TV/Cable News

There was a bit of a silver lining on the final three months of 2017 for an industry rife with challenges in the months and years ahead. According to the just-released Fourth Quarter 2017 U.S. Multichannel Subscriber Report from S&P Global Market Intelligence group Kagan, subscription losses slowed for traditional multichannel video providers in the quarter. But, it was hardly enough to stop a disappointing year for MVPDs.

Here's an exclusive chance for 2018 NAB Show attendees to learn more about one of Wazee Digital's newest partnerships. On Monday, April 9, Wazee Digital CEO Harris Morris will host a Q&A session Viacom Media Networks SVP/Ad Sales Operations Phil Lalonde. The conversation will be conducted in a private, and casual, cocktail reception.

Following Wednesday's Closing Bell on Wall Street, Entravision Communications released its financial results for the final three months of 2017. It's a rosy report for the owner of radio and TV stations serving Hispanic audiences, as net revenue increased to $73.46 million, from $70.29 million. But, were radio and TV responsible for the growth, or was it Entravision's digital arm?

On April 20, 2017, Entravision Communications exercised its right to enter into a channel-sharing agreement with a full-power TV station in Washington, D.C. that allowed a UHF facility to relocate from Hagerstown, Md., to Northwest D.C. This "relocation" came via a Channel-Sharing Agreement forged following the FCC's incentive auction, with the UHF signal signing off for good on Sept. 30, 2017. With the move, Entravision asked the FCC to modify this station's television market. Comcast objected. A ruling from the Media Bureau came on Monday.

In the Hawaiian islands, KWHE-14 in Honolulu is known for its "ohana" television offerings. Found on Oceanic Spectrum and Hawaiian Telecom systems across the state, KWHE is known for its mix of classic syndicated family-oriented sitcoms and a slate of religious and ministry programming, including The Dr. Sumrall Teaching Series. Could changes be on the way for KWHE? No. But, there may be some changes at a simulcast partner based on the island of Maui, which is being sold by KWHE's parent.

There is one company that stands out from the pack with respect to TV station acquisitions. Since the end of the FCC's spectrum auction, the Philip Falcone-led HC2 Holdings has been rapidly snapping up television properties — the majority of them low power properties. In the latest deal to involve HC2, a Class A facility in Tennessee that is presently silent is being snapped up.

Want further proof that the future of national television advertising spending will be dependent on growth of interactive, video on demand (VOD) and the addressable advertising solutions that ATSC 3.0 "next gen" digital transmissions promise? Look no further than the latest report from MediaVillage and noted media ecologist Jack Myers, who forecasts an increase in annual national TV ad spend between 2017 and 2020 of $5 billion. But, a magnified look reveals some major trouble spots for cable and satellite TV, and some challenges for broadcast TV.

A MVPD with a large imprint in such Southwest Pennsylvania towns as Greensburg and Latrobe will soon see the benefits of an expansion and upgrade plan that's largely the result of a newly forged deal with IP-based video delivery provider MobiTV.

One of the hottest stocks on Wall Street in recent days has been Netflix. Fueled by exclusive first-run series it has produced and/or acquired, the OTT darling's stock has soared past $300 a share as part of a meteoric rise in value seen since Jan. 1, 2018. On Monday, investors decided to cash in, with Netflix losing 3% of its value but still well above where it began the year.

Here's some disconcerting news for the U.S. cable TV industry and the networks that are among some of its key attraction points for consumers: revenue peaked three years ago for pay TV, and eight years ago for MVPDs. That's one of the top findings from the just-released eighth edition of the North America Pay TV Forecasts report, a 96-page PDF from U.K.-based Digital TV Research.

Since 2014, a newly formed entity has successfully launched five HD network affiliates in the smallest of markets across the U.S. As a result, NBC, FOX and CBS stations are now present in what had been some of the few remaining DMAs that didn’t have the full compliment of Big Four network carriage. The most recent market where local affiliates debuted under this company's leadership is Lafayette, Ind. Now, it can fully reap the benefits of their efforts, as the last Indianapolis-based stations to be found on local Comcast channel lineups are poised to disappear.

The NBCUniversal Spanish-language network's Washington, D.C., operation is now an O&O operation, thanks to NBCU's recently closed acquisition of its biggest affiliate group's stations. As a result, there's a rebranding that reflects its third over-the-air home since debuting some 25 years ago.

Capital Broadcasting Co. and its NBC affiliate in Raleigh-Durham, WRAL-5, have been at the forefront of the roll-out of the next generation broadcast TV standard — ATSC 3.0. Much of these efforts can be tied to Steven D. Hammel, VP/GM of WRAL and FOX affiliated sibling WRAZ-50 in North Carolina's Triangle region. Hammel will now have more time to enjoy watching ATSC 3.0 broadcasts come Q4 2018, as he told staff on Wednesday that he will retire at the end of the year.

With tongues wagging following the company's decision not to move forward with an Initial Public Offering and the naming of Peter H. Lori as Univision’s CFO, replacing an individual brought on to bring the IPO to fruition, Univision Communications majority owner and chairman Haim Saban and the company's board on Wednesday evening "set the record straight" about its CEO. We've got an RBR+TVBR Observation on the matter, which addresses the multiple news organizations sticking to rumors about Randy Falco's departure.

The Philip Falcone-led HC2 Holdings has just acquired two more low-powered TV properties. This time, he's gone to North Texas, and just made a pair of deals for two facilities licensed to the city of Dallas.