the HOT List

"Tribune who?" Sinclair Broadcast Group easily beat Wall Street forecasts by registering strong net revenue gains and net income improvement in Q3, even when factoring in "ticking fee costs" tied to the dissolution of its now-aborted merger with Tribune Media. The quality Q3 led Sinclair's Board of Directors to increase its quarterly cash dividend on the company's common stock.

Entercom shareholders may not be pleased with the company's Q3 earnings results, given the sharp drop in value seen across Tuesday's trading, but President/CEO David Field is confident Q4 and the months ahead in 2019 will bring the benefits of CBS Radio ownership to full fruition. That said, what types of advertisers are leading the charge as Entercom seeks to achieve greater net income? 

Fifty-one weeks ago, CBS Radio officially became a part of Entercom, greatly transforming the company. But, just how broken were the CBS Radio stations? While Entercom head David Field says his company is right where it thought it would be, as the company's Q3 2018 earnings were released, a glimpse of its top markets omit the biggest places where Entercom should be monetizing its assets.

Clayton, a self-described “poor young kid from the hills of Bardstown” who became an international leader in telecommunications innovation and a trustee and lifelong supporter of his alma mater, Bellarmine University, died on Nov. 3.

With new owner SiriusXM waiting in the wings and aggressive marketing of Pandora for Brands and its "#powerofaudio" initiative directly taking on AM and FM radio, streaming audio pioneer Pandora Media released its Q3 earnings results immediately after Monday's Closing Bell on Wall Street. Is Pandora recharged and ready for new heights in 2019? You bet.

More than ever, connecting with multicultural consumers through "inclusive marketing" is a must among CMOs seeking to build brand longevity while reflecting the reality of America today. For P&G Chief Brand Officer Marc Pritchard, this means starting from within, and ensuring that the internal composition of a company matches the audience it seeks. Is radio and TV far behind on this effort?

First, it was Entercom. Then, Cumulus Media stepped forward. Non-payment from U.S. Traffic Network significantly impacted these company's earnings in the first half of 2018. Now, Beasley has been stung by USTN, hampering its Q3 results.

After months of frustration, thousands of dollars in legal and engineering bills and difficulty in reaching listeners across four counties in North Carolina's Triangle region, an individual known for many years as the founder of radio industry research firm Birch/Scarborough Corp. can finally rejoice in delivering an interference-free Class A Country station to what it argues is its entire listening area — including a big chunk of Durham County.

With significant leadership changes at CBS Corp. in the wake of Les Moonves' Sept. 9 exit amid sexual harassment charges, shareholders have been nervous with respect to how the noise created from the scandal would impact the media company's bottom line. While cable networks revenue declined, entertainment, local media, and publishing each saw gains.

In June 2016, a U.S. District Court Judge ruled that songs played by stations then-owned by CBS Radio that were originally recorded before 1972 but remastered do not fall under the purview of state copyright law. Some 17 months later, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit overturned the lower court's decision, creating a setback for CBS. CBS asked a California U.S. Appeals Court for a rehearing. It said no.

If you don't think investors are salivating over SiriusXM's planned merger acquisition of Pandora Media, think again. Pandora shares twice in September surged past $9.50 a share, and in early after-hours trading on Wednesday all signs indicate that the streaming audio company is on its way to match or beat those year-to-date peaks.

Strong programming is certainly a factor in the rise to No. 1 of a Spanish News/Talk station in Miami. But, what has this meant for its sales opportunity? What could other radio operators eyeing Spanish-language talk programming learn? These questions and more are discussed in this latest Hispanic Radio Podcast, featuring WURN-AM "Actualidad Radio" LSM Annabelle Urrea-Guzman.

Matrix Solutions has examined more than $256 million worth of relevant political ad sales to determine individual and total local broadcast spend of Democratic and Republican senatorial candidates in 10 "toss up" states. What did it find? Democrats have outspent Republicans on TV spots by a very large margin.

Although Tuesday's trading volume was much lower than average, some industry observers have keenly observed Cumulus Media's current stock trajectory. Midway through Wednesday's trading session on Wall Street, shares are at their lowest since emerging from debtor-in-possession status.

In a transaction that's yet to be filed with the FCC, Saga Communications is acquiring four FMs in a big college market. While the price Saga is paying for the quartet was not shared in Saga's press release, RBR+TVBR knows how much the seller earned for the stations.