the HOT List

As RBR+TVBR reported late Wednesday, NAB President/CEO Gordon Smith on August 4 was believed to have suffered a stroke. On Thursday evening, Smith was strong enough to a pen a letter to his "friends," in which he confirmed it was prevented.

In 1964, the FCC first adopted rules to restrict the duplication of programming on commonly-owned broadcast radio stations operating in the same geographic area. The current version of the rule was adopted in 1992. As of today, the rule's end is on the way. And Democratic Commissioner Geoffrey Starks isn't wholly pleased.

What is perhaps the biggest topic of interest in D.C. for radio and TV broadcasters right now? We get the latest on Lowest Unit Rate regulatory policy, the FCC's station license renewal period now underway and the political file rule, among other things, from Brad Deutsch at Foster Garvey in this fresh RBR+TVBR InFOCUS Podcast. LISTEN HERE

"Business fell off a cliff," Gray Television head Hilton Howell Jr. said at the start of the company's Q2 2020 earnings call. "It was deep, and unknown." Yet, Howell continued, as the quarter deteriorated, each month got better. "In every cloud there is a silver lining," he said, with an air of optimism. "Our business slowed less than we feared."

On Sept. 19, 2019, the former Tribune Media properties, including WGN America, officially joined the Nexstar Media Group family. As such, it's only natural that Nexstar's second quarter earnings showed year-over-year growth, even during a crippling pandemic. So ... how did Nexstar perform on a same-station basis?

"While conditions remain quite challenging, they have improved significantly since April when the economy bottomed out," Entercom leader David Field said in an internal memo distributed to staff early Wednesday. As the audio media industry seeks to recover from COVID-19 related ad dollar nosedives, Field's words are perhaps the industry pep talk that's been needed.

As Washington tries to understand the why behind the withdrawal of Republican Mike O'Rielly's renomination as a FCC Commissioner by President Trump, media industry executives are asking what happens next for O'Rielly. There's no easy answer, but at least one communications attorney has illustrated what could transpire in the next six months.

We knew it wouldn't be pretty. But, just how downbeat would Beasley Media Group's second quarter results be? Analysts and investors got the answer Tuesday morning. Year-over-year net revenue tumbled by 54%.

After reaching its COVID-19 fueled depths in April, the ad marketplace is slowly returning to the pre-pandemic levels in June. That's according to the latest data from Standard Media Index, which shows that in June, the national ad marketplace dipped by "only" 9%.

In mid-June, it became known that the owner of nine Mid-Missouri radio stations — in addition to a publishing arm, a digital media services division, and a branding and voiceover segment — was highly interested in entering Southwestern Missouri. Don Zimmer was doing due diligence on an opportunity. Now, he's formally moving ahead with market entry into Springfield. 

What role could the release of Entercom Communications' second quarter financial results, set for August 7, have on its stock valuation? That's a question that Zacks Equity Research sought the answer to. Here's what it has to say.

According to the most recent iteration of the FCC's FM Table of Allotments, a Class C1 FM licensed to Granado, Tex., some 70 miles southwest of Houston, had been added. That posed a problem involving Lone Star State licensee Roy E. Henderson. But, it wasn't of his hand. Rather, the Media Bureau made a mistake.

As part of his virtual Luncheon Series address to conservative Washington, D.C. think tank The Media Institute, FCC Commissioner Mike O'Rielly made it clear that he's very displeased with the lack of diverse media ownership in the U.S. But, what will he do to help remedy the situation?

Since her departure from Nielsen as SVP/GM of Multicultural Growth and Strategy, Gil has played an integral role in the growth and strategy of NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises. Now, Gil is taking on a wider role as part of what the Comcast unit calls "a realignment of its leadership team."

Preferred shareholders who are in a long-running battle with the Hispanic media company asked the Media Bureau to decline SBS's request to withdraw a "PDR," noting that it relates to ongoing litigation in a Delaware Chancery Court between the two parties. What, then, did Media Bureau Chief Michelle Carey declare?