the HOT List

Artificial intelligence is already bringing new opportunities for broadcasters, in particular radio station owners. But, what could bring monetary benefits could also yield a mess of legal troubles, an esteemed panel of industry leaders shared on Wednesday afternoon at Forecast.

Investing in broadcast media remains an opportunity for strong cash flow and profitability, a Forecast panel featuring a billionaire known for supermarket ownership in New York, a veteran media broker and the SVP of Government Relations and Distribution at Gray Television shared on Wednesday.

Nielsen EVP/Managing Director for Local Television and Audio Catherine Herkovic revealed that she will be retiring at the end of 2023. What does this mean for the leadership of the Nielsen Audio and Nielsen Television Client Services? Audio is being placed "in the very capable hands" of a former Arbitron executive, as is the TV arm.

A Notice of Proposed Rulemaking is being circulated among the Commissioners that Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel believes will support local journalism. How so? She proposes to prioritize processing the review of applications for license renewal or for assignment or transfer of license for stations that provide "locally originated programming."

Based on a Wall Street analyst’s assessment of the pay-TV market by examining Q3 revenue reports from MVPDs, ensuring broadcast TV gets their “fair share” in compensation from vMVPD may be the most vital long-term goal for the industry. Why? “There is no light at the end of the pay-TV tunnel.”

With a hearing scheduled at Nasdaq on November 30 to discuss its non-compliance for failure to timely file its Q1 and Q2 2023 financial results with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Urban One has now confirmed that its Q3 2023 report won't be coming anytime soon, either.

The third retransmission consent dispute between the privately held broadcast TV station owner and the DBS provider in less than 10 years quietly ended on Friday. Hearst declined to comment, while Dish offered a statement via an email ahead of official word of its new CEO.

As the RSN model shows its weaknesses, how are broadcasters working to fill the void? The question was one of several pondered during a panel discussion held Thursday (11/9) at the Matrix Media Ad Sales Summit.

For companies such as Gray Television, getting more dollars from vMVPDs is vital to their future. In contrast, vMVPDs are dead-set against the idea. However, some resolution will be needed. If not, an increase in possible "blackouts" such as the one impacting a Gray property in Phoenix could raise the ire of consumers.

In Canada, much like in the U.S., radio station ownership groups have been challenged by core advertising slowdowns. How did the third quarter of 2023 fare for North America's most dominant multimedia ownership group? Rogers Communications blew past analysts' forecasts.

Once again, President/CEO David Field and CFO Rich Schmaeling declined to host a quarterly earnings call. Instead, the company's Q3 results were shared via a press release that yields details on another disappointing three-month period for the company formerly known as Entercom.

While Townsquare Media's earnings are fueled by digital growth, iHeartMedia, the nation's largest owner of AM and FM properties, also enjoyed strong digital audio revenue in Q3. Podcast revenue was particularly noteworthy.  That said, Multiplatform Group revenue remains the bulk of iHeart's total dollars, and the growth struggle will likely be a key focal point of iHeart's C-Suite as 2024 arrives.

Broadcast groups and their local-level station leadership are both on full alert as they await uncertain outcomes from Capitol Hill and the FCC on potentially major rulemaking and law changes. A panel at Forecast 2024 will examine what's at stake for Radio and TV, and what the key concerns are for the industry.

The biggest takeaway from Disney's fiscal Q4 2023 earnings report is how the company's Linear Networks are performing when compared to the company's Direct-to-Consumer arm. For the quarter ended September 30, D2C revenue grew by 12%. By comparison, Linear Networks revenue fell by 9%.

The fate of The CW Network's availability in the Motor City has been put into question once again, as the owner of the station that pulled the network over an alleged non-payment — a property poised to become a Nexstar-controlled UHF — is demanding the TV station owner that on Monday said it would happily pick up affiliation refrain from doing so.