TV/Cable News

Want to know the results from Nielsen's recent research into consumers' media content consumption trends? If the answer is yes, you may wish to secure your place Wednesday at an annual seminar offered by the Media Financial Management Association (MFM).

Sinclair Broadcast Group may not be getting Tribune Media, but that's not stopping the owner of such stations as KTLA-5 in Los Angeles and WGN-9 in Chicago from looking for another potential suitor.

How successful is TEGNA's syndicated Daily Blast LIVE entertainment program? No less than 14 non-TEGNA stations are adding the show to their respective lineups, as is TEGNA's newly acquired CBS affiliate in San Diego. As a result, come Sept. 10 DBL will be available in 50 markets across the U.S.

Is a "next-generation social broadcasting platform for gaming, entertainment, and other creative content" poised to become the next big thing on the TV industry's list of future concerns? Or, is it an opportunity for growth through partnerships? The latter may be true, given what FOX just did.

Entertainment bundling with mobile services will soon become a "must" for consumers. As such, the move to active mobile video offerings will only grow -- and broadcast media should act accordingly. That's a key takeaway from the just-released 2018 Economics of Mobile Programming Report by Kagan, the media research group within S&P Global Market Intelligence.

On Wednesday, the FCC adopted a Report and Order that adopts a schedule of regulatory fees to assess and collect $322.04 million for the 2018 fiscal year and the Commission's portion of funds in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018. In doing so, the FCC moved regulatory fees for cable and IPTV providers and DBS providers closer to parity. The American Cable Association is happy about that.

PBS viewers in the Texas cities of Waco, Temple and Killeen will be losing their local member station at the stroke of midnight. It has nothing to do with a retransmission fee dispute with a MVPD. Instead, it is all about a transaction set to be filed with the FCC that will transfer the noncom TV station to Gray Television.

With much fanfare, Samsung and LG on Thursday each unveiled the first new televisions to feature the new 8K format. But, are consumers hungry enough to make a purchase now? While limited content is one issue, the other may come down to price.

Saying it’s vitally important information for marketers to gauge total audience, Nielsen has announced the out-of-home (OOH) program types with the greatest pull. News and sports are strong for those watching TV at work, in a waiting room, at a friend’s home, and so on. But an in-depth, year-to-date analysis of OOH TV viewing data from the Nielsen Total Audience framework shows that other genres benefit as well.

In a filing submitted Monday, the American Cable Association (ACA) has told the FCC that the Gray-Raycom merger will drive cable and satellite TV rates up. The Association says that if the $3.65 billion merger with Raycom Media Inc. goes through, Gray Television Inc.’s ownership of 124 stations in 92 markets will give Gray more bargaining leverage over MVPDs in retransmission talks.

According to attribution analytics company C3 Metrics, Wednesday night is the surprise time for TV advertisers to get the most bang for their buck, with Thursdays a close second. Sunday nights still get the biggest audiences, but don’t provide the best advertising value for a variety of reasons.

The network is taking its first dive into the sports gambling world. Called Lock It In, the daily show will feature host Rachel Bonnetta, “Cousin Sal” Iacono, Clay Travis, and Oddsmaker Todd Fuhrman. The show will premiere Monday, September 10, 4:30 to 5:30pm ET. The announcement was made by Mark Silverman, President, National Networks, FOX Sports.

Reliability, familiarity, comfort, convenience. These are the main reasons given for why many U.S. consumers still aren’t cutting the cable cord, New Cord Evolution research shows. But that will likely change with the generations.

National Amusements, a company run by 95-year-old billionaire media magnate Sumner Redstone, and his daughter Shari, is the controlling shareholder of both CBS and Viacom. The Redstones have sought to merge CBS and Viacom. CBS is fighting the proposed merger. That’s the back-story of a high-stakes corporate soap opera. Here’s the latest episode.

On Monday, the American Cable Association filed comments regarding Gray Television’s proposed purchase of Raycom Media. Upon closing of the deal (and after divestitures), Gray would own 124 television stations, 62 of which are ranked first in all-day Nielsen ratings in their local markets, which would be the highest number of top-ranked television stations owned by any broadcaster.