Friday, April 3, 2026

Naveen Sarma

S&P Global Ratings: Significant M&A Challenging, But Needed

What’s in store for the Media & Entertainment sector as we head into 2025? The just-released S&P Global Ratings 2025 Media & Entertainment Industry Outlook examines the sector’s risks, opportunities, trends, credit quality and outlook. Naveen Sarma, who oversees U.S. media and entertainment for S&P Global Ratings, chimes in.

TikTok And Adults: What Broadcast Media Can Learn

Despite efforts in D.C. to limit its use in the U.S. due to its ties to the Chinese government and a new effort led by 14 state attorneys general to impose "significant penalties" on it for its harms to American youth, TikTok is a major social media platform that isn't fading away anytime soon. Data from Pew indicate that adults — not kids — are big-time users.

New Music, Live Updates Keeping Global Radio Market Up

Access to latest music and live updates is driving market growth for Radio on a worldwide level. But, there's a caveat — the upward momentum comes with a trend toward online radio services, a newly released study from U.K.-based Technavio finds.

‘News Influencers’: How Younger Americans Get Their News

Is it an existential threat to broadcast radio and TV, or is it a potential investment or partnership opportunity? New data from Pew Research Center suggest either may be of consideration, as nearly 40% of young adults queried say they get news from influencers on social media.

WARC: A Better Year Ahead for Marketers’ Business Conditions

Two-thirds of marketers queried by WARC Research expect business conditions to improve next year. That could have a positive trickle-down effect for broadcast media advertising, giving core ad dollars a potential needed boost in 2025.
Robert Branson, President and CEO of the Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council (MMTC)

Could MMTC Repeat 2016 Request To Trump?

A 2016 communiqué to the incoming Trump Administration from the MMTC suggested the creation of a “Glide Path” for AM radio station owners that preserves minority ownership following AM's end. Is the MMTC crafting a similar letter outlining "imperative actions" the White House must consider come 2025?

Hispanic Consumers: Driving Significant U.S. CPG Growth

Hispanic consumers are fueling 16% of total consumer packaged goods (CPG) growth in the United States, with spending trends that vary from non-Hispanic counterparts in both dollar and unit sales, as well as the channels they shop.

Taking Stock With Teens: Technology and Social Media

Minneapolis investment bank Piper Sandler has released its 48th semi-annual survey of U.S. teens in partnership with non-profit student organization DECA, which prepares the emerging leaders and entrepreneurs of tomorrow. Among the findings of interest to broadcast media executives are this demographic's top tech and social media choices.
Rosemary Ravinal

Use This Framework to Create Unforgettable Speeches

The secret to successful public speaking starts with organizing your message, says public speaking coach Rosemary Ravinal. "You can dazzle an audience with stellar delivery abilities but without structured reasoning, your talk will fail to impact them in ways that matter," she says in this column.
America Edwards

The Role of Radio During Crises

A PhD student in the Department of Communication at University of California Santa Barbara, along with her research team, in February 2022 published a scholarly article that examines the role of Radio in a crisis. We are pleased to revisit this piece in the wake of both Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton.

What’s on the Minds of U.S. Hispanic Consumers?

Hispanic Heritage Month 2024 takes place during a pivotal U.S. election season. To better understand the sociopolitical concerns of Hispanic consumers of voting age, Horowitz Research has released new findings on consumer attitudes toward news representation on current events.

VAB Explores How TV Ads Call Consumers To Action

First-time TV advertisers are achieving "significant and sustained" mid-funnel results once they launch their campaign. That is the big-picture takeaway from a just-released Video Advertising Bureau report that probes some 230 first-time TV advertisers and the all-important ROI they seek when securing an ad buy.

Political Ads: A Quick Review of Broadcasters’ Obligations

Are issue ads entitled to the Lowest Unit Rate? Is the broadcaster exempt from liability for false statements? Must the broadcaster allow opposing views on its air? Many think the answers to these questions are "Yes." Think again, veteran Washington, D.C. attorney Gregg Skall says in this classic column.

UFlorida Explores Bias Concerns in Human- and AI-Generated News

Given the growth of AI-generated news opportunities for broadcast media, it was only a matter of time before concerns regarding bias in the reports emerged. Now, a University of Florida research team has investigated whether AI-generated news is any more, or less, biased than human reports.

Pew: ‘Local Crime News’ Desired, But From What Source?

A newly released report on local news from Pew Research Center finds that more Americans get news and information about crime than any other local topic except the weather. But how they get that news — and how they react to it — varies widely.