the HOT List

Its share value is down 41% since early March. July 15 saw the "restructuring" of its Contemporary Hit Radio (CHR) stations, resulting in the importation of two hosts across numerous stations it owns throughout the U.S. Now, Audacy has engaged in what's called a "trade receivables securitization" that will give it a huge influx of cash.

As of August 2, there will be a new President of CBS Stations. And, she will report to President and Co-Head of CBS News and Stations Wendy McMahon. Who is it? Look no further than the FOX affiliate serving Portland, Ore., and its sibling, which are being sold to Gray Television by Meredith Local Media.

With the promise of a large, demographically diverse audience, the Games of the XXXII Olympiad — the pandemic-delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics — are forecast to bring in record-high advertising revenue. In fact, Kantar believes the ad dollars will be more than 20% higher than the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

The continued carriage of ViacomCBS’ portfolio of broadcast, entertainment, news and sports networks on Charter Communications' Spectrum systems is now assured. The freshly signed deal between Charter and ViacomCBS also includes licensing ViacomCBS’s Paramount+, Pluto TV, BET+ and Noggin for future distribution to Spectrum customers.

To facilitate regulatory approvals for its approximately $2.825 billion purchase of Meredith Local Media, announced on May 3, Gray Television agreed to divest an ABC affiliate  “to an independent third-party no later than the closing of the Meredith acquisition.” At the time, RBR+TVBR asked if it was Allen Media Group. It is now known that this guess was correct.

The nation's No. 1 owner of broadcast TV stations responded to Comcast's Petition for Declaratory Ruling seeking ownership attribution to Nexstar of Mission Broadcasting's WPIX-11 in New York by taking the corporate giant and owner of WNBC-4 and WNJU-47 in New York to court. As Nexstar sees it, it's a fight involving one topic only: retransmission consent fees.

Despite an effort by the company's founder to stop it, the Audio Division of the FCC’s Media Bureau has moved forward with the approval of Alpha Media's voluntary debtor-in-possession status. As such, an emergence from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection appears imminent.

In the last 48 hours, the publicly traded stock for the owner of Hot 97 and WBLS in New York has rocketed upward, only to recede by some 50% of Monday's closing price. Is this the latest example of Wall Street investors cashing in on corporate America's pledge to invest more of their ad dollars at media targeting African Americans?

Financially speaking, the cable and local TV news sectors saw an increase in revenue, while advertiser expenditures for the news programs of the three major networks remained steady. We've got the details of the just-released report right here.

On Monday afternoon, two items were deleted from the agenda for Tuesday's FCC July Open Meeting. One deals with steps to combat contraband wireless devices in correctional facilities. The other eliminates and/or amends "outmoded or unnecessary broadcast technical rules."

More Members of Congress have pledged to refrain from voting for any new "performance fee, tax, royalty, or other charge" on local broadcast radio stations.  Their decision further puts the latest attempt by Reps. Ted Deutch and Darrell Issa to "provide fair treatment of radio stations and artists for the use of sound recordings, and for other purposes” in doubt.

A group of minority shareholders in DTV America Corp. has taken another legal action against what it calls "a conglomerate of overlapping entities and their interlocking directors and officers" that presently possess majority control of the entity known for its low-power TV stations. What is that "conglomerate"? It's HC2 Holdings.

Friday, July 16, is the final day one can participate in the second annual Television Sales Compensation Study, presented by RBR+TVBR and Media Staffing Network. Your participation matters, as the 2021 survey includes new questions on building diverse teams, selling podcasts, and how their sales teams fared during the pandemic. TAKE THE SURVEY NOW!

The American Television Alliance (ATVA) has commented on a half-million-dollar-plus Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture handed to Gray Television by the FCC for allegedly violating the Commission's Top Four station rule. In short: The ATVA applauds the proposed fine -- the group's latest swipe at a broadcast TV station owner.

The current ownership of WPIX has come under scrutiny. But, it isn't the Commission that's complaining. Rather, it is one of the largest MVPD operators in the nation — and the owner of two direct competitors to WPIX in the Big Apple. The matter involves retransmission consent fees, and the recent appointment of WPIX's new leader, among other things.