the HOT List

The tranquil town of Red Lion, Pa., nestled to the southeast of York, Pa., has now attracted national headlines for another "zombie" capture. This time, there's a multi-million payment involved, and a big pay-day for the seller. The deal was signed and sealed on Aug. 29. However, it's only now been filed with the FCC.

There's no need to call the Ghostbusters. A zombie has been captured in New York City, and the thankful party is none other than one of the biggest PBS member stations in the nation. There's no payment involved, and we've got all of the not-so-spooky details on this Halloween treat for Channel 13—including the "Hero" in this deal, which is the party handing over this TV creature.

It's been a difficult 10 full months since WBTS-LD signed on the air as "NBC Boston." News ratings have lagged. But, NBCUniversal is hardly giving up—it's just engaged in a complex deal that transfers a channel-sharing agreement tied to a Class A TV station that fetched millions in the FCC spectrum auction to WBTS, presumably to bump up its signal in the greater Boston area.

Beasley Broadcast Group's two top executives had much to share in the way of positive Q3 results during the media company's 17-minute conference call for the financial community on Monday morning. But, one of the key items of discussion mentioned by CEO Caroline Beasley is the company's leverage. It's down -- and nearly into what she considers to be the "comfort zone." But, political could hit Beasley in Q4 as it considers a refi of its credit facilities.

If there was one key takeaway from the FCC's 110-page opus that spells out the authorization of permissive use of the next-gen broadcast TV standard -- a.k.a. GN Docket No. 16-142 -- it's this: "It is premature to address any issues that may arise with respect to the voluntary carriage of ATSC 3.0 signals before broadcasters begin transmitting in this new voluntary standard."

As RBR+TVBR reported Thursday, the FCC has included in its November Open Meeting agenda an Order that approves the use of the next-gen TV standard, known as ATSC 3.0. This resulted in a strong endorsement of the plan from the NAB, as full details emerged as to what it will bring. But, it also came with another warning from an anti-tax group and pro-MVPD organization actively seeking support for its case against ATSC 3.0's rapid deployment, should it come at a cost to consumers.

Doug Ferber of DEFcom Advisors LLC and Erwin Krasnow of Garvey Schubert Barer have created a special podcast series exclusively for RBR+TVBR members based on a series of articles centered on the topic “Broadcast Deal Myths Debunked.” In this eighth podcast installment, Ferber and Krasnow discuss the belief among some that they can bank on 100% leveraged purchases.

As we enter the final weeks of 2017, it has become clear that several players residing within the U.S. media and telecom sector have embraced many of the key trends, regulatory conditions, and economic benefits forecast for several quarters by PwC. Deal volumes in Q3 reached another two-year high, at 238 deals. That surpassed volumes in Q2 2017 by 9%, and Q3 2016 by 72%. Deal values also made a splash, exceeding $30 billion with seven mega-deals.

Two senior FCC officials have disclosed the key points of Chairman Ajit Pai's proposed Report and Order on ownership modernization, which all broadcast media owners have been eagerly anticipating. The language of Pai's Order is set for release today, along with a Nov. 16 Open Meeting agenda that will also see a vote to approve the ATSC 3.0 next-gen television transmission standard, which the officials declined to comment on.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai on Thursday circulated proposed legislation that would, in his view and that of GOP leaders, "modernize" the agency's media ownership regulations. This resulted in cheers from the NAB. It also led Democratic Commissioner Mignon Clyburn to use a portion of her opening statement at Wednesday's House Subcommittee on Communications FCC Oversight Hearing to voice her strong opposition to Pai's plan.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai made it clear that what he had to say at the House Subcommittee on Communications and Technology's FCC Oversight Hearing on Wednesday afternoon would grab the biggest headlines — duopolies will soon be possible in every market across the U.S., and cross-ownership rules will be heading into major rewrite mode very soon. Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) couldn't have been more pleased. This "bombshell" announcement deflected attention away from her proclamation that there would be no twisting and turning of the discussion by leading Democrats "to try to turn this hearing into the Trump Tweet hearing."

The House Energy & Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Communications and Technology took several hours today to hold its second FCC Oversight hearing of the current Congress. There were some entertaining moments -- including a shot from Democratic Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel about her "vacation" courtesy of the Senate. But, the top words said for broadcasters came from FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. He revealed plans to modernize broadcast media ownership, and the NAB is delighted.

With the battle between MVPDs and broadcast TV companies as heated as ever going into the all-important Q4 negotiating period for 2018 retransmission fee agreements, local advertising and media research firm BIA/Kelsey today placed a microscope on the DMAs where retransmission fees account for more than half of over-the-air revenue. Six markets stick out, with one market's TV stations reporting that some 63.5% of its revenues are tied to retrans fees.

Fiery dissent from the FCC's two Democratic Commissioners couldn't sway at least one of their three Republican colleagues to vote alongside them on a matter of keen interest to radio and TV station owners. As a result, in a 3-2 party-line vote, the elimination of the main studio rule is on its way to fruition, putting an end to a regulation crafted — as Commissioner Brendan Carr noted in his comments — just months before the start of World War II.

Three unfair labor practice charges filed against NBCUniversal-owned Hispanic television network Telemundo on behalf of certain telenovela actors by labor union SAG-AFTRA have been settled.