the HOT List

Six months ago, HC2 Station Group became the owner of WJFB-44 in Nashville. The company wanted to make sure it got mandatory coverage across all TV service platforms in the Music City. So, it filed a Must-Carry complaint against DirecTV. Now, it has given up the fight.

In the 1970s, he was GM of "The Big 8". The 1980s saw him in a key role at Greater Media. The first half of the 1990s saw him as the owner of a radio broadcasting company that in 1996 would cash out with its sale to Infinity Broadcasting. Today, the media world is paying its respects to the late Herb McCord.

Head's up, over-the-air television broadcasters: After Dec. 17, you will no longer be able to amend existing or file new quarterly children's television programming reports. Notification from the FCC's Media Bureau came late Friday.

For nearly three years, this woman has served as the key individual responsible for human resources strategy at Nielsen. On Thursday, she tendered her resignation, an SEC filing states. She's heading over to work with Bob Bakish, taking a position at what's to become ViacomCBS.

It's been an interesting week for Entercom. In Miami, four air personalities were let go as part of budget reassessments at the company's South Florida radio stations. Then came the reassignment of the company's Washington, D.C. market manager. Now, Entercom has confirmed that a change in command at its Chicago stations is underway.

Are business owners trapped in a digital and social advertising bubble, "a frenzy of marketing activity with little thought to fundamental marketing principle or ROI?" For the GM of a division of Learfield/IMG College, the answer is yes. Shane Nichols tackles the subject in a new book he calls "a definitive guide" to finding OTA radio and TV value.

The "Television Viewer Protection Act" has taken one small step forward in getting a full vote in the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives. The affirmative vote came despite calls from retiring House E&C minority leader Greg Walden to allow STELAR to sunset as scheduled at year's end.

Yes, Viacom's fiscal Q4 results saw year-over-year declines in both Earnings Per Share and for its consolidated revenue. But, the company that will soon reunite with CBS Corporation by effectively gobbling it not long after after Thanksgiving Day beat the Street in both key performance categories. As such, shares of Viacom's publicly traded Class B shares were up 1.9% on Thursday.

Comscore shares soared on Wednesday -- a residual effect from the installation of a new CEO and, perhaps, a positive shout-out from the nation's No. 1 owner of broadcast TV stations during that company's Q3 earnings call. Indeed, Nexstar could be indirectly responsible for a 23% surge in SCOR's value.

While one may pity the President and acting CEO of CBS for "only" serving under Bob Bakish as Chairman/CEO of what will become the CBS business unit within ViacomCBS, they need only look at the huge financial windfall Ianniello will be receiving for his loyalty to NAI -- and for turning his back on disgraced former CBS CEO Les Moonves.

It may be a Federal holiday, but U.S. stock markets were open on Veterans Day. As such, Cumulus Media decided to release its Q3 results immediately after the Closing Bell on the postal and bank holiday. How did the company fare for the three months ending September 30? Adjusted EBITDA fell, while net income went up.

In August, Entercom shared that it had acquired podcast producer Pineapple Street and the outstanding shares of major podcast company Cadence 13. Today, podcasts and digital account for 12% of Entercom revenues. With a strong outlook for 2020, ETM shares caught fire on Friday.

In a victory for the owner of DirecTV, AT&T TV NOW and U-Verse, the Media Bureau on Friday granted a complaint from AT&T that pointed fingers at seven broadcast station groups for failing to negotiate in good faith for consent to carry the signals of their stations.

The FCC has filed a petition in the Third Circuit Federal Appeals Court seeking an en banc review of the panel's 2-1 decision vacating its cross-ownership media rule "modernization" order. The move signals that the Commission has no interest in reworking its rules and wants a Court sign-off.

After weeks of conducting a strategic review and the failure to attract a buyer, the parent company of the nation's dominant audience measurement and consumer data provider -- Nielsen Holdings plc -- will spin off its "Global Connect" business. David Kenny will lead "Global Media."