the HOT List

With Richard Blumenthal asking a litany of questions to Ajit Pai and his Republican colleagues on a variety of subjects including the NTIA, the latest FCC Oversight Hearing conducted by the Senate Commerce, Science & Transportation Committee unfolded on Capitol Hill with a touch of social distancing -- but nothing different with respect to the queries and responses.

Across a 17-year tenure at Nexstar Media Group, Brian Jones was instrumental in helping chart the expansion of the local television broadcasting operation. More recently, he was the person in charge of Nexstar Broadcasting’s local market digital offerings. Now, Jones is stepping down, as he has announced his upcoming retirement.

The Media Rating Council (MRC) has granted continued accreditation to Nielsen's Local People Meter (LPM) market service. At the same time, the MRC has given its approval to Set Meter measurement services in 19 of 31 U.S. markets where the Set Meter is in use.

Late last week, just in time for Juneteeth, "emotion AI" television advertising research firm Realeyes released some intriguing data regarding consumer response to brands that rolled out Blacks Lives Matter-themed creative. Were the ads well received? Realeyes marketing head Max Kalehoff shares the details in this RBR+TVBR INFOCUS Podcast. LISTEN HERE

The enormous growth seen by Urban One has led seven company directors to sell shares and/or exercise options, "given the movement in the price" of both the company's Class D and Class A shares. The media company superserving African American audiences on Monday saw more volatile activity, with Class A shares dipping by nearly 50% before an after-hours rise.

In April, a prominent U.S. Senator was vociferous in his quest to quash Mandarin-language broadcasts targeting Los Angeles-area residents via a Mexico-based mega-watt AM. His argument? It was a mouthpiece for propaganda, funded in part by the Chinese government. Now, the FCC has effectively killed the operation -- because of a glaring omission on its FCC ask.

The first of two virtual gatherings in lieu of an in-person Kagan Media Summit in New York saw three leading broadcast TV executives share details on the state of their respective businesses in a roundtable discussion hosted by S&P Global Market Intelligence Managing Director of Research Robin Flynn.

After hearing updates from three companies covered by esteemed Wall Street analyst house MoffettNathanson at a conference held this week, the firm is moving forward with something it may not have anticipated just one month ago. It's raising its estimates for the second quarter and for the 2020 calendar year for both national and local TV advertising revenue.

While not quite as impressive as the year-over-year increases seen in March and April, as much of the U.S. was in strict shelter-at-home quarantines tied to the novel coronavirus, household consumer packaged goods (CPG) spending in May 2020 was still up significantly compared to one year ago.

Some 30 years ago, CNN Headline News made a name for itself with its quick-bite, half-hour newscasts running practically 24/7. Now, Sinclair Broadcast Group is preparing to launch its own, fresh take on a "headline news" service -- and it will kick off in 2021 as a morning offering across a wide array of its youth- and Millennial-target broadcast TV properties.

America’s Public Television Stations and the NAB have commended the FCC’s NPRM on potential changes to the Commission’s rules governing Distributed Transmission Systems. The two groups are happy the Commission is moving forward “expeditiously” in the proceeding and don't want that pace to slow down. The National Translators Association has a problem with that.

Soon-to-depart Univision Communications CEO Vince Sadusky shared some -- but not all -- of the details surrounding the pending ownership change at the nation's foremost company targeting Hispanic consumers in a Q&A following a virtual Upfront presentation delivered on Thursday. There was also some insight on where Univision's radio stations fit into the mix.

In a major move by one of the nation's key hedge funds with investments in publicly traded radio companies, Brigade Capital Management's Cayman Islands-based leveraged capital structures fund has sold off all of its shares in the nation's foremost media entity superserving African American consumers. The result? Urban One's Class A and Class D shares each soared on Monday.

First, it was the disproportionate COVID-19 pandemic impact on the Black community. Then, it was the murder of George Floyd, and the resulting nationwide protests tied to a message that "Black Lives Matter." Now, a group of NABOB members believe it is time for Corporate America and Capitol Hill to speak up.

By now, tales of crippling fiscal calamities attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic's wrath on the U.S. economy are near daily tales. But, when the financial health of advertising-fueled business will return to any virus-free ailments remains unclear. For MAGNA, writing off 2020 as a lost year may be, unfortunately, the best solution for media.