the HOT List

Despite the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, the television deal market delivered $4.16 billion deal volume in the first half of 2021. However, that volume would have been a mere $35 million had it not been for one company: Gray Television.

Under his leadership, Spanish Broadcasting System (SBS)'s three radio stations in its home market of Miami-Fort Lauderdale have emerged as some of the nation's top Hispanic media properties. Now, he's being promoted to an executive VP role.

Pew Research Center on Tuesday released statistics that paint the present-day portrait of the local TV newsroom staff. What's the diversity among those employed by TV news departments across the U.S.? We have a first look.

For the 97 news outlets whose primary domain, its website, averaged at least 10 million unique visitors per month, traffic rose 11% in the fourth quarter of 2020. That's according to a fresh Pew Research Center analysis of the state of the U.S. news media.

Where does HD Radio stand today? Jeff Jury, the Senior Vice President and General Manager for the Connected Car division of Xperi, offers his thoughts in a fresh InFOCUS Podcast, presented by dot.FM, hosted by RBR+TVBR Editor-in-Chief Adam R Jacobson.  LISTEN HERE

Here's what to expect with respect to when each earnings call and Q2 2021 report release occurs — along with a time change for Gray Television's earnings call and a just-released time and date for Salem Media Group's Q2 '21 call.

To date, the proposed "American Music Fairness Act" has the support of six co-sponsors. They all gave their yea nod to the bill on the day it was introduced. No other House members have joined them. Instead, a resolution in both chambers of Congress has only been fortified.

Three Democratic Senators on Thursday teamed together to introduce legislation that, if passed, would help financially support local news organizations through tax credits to incentivize hiring more journalists, subscriptions, and advertising from local small businesses. The NAB's soon-to-retire President/CEO applauded their action.

Despite efforts in court to squelch the donation-based, IP-distributed "free" TV service, Locast has just entered its 35th market. It brings stations owned by Hearst Television, ViacomCBS, Cox Media Group, The E.W. Scripps Co., Sinclair Broadcast Group and public broadcasting giant WQED to those in Western Pennsylvania's biggest market.

BIA Advisory Services has revised upward its 2021 forecasts for U.S. Local Advertising Revenues by 3.9% from its November 2020 estimates. The projection is split between traditional and digital media. But, it shows that the divide is narrowing, BIA notes.

As many radio industry executives struggle with ways to combat local digital's nonstop suction of dollars from AM and FM radio stations, Cox Media Group has opted to link up with Amazon Advertising as part of a Local Solutions plan to bring advertisers a 360-degree consumer touchpoint option.

For three weeks, Suddenlink customers in the Greenville-New Bern, N.C., area have been unable to tune to the market's ABC affiliate. The reason? A retransmission consent agreement expired June 30, and there's no new deal in place. The station's owner, Sinclair Broadcast Group, now says there likely won't be one — period.

Conventional wisdom, in the words of MoffettNathanson Senior Analyst Michael Nathanson, calls for "a massive reacceleration in subscriber growth starting in Q4," flowing into 2022 with some 28 million new Netflix subscribers. But, what if that conventional wisdom is wrong, Nathanson asks. 

The House of Representatives on Tuesday passed five communications and technology bills. Among the legislation approved: the MEDIA Diversity Act of 2021. House Members also passed a non-binding resolution reaffirming Congress's commitment to media diversity. It's now up to the Senate, and its Republican members, to say OK to the legislation.

According to a newly made SEC filing, there's a Michigan-based institutional investor that now holds 5.2% of the publicly traded shares associated with Gray Television. What do we know about this holder, MBX Capital LLC? It's controlled by an Indian-American billionaire entrepreneur and philanthropist.