the HOT List

Investors reacted to an announcement from ESPN, FOX and Warner Bros. Discovery that they plan to launch a sports-focused subscription-based streaming platform by selling off their shares in key broadcast television companies. By mid-afternoon Wednesday, double-digit percentage dips were seen.

On Tuesday, a potential game-changing initiative was announced by three longtime providers of play-by-play sports. It sees the birth of a new joint venture that Madison and Wall's Brian Wieser calls "Hulu for Sports." What does the creation of this service mean for the future of sports rights, and for broadcasters?

As RBR+TVBR first reported on February 1, Gray Television is swapping four television stations in Wyoming and Nebraska to Brian and Patricia Lane's Marquee Broadcasting in exchange for a future Salt Lake City TV property. What's now known is that one of the Nebraska stations won't survive the deal.

For a decade, he was a ratings dominator for WKYS-FM in Washington, D.C. He would later work at WPGC-FM, and after a five-year hiatus came back to D.C. radio to take afternoons at WMMJ-FM. Now, the NAB is paying tribute to Donnie Simpson, who recently departed Urban One.

With the recent departure of Albert Rodriguez as President/Chief Operating Officer from Spanish Broadcasting System, determining who would serve as the day-to-day leader of the company's media properties became a key question. Late Monday, the company's Board of Directors found its answer.

Newly released findings from M/A/R/C Research's Horowitz arm shows that one-third of U.S. TV content viewers either borrow log-in credentials or share the costs of at least one streaming service they can access.

As the clock struck midnight Saturday, CMG was already on the offensive, noting how the direct broadcast satellite provider “already dropped hundreds of stations over the last few months,” and that “this latest drop is a continuation of its ongoing mission against local journalism.”

The CEO of Taylor Communications, through a newly formed company, has emerged as the winning bidder of all 10 stations put up for auction in a bankruptcy court to resolve debt associated with Rocking M Media. A February 15 court date to approve the auction is the final step in the process.

In a transaction that was just announced at RBR+TVBR's Thursday news deadline, Gray Television confirmed that is engineering a facility swap that will see it depart two Wyoming markets. In return, it is poised to get a future broadcast TV station serving DMA No. 27.  

In a transaction that sees Kalil & Co. as the broker, the Neuhoff Family has agreed to sell its radio stations in both Danville and Decatur, Ill.  The proposed sale, the Neuhoff Family Limited Partnership says, is part of "an overall strategic decision" to exit the broadcast industry after nearly 70 years.

A rule change that would pave the way for GeoBroadcasting Solutions’ “ZoneCasting” technology has been pending for more than a year. The FCC has now committed to keeping the proposal alive, thanks to an order and further notice of proposed rulemaking. A joint statement of support came from Brendan Carr and Geoffrey Starks.

In the eyes of a key DirecTV leader, the migration of live pro sports games from regional sports networks to over-the-air broadcasters "may not be such a good thing for the American people." Robert Thun offered those remarks at a Wednesday Congressional hearing also attended by the head of Scripps Sports.

He's stated on multiple occasions that he seeks to own the largest collection of broadcast television stations in the U.S. Now, Byron Allen has made a bid for a significant interest in the owner of CBS News & Stations. While there's been much press on the subject, AMG is saying little about the bid.

The owner of broadcast TV stations and the new Assembly studio and media production hub in Doraville, Ga., also shared a positive update on its Q4 2023 guidance with improved low-end estimates. Additionally, Gray revealed it expects to earn hundreds of millions of dollars through the sale of BMI, Inc.

As former FCC General Counsel and current Wiley co-chair of its Issues & Appeals practice Tom Johnson sees it, recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions could impact the FCC’s enforcement work — including potential reforms that the Commission could consider to its current processes.