TV/Cable News

On Tuesday, RBR+TVBR reported on the sale of a full-power UHF facility licensed to Lewiston, Maine, to ION Media Networks. Now, the seller is making it clear that the station's current programming will live on. Here are the exclusive details on this MyNetwork TV affiliate.

On Sept. 11, investors weren't so sure about the growth trajectory of Nexstar Media Group. It was nine months since the company closed on its $4.6 billion acquisition of Media General, a deal struck in September 2015. It was also a period where scrutiny over Sinclair Broadcast Group's planned merger with Tribune Media increased in volume -- and five weeks before Tribune stockholders overwhelmingly approved the merger. Nexstar shares sat at $57.80. Today, they are at a record high.

With Thursday's news that The Walt Disney Co. and 21st Century FOX have struck a deal that will give the parent of ABC control of 23 FOX Sports-branded regional cable networks and create a "new FOX" housing its broadcast TV O&Os, one may wonder if this will impact -- positively or negatively -- the brokerage community. For Media Services Group Managing Director Eddie Esserman, the answer is no. He also said just hours before a two-week vacation that his phone has been ringing a lot -- and that's unusual, and positive.

The question of whether the Commission should modify, retain or eliminate the 39% national audience reach cap and/or its reinstated "UHF Discount" used by broadcast TV to calculate compliance with the cap will now be put to the public. The FCC said yes to an NPRM that, Republican Commissioners note, won't do anything but ask the question of whether changes should be made. However, such changes are all but certain, Democrats warn.

The Commission on Thursday has given its approval to a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that explores ways to enable multichannel video programming distributors, such as cable and satellite providers, to communicate with their subscribers in more efficient and less costly ways. 

The worst-kept secret in the global broadcasting business was formally revealed on Thursday morning before the Opening Bell on Wall Street and in midday trading on the FTSE in London. The Walt Disney Company and Twenty-First Century Fox have entered into a definitive agreement for Disney to acquire 21st Century Fox, including the Twentieth Century Fox Film and Television studios, along with cable and international TV businesses, for approximately $52.4 billion in stock -- and a total value of $66.1 billion. What does this mean for FOX O&Os and the U.S. broadcast TV industry? 

Happy Hanukkah and Merry Christmas, TV broadcasters: bullies that use their market power to force small and medium-sized cable operators into lopsided deals that hurt consumers. That's how American Cable Association members view the owners of broadcast TV stations, according to a new survey on "retransmission consent negotiations with corporate broadcasters" conducted by the Pittsburgh-based lobbying group. Of course, there are two sides to every story, and we've got an RBR+TVBR Observation on this hot topic.

Wall Street wordsmith and respected financial analyst Brian Wieser has just concluded a review of weekly national TV viewing trends for both news and sports based upon live+same-day viewing data made available on Tuesday. Why? The two genres together accounted for 22% of all national TV viewing last year, and are "the key programming genres for which this quickly available data is useful for purposes of analysis, certainly when compared with dramas and comedies," he notes. What does this mean for your broadcast stations?

Sinclair Broadcast Group subsidiary Sinclair Television Group has successfully raised new incremental term B loans and amended certain terms under its existing bank credit facility.

Some 2 1/2 years after acquiring a full-power UHF facility licensed to Lewiston, Maine, the station's owner has opted to sell the station. Who's the buyer? It's the company that owns the independent network presently using this station's DT2 signal to reach local viewers. The transaction likely means the station's main signal will soon say goodbye to MyNetwork TV programming and hello to ION. 

West Palm Beach is the headquarters for a broadcast television company with a network of stations and a pair of digital multicast offerings to boot. The company, ION Media, provided an updated to its financial stakeholders on Monday. In doing so, it highlighted its performance in revenue, ratings and reach. It also extended the role of the company's Chairman/CEO for another two years—something provided as secondary news to reporters.

The Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) has given its thumbs-up to the Advanced Emergency Alerting (AEA) specification developed by Monroe Electronics as part of the A/331 standard. With the Dec. 6 approval of the A/311 Signaling, Delivery, Synchronization and Error Protection standard, announced Wednesday), AEA is now an official function within the ATSC 3.0 suite of next-generation broadcast transmission standards.

A 13-year veteran of NBCUniversal who has most recently served as President and co-Managing Partner of Channel Media Solutions (CMS) has just been named Chief Technology Officer for Disney|ABC Television Group.

Members of the Advanced Television Systems Committee Inc. (ATSC) have elected three industry executives to serve on the ATSC Board of Directors for three-year terms that begin in January 2018.

The "only Black daily newscast on television" has decided to suspended production, and its final broadcast on Urban One's African American-targeted TV One cable network has been schedule for Dec. 21.