the HOT List

A presentation devoted to "cord-cutting" was delivered to the Wall Street investment community on Thursday as part of the Goldman Sachs Communacopia conference, with Mike Vorhaus, Los Angeles-based President of Magid Advisors, sharing some data about the rising embrace of SVOD services. The data are sobering reminders for broadcast TV's C-Suite that local news and original programming may be its final saving grace.

With a declaration that he's not concerned about ratings for 2017-18 National Football League telecasts, CBS Corp. Chairman/CEO Les Moonves doubled down on his company's sports delivery mission by saying his network will focus on news and scores and not on analyst discussion and debate with the launch of a sports-focused OTT service. Investors yawned, and sold off their CBS shares.

Sure, there's a lot of reports out there, sponsored by digital media denizens, that seek to paint a bleak picture for MVPDs and broadcast TV's C-Suite by suggesting "cord-cutting" and digital delivery of video entertainment is more apparent than ever. The latest report comes from Pew Research Center, however, and its findings regarding how young adults are consuming television programming need to be read — and fully digested — by every broadcast media executive today.

What can radio broadcasting companies learn from the waning weeks of a sizzling summer? With the release of Nielsen’s portable people meter (PPM) ratings for August 2017, one thing stands out for those looking to perhaps increase sales revenue. Whether you should "Walk This Way" or follow "Her Strut," one format may be a dollar delivery engine for your group.

When it came time to prepare for one of the biggest and most dangerous hurricanes to ever make landfall in the mainland U.S., there was one "overwhelming" choice when it came to news and information before, during, and after the storm. No, it wasn't radio.

Sadly, this trip to the Sunshine State won't involve Mickey Mouse, Harry Potter or any "toes in the sand." FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and Democratic Commissioner Mignon Clyburn will be in Florida on Monday to jointly inspect the damage caused by Hurricane Irma. Meanwhile, JVC Media is dealing with outages and issues in three different markets, CEO John Caracciolo tells RBR+TVBR.

The FCC's Media Bureau has handed down a memorandum opinion and order regarding a dispute between Ellington Broadcasting and MVPD entity Cable One over the latter's decision not to air two low-power TV stations serving two small cities in Mississippi. The decision is a victory ... for both parties, in a sense. We've broken it down for you.

The TV station airing the Spanish-language Azteca América broadcast network in the nation's No. 1 Hispanic DMA — Los Angeles — is trading hands. How is this possible, as the station participated in the FCC's Spectrum Auction? The party that holds its Channel-Sharing Agreement just sold the CSA to a Wisconsin-based player, making this a "zombie" deal that sees the transfer of programming rights, and not an actual broadcast TV facility.

A U.S. Senator's term of office is six years. It's therefore fitting that a former senator who now serves as President/CEO of the NAB will be staying on for another six years, thanks to a contract extension announced this morning by NAB Joint Board Chair and Beasley Media Group CEO Caroline Beasley.

A quartet of station affiliation agreements that were set to expire at the end of 2018 have been extended, keeping programs such as The Big Bang Theory on four Sinclair Broadcast Group stations.

The company filed an 11th hour appeal that headed off having its Class A common stock on NASDAQ suspended on September 11, 2017. The appeal is with regard to a September 1, 2017 notification the company received from the Listing Qualifications Department of NASDAQ relating to Cumulus’ previously disclosed failure to comply with the minimum stockholders’ equity requirement.

When it comes to modernization, some may think of the coolest new digital gadgetry coming from Silicon Valley. Or, they may consider a shopping spree in Adams Morgan at Hudson & Crane. For the FCC and its Chairman, Ajit Pai, modernization means regulatory weight loss, and trimming the fat. 

The six noncommercial TV stations licensed to Maryland Public Broadcasting have entered into a Consent Decree with the FCC's Media Bureau to resolve an EEO investigation, which on Sept. 5 was formally terminated.

Radio deregulation seems to be on the fast track with the new FCC. That seemed to be the biggest takeaway from a Thursday morning 2017 Radio Show breakout session at which the FCC's Peter Doyle, Chief of the Media Bureau's Audio Division, seemed to reiterate FCC Chairman Ajit Pai's remarks made during his Wednesday luncheon keynote address. 

Of the six individuals speaking this morning at a House Energy & Commerce Committee Subcommittee on Communications and Technology hearing focused on the post-FCC Spectrum Auction repack process, the choice of the GM of The E.W. Scripps Co.'s O&O in Nashville to testify may be a smart one. After all, the Subcommittee Chairman's district includes much of the station's DMA.