the HOT List

Lotus Communications is one of the few radio broadcasting companies that owns radio stations with Spanish-language and English-language programming. How is the company capitalizing on this? And, is there one thing that's particularly important when inking that contract with a client? Company President Jim Kalmenson shares all in this latest Hispanic Radio Podcast.

Six days ago, iHeartMedia submitted a "NT 10Q" filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission with details on what the nation's No. 1 radio broadcasting company expected to report as its Q1 2018. We now know that iHeart was mostly correct with its math. It turns out that the company's consolidated net loss is a bit wider than it predicted.

RBR+TVBR has confirmed that the U.S. Department of Justice has put into question Meredith Corp.'s planned acquisition of a Sinclair Broadcast Group TV station. Sinclair agreed to divest the station as part of its continued efforts to win regulatory approval of its Tribune Media merger. The station has now been put into the Sinclair Divestiture Trust and could end up with a different owner.

The CW affiliate serving the Duluth, Minn., market, is trading hands. The news comes as the station has been yanked by DISH Network -- a move that's the result of yet another retransmission fee dispute between station owner and a DBS provider.

With spin-off deals in place and under Commission review, the FCC on Monday opted to establish a firm comment period on its consideration of Sinclair Broadcast Group's proposed merger with Tribune Media. Based on what was shared, this puts the final date for public input on the controversial deal in mid-July.

A Class B AM covering much of the Baltimore-Washington corridor that has a long, rich history in D.C. is being acquired by a leading broadcasting company with a rich history of its own in the Nation's Capital. The transaction also marks the end of radio station ownership for an entity controlled by the man who controls the NFL's Washington Redskins.

It's been a tough month for Hispanic-focused media company Entravision. Its stock is at levels not seen since September 2014. Its CEO acknowledged that Q1 was "a difficult quarter." Now comes word that the company’s independent registered public accounting firm has been dismissed.

A war between CBS Corp. and the Shari Redstone-controlled National Amusements Inc. is on. In a vote held Thursday afternoon in defiance of an attempt by NAI to weaken and/or negate its outcome, CBS Corp.'s Board of Directors voted 11-3 to dilute NAI's voting interest from approximately 79% to approximately 20%.

In early April, RBR+TVBR reported on an effort by Gray Television launched in January to get DirecTV and DISH Network to add a CBS affiliate serving eastern Kentucky. At the time, more than 2,200 filings were made in response to Gray's FCC petition. The Commission on Wednesday ruled on the matter.

With iHeartMedia seeking to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, a quarterly conference call with investors was not expected. A glimpse of how the company did in Q1 was, and iHeart delivered ... via a hard-to-find SEC filing that had many of the details. A mixed financial performance is expected.

What is being hailed as "the first fully-digital attribution service for broadcast radio that will transform the way advertisers plan, buy and measure their audio campaigns to better optimize the unparalleled reach of radio" has been launched by the nation's No. 1 radio broadcasting company.

For most of her 24-year career, one top radio industry market manager has called the Mile High City home. She's been associated with a group of stations that have seen five owners since 1994. Now, after sitting on the sidelines for six months, she's moving across the street to a group of radio stations that were once her longtime competitors.

Cumulus Media is set to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection within the next six weeks. Is it on the right track? The company's just-released Q1 2018 results suggest this is the case -- although the path to recovery may be slow and steady.

For the third time in less than three years, a Class C2 facility serving a rural community some five hours to the southeast of Portland, Ore., has filed for a silent STA with the Commission. Why? It seems there are some landlord-tenant issues that have gotten a bit testy. It's the latest nightmare for a DJ-turned-owner who shares his tale exclusively with RBR+TVBR.

CBS doesn't have to wait until its 2018-2019 Upfront presentation on Wednesday or its annual shareholders meeting on Friday to get the attention of the news media. Today's filing of a lawsuit in Delaware by CBS Corp. and its Special Committee of its Board of Directors alleging breaches of fiduciary duty by National Amusements Inc. is the talk of Manhattan.