the HOT List

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.

There’s been a bit of chatter across the radio industry this week about the latest blog post from Pierre Bouvard, the Chief Insights Officer at Cumulus Media and its Westwood One arm. Bouvard delves into the perception, versus “reality,” of AM and FM radio. He shares some of his latest insights on the subject in this fresh InFOCUS Podcast, presented by dot.FM. LISTEN HERE

Did you know that there's a potential boost in the riches of AM and FM broadcast stations tied to ATSC 3.0? A big TV station owner, with radio properties in Seattle, is largely to thank for this tech progression.

While a NAB Show is planned for October 2021, a digitally delivered "NAB Show Premiere" kicked off Monday as a forum for innovation and discussion hub for radio and TV station owners in continuous transition as local digital nibbles away at ad dollars and localism's balance with budget realities continues to create challenges for some broadcast companies.

First, it was a branding agreement via a long-term licensing deal. Now, Bally's Corporation has signaled its ready to affirm an additional accord with Sinclair Broadcast Group that makes it a key content collaboration partner for the regional sports networks formerly owned by FOX. Commenting on the deal as Bally's Board Chair? A man tangling with TEGNA.

A key Wall Street media analyst has conducted the review as part of an assessment of NBC's "mostly" new reporting format. His report card shows that a "likely significantly rebounding NBC" — along with "healthy" cable EBITDA growth — will fuel Comcast share growth. As such, he raised his target price on Comcast.

On Wednesday, ViacomCBS confirmed that Peter Dunn, who led the CBS O&Os, and news division leader David Friend will not return to their positions and will be exiting the company. Dunn's attorney on Thursday issued a statement that clarifies Dunn's departure from ViacomCBS.

In late January 2021, the CBS Television Stations President and the stations’ SVP of News were suspended while parent ViacomCBS investigated an increasing number of allegations against them for gender and racial misconduct. It appears the claims, first reported by the Los Angeles Times, are meritorious enough to lead ViacomCBS to severe its ties with the pair.

The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) confirmed early Wednesday that its President/CEO -- former Oregon Senator Gordon Smith -- will transition to an advisory and advocacy role at the end of 2021. His successor is the NAB's Chief Operating Officer.

Standard General and its leader, Soohyung Kim, may be intent on grabbing greater influence in the broadcast TV company it has invested in. But, its latest attempt to woo over shareholders may fall on deaf ears. Why? TEGNA stock finished upward again on Tuesday, bringing it to its highest point in five years.

Philip Falcone has swiftly moved on from his days running HC2 Holdings. In Q1 2021 became an active buyer of low-power TV stations through a newly created entity. He's at it again, and has just entered the Pacific Northwest's biggest market.

It started off as a Generation Z and Millennial-focused news and information offering distributed strictly in the "over the top" (OTT) space. Then, it morphed into a MVPD-distributed cable channel. Now, Newsy is headed to free-to-air television as a "DigiNet," come this autumn.