the HOT List

The six radio brands serving St. Louis owned by the nation's largest owner of broadcast radio stations have a new leader, and it is a longtime community figure who began her career as a morning show producer at KSD Radio in St. Louis.

The U.S. Copyright Office has published a Notice of Inquiry on issues related to Performing Rights Organizations — an action, the office explains, that comes in response to a Congressional request to gather comments on the increase in the number of PROs in the United States and their licensing revenue distribution practices.

FuboTV Inc. may largely be known as a "sports-first" live TV streaming platform that went to court to stop The Walt Disney Co., FOX Sports and Warner Bros. Discovery from launching the Venu Sports platform — only to agree to a deal that sees Disney buying Fubo. Now, "Fubo Sports" is poised to become a digital multicast offering.

Sinclair Inc., which has taken a lead role in the development and rollout of ATSC 3.0 digital broadcast technology and its associated datacasting services, has good news to share regarding early participation and consent results for a private exchange offer tied to its Sinclair Television Group subsidiary.

MediaCo Holding Co., the Standard Media-controlled licensee of broadcast properties led by former Spanish Broadcasting System executive Albert Rodriguez, is exercising its option to purchase the radio and TV stations it has been operating for 10 months. Details surfaced in a FCC filing made late Friday.

Gray Media will broadcast Super Bowl LIX using High Dynamic Range (HDR) on all of the company's FOX-affiliated television stations available via the ATSC 3.0-powered NEXTGEN TV digital broadcast standard.

The junior Democrat sitting as an FCC Commissioner has issued another missive against the Chairman and Republican Commissioner Nate Simington for moving forward with a probe of CBS News for alleged news distortion — a claim made by President Trump days before he won the 2024 U.S. presidential election.

On its face, the fiscal Q1 2025 results from the parent of ABC Owned Stations looks great. The company beat the estimates of analysts who chimed in on both revenue and Earnings Per Share. However, a notable decline in the number of streaming subscribers caught investors' attention, sending "DIS" down more than 2% on Wednesday.

David “Ace” Cannon, who until September 2024 was one-half of the syndicated "ACE & TJ" morning show based in Charlotte, has died at the age of 56. Social media posts from stations including iHeartMedia's WHQC paid tribute to Cannon, who had been a wake-up fixture in the Queen City since 1998.

With operating momentum and "strong financial performance" fueling Fox, CEO Lachlan Murdoch has much to cheer about. "We are firing on all cylinders," he noted during the Fox Corporation fiscal Q2 2025 earnings call on Wednesday. There could be more significant revenue growth coming soon.

Fox Corporation shares were on the rise across Tuesday morning, as investors responded positively to a fiscal Q2 2025 report card that saw the owner of FOX Television Stations enjoy earnings per share that surpassed Street expectations by a whopping 50.2%.

In May 1976, an Ashland University graduate took at job at WUAB-TV in Cleveland, focusing his efforts on television production, promotions and programming. In 1994, he would join Sinclair Inc. to lead its TV programming needs. Now, after nearly 50 years in the industry and 30-plus years with Sinclair Inc., he's retiring.

The junior Democrat serving as a FCC Commissioner has criticized the newly installed Republican leadership under the Trump Administration for its decision to fully pursue a complaint brought against one of the "Big Four" networks for apparent manipulation of a pre-election interview with Vice President Kamala Harris.

Add PQ Media to the group of global advertising data analysis firms that has crunched the numbers, reviewed key trends, and has concluded that 2025 will be softer than 2024. As PQ Media sees it, recessionary fears persist. Then, there is the uncertainty tied to a second Trump Administration as it pertains to potential tariffs and other international trade matters.

The Chairman of the FCC is ready to examine the fine line between underwriting support and paid advertisement, and if either PBS or NPR have stepped over that line improperly. He's called on the Enforcement Bureau, aided by the Media Bureau, to investigate.