With Dems In Control, Media Execs Expect Added Scrutiny

With Democrats set to control both the House and the Senate, major media executives including David Ellison and Lachlan Murdoch are likely to face congressional inquiries and possible hearings focused on their business deals and relationships with Donald Trump.

The shift in congressional power is expected to bring closer scrutiny of prominent media moguls whose companies have pursued significant transactions in recent years. Ellison, Murdoch, and other industry figures are among those anticipated to draw attention over the nature of those deals and the extent of any ties to Trump. Lawmakers could use their majority status to examine whether political connections influenced regulatory approvals, financing, or other aspects of the transactions.

Congress may not be able to block any deals they don’t like, but they can inflict pain through investigations and forced disclosures. And attention all CEOs: If Democrats in power get their wish, you should be prepared to testify.

A source working for one Democratic senator told The Hollywood Reporter that members of Congress in both houses are eager to haul executives in to ask about their deals and any rumored quid pro quos, with Skydance’s mega-deal for WBD and the ongoing Fox-Roku deal drawing particular scrutiny, as is the TikTok U.S. sale to Oracle, Silver Lake, and MGX.

Also of interest are the deals big tech companies like Google, Meta, OpenAI and SpaceX have with the government for data centers, AI, and other services, and, yes, perhaps Amazon’s deal for the Melania Trump documentary, which its chairman Jeff Bezos framed as a “very wise business decision.”

Skydance’s move to raise cash from Middle East sovereign wealth funds and others like SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk is also of interest.

Such oversight would mark a change from the current environment, where investigations into media consolidation and executive relationships have been more limited. Inquiries could involve requests for documents, testimony, or public hearings, though the precise scope and timeline remain unclear. The focus is expected to center on deals involving major media properties and the role, if any, that relationships with the Trump administration or campaign played in those arrangements.

TV Ratings: NBC News Wins Elex Night Coverage

NBC News is #1 across the board on TV, dominating all broadcast and cable networks during last night’s midterm election coverage from 8-11 p.m. ET, according to Nielsen preliminary fast national data. Additionally, NBC News’ “Kornacki Cam” ranked as the #1 election livestream on YouTube last night, with a record 29 million views across all platforms.

Anchored by Savannah Guthrie, Tom Llamas, Kristen Welker and Hallie Jackson, NBC News’ special coverage averaged more than 6.5 million total viewers, ranking #1 in total viewers for midterm election coverage for the first time in 24 years. NBC News led ABC by double-digit margins across all key demos and by more than 1.6 million total viewers (+33%).

Graphic Courtesy of RoadMN

NBC News averaged 2.5 million A25-54 viewers, exceeding the combined A25-54 audiences of ABC and CBS. This marked the first time NBC News ranked #1 in the key demo for midterm election coverage in 16 years.

The network also outpaced the competition in A18-49, averaging 2.3 million viewers in the demo. NBC News tripled MSNBC’s audience in the demo and nearly doubled CNN’s.

FOX News Media’s (FNM) midterm election primetime coverage (8-11 PM/ET) led cable news and bested CBS News, according to early data from Nielsen Media Research. Co-anchored by Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum, FNC’s special election coverage FOX News Democracy 26, which was simulcast on FOX Business Network, averaged 4.4 million viewers and 877,000 in the 25-54 demographic, beating MSNOW with A25-54. 

FNC delivered over 4 million viewers during primetime (8-11 PM/ET), with its coverage peaking in the 9 PM/ET hour averaging over 4.3 million viewers. During total day, FNC also outpaced CNN, averaging 1,825,000 viewers and 299,000 in the younger 25-54 demographic leading CNN (1,554,000 viewers).

FOX News Digital drove double-digit increases across the board with page views, media initiates, unique devices and total minutes spent compared to 2026 throughout Election Day. According to Emplifi and Comscore Social, FOX News saw 3.3 million social media interactions across Facebook, X, Instagram and TikTok, while according to Emplifi, FOX News secured 15.4 million YouTube video views.

NBC 'Kornacki Cam' Brings in Record 29M Views For Livestream

NBC News’ “Kornacki Cam” ranked as the #1 election livestream on YouTube last night, with a record 29 million views across all platforms.

Featuring 10.5 hours of nonstop coverage, the unfiltered, behind-the-scenes livestream gave viewers a continuous look at Steve Kornacki as he tracked and analyzed election results throughout the night. For the first time ever, Kornacki was able to simultaneously appear in NBC News’ special election broadcast coverage and his dedicated “Kornacki Cam” livestream, all from the same physical set at NBC News’ state-of-the-art election headquarters at 30 Rockefeller Plaza.

On YouTube alone, the livestream reached 6.1 million views and had twice as many live viewers compared to all key broadcast and cable competitors with over 300,000 peak concurrents between 8:30-11:30 p.m. ET. This follows a highly-watched primary cycle, with the “Kornacki Cam” generating more than 41 million livestream starts across 22 nights of primary coverage this election cycle.

Additionally, NBCNews.com recorded its second-highest number of page views ever, up +247% compared to the 2022 midterms and trailing only the 2024 presidential election. NBCNews.com also marked its fifth-highest number of unique viewers of all time, up 141% vs. the 2022 midterms.

Kornacki left NBC News’ midterm election coverage early Wednesday, more than 10 hours into a planned 13-hour livestream. At about 3:26 a.m. local time, he told viewers he needed a five-minute break and would return.

The longtime election analyst made the announcement during both NBC’s television coverage and his concurrent “Kornacki Cam” livestream.

