the HOT List

RBR+TVBR on Friday spoke with a senior legal analyst at financial research firm Debtwire who questioned whether or not iHeartMedia's Dec. 11 plan confirmation hearing will go in the company's favor. Could the analyst's concerns be for naught?

At 3:18am Saturday a war of words commenced between one of the nation's fiercest combatants of retransmission fee increases and the owner of 47 television stations erupted. A big retrans dispute was ready to be waged. By lunchtime, it was all over.

It's official: RBR+TVBR has learned that US Traffic Network (USTN) is ceasing all of its operations, following rush hour today. While the fiscally troubled company has already closed down its radio unit, it had kept its TV business going. 

Dec. 11, 2018, will be a very important day for iHeartMedia. On that date is the company's plan confirmation hearing. If the plan gets court approval, a "new" iHeart will be born. But, what if that doesn't happen? It's a possibility, says a senior legal analyst at financial research firm Debtwire.

The approval of Nominet as a TV "White Spaces" database administrator first attracted the NAB's attention in October. Then, it asked the FCC to reconsider the Office of Engineering and Technology’s approval for the official registry of .UK domain names to operate its white space database system. The NAB has just renewed its calls for a second thought on the matter.

Think the radio business is more challenged than its sexier visual cousin, TV, with advertisers? Think again. October ad growth data from Standard Media Index show AM and FM enjoying healthy growth in the month. TV? Flat growth was seen.

That's a question asked by Reymerlyn Martin of Insider Monkey, a Wall Street investor's blog that tracks more than 700 hedge funds and money managers. "Our extensive review of these public filings is finally over," he writes. As such, he's ready to reveal "the smart money sentiment" toward one of Radio's biggest players.

There aren't a lot of women in engineering or tech-focused positions -- including in the world of information technologies (IT). For Michelle King, who handles radio industry sales for media software provider WideOrbit, the road to career success was far from easy. Here is her story.

All companies provide big bonus payments to top-level executives. Should iHeartMedia, considering its billions of dollars in debt? The nation's No. 1 owner of radio stations says yes, and wants the bankruptcy court judge in charge of approving its restructuring plan to agree.

In mid-November, flowery press releases reflected "business as usual" for a Hispanic media company that today is comprised of radio and TV O&Os, an over-the-air television network, and a production studio. Little did anyone know that the C-Suite was days away from voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

It may not have been the top topic of conversation for FCC Chairman Ajit Pai in a blog post outlining what will be voted on at the Commission's December Open Meeting, but make no mistake about it — the biggest reason for AM and FM station owners to give thanks this holiday season is an NPRM on "modernization" of the Local Radio Ownership Rule.

Driving listeners to radio on any platform and at any time has never been more challenging, even as digital technology has afforded a host of new opportunities. At Forecast 2019, the consumption and monetization of digital options was a top topic across two panel discussions.

A report late Sunday in the New York Post has fueled the fire once again that Viacom and CBS Corp. are indeed set to reunify. The tabloid, however, puts the timetable for a reuniting not in years, but in months.

Entercom's Q3 earnings results delivered a mixed reaction from Wall Street. Earnings per share slightly missed the consensus analyst estimate. On a same-station basis, net revenue in Q3 dropped as pro-forma Adjusted EBITDA slipped by $3 million. Entercom President/CEO David Field is satisfied. A full-time investor mainly focused on U.S. equities believes Field has every reason to be content.

Salem Media Group revealed during its Q3 earnings call that political dollar growth will not be enough to bring revenue growth in Q4. The company's stock is flirting with a fresh five-year low. Now, Simply Wall St. is asking if Salem's balance sheet is strong enough to weather a storm. Is it?