the HOT List

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr isn't playing around when it comes to "modernizing" local media ownership rules and practices he considers outdated. A Forecast 2026 panel session will break down what’s on the docket for the coming year and how it directly impacts broadcasters. It is a conversation you'll get to be a part of.

Just how frustrating is it for account executives working at local broadcast television stations across the U.S. in today's times? According to newly released data from Guideline, total media spending for local TV is down by more than 50% from just eight years ago.

The broadcast media company controlled by Patricia and Brian Lane and led on a day-to-day basis by COO Gene Steinberg has signed off on the sale of a television station serving a small city in the state of Washington. The buyer? It is a regional operator with a formidable presence in the Pacific Northwest.

A Sinclair Inc. spokesperson shared a statement with RBR+TVBR on Friday outlining how Sinclair and the Soohyung Kim-controlled and Deb McDermott-led Standard Media agreed to a Joint Sales Agreement and Shared Service Agreement for the Providence station known as "ABC6." This will make WLNE an operational sibling to WJAR.

Based on a report in The Wall Street Journal, a major merger is in the works, and this has seen David Zaslav and his Warner Bros. Discovery team engage in major talks with David Ellison and his newly ensconced team at Paramount Skydance. What could this mean for the cable TV and streaming business?

Conservative activist and Salem Media syndicated host Charlie Kirk is dead after being shot on Wednesday while hosting an event at Utah Valley University. The news was shared by President Donald Trump on Truth Social.

A proposed penalty handed by the FCC in September 2024 to the individual behind unlicensed broadcasts of "Radio Leve Kanpe" in an Essex County, N.J., city has been codified by the Commission, with a Forfeiture Order sent to Masner Beauplan on Wednesday. Now comes the tricky matter of enforcing the steep fine.

Cable's gross advertising revenue decreased by 5.9% in 2024, reaching $20.2 billion. According to S&P Global Market Intelligence, that's the lowest dollar total since 2007 and is directly linked to reduced ratings and increased competition from ad-supported streaming services. What's the outlook through 2029?

Journalist and Atlanta native Jobina Fortson-Evans will anchor the inaugural newscasts, airing in the 6pm and 11pm time slots. The newscasts, like those in other markets where CBS Owned Stations can be found, will use newly implemented augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) news studio technology.

A first set of requests from the CEO of Connoisseur Media to produce a series of documents containing a wide range of information from co-defendants Soros Fund Management and Michael Del Nin, its head of media investments, is being challenged in a Fairfield County, Conn., Superior Court on the grounds of overreach.

Fasten your seatbelts, broadcasters. A long-awaited regulatory review of the FCC's radio and TV regulations could be on the way soon. At the same time, Chairman Brendan Carr has indicated that the Commission is willing to look at a rule that prohibits a merger between or among the "Big Four" broadcast networks.

The Federal Trade Commission on Friday took steps to "accede to the vacatur" of the federal Non-Compete Clause Rule. What does that mean? In the plainest of terms, the Biden Administration-era's ban on preventing anyone from suddenly walking across the street and working at your biggest competitor is over.

Respected media advertising-focused financial analyst Brian Wieser's Madison and Wall has updated its ad forecasts for 2025, thanks to a second quarter that "came in even stronger than we anticipated." Given the Q2 reports for publicly traded radio and TV broadcast companies, are digital, social and OOH solely to thank?

Bank of America Securities analyst Jessica Reif Ehrlich has initiated coverage on Paramount Skydance Corp. Investors will hardly be excited over Ehrlich's initial analysis, which points to a long, slow growth trajectory for the company led by David Ellison. What could this mean for peers of the CBS parent?

With the closing of Connoisseur Media's acquisition of Alpha Media, the newly expanded radio station broadcasting group has given the role of Sr. VP of Programming to a 12-year company veteran. As such, the Executive VP of Content for Alpha has exited.