Legacy

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.

In an act that creates a single trade association for promoting IP in the media and entertainment industry, The Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS) is merging with the Media Networking Alliance (MNA). The combination of the two entities comes after a two-year history of collaboration.

The nation's largest radio broadcasting company, iHeartMedia, revealed Monday in a SEC filing that its iHeartCommunications subsidiary is "currently exploring a possible private capital-raising transaction." From the looks of this transaction, it appears that the company is moving forward with plans to amend or fully agree to a counter proposal presented by key lenders that could give them all of iHeart's equity in Clear Channel Outdoor and a significant stake in iHeart.

For those who questioned whether or not Nielsen Audio would lose out on nearly $6.7 million its owed by Cumulus Media, think again. The nation's dominant audience measurement company and the nation's No. 2 radio broadcasting company by number of stations have just reached a deal on a multi-year extension for radio ratings services.

The individual responsible for creating one of New England's biggest Top 40 radio stations of its era has died just shy of his 92nd birthday. Perry Ury, who spent many years at RKO General before enjoying a 19-year tenure as Chairman and President of the former Chase Broadcasting, passed away Friday at his home in Sarasota, Fla.

There's an Oregon radio signal that not only covers much of Eugene and Springfield, but also Corvallis and Albany, and the state capital of Salem. This station even reaches the coastal communities of Newport and Lincoln City, and on good days comes in just fine from the top of the OHSU Tram in Southwest Portland. It could be yours, for the right price.

There's an AM/FM combo in West Central Iowa that has been singled out for its success, in many ways, by Media Information Bureau columnist Ken Benner. These stations have not only achieved perfect scores in alternative broadcast inspection program (ABIP) inspections, but are also fiscally fit and community leaders. Benner recently asked the stations' owner, Mike Dudding, what his secret of his success has been. Here's what Dudding had to say.

There are new SVP/Market Managers now in place at two Entercom markets in the Southeast U.S. In Orlando, the ex-VP/Director of Sales for CBS Radio takes the role. In a Tennessee market, the role is given to the former GSM of Cox Media Group's Jacksonville cluster.

A silent noncommercial FM station serving the northern portion of the Los Angeles metropolitan area is trading hands. But, it's going to a different owner than who was announced in August 2017. That's the top headline on a soft day for deals in for RBR+TVBR's TRANSACTIONS TODAY.

This week, the state of Maine will get another economic boost from the official ribbon-cutting and grand opening of a 33,000-square foot manufacturing facility in the city of Lewiston. The launch of the new Dielectric facility will also be good news for TV broadcasting companies in the midst of a post-FCC spectrum auction repack process. In an exclusive RBR+TVBR Weekly Tech Roundup interview, Dielectric VP/GM Keith Pelletier shares why there's a need for the new facility, and how Sinclair Broadcast Group ownership has helped Dielectric achieve considerable market share in its space.

Don't think for a minute that David Field isn't the right de-facto leader for bringing renewed vigor to the radio industry. The Entercom President/CEO has given Chief Marketing Officer Ruth Gaviria the green light to a huge initiative designed to get the attention of the very people that can help propel AM and FM stations to new heights: Chief Marketing Officers for the nation's biggest companies.