TV/Cable News

Nielsen on Monday released its April 2018 cable network Universe Estimates, and there's one thing in particular that sticks out for Pivotal Research Group Senior Research Analyst/Advertising Brian Wieser. The "bottom line" on the new UEs: there's an ongoing decline in traditional pay TV network penetration rates, led by lower traditional MVPD subscription levels.

On Dec. 12, RBR+TVBR's TRANSACTIONS TODAY reported on the sale of a full-power UHF facility licensed to Lewiston, Maine, to ION Media Networks. That deal has now closed, and this has resulted in a programming shift and the arrival of a new set of call letters. Also today: A Utah deal involving the spin of two FM translators is announced.

There have been 115 filings in the last 30 days to the FCC from everyday television viewers in a matter involving Gray Television. It involves one of its CBS affiliates, and it's presently not "on satellite" in an area of the Bluegrass State that very much wants it on their local channel lineup.

"People with knowledge of the matter" have made it known to Bloomberg that CBS Corp. "is preparing to make an initial merger proposal to Viacom within days." If this is indeed true, it would begin negotiations between the two cousin companies that could reunify the entities — bringing to an end speculation about a recombination of Viacom and CBS Corp. that has failed to cease for months.

The lone 24-hour Spanish-language news network serving U.S. Hispanics will now have ratings data to share with clients and advertisers, thanks to a newly forged deal finalized Thursday with Nielsen.

ABC O&O KGO-7 in San Francisco isn't the only television station owned by The Walt Disney Co. to get a new leader. The woman who most recently served as EVP/Sales & Marketing of Disney|ABC’s consolidated advertising sales group has been appointed President/GM of WABC-7 in New York.

In this guest Media Information Bureau column, Fincons Group executives Greg Jarvis and U.K.-based Oliver Botti discuss how traditional broadcast TV and OTT each have significant strengths, but have "limitless" opportunities when combined.

A "trusted partner" of such media companies as Raycom Media and Woodward Communications known for its cloud-based video management, distribution, integration, and live streaming solutions has just been acquired by a Quad Cities, Iowa-Ill.-based entity that began life as the International Newspaper Network.

Picture this: there's an app that allows users to hear live audio from muted televisions directly on their mobile devices. It's growing in popularity, with at least one local gym using the services provided by Tunity. To help build out the product, the New York-based company has brought on a new President of Sales with experience at AMC and Nickelodeon, and is welcoming a Head of Research and Analytics who spent nearly four decades at Nielsen.

A veteran producer who was associated with ABC's Good Morning America for 12 years before receiving a promotion to SVP/Content, News Coverage and Special Events for ABC News is packing his bags and trading views of the East River for those of the Embarcadero.

The NAB Education Foundation (NABEF) is currently accepting applications for two leadership development programs. Here are the details on how you can apply, and the deadlines for submissions.

Talk is heating up — again — that Viacom and CBS Corp. are seriously considering a reunification of the companies. That chatter helped CBS enjoy a stellar performance on Wall Street in Monday's trading. For Viacom, there was no rumor bump in its stock price.

When it comes to local spot action on cable TV channels, there are three clear categories that are among those most active in the latest Media Monitors Spot Ten Cable report. One involves eating, another involves driving, and a third deals with a clothier.

Standard Media Index (SMI) on Monday released its year-over-year figures for national ad spend for various media. In particular, SMI examined the top advertiser categories across National TV. Here's what they found.

On August 25, 2016, the Commission released the 2010/2014 Quadrennial Regulatory Review Second Report and Order. This Second Report and Order adopted a comprehensive definition of shared service agreements (SSAs) and a requirement that commercial television stations disclose SSAs by placing them in their online public inspection file. It's now time for TV stations to file, or face a possible financial penalty.