Radio+Television Business Report

A full-power satellite television station rebroadcasting the programming of an independent Birmingham-based TV station owned by Sinclair Inc. is poised to become a Sinclair station itself.  This would change a lengthy shared services agreement between Sinclair and this cozy operational partner to outright ownership.

The nation's dominant audience measurement and data company for broadcast media has made updates to its "Streaming Content Ratings" product, a move it says "accelerates data deliveries" from a once-weekly reporting cadence to a daily offering.

Florida's "Nature Coast" is a rapidly growing area due north of Tampa and west of Ocala. Pending FCC approval, it will also be the home of the latest radio stations owned by a rapidly growing licensee based in Winter Park, Fla. That's thanks to a transaction that sees Mark Jorgenson serve as the seller's broker.

He's been associated with Hearst Television since 1983 and has served in various roles at flagship property WCVB-5 in Boston, as well as in a key ad operations role. Now, the privately held broadcast TV station licensee is celebrating this company veteran's longtime retirement.

The former Executive VP of Marketing & Communications at Fremantle has been selected to serve as Sr. VP of Brand & Marketing for FOX Television Stations — a role in which he will report to Executive VP of Digital Operations Jeff Zellmer.

At long last, the "AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act" has passed the U.S. House of Representatives. It now awaits a vote in the U.S. Senate, and the NAB and one key supporter of the legislation cheered the House's late Tuesday approval of the bill. So did the head of iHeartMedia.

Broadcasters, the NAB, state associations, and millions of listeners nationwide notched a major milestone in the years-long fight to protect AM radio access as the House of Representatives passed the "AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act" on Tuesday evening. The bipartisan bill now heads to the Senate.

A news helicopter covering a deadly collision between a sports utility vehicle and a Los Angeles Metro Bus crashed in L.A.'s San Fernando Valley early Tuesday evening, resulting in the death of an aerial reporter covering the scene for the NBCUniversal Local television stations serving Southern California and two others.

In November 2024, the nation's foremost purveyor of noncommercial Christian-themed music networks agreed to purchase a 3kw Class A FM where California highways 14 and 58 bisect. The station, once a simulcast partner of KIIS-FM in Los Angeles, is now a K-LOVE Inc. property, with closing finally arriving after nearly two years.

Two of the nation's largest television ownership groups — each of whom have invested significantly in the ATSC 3.0 digital broadcast standard — have come together for a joint consumer education campaign designed to increase awareness and understanding of NEXTGEN TV. 

How essential is satellite delivery for SiriusXM, the nation's subscription-based audio content delivery service? With adoption of its smartphone app a disappointment for CEO Jennifer Witz and a refocus on building in-car subscription rolls, the company on Tuesday officially lit up its SXM-11 satellite, making it operational.

What constitutes “linear TV” and what constitutes streaming? The lines are getting blurred, and that's made it harder and harder for MoffettNathanson to produce its quarterly "Cord-Cutting Monitor," the financial house's three senior analysts conclude.

The median amount of weekday news dropped by a full hour to 5.5 hours in 2025, while the number of stations producing original local news also declined. That's the key takeaway from an annual news survey of TV news content conducted by the RTDNA and Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University.

Acting FCC Media Bureau Chief Alex Sanjenis has moved ahead with "procedures and other requirements" governing an application for review filed by four Democrats pertaining to the Commission's "lowest unit charge" political advertising rules.

An industry being reshaped by AI, streaming, and shifting consumer attention gets to listen to a voice who has spent three decades inside that disruption. That's why the Radio + Television Business Report is proud to be welcoming best-selling author Larry Bailin to Forecast 2027 on November 12 in New York.

He's known in Wabash, Indiana for his presence at an FM known for "good time rock & roll" that in the Noon hour on Tuesday was playing "Teenager in Love" by Dion and the Belmonts. Now, Class A WJOT-FM is poised to become siblings to a pair of AM radio stations and an FM translator in a small Hoosier city to the south.

A partnership has been reached between live sports streaming service DAZN and Gray Media that will see the over-the-air broadcast of 15 regular-season Cleveland Cavaliers matches during the 2026-2027 National Basketball Association season.

Milwaukee Media Group, the brand Saga Communications uses for its radio stations in the Wisconsin market, has a new VP/General Manager. That's because longtime radio industry figure Bob Bellini is no longer associated with the five audio brands Saga operates in Milwaukee. 

It's a pending move that instantly got many longtime radio industry professionals chatting. After 30 years in syndication, the program today hosted by Sheri Lynch that continues to be branded as Bob & Sheri is making a digital pivot at the end of 2026.

In her new role, Ronna Steber is being asked to "drive advertising sales strategies and establish best practices throughout Gray’s extensive portfolio of top-rated local television stations and digital assets." She spent more than two decades at "FOX 56" in Lexington, Ky., before joining Gray eight years ago.