Digital, Political Shine For iHeart In Q4
The final three months of 2020 were punishing for iHeartMedia. How exactly was Q4 for the company led by Bob Pittman and Rich Bressler? Net income was down 95% year-over-year as adjusted EBITDA declined by 13%. Despite the rather dour Q4 results, Pittman struck a positive tone on the company's quarterly earnings call held late Thursday.
Philip Falcone Returns to LPTV Ownership
A dissident investor in HC2 Holdings successfully lobbied for his ouster as CEO. Now, less than a year after his exit, he's reemerged as the head of a new entity that is agreeing to purchase two low-power TV stations serving Los Angeles.
Political Powers Gray In Q4 As Dividend Returns
Thanks in part to its ownership of the dominant CBS affiliate serving Georgia's Coastal Empire, WTOC-11, and keeping a watchful eye on expenses, Gray Television enjoyed a 138% year-over-year net income rise as total revenue jumped 37% to $792 million. The bigger news for shareholders: a cash dividend for investors has been approved by Gray's board.
Just Two Days Left to Select ‘Broadcast Television’s Best Leaders’!
Industry leaders have been casting their votes for Radio + Television Business Report's third annual list of Broadcast Television’s Best Leaders. Have you? The selection of this year's nominees concludes FRIDAY, so be sure to make your selections today by simply clicking HERE!
Sinclair’s Q4 is Great. Are Investors Fretting On Guidance?
Sinclair Broadcast Group's fourth quarter 2020 performance was good: Earnings per share exceeded Wall Street analyst estimates, while revenue came in line with forecasts. Why, then, were Sinclair shares down nearly 4% upon the release of the financial report card?
Ahead of Q4 Results Release, iHeart Splits Digital from Radio
With the Q4 and 2020 financial results for iHeartMedia released following the Closing Bell on Thursday, the company says it is implementing a new operational structure that will now have its financials reported in two separate segments – digital audio and multiplatform, which includes all radio stations.
The InFOCUS Podcast: Greg Guy
How is 2021 shaping up for transactions, now that Kagan has analyzed 2020’s dealmaking? Are deals still in a COVID-19 fueled frozen state? Those are just some of the questions Greg Guy, the managing partner for media brokerage Patrick Communications, answers in this latest InFOCUS Podcast, presented by DOT.FM. LISTEN HERE
Entercom Hires Showtime Exec To Market Podcasts
One of the nation's largest radio stations owners, one with a big stake in podcasting, has just lured a SHOWTIME Networks marketing pro to take on the newly created position of Head of Marketing for Podcasts.
Does Entercom Have a Limbaugh Listener Magnet?
With iHeartMedia offering "The Best of Rush" for the foreseeable future, is there an opportunity for other radio broadcasting companies -- including Entercom -- to snag some of Rush Limbaugh's listening audience? CFO Rich Schmaeling and CEO David Field answered this question, presented by a top analyst, on Entercom's Q4 earnings call.
Spotify HiFi: Should Radio Be Concerned?
During its “Stream On” event, Spotify announced that it plans to launch a Hi-Fi streaming plan offering lossless streaming in CD quality later this year in selected markets. This announcement is significant. But, is it noteworthy and of concern to radio broadcasting companies in the U.S. and Canada?
A Pride-Filled CEO Reveals Downbeat Cumulus Financial Report
"Given 2020's extenuating circumstances, I am extremely proud of the company's performance and the efforts of the entire Cumulus team to meet the challenges posed by COVID-19." That statement from Mary Berner set the tone for Cumulus as it released its FY '21 and Q4 results. Just how healthy is Cumulus and all of its divisions, including Westwood One?
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A San Francisco Translator Trades Hands
With 99 watts of power from atop the famed Sutro Tower, this FM translator emits enough of a signal to cover all of the city of San Francisco, lower Marin County and East Bay communities including Richmond and Berkeley, Calif. Now, its use as an outlet targeting Asians has been solidified thanks to a newly consummated transaction.
Graham’s TV Stations Enjoy A Political Revenue Bump
Gray Television isn't the only broadcast TV company to greatly benefit from boffo political advertising revenue in the final three months of 2020. The owner of such stations as NBC affiliate WDIV-4 in Detroit and CBS affiliate WKMG-6 in Orlando enjoyed a big revenue increase in Q4 for its television broadcasting division. The reason: A big political revenue gain.
Maine MVPD ‘A La Carte’ Customer Plan Nix Upheld
Maine cable TV subscribers were in a rather unique situation when it came to not only the channels they wanted -- but also the individual shows they desired. It was part of an a package designed by the state government that a district court tossed. Now, a federal appeals court has upheld that decision.
Did ViacomCBS Positively Surprise at ‘Streaming Investor’ Event?
Heading into last night’s ViacomCBS’ Streaming Investor Day, MoffettNathanson's clients had two basic questions. "At least now we have some clarity around the first question," Senior Analyst Michael Nathanson and Analyst Robert Fishman noted Thursday, following a three-hour affair that offered a detailed look at the newly rebranded Paramount+ offering.
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Alpha Inks A Long-Term Deal With vCreative
One of the top providers of media workflow software products to broadcast media companies across the U.S. has signed up Alpha Media as a client. As such, the Portland, Ore.-based owner of radio stations will extend its vCreative vPPO service while adding the vTrade service across all of its properties.
NBCUniversal Expands Addressable Footprint With Big MVPD Deal
NBCUniversal's U.S. household addressable footprint is set to expand by nearly 40%. To accomplish this, it has agreed to a newly formed advanced advertising pact with one of the nation's top cable TV service providers. Importantly, NBCUniversal says the deal makes its advanced advertising offering one of the largest offered in the market by a TV publisher.
Total TV Advertising Declined Last Year. Broadcast TV Grew
Here's some obvious news from Kantar: Total TV advertising declined in 2020. But, just how bad was the carnage at broadcast television created by the COVID-19 pandemic? There was none.
FCC Reveals Its C-Band Auction Winners
The FCC today announced the winning bidders and the final bid totals in Auction 107— also known as the "C-Band Auction." Auction 107 net winning bids totaled $81,114,481,921 and gross winning bids totaled $81,168,677,645. Twenty-one bidders won all of the available 5,684 licenses.
Internet and digital news for the broadcasting industry.
SummitMedia Inks a Futuri Technology Partnership
An "enterprise-wide partnership" that will bring Futuri’s growth products, including TopLine, TopicPulse, Futuri Streaming, and Futuri Mobile, to all SummitMedia stations, has been forged.
RadioDNS Implementation Complete For A Streamer
SurferNETWORK President and Co-Founder Bill Grywalski notes that Vox-owned WEZF-FM "Star 92.9," serving the Burlington, Vt.-Plattsburgh, N.Y. market, is the first station using the technology.
Visually Integrated Display Symbology for Emergency Alerts Arrive
The NextGen Video Information Systems Alliance (NVISA)has introduced its first recommended practice document: Visually Integrated Display Symbology (VIDS). The VIDS recommended practice represents an industry breakthrough — a powerful and impactful new way of displaying emergency alerts based on easily discernable graphical elements.
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