TV/Cable News

The industry has a limited amount of tower crews, consulting engineers and other expertise. The time crunch tied to the post-Spectrum Auction repack process means they, and the stations that hire them, will spend the next few years scrambling to manage their repacked schedules, notes one active member in the IEEE Broadcast Technology Society in this exclusive column to RBR+TVBR.

Nielsen Holdings PLC and Meredith Corporation have made a multi-year renewal agreement for Nielsen TV Ratings on all of Meredith Local Media Groups' stations. The news of the renewal agreement between Meredith and Nielsen was announced on Aug. 23.

A just-released analysis of pay TV subscriber numbers shows vMVPDs with a good number of net additions in the second quarter of 2018. This brings the total number of vMVPD subscribers to 6.73 million, and that's big growth. Here's the bad news: Overall pay TV subscribers — factoring in cable, satellite, IPTV, and vMVPD — fell, breaking a string of two consecutive quarters of growth.

Noticias Telemundo has selected a SVP/News who has a large amount of experience with content for digital platforms. Some of her previous titles include working as as a SVP/Global Content at parent company NBCUniversal and for E! News, and as an executive producer at Us Weekly.

Aug. 6 was a big day for Phillip Falcone's HC2 Station Group. The rapidly growing TV station owner has added to its stable again. Where did they grow now? Click here for all of the details.

AI is a topic of focus for many radio and TV executives and will be the center of a free webinar hosted by RBR+TVBR's Adam Jacobson on August 30. How important is AI on a world stage? China recently announced it will explore the use of artificial intelligence in foreign diplomacy as a strategy to become the world leader in AI technology by the year 2030. What does this mean for your business? Learn now. The news comes from Global Data, a data and analytics company that gives unique data, analysis and solutions to over 4,000 companies.

On August 16, RBR+TVBR was first to report that Gray Television would be divesting a station in the Albany, Ga., market to Brian and Patricia Lane‘s Marquee Broadcasting. On late Monday evening, the Georgia-based broadcast TV company that seeks to win government approval of its merger with Raycom Media announced who will be picking up the other eight stations selected for divestment by Gray.

In July, Charter Communications' Spectrum selected a VP of News and Content. The MVPD selected the seven-year VP/Programming and the Senior Director of TV Program Development at The E.W. Scripps Co. Why did Spectrum hire this individual, a former anchor and reporter for two big L.A. TV stations? That experience provides the answer to what Cater Lee will be charged with.

NBCUniversal has taken its first steps toward bringing its NBC O&O, Telemundo station, the NBC Sports Boston cable TV channel and the New England Cable News (necn) operation into a brand-new 160,000 square foot news and content creation center. It's adjacent to the region's Coca-Cola bottling plant, and just steps from the Charles River some 30 minutes west of Boston Common.

Members of SAG-AFTRA on Thursday voted to ratify its "Network Television Code," with 93% of the vote in favor of the new contract. The ratification vote follows the SAG-AFTRA National Board’s recommendation in July for members to vote yes on a new three-year contract with ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox.

The members of American Cable Association have given their stamp of approval to keep the advocacy and lobbying group's current Chairman and Vice Chairman in their roles for another term.

Spanish Broadcasting System (SBS) on August 7 offered a peek at what it expected to report in its Q2 2018 earnings. SBS has now delivered on that report. Did the results match its forecast?

Mark your calendars: Thursday, Sept. 20 at 2:20pm Eastern is the date and time for the 2018 annual nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS). For those who were expecting it to occur on a Wednesday: Surprise. 

A mobile video analytics tool designed to provide marketers and media companies a detailed look at the quality and performance of the nation's top mobile video streaming apps has just been released by Nielsen-owned Gracenote.

News that Elliott Investment Management has acquired an 8% stake in Nielsen with plans to push the company to sell itself in its entirety has resulted in a healthy rebound of the company's stock. On Wednesday, shares closed up another 10 cents to $26.15. This is close to the year-end price target on Nielsen from Brian Wieser, the prolific Senior Research Analyst of Advertising at Pivotal Research Group. As such, he's just downgraded Nielsen shares.