the HOT List

For a small percentage of viewers to the local ABC affiliate, Wednesday evening brought a most unwelcome occurrence — the inability to watch the station. It's the latest retransmission consent accord to go awry, resulting in a "blackout" of a broadcast TV station. This time, it involves Sinclair Broadcast Group.

It was a somewhat good fourth quarter for Salem Media Group, as total revenue surpassed analysts' forecasts but missed Earnings Per Share forecasts. But, what may be a bigger grey cloud for Salem is how the first quarter of 2023 is playing out.

Gray Television has promoted its five Senior Vice Presidents of Local Media to new roles, with each of these individuals now holding the title of Senior Managing Vice President.

With the passage of the Low Power Protection Act, the LPTV Broadcasters Association, founded by longtime entrepreneur "SuperFrank" Copsidas, was hardly pleased. In its view, the exclusion of dozens and dozens of LPTV facilities resulted from the legislation. Now, the LPTVA is "respectfully requesting" the FCC Media Bureau to implement a change that's actually quite significant.

More than 250 broadcast media executives and celebrities on Monday night feted the former Chairman of the FCC and also honored the CEO of FOX Television Stations, who received the prestigious 2023 Golden Mike Award from the Broadcasters Foundation of America.

In a statement shared by the Washington Post, Gigi B. Sohn said that on Monday night, after discussions with her family and careful consideration, she made the decision to ask President Biden to withdraw her nomination to the FCC. Sohn was blunt in her reasons for withdrawing her nomination after 16 months of wrangling.

Add NAACP National Board Member and New York NAACP President Hazel N. Dukes to the list of individuals who have expressed their discontent to the FCC over the Media Bureau's decision to designate Standard General's pending acquisition of TEGNA to an Administrative Law Judge.

The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Nevada has granted a motion from the region's federal trustee to cut the time needed for her to appoint a Chapter 11 trustee for Royce International Broadcasting. It's a devastating blow to Royce, owned by Ed Stolz.

Is working with Amazon to ensure local digital advertisers get the strongest ROI through a wide distribution effort a more savvy approach than trying to fiercely compete against one of the world's biggest local ad dollar magnets? That's a subject that proved to be a focal point of a key Borrell Miami session.

Standard General believes the FCC's Administrative Law Judge should not be empowered with determining whether or not its proposed acquisition of TEGNA passes regulatory muster. Instead, such an important decision should be left up to the four Commissioners to decide, the Soo Kim-led company implores in a FCC filing.

The advocacy group has responded to the FCC's decision to review its broadcast ownership rules as part of the 2022 Quadrennial Regulatory Review — something the Commission wishes to commence even though its 2018 review remains incomplete. What does the MMTC say? It has a wholly divergent view of deregulatory policy from the NAB and top broadcasters.

The NAB has joined with numerous state and national organizations in sending a brief but succinct letter to Congress on Tuesday (2/28) opposing a proposed rulemaking from the Federal Trade Commission that would outlaw noncompete clauses across the U.S. 

Jordan Wertlieb, the highly respected President of Hearst Television who has held the role for a decade, is earning a promotion. Effective May 1, Wertlieb will rise to the corporate-level post of EVP/Chief Operating Officer of Hearst. Who's succeeding him at Hearst TV?

On its surface, one might wonder why Nexstar saw a Q4 net income dip. The answer: One year ago it did not own The CW Network, which experienced a substantial loss. Subtract out the soon-to-be revamped network, and Nexstar's tale is one of the industry's strongest.

Graham Media Group, the Detroit-headquartered arm of Graham Holdings Company led on a day-to-day basis by Catherine Badalamente, enjoyed both a strong fourth quarter and full-year 2022, with revenue increases largely attributable to a big infusion of political dollars.