Legacy

In a deal finalized Sept. 6, 2019, DTV America Corp. — an entity that is majority controlled by HC2 Holdings — agreed to sell two low power television stations to licensee Lowcountry 34 Media. Now, Lowcountry 34 -- led by Jeff and Janet Winemiller -- is selling a full-power station in Savannah, Ga., that had been associated with those two LPTVs.

Until Monday, a legal battle that started in August 2018 against the former Tribune Media and Sinclair Broadcast Group was still on in America's First State. Now, it has concluded, thanks to a settlement that gives Tribune's new owner -- Nexstar Media Group -- cash and another TV station. The resolution also brings Nexstar the Rio Grande Valley's CBS affiliation.

Once again, it was a day void of freshly filed transactions at the FCC. As such, the January 27, 2020 edition of TRANSACTIONS TODAY focuses on applications for STAs.

Thanks to its just-struck sale by Entravision Communications, a Las Vegas TV station is poised to drop Spanish-language programming in favor of English-language second-run crime dramas and a smattering of original shows and movies, delivered by the West Palm Beach-headquartered company led by Brandon Burgess. It ends three years of Entravision ownership.

John Fullam recently announced his retirement as SVP/Market Manager for Entercom's five-brand, four-station Denver-Boulder radio group. We now know who is succeeding Fullam in the role.

Back in July 2017, Symphony Asset Management attracted the radio industry's attention for its role as the holder of some $280 million in iHeartMedia term loans. Today, the San Francisco-based unit of Nuveen has declared a position in iHeart, based on its acquisition of a notable chunk of publicly issued stock on Dec. 31, 2019.

The Conservative D.C.-based think tank that has the ear of the FCC under the leadership of Ajit Pai offers an opinion piece from a visiting fellow who argues that the newly enacted California Consumer Privacy Act is a state law worthy of Congressional action. What could this mean for your stations' digital data gathering, and other online issues?

Some of the key leaders in technology, media, marketing, and entertainment are scheduled to participate Wednesday at the annual ShellyPalmer Innovation Series Summit, a CES event staged by the longtime advertising, marketing and tech consultant and business adviser. They include the President of Westwood One and two key representatives of The CW Network.

If you're a DirecTV customer, you could lose access to any Hearst Television-owned broadcast TV stations as of 3pm Friday. Times a tickin', and as of midday Thursday no deal had been reached for all Hearst stations with the AT&T-owned provider. However, a second extension avoiding a Thursday afternoon "blackout" arrived.

When it comes to the products getting the most exposure via spot television for the week ending Dec. 29, nothing beats Guaifenesin. Well, at least the cold medication and cough suppressant that goes by a particular brand. According to Media Monitors, it's the big No. 1 advertiser in its latest TV report.

So, who are the top 10 advertisers of 2019 by ad spend? How much did these companies spend on TV advertising? Ad sales business intelligence firm MediaRadar crunched the numbers, and has revealed the details just in time for New Year's Eve. One interesting takeaway: There were more than 2,000 newcomers to television advertising in 2019, including PostMates.

As many suspected would happen, the company formerly known as Gannett has decided to spin off the radio stations that came in a multi-million dollar media deal that gives it the CBS affiliate in San Diego. The price TEGNA is selling the radio stations for is jaw-dropping -- because of how low the dollar amount is.

For three generations of radio listeners, WRQX in Washington, D.C., and WPLJ in New York served listeners with rock, then Top 40 and, until 7pm today, Hot Adult Contemporary music. As many bid farewell to the stations, the industry could forever be changed by the stations' sales.

At 9am Central on July 2, 2019, a most unexpected and somber Tweet appeared. With "great shock and sadness," fans and listeners of a popular syndicated radio show were delivered the news of the "untimely and sudden" passing of one of the show's hosts, John Walton.

An immensely popular TV meteorologist is no longer delivering live reports from West 67th Street and Columbus Avenue starting at 4:30am each weekday. Instead, he is settling into the Program Director chair at a radio station facing Upper Sag Harbor Cove in a placid corner of Long Island, N.Y.