Good Morning! Let's Check The Pulse for Thursday, March 12

Radio Broadcasting

Revenue Forecasts and Industry Stability: Analysts from Kagan project modest radio revenue gains in 2026, driven by local advertising and political spending (e.g., midterm elections), offsetting declines in national/network ads—keeping overall growth mostly flat

Salem Media Group swung to a net loss of $34.6 million in 2025, reversing net income of $16.2 million in 2024, as the Christian and conservative multimedia company absorbed heavy impairment charges on its broadcast assets amid declining revenue.

iHeartMedia announced the lineup for the 2026 iHeartRadio Music Awards (airing March 26 on FOX), featuring performances by Alex Warren, Lainey Wilson, Ludacris (hosting and receiving the Landmark Award), RAYE, TLC, En Vogue, Salt-N-Pepa, and more; Miley Cyrus gets the Innovator Award. This highlights radio's role in music promotion and events amid streaming competition.

Media Industry

Paramount Skydance-Warner Bros. Discovery Merger Fallout: The massive $111+ billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery by Paramount Skydance (which closed or advanced significantly in recent weeks) continues to generate concern in Hollywood and media circles.

• Fears of massive layoffs persist, with executives targeting $6 billion in "synergies" (cost cuts) through redundancies, despite public assurances that major workforce reductions can be avoided.
• Plans to merge Paramount+ and HBO Max into a single streaming platform are progressing, aiming for over 200 million combined subscribers to better compete with Netflix. This follows earlier rounds of cuts at both companies post their respective mergers.
• Industry observers note this as part of a broader "re-bundling" trend in media, with overlapping teams in news (e.g., CNN and CBS News potentially staying separate brands but facing efficiencies), film production, and streaming facing scrutiny.

U-S News

Ongoing US-Israel War on Iran: The conflict remains the leading story, with heavy US and Israeli strikes on Iranian targets continuing. Reports highlight:

• Intense bombing campaigns, including accusations of civilian site damage (e.g., nearly 10,000 sites hit per Iranian claims) and a controversial strike on a girls' school in Minab that killed around 175 people, mostly children, with evidence pointing to US responsibility (though President Trump has denied knowledge or downplayed it).
• Iran retaliating with missile/drone attacks on Israel, neighboring countries (including Qatar, UAE, Lebanon), and ships in the Strait of Hormuz, a critical oil chokepoint. This has disrupted 20% of global oil flows.

Gasoline Prices Surge: Gasoline prices have spiked significantly due to the Middle East conflict's impact on crude oil markets (prices in the mid-$70s to higher per barrel, with some reports of spikes toward $90+ earlier in the week).

• The national average for regular unleaded gasoline is around $3.58–$3.60 per gallon as of March 12, 2026 (per AAA data), up sharply from earlier in the month (e.g., jumps of 25–27 cents in recent weeks, with some weekly increases of 15–16%).
• This marks a reversal from lower prices earlier in 2026 (e.g., around $2.80–$3.00 in January/February), driven by supply fears from Strait of Hormuz attacks and broader energy market volatility.
• Analysts note this is fueling inflation concerns, with diesel and other fuels also rising.

TV Ratings: FOX News Posts Strongest Weekday Ratings Of The Year

FOX News Channel (FNC) finished the week of March 2nd delivering its highest-rated week of the year while topping ABC and NBC in weekday and Monday - Sunday primetime viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research Big Data + Panel. 

As audiences tuned into the network for breaking news coverage surrounding Iran, FNC averaged 3.6 million weekday primetime viewers, leading ABC (3,280,000 viewers) and NBC (3,262,000 viewers), according to Nielsen Big Data + Panel. 

Additionally, FNC averaged 3.1 million viewers in Monday - Sunday primetime viewers, outpacing ABC (2,849,000) and NBC (2,879,000) in total viewers, according to Nielsen Big Data + Panel. Monday - Sunday total day (6 AM-6 AM/ET), FNC delivered over 2 million viewers and 224,000 in the 25-54 demo, while in primetime the network averaged over 3.1 million viewers and 362,000 in the 25-54 demo. FOX News also drove 198 million YouTube views, nearly tripling its nearest competitor and leading all news brands and broadcast networks. Additionally, The Will Cain Show marked the show's highest-rated week in program history.

As breaking news coverage continued throughout the week, every FNC program saw 2026 highs while CBS Evening News notably delivered its lowest rated week since Tony Dokoupil took over the helm. The Five saw 4.5 million viewers and 438,000 in the 25-54 demo, outpacing CBS Evening News (4.1 million viewers) and marked its highest rated week with total viewers since March 2025. At 6 PM/ET, Special Report with Bret Baier averaged 3.6 million viewers and 362,000 in the 25-54 demo. 

The Ingraham Angle at 7PM/ET drew over 3.4 million viewers and 378,000 in the 25-54 demo. Jesse Watters Primetime averaged 4 million viewers and 454,000 in the 25-54 demo at 8 PM/ET, outpacing the competition in the demo. At 9 PM/ET, Hannity delivered over 3.4 million viewers and 437,000 in the 25-54 demo. FOX News @ Night with Trace Gallagher at 11PM/ET posted over 1.8 million viewers.

