the HOT List

The FCC's Media Bureau "seeks to update the record" on the operation of such digital LPTV facilities "as ancillary or supplementary services" by opening a docket that could impact Weigel Broadcasting, Almavision and others using their TV facilities primarily for consumption on a radio.

"U.S. advertising will grow 6.2% in 2019, to $244 billion." That's part of a seemingly positive report released Tuesday by Brian Wieser, Global President of Business Intelligence at GroupM. Why "seemingly positive?" Digital is, to little surprise, driving the growth.

So far, forecasts from GroupM Global President of Business Intelligence Brian Wieser have excluded politics from media spending "because the scale of such activity meaningfully distorts year-over-year growth trends." But, what is the predicted impact of political dollars in 2020? 

With the company's stock price stuck at its lowest levels since July 2009, executives at Salem Media Group hope to drum up support from institutional investors by presenting at a pair of upcoming investor conferences.

Just north of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., sits a parcel of land that until now has housed the three broadcast towers used by a pair of Beasley Media Group AMs. It's valuable land, and Beasley is cashing out. The result is the silence of the twin facilities.

In 1986, the parent company of Radio Ink and RBR+TVBR was founded with the purchase of The Pulse of Radio magazine. The man selling the publication: Robert FX Sillerman. Now, many are remembering Sillerman -- a colorful figure who greatly transformed the radio business.

In May 2019, Standard Media Group gained the industry's attention for buying TV stations in Providence, R.I., and Lincoln, Neb. Now, it's struck a deal to purchase nine TV stations across six markets. Oh, and it's also buying radio stations, thanks in part to broker of record Kalil & Co.

The Commission late last week issued a Declaratory Ruling allowing for 100% foreign ownership in Terrier Media. That's the entity being created through the acquisition of Cox Media Group and Brian Brady's Northwest Broadcasting by Apollo Global Management — deals the FCC has now approved.

With its de-listing notice already filed with the SEC, it was only a matter of time before Viacom and CBS Corporation revealed just when a reunification of the two companies controlled by National Amusements, Inc., would occur. On Monday morning, the date was announced.

On a busy Thursday in the Nation's Capital, Sen. Marsha Blackburn and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler each initiated a bipartisan effort "to ensure creators receive fair market value for their music on all platforms." Is it just noise, or does Radio need to worry?

In a decision that came much swifter than a lengthy vote to bar the use of its Universal Service Fund to purchase equipment and services from companies that pose a national security threat, all five Commissioners gave their blessing to a NPRM that would allow AMs to go all-digital with HD Radio.

The News Director at Circle City's affiliate of The CW Network in Indianapolis, Al Carl, has announced that the first TV journalist dedicated exclusively "to covering stories affecting Indiana’s diverse population" has been hired.

What are the current and future trends in the radio industry? Fred Jacobs led a panel session that opened a FCC Media Bureau symposium in Washington that touched on many of the Forecast 2020 topics and discussion hot points with a blue-ribbon panel of industry leaders.

When it comes to exclusive radio industry gatherings, there's perhaps nothing that comes close to Forecast 2020, Radio's Financial Summit. This year's event, held Wednesday at the Harvard Club in Midtown Manhattan, didn't disappoint. Here are some highlights of the no-press event.

Tuesday was set to be a wildly busy day for the House Energy & Commerce Committee. No less than 18 bills were on the docket for markup. The goal was a bit overambitious. The full Committee markup reconvened Wednesday with the "Television Viewer Protection Act" up for review, and a bipartisan agreement was reached ahead of its unanimous Committee OK.