the HOT List

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.

Think Time Warner's combination with AT&T is too much media concentration? Look at what Comcast wants to do: Right after Wednesday's Closing Bell on Wall Street it revealed a "superior all-cash proposal" to acquire Twenty-First Century Fox after the spinoff of "New Fox." This offer trumps that presented to Fox by The Walt Disney Co.

It's a "historic defeat" for the U.S. Department of Justice: Time Warner can merge with AT&T, with zero conditions. Will Tuesday's court decision lead to a new wave of media consolidation, with Sinclair Broadcast Group's still-to-be-approved merger with Tribune Media the first of perhaps many more deals to come? Leading brokers and D.C. attorneys are split on the answer.

Local advertising in Los Angeles will top $9.1 billion in 2018, while statewide spending is expected to exceed $18.8 billion across California’s 12 media markets. Those are the key findings from BIA Advisory Services’ latest local advertising forecast for the Golden State, released ahead of a July 12 presentation.

Did CBS officers and/or directors breach their fiduciary duties to shareholders or otherwise violate state or federal laws for their alleged role in taking a laissez faire attitude to allegations of lewd conduct and sexual harassment by former morning news anchor Charlie Rose? A New Orleans attorney wants an investigation so it can best answer this question.

Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) has carved an indelible imprint into the nation's broadcast TV industry. Its stations can be found in practically every market in the U.S.; its programming has served multiple generations of Christians. Now, TBN is officially saying goodbye to four major-market channels in the Midwest, following their stations' successful Auction 1000 participation.

Four months after 11 local broadcast TV stations were removed by law from Charter Spectrum lineups across the U.S. in the absence of a new retransmission fee agreement, the MVPD has restored the channels -- and agreed to a new deal with Northwest Broadcasting.

The seventh and final installment in a limited podcast series focused on the things that could derail a transaction is devoted to the topic of seller's remorse. Plus, what happens when a deal seems all but set, but an unwelcome surprise pops up in the 11th hour? Tackling the two subjects are Community Broadcasters' Jim Leven and Bruce Mittman, noted broker Doug Ferber and a veteran D.C. attorney.