the HOT List

A House Member representing Wisconsin's Fifth District could be doing the entire radio industry a big favor as legislation that would establish new royalty fees for the airplay of recorded music makes it way across Capitol Hill. With H.R. 3350, a database of nondramatic musical works and sound recordings would be created in an effort to help identify and compensate the rights holders. Could this be the answer for those opposed to Darrell Issa's efforts?

Another deadline, another extension. That's a common theme for iHeartMedia in recent weeks, and on Thursday the nation's No. 1 radio broadcasting company released that it has extended — for a ninth time — the deadline for participation in term loan offers to lenders and exchange offers to its debtholders. Investors seem displeased, with iHeart shares down nearly 13% on Monday.

The streaming audio company's shares on Monday ended the day at their highest point in more than eight weeks. The latest growth is attributed to a SunTrust analyst maintaining his "buy" rating on Pandora, and the revelation that Jana Partners has made an investment in the company.

By way of a Public Notice distributed on Thursday, the FCC's Incentive Auction Task Force and the Media and Wireless Telecommunications Bureaus have identified each station subject to a winning reverse auction bid in the broadcast television spectrum incentive auction for which an incentive payment is ready to be paid.

It's been a great July for Nexstar Media Group shareholders, as the company's stock has sharply rebounded from a mid-May swoon. Tomorrow's trading could be even bigger for the broadcast TV company, which today reached a tentative agreement with Sinclair Broadcast Group "on principles" to coordinate the transition of the over-the-air delivery of ATSC 3.0 next-gen TV services in 97 television markets.  

The House E&C Committee has finally rescheduled its oversight hearing on the FCC — scrubbed in March as it conflicted with the Senate Commerce Committee's oversight hearing. Now, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and Commissioners Mignon Clyburn and Michael O'Rielly are set to head to the Rayburn HOB on Tuesday morning for what will likely be a nearly three-hour inquiry.

With TV broadcasters already requesting "significantly more" than the $1.75 billion set aside to cover all costs related to the post-FCC Incentive Auction repack process, the top Democrat on the House Energy & Commerce Committee has introduced legislation that would create a $1 billion emergency fund. Not only would these additional funds boost the reimbursement purse, but House E&C Ranking Member Frank Pallone Jr. (D-New Jersey) says his bill will keep viewers' TVs from going dark.

After nearly three hours of queries from members of the powerful Senate Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation, the expected confirmation of two new FCC Commissioners is closer to arrival.

In prepared testimony delivered Wednesday to the Senate Commerce, Science & Transportation Committee, former Democratic Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel stated her case as to why the word "former" should be deleted, and why she should return to the FCC. In doing so, Rosenworcel reflected on her months away from the Commission by saying that, while trite but true, a little distance provides perspective. "In my time away, one thing has become abundantly clear," she says. "The future belongs to the connected."

The final installment in a nine-part annual newsroom survey for 2017 developed by Bob Papper, Professor Emeritus at New York's Hofstra University, has been released by the RTDNA—the Radio Television Digital News Association. This last installment looks at earnings, and pay stubs. How are local TV news personnel faring, wage wise? "It was a decent year for salaries," Papper says. But, it could have been a little better. 

Since stepping down as FCC Chairman on Inauguration Day in January, Tom Wheeler has been relatively mum on what's transpiring at his ol' stomping grounds since becoming a senior fellow at Washington, D.C. think tank The Aspen Institute. Wheeler broke his silence on what the Commission is plotting following his exit in a big way last week, by way of a "Techtank" column appearing at the Brookings Institution's website.

Affirmative. Good to go. "Sí, signore!"  No matter how you say it, Gray Television simply seeks a "yes" from the FCC so it can change channels for KYES, its MyNetwork TV affiliate serving Alaska's biggest market. What is Gray's plan? We've got the details.

Emmis Communications Chairman/CEO Jeff Smulyan addressed participants on his company's fiscal Q1 2018 conference call Thursday morning by hinting that the sale of Class B WLIB-AM 1190 in New York is still a work in progress. He also noted that the company is looking at other ways to bring in some cash, while Emmis EVP/CFO and Treasurer Ryan Hornaday offered specifics on sales strengths and weaknesses.

With new FCC leadership comes new insight into whether or not one of the nation's largest MVPDs discriminated against Game Show Network, violating Commission rules. In 2015, an Administrative Law Judge said Cablevision did. Today, the Republican-majority FCC responded to the now-Altice USA owned Cablevision's appeal of the ALJ decision by reversing it — effectively denying GSN's complaint on a party-line vote.

In a Wednesday midday webinar, Jacobs Media President Fred Jacobs and Amplifi Media CEO Steve Goldstein teamed up to talk about how new in-home technologies are affecting radio listeners. They shared insights from Jacobs Media’s Techsurvey13, and we listened in for you to provide the key takeaways on why radio's place in the home is going retro.