the HOT List

A family feud involving an ousted Chief Executive Officer and his twin brother who he had been at odds with over the future of their parents’ media business has ended, with the CEO back in the role after heading to a Lucas County, Ohio, court.

New research released this week by TVB, conducted for the advocacy group by Dynata, shows that during Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Francine, the latter of which impacted areas of the Texas Gulf Coast and Louisiana, the main information source for residents in a time of crisis — and the most trusted — is a local broadcast TV station.

Rick Kaplan and Curtis LeGeyt believe " it is critical the Commission study the impact video streaming has had on local television broadcasting." And, regulating virtual MVPDs such as YouTube TV like a MVPD such as Comcast or Charter is their suggestion.

Three more Major League Baseball teams are ditching the television rights and distribution agreements of the 2024 season by having the league itself produce and distribute telecasts of their non-national games for the 2025 season. In addition, the Texas Rangers confirmed they will no longer be partnering with Diamond Sports Group.

The National Hockey League club that took its players from Phoenix and created a new team in Salt Lake City has already faced its first interference penalty just days before the puck drops at UBS Arena in New York on Thursday evening. It's thanks to a retransmission consent impasse between The E.W. Scripps Co. and the parent of MVPD Xfinity.

The advocacy group seeking a denial by the FCC of the license renewal for a FOX Television Stations property serving Philadelphia has submitted a Freedom of Information Act request with the Commission seeking copies "of any and all official and personal communications" from or to its two Republican Commissioners that may pertain to FOX or the group's own petition.

Broadcasters Foundation of America President Tim McCarthy says, “We’ve already approved over half a dozen requests and that’s just the beginning. Based on the number of requests from previous disasters, we know that figure will grow significantly as those impacted by the storm assess their damage and determine the costs."

For quarter after quarter in recent years, the "local first" media company that derives the majority of its revenue from its digital advertising and marketing assets has prided itself on its non-broadcast revenue prowess. Now, it is linking up with the company founded by veteran radio industry executive Carl Parmer to help that radio station ownership group with its digital solutions dollar opportunities.

Nexstar Media Group has told the SEC in a filing made Friday that it has eliminated the position of Executive Vice President and Chief Revenue Officer. As such, Michael Strober will leave the company founded and led by Perry Sook at the end of October.

Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird on Thursday co-led a letter with Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody to Congress in support of "life-saving AM radios" as car manufacturers remove them from new models.

To gain a firsthand account of communications recovery efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, which cut a swath through the Florida "Big Bend" area before barreling through eastern Georgia and Western North Carolina, the Chairwoman of the FCC was scheduled to visit both Charlotte and Asheville on Friday.

Back in March, Educational Media Foundation announced its purchase of four Salem Media signals spread between Nashville and Honolulu for $7 million. The Christian radio giant is now recouping some of that purchase price in the new sale of one of the three licenses formerly simulcasting "94 FM The Fish" to Music City, U.S.A.

In an intriguing turn of events, the bankrupt Diamond Sports Group, which operates regional sports networks through a licensing agreement with Bally, has asked a Houston federal bankruptcy court to approve an amended plan that would erase its Major League Baseball agreements as of December 31, 2024.

Some 75 individuals across ABC News and the ABC Owned Stations broadcast TV group held by The Walt Disney Company are reportedly losing their jobs, as part of a fresh reduction-in-force effort at the Burbank-headquartered company. 

The President of News at The E.W. Scripps Co. will exit the broadcast TV station ownership at the end of 2024. Her pending departure is a move tied to the November 16 end of Scripps News' 24/7 channel, announced on Friday by the Cincinnati-headquartered company.