TV/Cable News

Leading by example, the commissioner has launched the first-ever podcast by someone holding her position. Called Broadband Conversations, the focus is on women making an impact in technology, innovation, and media.

It looks as though the consumption attitudes of less-affluent viewers of international TV have been misjudged and that they are just as open to advertising on these stations as higher earners. Which means, if this research is any indication, there’s money on the table that nobody has noticed until now.

According to Wall Street analyst Todd Juenger of Sanford Bernstein, Viacom is “ad stuffing” its shows — even while its networks’ ratings continue to go down. And Viacom is pretty much the sole player engaged in the practice, with programs running considerably longer than usual due to the volume of commercials packed into them.

The downward trend continues for TV awards shows. This year’s audience was down approximately 10 million on the best years of the ‘90s, and 1.2 million on the past two years. We have all the numbers and all the awards.

In mid-May, Ion Media Networks asked the FCC to amend its DTV Table of Allotments and delete a digital channel from one city in Rhode Island, while substituting it for another in the state. While Ion asked the FCC to make the move, the Commission needed public input on the matter before it can decide on an approval or denial. A decision has just been delivered, and Ion is pleased.

On June 10, Gray Television shares were languishing just below the $11 level -- their lowest prices since December 2016. It was a small setback for the broadcast TV company: In July and November 2015, Gray shares were approaching $17 a share. Today, Gray stock is flying high.

Here's something that will likely cause some buzz in the C-Suites of both radio and television broadcasting companies. Westwood One Director of Content Marketing Lauren Vetrano shares the results from "a major cable network’s" advertising campaign that used AM/FM radio to help launch the returning season of a scripted drama series. The media plan included paid TV and promos running on their network and co-owned networks.

As radio industry executives and cognoscenti gather next week in Orlando for the 2018 Radio Show, many of their counterparts in the broadcast television industry will be at Pier 60 on the west side of Manhattan for the TVB's annual Forward Conference. This year's event, scheduled for Sept. 28, is built around the theme of “TAB” — technology, advertising and broadcasting.

The biggest acquisitor in the broadcast TV industry has struck again. In a just-filed Form 314 filing, HC2 Holdings — the owner of the Azteca América broadcast TV network — has revealed that its picking up a full-powered UHF facility in a Southern metropolis with a growing Hispanic population.

Now free of its radio stations, The E.W. Scripps Co. is showing new might on Wall Street as a TV-focused company. Its share price has been on a steady climb since April 30, bringing SSP to levels last seen in late January. That said, Scripps is still far behind where it was 18 months ago.

Some nine hours before Hurricane Florence made landfall in Wrightsville Beach, N.C., a Sinclair Broadcast Group TV station some 88 miles to the northeast was forced to evacuate its offices and studios and discontinue broadcasts due to rising flood waters.

TEGNA Inc., the broadcast TV company formerly known as Gannett, will host its third quarter 2018 earnings conference call with financial analysts on Thursday, November 8 at 8:30am Eastern. The call will be accessible live to the media and general public, and RBR+TVBR will have full details following the call.

Call it a "Sling shot" on Wall Street: Discovery Communications has gained a new outlet for its pay TV channels, and investors on Thursday reacted happily to the news. The result? The company's shares are at their highest level since July 2015.

In every transaction there is a buyer and a seller. But, sometimes the buyer may not be the party set to operate the station it is acquiring. That may be the case here, as a Beaumont, Tex., LPTV facility is going to a company with 11 television properties — and four separate shared service agreements allowing others to operate eight of them.

OTT video "has reshaped a successful industry," North Texas-based research firm Parks Associates notes. With that mindset, Parks released a White Paper that analyzes a key focal point for the pay-TV industry: What should it do to regain their title as the No. 1 provider of video services -- including broadcast TV channels -- to U.S. viewers?