the HOT List

With financial markets closed Monday (2/19) in the U.S. for Presidents' Day, RBR+TVBR analyzed broadcast media companies and their digital partners for top performance over the past 12 months. One company sticks out as a true juggernaut on the NYSE. It's American Tower.

In August 2012, Tara Broadcasting — under the direction of "The Jewish Cowboy" known officially as Managing Member Clark Garen — acquired a low-power television station serving the Coachella Valley of Southern California for $85,000. Today, this station is locally focused "Coachella Valley Classic Television." On its DT-2 signal is "Westerns 4U." It is KAKZ's DT-3 signal that has become a source of controversy — and a legal battle that has now led Garen to sue four executives at the area's primary cable TV company over non-carriage of that signal. In his view, the denial of a coveted channel slot amounts to a civil rights violation under California law.

There was more green on Wall Street Thursday, as U.S. financial markets continued their comeback in a big way. Among the media companies gaining ground: Sinclair Broadcast Group, Nexstar Media Group, and CBS Corp., which released its Q4 2017 earnings results following today's Closing Bell. We take a peek at the company's performance.

The FCC has responded to a report in The New York Times confirming an investigation into possible favoritism toward Sinclair Broadcast Group by FCC Chairman Ajit Pai by calling the accusation "absurd." In doing so, it pointed to a multimillion-dollar fine against the company for sponsored content violations while defending the chairman's push to modernize FCC media ownership rules. Some of this modernization is what pushed the FCC Inspector General to accept a request from two top Congressional Democrats to investigate Pai, which began at the end of 2017.

In a Wednesday afternoon vote inside the Rayburn House Office Building on the south side of Capitol Hill, the FCC's future as a more efficient and transparent agency became clearer. The House Energy and Commerce Committee moved forward on a vote of H.R. 4986, the "FCC Reauthorization Act of 2018," following a morning mark-up on the legislation. It includes a provision for a boost in post-Spectrum Auction repack funds. And, it freezes the Commission's fiscal budget.

On February 8, Shelley Chapman, Judge for the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, approved Cumulus Media’ Incentive Compensation Programs. Chapman’s order means hundreds of employees will see the pay out of their 2017 incentive bonuses, tied to the Cumulus 2017 and 2018 Incentive Compensation Programs. An objection to the company's incentive compensation plan filed Tuesday by U.S. Trustee William Harrington led multiple news organizations to report that Chapman's OK of the bonuses was now in jeopardy. That's not the case, Cumulus noted on Wednesday morning.

Thanks to advances in mobile, video and wireless technologies, consumers now enjoy an abundance of options. What will this mean to your bottom line at the end of 2018, and beyond? Deloitte believes it has some answers worth noting, thanks to its just-released 2018 Media and Entertainment Industry Outlook. Streaming is huge. But, Deloitte notes, this has helped spawn "several other important developments." These developments could greatly impact your company's day-to-day activities.

If it weren't for the 18 radio stations acquired by Beasley Media Group from the former Greater Media in November 2016, the last three months of 2017 wouldn't have looked so hot. With the inclusion of the stations, Beasley enjoyed a solid revenue gain and strong net income growth — despite a big dip in operating income. 

Monday was a busy day for the FCC's four Commissioners and its Chairman, Ajit Pai. Meetings were held across the day with several advisors in tow, with the discussion ranging from the FCC's AM-FM subcaps rules to rural radio policy repeal and the FCC's Class C4 facility proposal. Participating in these meetings, representing broadcasters, were the leaders of the National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters (NABOB) and the Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council (MMTC).

Fifteen years ago, a media company primarily known for its radio holdings and its leadership by an African-American woman attracted the industry's attention. Today, this company no longer owns radio stations ... and has just shed its last two owned and operated broadcast holdings. Those properties are low-powered TV stations in the Garden State.

Investors seem pleased with Viacom's results for the first three months of its fiscal 2018. Ninety minutes into Thursday's trading, shares were up by 8%. Shares finished up 7.2%. That's thanks to a Q1 earnings per share that beat Wall Street consensus estimates. But, earnings were down.

“In Watch, we had a strong year," Nielsen CEO Mitch Barns said of his company's audience measurement segment that includes its TV and radio ratings services. But, Nielsen's struggles continue in its Buy segment, which offers marketers and retailers insight on consumer purchasing behavior. There was also a big non-tax charge that hurt Nielsen's net income. These factors led to a sell-off of Nielsen shares less than an hour into Thursday's trading on Wall Street, with NLSN off nearly 10% at the Closing Bell.

On January 22, an entity comfortable with locking horns with the FCC went at it again. Prometheus Radio Project took the Commission to court, with the Media Mobilizing Project joining in a case filed with the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. Today, the Court gave its ruling to the two entities: Motion denied. This means the Commission may move forward with its rules reform, without delay.

Morgantown may be the home of West Virginia University, but for viewers of DBS providers such as DirecTV and DISH Network it wasn't the home of network affiliates based in an area to the south of the city. That's now changed, thanks to a successful petition filed with the Commission that brings stations owned by Gray Television and Nexstar Media Group to this all-important city in the Mountaineer State.

The Walt Disney Co. had a solid fiscal Q1 2018 that beat the forecasts of several Wall Street analysts. But, all is not well in the Mouse House, and Pivotal Research Group's Brian Wieser took a closer look at what went right for the company. The answer: Theme parks are hot, while broadcast and cable TV are not.