Headlines
Presidential Ad Race Nears $800M Spent, But October Will Bring The Real Ad Surge.
The party conventions are over, and the head-to-head battle in the Presidential election is now underway. AdImpact projects $2.16 billion will be spent during the general election portion of the race on broadcast ads.
Skydance Merger With Paramount Moves Forward After Bronfman Drops Bid
A week after proposing a $4.3 billion deal to acquire Paramount Global, Canadian media exec Edgar Bronfman Jr. has dropped his bid, making way for the company’s previously announced merger with Skydance to move forward.
Mergers & Acquisitions
Paramount hires bank to weigh sale of non-core TV stations
As many as 12 TV stations could be on the chopping block, including independents and former CW Network affiliates.
Paramount Board Special Committee Confirms Skydance Merger Will Close In First Half Of 2025
A special committee of Paramount Global’s board set up to steer its M&A process has declared an end to the “go-shop” period in its pending Skydance Media merger and says the transaction will close in the first half of 2025.
Television
Gray Reveals New OTA RSN To St. Louis Viewers
With college football fans already pumped about the 2024 season, a Gray Media station serving the St. Louis market is embarking on something “new and very exciting” — a free and independent sports and entertainment network.
Radio
GBS Sees Expanded Adoption of ZoneCasting Technology
GeoBroadcast Solutions (GBS) announced Monday that four additional broadcasters have filed applications with the FCC to deploy ZoneCasting technology.
Easing Ad Fears: Hard News Holds Revenue Potential for Radio
The demise of WCBS-AM in New York has led to increased conversation over the state of news profitability in radio.
Going Forward, Forget Everything You Knew About The Radio Business
If there’s one thing that 2024 will known for in the radio industry it is the end of the phrase “This is how we’ve always done it“.
FCC
FCC Receives Over 800 Comments On AI Regulation In Two Days
The FCC’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would mandate clear disclosures from broadcasters when using artificial intelligence in political ads on radio and TV has been stirring both sides of Capitol Hill. Now that divide appears to have gone mainstream.
CTV/OTT
Going Local: A New Streaming Service Peeks Into News In 2024 Election Swing States
Fans of politics have another way to keep track of what’s happening in the most competitive states in the country through a new service that collects and streams local newscasts.