Radio+Television Business Report

ATSC President Madeleine Noland is working hard to bring all of the benefits of the new digital broadcast TV standard to fruition. For viewers, new dongles and set-top boxes are a key consumer advancement. Noland speaks exclusively to RBR+TVBR about the new ways to access NEXTGEN TV, and it's in our Spring 2026 magazine.

Television viewing climbed to a 12-month high in January 2026, with overall viewing up 3.7% over December 2025. This, says Nielsen, was fueled by a 9% monthly increase in cable viewership — in combination with major sports events, returning broadcast dramas and winter weather that kept audiences in front of their TVs.

The Chief Financial Officer of Sinclair Inc., the media company leading the transition to ATSC 3.0 broadcast technology and the parent of a group of stations including flagship WBFF-TV in Baltimore has been confirmed as a speaker at a pair of March investor conferences.

It's a Nashville-headquartered operation known for its five digital multicast networks led by CEO and co-President Joel Wertman, and it recently promoted a woman to a role in which she serves as the company's "human API" — seeing her integrate "complex operations and bridging the gap between creative vision and operational experience."

Zeno Media, a New York-headquartered audio and digital media company led by CEO Morris Berger, has promoted from within to fill a key executive-level role. Naturally, it sees a person focused on growth shed her Vice President stripes.

Some 24 names will be selected as nominees to be voted upon by industry personnel later this year, leading to the selection of the 2026 Radio Hall of Fame Induction Class. The Radio Hall of Fame was founded in 1988, and The Museum of Broadcast Communications took over operations of the Hall in 1991.

The transmitters, which were ordered through Warmus and Associates, include two GV2-30ND units, a GV2 3.5, and a VS1. Chuck Poulton, Senior Director of Technology for Ideastream, says these purchases will complement prior Nautel purchases.

Liberty Mutual Insurance, nearly unheard of two decades ago, emerged as the leader by ad play count.  Today, Liberty Mutual continues to be the pace car in the auto insurance realm. But it is not without its competitors seeking consumers via cable and spot TV efforts.

Cross-platform TV ad measurement and attribution company iSpot has brought to market an agentic AI-powered platform that the company says reimagines how independent measurement can be leveraged to unlock new insights, accelerate workflows, drive better consumer connections and assure advertising effectiveness.

One week after the Seattle Seahawks defeated the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LX at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., the CP Communications is still celebrating — and it has little to do with the NFL championship game's outcome on the playing field.

The role of a sales executive has evolved, says Alexander Group media-focused change agent Matt Bartels. Today's sales pros require knowledge of new technological skills, and younger pros tend to have them all. However, as Bartels writes in this classic column, they may not be considering sales careers because they don't see it as a lucrative profession.

RBR+TVBR Editor-In-Chief Adam R Jacobson paid a visit on Wednesday, one day after attending an all-important Senate Commerce Committee hearing on the national TV ownership reach cap. He offers a report that features highlights from the hearing, and a VIP behind-the-scenes look at NAB Headquarters.

For more than 15 years, a Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., broadcast group led by Bill Curtis and business partner Tim Sabean has operated 11 radio stations acquired from Northern Star Broadcasting. Now, Curtis and Sabean face perhaps the biggest challenge of their ownership tenure — a license revocation proceeding. 

Four items are on the agenda for the FCC's February Open Meeting on Wednesday morning, and among them is a Media Bureau item of particular interest to noncommercial radio broadcast station operators — religious and secular in nature.

In September 2024, RBR+TVBR shared the news that a 6kw Class A FM serving a town between Austin and College Station, Tex., had been acquired by Cowboy Broadcasting Network. At the time, Cowboy was a 50/50 partnership between two business partners. Now, one is buying out the other.

The Atlanta Braves and Gray Media have teamed to bring viewers of WANF-46 and WPCH-17 in Atlanta an expanded spring training broadcast offering. Atlanta Braves President/CEO Derek Schiller says it results from “an amazing response to our partnership" with the two Atlanta TV stations in 2025.

On July 18, 2024, iHeartMedia decided to more vigorously compete for Spanish-language listeners and Hispanic ad dollars in a market that only recently saw the entry of Spanish Broadcasting System (SBS) and has been dominated by Hispanic FM pioneer Beasley Media Group. That gamble didn't pay off.

A federal judge in a Delaware District Court recommended Thursday that a Motion to Dismiss filed by a defendant in a patent infringement case filed by Nielsen be granted — thus thwarting the nation's dominant audience measurement and data analytics firm in its legal claim of bespoke technology.

He's become Public Enemy No. 1 of the NAB and groups seeking what his organization has assailed as Congressional "mandates" designed to keep AM radio tuners in all vehicles and push ATSC 3.0 digital TV broadcasting forward, respectively. Soon, they'll have to contend with a new CTA CEO.

This Valentine’s Week, public speaking coach Rosemary Ravinal invites you to consider the following: What love language does your audience speak? How can you show up in ways that make them feel valued, respected, and inspired? This blog provides insights of benefit to your whole C-Suite.