the HOT List

With the 118th Congress underway, the House Energy and Commerce Republican Leader became Cathy McMorris Rodgers. On Wednesday, nine new GOP Members were appointed to the E&C Committee — including a big supporter of the Local Radio Freedom Act.

RBR+TVBR has confirmed that a 24-year Nielsen veteran who became EVP/Managing Director of Local Television in March 2019 will be adding the responsibilities of Brad Kelly, who is officially exiting on Friday as Managing Director of Nielsen Audio as part of a post-privatization reduction-in-force initiative.

To try to get the FCC's OK, Standard General has since early December offered an array of concessions. It has also repeatedly issued statements touting the worthiness of its planned deal. Now, Standard General has created a website with its version of the "facts" surrounding the deal as its latest ploy to get a deal that dates to September 2021.

"We believe the industry is well-positioned to withstand current inflationary pressures and a shallow recession in 2023 since consumers will continue to prioritize connectivity and issuers have been able to pass on higher costs to customers," S&P Global Ratings credit analyst Allyn Arden said on Monday.

In November 2020, Gray Television submitted a request to change the table of allotments for Memphis, a move that would allow the market's NBC affiliate to upgrade from a VHF to a UHF facility — beneficial in the digital era, in contrast to the now-gone days of analog broadcasts. The FCC has now approved the change.

On January 6, 2020, RBR+TVBR reported on a retransmission consent impasse that led to the "blackout" by Dish of a group of stations managed by Nexstar Media Group but owned by two independent licensees. History repeated itself on Friday.

Richard Chapin, a Nebraska radio executive who spent more than three decades building a Midwest broadcast powerhouse and who was the first broadcaster to serve as the chairman of the National Association of Broadcasters and the Radio Advertising Bureau concurrently, died last week at the age of 99.

Tom Ehlmann has retired as President/GM of NBC Universal Local's two Dallas-Fort Worth properties, reportedly accepting a buyout package in early December 2022. His successor has been named, while NBCU Local has also revealed the new head of its NBC and Telemundo owned stations in Hartford, in the wake of Dianne Hannes' retirement.

She's a 17-year company veteran who rose to SVP of Human Relations at the end of 2007 and, at the end of 2020, had been bumped up from CFO to President of Scripps Networks. Now, she is taking the newly created position of Chief Operations Officer for The E.W. Scripps Co.

Happy New Year from the Commission! Got a few days to spare? If so, the FCC's just-released 2022 Communications Marketplace Report may be worth a read. But, be prepared to download five PDF files — the first of which totals 322 pages. What's the key takeaway? 

With the conclusion of the 117th Congress, President Biden had a choice to make with respect to the still-vacant fifth Commissioner's seat at the FCC. Does his stick with the polarizing Gigi Sohn or nominate someone else? The president chose the former, with the belief that the 118th Congress will say yes.  

In a new twist in the long, winding road to the end of a merger originally anticipated to close at the end of 2022 and as of December 30 was predicted to see a January 31 completion, the Canadian Commissioner of Competition has won a January 24 hearing against Rogers and Shaw at the Federal Court of Appeal.

Walter Ulloa, Chairman and CEO of the company with Hispanic-targeted broadcast media properties that has evolved to a global digital solutions operation, was 74 years of age. On an interim basis, Chris Young, the company's Chief Financial Officer, will serve as interim CEO as the Entravision board seeks an official successor to Ulloa.

The demonstration is a shared effort between Sinclair/ONE Media 3.0; Hyundai Mobis, one of the world’s largest automotive parts and services companies; and CAST.ERA, a joint venture between Sinclair and SK Telecom, the largest mobile operator in Korea.

On December 1, Evoca TV revealed that it would have to "discontinue operations and programming” on Saturday, December 31, if it was unsuccessful in obtaining funds to keep the lights on. RBR+TVBR was first to learn that those efforts have failed, despite late assurances the funding would come.