the HOT List

Some 14 months after rumors first swirled that Raycom Media and Gray Television were considering a combination of assets, such a transaction has come to fruition. An announcement came from Atlanta-based Gray early Monday, and the proposed merger is in the billions of dollars.

With "no choice" left and with the clock ticking, Univision has thrust consumers into its rocky retransmission fee deal discussions with DISH Network by warning them of a possible fade-to-black of its networks in markets where it has O&Os. DISH responded with comments that question Univision's tactics.

A lengthy battle over carriage fees between Estrella TV parent Liberman Broadcasting and Comcast, which led to calls of discrimination against Liberman by the MVPD giant, will now involve one less market. One of the three stations the parties quarreled over has just been sold — and guess who the buyer is.

In a 107-page document submitted Thursday with the Houston-based U.S. Bankruptcy Court considering its Chapter 11 restructuring petition, iHeartMedia revealed that the John Malone-led Liberty Media Corp. has withdrawn its offer to obtain a 40% equity interest in the company. But, iHeart is open to renewed talks and is chatting with other entities.

Tuesday, June 19, 2018 will be a memorable day for many iHeart C-Suiters. In a Houston federal bankruptcy court, a judge approved the company's incentive plans for its "insiders." Thousands of miles away in the south of France, many of these insiders were partying with Jon Bon Jovi at a VIP dinner with top decision makers at Google, AT&T, Unilever, Facebook, DDB Worldwide, and Hulu.

It was what FCC Chairman Ajit Pai didn't say in a blog post detailing the Commission's July Open Meeting agenda that perhaps said more than what will actually be up for discussion on Thursday, July 12. Any debate and chat on the loosening of the FCC's national TV audience reach cap, or radio's ownership subcaps, won't come until at least August.

Artificial Intelligence-powered media attribution and analytics company Veritone Inc. has certainly seen roller-coaster like activity for its stock since an IPO in mid-May 2017. Now, the Costa Mesa, Calif.-based company has commenced a new underwritten public offering of its public stock. 

There was a lot of mixed action for broadcast media stocks on Wednesday. Companies including CBS Corp., Emmis Communications and Nexstar Media Group are hot. Companies such as iHeartMedia and Salem Media Group are not. Here's the lowdown on just how high, and low, these media stocks could go.

There'll be some serious courting of Twenty-First Century Fox after all, and she's looking like the Belle of the ball. One week after Comcast unveiled what it calls a “superior all-cash proposal” to acquire "21CF" after the spinoff of “New Fox,” The Walt Disney Co. struck back with the signing of "an amended acquisition agreement." Fox likes it, but it's still open to another counter offer from Comcast.

More than two years after a Medford, Ore.-based talk radio programming syndicator filed an antitrust complaint against Cumulus Media and its Westwood One national radio operation, an action that was dismissed by the U.S. Bankruptcy Judge that approved Cumulus' reorganization plan, the fight started by Mark Masters has entered its next phase.

Fifteen years ago, Emmis Communications agreed to a partnership with Sinclair Telecable to acquire six radio stations in the Texas state capital for $105 million. This deal gave Emmis a 50.1% controlling interest in the stations, with Sinclair Telecable taking the remaining 49.9%. Now, Sinclair Telecable has invested nearly $1 million in an FM translator with nearly full market coverage. What does Sinclair have in mind? 

Spurring growth in the relatively flat radio industry is a priority for owners and operators. Could subcap relief from the FCC provide the spark station owners seek? Would such action, and/or the post-Chapter 11 reorganization of Cumulus Media and iHeartMedia, serve as a catalyst for attracting new capital to the industry? That was the subject of a Broadcast M&A panel session featuring two top radio industry executives conducted Thursday at the S&P Global Media Intelligence 35th annual Radio & TV Finance Summit.

Should a "next generation ad server" focused on digital audio advertising solutions be part of the long-term growth plan for a radio broadcasting company? One San Francisco Bay Area operation, now owned by Pandora, believes so. RBR+TVBR spoke with AdsWizz VP/Product Erik Barraud to learn more about its programmatic solution for online audio, and why AM and FM stations may wish to follow iHeartMedia and Rogers Media's lead to further monetize their audio streams.

TV retransmission revenue. That was, by far, the hottest topic of discussion across several broadcast industry panels at the S&P Global TV & Radio Finance Summit, held today in New York. S&P Global Market Intelligence Senior Director Robyn Flynn opened the day-long summit by declaring that retrans fees are "bringing stability to TV stations because their revenue is no longer tethered solely to the ups and downs of the advertising market." Correspondent Renee Cassis offers full details here.

Three months ago, word first surfaced around Washington, D.C., that a former attorney at prestigious law firm Williams & Connolly LLP was President Trump's likely pick as the next FCC Commissioner. Late in the evening of June 1, the White House revealed that Geoffrey Starks has indeed been selected to serve on the Commission. Now, the Senate Commerce Committee is gearing up for a hearing on the Trump nominee.