the HOT List

In this RBR+TVBR Coronavirus INFOCUS podcast, Bill Christian, President/CEO of Vision Communications, shares how his station's news teams have adapted to working from home -- and how his Little Rock-based newshub acquired 11 months ago is fully producing local newscasts with all staff members working from home, even with broadband challenges. LISTEN HERE

Call it a "Gold Card" quarter for TEGNA. Just one week ago, Soohyung Kim‘s quest for a greater say in the company's affairs ended as shareholders voted for Board of Directors nominees selected by TEGNA and not those of Kim's Standard General, a top shareholder. Today, TEGNA put its money where it's mouth is with strong Q1 2020 results.

The parade of positive quarterly earnings results from America's biggest broadcast TV owners continued on Thursday morning, as Gray Television delivered a Q1 EPS that easily beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate. While Q1 revenues were just a hair below what Zacks analysts thought, investors seemed to brush that aside, with GTN up 9% in afternoon trading on Wall Street.

Sinclair Broadcasting Group has agreed to pay a $48 million civil penalty and abide by a strict compliance plan in order to close three open investigations at the FCC. This penalty is twice the prior record for a broadcaster, which was the $24 million paid by Univision Communications in 2007.

Everyone loves surprises. For Nexstar Media Group investors and Wall Street analysts, a positive earnings surprise couldn't come at a better time. The company's Q1 2020 earnings beat the Street, and the broadcast TV company's stock surged to its second-highest price since March 13.

Cox Media Group has announced that President/CEO Kim Guthrie, who began her career in radio in the late 1980s and has been associated with Cox since August 1998, has "decided to move on from the organization after a 22-plus year career with the company."  

A small town AM started working with local farmers and creameries to donate unused milk normally served with school lunches. Local media is still hiring. These are some of the positive stories shared by Wisconsin Broadcasters Association's President/CEO in this latest podcast, hosted by RBR+TVBR Editor-in-Chief Adam R Jacobson. LISTEN HERE

With a diverse revenue portfolio, Graham Holdings Co. in normal times can benefit from both advertising and tuition. But, times are far from normal. And, Graham has already been impacted. The good news: Its TV stations, which comprise Graham Media Group, held up strong through March 31. That's according to its parent company's just-released Q1 2020 earnings results.

How have local radio and TV stations in the Empire State reacted to the COVID-19 pandemic? How devastating have ad revenue drops been in New York City and in smaller locales upstate? Are small-town operators in places hours away from NYC in dire need of cash? We get the answers from NYSBA President and Executive Director David Donovan.  LISTEN HERE

While radio stations have done their part to bring needed funds to consumers highly impacted by COVID-19 fueled layoffs and furloughs, Gray Television stations in March and April collectively helped to raise millions of dollars in donations benefiting local residents and organizations in the cities where it owns local TV properties.

Andy Lack is leaving. And, the top executive overseeing NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises is taking over his role as part of a wholesale restructuring. An official announcement arrived seconds before RBR+TVBR's Monday deadline of 4:30pm Eastern that flushes out the details, and it confirms a big promotion is in the works for Cesar Conde.

In coastal South Carolina, Sinclair Broadcast Group operates The CW Network affiliate. In Saginaw, Mich., it operates the NBC affiliate. But, both stations are owned by a company that has had its share of retransmission consent woes, most recently with AT&T. Now, this company has entered into a FCC consent decree to resolve a "good faith" negotiation complaint.

The MMTC and 21 related groups told the FCC in a letter sent Friday that they "whole-heartedly" support a Petition for Rulemaking filed by GeoBroadcast Solutions that asks the Commission to permit radio broadcasters the option to deploy technology that could geo-target content through the use of FM boosters.

The effect of COVID-19 on the advertising and media industries was first felt in the final three weeks of March, greatly impacting the revenue for the month. But, to what extent did it impact the entire first quarter of 2020? We now have that answer, thanks to Standard Media Index (SMI).

Less than one year ago, Nexstar Media Group sold two Indianapolis TV stations to an African American broadcast pioneer. Now, he's faced with the challenge of running the stations in the middle of an unprecedented pandemic. How is DuJuan McCoy handling all of the challenges? We find out in this RBR+TVBR Coronavirus INFOCUS podcast hosted by Adam R Jacobson.  LISTEN HERE