Headlines
AI's Desperate Hunger For News Training Data Has Publishers Fighting Back. Here’s How.
The AI race has reached a new fever pitch, with companies like Google, Meta, Anthropic and OpenAI locked in an all-out sprint to develop advanced AI models. But as these companies burn through the internet’s high-quality training data at an astonishing rate, some AI companies are resorting to controversial tactics — including the alleged mass scraping of news articles.
U.S. Consumer Time Spent With Media Fell For First Time In 2023 .
The good news -- or bad news, depending on how you look at it -- is that consumer time spent with media continues to expand. The really bad news for the ad industry is that ad-supported media's share continues to decline, in both the U.S. and worldwide.
Mergers & Acquisitions
Deal Digest: Covenant Communications Sells All Its Stations; Atlanta Translator Sold
Kristin Cantrell’s Seven Mountains Media has filed a $75,000 deal to buy WHUN-FM, Huntingdon, PA (103.5) and WLGJ, Philipsburg, PA (1260) from Jim Loftus’ Covenant Communications.
FCC
Christian Broadcasters Petition FCC To Remove Religious Stations From Employee Reporting Rule.
Three religious broadcasters are asking the Federal Communications Commission to reconsider its order requiring religious stations to submit Form 395-B employment data reports.
Television
Video: Byron Allen On Why Paramount Global Shouldn’t Be Broken Up.
The founder, president and CEO of Allen Media Group explains why Paramount Global is still a healthy company worth keeping together and shares a long-term prognosis for the network-affiliate relationship in this video from TVNewsCheck’s Programming Everywhere conference.
NBA’s New Media Rights Deals Would Let League Have It Both Ways
On top of simply maximizing the amount of money live sports rights can offer, league negotiations with media partners over the last few years have centered on striking the balance between traditional TV and streaming.
Radio
BIA Releases the 2nd Edition of its Hispanic Radio Directory: It Reveals Diversity of the Population, Formats and Ownerships
BIA is excited to release the second edition of its Hispanic Radio Station Directory, which is a free comprehensive guide to nearly 2,000 commercial and non-commercial AM and FM stations. A quick analysis of the 100 different formats being broadcast by these stations shows the appeal to various Hispanic target segments.
AM For Every Vehicle Act Gains US Senate Supermajority
Just over one month after the AM For Every Vehicle Act garnered the necessary number of co-sponsors to gain a simple majority in the US House of Representatives, AM radio has gained a supermajority of support in the US Senate to match, spurred on by visits from state broadcast associations.
CTV/OTT
Study: Streaming Market Is Saturated But Subscriptions Continue to Grow
`Subscription stacking’ and ads are the path to growth in a saturated U.S. streaming market, Kantar reports
Verticals
DEA May Reclassify Marijuana, But Cannabis Ads Will Still Be Off-Limits To Radio
Radio sales reps may see opportunity with the scores of cannabis dispensaries that have popped up in states where recreational marijuana has been legalized, but changes reportedly close at hand will do little for advertising revenues, say broadcast attorneys.