Headlines
TV’s Shrinking World Pits Networks Against Stations in Fee Fight
Federal Communications Commission member Brendan Carr fired a broadside at Walt Disney Co. Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger this month, urging him to reach more economical contract terms with local TV stations affiliated with the company’s ABC network.
2024 Was Another Tough Year For Cable Television Industry
Over the past decade the cable industry has been impacted by cord-cutting and the emergence of streaming video, which has resulted in declining ratings and revenue. This trend continued in 2024 as some media companies addressed the financial challenges facing the once lucrative cable industry.
Mergers & Acquisitions
Station Trading Roundup: 1 Deal, $90,000
The purchase of K36DB-CD Avon, Colo., by Denver Digital Television tops the latest list of TV station transactions submitted to the FCC for its approval, according to BIA Advisory Services.
Salem Sells Seven Stations To EMF, Repays All $159.4 Million Of Long-Term Debt.
Moving to shore up its balance sheet, Salem Media Group has agreed to sell all its remaining contemporary Christian radio stations to a company that knows the format well: Educational Media Foundation.
Television
Advertisers Keep Avoiding News Sites, And Publishers Have Had Enough Of It
Brands are skittish about appearing near stories on politics and violence, but news outlets say their fears are overblown. (WSJ subscription required)
Radio
Resilient Radio Industry Got ‘Shot In The Arm’ From Podcasting In 2024.
Despite the growing dominance of digital channels, traditional media remained resilient in 2024, according to a new report from MediaRadar.
Format Counts, 2024: Country Still Leads, Christian/Religion Growing
Year in and year out, there’s one constant when it comes to the radio formats ranked in the top 10 of Inside Radio/PrecisionTrak’s monthly format counts: country leads them all, and by, if you will, a country mile. But that tells only part of the story.
FCC
Trump Presidency Will Bring Sweeping Change to FCC
Broadcast regulatory experts expect “fast and furious” changes at the Federal Communications Commission with Donald Trump’s return to the Oval Office.
Rosenworcel Lists Her Highlights of 2024
Preparing to depart from the Federal Communications Commission, Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel this week released her annual message listing what she considers the most important FCC activities of the past year.
FCC: Corporate Diversity Ruling Isn’t Comparable To Station Employee Data Collections
Advocates for blocking a new rule that will require stations to collect data about the race, ethnicity, and gender of employees and report it to the Federal Communications Commission see hope in a recent federal court decision. But FCC lawyers say the cases are “not analogous” and the ruling in Texas federal court earlier this month shouldn’t color the outcome of the broadcast case.
