the HOT List

Radio + Television Business Report's Winter 2026 magazine is a digital PDF in flipbook format, making it easy to read on the web browser and device of your choice. You can download it for on-demand reading, too, as this 32-page publication is full of stories you'll want to go back to and share with your team.

Even as WROV-FM is iHeartMedia's top-rated station in Roanoke-Lynchburg, the company filed a minor change application with the FCC proposing a city of license change. The Media Bureau's response? Amend your application, and then we'll consider the ask.

It is a broadcast TV station aligned with MyNetworkTV that was sold by Cox Media Group to Imagicomm Communications in August 2022 and, subsequently, to Todd Parkin-led Rincon Broadcasting Group in July 2025. Now, less than one year later, Parkin is selling this Tulsa TV property.

The Howard Stirk Holdings-owned NBC affiliate serving Flint, Mich.; a property serving Traverse City, Mich., owned by Cunningham Broadcasting; and the Deerfield Media-owned ABC affiliate serving Rochester, N.Y., are each on track to become Sinclair-owned properties, thanks to a fresh FCC decision.

As part of federal Salute to America 250 efforts, the Chairman of the FCC has moved forward with the creation of the "Pledge America Campaign." The goal? Brendan Carr asks broadcasters to pledge to provide programming that promotes "civic education, national pride, and our shared history."

The NAB’s former EVP of Technology and Chief Technology Officer now focuses exclusively on an-ATSC 3.0-fueled alternative to GPS. In the Winter 2026 RBR+TVBR magazine, out now, Sam Matheny shares why making the Broadcast Positioning System a reality is a priority.

The association filed reply comments in the FCC's proceeding on the advancement of the new broadcast television standard known as ATSC 3.0, urging the Commission to waste no time in getting more licensees on board. The ultimate goal? Saying goodbye to the current digital TV standard, which isn't so easy.

The lone Democratic vote-maker on the Federal Communications Commission has made it clear that the Nexstar Media Group merger with TEGNA deserves a full Commission vote — and that this, as is being rumored, will not transpire.

When it comes to the FCC's "equal time" advisory, is Television getting more scrutiny than Radio? That's a question posed to Chairman Brendan Carr by a reporter during a post-February Open Meeting Press Conference on Wednesday morning, during which he assailed Texas U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico.

RBR+TVBR Editor-In-Chief Adam R Jacobson attended last week's all-important Senate Commerce Committee hearing on the national TV ownership reach cap. He offers a report that features highlights from the hearing, and offers an VIP behind-the-scenes look at what's happening at NAB Headquarters.

With the rumor mill in high gear ahead of the FCC's February Open Meeting that waivers permitting Nexstar Media Group to merge with TEGNA could be just days away, the company founded more than 30 years ago with a single station in Scranton, Pa., is gearing up for two institutional investor conferences.

ATSC President Madeleine Noland is working hard to bring all of the benefits of the new digital broadcast TV standard to fruition. For viewers, new dongles and set-top boxes are a key consumer advancement. Noland speaks exclusively to RBR+TVBR about the new ways to access NEXTGEN TV, and it's in our Spring 2026 magazine.

A federal judge in a Delaware District Court recommended Thursday that a Motion to Dismiss filed by a defendant in a patent infringement case filed by Nielsen be granted — thus thwarting the nation's dominant audience measurement and data analytics firm in its legal claim of bespoke technology.

The Patrick Quinn-led PQ Media forecasts that the U.S. is expected to post much stronger growth in 2026 — thanks to the FIFA World Cup, potentially robust midterm political ad spending, and Winter Olympics coverage on NBCUniversal channels.

Ralph Oakley remains a titan of over-the-air television in retirement. The NAB will recognize Oakley's achievements as the head of Quincy Media, Inc., at the upcoming State Leadership Conference in Washington, D.C.