the HOT List

A new multi-year affiliation agreement is in place that will prevent a "great affiliate switch" from taking shape in some 47 local TV markets across the U.S. It's thanks to a pact signed by the company that will soon complete its merger with Meredith Local Media. 

Should the FCC be required under Federal law to 'modernize" reporting requirements related to political advertising aired by broadcasters by making reports machine-readable? That's the goal of the newly introduced Fair and Clear Campaign (FCC) Transparency Act.

A months-long battle between the financial backer of one of the U.K.'s biggest radio broadcasting companies and the largest radio, audio streaming and podcast entity in the U.S. has suddenly ceased, as Global Media & Entertainment Investments will no longer seek to take as much as a 49.99% non-controlling equity interest in iHeartMedia.

Many things are brewing Inside the Beltway that could impact your bottom line in 2022 and beyond. From Capitol Hill to the Commission's new offices near Union Station, Washington is abuzz with broadcast media bills and proposals. Who better than Fletcher Heald and Hildreth attorney Frank Montero to lead a Forecast 2022 discussion on the myriad regulatory challenges and opportunities ahead for broadcasters?

In a significant move that signals a likely lobbying victory for the NAB, the full FCC on Friday released a Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking adopted on November 4 that would allow digital multicast NEXTGEN TV channels to effectively be licensed in the same manner as their host station.

According to analysts polled by Zacks Equity Research, The E.W. Scripps Co. — a much bigger operation today than a year ago thanks to its merger with Ion Media — was expected to post earnings per share of $0.12 in Q3. That would have reflected an 84.2% year-over-year decline, impacted by fewer political ad dollars. How did Scripps perform?

The third quarter of 2020 brought broadcast media an incredible amount of political advertising, boosting revenue to unprecedented heights across the broadcast TV landscape. One year later, with fewer political ad dollars, losses are expected. But, how big the loss is has emerged as the key investor question. At Graham Media Group, the decrease was in the mid-single-digits.

The third quarter 2021 results from the largest audio content creator and distributor in the U.S., iHeartMedia, were released shortly before the company's two top leaders, Bob Pittman and Rich Bressler, played host to analysts and investors in a conference call scheduled for 4:30pm Eastern. How did the company do?

With home improvement, insurance, education, CPG and finance showing no signs of a slowdown, the owner of broadcast TV stations and the Premion Connected TV/OTT advertising platform for regional and local advertisers enjoyed a strong Q3, easily beating the forecast of analysts polled by Zacks Equity Research.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate was for net revenue that came in higher than anticipated. But, instead of positive earnings per share growth, Gray Television's EPS ended up in the negative, with the company suffering a net loss in Q3 2021. Investors expressed their disappointment by sending GTN down 5.3%, even though the loss reflects divestments tied to two big deals designed to make Gray a bigger local TV player.

"Our outstanding third quarter results underscore the enormous opportunities that lie ahead for Univision.” That positive statement comes courtesy of Wade Davis, who earlier this year succeed Vince Sadusky as CEO of Univision Communications. Just how strong was Q3 for Univision?

On October 25, it was trumpeting how support was piling up for its ONE Casino + Resort, a proposed 100,000-square foot destination bringing "unrivaled gaming entertainment" to the Southside portion of Virginia's capital city, Richmond. Now, Urban One appears to be headed to Plan B, as official results released Wednesday morning confirm a referendum on the casino has failed to pass.

Analysts expected Sinclair Broadcast Group to release third quarter earnings results on Wednesday morning reflecting a $0.95 per share loss on revenue of $1.58 billion. The EPS is a year-over-year change of a whopping 144.6%, despite a 2.4% gain in revenue from Q3 2020. How did the company led by Chris Ripley do?

It was Wolfe Research analyst John Janedis who was first in a Q&A period during Nexstar Media Group's Q3 2021 to ask about supply chain concerns at its advertisers. Nexstar's CEO and CFO each acknowledged that there is an impact. But, Chief Financial Officer Tom Carter says growth in 14 of 25 categories is "more than making up" the loss.

On October 26, Zacks Equity Research predicted that the nation's No. 1 licensee of television stations, Nexstar Media Group, would post quarterly earnings of $4.05 per share in Q3 2021, with revenues reaching $1.14 billion, up 2% from one year ago. With the company's stock less than $6 from an all-time high reached in late September, did Nexstar meet those forecasts? Yes.