SPRING 2017 INSIDE INFOCUS The New TV Company 1 As 2018 nears, two broadcast TV companies are seeking to fill a void in LOCAL: BROADCAST TV’S PRESENT, daytime TV programming by producing their own shows. What does this mean AND FUTURE, KEY FOR SUCCESS for the industry’s long-term growth? By Editor-in-Chief Adam R. Jacobson These are challenging times for the television industry. 8 Technology and Radio Say what? Most consumers may say “radio” is Based on all media reports, we are living in a golden age of television. But what they listen to while driving, or these stories focus primarily on the content one presently enjoys. Think about when waking up in the morning and where this content is being viewed, and via what source. hitting the snooze bar on a clock radio. A few minutes before reading these words, you could have been watching an epi- With technology’s march forward with sode of The Americans, the riveting 1980s-set drama featuring spies of the Soviet new devices and platforms, should Union posing as everyday Americans with families. The acclaimed FX series could radio be wary or welcoming? have been viewed on cable Channel 44. Or it could have been viewed via an app on your smartphone or tablet while cozy in bed. Furthermore, it could have been viewed on your TV, but through a Roku device that has FXNOW. The Return of TV Trades Meanwhile, there are shows including The Man in the High Castle, through 11 The great post-spectrum-auction thaw Amazon Video; Stranger Things and House of Cards, on Netflix; and The Good is upon us. Will the dealmakers be Fight, on the recently launched CBS All Access, driving “over-the-top” viewing. Then there is the unique programming on traditional premium cable channels, talking about sizzling new transactions such as HBO and Showtime. in Las Vegas, or will the deals be Oh, and there’s also this thing called “broadcast television,” featuring free finalized in the suites at the Encore and over-the-air channels with a plethora of local and network programming. Yes, Wynn resorts? there are a ton of video entertainment sources offering long-form program- ming (we won’t mention the short-form video that’s exploding on the internet). An ‘Over The Top’ Friend? With more ways than ever to consume what was once “TV,” Perry Sook, 13 executive chairman and president/CEO of Nexstar Media Group and newly An Orlando-based entrepreneur wants elected chairman of the Television Advertising Bureau (TVB), is confident in his to partner with every local TV station in belief that broadcast television has a bright future. the U.S., and bring their unique content In a wide-ranging interview with the Radio + Television Business Report, to a global audience. Learn why Sook repeatedly used the word “local” while offering heartfelt thoughts about Spincast may be an OTT entry worth where broadcast TV is headed. With the former Media General stations being noticing. integrated into Nexstar and new investments focusing on news delivery, Sook is creating a strong blueprint for the continued health of broadcast TV — and its long-term consumer need. Top Trends in Media Tech 14 Curious as to what NAB Show vendors AN IMPORTANCE TO GAIN SCALE you may wish to connect with, even if In January 2017, after a lengthy delay connected to the FCC’s ongoing spec- you’re not in Las Vegas? Here’s a quick trum auction, Nexstar closed on its roughly $4.6 billion stock and cash acquisi- review of some of the companies that tion of Media General. could benefit your bottom line. Few questioned the logic of the deal. Yet it does raise the question of why Nexstar believes so strongly in broadcast TV’s coming years that it would invest billions in more UHF and VHF properties. “I am very excited about the future of local media, which is the core area of the industry we play in,” Sook says. “We are about local content, and we are in the communities where our stations are. We play to our advertisers and our consumers there every day.” SPRING 2017 · RBR.COM · 1 MVP_NAB2017_RadioInk_MVP 3/31/17 10:04 AM Page 1 Our heartfelt congratulations to David Field and the Entercom/CBS teams on the CBS Radio merger. MVP Capital is proud to be handling the station divestitures, and we look forward to the combination of these two fine companies providing a huge boost to the entire industry. Since 1987, MVP Capital has advised over $20 billion worth of transactions in the media, telecom, technology and renewable energy sectors. What can we do for you? 415.391.4877 • www.mvpcapital.com We’ll be at NAB, at the Encore. Please call for a confidential discussion. Securities offered through Financial Telesis