the HOT List

The parties involved in the transfer of control of the three former FMs licensed to Royce International Broadcasting Corp. met last week by video conference with the Media Bureau Chief, and the two key leaders in the Audio Division. Why? They, along with the judge overseeing the court-ordered sale of the stations to VCY America, want the Media Bureau to approve the deal already.

The much anticipated Fall 2021 edition of the Radio + Television Business Report's quarterly magazine is NOW AVAILABLE via digital PDF download to all subscribers. It's the exclusive home to this year's Top Local TV Leaders rankings, based on reader nominations; important media technology company updates; and exclusive TV sales salary survey findings.

The "New Jersey News Network," operating on co-channel signals covering Northern New Jersey and the five boroughs of the City of New York, is being sold. Who's the buyer? Look no further than Norman Shapiro.

Is deregulation the deal ignitor needed for radio? Are over-leveraged, revenue-challenged media properties particularly vulnerable, and acquisition targets of cash-rich enterprises? The conversation is poised to continue at a Forecast 2022 session that's worthy of every broadcast leader's presence — and perhaps a financier or broker, too. 

With more years of data to glean from, Media Staffing Network has tracked trends and can offer television station owners and managers valuable insights — information that can empower them to budget accordingly. The report's highlights can be found within the RBR+TVBR Fall 2021 Special Report. The full report has now been released by MSN.

The latest InFOCUS Podcast, presented by dot.fm, expands on the Radio + Television Business Report’s coverage on October 6 of how a radio or television company should act when one of its high-profile employees becomes the subject of allegations that not only harm the individual, but could also damage the station they are associated with. LISTEN HERE

Yet another battle royale over retransmission consent fees has started. This time, it involves one of the nation's two direct broadcast satellite (DBS) companies and the company that Standard General, headed by Soo Kim, and Apollo Global Management seek to own.

Serious allegations against a high-profile on-air personality at a radio or TV can create myriad concerns for the individual being targeted by their accuser. It can also present a host of challenges for the employer of the person being accused. What's a manager to do if a situation mirroring that of Hubbard Broadcasting in Chicago surfaced at their stations?

Monday's big service outages for social media giants Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp are tied to a denial of service (DNS) issue. It's not a cybercrime, but it is a huge threat to broadcast TV and radio. How can one prevent it? Cyber security expert Steve Morgan's upcoming Forecast 2022 appearance couldn't be more timely to tackle the subject.

Given the average price of a TV equipped with NEXTGEN TV capabilities, we just had to catch up with Pearl TV Managing Director Anne Schelle. Are consumers really coughing up more than $1,000 for a new set, and at an impressive rate of new TV set sales? Schelle shares all in this fresh InFOCUS Podcast, presented by dot.FM. LISTEN HERE

The technological advantages HD Radio can bring to an AM radio station hasn't stopped licensees from turning in their licenses for forlorn stations in the kHz band. Saga Communications did so last week. Now, another licensee has done so, in Portland, Ore.

Next year will likely be another record-breaking political cycle. How big? One competitive ad intelligence SaaS company is projecting $8.9 billion in political media spend — the highest ever for a midterm cycle. But, a breakout of dollars solely going to broadcast TV suggests a significant percentage of political dollars are going elsewhere.

For Foster Garvey PC and a coalition comprised of 18 licensees, the Commission's proposed rule for how the Commission can recommence the collection of data on the Broadcast Station Annual Employment Report needs an update. The gender choices listed simply aren't enough, given today's USA.

Who knew that the Chief Research Officer of the TVB would be as hard-hitting as a 60 Minutes journalist? Hadassa Gerber proved to be quite the moderator at a TVB Forward Conference session on "the future of measurement," the first of a series of panelists delivered across the TVB's virtual affair on Thursday.

The local broadcast TV industry in 2022 will generate $21 billion in advertising revenue, with $19.3 billion in over-the-air (OTA) revenue and $1.7 billion in digital. Those fresh estimates are courtesy of BIA Advisory Services. And, they point to a healthy 26.5% increase over 2021 for the industry.