Ratings Graphics Courtesy of RoadMN

FOX News continued its run as the go to brand on YouTube leading all news brands and broadcast networks, according to Emplifi. FNC drove nearly 200 million YouTube views during the week (198 million), nearly tripling its nearest competitor MSNOW (76 million views) and outpaced CNN (74 million), NBC News (50 million), ABC News (40 million), and CBS News (22 million).

With Nearly 9M Viewers, ABC's WNT Is Tops In All TV

“World News Tonight with David Muir” stood as the No. 1 program in Total Viewers (8.901 million) on all of broadcast and cable during the week of March 2, 2026, based on Live+Same Day Big Data Plus Panel Program Ratings from Nielsen Media Research.

• “World News Tonight” ranked as the No. 1 newscast across broadcast and cable in Total Viewers (8.901 million), Adults 25-54 (1.104 million) and Adults 18-49 (818,000).
• “World News Tonight” outdelivered “NBC Nightly News” (6.898 million, 1.054 million and 741,000, respectively) in Total Viewers (+29%/+2.003 million), Adults 25-54 (+5%/+50,000) and Adults 18-49 (+10%/+77,000).
• “World News Tonight” increased its lead over “NBC Nightly News” week to week in Total Viewers (+8% – 2.003 million vs. 1.854 million), Adults 25-54 (+28% – 50,000 vs. 39,000) and Adults 18-49 (+10% – 77,000 vs. 70,000) to deliver its largest advantages in 5 weeks — since w/o 1/26/26.
• For the second week in a row, “World News Tonight” increased its Total Viewer margin over “NBC Nightly News” year to year (+32% – 2.003 million vs. 1.513 million) by double digits.
• “World News Tonight” turned in gains on the previous week in Total Viewers (+3%/+259,000 – 8.901 million vs. 8.642 million), Adults 25-54 (+7%/+76,000 – 1.104 million vs. 1.028 million) and Adults 18-49 (+8%/+59,000 – 818,000 vs. 759,000).

TV Ratings: NBC's TODAY Continues Winning Streak

The TV ratings for the broadcast morning shows (primarily NBC's Today, ABC's Good Morning America (GMA), and CBS Mornings) for the week of March 2, 2026 (covering roughly March 2–8, depending on exact Nielsen measurement periods, often Monday–Friday or adjusted for holidays/events) come from Nielsen's national live+same-day big data plus program ratings.

This was the week ending around March 8, 2026. Today extended its lead to a seventh consecutive weekly win in total viewers.

Key averages for the week of March 2, 2026:

• NBC's Today: 3,252,000 total viewers (the only show to grow week-to-week in total viewers; it created separation from GMA). In the key Adults 25-54 demo, it remained dominant (exact demo figure not detailed in all reports but consistently led prior weeks around 600k+).
• ABC's Good Morning America (GMA): 2,985,000 total viewers (down -5% week-to-week in total viewers and the demo; the only show with declines in both categories compared to the prior week of Feb 23). Year-over-year (vs. same week in 2025), it was up +9% in total viewers and +4% in the demo.
• CBS Mornings: 1,775,000 total viewers (flat or minor changes from prior week; consistently trailed far behind in third place). It often saw year-over-year declines in prior periods.

TV Primetime Ratings: Mondays Are Strong For CBS-TV

The primetime TV ratings for the week of March 2, 2026 (typically covering Monday, March 2 through Sunday, March 8, based on Nielsen's standard weekly measurement periods) reflect a mix of broadcast network programming and strong cable performances, particularly in news and entertainment. Data comes from sources like The TV Ratings Guide, ustvdb.com, Nielsen Top 10 aggregates, and Adweek TVNewser.

Broadcast networks saw typical midseason competition with procedurals, reality shows, and dramas leading. 

Key highlights from daily breakdowns (e.g., 18-49 demo ratings and total viewers where available):

• CBS often performed strongly on Mondays with The Neighborhood hitting a season high (0.42 in 18-49, ~4 million viewers) and shows like Marshals and Tracker ranking among the week's top overall programs in total viewers (e.g., Marshals at ~9.5 million in recent aggregates).
• ABC had solid showings from American Idol (0.42 on Monday, ~5.2 million viewers) and crossovers like 9-1-1 and 9-1-1: Nashville boosting Thursday numbers.
• NBC had declines in some slots (e.g., The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins at 0.28 on Monday, down sharply).
• Other networks like Fox saw gains in unscripted/reality (e.g., Next Level Chef, Animal Control), while The CW trailed with lower-rated shows.

For overall weekly top programs (Nielsen Big Data + Panel, Persons 2+ total viewers, cross-platform including broadcast/cable/syndication/live streaming), recent snapshots (e.g., week ending around March 1-8) showed CBS's Marshals leading at ~9.5 million, followed by ABC's World News Tonight episodes in the 8.6-9.4 million range, and Fox News specials/events like State of the Union coverage at ~8.9 million.