the HOT List

As of Dec. 31, 2017, Cumulus Media employed 5,213 people — 3,515 of whom were employed full time. While some of these individuals may have some internal anxiety regarding the company's current Chapter 11 reorganization plans, which have received some objections as part of an "anticipated" process, it is business as usual across the company's radio stations. That said, Cumulus' annual 10-K filing with the SEC outlines several "risks" that the company faces in fiscal 2018. Among these concerns is that Cumulus' emergence from Chapter 11 of the U.S. bankruptcy code "is not assured."

The Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors of Cumulus Media on Wednesday filed an objection to the confirmation of the first amended joint plan of reorganization submitted by the nation's No. 2 radio broadcasting company to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York. An ad hoc Cross-Holder Committee quickly followed suit. Cumulus Media responded by sending a statement to the media explaining that the twin objections "were anticipated."

Cumulus Media is placing four stations in a newly formed trust to be overseen by the MVP Capital broker, who is also overseeing Entercom's divestitures and a trust created 11 years ago for Citadel Broadcasting. The new Cumulus divestments are directly tied to its Chapter 11 reorganization petition in a New York federal bankruptcy court.

"Media channel buyer bias must end." "Junior buyers need to be better educated." Sound bytes from a meeting with Entercom President/CEO David Field? Nope. That's what top radio industry executives are moaning about in Australia, based on a study conducted in Great Britain.

Excluding the Winter Olympic Games from South Korea, the total U.S. national ad market soared by 8% in February 2018. This growth was driven by "strong gains" in National Television, Digital and Radio, just-released Standard Media Index data indicate.

As part of its petition in a New York federal bankruptcy court to start anew under Chapter 11 protection, Cumulus Media has submitted a "First Amended Joint Plan of Reorganization" that it and its "debtor affiliates" have signed off on. On Friday, U.S. Bank — as indenture trustee — spoke up. It filed a five-page objection to the plan.

Has iHeartMedia staged a surreptitious "fraudulent and otherwise wrongful" plan to shrink the dollars they believe are owed to them? That what the company's legacy noteholders claim is the biggest problem with the media company's Chapter 11 restructuring plan it has submitted to a Texas bankruptcy court, and on Wednesday moved forward with an adversary proceeding in the case.

In a unanimous 5-0 vote, the FCC on Thursday adopted a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that asks whether the Commission should streamline the process for reauthorizing television satellite stations when they are assigned or transferred in combination with their previously approved parent station.

According to a just-released forecast from the ad industry research arm of IPG Mediabrands, digital and out-of-home advertising — including the ads cinema-goers see before the previews start — are the only media types forecast to grow ad sales in 2018. What could this mean for radio and TV broadcasters across the U.S. in an election year that also included the Winter Olympics? Additionally, what did MAGNA have to say about iHeartMedia and Cumulus impacting ad dollar growth?

MGTF Radio Company — the entity created by the sons of veteran Pittsburgh radio station owner Saul Frischling — on Tuesday (3/20) morning filed a bankruptcy petition in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Missouri. RBR+TVBR reviewed the filings, assigned to Judge Charles E. Rendlen III, and a list of creditors had already been furnished. By day's end, it became known that WPNT Inc., the licensee for the Frischling family's two FMs in Pittsburgh, had been added to the Missouri petition. We've reviewed the court documents, and have a quick link to our January 2018 interview with Gregg Frischling, who has not responded to requests for comment.  

In a 96-page filing complete with three exhibits made Monday with the Commission, the affiliate associations for ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox Broadcasting collectively urge the FCC to modify the national audience reach cap as it applies to non-Big-Four network-owned stations while retaining the current 39% cap as it applies to the networks — creating a "necessary" two-tiered national owner reach limit. They also seek a "keep and tweak" approach to the "UHF discount."

If you'd like your radio or TV stations to get a little greener but have been stymied by the FCC, the NAB's got your back. In comments filed Monday with the Commission, the NAB responded to its proposal to eliminate the filing requirement for paper contracts and other documents under Section 73.3613 of the commission's rules. "NAB supports the proposal and urges the Commission to move quickly to eliminate this redundant and outdated requirement," it says.

“The Jewish Cowboy” of California's Coachella Valley will now be arguing that his TV broadcasting company's civil rights were violated by one of the nation's biggest MVPDs in federal court, rather than in state court. It's the latest chapter in a 2 1/2 year quest by Clark Garen, Managing Member of Tara Broadcasting, to get a low-power television station serving the Palm Springs, Calif., DMA on Charter Communications' Spectrum systems in the city of Beaumont. 

An internal memo penned by Entercom President/CEO David Field, first shared today by Streamline Publishing's co-owned Radio INK, has quickly emerged as another canon in the collection of liturgical love of Field for the radio industry — and another reason why the industry deserves more attention from ad buyers and marketers.

For the last four days, rumors have been rampant that Cox Media Group is shopping around many of its radio stations. The tinder for this fiery hearsay is a March 13 announcement that CMG's new VP/Communications & Public Affairs is joining the company at a time when the owner of radio and TV stations and newspapers focuses on "strategically aligning" its businesses and "leveraging local scale." RBR+TVBR spoke with a top Cox executive to set the record straight: it's fake news.