the HOT List

Tough comps in both Q2 and Q3, due largely to the absence of Olympics-related ad revenue and much lower political dollars, dinged Sinclair Broadcast Group. Investors were less than thrilled, with SBGI shares sliding more than 5% ahead of the Closing Bell on Wall Street.

The return of Jessica Rosenworcel as an FCC Commissioner is nearly complete. So is the official reappointment of FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, and the nomination of Brendan Carr to a term expiring at the end of June 2018. What narrowly passed muster with the powerful committee is Carr's nomination to stay on as Commissioner past that date.

It was a punishing Q2 for the company formerly known as Radio One, and in mid-morning trading shares were off a steep 24% before ending the day unchanged. In a conference call with Wall Street analysts, company head Alfred Liggins III noted that the Houston cluster is "stabilizing" and that June was a great month for its radio stations. Unfortunately, Houston was down in Q2—as were four other key markets.

Come August 13, Duracell and Mars will have six seconds of airtime to make a brand impression with FOX viewers. Will the teens and pre-teens tuning in simply tune out, or will they remember the products and consider purchasing them?

It was a solid second quarter for Beasley Broadcast Group, with net income and net earnings surging. However, on a pro-forma basis, net revenue slipped despite a gain in Station Operating Income. Nevertheless, BBGI shareholders appear pleased with the results, with shares up more than 5% in midday trading before ending the day up 1.9%, to $10.50.

It's turning out to be a grey and gloomy Monday for Silver Spring, Md.-based Discovery Communications. As Wall Street digests the news that the pay-TV giant is acquiring Scripps Networks Interactive (not to be confused with broadcast radio and TV owner The E.W. Scripps Co.) for $14.6 billion, Discovery reported adjusted net earnings that missed analysts' estimates by three cents per share. The double whammy led to a sell-off of "DISCA" shares, which finished down 8.2% on very heavy volume.

If there were two key takeaways from Entercom's Q2 earnings call held Friday morning, each are tied to the company's pending merger with CBS Radio. First, letters of intent on all of the planned divestitures from the merger have been finalized. Second, the process of merging CBS Radio and Entercom is akin to a sloth running a half marathon. 

A pure-play radio broadcasting company active in six markets including Honolulu could be poised for growth in the coming months. That's because Jon Kelly — a key investor in Birmingham, Ala.-based SummitMedia —has agreed to purchase the controlling interest in the company held by Highpoint Holdings.

What’s the legislative and regulatory future for retransmission consent? That's what the Digital Policy Institute at Ball State University sought to answer in a webinar held Thursday morning from its Muncie, Ind., main campus. With significant escalation in the prices paid by MVPDs to carry TV stations choosing the retrans option, and disputes leading to "blackouts" of channels dominating the headlines for much of the start of 2017, some believe its time for a change. Others say leave it up to market dynamics, including several webinar participants.

Come next Wednesday, Jessica Rosenworcel and Brendan Carr will be one step closer to getting new offices at The Portals. That's when the Senate Commerce Committee will hold an executive session to consider their appointments, as well as the renomination of FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and David Redl as the head of the NTIA.

Republican Sen. Jerry Moran of Kansas on Wednesday introduced legislation that would establish a new "Viewer and Listener Protection Fund" within the U.S. Treasury to make certain broadcasters nationwide can stay on air. The move follows the introduction of similar legislation in the House of Representatives by Rep. Frank Pallone.

Looking for inspiration and innovative ways your radio stations can best connect with your community, thus driving revenue and an increase in listeners? A supermarket chain found across Western New York that's growing across the mid-Atlantic region and in Massachusetts just might be a surprising fountain of ideas. Our Editor-in-Chief shares his thoughts on why radio's C-Suite can learn from a beloved grocer that's unlike any you've ever shopped at.

Nielsen's National Out-of-Home Reporting Service will now featue metrics for one of the nation's most prolific pay-TV news network, and for its sports-focus brethren. The announcement comes following Tuesday's news of the addition of “eligible TV viewing” from Hulu and YouTube TV to Nielsen’s Digital in TV Ratings service.

The owner of two low-power TV stations has received a provisional grant from the FCC for carriage on Cable One systems in a small market in the Deep South. There's no guarantee the stations will end up on the MVPD's channel lineup, however. That's because Cable One has been given the opportunity to prove it's unable to receive a quality broadcast signal needed to add the channels.

That's an assertion made by House Energy & Commerce Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone Jr. (D-N.J.) on Tuesday in his opening remarks at a Communications and Technology Subcommittee hearing focused on oversight and the reauthorization of the FCC.