TV/Cable News

Members of the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) elected three experienced media executives to serve on the ATSC Board of Directors for three-year terms that begin in January 2022.

Some 75 stations have been selected for the Digital Transformation Program, developed with the intent of "changing their organizations’ operations and culture to more effectively deploy a digital-first, audience-centric approach." Selected stations include 40 public radio stations, 16 public television stations and 19 joint radio and TV licensees.

The President/CEO and the COO of Hearst Television's Litton Entertainment arm have announced that they will each retire from their roles at the end of the year. This puts Frank Biancuzzo, president of the recently created Hearst Media Production Group, in a position to directly oversee Litton.

Univision Communications has teamed with IPG's media agency Mediahub in forging a partnership with EDO Inc. and datafuelX — an arrangement Univision says will allow it "to leverage proprietary consumer behavior data to predict engagement performance for advertiser campaigns across Univision’s linear networks."

The last remaining properties tied to Red River Broadcast Co. have been spun, in a transaction that saw Kalil & Co. serve as the exclusive broker in the transaction signed off by Kathy Lau and John Exline. It is a deal that can only be permissible today thanks to the erasure of the FCC's cross-ownership rules, as a newspaper and TV station will soon be siblings in Duluth, Minn.

National Association of Television Program Executives (NATPE), the global business association for content producers, distributors, streamers and buyers across all platforms, has unveiled the recipients for its 2022 Iris Awards. 

Meredith Corporation as you knew it is now another faded company of broadcast media's past, as Gray Television on Wednesday completed its $2.8 billion merger and subsequent spin-off of its non-local broadcast television assets to the Barry Diller-led IAC.

He was a husband, a father, and a "Poppy." And, he was the founder and President of the Daystar Television Network. Marcus Lamb has passed away at the age of 64. The cause of death: COVID-19.

The shareholders of Meredith Corporation are one step closer to seeing the company's stock, traded on the New York Stock Exchange, disappear forever. That's because they've approved the Des Moines-based multimedia company's $2.825 billion acquisition by Gray Television.

Should a network affiliate be held accountable for an apparent violation of the FCC's rules pertaining to Emergency Alert System tones, if the allegedly infringing action is solely based on network programming the affiliate is contractually obligated to run? The answer could be no, one noted Washington, D.C.-based communications attorney tells RBR+TVBR.

It's officially the holiday shopping season, as the first night of Chanukah was Sunday, November 28. Now, the focus is on Christmas and Kwanzaa, and brick-and-mortar retailers are fueling their desires to lure shoppers by investing heavily in spot television. Meanwhile, there's some intriguing auto activity at Spot Cable of note.

Origin Sports Network, an offering from Gray Television-owned Raycom Sports, has expanded its lineup of distribution partners. As such, Gray brags, the "FAST channel" has more than quadrupled its addressable audience size.

For a generation of local TV news viewers and WTOP radio listeners across the National Capital Region, Doug Hill was a household name — a trusted source of local weather reports and a friendly face to those tuned to WJLA-7, owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group since 2014.  Now, viewers and media industry figures across Washington are stopping to remember Hill, who has died.

With Debbie Bush leaving "FOX 19" for a leadership role in Arizona, once Gray closes on its Meredith Corp. merger, a need for a replacement arose. Gray has now stated who will succeed Bush in Cincinnati when she starts her new role in Phoenix on or about December 1.

It was the third transaction to involve a "unique" group of low-power TV construction permits, given their construction deadline. And, the deal was first announced in late August. Now, Ravi Kapur has completed his acquisition of two digital mini-TV facilities from Mako Communications.