Broadcasting Stocks

Here's something few thought they'd see to start the first full trading week of 2019: Townsquare Media's shares are on a clear rebound, thanks to a big change in its executive ranks. In fact, TSQ has a much higher price at the moment than Beasley Media Group, a company in some of the nation's biggest markets that's mired in a big stock slump.

A surge in media industry stock values was seen on Friday, largely thanks to a highly positive employment report for December 2018 nevertheless clouded by a partial shutdown of the Federal government.

So far in 2019, with the turmoil of Les Moonves and the drama of a possible reunification with Viacom in the rear-view mirror, CBS shares are on the upswing. On Thursday, a climb was seen as the company put the onus on Nielsen to get its act together should it want a new ratings contract.

With Townsquare Media preparing to make Bill Wilson is sole CEO, investors reacted positively to the surprising announcement made prior to Wednesday's opening bell on NYSE. TSQ shares surged across the trading day, ending up 23.3% to move past the $5 mark.

In early July, Salem Media Group stock was nearing the $6 mark. Today, it sits at $2.12. That's a price not seen since July 2009, at the height of the Great Recession. As such, is Ed Atsinger earning too much?

AI-powered attribution specialist Veritone Inc.'s fall 2017 stock surge, and subsequent dip, has been a much-reported story. Now, some may wish Veritone stock was worth even half of what it was priced a year ago.

Nielsen has a new deal with Hearst Television. It has a relatively new CEO. Yet, its share price continues to sag. On Thursday, Nielsen stock dipped to a fresh five-year low.

What do Saga Communications and Entercom have in common? Not much, actually. Now, unfortunately, they are linked on Wall Street as two radio broadcasting companies suffering their biggest stock slump since Barack Obama was in the midst of his successful reelection campaign.

As the 2pm Eastern hour neared on the Friday before Christmas, investors expressed their frustration with a deceleration of economic growth and the spectre of a Federal government shutdown -- something expect to be prevented today by the House of Representatives. Tech stocks, and media stocks, were among the biggest decliners.

Close observers of Beasley Broadcast Group's stock have noticed an odd trend of late: when the overall market goes south, Beasley shares seem to rise. That's just what happened on Thursday.

The U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday raised interest rates, noting that "some" further rate hikes would be necessary in the next 12 months. Investors reacted angrily, sending general indices on Wall Street southward. For Veritone Inc., the damage was substantial.

Barack Obama was seeking a second term in office. The No. 1 song in the U.S. was "Call Me Maybe." And, Entercom shares were trading between $5.44 and $6.33 a share. Entercom just turned back the clock on Wall Street, with its shares now at their lowest closing price since July 2012.

A Boston-based investment firm appears to have ironed out its differences with the entity representing iHeartMedia's legacy noteholders — a sign that iHeart's release from debtor-in-possession status by a Houston-based bankruptcy court is chugging along toward a January 2019 resolution.

It's been a bad December for many a media company's publicly traded stock. On Monday, CBS shares slid to a price last seen in October 2015. Then, the bomb dropped on Les Moonves: He's getting no severance.

Don't panic ... or, try not to. Media stocks slumped along with general indices on a frightful Friday for Wall Street. Another dip was seen for Beasley. That said, only CBS, Tribune Media and Emmis saw gains, and the losses were ugly.