TV/Cable News

Here's a bit of encouraging news for broadcast media news rooms to share with their team. A new poll conducted by Morning Consult and a large cable television news organization finds that some 87% of respondents are satisfied with the coverage of local news in their community.

From a greater sense of localism across his two stations to adopting "an OTT culture," Erik Schrader has had a busy year since transferring from Cleveland to Atlanta to serve as VP/GM of what are today Gray Television's flagship stations. He shares how things have transpired and what lies ahead for "Peachtree TV" and "CBS46" in this InFOCUS Podcast, presented by dot.FM. LISTEN HERE

The No. 2 and No. 3 individuals in the C-Suite of America's largest television broadcasting company in the U.S. are presently gearing up for a fireside chat Q&A session scheduled for September 7 at the BofA Securities Media, Communications and Entertainment Conference.

With back-to-school activity in full force across much of the eastern United States, quick-service restaurants ramped up their spot plays at cable television during the week ending August 21. The result? Last week's leader, Subway, is now No. 2 behind a category competitor known for its pizza pies.

As the broadcast media industry mourns the passing of Saga Communications founder and President/CEO Ed Christian, many will likely recall the company's roots in radio. While the company today is a pure-play radio broadcasting operation, for nearly a quarter century it was a broadcast TV station owner. That's a legacy of Christian, and involves Morgan Murphy Media.

A new two-hour weekday newscast produced specifically for Telemundo Station Group properties across the Lone Star State is gearing up for its September 26 debut. The program will air in five Texas markets.

It's the talk of the industry. But, it is really that much of a shocker? Nielsen data confirm streaming usage surpassed cable in July to claim the largest share of television viewing for the first time.

Entravision, the global digital ad solutions company with roots in the U.S. Hispanic broadcast space, is gearing up for a presentation at the 13th annual Midwest IDEAS Investor Conference.

While broadcast TV companies in the U.S. are apt to share that viewership of free-to-air stations remains strong thanks to local content and live programming, the situation across the U.K. appears to be much bleaker for the BBC and the private broadcast companies operating TV stations in the British Isles.

The Sinclair Broadcast Group subsidiary that contains the Bally Sports regional sports networks formerly owned by FOX is preparing for the late September launch of a direct-to-consumer streaming service that includes all 19 Bally Sports RSN brands.

The new additions come after NBCUniversal Local launched its first NBC local news channels on The Roku Channel in June. Meanwhile, the digital multicast network targeting younger adults, LX News, is now also accessible on The Roku Channel.

In Bayou Country, the Manship Family has become well-known for its ownership of ABC affiliate WBRZ-2 in Baton Rouge. Ralph Bender, its Chief Financial Officer, is nationally recognized for his active role with the annual Media Finance Focus conference staged by MFM and BCCA. Now, WBRZ's General Manager is retiring. His successor has just been revealed by the Manships.

A broadcast technology company known for its media workflows has inked an agreement that sees it team up with a content studio and online platform dedicated to "older adults." It's a move that expands Saltbox TV's audience reach and, more importantly, is designed to enable monetization through programmatic advertising.

What will the investment mean to America's largest owner of broadcast TV stations, from a housekeeping perspective? Nexstar EVP/CFO Lee Ann Gliha offered some thoughts, but due to a poor connection they were not clearly delivered. We've gotten a transcript of her comments, and the biggest takeaway is that assumption of The CW will be immediate and seamless for Nexstar.

She's a marketing executive at KABC-7 in Los Angeles and is described by Station Group President Chad Matthews as "an incredibly talented, creative executive who takes a strategic, thoughtful and collaborative approach to content creation and marketing strategies." Now, she'll hold the role of SVP of Content Development for ABC Owned Television Stations.