the HOT List

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.

One week ago, Dish asked a D.C. federal district court to impose monetary sanctions on Soohyung Kim and his Standard General, along with their counsel, for bringing the company in to a $136 million discrimination lawsuit against the FCC. Kim and his attorneys have responded to the filing.

Today, iHeartMedia, Cox Media Group and SBS each compete for listeners against low-power FMs and heritage AMs in Orlando — a thriving Hispanic community. Norsan Media now wishes to compete against these other players, launching a trio of new audio choices — a move that makes Orlando one of the nation's most diverse Hispanic radio markets.

Large swaths of Western North Carolina and eastern Georgia impacted last week by Hurricane Helene and its remnants remain without cell phone service — let alone electricity, potable water and in some areas any navigable thoroughfares. This reinforced the need for broadcast media services in an emergency situation — even as stations themselves struggled to stay on the air.

"With greater scale, we expect a combined DIRECTV and DISH will be better able to work with programmers to realize our vision for the future of TV, which is to aggregate, curate, and distribute content tailored to customers’ interests," DirecTV CEO Bill Morrow said in a prepared statement released early Monday.

The FCC's two Republican votemakers couldn't be more irate over what detractors of the deal have labeled a "Soros short cut" to gaining financial control — and, to conservatives, editorial control — of Audacy's radio stations. Yet, the Chairwoman remains steadfast that the same process used for three of Audacy's peers was applied with its emergence from bankruptcy protection.

As of November 16 Scripps News 24/7 national news programming will wind down, with the digital multicast network that evolved from OTT-distributed Newsy coming to its conclusion.

America First Legal is an organization whose mission is to oppose "the radical left's anti-jobs, anti-freedom, anti-faith, anti-borders, and Anti-American crusade." Add "anti-Soros" to its list of goals, as it has launched an investigation into the FCC for what it calls the "apparent fast-tracking" of Audacy Inc.'s post-bankruptcy restructuring plan.

Connected TV viewership and the gap between advertisers increasingly investing in this growing platform and reaching verified audience members — versus fraudulent bots — is a hot topic. And, it is one that broadcast television ad sales leaders are increasingly having. Justin Skogen, VP of Enterprise and Government at Digital Element, addresses TV advertisers' demand for assurance in this guest column.

The Governor of the State of California has signed a bill introduced by Democratic Assemblyman Miguel Santiago that mandates state agencies develop plans to increase their advertising spending in media outlets serving California’s diverse populations.

It's being called a "comprehensive broadcast solution," and it will see 20 games from both the National Basketball Association and National Hockey League franchises serving the Mile High City air on free-to-air television, thanks to an arrangement between the teams, Altitude Sports and TEGNA.

A U.S. District Court Judge in Grand Rapids, Mich., has said no to a legal request from the nation's No. 1 owner of broadcast television stations to dismiss a complaint filed by a former WOOD-8 News Director and his assistant — a move that keeps their defamation suit alive.

Dish has submitted a request for monetary sanctions against Soo Kim and his Standard General, calling his lawsuit against the FCC for alleged civil rights violations — a legal action that includes Dish and head Charlie Ergen as non-government defendants — a costly response from "an entitled entrepreneur" who simply didn't get what he wanted.