the HOT List

Now that the second half of 2017 is here, one network radio operation has set its sights on advertiser growth. As Skyview Networks EVP/GM Jeanne-Marie Condo sees it, Q3 and Q4 are looking strong. That's all thanks to a new client perspective on the power of network radio and national ad sales, she tells RBR+TVBR in an exclusive interview.

Forget Seth Meyers or Stephen Colbert. The late night chatter among politicos and wonks from Gaithersburg to Fredericksburg and across Capitol Hill was all about Brendan Carr. Unless something highly unusual transpires, the current General Counsel of the FCC is all but set to become the next Republican Commissioner.

PBS and America’s Public Television Stations (APTS) are getting financial assistance during the post-incentive auction repack period to translator stations that extend public television signals into hard-to-reach rural areas. No, it's not coming from ongoing pledge drives at many of the nation's noncommercial classical music stations.

Fresh details were revealed Wednesday regarding Sinclair Broadcast Group's blockbuster merger plans with Tribune Media, thanks to the official filing of a flurry of Form 315 applications with the FCC. While the deal could only be made possible with the pending reinstatement of the FCC's "UHF discount," Sinclair revealed that it could divest stations in no less than 10 different markets.

Months of speculation and predictions as to who will take the two open FCC Commissioner seats have come to an anti-climactic end, thanks to President Trump.

On May 31, TEGNA shares were trading at or near $23.75. One day later, they tumbled to $15.30 ... and haven't recovered since. Should investors be concerned? No, they shouldn't. Zacks Equity Research explains why they believe there's no trouble on the way for the company formerly known as Gannett.

"Hey, broadcast radio executives. Get on Alexa and Google Home access today!" That could be one of the key messages from an hour-long webinar on home smart speaker usage presented Wednesday by NPR and Edison Research.

Consumers of personal care businesses ranging from fitness clubs, salons, massage clinics, spas, beauty products and nutritionals prefer TV and direct mail over other media. That bit of sour news for the radio industry C-Suite comes courtesy of a new public opinion poll conceived and commissioned by LAVIDGE and Mosaic Multicultural. Here's some words of wisdom from our Editor-in-Chief to the radio industry C-Suites: Don't be defeated, as this is a great opportunity for you to prove these consumers wrong.

Gordon Borrell thinks so. The noted local media industry analyst has released another "Chart of the Week" tied to Borrell Associates' 2017 Local Advertiser Survey, and it suggests that nearly 2,300 local advertisers go with their gut when it comes to making radio a part of their media mix.

Local advertising spending in the state of New York will reach $13.7 billion in 2017 across the Empire State's 10 local media markets. That said, radio is laggard when it comes to ad spend in the top 5 vertical market categories, and is behind all other forms of local media. That nugget comes courtesy of BIA/Kelsey's updated 2017 U.S. Local Advertising Forecast.

After Monday's Closing Bell on Wall Street, CBS went looking for some cash—in a nearly billion-dollar way—to engage in a debt swap that, when all the calculations are made, gives the company a more favorable consolidated rate of interest.

Twin Cities-based Cordillera Communications is putting the wheels in motion on the broadcast spectrum move of no less than three UHF stations—a move predicated by the completion of the FCC's spectrum auction. Stations in Kentucky, Colorado and Montana are impacted, and brought in to assist with the channel shift for the trio of broadcast stations is GatesAir.

With the Independence Day holiday nearly one week away, U.S. financial markets saw another day of light—and mixed—overall activity on Wall Street. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 35.20 points, to 21,429.96, while the Nasdaq composite was down 16.08, to 6,250.22. Among the key movers for the media industry was broadcast TV giant Nexstar Media Group.

A new Parks Associates white paper released today sheds new light on the leading "internet of things" trends for consumers as the first half of 2016 — and the end of the fiscal year for many — arrives on Friday. Parks Associates identified 10 key trends impacting the market for consumer technology now and into the next year. Find out what they are here, and if radio's C-Suite can benefit.

There is no question that forms of online and digital media play an ever-more significant role in our lives. But what does that mean for traditional media platforms? According to Kantar Media’s DIMENSION report, traditional media isn’t going away.