the HOT List

As Zacks Equity Research sees it, "value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment." Among these values are stocks that could be getting relatively little notice and are compelling acquisitions. Then, there's the company that could be offering "tantalizing discounts" when compared to their fair value. Is CBS Corp. a good choice for value-oriented investors right now?

As FCC Chairman Ajit Pai assesses the damage caused by Hurricane Harvey first-hand today in Houston, Democratic Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel has called on the agency to study the storm's impact on communications infrastructure in the Louisiana and Texas counties stricken by Harvey.

The Commission has just changed the date of its October Open Meeting. This comes after a date change of its September Open Meeting, and just after the FCC postponed the opening of the 2017 biennial filing window for the submission of broadcast ownership reports on FCC Forms 323 and 323-E.

Both stations were out of service as of the Commission's 10am Central report released on Labor Day and sustained considerable storm damage. With their late Monday return, all television stations are back on the air in the areas impacted by Storm Harvey.

“The so-called ‘retail apocalypse’ makes for a great headline, but it’s simply not true." That's according to Greg Buzek, president of IHL Group, which has released a research report that declares, "A lot has been made in the mainstream news about the death of retail. But it is fake news." The 34-page White Paper, "Debunking the Retail Apocalypse," gives pause to broadcast media sales executives and members of the C-Suite, as brick-and-mortar retailers represent a healthy advertiser category that could grow through the use of radio.

TV streaming tech company Roku Inc. is going public. The Silicon Valley company announced Sept. 1 that it has publicly filed a registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission relating to a proposed initial public offering of shares of its Class A common stock.

That's the message radio industry consultants and cognoscenti have gathered from a CNN report late Thursday suggesting that a 90% ad budget reduction from 2016 for the Affordable Care Act is a plus for radio broadcasting companies.

The Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, chaired by Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), will delve into the how the post-FCC Spectrum Auction repack process is unfolding.

BIA/Kelsey will be soon adjusting its 2017 radio and TV revenue estimates for Houston, and the dollars will be heading downward. By how much is not yet known. As of now, the Texas Association of Broadcasters is working tirelessly with stations that are "in dire straits." Among those stations are two TV stations in the Beaumont-Port Arthur, Tex., area that have seen "utter devastation."

Cox Media Group's Orlando operation has been unified some seven weeks after the surprising departure of RVP Susan Larkin for a VP role at Entercom: The VP/GM of Cox's ABC-affiliated WFTV-9 and independent WRDQ-27 in Orlando has been promoted to Market VP and will now oversee the CMG radio stations in Central Florida.

Just in time for the start of the National Football League regular season and Major League Baseball playoffs, there will be a new six-second spot. No ... it has noting to do with where the football is being placed after a Time Out or a replay on a disputed baseball call. Rather, the ultra-quick commercial first used by FOX during its recent Teen Choice Awards telecast will now be used in limited quantities by FOX Sports.

In February 2010, as part of our coverage of Valerie Geller's series "In Case of Emergency," we offered a hypothetical scenario of what were to happen if the Flood of the Century arrived at your radio stations, and at your community. As new horrors unfold in Beaumont, Texas, which Thursday afternoon lost its water supply, we are pleased to offer from the RBR+TVBR archives this column on what to do when the worst shows up on your doorstep.

A new report from a professor of Music Business at New York University-Steinhardt Department of Music & Performing Arts Professions punctuates this mindset, declaring that "broadcast radio is struggling to remain relevant as consumers embrace streaming platforms." We delve into the study from Larry Miller, who declares — based on his contrarian research to what the Nielsen and RAB may share — that these trends "are crippling radio."

A man in Illinois has initiated a putative class action lawsuit against Spanish Broadcasting System for something that has nothing to do with what he heard on one of its radio stations or saw on its nationally distributed Mega TV platform. Rather, Adam Bugbee claims he received unsolicited text messages to his cell phone from SBS, even though he's on a national Do Not Call registry.

If it weren't for the valiant efforts of every member of Houston's broadcast media community, the sixth-largest market in the U.S. would be at a tremendous information loss. It speaks volumes of why local radio and TV matter, and this message should be sent to Madison Avenue today.