the HOT List

With the exit of CEO Les Moonves amid new sexual misconduct allegations the talk of the business world, Moody's Investors Service chimed in with its take on what's in store for CBS Corporation and its stock holders.

CBS's Board of Directors reached a settlement agreement with controlling shareholder National Amusements Inc. that ends pending litigation in a Delaware Chancery Court spurred by the efforts of CBS to dilute the voting power of NAI. Concurrently, CBS Chairman/CEO Les Moonves is out — and he and CBS are jointly making a multi-million dollar donation to groups tied to the #MeToo movement.

A subgroup of members of the Advisory Committee on Diversity and Digital Empowerment (ACDDE) and/or the ACDDE's Broadcast Development Working Group want to modify a just-adopted FCC incubator program designed to establish greater broadcast media ownership diversity. The NAB has just told the Commission it opposes such efforts, urging it to move forward.

Just about a decade ago, a successful broadcast media broker made the leap into radio station ownership. His newly created company snagged four FMs, two AMs and two FM translators in a big college town. Now, the company has doubled in size -- and it is all thanks to a deal with Cumulus Media.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday submitted an 11-page objection to the approval by a Houston Bankruptcy Court Judge of a disclosure statement relating to the "third amended joint Chapter 11" reorganization plan of iHeartMedia. Why is the SEC displeased with the court's decision? It's a bit complex, but it involves "an extensive list of non-debtor third parties."

Thanks to "AM revitalization" and their use to bring HD radio channels to the masses, the FM translator has become a valued assets for many small and independent broadcasters. Among them is Rahul Walia. He's now the owner of an operation that is about to make history in New York.

A family-owned company based in rural Illinois with 18 TV stations across the U.S. is presently engaged in a battle over a new retransmission fee agreement with DISH Network. As such, stations including the ABC affiliate in Wausau, Wisc., are "blacked out" from the DBS provider.

On Thursday, RBR+TVBR learned more about purchase of a big Class B AM serving the Dallas-Fort Worth metro. The buyer is headed by the same individual who is involved in a testy FM translator battle in the Raleigh-Durham market that has resulted in a lengthy tussle with Tom Birch's Lakes Media LLC. And, wouldn't you know, the FCC's Audio Division Chief has just issued a ruling on said translator.

Viewers to the CBS affiliate serving such cities as Cadillac, Traverse City, Petoskey and Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., awoke on Friday unable to view the privately owned station. Unfortunately, the reason had nothing to do with a retransmission fee negotiation gone bad. Rather, a devastating fire at the station's transmitter building is to blame.

A recently departed member of the NAB Radio Board of Directors and final President/CEO of CBS Radio has reemerged as the CFO of a global transactions firm with its roots in Dayton, Ohio. He succeeds Bob Fishman, who previously announced his forthcoming retirement.

Three weeks ago, Tribune announced that it had terminated its merger agreement with Sinclair Broadcast Group and filed a lawsuit in the Delaware Chancery Court against Sinclair for breach of contract. Now, Sinclair has fired back with its own breach of contract claims against Tribune and seeks monetary damages. 

More problems for iHeart as the board, majority owners, and private equity sponsors of Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings Inc. are seeking class damages in Delaware’s Chancery Court for alleged failure to seek payment on a $1 billion debt of bankrupt parent iHeartCommunications Inc. They filed suit last Monday.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai wasted no time issuing a statement on Monday regarding the Inspector General’s report on the FCC’s dealings with Sinclair Broadcast Group. That’s because the report contained good news for the chairman.

In a story that has wide-ranging implications, the two companies have reached a “substantial settlement.” Music company BMG Rights Management and Cox Communications have long been at loggerheads over a digital copyright case and this deal marks a turning point.

The company will not be going to court over the $40 million defamation lawsuit filed by Perri “Pebbles” Reid, the former manager of '90s all-girl trio TLC. Reid had alleged VH-1's CrazySexyCool presented her as "conniving and dishonest.”