the HOT List

Senators Ben Ray Lújan and Ed Markey have written to the newest FCC Commissioner to not only congratulate her on being seated, but more importantly to convince her colleagues to move ahead with a full Commission vote on the proposed merger between Paramount Global and Skydance Media.

It is a Class C2 FM serving Alabama's biggest market from Gardendale offering a blend of Top 40 music anchored by the syndicated Tino Cochino Radio in morning drive. Soon, that will all end, as Summitmedia has agreed to sell the facility.

The Acting Chief of the FCC's Enforcement Bureau has OK'd a Consent Decree resolving an obscenity and indecency investigation involving a TEGNA station. While there is no longer an investigation against the station, the parent of KREM-2 will be making a hefty "voluntary contribution" to the U.S. Treasury.

A former FCC Commissioner has urged the agency to "strongly reject" any government regulatory policy that requires the abandonment of ATSC 1.0 broadcast signals in order to bring ATSC 3.0 opportunities to their fullest potential.

"Another day, another reflexive, innovation-blocking FCC filing from the usual suspects – cable lobbyists, legacy advocacy groups and industry players who oppose anything that might strengthen free, over-the-air broadcasting." Those fierce words open a thought piece distributed Wednesday by the NAB's legal head.

On Tuesday, broadcast TV company Gray Media announced a private offering of $900 million aggregate principal amount of 9.625% senior secured second lien notes due 2032. One day later, the NYSE-traded company unveiled the pricing of the offering, and it is an upsizing — a mark of success for Gray.

In a move directly linked to a private offering of senior secured second lien notes, announced prior to the start of trading on the NYSE Tuesday, Atlanta-based Gray Media has offered a "pre-issue" of its yet-to-be-completed second quarter 2025 results.

It's a topic that's been talked about amongst media observers, brokers, D.C.-focused attorneys and NAB Show conference attendees for months — will pending FCC deregulation lead to a flood of transactions? And, will some of them be asset swaps, rather than cash-generating sales? We now know the answer.

The broadcast television ownership group that's also the parent of Dielectric and is shepherding the transaction of digital over-the-air signals to ATSC 3.0 has selected a new EVP/Chief Financial Officer. He's already in the role at the Baltimore-headquartered company, as Lucy Rutishauser takes an important step toward retirement.

Some have labeled it a "shell company." Others simply believe it is an independently owned broadcast licensee who has decided to enter into shared services agreements with larger, more established players. However you label it, Deerfield Media and its owner, Stephen P. Mumblow, are about to shrink the asset stable.

The legal representatives of the President of the United States, as a private citizen, and the owner of CBS News & Stations have come to an agreement that ends a legal tussle between the company seeking to complete its merger with Skydance Media and the person who is again Commander-in-Chief.

The lone Democratic vote maker on the FCC has lashed out at Paramount Global for settling a lawsuit filed by President Donald Trump before his re-election over alleged defamation and "news distortion" conducted by 60 Minutes, calling the legal challenge "meritless."

In early March, a former Bally Sports sales executive who between 2009 and 2013 served as CEO of television broadcast station owner PBC Broadcasting, agreed to a deal returning him to the ownership ranks. However, that transaction was challenged — not because of him, but because of Sinclair Inc.

Civic Media has struck an agreement with J&J Broadcasting, headquartered in Iron River, Wisc. Interestingly, the purchase will be completed by the newly formed Michigan Civic Media Alliance — led by Civic Media with additional support and investment from the Michigan Independent Media Group (MIMG).

Erin Boone has moved forward with the license renewals for a trio of full-power television stations serving the Baltimore market, dismissing a Petition to Deny filed by an individual who died after submitting it. A longtime attorney attempted to keep the petition active by swapping the deceased party for another person.