the HOT List

As Mary Berner sees it, there's a "dichotomy" between local and national revenue that is playing a key role in the company's profit and loss sheet, as Cumulus saw its net revenue drop and its net income shrink against tough comps.

For Comcast Corp., which owns NBCUniversal, the Peacock OTT losses are subsiding. Theme park business is bustling. But its Xfinity home internet service is showing signs of a slowdown, with a Q3 2023 decline many didn't foresee. That news sent Comcast shares down sharply in Thursday's trading. 

Noted media industry financial analyst Brian Wieser can't get past the fact that television advertising "struggles to grow." Now, he's offered suggestions as to what the industry can do to combat the problem.

On Wednesday RBR+TVBR shared the news that American Tower Corp. co-founder Tom Stoner has died. Now, a CEO shift is set to commence at the company once led by the late Steve Dodge, as its President/CEO has announced his retirement.

"My focus was on analytics and the use of data to inform cross-media planning, buying and forecasting," says John Fix. "Along the way I developed a passion for radio, which resulted in a 15X adoption of Radio in 2 years." Now, the "Most Senior Media Analyst" at P&G is concluding his career.

The positive impact AI can bring to Radio proved to be one of the key discussion topics at the NAB Show New York's second annual executive seminar for an industry eager for new revenue streams while watching their P&L line. Among those on hand were the heads of Alpha Media and Cox Media Group's AM and FM stations.

Here's a nugget sales associates working at broadcast radio stations might want to weave into their client pitches: The current "Share of Ear" for podcasts is now greater than that for Sirius XM Satellite Radio and TV music channels combined.

Seven stations in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale DMA did not participate in the Pearl TV-directed NEXTGEN TV rollout seen at the start of 2023. Now, nearly one year after the Pearl TV-managed launch in the DMA, the ABC affiliate controlled by a Berkshire Hathaway affiliate is readying its transition to ATSC 3.0-powered broadcasts.

While TelevisaUnivision is not publicly traded, the Hispanic-targeted media company's quarterly financial results paint an important portrait as to the health of an entity squarely focused on a vitally important growth market for the U.S. How did it perform in Q3? Growth broke records, CEO Wade Davis says.

Add the Chapter 11 trustee assigned by a Nevada Bankruptcy Court to direct the liquidation sale of Royce International's entire radio station portfolio to the growing list of individuals who have filed legal complaints against Ed Stolz.

The three companies will work together on strategic business development initiatives that emphasize how the technology can help broadcasters create spec ads for sponsors on demand. The announcement comes on the eve of NAB Show New York.

Sixty-four months ago, a new entrant to radio ownership emerged. Four FM radio stations in North Carolina and a pair of FMs in Muscatine, Iowa, were acquired by a pastor with rich experience in radio sales. Now, the stations are to be auctioned off as part of a Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation.

It's hardly a surprise that the 2024 U.S. presidential election will likely bring more political ad dollars to broadcast media than in any prior political season. Just how impactful to local advertising dollars is the election-oriented activity?  Ex-political, the growth rate between 2023 and 2024 decreases by 6.4%, newly released data from BIA Advisory Services show.

California federal district judge Jesus Bernal on Thursday issued a scathing order essentially telling Ed Stolz to cease any further attempts to undo a decision to place the three FMs once-controlled by Stolz's Royce International Broadcasting into receivership. Meanwhile, a Nevada federal bankruptcy court's own auction of all of Stolz's stations is proceeding.

In May 2021, the ABC affiliate serving Southern Nevada petitioned the FCC to shift its digital broadcast channel from VHF Channel 13 to UHF Channel 26. A low-power television station using Channel 26 opposed the plan. Now, the Media Bureau's Video Division Chief has decided on the matter, and The E.W. Scripps Co. is the winner.