Headlines
Commercially Licensed Radio Stations Dip In Total
There were less commercially licensed radio stations — regardless of band — at the end of Q1 2026 than there were at the end of 2025. That’s one key takeaway from the latest Broadcast Station Totals courtesy of the FCC.
BIA
Local Ad Spend Forecast To Grow 8.1% This Year
U.S. local advertising is estimated to rise 8.1% to $184.5 billion this year, driven by “stronger-than-expected” digital mobile, social media, and connected TV (CTV), according to BIA Advisory Services.
Mergers & Acquisitions
EdgeBeam Wireless acquires Sinclair’s Broadspan distribution platform
EdgeBeam Wireless acquired Sinclair’s Broadspan distribution platform, adding the software suite and its core engineering team as it moved to accelerate deployment of a national data delivery network built on ATSC 3.0 broadcast infrastructure.
Federal Judge Extends Nexstar/Tegna TRO, Softens Some Provisions
A federal judge has issued an order extending for one week a temporary restraining order (TRO) preventing Nexstar and Tegna from integrating their operations as he continues to consider whether or not to grant a preliminary injunction in an antitrust case seeking to block the $6.2 billion merger.
Television
Nexstar-Tegna Merger: Local News Monopolization Or Industry Evolution?
The battle to stop the merger playing out in court has started to feel less like a legal issue and more like a business one that should ideally be resolved in boardrooms, not courtrooms.
FCC
This Week in Regulation for Broadcasters: April 6, 2026 to April 10, 2026
Here are some of the regulatory developments of significance to broadcasters from the past week, with links to where you can go to find more information as to how these actions may affect your operations.
FCC Announces Tentative Agenda for April Open Meeting
Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr announced a tentative agenda for the April Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Thursday, April 30, 2026 that closely follows his recent blog post outlining major issues the agency is addressing in April.
Study: Broadcasters Must `Prepare Now’ for Impact of FCC C-Band Auction
The Hive Group has published a new white paper, “No Safe Harbor: Why the FCC’s Upper C-Band Auction Demands Early Action from Broadcasters” ahead of NAB Show 2026 that examines the implications of the FCC’s planned auction of upper C-band spectrum and sets out what broadcasters need to consider now.