Radio & Television Business Report

In what could be a fiery session, Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz has moved forward with a November 18 vote on the nomination of Danielle Thumann Severs to serve as a FCC Commissioner. Meanwhile, the official publication of the United States has published new rules that kill TV's ownership limits.

Membership has its privileges, and if you have full website access to the Radio + Television Business Report, you've just received the key to unlock the autumn edition of the quarterly media broadcasting business publication known for its exclusive conversations, unique insight and straightforward stories on new technologies, each hand-crafted and designed to help your team create and development long-term growth opportunities that will make you thrive.

Over roughly 75 minutes — following a 45-minute delay — there were plenty of verbal protests from Democrats over the very nature of Danielle Thumann Severs' consideration to serve as a Commissioner on the Federal Communications Commission. Key Democratic leaders were absent.

Yes, there was an $8 million quarterly loss for the nation's largest owner of broadcast radio stations and biggest creator of audio content in the U.S., as political revenue fell short of the company's goal. That said, iHeartMedia has enjoyed sizable growth in its podcast revenue — so much that it will become its own reporting segment in 2027.

In an announcement that arrived late Friday, Circle City broadcast TV viewers who rely on DirecTV to get their local channels will now be able to get the local ABC, MyNetworkTV and The CW Network affiliates.  At long last, DirecTV and DuJuan McCoy-led Circle City Broadcasting have come to terms on a carriage agreement.

Stingray isn't the purely Canadian FM-focused company it once was, thanks to its acquisition of TuneIn, and a build-out of free ad-supported streaming television offerings. Those "plus" offerings helped Stingray in a big way during its fiscal second quarter of 2027.

A company led by CEO Steve Newberry that's emerged as a leader in "visual radio" is taking one of the nation's storied media technology operations to court over claims its products infringe a patent tied to synchronized text, logos and images radio stations display on in-car screens — something championed by QUU.

Can radio and TV reverse the dollar-shift away from digital platforms, in particular with some of the advertising categories that can thrive outside of a search engine-driven consumer attraction mechanism? That was one key question covered by Borrell Associates' Corey Elliott and Gordon Borrell in a Wednesday webinar.

She shared the news of her return to public media in a social media post, reuniting her with New Hampshire Public Radio (NHPR) President/CEO Jim Schachter, whom she worked with at New York Public Radio. Introducing the new Chief Growth Officer at NHPR, a former iHeart Audience Network executive.

Upon review of the Q3 2026 earnings reports filed by publicly traded broadcast media companies, it's abundantly clear that political advertising gravitated heavily toward TV. That impacted the nation's largest media company superserving African American consumers, among a host of other continuing challenges.

There's a new product feature for the iHeartRadio app now activated that has been designed to give users the ability to "simply and quickly" toggle back and forth between full-function mode and the "just essentials" Lite Mode found on the live and on-demand audio app — — depending on their usage and needs at any time.  

The "hold separate" unit, by court order, of Nexstar Media Group led by CEO Patrick Paolini continues to ramp up its own group of local and regional leaders and has now promoted a trio of sales leaders to the role of President/GM in three key regions — and five DMAs — across the U.S. 

The sports, media, and technology company focused on "the global racket sports ecosystem" and built around iconic tennis stars Andre Agassi and Stefanie Graf has entered into media agreements with Sinclair Television Group and The Tennis Channel.

As industry consolidation continues to expand streaming catalogs, viewers have no shortage of things to watch. But is finding something they actually want to watch getting any easier? Hub Entertainment Research’s annual “Conquering Content” study puts a focus on how viewers choose content, and how difficult it can be.

As someone who struggled with stuttering early in life, public speaking coach Rosemary Ravinal learned that the road to becoming a confident communicator is rarely straight or smooth. As she celebrates another trip around the sun, Ravinal presents a few things she wish someone had told her about public speaking earlier in her career.

In broadcasting, term sheets are a key scoreboard, and private equity, strategic buyers, and lenders are all keeping a watchful eye on which companies have the scale, discipline, and positioning to win the next cycle and which will become someone else’s asset. By this time next year, many questions will have answers. At Forecast 2027, you'll be one step ahead.