Legacy

As RBR+TVBR reported on Monday, Connoisseur Media is selling four stations in Connecticut to Red Wolf Broadcasting Co. These stations were part of a five-station deal that closed in July 2014 that saw Westport, Conn.-based Connoisseur acquire the quintet from Buckley Radio for exactly $7,922,035. Now, Connoisseur is selling the fifth station it got from Buckley.

In 1987, a production company devoted to Talk radio was established by a radio industry veteran with nearly 30 years of sales experience — including an eight-year tenure ending in 1972 as GSM for then-ABC's News/Talk KGO-AM 810 in San Francisco. This individual, Edward F. McLaughlin, in 1988 became the producer of The Rush Limbaugh Show. Today, he's credited with making Limbaugh a household name. Now, he's being honored for this and other career achievements by the Broadcasters Foundation of America. 

One glance at the latest Media Monitors Spot Ten Cable report says it all: Auto insurance companies, along with a popular DIY income tax preparation software brand, are actively advertising at the moment. Their choice of media is spot cable.

"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.

It may have been a down day for major U.S. indices, but broadcast media issues saw largely upward momentum in Wednesday's trading.

In October 2014, the owner of two FM radio stations in Pittsburgh went on a shopping trip. After 30 years of happily serving this reimagined Rust Belt city, a quartet smack dab in the middle of America was snagged. Today, Steel City Media is actively growing all six of its stations. How, in a world of corporate media and quarterly earnings reports watched by Wall Street, is this being done? It's all about relationships.

The app that's bringing FM radio to Android-powered smartphones will soon be available across select vehicle platforms on in-vehicle "infotainment" systems (IVI) powered by the Weblink software platform from tech firm Abalta Technologies.

In the land of 10,000 lakes, there is a "City of Lakes" located along Interstate 90, not too far north of the Iowa state line. It is here, in Fairmont, Minn., that an AM/FM combo is trading hands. It's the RBR+TVBR TRANSACTIONS TODAY top deal for January, 8, 2018. Also today: EMF snags a Lone Star translator its using in the state capital.

There's a new Vice President of Data Science at a Somerville, N.J.-based market research agency that's made a strong impact in both the audio entertainment industry and in the U.S. election scene. The hire is part of a big growth initiative in the works at Edison Research.

Thanks to the FCC’s Spectrum Auction, there are further dips in the number of broadcast TV stations licensed to air in the U.S. Meanwhile, there are even more FM translators, while the number of AMs licensed for broadcast in the U.S. has stopped its slide.

On behalf of everyone at Streamline Publishing, we wish you, and your family, and your at-work team nothing but great wishes for 2018. The next RBR+TVBR daily email will be distributed Wednesday afternoon, Jan. 3, 2018. We're looking forward to a big year, and we're convinced the next 12 months will be game-changing for broadcasters.

To little surprise, there's been another prolongation of the exchange offers and term loan offers crafted more than nine months ago by iHeartMedia. The latest extension comes just days after one Wall Street analyst hoped for a Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization for iHeart, slamming the company for what it has done to the equity value of subsidiary Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings.

A Class B1 FM serving a rural part of the San Joaquin Valley of Central California -- including the place where James Dean was before dying in September 1955 -- and a silent 50kw FM station northwest of the Phoenix area are the two properties owned by Deportes y Música Comunicaciones LLC. Until now, it's been a subsidiary of the Roberto Medina-helmed Grupo Multimedia LLC and has run the duo since the third quarter of 2011. Medina announced Nov. 20 that he plans on selling the stations. But, the proposed buyer is helmed by two Mexican citizens--one of whom is a big Univision exec. The FCC now seeks public comment on whether or not this is OK.

There's a good news/bad news/great news story for broadcast TV executives curious as to their stations' overall ratings performance in November. In the month, traditional TV reached 97% of all adults 18-34 for more than one minute. While that statistic holds true, so does the fact that viewing of individual networks on traditional TV are losing reach. Nevertheless, Wall Street wordsmith and respected financial analyst Brian Wieser has something wonderful to share: "The platform of TV as a whole is holding up better than many think."

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.