the HOT List

The U.S. Senate on Thursday officially brought the FCC back to four Commissioners while ensuring Ajit Pai remains Chairman. Pai congratulated Rosenworcel on her reappointment as a Democratic Commissioner, and applauded Carr's arrival at the FCC.

On a day when TV industry stocks were getting pounded on Wall Street, Univision Communications President/CEO Randy Falco sounded a bit too cheerful. "I am very pleased with our quarterly results," he said in announcing that the company focused on Hispanic consumers and multicultural millennials saw its ad revenue shrink by 17% in Q2, and its total revenue slump by 4.4%. Why was Falco in such a good mood? Univision saw a healthy net income jump.

It was a mixed three-month period for the company with the highest count of AM and FM properties across the U.S., as consolidated revenue declined. That's primarily due to a $36.1 million impact tied to the sale of outdoor businesses. Minus that, revenue was up. Meanwhile, operating income soared—helping iHeart narrow its massive net loss.

Entravision Communications, the owner of broadcast TV and radio stations largely targeting Hispanic consumers, released its Q2 2017 results right after the Closing Bell on Wall Street Wednesday. How did it do? Net revenue was up, but net income was down.

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.