the HOT List

With discussion on AM revitalization and more translators a core topic of discussion at the 2017 NAB Show in Las Vegas, a session devoted to RF interference and how AMs can advance their efforts drew a packed house of engineers and station owners. In an exclusive INFOCUS report, RBR+TVBR talks with a Wyoming operator of two AMs that are "cash cows," and the station's contract engineer. To them, AM's present and future is a business necessity that D.C. needs to hear, loud and clear.

Say goodbye to net neutrality as we know it. In a major policy speech delivered this afternoon at the Newseum in Washington, D.C., FCC Chairman Ajit Pai officially unveiled his net neutrality proposals by "restoring internet freedom" through the repeal of Obama-era regulations. Naturally, Pai says such a decision will benefit all Americans. Here's how his new approach, in his view, would do so.

At a colossally large conference with much of the action and activity in the Central Hall – where the tech players are, as opposed to the North Hall with a lighter flow of attendees checking out radio and TV tech firms’ exhibit booths – FCC Chairman Ajit Pai began his address by talking about radio and ending with a reference to Vin Scully, and how his ability to step out of the way at the best time is a perfect allegory for how the Commission should regulate broadcasters.

In May 2016, Gray Television agreed to acquire a pair of television stations in the Clarksburg, W. Va., market from Withers Broadcasting. The $26.5 million deal, struck prior to the start of the spectrum auction, saw Gray grab the CBS affiliate and its FOX station. But, the FCC reviewed the deal, as Gray said the deal qualified for a waiver of the local TV multiple ownership rule. That's because the FOX station in the deal is a "failing station," Gray contended. The Commission agreed.

If there was one event that could bring together FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, the top leaders of the broadcast television industry and an endless array of exhibitors eager to grow their media tech sales, the 2017 NAB Show now officially underway in Southern Nevada is the definitive draw.

If you believe a global study released this morning by New York-based Accenture, the percentage of consumers worldwide who prefer watching TV shows on television sets plummeted to 23% between October and November 2016, compared to 52% in the same period one-year earlier. That's one of the key takeaways from the Accenture 2017 Digital Consumer Survey, and RBR + TVBR got its hands on exclusive data that shows U.S. consumers are leading this trend.

There's a new threat to iHeartMedia's bid to "avoid bankruptcy." That's according to Reuters, citing "people familiar with the matter." The news organization reports that a group of the company's lenders has signed a "cooperation agreement" to oppose a debt restructuring agreement proposed by the nation's No. 1 owner of AM and FM radio stations.

Less than 24 hours after the FCC restored the UHF discount, allowing broadcast TV companies to effectively own more stations, Sinclair Broadcast Group has agreed to acquire Bonten Media Group Holdings. Concurrently, as part of this deal, Cunningham Broadcasting Corp. will purchase the membership interest of Esteem Broadcasting. The aggregate purchase price: $240 million.​​

Entercom Communications on Wednesday (4/19) received a request for additional information and documentary material, often referred to as a “second request,” from the Department of Justice in regard to its Reverse Morris Trust-fueled tax-free merger with CBS Radio.

The FCC on Thursday received a petition for rulemaking from the NAB regarding the potential interference caused by FM translators to full-power radio stations. Specifically, the NAB proposed certain rule and policy changes designed to provide translator licensees greater flexibility to resolve any interference issues, and to facilitate "the efficient disposition of interference complaints against translators."

An unofficial glimpse into the financial performance of the nation's No. 1 owner of AM and FM radio stations was presented to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission late Thursday (4/20), and no matter how you look at it — GAAP or non-GAAP — it's a downbeat start to 2017 for iHeartMedia. There's more: The company says "there will be substantial doubt" as to its ability to continue as a going concern for a period of 12 months following the end of Q1 2017.

Much fun -- including FCC Chairman Ajit Pai singing the chorus to a Rick Astley classic -- was seen at the start of a meeting that involved the Commission's relaxation of third-party fundraising restrictions for noncommercial radio and TV stations. The Commission also made a party-line 2-1 ruling that made optional a previously mandatory requirement that compelled the officers and board members of noncommercial educational stations to report personal information. We've got the details.

Mignon Clyburn's impassioned argument against the reversal of a Wheeler Commission decision to dump the discount fell on the deaf ears of FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and Republican FCC Commissioner Michael O'Rielly, with its reinstatement approved just after Noon in a party-line 2-1 vote.

Thanks to retransmission consent agreements between local TV stations and cable/satellite companies, total local television station revenue totaled $28.4 billion in 2016, data released today (4/20) from BIA/Kelsey finds.