TV/Cable News

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.

Pivotal Research Group Senior Research Analyst for Advertising Brian Wieser has penned a report following his firm's review of weekly national TV viewing trends for both news and sports, based on live+same-day viewing data through the ninth week of 2018. The two genres together accounted for some 23% of all national TV viewing during 2017. But, they're not in sync with their growth.

With Sinclair Broadcast Group and Tribune Media agreeing to “resubmit or amend” their applications filed with the FCC in connection with MB Docket No. 17-179 — the formal name given to the review of Sinclair’s planned merger with Tribune, there's already some buzz regarding what changes have been made. A look at the FCC's database today suggests that it is abandoning its plan to own two of the top four stations in Pennsylvania's state capital.

Last Wednesday (2/28), Sinclair Broadcast Group's legal counsel was joined by Tribune Media's legal counsel in a conference call with five key members of the FCC's Media Bureau at the Commission's request. The subject: MB Docket No. 17-179 — the formal name given to the review of Sinclair's planned merger with Tribune. The result of the call: Sinclair and Tribune are to "resubmit or amend" their applications filed in connection with the proceeding.

Discovery Communications has successfully completed its acquisition of Scripps Networks Interactive. With that, the logo you see associated with this news story is officially a relic and collectors' item: Moving forward, the combined company will be officially known as Discovery Inc.

In a 22-page submission made Monday (3/5) to the FCC, the American Cable Association (ACA) submitted Reply Comments in the FCC's docket on the Electronic Delivery of MVPD Communications by asking the Commission to adopt its proposal to permit cable operators to deliver all Subpart T subscriber notices and privacy notices to a verified e-mail address, subject to certain consumer safeguards, and to allow all such notices to be sent on an “opt-out” basis.

Nielsen has unveiled its latest tool designed to help marketers best determine where their target audience will be when marketing and advertising messages are meant to reach them. Now available is Advanced Audience Forecasting, designed to give clients forecasts of TV audiences defined by "advanced audience segments," which have been gaining traction in the marketplace.

Urban One, the African American-focused media company that owns radio stations and a national radio arm, is also very much in the television business, thanks to its TV One cable channel. If it weren't for that, Urban One would be absent what became in Q4 its biggest revenue generator, as TV One again eclipsed Radio One. While both segments were down, TV One's decline was far smaller.

From 1987 to 2002, Ken Jefferson was a household name for many viewers in the Dayton area. After a quarter century with Cox Media Group, he ventured to Southwest Florida and then to Virginia, for family reasons. Media and viewers in these three regions are now mourning the sudden loss of Jefferson, who died during the weekend of March 3 after a brief illness.

The chairman of Disney Consumer Products and Interactive Media has just been handed a whole wide world of sports to oversee. Effective today, James Pitaro has been named President of ESPN. He takes a role last held on a full-time basis by John Skipper, who stepped down in December.

A woman considered to be "an iconic leader" in New Mexico broadcasting has announced that she will retire in fall 2018 from her top role at a major ABC affiliate in the Land of Enchantment. She's been the head of this TV station since 1993, and has enjoyed a 48-year career that includes becoming the first female co-anchor of a television newscast in Albuquerque.

Meredith Corp. has received lots of attention in recent weeks for the Feb. 1 closing of its Time Inc. acquisition. But, that's not to say the $2.8 billion buy means the company with a devotion to women's lifestyle brands has any less interest in being a TV station owner. Meredith's Local Media Group includes 17 television stations, reaching 11% of U.S. households, and it has just named a VP/News & Marketing.

Jon Steinlauf will become Chief U.S. Advertising Sales Officer of Discovery following its merger with Scripps Interactive Networks, while several top executives will continue in their roles. That said, Rich Ross, currently Group President of Discovery Channel and Science Channel, will be leaving the company. Discovery provided details just before Thursday's Closing Bell on Wall Street.