Radio+Television Business Report

He was an award-winning journalist who became an iconic television figure in Southwestern Virginia. Now, many are paying tribute to Mark Spain, who has died at the age of 64 after a bout with cancer.

From 2016 until early in 2024 he served as President/GM of Hawai'i Public Radio, which offers distinct Fine Arts and NPR-driven spoken word audio networks across the Hawaiian Islands. Now, broadcasters across the state are mourning his loss.

While broadcast television companies across the U.S. have been busily signing rights agreements with various sporting leagues as the RSN model crumbles, there's been concern that in the near future an OTT "Big Tech" deep-pocketed Goliath could come forward and snap up the rights to a big-ticket item. Netflix has just stepped up to the pitch.

A future 50kw noncommercial FM serving Florida's Forgotten Coast — an area ravaged by hurricanes in recent years — is being donated to a private not-for-profit educational institution based in Pensacola.  The group transferring the station is led by Athens, Ga.-based Lowell Jackson.

Prior to his death on April 8, 2020, David C. Keister was the sole officer and director of Mid-America Radio of Indiana Inc. After his passing, an individual was appointed as the personal representative of Keister's trust. Now, a county superior court has order that must see a shift in control of the late owner's trust.

Is the future bright for broadcasters? That's a question posed to New York Interconnect CEO Andrew Kandel and Gray Television SVP of National Sales Becky Meyers in a "virtual candid conversation" shared this week by Matrix Solutions with its CEO, Mark Gorman, and Vertere Group founder and CEO Tim Hanlon.

Comscore is "expanding its partnership" with the Atlanta-headquartered broadcast television company led by Hilton Howell Jr. and Pat LaPlatney.

Introducing "WNPT-VC," a new virtual ATSC 3.0 channel that's just been launched in Music City U.S.A. thanks to a partnership between Nashville PBS and the company that is leading the charge on the transition from ATSC 1.0 digital TV broadcasts: Sinclair Inc.

The privately held company that has proven to be a champion of new television broadcasting technology is now transmitting content in High Dynamic Range (HDR) via the FOX affiliate it owns in North Carolina's Triangle region.

A 30-year radio industry veteran has been selected to lead Michigan-based Black Diamond Broadcasting as its new EVP/General Manager. She rises from Director of Business Development, and before joining the company in 2017 was an Alpha Media Market Manager.

A 10kw daytime-only AM radio station serving Clovis, N. Mex., from across the state line in Texas, faces a license revocation hearing should it not resolve its highly delinquent regulatory fees owed to the FCC.

The longtime Hearst Television newsroom leader who since 2021 has served as Assistant News Director at its WTAE-TV in Pittsburgh has been appointed bureau chief of the company’s Washington, D.C., news bureau.

The incoming head of the FCC has signaled that the Commission will give credence to a public interest law firm that has filed a petition challenging the pending merger of CBS News & Stations parent Paramount Global and Skydance Media.

With the "AM Radio in Every Vehicle Act" officially dead in this Congress, an electric vehicle brand has revealed that its bringing new entertainment options to its line of cars and trucks. Could they threaten AM/FM consumption, or simply bring greater ease to audio content delivery platforms Rivian owners already use?

If you were wondering what percentage of local businesses were buying each form of advertising across 2024, as well as the average annual spending on each, Borrell Associates has the answer for you, courtesy of Adcellerant VP of Business Development Ben Bouslog.

For decades there's been little debate as to what station dominates the South Florida ratings for local news and FOX Sports' NFL coverage. Now, that station's owner is ensuring data provided by Nielsen only reinforces this fiercely independent broadcast property's strength in the Miami DMA — in addition to its Boston sibling.

In one of the biggest radio station sales to surface this year, Local Media San Diego has decided to part ways with its Adult Hits-focused FM that was once "B100" and, later, "Star 100.7," in America's Finest City. With Kalil & Co. serving as the exclusive broker, a LMS filing seeking FCC approval is on the way. Lotus Communications is the buyer.

The addition of SBS brings one of the Hispanic audio content creation and distribution companies to the HRA, whose efforts include local marketing campaigns, research, creative development, and leveraging airtime and digital platforms to promote Hispanic radio’s unique value to advertisers.

The official title is "Director of Discipleship," and it is going to an individual who will be charged with oversight of Pillar Media "Star"-branded Christian-themed radio stations, found in Denver, Cincinnati and Central New Jersey.

Access to latest music and live updates is driving market growth for Radio on a worldwide level. But, there's a caveat — the upward momentum comes with a trend toward online radio services, a newly released study from U.K.-based Technavio finds.