the HOT List

With comparable data to fiscal Q3 2020 difficult, as Fox today isn't the same company as it was at the start of last year, adjusted net income dipped to $523 million ($0.88), from $568 million ($0.93). What was the contribution of the Fox Television Stations to the mix?

"Results for the quarter were much better." That's perhaps an understatement from Sinclair Broadcast Group President/CEO Chris Ripley, who spoke at length during the company's Q1 2021 earnings call on Wednesday morning about just how strong Sinclair's performance was during the first three months of the year.

Cumulus head Mary Berner's upbeat words that began the company's Q1 2021 earnings call couldn't mask the financial realities faced in Q1 by the audio media company: tough comps and continued pandemic-related ad dollar dips led to a bumpy start to 2021 for the company. It could have been worse, and that's the key takeaway.

It is being described as "the first-ever studio in Hispanic media exclusively dedicated to serving the growing Latino streaming audiences in the US and around the world." And, it is the creation of NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises.

On April 13, Grupo Televisa, S.A.B. and Univision Holdings shared for the first time that they plan to merge, with Miami-based Univision — thanks, in part, to Google — making the binational deal happen. Now, Univision is going to the bond market to finance the deal.

The big reveal for Nexstar Media Group is that its "Distribution Fee Revenue," a.k.a. retransmission consent dollars, are far and away the greatest revenue driver -- significantly surpassing core ad revenue, which slipped in Q1.

Today's Hispanic-centric TV programming provider LATV is quite different than what existed a decade ago. How does one define what LATV is today, and its primary value proposition? It's a question Gisella Fu-Ripp answers, among others, in this fresh InFOCUS Podcast, presented by dot.FM. LISTEN HERE

Following its mammoth divestment of the Local Media division, Meredith Corp. will be a company wholly enveloped in its National Media assets. What does this mean for the Des Moines-based company and for Local Media Group President Patrick McCreery? We have the answer.

Gray has agreed to acquire all outstanding shares of Meredith Corporation for approximately $14.50 per share in cash, or $2.7 billion in total enterprise value. Importantly, this will occur following the spin-off of Meredith’s National Media Group to current Meredith shareholders.

In late February, Nexstar Media Group announced that President of Broadcasting Tim Busch will retire on May 31. On Monday, it revealed who will be rising to take on Busch's soon-to-be former duties.

A joint venture of Sinclair Broadcast Group and South Korea's SK Telecom designed to spur the growth and adoption of ATSC 3.0 by broadcast television in the U.S. is poised to introduce "breakthrough, next-generation broadcasting technology" both stateside and in South Korea by the end of 2021.

"With a global economic slowdown, sports cancellations and more, traditional TV advertising experienced steep declines in 2020," it notes. That said, the pandemic accelerated other trends such as digital transformation, OTT video usage, and even new telehealth applications.

His Allen Media Broadcasting had been rumored to be a front-runner in the race to win ownership of 10 television stations Gray Television agreed to sell in order to receive regulatory approval of its merger with Quincy Media, Inc. It's now official: Allen Media is the buyer.

The owner of CBS 46 and Peachtree TV in Atlanta enjoyed a particularly strong fiscal Q3, with the first three months of 2021 yielding a healthy increase in core advertising. The big takeaway: political dollars surpassed expectations, thanks to two runoff U.S. Senate races in the Peach State that received national recognition — and financial support.

They include WTVJ-6 in Miami, KNBC-4 in Los Angeles and WRC-4 in Washington, D.C., among other stations. They have been, until now, among the NBCUniversal Owned Television Stations. Not anymore, thanks to a rebrand announced by division president Valari Staab on Thursday.