the HOT List

Another National Hockey League team has parted ways with Bally Sports, and its games will appear on a brand-new entity. Meanwhile, an NHL team serving the Pacific Northwest has just bolstered its over-the-air coverage.

To help explain how two important Supreme Court decisions could impact broadcast station owners, Frank Montero, the respected Fletcher, Heald & Hildreth Partner, sits in on the InFOCUS Podcast, presented by dot.FM, to best explain what could transpire in the wake of these two rulings.

She's a widely respected market-level broadcast media executive who has been twice honored by Radio+Television Business Report as a Top Local TV Leader. Now, this woman described by ABC Owned Television Stations President Chad Matthews as a "true innovator" has been selected to take the role held until March by the now-retired Cheryl Fair.

In November 2021, CBS News selected its 16-month EVP and CBS News Washington bureau chief to serve in a role giving her editorial oversight for network newsgathering worldwide, including all domestic and international bureaus. In August 2023 she was promoted to head CBS News. Now, she's out.

Barbs by Republicans about the FCC's return of "net neutrality" rules and Democrats' defense of the action dominated the divisive chatter as all five voting members of the Commission appeared in the Rayburn HOB meeting room, called to discuss the agency's FY2025 budget.

It's an announcement that was planned before the confirmation that CBS News and Stations parent Paramount Global would be merging with Skydance Media following its acquisition of National Amusements, Inc. And, it directly impacts the editorial and logistics teams across the properties.

The widely anticipated acquisition by Skydance Media of the Shari Redstone-controlled National Amusements, Inc., and its subsequent merger with Paramount Global and the new controlling stakeholder in what's informally being called "New Paramount," has been approved by Paramount's board.

He spent more than 21 years at Univision Communications prior to its merger with Televisa, exiting in 2021 as COO/CFO. Since August 2022, he's served as President/COO and CFO of the Hispanic radio company benefiting from Soros Fund Management dollars. Marc Manahan is now interim CEO.

While not addressing the most recent movements on AI or the FM duplication rule change, the newest FCC Commissioner — Anna G. Gómez — did discuss two key issues to radio at the recent Hispanic Radio Conference in San Antonio. You can hear them in this InFOCUS Podcast.

Many Florida Panthers fans suffered through a season marred by a carriage dispute between the cable TV channel they called home and Comcast's Xfinity system. With the 2024-2025 season, that problem will be erased, as the NHL's top team is moving their games from Bally Sports to free local TV.

On June 19, the FCC’s Media Bureau, headed by Holly Saurer, gave its approval to a swap of stations between Brian and Patricia Lane’s Marquee Broadcasting and Gray Television. That transaction has officially closed.

FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel has shared with her fellow commissioners draft final rules that, if adopted, would strengthen the security of the nation’s public alert and warning systems—the Emergency Alert System and Wireless Emergency Alerts— against emerging cybersecurity threats.

Customers of Comcast's Xfinity MVPD service have been blocked since April from accessing any Bally Sports Networks channel. The lack of a deal is tied to the ongoing bankruptcy of its parent, Diamond Sports Group. Now, an Altice USA MVPD has ended its Bally Sports relationship, too.

A landmark 6-3 Supreme Court decision, announced Friday morning, all but erases the "Chevron deference" doctrine, established in 1984. It is a ruling one prominent Washington, D.C., attorney told RBR+TVBR could be beneficial for those challenging the FCC on its rulemaking decisions.

The judge overseeing Standard General's lawsuit against the FCC for alleged civil rights violations tied to its decision to have an Administrative Law Judge review its planned TEGNA acquisition has given FCC's Chairwoman and its Media Bureau Chief, among others, a firm deadline to respond to the complaint.