the HOT List

After three years, the Portland Trail Blazers left ROOT Sports in a decision announced in August. Now, the NBA franchise has revealed that its games, like those of a growing number of pro sports teams, will be heading to a free over-the-air broadcast scheme. Interestingly, it is Diamond Sports Group parent Sinclair Inc. that secured the Blazers.

Connected TV has presented myriad opportunities for addressable advertising, and an advertising experience that marketers today are eager to tap into. This makes a new report from Wurl a must-read for broadcast TV station ownership groups, as the funnel continues to grow for Connected TV and digital platforms while core advertising for linear television remains a key blemish for many station owners.

To learn more about independent WFMZ-69 in Allentown, Pa., and how it continues to thrive as a Philadelphia-market offering focused on the Lehigh Valley, station President/GM Barry Fisher joins RBR+TVBR Editor-in-Chief Adam R Jacobson on this InFOCUS Podcast, presented by dot.FM.

A SEC filing shows that the former SBS exec is gaining an equity interest in the owner of WBLS and "Hot 97" in New York, and the operator of Estrella Media. Meanwhile, joining Rodriguez in MediaCo’s C-Suite is Brian Kei, who served as Estrella Media's COO and CFO. Additionally, Andrew Carington is on lease as Chief Legal Officer from Standard General.

Misinformation is spreading rapidly in the digital universe, especially during election season. As a faculty member of the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications sees it, untrustworthy hyperlinks found on news sites — some of which may be dubious, themselves — may be partly to blame.

The Chief Legal Officer and EVP of Legal and Regulatory Affairs at the NAB has shared his thoughts in a new blog post about the FCC’s proposed rulemaking that would require disclaimers on political ads that use AI. In short, Rick Kaplan has told Jessica Rosenworcel that the Commission shouldn't be ones to set the rules.

The broadcast television station ownership group led by Chris Ripley has increased its advertising guidance for the third quarter 2024 to account for what it labels "stronger-than-expected" political revenues.

The multimedia company led by Byron Allen has reportedly engaged both Moelis & Co. and Kirkland & Ellis as part of a plan to address its debt maturities amid cost cutting that a source says includes permanent work-from-home arrangements for staff in New York and in Southern California.

Wade Davis is no longer the Chief Executive Officer of TelevisaUnivision, the company announced early Thursday, after reports in The New York Times and Reuters distributed Wednesday evening cited unnamed sources close to the matter that a change in leadership was imminent. Who's his successor?

First it was Dave Lougee, who exited as President/CEO one month ago. Then it was Ellen Crooke, who will relinquish her role of SVP of News in January. Now, a third TEGNA Inc. C-Suite executive has shared her long-term departure plan, which involves a mid-2025 exit from the broadcast television ownership group.

It's no joke: TikTok is now a major source of news and information for a significant percentage of Americans. Still, new data from Pew Research Center indicate that broadcast television remains a major source for the facts when occurrences of importance happen.

Broadcaster associations from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico have sent a letter to congressional leadership in support of the Nurture Originals, Foster Art, and Keep Entertainment Safe Act.

A January 12 game versus the Denver Nuggets marked the first New Orleans Pelicans game-day telecast on Gray Television-owned WVUE-8. Now, the company now doing business as Gray Media has secured a deeper media rights deal that results in a forthcoming multistate sports and entertainment network anchored by WVUE.

If you're a RBR+TVBR Premium Member, you’ve already received a VIP e-mail with your link to the Radio + Television Business Report's all-new Summer 2024 Special Report. It’s a 40-page digital magazine available via PDF download and contains exclusive interviews with Michael J. Hayes of Hearst Television, a cover interview with Leo MacCourtney and lots more — including our Broadcast Best Finance Leaders rankings for this year!

The team led by Vincent Létang has issued a report that backs up a forecast from Brian Wieser released earlier this month, concluding that full-year non-cyclical ad spend will grow by 8.9% — up from its previous prediction of 8.2% growth. For MAGNA, this represents one of the best performances in 20 years. That said, the headwinds will continue for broadcast radio companies.