the HOT List

After five amendments, and some modifications, a Chapter 11 plan of reorganization initially proposed with its April 28, 2018 submission to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas is now in the hands of Houston-based judge Marvin Isgur.

Gray Television may be still be popping leftover New Year's Eve bottles of champagne in celebration of its merger with Raycom Media. But, one former Raycom partner certainly won't be: it's just been jilted.

Less than one month ago, the Partnership for Innovation and Empowerment suggested that Guggenheim Capital Partners gagged American Urban Radio Networks (AURN) and Black News to death. Now, this PIE is taking a sharp cake cutter and flinging at one of the largest digital communication and advertising giants on the planet: Google.

Verizon Fios has a large number of subscribers in the Washington, D.C., area, in addition to the Tidewater region of Virginia and Western New York. Those three markets are home to TEGNA stations that were blocked from subscribers since Jan. 1 due to, you guessed it, a retransmission fee dispute. At 6pm Eastern on Thursday, a new deal was reached.

So far in 2019, with the turmoil of Les Moonves and the drama of a possible reunification with Viacom in the rear-view mirror, CBS shares are on the upswing. On Thursday, a climb was seen as the company put the onus on Nielsen to get its act together should it want a new ratings contract.

According to S&P Global Market Intelligence media research group Kagan, U.S. broadcast station mergers and acquisitions volume reached $4.31 billion in Q4 2018. Driving the activity during the final three months of the year was a deal that was never supposed to happen.

As 2019 enters its third day, one of the ugliest disputes to involve a major MVPD and one of the nation's biggest station owners is unfolding in the nation's two biggest markets, and in locales across the U.S. that just happen to include to big National Football League cities -- presenting myriad problems for the NFL, viewers, and advertisers.

The FCC is now a five-member body again—thanks to the Senate and a likely nod by the White House.

Violations galore were found by the Commission to have been committed by a host of NBC and Telemundo owned-and-operated stations, with some dating as far back as 1996. To resolve the matter, a Consent Decree with the Commission was struck. It is valued in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, and even Republican Commissioner Mike O'Rielly, who wants "modernization" of the so-called "Kid Vid" rules, approves.

In a surprising move, Prasad has resigned from his dual roles as co-CEO and Director of Townsquare Media, effective Jan. 31. Prasad is a co-founder of the media company focused on radio stations in small and mid-sized markets. Here's what happens next for Townsquare's C-Suite.

The FCC will suspend most operations in the middle of the day on Thursday. Staff will have up to four hours to complete an orderly shutdown of operations.

AI-powered attribution specialist Veritone Inc.'s fall 2017 stock surge, and subsequent dip, has been a much-reported story. Now, some may wish Veritone stock was worth even half of what it was priced a year ago.

The holiday cheer may soon to jeers for cable TV subscribers in a host of towns including St. George, Utah. While these locales may be small in size, over-the-air signals may not be present, making MVPDs essential for viewing network television. Thus, the situation for Nexstar Media Group is a thorny one, as it is involved in yet another retransmission fee dispute.

Uh-oh ... its Retrans Season. That's not good news for Charter Spectrum subscribers who watch Tribune Broadcasting TV stations in 24 markets. Talks on a new retransmission fee agreement aren't going well, and a "blackout" could soon be seen in markets as large as New York and Los Angeles.

The "Breeze" is swaying Radio. Soft AC is exploding. But, is it a smart move, or just another reactionary wave from companies looking for a quick fix to long-term problems? RBR+TVBR reached out to a veteran consultant known for bringing "Softrock" to Boston more than 40 years ago for his view on this newly hot FM programming choice.