Here are the editor's top picks for the week.
NAB CEO expects Next Gen TV in stores before next Olympics
Gordon Smith, president and CEO of the National Association of Broadcasters, or NAB, spoke to S&P Global Market Intelligence about next-gen TV services, when they might be available in stores and how some broadcasters are dealing with spectrum relocation as a part of the spectrum repack process.
FCC begins review of media ownership rules, classifies text messages
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission kicked off its quadrennial review of media ownership rules at its Dec. 12 monthly open meeting. One rule, as part of the agency's Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, limits a single entity from owning multiple television stations in the same market, with a few exceptions. Another rule places limits on the number of radio stations an entity can own in a market. The third rule up for review is the agency’s dual-network rule, which prohibits a merger between any of the four largest broadcast networks. The agency is required by Congress to review media ownership rules every four years.
New football league to use tech, integrated fantasy, betting to draw in fans
Most U.S. football fans have circled Feb. 3, 2019, on their calendars for Super Bowl Sunday. Charlie Ebersol's sights are set on the following Saturday. That date, Feb 9, 2019, marks the kickoff of the Alliance of American Football's inaugural season. Ebersol, a film producer and the son of longtime NBC Sports boss Dick Ebersol, is co-founder and CEO of the new league.
Tencent Music shares pop 7.7% in NYSE trading debut
Stock in Tencent Music Entertainment Group climbed 7.7% above the company's initial public offering price for its U.S. trading debut, ending Dec. 12 at US$14.00 per share. The music unit of Chinese tech giant Tencent Holdings Ltd., which began trading Dec. 12 under the symbol TME on the New York Stock Exchange, had priced its public offering at US$13 per American depositary share — the low end of an expected range of US$13 to US$15.
NBC Sports Chairman: 2020 Summer Olympics will feature most live TV hours ever
NBCUniversal Media LLC's cable sports network NBCSN (US) has scored a 33% increase in prime-time viewers for the year through Dec. 9, boosted in part by coverage of the 2018 Winter Games, and NBC Broadcasting and Sports Chairman Mark Lazarus is already looking ahead to 2020. Speaking at the Sports Video Group Summit on Dec. 11, Lazarus said that with Tokyo 13 hours ahead of the Eastern time zone in the U.S., there will be extensive live coverage of the 2020 Summer Games in prime time and late night. He predicted the 2020 Games will be the most-televised live Olympics in U.S. history.