the HOT List

Brendan Carr, appearing Sunday on FOX News Channel's "Sunday Briefing," suggested the issuance of a FCC Public Notice reminding broadcast media licensees of their obligations regarding "fake polls," in particular those he believes are intended to suppress voters ahead of the November midterm elections. 

On procedural grounds, the U.S. Supreme Court put the breaks on a decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit that would have prohibited anyone other than a political candidate from eligibility for the Lowest Unit Rate afforded by broadcast media when buying election-based advertising.

Nearly one year ago, a plan to create a duopoly in Southern New England by acquiring the non-licensed assets of the station formerly branded as “ABC6,” in Providence, R.I., was put into motion by Sinclair Inc. Now, the company is moving ahead with converting a SSA and JSA with the station's licensee to outright ownership. 

Federal District Court Judge Loren L. AliKhan has been asked by none other than U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro to toss a First Amendment violation claim filed against the Federal Communications Commission by ABC and its parent, The Walt Disney Company. 

Low-power television station licensee HC2 Broadcasting has emerged as one of the biggest champions of 5G Broadcast technology. Now, it is agreeing to purchase the first low-power TV station to test the alternative service to ATSC 3.0 in the Boston market — putting HC2 in the driver's seat on a quest for 5G Broadcast.

As RBR+TVBR first reported on September 2, a booming Top 40 station, along with its Classic Rock and Country siblings, are poised to leave the Cumulus Media stable. Information including the price Cumulus agreed to sell the trio of FM radio stations for are now known.

For a quarter-century, she was a senior sales executive at Hearst Television’s Sacramento pair. In August 2020, a promotion was earned, making her President/GM of Hearst's NBC, ABC and Estrella TV channels in the Monterey-Salinas market.  Now, this longtime California local TV executive is planning her retirement.

It's a trend likely to spread beyond NBCUniversal Local television stations in the San Francisco Bay Area and, now, North Texas: the time slot formerly held by the now-concluded Kelly Clarkson Show will soon be taken by another station-produced newscast. This one will have a unique quality about its news delivery.

The FCC has opened a pleading cycle that sees the Commission welcome input from interested parties on a federal bankruptcy court-approved post-bankruptcy ownership scheme for Spanish Broadcasting System that would hand nearly all of the company’s equity to a group of funds.

There's a new Market President for the Salt Lake City radio stations owned and operated by iHeartMedia. He'll report to Glynn Alan, Area President for iHeartMedia in Utah and in Las Vegas.

The CBS Television Network affiliate serving southwestern Virginia will have a new General Manager, starting October 5. It is an individual who returns to the state that's "for lovers" after a nearly three-year run as the Creative Services Director for a Gray Media sibling in Kansas City.

He was born in New York as Ronald Ferrazzuolo but was widely known under a different name for decades, thanks to his time at radio stations across the South and, more recently, at SiriusXM. Ferrazzuolo, professionally known as Ron Parker, is now being mourned, as the programmer and air personality has passed away.

Effective immediately, Patrick Webre is no longer the FCC's Enforcement Bureau Chief. That's because he will now take a senior role in the Office of Managing Director at the Commission.  Who is Webre's successor? The Chief of Staff and Deputy Bureau Chief within the Enforcement Bureau.

If there's any doubt that the absence of Indianapolis' ABC affiliate from the local DirecTV channel lineup will be prolonged, due to a retransmission consent impasse between the direct broadcast satellite service provider and the TV station's owner, that was all but erased by DuJuan McCoy as the last day of August began.

Just four days after Charter Communications — parent of the Spectrum MVPD — completed its merger with Cox Communications and merger with Liberty Broadband Corp., the company sued The E.W. Scripps Co. over one of the most contentious topics the industry faces today: retransmission consent.