56" in Lexington, Ky., before joining Gray eight years ago.

On Friday, the Chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee revealed that it would hold a nomination hearing this Thursday for the woman nominated by President Trump to serve as a FCC Commissioner.  Evidently, Ted Cruz didn't factor in the very real possibility that Danielle Thumann Severs may not be available to appear on Capitol Hill, given her stage of pregnancy

Continued strength in mobile advertising, coupled with a rise in political ad spend as the midterm elections near, has led BIA Advisory Services to update its 2026 U.S. Local Advertising Forecast. Now, it projects total local ad revenue to reach a dollar amount nearly 1% higher than its April estimate.

Some 111 local broadcast TV stations owned by Gray Media will now be able to distribute their local news and other station-originated programming to the nation, via the free streaming television platform owned by Allen Media Group.

There's new life to a fight to limit "lowest unit rates" to actual political candidates seeking election advertising at the cheapest price, rather than allowing political action committees and what the former Ohio Senator and now Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Ohio claims is "dark money" fueled by "National Republicans and their billionaire backers."

It's a pending move that instantly got many longtime radio industry professionals chatting. After 30 years in syndication, after four years of ratings and revenue success as a Charlotte-focused morning duo, the program today hosted by Sheri Lynch that continues to be branded as Bob & Sheri is making a digital pivot at the end of 2026.

Beasley Media Group has shared that it is deploying Futuri’s TopLine Enterprise AI revenue intelligence platform across all of its markets. The move is part of a multiyear agreement Beasley says is designed to "enhance" the company’s sales process and help local advertisers make more informed marketing decisions.

Wednesday, September 9, saw the man who has served as President of Zimmer Communications since September 1980 and since 2008 as the co-owner of Honolulu Coffee Company engage in key conversations "about the importance of ownership rules reform for small radio broadcasters" with all three FCC decisionmakers.

Attorneys representing Nielsen and Cumulus Media will be heading back to the federal Second Circuit appeals court, which on Thursday granted an administrative stay of a district court's order issued the day before — an act that amends the terms of a preliminary injunction the Second Circuit already affirmed.

On this 25th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, we look back on that Tuesday morning with two key observations. First, it taught one news operation that having an emergency contact and operations plan was essential. Second, it showed the power of live broadcast media in a time of crisis — a fact that continues today.

A Wisconsin-based company has brought to market the Spanish-language version of an automated weather broadcasting platform giving radio stations the opportunity to generate ready-to-air, fully produced local weather forecasts using real-time weather data.

In August 2024, at the age of 88, iconic daytime TV talk host Phil Donahue passed away. On Monday, Donahue, who interviewed authors and actors, politicians and polemics, over a decades-spanning career, was honored right where it began: a broadcast TV station serving the Miami Valley today owned by Nexstar.

The Media and Democracy Project has urged a D.C. federal appeals court to compel the FCC to hold a full Commission vote on whether to grant or toss the advocacy group's petition linked to its ongoing desire to deny a regular license renewal for a Fox Television Stations-owned property in Philadelphia.

Sports viewership is up, and it's rising fastest among younger fans. Hub Entertainment Research's latest wave of “Evolution of Sports – What’s the Score?” has all of the details.

With the Trump Administration and Canada's PM, Mark Carney, dancing a tariff tango, some may wonder if the resulting effects will include, to some extent, a pullback on advertising commitments across North America. Not at all, a newly released global ad forecast from Madison & Wall shows.

New capabilities from Comscore AI Intelligence have been brought to market, and the company seeking to provide consumer data and consumption insights believes this can offer brands and publishers the ability to measure sponsored chat-based advertising and establish its impact on digital traffic, engagement, and consumer behavior.