Radio & Television Business Report

There's new life to a fight to limit "lowest unit rates" to actual political candidates seeking election advertising at the cheapest price, rather than allowing political action committees and what the former Ohio Senator and now Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Ohio claims is "dark money" fueled by "National Republicans and their billionaire backers."

Chatter over whether or not President Trump will soon fire the lone Democrat on the FCC could soon reach a fever pitch, as the Chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee — Texas Republican Ted Cruz — has revealed a nomination hearing for Danielle Thumann will be held on Thursday.

A TEGNA-licensed NBC affiliate ultimately under the ownership of Nexstar Media Group has told an Ohio federal district court judge that the firing of a photojournalist was justified and did not violate the station's collective bargaining agreement with a key workers' union.

In another move that solidifies TEGNA's "hold separate" status as a California federal district court judge considers whether its regulatory approved merger with Nexstar Media Group is a violation of antitrust law, its Sr. VP and Head of Sports Rights and Sr. VP of Revenue is rising to the role of Sr. VP and Group GM for TEGNA Media. 

The E.W. Scripps Co. has introduced a new Local Media leadership structure, something it calls "the latest step in its companywide transformation to reorient the business around consumers’ changing media habits." The changes result in the elimination of more than two dozen positions at the broadcast TV station ownership group.

Wednesday, September 9, saw the man who has served as President of Zimmer Communications since September 1980 and since 2008 as the co-owner of Honolulu Coffee Company engage in key conversations "about the importance of ownership rules reform for small radio broadcasters" with all three FCC decisionmakers.

Attorneys representing Nielsen and Cumulus Media will be heading back to the federal Second Circuit appeals court, which on Thursday granted an administrative stay of a district court's order issued the day before — an act that amends the terms of a preliminary injunction the Second Circuit already affirmed.

On this 25th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, we look back on that Tuesday morning with two key observations. First, it taught one news operation that having an emergency contact and operations plan was essential. Second, it showed the power of live broadcast media in a time of crisis — a fact that continues today.

A Wisconsin-based company has brought to market the Spanish-language version of an automated weather broadcasting platform giving radio stations the opportunity to generate ready-to-air, fully produced local weather forecasts using real-time weather data.

A multi-year renewal of an audio broadcasting partnership has been finalized between an iHeartMedia FM serving Wisconsin's largest market and the NFL team that is owned by the small city it calls home.

According to official signal coverage maps, it is an FM translator with a signal covering portions of Dearborn, Mich. In mid-July, based on a FCC Enforcement Bureau's investigation, it was determined that the mini-FM's signal and transmitting power was far greater than its authorized 85 watts could provide. 

For National Spot TV activity, there's little dispute as to what the top brand by play count is. The No. 2 brand? Well, considering the start of the National Football League season and ramp-up of college football, there's hardly a surprise as to this advertiser activity.

The television platform subsidiary of HD Radio and DTS AutoStage parent Xperi Inc. has brought to market what it describes as "a new conversational AI-powered entertainment experience designed to transform how operators and entertainment platforms help consumers discover and engage with content across television and streaming environments."

Sports viewership is up, and it's rising fastest among younger fans. Hub Entertainment Research's latest wave of “Evolution of Sports – What’s the Score?” has all of the details.

With the Trump Administration and Canada's PM, Mark Carney, dancing a tariff tango, some may wonder if the resulting effects will include, to some extent, a pullback on advertising commitments across North America. Not at all, a newly released global ad forecast from Madison & Wall shows.

New capabilities from Comscore AI Intelligence have been brought to market, and the company seeking to provide consumer data and consumption insights believes this can offer brands and publishers the ability to measure sponsored chat-based advertising and establish its impact on digital traffic, engagement, and consumer behavior.