the HOT List

Add a civil rights organization founded by Rev. Al Sharpton to the growing number of dissenters who believe the national television ownership cap should not be modified — something that is highly integral to Nexstar Media Group's proposed merger with TEGNA, creating the broadcast industry's first supergroup.

A collection of Democrats who sit on both the House Judiciary Committee and House Energy & Commerce Committee, which maintains oversight of the FCC, have launched an inquiry into whether David Ellison agreed to payoff and to "provide free services" to President Trump prior to Skydance’s merger with Paramount.

August 20 is "National Radio Day," and companies including iHeartMedia and Audacy have acknowledged it. For the latter company, its Research & Insights team took a close look at how AM/FM radio has evolved into "something bigger, better and more connected than ever."

Nexstar Media Group has reached a formal agreement to acquire TEGNA. And, in terms of EBITDA, it puts Nexstar in the same league as FOX and Paramount Skydance, something Nexstar founder and Chairman/CEO Perry Sook believes will put his company in broader media industry conversations in a bigger and meaningful way.

Nexstar, the nation's single-biggest licensee of broadcast TV stations, is purchasing all of the stations under the TEGNA banner. It's a proposed transaction that could only have come together thanks to an Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling just weeks ago and the FCC Chairman's pledge to "Delete, Delete, Delete."

On August 12, Sinclair Inc. said its board of directors had authorized “a comprehensive strategic review for its Broadcast business.” It's now clear that, as part of this initiative, it is seeking to gain ownership of more stations it controls so it can then spin them to another party free of any shared services agreement needs.

PBS station managers received an e-mail on Wednesday from President/CEO Paula Kerger informing them that its current budget will be reduced by 21%. This was a decision approved August 13 by the PBS board, as a vote that sees a reduction in PBS dues paid by local broadcast stations was approved.

A group claiming to be pro-consumer that has been largely aligned with the interests of the Cable TV industry, has provided answers to the FCC with respect to a mandated end to ATSC 1.0 broadcasts from direct broadcast satellite service provider DirecTV. It wants any forced ATSC 3.0 change date prevented at all costs.

Several broadcast television stations that are presently operated by Sinclair Inc. through shared services agreements are being sold to the company led by CEO Chris Ripley, four new regulatory filings awaiting FCC approval have revealed.

For Urban One, the Digital story will be potentially more difficult than for its peers. In Q2, the results were impacted "by weaker than expected performance" in both its national advertising and digital segments. Reduced streaming CPMs are part of the reason.

It comes as a big surprise to many. In a single sentence offered by its CEO at the start of its Q2 2025 earnings call, Caroline Beasley revealed that Beasley Media Group is selling its five radio stations in Fort Myers for $18 million. RBR+TVBR knows who the buyers are.

They are described as "strategic executive promotions in enhanced leadership roles," and they see the VP of Business Development rising to the role of Chief Operating Officer while its seven-year VP of News is being elevated to the role of Chief Innovation Officer. There's also a third promotion at Morgan Murphy Media.

With widespread speculation that TEGNA will be selling its broadcast TV stations to Nexstar Media Group in a matter of days, Sinclair Inc.’s Board of Directors has authorized what it is calling “a comprehensive strategic review for its Broadcast business.”

With Diversity, Equity and Inclusion a hot topic of late, as FCC Chairman Brendan Carr has pledged to tackle "invidious" forms of discrimination as it pertains to "DEI," what will the Commission's viewpoint on its latest Equal Employment Opportunity audit yield? Some radio and TV stations are about to find out.

Nearly half of all US adults say TV is the most acceptable place for advertising – a feeling that is consistent across all generations. Additionally, TV is the platform where they tend to pay attention to ads the most. That’s according to new research from Tenetic and CivicScience.