Legacy

As RBR+TVBR continues its look back at 2017 and peek into what will make headlines in the next 12 months, we reviewed the total number of broadcast radio and TV transactions seen since January. Given all of the talk about what the FCC under Chairman Ajit Pai would do for the deal-making market, was 2017 a disappointment for brokers? Here's what Robert Heymann, Chicago-based Director for Media Services Group has to say about that.

There's yet another squabble over retransmission fee deals that's unfolded, and this one involves the two television stations owned by Dispatch Broadcast Group — the Columbus, Ohio-based operation run by the Wolfe family since 1929.

"There is only one problem with radio today. One. So, let’s solve it." What exactly is that problem? Media Information Bureau contributor Kelly Orchard, M.A. LMFT thinks she has the answer. It's all about people, as she writes in this exclusive column, "Trouble, Turmoil and Transition: Radio Needs An Attitude Adjustment NOW!" It's written by a second-generation broadcaster who nearly died of heart failure. It's a tale of how you, and others, can be prevented from succumbing to fear.

Two days ago, Standard General, the hedge fund led by Soohyung Kim, filed suit against the FCC in a Washington, D.C., Federal Appeals Court as part of its efforts to keep its TEGNA privatization effort on track. That hasn't stopped the Commission in any way from moving forward with its Hearing Designation Order.

What can TEGNA shareholders expect in the way of Q4 and full-year 2020 results? While the official numbers won't come until March 1, TEGNA on Wednesday shared its preliminary results — along with a preview of what could very much be on the books for 2021.

The endless commercial break. It’s so bad that Radio Ink Editor Ed Ryan’s daughter, 24, won’t even listen to the radio. Is the stopset slog a problem for Hispanic radio? Ryan probed four of the industry’s top executives as the moderator of the Hispanic Radio Executive Leadership Roundtable on Wednesday afternoon at the Hispanic Radio Conference in Miami.

As anticipated, Nielsen Audio has moved forward with the launch of continuous diary measurement -- a move designed to provide advertisers and radio broadcasting companies with more reliable data based on what diarykeepers state on paper they are listening to when seeking audio entertainment and information.

From his days 50 years ago as a Top 40 DJ in Pittsburgh to his hire at KFBK-AM in Sacramento to replace Morton Downey Jr., the radio career of Rush Limbaugh was replete with disappointment, rebirth and tremendous success. Now, the world is pausing to remember Limbaugh, who has lost his battle with lung cancer.

For the last several years, MVPDs have waged a war against broadcast TV companies wanting higher retrans fees, arguing that it would lead to higher bills to consumers. Absent from those conversations has been the suggestion of a la carte pricing. A newly released report supports that idea, given what's consumed.

Dana Withers has agreed to add another radio station to the Withers Broadcasting Co. family. This time around, the station is "volunteering" to the sale. Also in TRANSACTIONS TODAY: A blueberry of a deal has closed in Maine.

While the Q1 '23 results pleased the iHeartMedia C-Suite, a year-over-year revenue and adjusted EBITDA decrease was nevertheless seen. Oh, and there's the much bigger net loss. The good news is that the net loss was lower than what analysts anticipated, and audio/digital ads are on the rebound.

Samsung Electronics has opened the doors to a Los Angeles-based theatrical post-production studio that serves as an addition to Amazon’s portfolio of production and entertainment businesses, further enhancing the area’s reputation as a hub for creativity and innovation.

iSpot.tv, a real-time platform for measuring the business and brand impact of cross-platform TV advertising, has partnered with a technology company intent on making the future of privacy-focused, data-driven TV advertising possible.

For three generations of radio listeners, WRQX in Washington, D.C., and WPLJ in New York served listeners with rock, then Top 40 and, until 7pm today, Hot Adult Contemporary music. As many bid farewell to the stations, the industry could forever be changed by the stations' sales.

The "Friends of WRR" group warned Dallas-Fort Worth listeners of the 100-year-old Classical radio station some 10 months ago that its future was uncertain. Now, management of the station is poised to be handed to the licensee in control of the market's leading PBS Member station, its key NPR Member station, and a Adult Alternative noncomm created in 2009.