TV/Cable News

Nielsen's March 2026 installment of The Gauge and Media Distributor Gauge tells a familiar story with a few notable wrinkles: streaming's dominance remains largely intact, cable got a welcome shot in the arm from the NCAA basketball tournaments, and Disney had a month worth talking about.

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr again pushed back over whether the agency's escalating investigation into Disney-owned ABC stations is politically motivated, insisting the early license renewal order that has rattled the broadcast industry is tied to "invidious forms of DEI discrimination" — but his remarks carry a warning that extends well beyond Burbank.

An all-American brand value could be fueling a renaissance in visual media advertising activity at an activity that in recent years had stumbled against Pepsico and other soft drink rivals. Today, Coca-Cola is a big Spot Cable believer, the latest Media Monitors data show.

The agreement between ATSC, Sistema Brasileiro de TV Digital Terrestre (SBTVD) Forum and Korea’s Telecommunications Technology Association reflects what the ATSC calls a shared commitment to strengthening global interoperability for advanced broadcasting services and to accelerating international collaboration.

Less than two weeks ago, the Media Bureau’s Video Division approved the transfer of control of a group of television stations from Block Communications Inc. to Gray Media. As of today, there's a new GM for the two Louisville stations included in that deal, and Gray's existing property in Kentucky's largest market. 

With CEO Les Levi signing off on the deal, HC2 Broadcasting has moved forward with the acquisition of a low-power television station serving the northern Wisconsin city that's home to the Packers.

On April 29, FCC Media Bureau Video Division Chief David J. Brown gave the green light to an exchange of broadcast television stations between Scripps and Gray, dismissing objections from cable TV industry advocacy groups over the deal. That transaction has now closed.

Does the FCC have a "non-discretionary obligation" to act on an Application for Review filed on March 4, 2025 by an advocacy group that believes a FOX Television Stations property in Philadelphia aired false and misleading information during newscasts at the height of 2020 U.S. Presidential Election results debate?

A new multi-year partnership has been forged between the National Football Conference team that's home to Quarterback Matthew Stafford and CBS Los Angeles, which operates two over-the-air TV stations in Southern California. It marks a shift from ABC Owned Stations' KABC-7 in L.A.

Upfront Week has concluded, and the industry trade group that says it is "dedicated to advancing addressable TV advertising and its use of deterministic identity" has gained a quintet of new supporting members while also sharing research indicating 78% of advertisers believe addressable TV will play a role in Upfront negotiations.

NBA fans are hoping the Detroit Pistons will hang a championship banner inside Little Caesars Arena at the end of this season. On Wednesday, a different kind of banner was raised involving the Pistons, and it confirms where the team's games will be seen during the 2026-2027 season.

Gray Media has created the new role of Senior Vice President for Transformation, and starting June 1 a woman will be tasked with taking the position in order to "accelerate" the broadcast media company's "ongoing digital transformation of its content gathering, creation, workflow and distribution initiatives."

Free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) has moved from the margins of the streaming landscape to the center of how Americans watch TV, says Hub Entertainment Research. A new study from Hub shows that FAST services are quickly capturing TV households, with roughly half of those users calling FAST a "must-have."

Channel 13 in Stockton, Calif., is the latest broadcast television station to adopted an augmented reality/virtual reality news studio. The addition at KOVR-TV, better known as "CBS Sacramento," marks the 12th rollout of the technology-driven method bringing immersive storytelling and next-generation journalism to viewers.

An advocacy group that has become the biggest thorn in the side of broadcast television station ownership groups has written to the FCC urging the Carr Commission "to prevent and deter 'Big Broadcasters' from evading meaningful FCC review of broadcast transactions." The real beef is over "Big Four" arrangements.