the HOT List

Don't think for a minute that broadcasters have quenched their thirst for FM translators or a booster. The number of translators and boosters surged again in the third quarter, just-released stations totals from the FCC show.

Forty years ago, Byron Allen was part of a team of anchor/reporters on what was perhaps one of the first reality series to air in prime-time, NBC's "Real People." Now, he's a media mogul who is adding more broadcast TV properties to his empire of assets.

The much-watched Mozilla v. FCC case was decided on Tuesday by a D.C. Federal Appeals Court. Petitions sought to return Title II classification for broadband services, something the Wheeler Commission passed on party lines in 2015 and was erased by the Pai Commission. Those who want "net neutrality" back won't be pleased.

Just when it seemed Comscore shares were in recovery mode, the audience measurement company's stock once again moved in the opposite direction. The latest problem for Comscore: A $5 million penalty for fraudulently inflating its revenue by $50 million between 2014 and 2016.

Fox Corporation has become the latest broadcast TV station owner to see its channels blocked by a MVPD thanks to a retrans consent squabble. This time, DISH is the provider preventing its subscribers from watching any channel -- over-the-air or cable -- owned by Fox.

In an address Thursday morning at the TVB Forward conference, Wolfe Research analyst Marci Ryvicker offered her take on where the TV industry is heading. She told it like it is: rising retrans revenue could ultimately harm the industry, but ATSC 3.0 is a huge plus, long term.

There's general apprehension among radio industry executives attending the 2019 Radio Show in regard to the state of the dealmaking market in the wake of the Third Circuit appeals' court nix of the FCC's cross-ownership rules. Is that concern justified, or premature?

The CEO of one of the biggest e-cigarette makers in the U.S., Juul, is stepping down in the wake of deaths and a growing public health crisis tied to vaping. As news of Kevin Burns' exit became known, Entercom moved ahead with an internal memo that says all e-cig ads are now banned.

On Friday, Sinclair Broadcast Group issued a warning that its 136 broadcast TV stations could be "blacked out" on all AT&T-owned TV services come Friday. Now, AT&T is offering its own fighting words in a matter that further puts into question if a new retransmission consent deal can be had anytime soon.

The Third Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals has decided to vacate and remand "the bulk of its actions" taken over the last three years with respect to "sweeping rule changes" and their impact on ownership of broadcast media by women and racial minorities. 

No, Ben Tatta isn't taking the San Gabriel River Freeway and getting off at Katella Avenue. However, he may have more time to do in the coming days. The creator, co-founder and president of 605 is leaving his day-to-day role at the next-gen TV measurement firm.

With 77,000 watts of power from a facility east of the metropolitan area, EMF offers Atlanta radio listeners its noncommercial Christian Contemporary Music network, KLOVE. Now, it is grabbing a pair of FM translators in a move that could bring Air1 to the South's biggest market.

Nexstar Media Group and Tribune Media are officially one. The companies completed their merger on Thursday, with closing announced following market close. Concurrently, TEGNA and The E.W. Scripps Co. each closed on their acquisitions of Nexstar spinoffs resulting from the deal.

OK, that annoying commercial is on again and you're changing the station to something else. But, what if the spot you're hearing is entertaining and informative? A New York-based "crowd-sourced writing solutions company" born out of Comedywire might be to thank. Companies including iHeartMedia and Nexstar Media Group are already believers.

Author and veteran political consultant and commentator Dick Morris is joining the lineup at Forecast 2020 — Radio's Financial Summit. He'll deliver a special address focused on the 2020 presidential election, and if reelection of the president is a lock or a Democrat can take the White House.