the HOT List

With roughly four hours to go before NBC's coverage of Super Bowl LVI was to begin, Mediacom cable TV service subscribers in the Minneapolis-St. Paul DMA, Arizona's Prescott Valley region, and the home of the NFC Champions from 1994-2015 have regained the opportunity to watch the "Big Game" without having to resort to "rabbit ears" or other alternatives.

Some companies do it to award shareholders. Others to it to attract them. For Nielsen, the latter appears to be the incorrect response from Wall Street of the decision by its Board of Directors to declare a quarterly cash dividend.

With two former Cox Media Group FMs now set to become Spanish-language properties in a pair of hot growth markets, the only remaining question until now involved the value of the deal. We now have an answer.

Few, if any, in the radio business would lump Sirius XM alongside the likes of iHeartMedia, Audacy Inc., and Cumulus Media. Yet, a newly released market research report that looks at "radio" on a global scale has.

Spanish Broadcasting System has emerged victorious as the buyer of Rhythmic Top 40 WPYO-FM 95.3 in Maitland, Fla., serving the Orlando market, and Alternative WSUN-FM 97.1 in Holiday, Fla., serving the Tampa Bay region. Executives at SBS and Cox Media Group and broker Elliot Evers offered comments on the deal.

The Walt Disney Co.'s fiscal first quarter of 2022 ended on January 1. How did the company do in its first three months of the fiscal year? As CEO Bob Chapek sees it, "We’ve had a very strong start to the fiscal year." Thank Encanto and a rise in streaming portfolio subscriptions for that positive news. The company's linear networks saw lackluster results.

While Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) spoke warmly of Sohn, Republican members — led by Ranking Member Roger Wicker — came armed with questions for Sohn on two key topics: her ties to now-shuttered "vOTA" service Locast and the timing and monetary value of its settlement agreement, and her agreement to sit out on matters involving retrans consent or TV broadcast copyright for the first three years of her term.

Byron Allen may be taking a page from Jeff Smulyan's playbook by confirming his interest in owning the Denver Broncos NFL team. The revelation also notes that it was the Commissioner of the National Football League, and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, who suggested to Allen three years ago that he consider the investment.

"Against the high bar we set in our fiscal second quarter last year, we have once again delivered revenue and adjusted EBITDA growth in the second quarter of our 2022 fiscal year, while continuing to invest in our digital growth initiatives," FOX CEO Lachlan Murdoch said.

In a stunning turn of events, a Nevada Federal Bankruptcy Judge has — in an oral ruling — paved the way for Ed Stolz, who lost ownership of his three FM radio stations in a protracted California federal court battle over unpaid music royalty fees, to regain ownership of the properties. What does this mean? Larry Patrick talks exclusively to RBR+TVBR.

With the release of its fourth-quarter 2021 financial results, Beasley Media Group is on a strong path toward returning to its 2019 growth initiatives. Growth across its Top Four advertising categories was strong, with significant year-over-year growth. But, how was Automotive?

Until its merger with Meredith Corporation, Atlanta-headquartered Gray Television didn't own a broadcast TV station in its home market. With the FCC's blessing, it will be adding a third over-the-air station to its collection in The A. What's the deal's value? We have the details.

With minutes ticking to the prime-time delayed start of the 2022 Winter Olympics on NBC, DISH and TEGNA agreed to a new retransmission consent agreement, ending a bruising battle between the DBS provider and TV station owner. But, is a reported per-share buyout plan of TEGNA by Soohyung Kim-led Standard General a second reason for a sudden deal?

A FCC-mandated sale of two FM radio stations in Florida is about to transpire, and industry observers are eagerly awaiting news of the pending transactions. Is one buyer taking both of the stations? Has a second buyer emerged? Little is being said privately about the matter, as chatter about when the deal will be finalized has grown.

What do the longtime Miami-based singer known for "Conga" and "Coming out of the Dark" and a longtime Inside the Beltway figure who once worked on antitrust litigation and merger reviews as an associate with Howrey LLP have in common? Both have thoughts worthy enough for sharing at a House Judiciary Committee hearing devoted to legislation that would impose new royalty fees on Radio.