the HOT List

How powerful are television advertisements when it comes to recall? A new Comcast Advertising report demonstrates that ads "in the TV environment" have "a unique ability to drive memories." That's great news for broadcast television, as it competes for ad budgets — and dollars — against mobile and digital video platforms.

The war between the NAB and GeoBroadcast Solutions, the Chris Devine-helmed company seeking FCC approval of program origination from FM boosters — the lynchpin to the commercialization of its "ZoneCasting" technology — has been further enflamed with the revelation that four licensees want their names removed from a petition in front of the Commission that lists each of them as GBS supporters.

In April, he quietly exited the role of President/GM of KNBC-4 in Los Angeles, a role he'd been appointed to in September 2011.  Would Steve Carlston soon be reemerging, perhaps across town after any sort of noncompete agreement was fulfilled? The answer is now known, and it is an emphatic yes.

SiriusXM has unveiled plans that will see the 2023 opening of a broadcast center on a busy stretch of one of the world's most popular entertainment and holiday destinations. 

A private equity consortium composed of a one-time dissident shareholder has completed its all-cash acquisition of Nielsen Holdings plc, a transaction that, including debt, is being valued at $16 billion.

Across its history, the 92.3 MHz frequency has been home to Disco, Howard Stern, Nick Cannon and, as of today, Alternative rock. Starting Thursday, October 27, it will now offer "all news, all the time" as part of a simulcast of a longtime AM radio station once part of the Westinghouse family.

It went on the market in August 2020. Now, a buyer has emerged for the three-story Howard Street complex that houses iHeartMedia's offices and studios in New Orleans. The facility is just north of WDSU-TV's longtime home and three blocks from the famed St. Charles Streetcar.

"Today we said goodbye to the legendary KGO." That's the startling announcement that came on Thursday morning from the storied news and information station serving the San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose market for 80 years. A pre-recorded loop began playing in the middle of regular programming. It likely won't stop until Monday, when "810 AM begins a new era."

On July 12, a Federal Appeals Court vacated a FCC order mandating disclosures for foreign government-sponsored programming. It was a victory for advocacy groups such as the NAB, MMTC and NABOB, which teamed up to challenge the rules. Now, the Commission is starting all over again in its quest to "strengthen the process for identifying foreign governmental entities."

As the FCC considers a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would green-light program origination from FM boosters — key to "ZoneCasting" — a Republican House Member from South Carolina has been joined by 12 colleagues who are taking the fight to stop the GeoBroadcast Solutions technology from lift off straight to Jessica Rosenworcel herself.

Respected media business reporter Sara Fischer of Axios is gaining attention of her own for a "scoop" posted Tuesday morning to the digital media news organization's website — Audacy Corp. has, according to Fischer, hired bankers to explore the sale of Cadence13, a podcasting arm.

Like many professional organizations, the COVID-19 pandemic adversely impacted its operating budget and its ability to generate significant revenue. Now, the group that ended its relationship with the Fontainebleau Miami Beach and will now hold its annual January conference in The Bahamas will be filing a court petition to restructure its business affairs.

Thanks to strong cash flow for the second consecutive quarter, one of the nation's largest broadcast television station owners has opted to reduce its outstanding debt once again.

As expected, the nation's biggest broadcast television station owner has completed its acquisition of a majority interest in the television network that counts among its over-the-air distribution points KTLA-5 in Los Angeles. With the transaction's closing a new President of The CW Network has been named by Nexstar Media Group. Mark Pedowitz is exiting.

It was a weekend of frustration for sports fans and those who simply wanted to watch an ABC Owned Station, if they were a Dish subscriber. A retransmission consent dispute erupted. By Monday, the dispute was over thanks to a handshake agreement.