the HOT List

A New York City resident may have to fork over upward of $400,000 for his unauthorized operation of a radio transmitter on frequencies that the FCC has licensed to the New York Police Department, causing interference with the NYPD radio system while threatening officers. That's the maximum penalty the FCC can hand out, and this individual is currently in police custody for related charges.

With all of the noise and chatter over the power of subscription on-demand video (SVOD) services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hulu, there's a growing belief that broadcast and pay-TV networks are in big trouble. But, are they? Pivotal Research Group Senior Analyst Brian Wieser took another stab at answering that question. Here are his conclusions.

With U.S. financial markets closed in observance of Good Friday, RBR + TVBR reviewed the trading landscape for radio and television broadcast companies and took the pulse of two industries that are equally challenged by digital media but could have very different futures. What are the publicly traded media companies investors should keep an eye on in Q2, for better or for worse? Here's what we determined.

Understanding how Gen Z is disrupting television viewing habits is crucial to the success of networks, cable, streaming services and online video hubs. New York-based market researcher Robin Hafitz dissects this increasingly important consumer segment's consumption habits in this exclusive Media Information Bureau column for RBR + TVBR.

During the upcoming 2017 NAB Show in Las Vegas, broadcasters will be focused on a number of strategic, technological and competitive challenges and roadblocks to growing their businesses. As Accenture Global Managing Director/Broadcast Gavin Mann sees it, one of the biggest challenges is the need to make broadcast services more resilient to cyberattacks. There are other key challenges for broadcasters, which he discusses in this Media Information Bureau column.

In a press briefing held Thursday afternoon, the final results of the FCC's first-of-its-kind incentive auction were officially shared with the public. Were T-Mobile and Comcast the big spectrum auction winners? We have the answer, and additional insight from three key senior FCC staff members. We can also tell you that a Chicago UHF is getting more than $300 million for its participation in the auction.

Comcast Corp. has confirmed its results from both the Reverse Auction and Forward Auction, and it is pocketed nearly a half-billion dollars. At the same time, it is relinquishing spectrum in three of its duopoly markets, and in Gotham there's a bit of surprise.

This year's “Radio Marketer of the Year” Award, which recognizes a brand's advertising and promotional endeavors over the past year at AM and FM radio stations across the U.S., is going to the No. 1 bidder in the FCC's incentive auction.

The FCC announced Thursday that some 957 non-winning stations participating in the FCC's spectrum auction must change channels to clear the new wireless airwaves for use. Meanwhile, a MyNetworkTV station in Michigan is opting to sign off the air altogether.

Attention, radio and TV sales executives: If your station is not presently enjoying an advertising relationship with the top 25 retailers and restaurants on The NPD Group's just-released 2016 Checkout Penetration Index, you better start scheduling some appointments with key media planners and brand managers right now.

The "live-and-local-FM" NextRadio app hasn't yet landed on Apple iPhones. That may change later this summer with the rollout of a new streaming app -- a big pivot for NextRadio. At the same time, a secure presence in the "connected car" has been finalized, with full details to be offered at the NAB Show.

On Oct. 21, 2016, Reuters reported that -- according to "people familiar with the matter" -- Altice USA is "drawing up plans for a potential initial public offering" of stock. Those rumors are now reality, and an SEC filing outlines some of the concerns Altice has -- including a still-unresolved IBEW deal in New Jersey.

The commercial availability of Nielsen's National Out-of-Home Reporting Service has arrived, and ESPN is the first client to sign on as a subscriber. The eagerly awaited opt-in service is designed to provide TV networks that elect to subscribe with program and commercial ratings for Live through Live + 7 days of time-shifted viewing.

The Media Rating Council (MRC) has given its blessing to a pair of digital TV ratings offerings from Nielsen, in addition to Mobile Web and Mobile In-Application Display and Video Viewable Ad Impressions and related viewability metrics from comScore.

The Manship family's Louisiana Television Broadcasting has become the latest broadcast TV station owner to run into a brick wall with DirecTV. Their two ABC affiliates went dark on the provider on Friday night, with the stations' owner going on the offensive by noting DirecTV "has failed to realize the importance of local news and entertainment and pulled WBRZ programming from its lineup."