the HOT List

In mid-March 2018, Cox Media Group President Kim Guthrie told RBR+TVBR that an outright sale of its TV properties was not in the company's plans. “We are looking not to sell our stations, but to pursue a merger or partnership,” she said at the time. A fresh CNBC report counters Guthrie's statement. 

The FCC may be effectively closed thanks to the partial government shutdown, but it is still accepting the submission of transactions and such documents as "ex parte" letters. David Honig at MMTC just submitted two such letters, detailing calls made to two Commissioners on the subject of EEO.

A potentially ugly and long-lasting battle between an owner of TV stations seeking to merge with Nexstar and one of the nation’s largest MVPDs is now over. Terms were not disclosed.

Mike Gravino of Airwaves USA, the entity born out of the six-year-old LPTV Spectrum Rights Coalition, is salivating. He believes ATSC 3.0's benefits will give low-power TV stations, including Class A facilities, a huge boost. In fact, he thinks LPTVs have a leg up on full-power facilities.

Sinclair Broadcast Group -- the TV station owner that wasn't able to merge with Tribune Broadcasting -- is now pushing the envelope on bringing next-generation digital broadcast TV to the car, and in a big way. This was one of the biggest takeaways on the first full day of CES 2019 in Las Vegas.

On Christmas Eve, Veritone shares stumbled to a new all-time low, dipping below $4. On Thursday, a robust Q4 report was released after the Closing Bell on Wall Street. Were investors pleased? You bet, based on immediate after-hours trading.

The partial shutdown of the Federal government has left bathrooms at national parks filthy and the National Mall an unsightly mess in spots. It has also led to a cessation of most operations at the FCC. Could this retrans-like battle go on for weeks, and ice any deal-making activity?

The new agreement ensures viewers in five markets — including a major Sunshine State DMA and one of the Midwest’s largest markets — need not enter a “great affiliate swap.”

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.