TV/Cable News

In April 1948, the first television station in the U.S. South signed on the air. Today, WTVR-6 in Richmond is celebrating its 75th anniversary.  But, the E.W. Scripps Co. station affiliated with CBS says the station's story requires going back even further than that celebratory sign-on date.

Over the years, newly independent broadcast media financial analyst Brian Wieser, who today runs Portland, Ore.-based Madison and Wall has closely watched or participated in U.S national TV upfront negotiations.  Believe it or not, Upfront Week begins in three weeks. What are the things Wieser has found most important in predicting pricing?

GOP FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington was at the NAB Show on Sunday, and he was there to talk about the future of ATSC 3.0. His remarks were part tongue-in-cheek and part missive, using sarcasm to scorch the Democratic leadership of the Commission on matters including TEGNA and Sinclair Broadcast Group.

The company formerly known as Luken Communications, today doing business as Get After It Media, is expanding the distribution of a group of digital multicast networks it owns by adding a low-power TV station serving Indianapolis.

FOX Television Stations and Amazon are teaming up to distribute local news content across Amazon's devices from the company's 29 full-power broadcast television stations across the U.S. Call it a "FAST" path to news, sports and weather.

The non-profit industry organization representing Low Power, Translator and Class A TV Stations founded by "SuperFrank" Copsidas with an estimated 5,500+ stations across the U.S., for the second consecutive year, made its "Lower Power" presence known at the world's largest conference and expo devoted to broadcast media.

With the Upfronts just weeks away, real-time TV measurement company iSpot.tv shared findings from a survey of agency and brand spending plans for this year. The survey yielded positive news for broadcast TV. 

Starting Sept. 11, a new weekday news magazine showcasing "groundbreaking investigations" from Gray Television featuring original content from the company's broadcast TV stations and an acclaimed national journalism unit will become available for viewers.

Usage of free, ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) services like Tubi, Peacock, and Pluto TV, play a major role in driving free streaming, with nearly half of Black TV viewers reporting using at least one FAST service in the past month, new research from Horowitz shows.

Fragmentation of the offer and non-linear viewing have accelerated what France-based Glance calls "the profound transformation" of the market. "All actors are rethinking their models," it says. In this context, programs are launched with fiction still at the forefront. In fact, older entertainment formats are still very attractive to viewers.

With Byron Allen spending Sunday at the Wynn Hotel and, later, at a NAB Show panel discussion at the Las Vegas Convention Center, his Allen Media Group today is welcoming the arrival of a new President of its Allen Media Broadcasting arm.

He held court at the LPTV Broadcasters Association's daylong sessions on Sunday as the 2023 NAB Show formally kicked off. If you happen to see Frank Copsidas, congratulate him on securing a low-power TV property in a transaction just filed for FCC approval.

A newly formed alliance that includes DigiCAP, SpectraRep and Heartland Video Systems seeks to provide public broadcast television stations with guidance on the planning, budgeting, and integration of the ATSC 3.0 standard.

Although the competitive landscape for local TV is tougher than it’s ever been, there are more data possibilities than ever before. Decisions or actions previously based on gut instinct can now be informed by a variety of data sources. A 2023 NAB Show session tacking the topic is poised to include the best and brightest from local TV management, buyers and agencies.

With the March 30 launch of ATSC 3.0-powered NEXTGEN TV in the sixth-largest television market in the U.S., BitPath reached a rollout milestone. The NextGen Broadcast service it manages is now available in 50 markets.