Radio+Television Business Report

It was highly likely to happen again, starting this evening. Thanks to savvy negotiation between the two parties, a retransmission consent fee dispute leading to a "blackout" of Hearst stations on the DBS provider was averted.

"No one under 40 listens to the radio." As iHeartMedia and Critical Mass Media see it, that often-heard refrain is a myth, new data released on Wednesday during an iHeartMedia headquarters event featuring a panel discussion with The Jonas Brothers states.

Vermont Public has enjoyed the support of audiences to WVPS-FM 107.9 in Burlington from greater Montréal. Now, there's a new wrinkle to reaching Les Québécois — and its thanks to a new Arsenal Media FM approved by the CRTC.

WAY FM's West Palm Beach FM home is a big one, with a signal audible from Indian River County in the north to Interstate 595 in the south. Getting into Miami has been a challenge due to a co-channel Class A FM owned by Florida International University. That problem has just been resolved.

Draper Media is telling viewers of the CBS, NBC and FOX affiliates serving the Delmarva Peninsula in Eastern Maryland, Delaware and Virginia's Chincoteague region that broadcast transmissions are currently being hampered by what the company says is "a Verizon outage."

After leading Kentucky’s statewide public media network for almost 17 years, KET's Executive Director and CEO has announced her intention to retire at the end of this year. She began her career at KET as a temporary employee working on pledge production.

The global retail media market's ad investment projections are forecast to surpass $200 billion in 2026 and reach $223.4 billion by 2027. However, newly released data from WARC Media show growth is slowing and heading into the single digits. The U.S. appears to be exempt from this worldwide review of ad activity trends.

For years, the conversation around the future of C-band and video distribution was driven largely by engineers. With the FCC’s C-band transition now underway, broadcasters are moving from planning to implementation and get to weigh how their decisions will reshape operating models, capital planning and future business opportunities.

Even as consumers continue to gravitate toward streaming platforms, the "new fall season" and Upfronts remain an essential cog in the wheel of U.S. television. As such, accurate and dependable ratings data remains a key need for the networks and affiliates over the next year. Nielsen has spoken.

It is described as "a fast-growing independent media company" founded by brothers Ben, Brett, and Jordan Meiselas in 2020 as a source for "pro-democracy news and commentary." As of today, it has an exclusive audio partner for sales and distribution, and its the entity under majority control of Soros Fund Management.

Come September 4, a 35-year career with the company originally known as Beasley Broadcast Group will come to its conclusion for the man who today serves as VP/Market Manager of its Charlotte radio stations. He joined Beasley in 1991, following a three-year run at Beta Broadcasting in Austin.

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr responded to a lawsuit filed on Tuesday by The Walt Disney Company designed to put a halt to the early license renewal of eight ABC Owned Stations and Disney's First Amendment violation claim regarding "The View" and its status as a "bona fide" news program. He did so on FOX News.

Upfront advertising activity still matters a lot. And, that's what concerns Brian Wieser of Madison & Wall. Before the 2026-2027 Upfronts began, his firm expected linear TV upfront volumes to decline by 4.4%. As the summer progressed, it appeared that the market was "somewhat weaker" than initially expected. 

The first mid-year data set from the ARF DASH TV Universe study has been released, and the data show that more than 30% of households have no access to linear free-to-air TV. At the same time, the percentage of households who receive their connection from an over-the-air antenna grew one percentage point over FY 2025.

As the Disney-owned unit that includes ABC Owned Stations sees it, it is being targeted by a Commission under the direction of Chairman Brendan Carr and influence of the Trump Administration as part of a campaign to silence free and independent voices in journalism.

With the company late Friday reporting less than stellar second quarter earnings results ahead of a privatization effort involving Alden Global Capital that's already resulted in the parting of ways with many on-air and programming staff, Cumulus Media has signed off on the sale of a pair of FMs in two mid-sized markets in the South.

High Plains Radio Network, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in March 2024 and saw no less than three proposed buyers back out of deals across the next two years, has agreed to transfer a group of 20 radio stations to a New York-based private equity organization founded by Chairman/CEO Atonn F. Muhammad.

An asset purchase agreement has been finalized and submitted to the FCC for regulatory approval that would see the transfer of a pair of FM radio stations and their AM sibling in the Hoosier State end up in the hands of an Indiana-based entity controlled by Scott Huber.

Every day, radio station employees drive past locales that eventually become stories on their websites. Many of those photos never make it online because getting them from a phone to the website requires too many steps. A new mobile app from Skyrocket Radio was created to eliminate that workflow.

The notes were priced at 100% of par, and the offering of the notes is expected to close on Friday, subject to customary closing conditions. Gray will use the net proceeds of the offering to redeem a portion of Gray’s outstanding 10.5% senior secured first lien notes due 2029, among other needs.