Radio+Television Business Report

The collective decision by the three companies not to move forward with the contemplated joint venture is effective immediately, the companies said early Friday. In response, a DIRECTV spokesperson issued a statement of their own.

The Congressional legislative body that maintains oversight of the FCC has reconstituted its Democratic membership, and among the new faces on the House Energy & Commerce Committee in the minority is one of the more polarizing figures in U.S. politics — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

For a decade, she has worked in Radio in the nation's No. 1 market. Now, she's been promoted from the General Sales Manager role to General Manager at the two spoken word audio outlets serving New York owned by Salem Media Group.

Despite efforts in D.C. to limit its use in the U.S. due to its ties to the Chinese government and a new effort led by 14 state attorneys general to impose "significant penalties" on it for its harms to American youth, TikTok is a major social media platform that isn't fading away anytime soon. Data from Pew indicate that adults — not kids — are big-time users.

Publicly traded Francophone-focused Cogeco Media, tied to U.S. MVPD Breezeline parent Cogeco Inc., will be welcoming a new President, effective February 3. It's a woman who most recently directed Radio-Canada, the French audio division of Canada's CBC.

Direct broadcast satellite service DirecTV has joined EchoStar in raising concerns about the recently announced dismissal of Fubo’s claims against Venu and its shareholders and the lifting of the preliminary injunction that blocked the launch of Venu pending a full review of the claims against it.

A former MSG Entertainment marketing partnerships prop who joined iHeartMedia's New York station group in September 2022 has been promoted to Director of Marketing and Promotions.

A host of conservatives have been critical of the FCC's approval of a restructuring structure that supposedly fast-tracked an increase in Audacy's foreign ownership concentration. Now, Audacy has told the Commission that non-U.S. ownership matter is moot, and as such any un-doing of its post-bankruptcy regulatory OK is unwarranted.

The Order was adopted before the end of 2024 but not released by the Commission until earlier this week. Rule changes to the FCC's Schedule of Application Fees have been made, and there's been an upward adjustment in the fees it assesses for processing applications and other filings.

On July 1 of last year, Gray Media acquired the construction permit for a new full-power television station licensed to the seat of Carbon County, Utah, a small city to the southeast of Provo. Now, in a bid to improve its signal contour, Gray is asking the Media Bureau's Video Division to allow it to shift from a VHF channel to a UHF facility.

When it comes to media and technology, CNBC reporter Julia Boorstin has emerged as a key voice. On Wednesday, she moderated a conversation that saw its participants gush over a new Comcast ad tech collaboration that positions Universal Ads as a breakthrough tool providing "front-door access to the premium video category."

The National Association of Broadcasters Leadership Foundation (NABLF) is now accepting entries for the 2025 Celebration of Service to America Awards. The awards honor the critical role local TV and radio stations play in communities across the country.

Main Street Sports Group LLC, the regional sports network parent formerly known as Diamond Sports Group that oversees the FanDuel Sports Network brands (previously Bally Sports and, before that, FOX Sports), has a new President of Production and Programming, effective January 13.

A pair of sales VPs are being welcomed to the Los Angeles offices of Entravision Communications, with one heading up the entire sales efforts and the other focused on digital enterprises.

In an announcement, ARM said it is joining forces with Stagwell Brand Performance Network to augment and accelerate the global marketing network's audio buying power and capabilities across its portfolio of agencies, to help clients capitalize on the channel's mass reach, audience engagement and cultural influence.

A broadcast television station serving the Alamo City that was an affiliate of The CW Network until the start of the 2010 season and since then has been the MyNetwork TV affiliate for the market is facing a hefty fine for failing to participate in three nationwide tests of the Emergency Alert System.

He was the Digital and Media Director for President Trump's successful 2016 campaign and served as Campaign Manager for his 2020 re-election bid. Now, he's joining Salem Media Group as its Chief Strategy Officer. 

Shawn Oswald's successor has been revealed at the Hearst Television ABC affiliate serving Omaha and Council Bluffs. It is the woman presently serving as News Director of a Des Moines TV station. And, it brings a female leader back to KETV, once-led by Ariel Roblin.

The Library of American Broadcasting Foundation (LABF) is welcoming four broadcast media executives to its Board of Directors, following their election to the philanthropic arm of the Library of American Broadcasting.

For KTLA-5 in Los Angeles, which was offering Breaking News devoted to the devastating wildfires in Pacific Palisades while starting coverage of the Eaton Fire in Altadena, Calif., a January 7 deadline for a fresh retransmission consent deal between Nexstar and Optimum owner Altice USA loomed.  Talks are ongoing.