the HOT List

It already owns the FOX affiliate serving Northern Ohio's largest market. Now, Nexstar Media Group has signed an agreement that — pending FCC regulatory approval — will give it a duopoly with the acquisition of an independent television station licensed to Akron, Ohio, in a deal brokered by Kalil & Co.

For more than forty years, he was a familiar face to morning news views of TEGNA-owned WWL-TV in New Orleans. On September 18, he stepped away from the station after revealing that he was recently diagnosed with a "fairly aggressive" form of cancer.  On Saturday, Eric Paulsen passed away. He was 74 years old. 

The nation's No. 1 owner of broadcast TV stations already enjoys the highest valuation of any publicly traded media company on the stock market. Now, Nexstar Media Group can revel in the fact that it has pushed its stock price back to a level last seen in early August.

Three decades of service as Beasley Media Group's Chief Financial Officer will conclude at the end of October for Marie Tedesco, as the publicly traded radio station owner in markets such as Tampa-St. Petersburg, Boston, Detroit and its home of Fort Myers-Naples has revealed her successor.

Looking for what promises to be a realistic, no-holds-barred analysis of the current and future value of broadcast assets? A Forecast 2025 panel discussion to be moderated by someone with leadership experience in both radio and TV is just the place you'll want to be.

The individual who served in the role today held by Adam Symson between 1985 and 1998 has died at the age of 89. Larry Leser is being remembered by many across the industry, including former Scripps head Rich Boehne, who calls Leser "a brilliant strategist, decisive and never afraid of taking risks.”

Four individuals, including a child, have died as a result of a helicopter accident that led to the collapse to a radio tower in Houston, crippling broadcasts for two TelevisaUnivision FMs. The FAA is investigating; the FCC may be next. According to KTRK-13, the red aviation obstruction lights at the top of the structure "have a history of not working."

TelevisaUnivision's third-quarter 2024 performance in the U.S. bested that of Mexico. It is thanks to retransmission consent revenue gains, and big political ad dollar growth. This positions new CEO Daniel Alegre, who has a tech background, in a positive spot as further monetization of digital assets appears likely for the Hispanic media Goliath.

The S&P Global Market Intelligence Radio & TV Annual Outlook for 2024 is out, and the conclusion is simple: political advertising, at a record level, is helping to send total advertising revenue for the year up by some 9.3% from 2023. Minus those election-focused dollars, however, core ad categories aren't so active.

It's a transfer of control request that the FCC will likely give its swift approval for, as it involves a shift in ownership from father to daughter. And, when all is said and done, Laura Graham O'Shaughnessy will hold 42.5% of the Class A voting shares and nearly 11% of the Class B shares in the parent of the entity whose flagship property is known as "LOCAL 4" in Detroit. 

John L. Humphries is retiring as the head of Hearst Television’s Upstate South Carolina television station that also serves storm-battered Western North Carolina. His successor has been selected, and it involves a promotion.

After joining Graham Media Group's flagship television station in August 1995, Devin Scillian has announced he will retire from television in the coming weeks. Scillian is perhaps the most familiar face in Detroit when it comes to local news, and has been a key figure in WDIV "LOCAL 4"'s dominance in the market.

The entertainment and sports programming network within the ABC arm of The Walt Disney Company could be on the hook for thousands of dollars in fines payable to the FCC for its apparent misuse of emergency tones during a promotional segment for the start of the 2023-2024 NBA season.

A Commission-hosted database featuring MVPD notifications of a broadcast TV station "blackout" due to a retransmission consent impasse goes beyond the agency's statutory authority. That's what the NAB's Deputy GC for Legal and Regulatory Affairs told an advisor to Nate Simington last week, arguing that the plan should be abandoned.

As September began, Tom Birch's Lakes Media filed a lengthy interference complaint with the FCC regarding his Class C3 FM licensed to Clarksville, Va., claiming a 150-watt FM translator designed to expressly serve the cities of Cary and Raleigh is creating problems. The Commission hasn't yet acted. He wants Jessica Rosenworcel to do something.