the HOT List

In the unprecedented situation created by the coronavirus outbreak and the economic downturn, MAGNA is revising its media owners net advertising revenue forecasts for 2020 and 2021. While digital ad sales will be more resilient, total linear ad sales will dip by double digits. That said, a V-Shaped rebound is on the way.

Wall Street investors have been "incredibly swift" to punish the merger of Viacom and CBS Corp., notes esteemed financial analyst Michael Nathanson of MoffettNathanson. Free cash flow is a problem, he notes. What does MoffettNathanson urge? It points to the adage to “never let a good crisis go to waste” and re-think both the company’s asset base and OTT strategy.

Noting the company's "transformative" 2019, which included emerging from bankruptcy, Bob Pittman declared during iHeartMedia's Q4 earnings call held one month ago, "We're looking forward to an even more successful 2020." Now, Pittman and iHeart have effectively retracted that statement, thanks to the coronavirus pandemic. The company has also drawn millions of dollars from its credit line.

National Amusements, Inc., has largely directed the fortunes and future of what is now ViacomCBS. It is Shari Redstone who wanted Bob Bakish to lead the recombined companies, not a CBS Corp. C-Suiter. It is her that a block of any reunification of CBS and Viacom under former CEO Les Moonves never occurred. Now, however, NAI is "losing some of its ability to borrow money." 

The radio industry sure could use an injection of fresh, positive statistics right now touting its strength in tough times, right? Look no further than the data released Wednesday from Nielsen. Some 83% of American adults queried by the audience research company say they are spending the same or more time with radio as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.

On March 22, "after three brutal days" in a Washington, D.C.-area hospital, a former FCC Commissioner was discharged to go home in isolation. On Tuesday evening, he returned to the hospital, telling Twitter followers he has double pneumonia and could be a novel coronavirus victim.

Local television stations owned by The E.W. Scripps Company have launched a public service campaign called “We’re Open” — an effort wholly designed to support local business owners and their workers. The coronavirus pandemic has led to closures of many stores and shops, across multiple industries. However, others remain open — and could be struggling.

With "stay-at-home" declarations and coronavirus-infected tallies changing by the hour, safely covering the news could present numerous challenges for a TV news organization. At TEGNA, VP/News Ellen Crooke is the "woman on the front lines," coordinating all of the efforts companywide as TEGNA seeks to keep as many away from their respective stations as possible.

Debt leverage has been one of the key headaches for radio broadcasting companies in recent years, and as of mid-February all seemed on track to bring the leverage ratios down to satisfying ratios by the end of 2020. With coronavirus pandemic concerns gripping the world, two radio-centric companies have already moved to draw millions of dollars from their credit lines.

As RBR+TVBR has reported, TEGNA has received bids from Apollo Global Management, Byron Allen's broadcast TV group, and, most recently, a bid that involves Trinity Broadcasting Network. TEGNA hasn't said a word, and the big shareholder controlled by Soo Kim wants TEGNA to say something publicly about the offers.

In what Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council (MMTC) President Emeritus and Senior Advisor David Honig calls "a big victory today for the public interest," the FCC's Audio Division Chief has moved forward with the expected deletion from existence of four AM radio stations serving the St. Louis market. There's a specific reason why Honig is pleased with the decision.

With the release of African American-centric media company Urban One's Q4 and full-year 2019 resuts, it is now known that tough comps and an accounting change made the fourth quarter financial results appear less than rosy. That's nothing compared to the COVID-19 fueled impact on Urban One already seen in Q1 2020.

It's no secret that podcast awareness and consumption of podcasts in the U.S. is on the rise. The latest data from the Infinite Dial 2020, produced by Edison Research and Triton Digital only confirms the explosion in on-demand digital audio consumption, which has led to a renaissance of content designed for the ear.

Unnamed sources are telling Reuters that Gray has withdrawn its cash and stock offer for the broadcast TV company formerly known as Gannett. But, wait 'til you see what entity has emerged with a bid for TEGNA. It involves an entity that made Matt and Laurie Crouch household names for a generation of reverent Americans.