the HOT List

Steve Wexler and Dave Magnum were joined by Woodward Community Media's Director of Broadcast and a now-retired iHeartMedia Wisconsin Metro President as this year's inductees into the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame. The four were feted at a Thursday night affair in Lake Geneva, Wisc.

The Commission has once again denied a petition filed by direct broadcast satellite (DBS) provider DirecTV that would have put a stop to the transfer of control of a Michigan TV station, creating a duopoly in the Traverse City, Mich., DMA. DirecTV has been seeking to put a stop to these deals as part of an anti-carriage fee fight.

A media executive with more than four decades of leadership experience who serves as Chairman of NBCUniversal Local, overseeing both NBC and Telemundo-branded owned stations and the NBC Sports Regional Networks, has been selected as the recipient of the 2026 RBR+TVBR Lifetime Leadership Award.

Two years ago, Norsan Media expanded beyond its historical footprint of the Southeastern U.S. in a significant way in Austin. Now, Norsan is getting a big, heritage full-market FM signal to add to its holdings serving Texas' state capital.

With the integration of Financial Executives International sessions at its annual conference in May, the Media Financial Management association and its soon-to-retire President/CEO opened the door to greater synergies between MFM and FEI. Now, a merger of the two organizations has been OK'd by the MFM Board of Directors.

In April 2018, the Chief Information and Technology Officer for Time Inc., exited the company following its acquisition by Meredith Corp. and joined TEGNA Inc. as its Chief Technology Officer. Now, under newly minted CEO Patrick Paolini, the "hold separate" unit of Nexstar Media Group has elevated this senior-level executive to an executive role.

Fox Corporation has shared that it intends to acquire Nasdaq-traded Roku Inc. A definitive agreement will see FOX purchase Roku for $160 per share in a combination of cash and FOX Class A common stock, valuing Roku at approximately $22 billion in enterprise value.

All eyes are on California Attorney General Rob Bonta, who has expressed his interest in seeking court action to prevent Paramount Skydance from merging its just-acquired assets with Warner Bros Discovery. It would replicate a "hold separate" order issued to Nexstar preventing it from fully merging with TEGNA.

A Senate Democrat representing the State of Oregon has joined Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz in introducing legislation that would allow Americans to sue federal officials for violating the First Amendment when they coerce social media companies, AI platforms, or broadcasters to change or take down protected speech.

The House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday convened a hearing squarely focused on the Sports Broadcasting Act as it applies to the NFL — without the presence of the league's Commissioner. For Republican Members, Roger Goodell needs to move away from exclusive streaming arrangements.

The Advanced Television Broadcasting Alliance last week affirmed that is at odds with the LPTV Broadcasters Association, noting it does not support asking the FCC to authorize 3GPP 5G Broadcast as a standalone Part 74 transmission standard on LPTV spectrum. The LPTVBA's head has a retort.

A new report released Monday by the House Judiciary Committee takes aim at the National Football League, alleging it has stretched an antitrust exemption created by the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 beyond its original purpose "to the detriment of American consumers."

Go to Century City, and there's a good chance you'll see a celebrity walking through the doors of Creative Artists Agency (CAA). For the entertainer, artist representation can mean a lot. Salem Media now recognizes this, and is launching its own venture "focused on helping faith-centric and family-friendly talent" grow their careers.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has been asked to dismiss the appeals filed in the combined Free Press v. FCC case designed to thwart Nexstar Media Group's regulatorily approved merger with TEGNA by not only Nexstar, but by the Commission itself.

Weigel Broadcasting's business model, focused largely on digital multicast networks, has been largely successful. As such, the company is wary of a "mandated flash cut" to ATSC 3.0-powered NEXTGEN TV as proposed by the NAB. The company owned by Norman Shapiro says it is very much a matter of economics.