When it came time for Gray Television to deliver its Q2 2023 results, difficult comps to a political ad-fueled second quarter of 2022 were offset by a 14% rise in retransmission consent fees. Now, along with its Q1 2024 financial results, the broadcast television station group headed by Hilton Howell Jr. and Pat LaPlatney has also offered guidance for Q2.
How did Gray fare, and are the second quarter numbers shaping up to beat last year’s results?
At the end of 2018, DJ Wilson retired as President/GM of TEGNA‘s NBC affiliate serving Portland, Ore., ending a 12-year run at the successful station. He was succeeded by Steve Carter, who transferred from KUSA-9 in Denver to take the role.
As of June 3, Carter’s duties will be handed to the News Director at KGW-8 as Carter will also be retiring, RBR+TVBR has confirmed.
NEW YORK — An “FM Scam” has been uncovered as the newest “audio fraud” scheme to surface, a matter in which fraudsters pretended to be some 500,000 devices, including phones and tablets, that used for music streaming.
The reason? To fake engagement with audio ads.
If you’re a DirecTV streaming customer in four cities where The CW Network affiliate is owned by Gray Television, you can now view these channels thanks to a new carriage agreement.
A DirecTV spokesperson tells RBR+TVBR that as of today the following stations are now on the streaming channel lineups for their respective DMAs:
The May 7 announcement follows DirecTV’s April 18 agreement to begin offering its streaming customers access to The CW affiliates in eight markets. Each of those stations are owned by entities other than Nexstar Media Group, the controlling interest holder in The CW.
The April 18 deal included one Gray Television station: WUAB-43 in Cleveland. It is a former Raycom station.
An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated the former owner of this TV station. Additionally, all Gray television stations are negotiated under the same agreement.
For marketers, a multimedia approach that includes digital, social and linear media in English and in Spanish is the winning recipe to a successful advertising campaign when seeking U.S. Hispanic consumers.
Fresh takeaways from Cumulus Media and Westwood One Chief Insights Officer Pierre Bouvard and Nielsen VP of Cross Platform Insights Tony Hereau only strengthen this point, and they’ll present their all-new sales success stories at the 2024 Hispanic Radio Conference.
Among the key talking points Bouvard and Hereau will share at a session they’ll participate in are the following:
Join Pierre, Tony, and Hispanic radio broadcasters at the 15th Hispanic Radio Conference for this and other compelling sessions designed to help drive more ratings, revenue, and shared resources to your stations.
It’s the only conference dedicated solely to Hispanic radio! Register now!
For those looking for answers as to why The Walt Disney Co. stock price fell by 9.5% in trading on Tuesday, one can indeed look to Disney+ as a culprit. In fact, some investors may be wondering if the movie studio and ABC Television Network need a bit more dollar-attracting pixie dust.
Douglas, Ariz., to many is at the center of a border “crisis” between the U.S. and Mexico. The small town, a two-hour drive from Tucson, is directly opposite Agua Prieta, Sonora. Twin walls separate much of the two municipalities, with Border Patrol agents on the U.S. side regularly on duty.
Here, Donna Henderson has operated the lone AM emanating from the American side of the border as a regional Mexican station. Its FM sister features a Country format. Pending FCC approval, Henderson, whose husband signed on the FM in March 1990 and died of a short illness in November 2015, will soon be its former owner.
Since July 2020, it has served Grand Rapids with an Adult R&B format via an expanded-band AM and its accompanying FM translator. Now, this operation branded as “102.5 The Ride” is poised to change hands, pending FCC approval.
But, the move ensures the continuation of the current presentation.
The first quarter performance from Gray Television was just what the doctor ordered on a day when one radio broadcasting company engaged in a 7% reduction-in-force initiative as another AM and FM station owner explained why a shareholder “say on pay” vote that yielded a strong “no” on salaries for its C-Suite leaders was simply advisory, with the salaries getting a rubber stamp from management.
In this InFOCUS Podcast, presented by dot.FM, we hear from Gray leaders Hilton Howell Jr., Pat LaPlatney and Sandy Breland as well as outgoing CFO Jim Ryan and his successor as we review not only a stellar Q1, but strong guidance, while Howell chided Wall Street for not paying full attention to the company’s achievements.
Listen to “The InFOCUS Podcast: Gray Q1 2024 Earnings” on Spreaker.
Nearly two years ago, The CW Network affiliate serving the Alamo City became the ATSC 3.0 “lighthouse” station for San Antonio for four of the market’s broadcast television facilities, with neither TEGNA nor Graham Media Group choosing to participate with Sinclair Inc.
Now, both groups’ local stations have hopped on the NEXTGEN TV bandwagon, as have two of the market’s biggest Spanish-language television stations and its PBS Member station, too.
