Intelligence Briefs

Don't think for a minute that FCC Chairman Ajit Pai won't respond to your letters or comments, no matter the venue in which they are delivered. He's liked many of our Tweets in which he's been tagged. Now, Pai has responded to Media Information Bureau columnist Ken Benner, who recently wrote a letter to Pai seeking his input on some of the top issues facing your broadcast TV or radio stations. How so? The IAC is about to grow.

Among the many e-mails forwarded to the RBR+TVBR Editorial Tiki Hut over the Christmas and New Year's holidays was an easy-to-digest 49-slide presentation from Business Insider CEO Henry Blodget. The topic of this popular PowerPoint? "14 Things You'll Want to Know About the Future of Media." Radio and TV C-Suiters who haven't seen the details should take five minutes to read our report, and then take an aspirin, advises RBR+TVBR Editor-in-Chief Adam R Jacobson.

Here's something we really hope your radio and TV stations can use in 2018. It's one of the more popular handout sheets Media Information Bureau columnist Ken Benner uses while conducting ABIP inspections. "Most stations are not even aware such an item is required to be completed quarterly and filed with the Engineers other non-public required filings, such as 854-R tower registration forms, EAS tests, proof of performances, etc.," Benner says. That's why we're pleased to open your eyes to this most-important document. Merry Christmas! Ken & Karen

Greater knowledge of linear TV data. Personalization. These are just two of the things Walt Horstman, ‎SVP/GM of Advanced Media & Advertising at TiVo, believes will be big on the minds of everyone in broadcast TV's C-Suites throughout 2018. Horstman shares with RBR+TVBR readers why he's big on these two topics, along with four other key things TV executives will be talking about across the next 12 months.

In the last few months, allegations of sexual misconduct have spread rapidly from industry to industry, with fresh stories surfacing on almost a daily basis. We haven’t yet seen the magnitude to which these stories will impact the standards to which our society will hold brands. Could the radio industry be impacted in the coming weeks? Is there more fallout in local TV? It is likely that those standards are only going to get higher, says Media Information Bureau guest columnist Deb Gabor.

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.

Aside from the NPRM approved last week that could loosen the national broadcast TV ownership cap, what else is the FCC likely focused on for 2018? Gus Hurwitz, a visiting fellow at the American Enterprise Institute specializing in telecommunications and technology law, high-tech industry regulation, and cybersecurity, has provided a look at the top 5 issues the FCC will now focus its attention toward.

Despite all of the political theater, a "brief recess due to security concerns" as Chairman Ajit Pai delivered his statement, and dramatic dissents from Democratic FCC Commissioners Mignon Clyburn and Jessica Rosenworcel, the Commission today in a 3-2 vote approved an Order that in the GOP majority's view "restores Internet Freedom" by removing Title II classification of broadband internet access service after two years. What's next, assuming there is no roadblock for the removal of Title II classification? Here's what Boston College Law School professor Daniel Lyons has to say on the subject.

“What am I required to keep for records to be legal?” is the most frequent question Media Information Bureau featured columnist Ken Benner receives. Thus, he's penned a column that answers this question as best as possible. Here's what he has to say.

The 2017 edition of the PwC Sports Outlook, which updates PwC’s perspective on the sports industry, including recent results and potential opportunities and challenges to future industry growth, has been released and is now available for public consumption. This year’s edition refreshes PwC's five-year revenue forecasts through 2021 within four key segments of the North American sports market: media rights, gate revenues, sponsorship, and merchandising. Here are all of the details, as your media properties may include broadcast stations that offer sports talk or sports play-by-play -- and may account for a significant portion of your company's quarterly revenue.

A Dec. 1 announcement that was widely ignored by the broadcast media trade press caught the attention of RBR+TVBR Editor-in-Chief Adam R Jacobson. Why? Because this news, from Sirius XM, deals with something radio stations across the U.S. should have been doing for the last 25 years. It's another reason why broadcast radio still has a long way to go to be as local as industry leaders proclaim it to be.

Over the course of the next few weeks, RBR+TVBR will be turning to media brokers and communications attorneys for their take on what's in store for broadcast media owners in 2018, while taking a look back at 2017 and sharing their thoughts on what's happened for radio and TV industry executives. We begin this series with thoughts from Garvey Schubert Barer partner Erwin Krasnow.

In May 2016, Garvey Schubert Barer attorney Erwin Krasnow explained the role of brokers and buyers. Here, we revisit his advice on what he believes are typical questions to ask when selecting a broker.

If you were to scribe a letter to the head of the Federal Communications Commission, asking Ajit Pai to consider some of the top issues facing your broadcaster TV or radio stations, what would you ask? Look no further than the following letter addressed to Pai, sent by our own Media Information Bureau featured columnist and Alternative Broadcast Inspection Program (ABIP) guru Ken Benner.

In a lengthy speech delivered today in Washington, D.C., at the Media Institute, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai discussed America's broadcasters and newspapers. He discussed social media, and the internet, as the coming of Net Neutrality has resulted in personal attacks at Pai's home against his children. This led Pai to ask, "Is social media a net benefit to American society?" His response? "Given the increasingly important role that social media plays in our daily lives, this is a question that all of us, including groups like the Media Institute, need to grapple with."