TV/Cable News

"TV now means much more than producing stories for the 5 o’clock news," say two Knight Foundation executives who have teamed to share some key findings from the organizations new study, “Local TV News and the New Media Landscape." In short, television is a key source of news. But, audiences are slowly shrinking. What can your stations do to prevent an audience drain from your newscasts?

We've read much about cord-cutting in recent months. But, just what is the potential financial impact from any current and anticipated loss of cable TV subscription cancellations? It's big, the eighth edition of Research & Markets' North America Pay TV Forecasts report finds.

Nexstar Media Group's recent downtrend continued on Thursday, and it had nothing to do with the Nielsen ratings at its TV stations. Rather, the company's stock is in a bit of a slump. RBR+TVBR reviewed the company's six-month performance, and it's not exactly a winning one.

The dip comes following a Wednesday report in The Wall Street Journal that there is a wide divide between CBS and Viacom on pricing and leadership of a post-merger CBS.

HC2 Holdings in the last year has emerged as one of the most active buyers in broadcast media today. It's purchasing the Spanish-language Azteca América broadcast TV network, and keeps snagging low-power TV stations across the U.S. HC2 has now continued its big buying spree by adding a trio of LPTVs in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Representatives from media industry trade organizations will come together to share their viewpoints concerning its changing landscape at Media Finance Focus 2018, the 58th annual conference for MFM and its BCCA subsidiary, the media industry’s credit association, on May 21-22 at The Hyatt Regency Crystal City in Arlington, Va.

Country radio listeners across the U.S. are already familiar with him. Now, thousands of American Idol viewers will get to know Bobby Bones, too. The host of iHeartMedia’s syndicated The Bobby Bones Show will make his debut on the ABC reality competition program on Sunday, April 8.

In the latest update from unnamed sources to Reuters, it appears that a below-value all-cash bid for Viacom presented to the company by kissing cousin CBS Corp. has been swatted away. Instead, Viacom President/CEO Bob Bakish, who earned total compensation of $20.3 million in 2017, is likely positioning himself for a future role in a reunified CBS by assisting in the preparation of a counterproposal.

From November 1992 to December 2003, Derek Dalton was a key member of the Tribune Broadcasting leadership team. Now, Dalton is back in Chicago. But, he's not returning to Tribune ... and he's joining a much different Channel 2 than the one he once ran.

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.