At long last, TEGNA’s CBS-affiliated KENS-5 and Graham Media Group’s ABC-affiliated KSAT-12 are offering NEXTGEN TV signals to those in San Antonio.
They are joined for the first time by TelevisaUnivision-owned KWEX-41; NBCUniversal Local‘s Telemundo O&O, KVDA-60; and KLRN-9, the leading educational noncommercial station in San Antonio.
According to KSAT General Manager Ashley Parker, “NEXTGEN TV is in high demand in San Antonio. Local broadcasters are dedicated to growing this free service in the San Antonio area and providing valuable local news, sports and entertainment. NEXTGEN TV’s emergency alert and dual language capabilities are essential to residents and we’re proud that we can give them even more options now.”
The five stations are being hosted by a second “lighthouse” station; RBR+TVBR has confirmed it is KSAT-12.
This property joins the first “lighthouse” for NEXTGEN TV in San Antonio — Deerfield Media-owned station KMYS-33, operated by Sinclair Broadcast Group via a Joint Sales and Shared Services Agreement. That property since June 2022 has hosted the ATSC 3.0 signals for KABB-29, the FOX affiliate owned by Sinclair; NBC-affiliated WOAI-4, also owned by Sinclair; and KCWX-2, a Corridor Television-owned MyNetwork TV affiliate in San Antonio.
It is a public charity that supports philanthropic causes important to The E.W. Scripps Company and the communities it serves, with a special emphasis on journalism education, excellence in journalism and childhood literacy. In January, its President/CEO announced her retirement. Now, her successor has been named.
Taking the head role at the Scripps Howard Fund is Meredith Delaney.
She begins her new position on Wednesday (5/8), and rises from Director of Philanthropic Strategies. Before that, she was Director of Development. Delaney joined SHF in 2017.
“Since joining Scripps in 2017, Meredith has been a key member of the Fund’s leadership team through a period during which the Fund focused efforts on making an even greater impact on the communities we serve,” Scripps President/CEO Adam Symson said. “While leading our annual childhood literacy campaign, she has also led new initiatives to connect our stations with meaningful local causes that align our brands in order to maximize the benefit to our communities. I am confident that the Scripps Howard Fund will be in good hands – continuing to create informed and engaged communities across the country.”
Delaney commented, “This job is incredibly gratifying. When I see the impact we’re making across our programs, I’m so inspired. It’s truly a privilege to serve an organization so deeply rooted in a legacy of investing in journalism education, childhood literacy and caring for the communities that Scripps calls home.”
WASHINGTON, D.C. — An individual who has played a key role in expanding the company’s distribution relationships and advocacy efforts, previously the SVP of Distribution and Government Affairs, has been given Executive VP stripes at Hearst Television.
The Spanish-language noncommercial broadcast entity known as Radio Bilingüe is experiencing its first leadership change in the Latino-focused radio network’s 45-year history.
Founder and long-serving executive director Hugo Morales will now share his role at the “national Latino public radio network” with a newly appointed co-director — José Martínez Saldaña.
This shift was announced on the network’s Línea Abierta program.
Saldaña, who has a background in youth-focused non-profit leadership, joins Morales in a trial co-executive arrangement that will be evaluated after a year.
His journey is deeply rooted in the immigrant experience, having moved to the United States from Michoacán, Mexico, at the age of eight.
Saldaña’s career has largely focused on assisting high school students, including many from migrant backgrounds, to access higher education.
The leadership change coincides with operational shifts within the network, first reported by Streamline Publishing’s Radio Ink.
María Araña has transitioned from director of operations to a role as producer and senior advisor, with José Morán stepping in as the new director of operations.
Radio Bilingue acquired its first radio station in 1980, in the San Joaquin Valley of California; its roots predate the company, with a Fresno-area radio show debuting in 1976 on a noncommercial FM radio station that is now KSJV-FM 91.5. Today, Radio Bilingue continues on that station; it can be heard on owned stations and affiliates in California, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas, as well as in Puerto Rico and in parts of Canada.
Radio Bilingüe in November 2024 was awarded a $2 million grant from the State of California. Thefunding, sourced from the State General Funds, will facilitate the expansion of Radio Bilingüe’s facility in Fresno. The enhanced facility will feature areas specifically designed for youth radio education and community events.
— With reporting by Cameron Coats in New York and RBR+TVBR in San Luis Obispo, Calif.
Following Wednesday’s Closing Bell on the NYSE in lower Manhattan, DTS AutoStage, HD Radio and TiVo parent Xperi Corp., fresh off another strong NAB Show in Las Vegas, releases its Q1 2024 earnings report.
What can investors anticipate from the broadcast technology company earning accolades for its connected car offerings?
There’s a new effort taking shape for Dairy Queen, and the venerable quick-service restauranteur and ice cream chain is using spot cable to get its marketing messages across in the most efficient way.
