Headlines
The ATSC 3.0 Deadline Debate Exposes Broadcasting’s New Fault Lines
For more than a decade, the television industry has lived with two realities. One foot remains planted in the original ATSC 1.0 digital standard — reliable, universal, but limited — while the other tiptoes toward ATSC 3.0, better known as NextGen TV, touted as the future of free broadcasting.
BIA
BIA Sees $182 Billion Local Ad Opportunity as Buying Reshapes
BIA Advisory Services is framing its 2026 local advertising outlook around a single premise broadcasters will recognize immediately: the money is still local, but sellers who can prove results will win more of it, especially as OTT and CTV become standard in sales packages.
BIA: Radio Resilient As Audio Evolves In Local Ad Market.
The local advertising market is undergoing a significant transformation, with radio emerging as an enduring player by embracing digital extensions and innovative strategies.
Mergers & Acquisitions
Deal Digest: Audacy Exits Providence Market
Ocean State Media has filed a $4.9 million deal to buy WVEI (103.7) from Audacy. The station current airs Audacy’s Boston sports station WEEI-FM (93.7) and as part of the agreement Ocean State Media will convert the station to noncommercial and file for new call letters.
Viewpoint: The hidden upside of WBD's linear leftovers
This bidding war for Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) has served as a kind of Rorschach test on the future of leftover media assets — those legacy TV products that most folks generally refer to as “linear.”
FCC
Effective Date Affirmed For LPTV Advancement Order
On Friday, the Federal Register published a summary of a Report and Order in the FCC’s rulemaking proceeding amending its rules to advance the low-power television, TV translator and Class A television service.
FCC Prepares First-Ever Filing Window For Noncomm FM Translators
Commercial radio stations have had plenty of opportunity to secure new translators, but the same cannot be said for noncommercial broadcasters. But that is poised to changed.
Television
NAB’s Sam Matheny Discusses Latest ATSC 3.0-Based BPS Developments
The National Association of Broadcasters in December realigned its technology-focused leadership to advance development and deployment of the Broadcast Positioning System (BPS), which can complement and backup the Global Positioning System that is increasingly recognized as a potential single point of failure for delivery of precise timing and positioning data critical to national security.
Report: Performance TV Ties With Social Media in Driving Ad Results
A new report from tvScientific finds performance TV is the No. 1 channel for marketers’ ad investment, accounting for 24% of total media spending and tied with social media as the most effective channel for delivering results.
Radio
Study: Radio Can Find New Dollars With Growing OTT Budgets
While traditional media categories continue to face budget pressure, radio’s expanding role in OTT and CTV advertising is reshaping how the medium fits into the new year’s media plan, according to findings from Mediaocean’s 2026 Advertising Outlook.