Inc., Member SIPC/FINRA. MVP_NAB2017_RadioInk_MVP 3/31/17 10:04 AM Page 1 Of course, the Nexstar-Media General deal local and national content offerings are con- was also consummated to create additional scale. cerned.” “It was important to get to scale, because of the At the same time, Sook says “thoughtful other issues with our business.” long-term discussions” are necessary, so they Among those issues are negotiating with make good business sense for Nexstar. multichannel video programming distributors As far as the distribution of Nexstar’s chan- (MVPDs) — a subject that has placed a dark cloud nels and its own content, Sook says, “I’m rela- over some TV owner groups. Sook saved that tively ambivalent as to what screen we use.” conversation for later. That’s because the key Yes, Nexstar does allow for the distribution reason, he believes, that consumers will con- of its content through TV station apps. But, he tinue to choose local TV is content. believes, “This is more of a transitional tech- “We have 100 local markets where we do nology. Do I think this is where the industry business, and when it comes to the content will be in five years? No.” we deliver, it’s about school closings [due to For Sook, the content will continue to need weather] or that ‘bus stop forecast’ for the some kind of pipeline, whether it is wireless, morning,” Sook says. “In medium-sized to larger markets, we are connected or fiber. It is the middle-ware that will change, he the purveyor of the local content in the market.” believes. That could come as a shock to some radio station operators, Meanwhile, there is much monetization and a bevy of benefits to who have yielded considerable air time to nationally syndicated come following the anticipated rollout later this year of ATSC 3.0, air talent but may have fallen short with the content offered dur- the new broadcast TV standard that aligns everything digitally. As ing local breaks. RBR + TVBR reported March 15, Nexstar Media Group and Sinclair Sook’s primary audience-conversion target isn’t AM or FM radio, Broadcast Group entered into a memorandum of understanding however; he says, “To be the originator of locally produced content is regarding the establishment of the consortium, which will be jointly something we take seriously, with the diminution of the newspaper.” owned and controlled on a 50/50 basis by the companies. This has seen the doubling of the Nexstar’s Washington, D.C. news “We are big believers in the potential of ATSC 3.0, and we founded Our heartfelt congratulations to David Field and the bureau, which is being headed by Bill Mondora — most recently the the consortium to aggregate and monetize and create a single point Entercom/CBS teams on the CBS Radio merger. VP/news director for Fox’s Los Angeles duo of KTTV-11 and KCOP-13. of contact for broadcast spectrum, as necessary,” Sook explains. “We did this to better serve our bigger station footprint,” Sook says. Simply put, Sook says ATSC 3.0 brings improved picture quality, in “But it is also an opportunity to build greater local MVP Capital is proud to be handling the station divestitures, context to people back home, whether they be in and we look forward to the combination of these two fine companies Fresno or in Rochester, N.Y.” Sook was asked to describe the integration “We need to stop regulating over-the-air providing a huge boost to the entire industry. progress at the former Media General stations. Coincidentally, he had just come from one of the two-hour integration task force meetings he television as its own marketplace. We Since 1987, MVP Capital has advised over $20 billion chairs once a month. At these meetings, every worth of transactions in the media, telecom, discipline from IT to HR to digital reviews where definitely compete against more than just the technology and renewable energy sectors. things stand, and the initiatives designed to make the transition as smooth as possible. other local TV stations.” This transition meeting included a closed- — Perry Sook What can we do for you? circuit telecast for all employees, which Sook hosted, that outlined the integration initiatives for the first 120 days. “I think we have been very clear in terms addition to an IP-based schema to connect seamlessly to all inter- of our communications in how things will evolve,” Sook says. net-connected gadgets. He also thinks that the measurement poten- “Regardless of what uniform or shirt [they] are wearing, [they] are tial of broadcast TV improves greatly with ATSC 3.0, and that there all a part of the same team.” are ancillary benefits, such as more efficient use of the spectrum.