TV/Cable News

Nielsen is now ready to make an impact on local media planning and cross-channel optimization through a new tool designed to benefit both local radio and television broadcasting companies.

The broadcast TV company formerly known as Gannett posted a rosy Q2 earnings report on Wednesday. Net revenues were up, while its earnings per share soared year-over-year by 87%. Here are the details.

Discovery Communications' CEO takes pride in his company's "solid results" for the second quarter, released Wednesday. A respected Wall Street analyst has a different assessment to share. Who did Wall Street listen to? The "wieser" one, as Discovery Communications shares dipped nearly 5% on high volume after reporting growth trends this analyst calls "tepid."

Gray Television may not have the same level of national top-of-mind consumer recognition as such broadcast peers as Tribune, Hearst, Sinclair or Meredith Corp., but that could change in just a matter of months. Its merger with Raycom Media is one of the year's top media and marketing deals, and Gray's Q3 guidance may be even sweeter than its Q2 results.

On July 23, Rep. Steve Scalise made it known that he wants to be remembered as the man on Capitol Hill who wants to do away with one of the thorniest matters facing broadcast TV companies and MVPDs of all shapes and sizes—retransmission consent. Now, he's introduced a bill in the House of Representatives that is all about ATSC 3.0, and LPTV station operators as well as PBS stations may be a little irked by what Scalise is proposing.

Just how big is Gray Television's planned merger with Raycom Media? Mid-market investment bank Berkery Noyes' half-year 2018 M&A trend report for the media and marketing industry is out, and there are bunch of company names wholly unfamiliar to most media industry C-Suiters. But there are Gray and Raycom -- and how "notable" of a transaction is their deal?

Should Nielsen investors be concerned over a potential violation of the nation's securities laws by Nielsen officers? No less than three law firms believe so and on Friday announced an investigation on behalf of the company's stock holders.

DISH Network may be in the midst of a bitter battle with Univision over a new retransmission fee agreement, but that hasn't stopped investors from swooping in and snapping up shares in the DBS provider. Dish stock was up 14.5% in Friday's trading after it reported fewer subscriber losses than FactSet had forecast.

On March 15, beIN Sports — a spinoff of Al Jazeera Media Network — filed a program carriage complaint with the FCC alleging that Comcast discriminated against it. Media Bureau Chief Michelle Carey on Thursday rendered her opinion on the matter. There will be no penalty for the MVPD.

CBS Corp. late Thursday recorded a strong Q2 that beat Wall Street estimates. What does our favorite Wall Street wordsmith, Pivotal Research Group's Brian Wieser, have to say about that? A "not impressed" meme would have sufficed, based on his take of the company's results. That said, he's convinced that Viacom's reunification with CBS is a done deal.

Ronan who? After-hours trading for CBS Corp. started out negative as word surfaced that The New Yorker could be printing a second Ronan Farrow-penned piece featuring the company's Chairman/CEO Les Moonves and more accusations of sexual misconduct. That may very well swing into a big gain on Friday, as CBS recorded a strong Q2 that beat Wall Street estimates. 

Concerned about the growth of subscription video-on-demand services? You should be. While the majority of consumers view video content from a variety of sources, the percentage of people using only Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video and other subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) services surged between 2017 and 2018, NPD Group data show.

Doubling it up is turning out to be the hottest trend of the summer — and perhaps 2018. Loosened FCC television station ownership rules have led several companies to add a second station in a market where it already has a presence. Add Perry Sook's Nexstar Media Group to the companies taking advantage of this Commission "rule modernization."

It's no secret that Sinclair Broadcast Group and Tribune Media very much wanted FCC Chairman Ajit Pai to hold back on issuing a Hearing Designation Order and sending their proposed merger to an Administrative Law Judge. But, how Sinclair sought to sway Pai, and its maneuverings, had only been the stuff of hearsay. We now have a clear picture of Sinclair's efforts to postpone the HDO. An unconfirmed call between Pai and Sinclair's EVP/General Counsel, Distribution and Network Relations was part of Sinclair's failed attempt.

Charter Communications' lengthy retrans fee battle with Northwest Broadcasting led the city government of El Centro, Calif., to strike back with legislation designed to penalize the MVPD. Charter took the city to court. While this matter is resolved, all eyes are on Albany, N.Y., which has told Charter that it has two months to cease Spectrum operations in the Empire State.