the HOT List

"It's been a while, but we're back!" That's the greeting visitors to the iTunes Store will receive when discovering what's new with the free iHeart for Auto app. As of today, a new "engine" and some "bodywork" is complete, and iHeartMedia is promising "a smoother, more stable listening experience and a refreshed look" while it sets the groundwork for "really cool new features" designed for the connected car.

One of the nation's largest owners of broadcast TV stations has entered into a Consent Decree with the FCC that resolves an investigation into the improper insertion of Emergency Alert System (EAS) tones in a commercial that aired on a NBC affiliate in Florida's First Coast. We've got an RBR+TVBR Observation on the matter, which could have easily been prevented.

Nielsen on Thursday released its top-line findings from its Q4 2016 Comparable Metrics Report, and the overall picture is a rosy one for the TV industry. However, the portrait requires a closer look. There's some significant issues in a key advertiser demo for TV, and we've got an RBR + TVBR Observation on how AMC Networks may be a big giant ostrich in the C-Suite Zoo.

With its tax-free, Reverse Morris Trust-fueled merger with CBS Radio on track, one would think Entercom and its leader, David Field, would be the new darlings of Wall Street. As Wells Fargo Securities Senior Analyst Marci Ryvicker notes in RBR+TVBR's Spring 2017 NAB Show Special Report, Field will be the radio industry's "clear leader" following the deal's closing. Why, then, is Zacks Equity Research asking if Entercom is "positioned for a slump?" Perhaps a dividend analysis from Capital Cube can point to the answers.

With Capitol Hill set to enjoy a long Memorial Day weekend full of cool temperatures and predictions of rain and thunderstorms, forces other than Mother Nature appear to have put a damper on two pieces of legislation that would institute a "tax" on the airplay of recorded music for radio stations across the U.S.

On Wednesday, March 15, iHeartCommunications engaged in a somewhat complex series of private offers to its bondholders. Specifically, holders of its “Five Series of Priority Guarantee Notes” and its Senior Notes Due 2021 were called on to turn in those notes, and exchange them for new securities in connection with “a proposed global restructuring of its indebtedness.” How's that going? Less than 1% of the exchange notes have been tendered.

As Pivotal Research Group CFA Brian Wieser sees it, TV news "is important for media owners because of the absolute scale of the genre, its potential for profitability, the political influence that follows from these divisions and because of the significant growth they have recorded in recent periods." In yet another tumultuous and troubling week across D.C. and around the globe, increasingly intense consumer interest led to a surge in viewing. Could this lead to a revenue surge, too?

Lean. Accountable. More efficient. Those are the key words that pop out of the FCC's fiscal 2018 budget proposal, which the Commission made public today. Indeed, the FCC is prepared to make some significant adjustments to its budget—and personnel. It's decided to use a weed-whacker to do so, as the proposed budget reflects a 5.2% dip from fiscal 2017.

In a move that comes as no surprise to many, President Trump's proposed fiscal 2018 budget seeks to accomplish what his fiscal 2017 budget failed to do: zero out the funding of noncommercial secular radio and TV stations by the Federal government. As expected, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which distributes these funds to noncomms across the U.S., was vocal in its opposition to the proposal.

For a generation of broadcasters, the late Cecil Heftel helped bring Top 40 radio some of its earliest success. Later, he helped build some of the nation's top Spanish-language AMs and FMs, including properties in L.A. overseen by his son, Richard Heftel. Now, the Heftel family is coming back to the radio business. We spoke with Heftel on his re-entry into radio, and how a huge bedding retailer is to thank for his rescue of a group of stations long associated with Howard Anderson.

Craig L. Fox, who owns radio stations in Central New York through various companies, has had a rocky relationship with the FCC. Fox’s run as an owner has been bumpy, and last year via consent decree forked over thousands of dollars to the FCC for attempting to skirt market ownership sub-caps. The latest news from the Commission regarding Mr. Fox, however, focuses on a transaction: Fox’s Cram Communications is selling the Syracuse market’s home of FOX Sports Radio.

Lewis W. Dickey Jr. is perhaps one of the most polarizing individuals in the broadcast radio business. Yet, the co-founder of the second-largest radio company by number of stations, Cumulus Media, has officially been out of the industry since March 23. Is Dickey plotting a return to AM and FM station ownership? Speculation is running high among media brokers and high-placed industry observers who spoke with RBR+TVBR that Dickey's newest entity, Modern Media Acquisition Corp., was designed expressly for a methodical merger.

As of midday Thursday, the FCC is now open to input on the proposed elimination of its Main Studio Rule. On Friday, the Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council (MMTC) wasted no time in commending the FCC’s action.

Don't like some of those "unnecessary or burdensome" FCC rules? You're in luck. The Commission today issued a Public Notice that begins a review of its rules applicable to media entities, including broadcasters, cable operators, and satellite television providers.

"Net neutrality" is one step closer to being erased from the FCC's rule books. In a widely expected partisan move that occurred on a day when many social media users use a "throwback Thursday" hashtag (#tbt), the FCC voted to press ahead on turning back the clock on regulations that require Internet service providers to give access to all content and applications regardless of the source, and without favoritism to particular websites or portals.