the HOT List

The broadcast television network owned by Paramount Global is launching a major drive to give "historically underrepresented" performers increased opportunities on television, beginning in the ready-to-start 2022-2023 broadcast season.

He was the first chief anchor for Cable News Network, today known simply as CNN, when it was launched by Ted Turner on June 1, 1980. His reporting ranged from the Tiananmen Square protests in Beijing in May 1989 to live coverage of the Persian Gulf War from Baghdad in early 1991. On February 28, 2001, he retired from CNN. Now, the world is remembering Bernard Shaw, who died Wednesday of pneumonia.

On August 12, a security news publication published an article "sounding the alarm on Emergency Alert System flaws." Since then, the story has made the rounds across social media, leading RBR+TVBR to share the article via Twitter. It appears FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel may have read the piece. On Wednesday, Rosenworcel shared with her colleagues a proposed action to bolster the security of the nation’s public alert and warning systems.

Many are predicting the total political advertising dollars associated with the 2022 mid-term election season to be record-smashing, with broadcast television still very strong. What are the markets that are sizzling, with respect to political ad dollar activity? Newly released projections shared exclusively with RBR+TVBR show where all of the heat is from coast to coast.

Ed Stolz seeks to emerge from Chapter 11 reorganization in a Nevada U.S. bankruptcy court — the judicial body that ordered Larry Patrick to return a trio of FMs to Stolz so this court could fully assuage his assets. With a Federal Appeals Court affirming a California District Court ruling that Patrick's receivership was valid, Patrick and his attorneys are shifting their battle to the Silver State. There, they've assailed Stolz's submitted plan to get out of bankruptcy.

While viewers within a NEXTGEN TV's broadcast signal stand ready to enjoy RUN3TV and other features and TV station licensees look forward to a plethora of new revenue generation tools, the NAB believes a sunset of an ATSC 1.0 requirement will help push NEXTGEN TV along a bit quicker — even as recessionary talk clouds U.S. consumer activity and the global ad market.

It's been said in the journalism business that the best way to disseminate not-so-great news is to "dump it" on a Friday afternoon, in particular before a three-day holiday weekend. Is that what the FCC just did with the late Friday release of a Report and Order and Notice of Inquiry on the FCC's Assessment and Collection of Regulatory Fees for fiscal year 2022?

The Ninth Circuit Federal Appeals Court has affirmed a District Court's decision to deny the termination of a receivership that stripped Ed Stolz of his radio stations, placed them in a trust overseen by respected media broker Larry Patrick, and saw the stations sold in a single deal to non-secular broadcast ministry VCY America. "This is a big loss for Stolz," Patrick said. But, is it more symbolic than a determinative action?

It was supposed to happen in early August but was postponed to allow Nielsen to secure agreement with major shareholder The WindAcre Partnership LLC. On September 1, a U.K. court meeting and subsequent shareholder vote went as planned, putting Nielsen on target for a privatization scheduled to close no later than Halloween.

He hinted at an upcoming brand evolution at the CBS affiliate serving Atlanta owned by Gray Television in a recent InFOCUS Podcast. Now, VP/GM Erik Schrader can share all of the details. WGCL-TV, known today as "CBS46," is disappearing. New call letters and branding are on the way — along with a positioning away from its network affiliation. 

Justin Nielson, a Senior Research Analyst for S&P Global Market Intelligence's Kagan arm, has crunched the numbers based on projections and forecasts. While revenue at over-the-air TV is expected to return to pre-pandemic levels, growth over the next six years is expected to be flat.

It was once a niche television station based in Los Angeles that today is a minority-owned and operated media company serving the U.S. Hispanic community as a content hub, talent incubator and cultural advocate. Now, it is getting a bit of sales and marketing support from an entity with roots in Spanish-language broadcast media.

It's great news for the National Association of Broadcasters and the entire radio broadcasting industry, and perhaps not-so-great news for former Congressman Joe Crowley and pro-music industry advocacy organization musicFIRST.

Media stocks were largely in the red on Friday. Why? Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the Fed would more than likely move forward with additional interest rate hikes in the coming months. This would tighten credit for many households, and has the potential for layoffs.

In recognition of the late Frank Boyle’s contributions to the broadcast media industry, Citadel Communications President/COO Ray Cole penned a heartfelt tribute. Boyle is widely known for his time at Eastman Radio, and as a successful media broker. RBR+TVBR is pleased to share Cole's words, and several e-mail exchanges he enjoyed with Boyle in recent years.