the HOT List

With the rumor mill in high gear ahead of the FCC's February Open Meeting that waivers permitting Nexstar Media Group to merge with TEGNA could be just days away, the company founded more than 30 years ago with a single station in Scranton, Pa., is gearing up for two institutional investor conferences.

ATSC President Madeleine Noland is working hard to bring all of the benefits of the new digital broadcast TV standard to fruition. For viewers, new dongles and set-top boxes are a key consumer advancement. Noland speaks exclusively to RBR+TVBR about the new ways to access NEXTGEN TV, and it's in our Spring 2026 magazine.

A federal judge in a Delaware District Court recommended Thursday that a Motion to Dismiss filed by a defendant in a patent infringement case filed by Nielsen be granted — thus thwarting the nation's dominant audience measurement and data analytics firm in its legal claim of bespoke technology.

The Patrick Quinn-led PQ Media forecasts that the U.S. is expected to post much stronger growth in 2026 — thanks to the FIFA World Cup, potentially robust midterm political ad spending, and Winter Olympics coverage on NBCUniversal channels.

Ralph Oakley remains a titan of over-the-air television in retirement. The NAB will recognize Oakley's achievements as the head of Quincy Media, Inc., at the upcoming State Leadership Conference in Washington, D.C.

The E.W. Scripps Company has launched an enterprise-wide transformation plan designed to improve operating performance and unlock new value, targeting annualized enterprise EBITDA growth of $125 million-$150 million by 2028.

The Shapiro-led Consumer Technology Association is gaining attention for a letter sent Monday to the Senate Commerce Committee's Chairman and Ranking Member, ahead of yesterday's hearing on broadcast TV ownership rules that came to light only after the two-hour Capitol Hill affair.

Are longstanding broadcast media ownership rules still relevant in the digital age and, if so, to what extent? That's a key question regarding the matter of whether more reform is needed, as Sen. Ted Cruz opened a hearing focused on repeal or modification of the 39% national broadcast audience reach cap.

With all eyes today on the Senate and a hearing focused on whether the 39% national television owner reach cap should change, the top Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee penned a letter to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr "sounding the alarm on his efforts to eliminate all media ownership restrictions."

Less than seven years after Katz Networks and Scripps rebooted Court TV as a digital multicast offering in an environment where cord-cutting is fueling over-the-air broadcast TV consumption, Scripps has decided to sell it. Who's the buyer? Look no further than a company created by Dan Abrams.

On Capitol Hill, the most important hearing in more than two decades for broadcast television will be held on Tuesday morning. And it is now known who will round out the roster of four witnesses that includes Newsmax CEO Chris Ruddy and NAB President/CEO Curtis LeGeyt.

After expressing statements that suggested he wasn't fond of the combination of the nation's largest single owner of broadcast television stations with the company formerly known as Gannett, President Trump took to his own social media website to express a change of heart.

A 30-second political ad paid for by an organization devoted to bringing U.S. Hispanic voters to the polls on Election Day warns of the potential higher bills MVPD subscribers will pay should TEGNA and Nexstar Media Group merge. The ad takes aim at both FCC Chairman Brendan Carr and President Trump.

Make no mistake: Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) does not align itself with the view expressed by the National Religious Broadcasters (NRB) organization that "modernization" of the FCC's national television ownership cap should be shunned.

An arm of the publicly traded broadcast TV station ownership group led by President/CEO Chris Ripley has agreed to pay thousands of dollars to a group of plaintiffs who sued Sinclair and several of its broadcast TV peers in October 2018. They filed antitrust claims linked to alleged price fixing for advertising.