Radio Broadcasting
iHM's Future: iHeartMedia is currently undergoing a nationwide restructuring of its sales divisions, resulting in targeted layoffs across its local market portfolios. This strategic overhaul signals a fundamental shift in how the audio giant approaches advertising sales, moving away from traditional, market-specific account executive teams toward a more centralized, regionalized, and digitally-focused model.
Radio Dominates In-Car Audio: New Q1 2026 Share of Ear data confirm that AM/FM radio remains the dominant in‑car audio platform for Americans, even as in‑car audio options multiply. Overall, AM/FM, including both over‑the‑air broadcasts and streamed station feeds, captures 55% of time spent listening to audio in vehicles among Americans aged 13 and older. Streaming audio is the second‑largest category at 16%, reflecting steady growth over the 12‑year Share of Ear series but still far behind radio for the total 13+ audience.
SBS Next Chapter: Spanish Broadcasting System (SBS) has agreed to pursue a prepackaged Chapter 11 bankruptcy under a Restructuring Support Agreement (RSA) with several of its major creditors, including funds and accounts managed by Brigade Capital Management LP, subsidiaries of Man Group plc, and Bayside Capital LLC.
Media Industry
FOX Dominates Cable News: FOX News Channel (FNC) finished the week of March 30 with 3.3 million weekday primetime viewers, outpacing NBC (2.8 million) for the third week in a row, according to Nielsen Media Research Big Data + Panel. The Five continued to dominate.
Evening Broadcasts: Earning a News & Documentary Emmy® Award nomination for Outstanding Live News Program for the fifth year in a row, “World News Tonight with David Muir” stood as the No. 1 program in Total Viewers (8.598 million) on all of broadcast and cable (excluding sports) during the week of March 30, 2026, based on Live+Same Day Big Data Plus Panel Program Ratings from Nielsen Media Research.
Primetime: The NCAA Men’s and Women’s Basketball tournaments completely dominated primetime television for the week of March 30 to April 5, 2026, propelling CBS and TNT to the top of the ratings charts and overshadowing standard broadcast programming.
U-S News
President Trump faces new diplomatic tests as he prepares for weekend talks with Tehran amid doubts about the durability of his day-old cease-fire with Iran and the prospects for building it into a broader peace settlement. A White House official said on Wednesday that Vice President JD Vance would lead a U.S. delegation to Pakistan for a meeting on Saturday with Iranian officials.
President Trump’s declaration of “total victory” has left some close allies and several senior aides worried that he is overstating what is a fragile cease-fire with Tehran, which remains capable of blocking ships in the Strait of Hormuz and attacking U.S. forces in the region. More than half of Iran’s missile launchers have been destroyed, but a substantial number remain mostly buried deep underground.
Trump's News A-G: After Trump's firing of Attorney General Pam Bondi last week, he is searching for a new AG to lead several high-profile investigations, including the Jeffrey Epstein case. Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia and a vocal supporter of Trump, is among the candidates floated as Bondi's potential successor.