the HOT List

Based on the strong attendance at the Hispanic Radio Conference in Doral, home to Univision, NBCUniversal's Telemundo and some of the top Hispanic marketing and advertising leaders in the U.S. today, there could have perhaps been no stronger topic to begin a full day of sessions with than FCC regulatory policy for local radio.

In March, Gray Television announced that it was leading a $40 million investment round for Envy Gaming. It was noteworthy, as the broadcast TV station owner became the first among its peers to follow the radio industry's lead by investing in the growing gaming industry. Now, The E.W. Scripps Co. is following Gray's lead.

It's no secret that the COVID-19 pandemic greatly impacted radio broadcasting companies across the latter half of 2020. For Hispanic-targeted AMs and FMs, the pandemic significantly altered the advertising landscape.  But, by how much? That was the first topic for discussion as the Hispanic Radio Conference kicked off Wednesday afternoon in Miami.

The New York Post late Monday, citing unnamed sources, reported that Apollo Global Management -- the controlling party of Cox Media Group -- had teamed up with dissident investor Standard General, led by Soo Kim -- on a binding TEGNA acquisition bid valued at upward of $8 billion. TEGNA on Tuesday morning confirmed the offer.

In this InFOCUS Podcast, presented by dot.FM, we are pleased to bring excerpts from a press briefing held on Monday by musicFIRST Chairman Joe Crowley. Following Crowley's prepared remarks, RBR+TVBR and co-owned publication Radio Ink were first to ask questions to Crowley. We have his responses. LISTEN HERE

Nielsen on Tuesday morning revealed that it will now "take the lead" on an “Impressions First Initiative” designed to support an industry-wide move to impressions-based buying and selling in local markets across the country. The move to impressions will occur in conjunction with the integration of broadband only homes into Nielsen’s local measurement metrics.

Thanks to GeoBroadcast Solutions technology being tested, the ability to narrowcast for a former longtime Rock 'n Roll Station now targeting Bollywood music fans by using one FM signal appears to be a success. Details of extensive ZoneCasting testing were submitted Monday morning to the FCC by attorneys at Covington & Burling representing GBS.

There's a new over-the-top (OTT) and connected TV offering that's now available for viewers across the U.S., accessible via such platforms as Roku and Amazon Fire TV. It allows viewers "to connect with local news and information relevant to their lives." Yes, there are plenty of apps that do this already. But, this is the first to involve Hearst Television stations.

Less than 48 hours after a federal judge declined to honor its request for summary judgment in a case focused on copyright infringement brought against the operation by the nation’s “Big Four” broadcast TV networks, Locast on September 2 suspended its operations. Now, that suspension has become a permanent cessation of business activities.

There are "tectonic shifts" in how Americans perceive, consume and pay for media content, a new Futuri/SmithGeiger study finds. There are also big changes in how media executives see the sector progressing into the 2020s, putting clouds over their confidence in their ability to address emerging challenges.

The head of Davis Broadcasting Inc. has personally written to those in favor of a resolution that would prevent the levying of any new performance royalty payments on Radio. While the biggest piece of legislation on Capitol Hill designed to do this is largely dead, recording industry advocacy group musicFIRST on Monday will seek to resuscitate it.

With just 24 days to go before the Sales and Management Television Exchange was to begin ahead of the NAB Show in Las Vegas, the organization has called off the conference. The decision comes following participation pullouts from Brainstorm, Ross Video, Panasonic and Canon.

Comscore has been working hard to offer new solutions media and marketing professionals could trust. On Wednesday, the media consumer data and analytics company revealed that it has "invented" what it calls "the next generation of personification methodology created to bring person-level measurement to its video products."

The NAB, MMTC, and NABOB are demanding a stay of the FCC's order mandating disclosures for foreign government-sponsored programming. Furthermore, they don't want the Commission to move forward with the order until the D.C. Federal Appeals Court has its say.