the HOT List

As of today, local businesses are investing more of their marketing dollars in digital media than in community-based print and traditional broadcast media. That's not to say broadcast TV, cable TV and AM and FM radio aren't benefiting from this shift. The 2017 update to the annual Borrell Associates report "Benchmarking Local Media's Digital Revenues" explores how important a role traditional media has played in driving the digital train. How did big radio and TV companies fare?

Better and more transparent audience measurement is a demand advertisers are delivering to Facebook, which has a bug in its system. According to The Wall Street Journal, some clients are getting refunds after this bug led the social media giant to overstate clicks on marketers' websites when accessed via a mobile device. Facebook says it's a minor glitch. What do radio and TV executives have to say, and will they use the bug as part of their own "repellent plan"?

When we find ourselves in times of trouble, the radio and TV are the media most Americans seek for the latest information and details. In fact, U.S. adults turn to broadcast TV and radio above all other media by a factor of nearly four to one, new online research shared by the NAB finds.

What's going on at Nexstar? On March 1, its shares were at $73.15. Today, they're under $57. Are investors concerned that the company's merger with Media General isn't enough, and that it needs another huge deal to keep up with Sinclair?

Of the thousands of individuals at the recent 2017 NAB Show, an innovator and pioneer in decision studies from Philadelphia may be one of the key people TV industry decision-makers may wish to know. He's also happens to be Villanova University's Assistant Men's LaCrosse Coach and a member of the Forbes Technology Council. What's his story? His company, iQ Media, can offer a TV station “real-time access to both paid and earned media.”

As the 2017-2018 Upfront presentations continue to roll, with clients and marketers shuffling from venue to venue in Midtown Manhattan, Nielsen has given broadcast and cable TV channels a bit of a boost. The dominant audience measurement company in the U.S. plans to install close to 15,000 TV audience meters in about 7,000 homes across the 140 markets presently measured by Local TV paper diaries.

There's light at the end of a long, long tunnel for Cumulus Media. The nation's No. 2 owner of AMs and FMs by station count saw its Q1 2017 net revenue slip by 1.7%, to $264 million. But, its net loss was sliced by 49%, coming in at "just" $7.4 million (25 cents per share). This compares to $14.5 million (49 cents) in Q1 2016.

At 5pm Eastern, Nielsen Audio will release its first batch of April 2017 PPM-based ratings. Of course, Nielsen also measures television, and is increasingly asserting itself as a key provider of digital metrics. It's just solidified that desire a bit further, thanks to a global expansion of its measurement of Twitter mobile campaigns. Learn how this may impact broadcast media's sales opportunities—in particular if you have the radio rights to WW1's coverage of "Thursday Night Football."

For radio industry engineers, programming executives and the C-Suite, "AMC-8" is the all-important satellite that for many years has been feeding AM and FM radio stations with short-form and long-form programming. On June 30, the aging satellite will be put to sleep. Are radio stations prepared? There's concern that many aren't. This RBR + TVBR INFOCUS piece looks at why a last-minute transition scramble could prove problematic for the industry.

Worried about increased royalty payments for the music played on an AM or FM radio station? There's a new concern to turn your attention to, and broadcast TV's C-Suite also may wish to pay attention.

Following the FCC's spectrum auction, it became clear that smaller broadcast TV operators, or those with a small footprint in TV, would become sellers rather than acquisition players. Among the companies that looked poised to exit the TV business was Saga Communications. Now, speculation has turned to confirmation: Saga is leaving the TV business.

Lower advertising revenue from its television and entertainment units, coupled with an impairment charge, led the company merging with Sinclair Broadcast Group to a slide in Q1 net revenue and a swing to a steep net loss.

Steamboat Willie is sailing full-steam ahead, as Mickey and Belle boosted both ABC and beleaguered sports network ESPN in bringing The Walt Disney Co. fiscal Q2 results that were far from beastly. Theme parks and Disney's studio operations were to thank for the strong results.

The transition to the next-gen broadcast TV standard, ATSC 3.0, has some broadcast TV companies excited about what lies ahead. But, while much of the discussion has focused on new advertising opportunities, there's a tech angle that has been barely talked about. Simply put, ATSC 3.0 can make a broadcast TV station as powerful as a wireless services company—with respect to data. Even so, the ACA and the NAB both want "light touch" regulation regarding the transition. In this RBR+TVBR INFOCUS report, we examine how ATSC 3.0 can bring two new dynamics to broadcasters—whenever it actually reaches critical mass.

An increasingly competitive commercial environment, with intense competition for audiences and advertising revenue from other media companies, has led to the end of broadcasting license fees and datacasting charges. Furthermore, there's been a repeal of the "two out of three" and 75% audience reach media ownership rules. G'day, readers: This is what's happening in Australia.