the HOT List

When FOX Corporation, Warner Bros. Discovery and ESPN parent The Walt Disney Company teamed up to create the forthcoming Venu Sports, "sports first" vMVPD Fubo went to federal court to try to stop the deal. Now, it appears that won't happen — Fubo is being acquired by Disney. Details and confirmation of the deal arrived Monday.

It was released on the final day of 2024, and adopted on December 30 — just in the nick of time to make the FCC's 2024 Communications Marketplace Report timely. And, it may take a lot of time to pour through it all. No less than 11 individual PDFs were distributed, including a principal document of more than 500 pages.

A Federal Appeals Circuit on Thursday negated the Rosenworcel Commission's 3-2 vote that brought back the controversial rules first introduced by the Commission during the leadership of Tom Wheeler. Soon-to-depart Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel commented on the ruling, which the forthcoming Carr Commission will likely applaud.

As part of a multibillion-dollar merger between Charter Communications and John Malone's Liberty Broadband, a former CBS affiliate serving Alaska's biggest market is seeing a change in its ownership structure. This requires FCC approval — even though an October 2024 deal was struck to sell the property to Alaska Public.

Led by CEO Ken Harrison, Waterstone has made its mark with Christian-themed charity groups through grants and fundraising. Now, it is a major shareholder of publicly traded Salem Media Group.

Flags are at half-staff and a National Day of Mourning is scheduled for Thursday, January 9, in honor of the 39th president of the United States. James Earl Carter Jr., known as "Jimmy" to all, has died at the age of 100. His legacy at the FCC under Chairman Charles Ferris, who died in February of this year, is tremendous.

There will be no "great affiliation swap" in some 25 DMAs across the U.S., thanks to a freshly signed agreement between a major broadcast TV station ownership group and The Walt Disney Company. Incoming FCC Chairman Brendan Carr earlier this month expressed his concern that such deals were heavy-handed, in favor of ABC's parent.

Before Altice USA and its Optimum brand of cable TV services, there was Cablevision Systems, known across Westchester County and Long Island as a MVPD powerhouse that was also parent to the "News 12" local cable news operation. The man responsible for creating all of it is now being remembered by both broadcasters and cable TV leaders.

Brendan Carr has gained attention for a letter sent December 21 to the CEO of The Walt Disney Company that addresses one of the more understated concerns of local TV station owners across the U.S.: affiliation agreements and the dollars paid to ensure network programming remains on these over-the-air homes.

The virtual MVPD that is seeking to put a stop to the Venu Sports joint venture that aims to bring a bevy of pro sports play-by-play and live action to a competing over-the-top platform in the works is pointing fingers at the biggest Spanish-language content creation and distribution company in the world for failing to agree on a new carriage deal.

No less than three EAS violations against the parent of one of the nation's Big Four broadcast television networks have been resolved with the signing of a Consent Decree by the Acting Chief of the Enforcement Bureau and the entity that could face renewed scrutiny from the Commission under Brendan Carr with respect to its future ownership plan.

He's served as a Member in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2013. Now, this politician representing a rural swath of North Carolina that includes portions of Fayetteville, Asheboro and Sanford is being placed in a position of high authority when it comes to the fate of the FCC.

It's been a frustrating eight years for long-term holders of Cumulus Media stock. In September 2016, a reverse stock split plan that would see one share divided into eight parts was put into motion. The act was tied to a Nasdaq delisting warning, should the company not get "CMLS" above the all-important $1 threshold. Next year could see history repeat itself.

While broadcast television companies across the U.S. have been busily signing rights agreements with various sporting leagues as the RSN model crumbles, there's been concern that in the near future an OTT "Big Tech" deep-pocketed Goliath could come forward and snap up the rights to a big-ticket item. Netflix has just stepped up to the pitch.

Is the future bright for broadcasters? That's a question posed to New York Interconnect CEO Andrew Kandel and Gray Television SVP of National Sales Becky Meyers in a "virtual candid conversation" shared this week by Matrix Solutions with its CEO, Mark Gorman, and Vertere Group founder and CEO Tim Hanlon.