the HOT List

The E.W. Scripps Co. is ready to shift its Scripps News operation to an all-streaming approach. This will see a new lineup starting Monday — one the publicly traded company believes "will give viewers crucial daily information, providing live in-depth storytelling on the biggest events across the country" with a team one-quarter the size. 

The E.W. Scripps Company has decided who will succeed Jeff Burnton, who will serve as the station manager and director of sales of its ABC affiliate in Phoenix until his retirement at the end of the year.

What, from a regulatory and legal standpoint, are some of the biggest advocates for radio and TV looking forward to in 2025? In a word, it is deregulation, key broadcast media legal advocates in Washington, D.C., working for the radio and TV industry, shared in a Forecast 2025 panel discussion on Wednesday.

"The so-called leaders of broadcasting have failed us ... the future is not bright at all, but not for everybody." Those were the gripping words of a veteran media broker who participated in a Forecast 2025 panel moderated by an individual who played a starring role in the radio industry's rapid 1990s-era consolidation: Randy Michaels.

The economy is improving. The housing supply is getting better. But, we are at a record trillion dollars in credit card debt, and consumer debt is a "bit of a headwind." What does this mean for the economy, and for broadcast media? A Forecast 2025 tackled these questions while offering an assessment of how Political dollars fared in 2024.

The multimedia company superserving African American consumers lowered its net loss during the third quarter. While there was no profit, investors in Urban One may be pleased nevertheless, as the decline in the net loss was seen even as net revenue slumped.

One Top Local TV Leader could not be more satisfied with his leadership roles within ABC Owned Stations, which have seen him recently relocate from Fresno to Houston. "Make no mistake, this is an amazing time to be a part of the television industry," says Michael Carr.

Broadcast Media's Most Prestigious Leadership Conference — Forecast 2025 — begins on Wednesday morning at the Harvard Club in breezy Midtown Manhattan, and the VIP-exclusive annual symposium has just secured two big names from the advertising and marketing world. 

Gray Media stock lost nearly 26% of their value on Friday. The dip comes in reaction to the broadcast television station owner's third quarter earnings, in which political ad dollars fell short due to changes in expectations in U.S. Senate races. Gray also put a spotlight on "additional cost containment initiatives."

Paramount Global's third quarter earnings report has been released, and while the results topped analysts' estimates, there's a unsettling picture coming to light with respect to the financial performance of its linear television properties.

"The continued power of our broadcast television business model" is why Nexstar Media Group and its founder and head, Perry Sook, is celebrating its highest-ever Q3 revenue — fueled not only by political advertising revenue, but also big retransmission consent dollars.

The nation's largest audio content creator and distributor saw its net revenue jump over the $1 billion mark. But, expenses were up, and this contributed to a much wider net loss in Q3. At the same time, lenders have signed off on a debt maturities extension, giving iHeartMedia three additional years to deal with its high leverage.

As the company sees it, "solid third quarter results" were seen. As Wall Street sees it, revenue expectations were indeed met. It's just the Q4 forecast from Sinclair Inc. that "underwhelmed" analysts.

It was predicted by some, but wholly unexpected by many still digesting the results. Donald J. Trump will be the 45th and the 47th President of the U.S. come January 20, 2025. What this could mean for broadcasters is monumental, as the Rosenworcel Commission will be coming to an end, along with Democratic control of the upper body of Congress.

Challenges abound for publicly traded radio broadcasting companies. And, they're continuing for Beasley Media Group. Despite strong political advertising revenue for some media companies, the owner of properties in markets ranging from Detroit, Boston and Philadelphia to Charlotte, Tampa, and Augusta, Ga., registered another Q3 net loss.