the HOT List

With great anticipation and little surprise, the Republican-led FCC on Thursday approved a Report and Order that removes a Congressionally mandated 39% local television ownership national reach cap, replacing it with a case-by-case look at whether going beyond that limit is in the public interest.

Strong political ad performance. Incremental ad dollars from 2026 FIFA World Cup coverage across the company's FOX affiliates. Streaming-related ad dollars in "legacy" Nexstar markets are on the rise. Those are the key reasons why Nexstar Media Group had a "record" second quarter, with TEGNA financials woven in to the results.

The Commission says this marks "a significant milestone in the successful conclusion of the first-ever spectrum Incentive Auction." Furthermore, the FCC notes, "The return of these funds reflects the FCC’s commitment to fiscal responsibility, efficient program administration, and reducing the national deficit."

Nearly two years of union negotiations between the owner of the ABC, CBS and FOX network affiliates serving California's Central Coast and the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) have failed to reach a resolution, leading IATSE Members to strike across Wednesday.

The broadcast television station ownership group that also owns tower manufacturer Dielectric and has emerged as the ATSC 3.0 industry shepherd delivered what CEO Chris Ripley called "strong" second quarter results.  Indeed, revenue and adjusted EBITDA each grew year-over-year. But did they meet analyst expectations?

The Maryland House Democrat believes the FCC's "extraordinary decision to require early renewal of eight Disney-owned ABC broadcast licenses breaks from decades of practice and causes severe constitutional problems by at least appearing to use the Commission’s licensing authority to censor protected speech." As such, "further Congressional oversight may be warranted."

"This was an excellent quarter for us," Josh D'Amaro, CEO of The Walt Disney Co., beamed as the parent of ABC Owned Stations began his company's fiscal third quarter earnings call. In the role for five months, D'Amaro couldn't be more pleased — even as the FCC under Brendan Carr has Disney's broadcast TV stations in its crosshairs.

Rumors first surfaced across the Queen City last week that a reduction-in-force was coming to The E.W. Scripps Co. On Tuesday, President/CEO Adam Symson addressed the "organizational changes" tied to a previously announced "transformation" at the broadcast TV station ownership group. He did so in an internal memo.

The second quarter 2026 earnings season has officially started, following last week's release of dollar-generation details from Graham Media Group's parent. Kicking off the publicly traded audio-and-video companies sharing their Q2 fiscal report card is the Washington, D.C.-founded organization led by CEO Alfred Liggins III.

It is a move that comes after a voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing made by its sibling, Dish DBS: EchoStar's satellite-based consumer market-focused Hughes Network Systems, has moved forward with its own bankruptcy filing. Why? The decision is primarily due to its inability to repay some $1.5 billion owed to debtholders.

On August 1, CBS viewers in seven markets will need to switch channels in order to continue watching the network's TV programming. On September 1, the ABC network affiliation in St. Louis will see a shift. This is disconcerting to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, who says the agency is closely examining one affiliation move agreement.

The lone Democratic Party voice on the Federal Communications Commission has again lashed out at the agency under the leadership of Chairman Brendan Carr for its proceeding in which ABC Owned Stations have been asked to participate in an early license renewal effort.

The PBS Member station's 70 years of archives are stuck at a facility believed to be used by Iron Mountain, in Denver. This led the television station to sue the data storage giant. A district judge ordered Iron Mountain to refrain from deleting any of the files as litigation continues.

Thanks to its transformative $22 million transaction with Hymen Childs' Service Broadcasting, announced in May, Urban One has a "revitalized" Dallas-Fort Worth station group. As such, the company led by Alfred Liggins III has refreshed its leadership team in North Texas.

There's chatter that one of the nation's largest radio station ownership groups could be faced with its own oversized job force shrinkage. Why? The post-bankruptcy ownership structure of Cumulus Media shows that the president of notorious newspaper owner Alden Global Capital will hold a big stake of Cumulus stock.