the HOT List

Make it nine months and counting for those twin iHeartMedia offers to amend its existing term loans and for a debt securities swap. The nation's No. 1 radio broadcasting company announced, yet again, an extension of its exchange offers and consent solicitations. The offers were originally set to expire on April 7. How many more extensions will it take?

There's an Oregon radio signal that not only covers much of Eugene and Springfield, but also Corvallis and Albany, and the state capital of Salem. This station even reaches the coastal communities of Newport and Lincoln City, and on good days comes in just fine from the top of the OHSU Tram in Southwest Portland. It could be yours, for the right price.

The FCC’s decision to abolish the main studio rule is to be effective 30 days after the publication of the decision in the Federal Register. That publication is tentatively scheduled, according to Federal Register documents reviewed by noted D.C. communications attorney David Oxenford, for Friday, Dec. 8. Here's what to expect come Jan. 7, 2018, according to Oxenford.

The Media Rating Council (MRC) has released new standards for digital audience-based measurement — a 69-page document that offers much detail as to how it arrived at its new standards. While the new standards build on the MRC’s prior work on viewable impression measurement and invalid traffic filtration requirements, they spell out recommended practices for the collection and processing of information used in the assignment of audience characteristics to impression-level data. The concept of Duration Weighting for video ads is also now included in the MRC's standards.

Michael Dell's OTA Broadcasting made a fortune by participating in the FCC's incentive auction. In particular, his Fairfax, Va.-based operation earned exactly $125,932,367 for giving up the spectrum of the full-power UHF station bringing Ion Life programming to southern New England. Now, OTA's Channel-Sharing Agreement struck to ensure the network's continued over-the-air availability is being traded ... to Ion Media Networks.

On Sept. 4, Nexstar Media Group shares sat at $57.80, with some wondering if the broadcast TV's shares were somewhat undervalued. The dip in value erased improvements seen since a similar dip in mid-June, and in mid-May. Today, Nexstar shares are on fire. With Wednesday's Closing Bell on Wall Street, they're ever-closer to reaching a new five-year high.

In late July, Lenfest Broadcasting and Philadelphia-area licensee WMCN License Holdings LLC agreed to sell its channel-sharing agreement for a station that relinquished its spectrum in the FCC's incentive auction. The buyer then assigned its rights and obligations to acquire the "zombie" station serving the nation's fourth-largest market to the operator of a regional news network serving the New York Tri-State Area. The asset purchase agreement has now been filed with the FCC, making this news and information-focused entity's expansion to the Delaware Valley. Kalil & Co. served as the exclusive broker in this transaction.

Total local advertising revenue in the U.S. will cross the $150 billion mark, while traditional media such as radio and TV will account for nearly two-thirds of that revenue. Those are the key findings from BIA/Kelsey's just-released U.S. Local Advertising Forecast 2018 report.

RBR+TVBR late Monday reported the sale of 13 TV stations in 10 markets by ZGS Communications to the NBCUniversal arm that includes the Telemundo Spanish-language network's owned-and-operated stations. The deal involves one full-power station, nine Class A stations, and low power stations serving Springfield, Mass., and Richmond. We now know that channel-sharing agreements forged by ZGS, a participant in the FCC's incentive auction, are also involved in its deal with Telemundo. We've also confirmed the purchase price for the 13 stations.

Mark Jan. 25, 2018 on your calendar, AM broadcasters that still seek an FM translator. That's when the second cross-service FM translator auction filing window for stations with kHz-only signals -- a.k.a. Auction 100 -- begins. The window closes not long afterward.

After 37 years as Chairman of DISH Network Corp., Charlie Ergen can no longer add the title "CEO" to his role at the Englewood, Colo.-based direct broadcast satellite (DBS) service provider. Effective immediately, Ergen has relinquished his post as Chief Executive Officer "to devote more attention to the company's emerging wireless business." Meanwhile, all eyes are on the new role for Warren Schlichting.

This week, the state of Maine will get another economic boost from the official ribbon-cutting and grand opening of a 33,000-square foot manufacturing facility in the city of Lewiston. The launch of the new Dielectric facility will also be good news for TV broadcasting companies in the midst of a post-FCC spectrum auction repack process. In an exclusive RBR+TVBR Weekly Tech Roundup interview, Dielectric VP/GM Keith Pelletier shares why there's a need for the new facility, and how Sinclair Broadcast Group ownership has helped Dielectric achieve considerable market share in its space.

NBCUniversal has said goodbye to its largest affiliate partner for its main Spanish-language network, Telemundo. That's because NBCUniversal's Telemundo Station Group is buying the company's assets and, pending FCC and other government approvals, will be welcoming their 13 TV stations in 10 markets fully into the O&O fold.

The three-pronged media company is poised for growth in its current markets and could expand into other areas of the U.S. where holes of interest present themselves. With a highly publicized leadership change now in its past, Townsquare is being co-led by a genial co-CEO who came on board 7 1/2 years ago after a tenure as a VP at Thomas H. Lee Partners. RBR+TVBR spoke with Dhruv Prasad about his passion for local radio, and how that will help bring more riches to the broadcast company.

As news of Cumulus Media's Chapter 11 reorganization plan filtered across the broadcast media industry, some pointed to the number of creditors who have some sizable unsecured claims they may not be able to collect more than pennies on the dollar on, should things turn particularly sour for the company. Among those potentially impacted: Industry veteran Randy Michaels, and Westwood One founder Norm Pattiz.