the HOT List

In a further rebuke of overtures from a spurned Paramount Skydance that it wants its own deal to get a relook and serious consideration, Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery on Tuesday revealed that they've tweaked their merger agreement. 

Seven radio broadcasting companies have united to express their quest for FCC rule modernization — or, as they put it, the removal of "archaic regulatory burdens that restrict radio's ability to compete in the modern marketplace." In a separate filing, the National Association of Broadcasters offered a similar argument.

What do Black consumers have in common with fellow multicultural cohorts Hispanics and Asians? They cannot be lumped into a single group when it comes to media behavior preferences, states a new "Diverse Intelligence Series" report released on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day by Nielsen.

The E.W. Scripps Co. has said no. Sinclair Inc. appears it will not easily take no for an answer, as the broadcast TV station ownership group and parent of broadcast tower manufacturer Dielectric has provided investors with an update on its one-sided merger proposal discussions with the company led by Adam Symson.

Urban One's Board of Directors has moved forward with a reverse stock split of all its classes of its common stock — including its publicly traded Class A and Class D common stock. What does this mean for Urban One shareholders?

The FCC "has outlived the economic and technological conditions that justified its creation." That's the view of American Enterprise Institute nonresident senior fellow Mark Jamison. In a "working paper," Jamison explains how the Commission is presently in a "mission vacuum," and should disappear.

The NAB has distributed a communiqué touting how "free, local broadcast television and radio stations are more than trusted sources of news, emergency updates and community connection." For the association, radio and TV stations "are a vital infrastructure supporting every corner of American life."

Acrimony was met with cordiality as the House Energy & Commerce Committee conducted a lengthy oversight hearing of the FCC. It was expected, with friendly GOP leaders effusive as Democrats largely blasted the Trump Administration for what it views as meritless meddling. 

The FCC adopted and released a Protective Order that codifies procedures that limits access to proprietary or confidential information in its consideration of Nexstar Media Group's proposed acquisition of TEGNA — a deal that cannot be done without Commission rule "modernization" or waivers.

Thanks to a bipartisan appropriations bill, Congress has approved the dollars the FCC has asked for in its FY 2026 budget request — locking in a move under Chairman Brendan Carr to make the Commission a leaner, technology-driven compliance model.

A strong fiscal Q1 2026 for Radio and another troubling quarter for TV were expected by Corus Entertainment executives. For CEO John Gossling, his focus is on the company's "significant progress" in closing Corus' proposed recapitalization plan reducing its $500 million CDN-plus in debt and liabilities.

It is an Audacy-owned FM serving the Bay Area for nearly 15 years with sports-focused programming. To help boost its audience and signal penetration to the south, this Class B facility licensed to San Francisco and using a San Bruno tower has signed a deal with GeoBroadcast Solutions.

Last month, the FCC's Media Bureau disagreed with Altafiber that Nexstar Media Group engaged in "good faith" violations as they pertain to retransmission consent negotiations. Altafiber isn't satisfied with acting Bureau Chief Erin Boone's decision, and wants the three voting members of the FCC to consider its case.

Do the Supreme Court’s recent decisions in Loper Bright and Jarkesy deliver the message that a federal agency’s financial penalty decision could not be the final one, leaving it to the judicial system to assess? Verizon and AT&T each think so, and sought input from the Supreme Court. Its now agreed to review the matter.

On August 14, 2025, Nexstar Media Group shares surged to an all-time high of $211.31, and then began a three-month downturn. Since then, however, Nasdaq-traded "NXST" has experienced a sharp rebound, with a strong upward trajectory that began in early December. It hasn't ceased.