the HOT List

In a blow to one of the nation's biggest broadcast television companies, the FCC's Media Bureau on Wednesday denied a "Good Faith" complaint against Frontier Communications in response to the discontinued distribution of the ABC affiliate focused on Sarasota and Manatee Counties of Florida. It now puts the need for retransmission mediation back in priority mode.

A first-of-its-kind demonstration is scheduled for the ongoing NAB Show Premiere virtual conference that aims to show how news companies "can embrace the interactive content opportunities of NEXTGEN TV to fight misinformation as the ATSC 3.0 broadcast standard continues its national rollout on a voluntary basis.

Standard Media Index has just released its March 2021 data, and the total monthly media investment was "way up," it reports. In fact, it was up 22% versus March 2020, which was down 13% from a year earlier as the COVID-19 pandemic arrived on North American shores.

In this exclusive interview, 40-year Dayton TV anchor Cheryl McHenry shares her thoughts on longevity, the necessity of local news and what it means to be a journalist in 2021 in the latest RBR+TVBR InFOCUS Podcast, presented by dot.FM. LISTEN HERE

After 21 years, programming has shifted back to English-language fare, as RBR+TVBR has confirmed the sale of a 50kw FM serving the eastern portion of the Orlando market. In doing so, it has ignited a war among Christian radio operators in Central Florida. The bigger news: this radio station's owner is set to say goodbye to the I-4 corridor.

GroupM's Global President of Business Intelligence, Brian Wieser, took a close look at the recently announced blockbuster merger between Univision Communications and Televisa, fueled by the U.S.-based Hispanic-focused multimedia company. His assessment suggests Televisa-Univision will need to spend a lot of money to make a lot of money.

Despite what analyst Michael Nathanson calls the "recent turmoil" among media stocks, the respected Wall Street financial house has increased confidence that Fox Corporation shares will outperform. Why? Nathanson points to "improving fundamentals in the near term." He also likes what Thursday night holds for FOX in the future.

Why did Alpha Media in late September 2018 agree to spin WRMF along with Country WIRK-FM 103.1, FOX Sports Radio affiliate WMEN-AM 640, Classic Hits WEAT-FM “Sunny 107.9,” Urban AC WMBX-FM “X102.3,” Rhythmic Top 40 “Party 96.3” W242CI, which uses the WMBX HD2 signal, and Talk WFTL-AM 850? That's what former head Larry Wilson asks.

On Wednesday, ABC News officially announced the much-discussed arrival of ex-CBS News leader Kim Godwin as its new President. One day later, CBS News responded with some major news of its own: It's putting its news division and owned television stations under one divisional and leadership structure. Co-heads have been named. One is an ABC veteran.

Kagan is putting the finishing touches on its annual Sports report. It examines how 2020's sports programming numbers stacked up against prior years. The report also provides status updates on the latest in the sports programming market and how pay TV operators are responding to the increases in sports programming costs.

For 16 years, she's been a key executive at Nielsen, rising to GM and Head of Product Advanced Video Advertising in January 2019. For 12 years, he's been a product development leader who in April 2019 ascended to the role of GM and Head of Product for Audience Measurement. Both will soon be former employees, presenting Nielsen with, perhaps, a new challenge.

TEGNA shares haven't been this high in nearly 14 years. And, that was technically when the company was known as Gannett. Now, TEGNA has released preliminary Q1 2021 revenue data and second quarter guidance that makes Soo Kim's sway play on greater board of directors control that much more difficult.

On July 13, per FCC rules, analog broadcasts on VHF Channel 6 -- which bring audio to 87.7 MHz -- are scheduled to cease, with a transition to full digital broadcasts required. While there's chatter among the licensees that this won't happen, a notable foe of these so-called "Franken FM" facilities has emerged. It's NPR.

Upon the unanimous recommendation of the independent members of Sinclair Broadcast Group's Board of Directors, the size of the board will grow from nine to 11 members. Taking one of those new seats: the EVP/CFO of Greater Baltimore Medical Center. Her appointment resolves a gender gap on the Sinclair board.

For years, Hispanic market observers, marketing executives, media professionals and political leaders all suspected that, some day, Univision Communications would strengthen its bonds with its all-important Mexican programming provider. That day will forever be remembered as April 13, 2021. Televisa’s content and media assets are being combined with Univision.