the HOT List

A newly released S&P Global ratings report uses a schoolyard playground as a setting for its Q4 2022 economic outlook for the U.S. In short, it's a "teeter totter" fiscal forecast for the 50 states and its territories.

Diamond Sports Group, the Sinclair Broadcast Group-associated business that is the parent of Bally Sports, has just ensured access to a legion of over-the-top (OTT) TV content consumers thanks to a big agreement that took effect on Monday.

For more than 2 1/2 years, a man named Justin Howze has been seeking the FCC to reconsider its approval of an application from a licensee directly tied to iHeartMedia that gives it the opportunity to build a brand-new radio station for a San Joaquin Valley city that has quickly become a bedroom community to both Sacramento and San Francisco. Howze's latest effort has just been tossed by the full Commission.

Across 2022, Gray Television has snapped up LPTVs and FM translators as it seeks to ensure full-market availability of its broadcast TV stations in an era full of cord-cutting while gearing up for the riches associated with ATSC 3.0 on the broadcast internet and data services side of the coin. Now, it is adding a TV translator in the Lone Star State.

Veteran KTLA-5 in Los Angeles reporter Lynette Romero's departure from the station, announced by Sam Rubin on the air during a Sept. 14 newscast, was the talk of the town. It came as a surprise to many, and led one KTLA anchor to elicit an emotional response on-the-air last Saturday. It is now known that the nearly five-minute "apology" to viewers has cost him his job.

The combination of an intimate in-person affair and a more in-depth online program proved to be a big success for the TVB's annual Forward Conference, allowing attendees to gain insight and knowledge on a host of vitally important topics to TV industry leaders — most notably, measurement.

Two weeks ago, Sen. Ted Cruz pierced a dagger through the heart of the "Journalism Competition and Preservation Act." After bill co-sponsors John Kennedy and Amy Klobuchar discussed Cruz's desires on how the legislation should read, a compromise was reached, leading to a Senate Judiciary Committee vote today. It passed.

Sinclair Broadcast Group and a host of its shared services partners, including Michael Anderson-helmed Cunningham Broadcasting, could be on the hook for a significant portion of the millions of dollars in fines totaled up for apparent FCC violations of its Children's TV programming rules.

BIA Advisory Services has revealed its Top 10 by revenue for both the nation's radio broadcasting companies and for individual AM and FM radio stations in the U.S. What station is No. 1? It is hardly a surprise, as it has been in the No. 1 spot for seven consecutive years and continues to be a spoken word Goliath.

A California U.S. District Court Judge has denied a second Motion to Dismiss filed by one of the world's biggest quick-service restaurants, a move designed to kill a racial discrimination case against the chain submitted by Byron Allen-led Allen Media Group in May 2021. As such, the case, which appeared to be on shaky ground at the end of 2021, will now proceed to a jury trail. But, that won't be happening for several months.

First, it was the nation's No. 1 audio content creation and distribution company. Now, the parent company of all-things NBC and the Spanish-language Telemundo network is entering the metaverse. And, it is thanks to a newly forged partnership with one of the biggest global technology companies helping broadcast TV enter the NEXTGEN era.

The owner of such Boise, Idaho radio brands as "101.9 The Bull," "Wild 101," "My 102.7," and "BOB FM" has enjoyed formidable ratings and revenue success against such national publicly traded companies as Townsquare Media and Cumulus Media in addition to the Kalmenson family's Lotus Communications. Now, this locally owned and operated radio group based in Boise is putting ownership into the hands of its 46 employees.

On Sept. 7, a Republican Senator from Kentucky introduced a bill designed to give local broadcasters and newspapers "much-needed relief from outdated government restrictions." It seems the bill went largely ignored until late Tuesday, when one veteran trade journalist discovered it. But, is it DOA?

Mays founded the San Antonio Broadcasting Company back in 1972. The name was later changed to Clear Channel Communications. Today, it’s known as iHeartMedia.

In early May, RBR+TVBR first shared the news that TelevisaUnivision would be assuming ownership of a streaming platform that's home to films and series en español from a sibling of sorts, thanks to common ownership by Searchlight Capital Partners L.P. Now, that deal has closed, as Hemisphere Media Group claims it has gotten shareholder approval of its acquisition by Searchlight. One institutional stock holder disputes that shareholder OK.