Headlines
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Thank you for being a loyal reader of BIA's Local Media & Technology Newsletter. We appreciate you and look forward to a new year of exciting news to report.
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Suzanne Ackley, Editor
An FCC Rule Could Hinder An NBC-CBS Merger
CBS parent Paramount Global is reportedly in merger talks with Warner Bros. Discovery – in yet another sign that legacy media institutions continue their search for sufficient scale to compete with Netflix, Apple, and Amazon in the streaming video space.
Why Is Shari Redstone, Ruler of a Vast Media Kingdom, Weighing a Sale?
She fought to keep control of her family’s media empire. Now she’s considering an exit as financial pressures mount.
Mergers & Acquisitions
Station Sales Week of 12/22
Todd Bartley’s Victory Media of Maryland will purchase Oldies 1430 WNAV Annapolis MD from BMSC Media for $78,000
DOJ Begins Review Of Proposed Sale Of El Paso Stations To Mexican Broadcaster.
The Department of Justice’s National Security Division says it has begun to review a Texas station sale that would result in a trio of EL Paso stations becoming controlled by a Mexican citizen.
Ex-Sajak Owned AM Trades Hands
In October 2021, the soon-to-be retired host of the syndicated TV game show Wheel of Fortune decided to part ways with a Class B AM radio station serving Maryland’s state capital.
It’s The Truth: A Virginia AM and FM Translator Are Sold
A 1kw AM serving a small town in Southwestern Virginia, along with its FM translator at 104.1 MHz, are being sold.
FCC
Broadcasters, Pay-TV Continue to Spar over TV Station Ownership As FCC Deadline Nears
Ahead of next Wednesday's fast-approaching deadline, broadcasting and pay-TV industry representatives are using the limited time left to pitch the Federal Communications Commission on their preferred substance of potentially new media ownership rules.
FCC To Revive Special Council Amid AI Threats, Opportunities
As artificial intelligence poses a systematic reconstruction to radio and its operation, the Federal Communications Commission has announced its intention to re-establish the Communications Security, Reliability, and Interoperability Council by March 30, 2024.
Television
Gamification in Broadcast: It’s All About the Eyeballs
Gamification is defined as the process of adding games, or game-like elements to something (such as a task) so as to encourage participation. If we think about this concept in terms of broadcast, it is realistically the use of game-design elements and game principles in non-game contexts to drive audience engagement.
Pay TV
What Would Warner Bros. Discovery-Paramount Merger Mean for Cable TV?
Mega media merger mania is once again afoot in Hollywood with very, very early talks between Warner Bros. Discovery‘s David Zaslav and Paramount Global’s Bob Bakish about a potential merger of the two companies.