Legacy

The LPTV Spectrum Rights Coalition has surveyed its members and general newsletter readers regarding their plans for late April, when the NAB Show in Las Vegas is to be staged. Based on reader feedback and COVID-19 concerns, it will not be holding its independently produced event held during the National Association of Broadcasters' biggest annual affair.

Travel to the southeast of Canton, Ohio, and you'll find a Class A noncomm owned and operated until now by Denny and Marge Hazen. They're now saying goodbye to their non-secular FM. The buyer? The second-biggest owner of radio stations in the nation.

The E.W. Scripps Co. has appointed the 14-year VP/GM of a station in Lafayette, La., to a similar role for its NBC affiliate in Lexington, Ky. He takes his new role in a month.

A Class B AM with a rich heritage serving the Windy City's African American community was acquired in October 2003 by a Detroit-based operator committed to providing gospel programming to listeners. Today, the station is in the hands of a court-appointed receiver.

Multiple deals in the last two weeks suggest High Plains Radio Network is refining his stable of assets. The regional broadcast company has engaged in multiple station sales, with filings with the FCC including the $5,000 spin of a Class C3 Country FM in Arkansas. Now, HPRN is dealing two AMs, two FMs and a FM translator -- also in Arkansas -- to the same party that is getting that Country station. 

A pair of Shreveport, La.-based TV stations needed a better way to meet FCC closed-caption mandates. After looking over several options, the evaluation team at the stations' licensee went with an automated closed captioning system from ENCO.

Saturday, Feb. 29, is the final day to enjoy early bird registration for the most educational Spring Break trip to South Florida one can take. Don't wait: register NOW for the the 11th Hispanic Radio Conference in Miami. It's an investment that will pay dividends for you and your station in the months and years to come.

Is it Perry Sook? What about Pat LaPlatney, or Brian Lawlor? Is Emily Barr at the top? It's still up to you, but your selection of RBR+TVBR's now-ranked 2020 Broadcast Television’s Best Leaders list must be done by 5pm Pacific today (2/28). Nominations will be tabulated next week, with the results appearing in our 2020 NAB Show Special Edition!

As RBR+TVBR's daily newsletter was being finalized, iHeartMedia CEO Bob Pittman and CFO Rich Bressler were delivering the company's fourth quarter 2019 results. It is the first for the company post-bankruptcy, making comps a tad difficult. What is certain is that iHeart's year-over-year revenue is flat.

Joe Ceryanec is retiring as VP/CFO of Meredith, which owns 17 over-the-air TV stations reaching 11% of U.S. households, effective March 31. On March 9, his successor will join the Des Moines-based company. The move brings to Meredith a 21-year GE veteran.

The nation's largest owner of broadcast TV stations had a huge final three months of 2019. But, like audio entertainment and media company Entercom, it requires a look at adjusted EBITDA. Once that's done, Nexstar's performance is one for investors to applaud. Coronavirus fears over the Summer Olympics could be spooking them today. Yet, Sook thinks a pandemic would actually help TV.

For months, there's been chatter of a sale of Univision Communications, with various unconfirmed reports across multiple news organizations. In the early morning hours of Tuesday, Feb. 25, the rumors became reality: The 64% ownership in Univision not held by Mexico's Grupo Televisa has been snagged by a pair of investment firms in an arrangement that will see the exit of CEO Vince Sadusky.

ViacomCBS shares continued to trend downward Friday, a day after the company produced Q4 2019 results that greatly disappointed investors. Noted Wall Street analyst Michael Nathanson, Senior Analyst at MoffettNathanson, has reviewed the company's report, which includes 2020 guidance. His assessment is just as bleak as the current ViacomCBS stock trajectory.

Thanks to its footprint, Cumulus Media's top executives are convinced that its own March Madness -- one that sees a flood of political dollars from the Mike Bloomberg for President campaign -- will greatly assist in achieving a Q1 2020 profit. Another free-spending candidate has also added to Cumulus' bottom line, while Bloomberg's spots are airing on another company's stations in N.Y.

A county in the Lone Star State petitioned the FCC to modify the satellite television markets for a group of stations in the Tyler-Longview DMA, as well as a big Dallas-market station. The Senior Deputy Chief of the Media Division's Policy Division reviewed the request, and on Wednesday made his decision: No.