Radio & Television Business Report

The full Commission on Monday directed the Media Bureau to complete the processing of station renewal applications associated with five broadcast television flagged for potential rule noncompliance as it pertained to their educational and informational programming. The "why" behind the move is the biggest takeaway.

Anna Gómez last week met with representatives from two public advocacy groups who are battling the Carr Commission for a Media Bureau decision to initiate an early license renewal process for the eight ABC Owned Stations — a move the groups believe is an "unconstitutional assault on the freedom of the press."

In a move the Baltimore-headquartered company says is emblematic of its increased news investment, Sinclair Inc. is immediately expanding its nationally distributed news program to time slots at a dozen TV stations where, until now, syndicated fare had been airing.

 Rob Bonta shared that the agreement with the company led by CEO David Ellison "includes court enforceable guardrails to resolve the antitrust issues at the center of our case, protect competition and consumer choice, and provide for the production of significantly more films and a minimum of $1.5 billion in additional investment in domestic film production."

The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit on Friday deferred a request from a quartet of Democrats running for elected office in the 2026 mid-term cycle that would have forced the FCC to issue a swift ruling on whether or not the "lowest unit rate" includes Political Action Committees or is limited to the candidates themselves.

The trustee overseeing the Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation of a small-market radio station operator with a presence in rural New Mexico and Nevada has given his affirmative nod to the sale of the properties. Who the buyer is may turn heads, as it is none other than an individual linked to the fiscally crippled seller.

There is a real difference between choosing a transition and being handed one. IP distribution was not viable at scale a few years ago. Connectivity, bandwidth economics, latency improvement and cloud capacity have all changed that, which means broadcasters can now move on their own timeline rather than the auction calendar deadlines.

The owner and manager of Broadcast Industry Group LLC has agreed to sell a trio of AM radio stations in Arkansas — along with their respective FM translators. The buyer may sound familiar to those following the future of a collection of AM and FM properties associated with Monte Spearman's HPRN Network.

It is being hailed as a "landmark partnership," and it comes as the sport continues to gain momentum beyond high school and collegiate sporting venues ahead of the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. The deal creates a first-of-its-kind audio media category for USA Lacrosse and includes exclusive content opportunities.

Distribution has always been carried as a fixed cost, a line item managed down rather than a platform that earns. Moving to IP changes that math. Uplinks, edge storage and dish permitting come off the balance sheet, and ad insertion moves into the cloud where localization becomes a revenue conversation instead of an engineering one.

The owner of a Class B AM serving the capital of the state of Washington and nearby cities west of Tacoma has agreed to acquire a Class A FM from a company that was forced to sell all of its assets per a Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation.

In late May, Jeff Winemiller, one of the most prolific buyers and sellers of low-power TV stations, agreed to acquire the licenses of six low-power television stations in the state of Washington in exchange of services. Now, the seller in that deal is agreeing to obtain four future LPTV facilities from Winemiller.

The National Basketball Association franchise serving Charlotte and the Carolinas has secured a new broadcast partnership that will bring its games to viewers in six additional DMAs within the team's territory. It is thanks to a new agreement reached between the Charlotte Hornets and Gray Media.

It's a move that provides advertisers with a more complete view of how audiences move across streaming and other channels. And, it sees a data integration agreement come to fruition for Roku and Horizon Media.

Newly research research from Premion and Advertiser Perceptions demonstrates that as sports viewing shifts across screens, advertisers are increasingly following those fans to streaming TV. The result? "Big Tech" is pocketing from marketers and consumers alike as it delivers big ticket play-by-play on a near-exclusive basis.

Some 73% of respondents in a newly released Pew-Knight Initiative study said press freedom is extremely or very important to the well-being of society. However, when asked to prioritize press freedom or accuracy, 53% said preventing inaccurate reporting is more important — even if it limits press freedom.