Weekly Ratings: FNC Post 25-54 Demo Growth

FOX News Channel (FNC) finished the week of October 26th with 1.9 million weekday primetime viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research Big Data + Panel. In Monday – Sunday primetime, FNC nabbed over 1.6 million viewers and 154,000 viewers in the 25-54 demo, notably, posting a ten percent week-to-week growth in the demo. In Monday – Sunday total day, FNC delivered nearly 1.1 million viewers.

Graphic Courtesy of RoadMN

The Five was the number one show in cable news with total viewers, notching over 2.7 million viewers. At 6 PM/ET, Special Report with Bret Baier garnered 2.1 million viewers and at 7 PM/ET, The Ingraham Angle landed 1.9 million viewers. In the 8 PM/ET hour, Jesse Watters Primetime claimed more than 2.1 million viewers and during the 9 PM/ET hour, Hannity saw nearly 1.8 million viewers.

Graphic Courtesy of RoadMN

FNC’s Gutfeld! (10-11 PM/ET) continued to nab late-night wins, averaging 1.9 million viewers, and outperforming NBC’s The Tonight Show (1.2 million viewers), the airings of CBS’ Comics Unleashed (864,000 viewers), NBC’s Late Night with Seth Meyers (849,000 viewers), HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher (494,000 viewers), Comedy Central’s The Daily Show (488,000) and Bravo’s Watch What Happens Live (192,000).

Hearing Date Set For FCC Nominee Danielle Thumann

The Senate Commerce Committee will hold a Nov. 10 hearing on President Donald Trump’s nomination of Republican Danielle Thumann Severs to the Federal Communications Commission. The hearing is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. EST in Room SR-253 and will be livestreamed. Three other nominations will also be considered.

Thumann Severs, a former legal adviser to then-Commissioner Brendan Carr, was nominated in August. If confirmed, she would become the FCC’s fourth commissioner, giving Republicans a 3–1 majority.

The committee’s announcement, made Tuesday, follows a request from House Democrats last week urging Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) to pair Thumann Severs’ hearing with consideration of Gomez’s renomination. Committee Chairman Ted Cruz (R-Texas) did not include Gomez in the announcement.

The FCC has lacked a full complement of commissioners since Jan. 19, 2025. Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel resigned the next day, and Democratic Commissioner Geoffrey Starks and Republican Commissioner Nathan Simington left in June.

Most Podcasts Can't Make Meaningful Revenue Via Ads

Most podcasts cannot generate meaningful revenue from advertising. Ad rates are modest, and the download numbers required for even modest payouts remain out of reach for the overwhelming majority of shows.

Podcast ads are typically sold on a CPM basis (cost per mille, or cost per 1,000 downloads or impressions). Programmatic and dynamically inserted ads generally range from $5 to $18 CPM. These are pre-recorded or automated spots that platforms insert into episodes after the fact, rather than ads read live by the host. As a result, they function more like digital display ads or radio banner spots: they lack the personal endorsement and listener trust that host-read ads provide.

A concrete example illustrates the limited earnings. A podcast that reaches 10,000 downloads per episode and sells an ad at a $10 CPM earns only $100 for that slot. Multiple ad slots per episode can increase the total, but the revenue remains constrained by the modest CPM rates and the absence of premium host-read pricing.

Reaching even that 10,000-download threshold is exceptionally rare. According to Acast, a podcast hosting and monetization platform, fewer than 1% of all podcasts achieve 10,000 downloads per episode. Podcast download distributions are highly skewed: a small number of celebrity-driven or network-backed shows capture the bulk of listening, while the vast majority of independent podcasts remain far below the levels needed for ad revenue to become a viable income source.

Spotify To Allow AI-Powered Remixing...For A Price

Spotify plans to launch an AI-powered remixing service for subscribers in early 2027, allowing users to create new versions of songs with a single click.

The music-streaming platform is developing tools that would let paying users generate remixes and covers directly inside the app, according to a report from The Financial Times. Examples include converting a folk song into a dance track or making it appear as though one artist is covering another’s music. The service is expected to carry an additional cost beyond a standard Spotify subscription.

This approach would remove most of the technical barriers that once defined remixing. Until recently, creating a remix typically required specialized software and at least moderate skill in beat-matching, arrangement, and audio editing. Standalone AI tools such as Suno and Udio have already lowered that threshold by letting users generate music with relatively little technical knowledge, though those platforms have faced legal challenges over training data and copyright and now restrict heavier use to paid tiers.

By integrating similar capabilities into its own platform, Spotify aims to make the process even more seamless for its existing subscriber base, embedding remixing alongside the songs listeners already stream rather than requiring them to switch to a separate service.

Radio History: Nov 5

Dale Evans and Roy Rogers

➦In 1911...Roy Rogers was born Leonard Franklin Slye (Died of heart failure at age 86 - July 6, 1998). Known as the "King of the Cowboys", he appeared in over 100 films and numerous radio and television episodes of The Roy Rogers Show. In many of his films and television episodes, he appeared with his wife, Dale Evans; his golden palomino, Trigger; and his German shepherd, Bullet. His show was broadcast on radio for nine years and then on television from 1951 through 1957. His productions usually featured a sidekick, often Pat Brady, Andy Devine, George "Gabby" Hayes, or Smiley Burnette. In his later years, Rogers lent his name to the franchise chain of Roy Rogers Restaurants.

➦In 1946...This ad appeared in the NY Times...

➦In 1948...Jack Sterling started at WCBS 880 AM.

The "Jack Sterling Show," aired Monday to Friday from 1948 to 1966, was noted for its relaxed chatter, joking, storytelling, interviews, features on news and sports and tips on fishing sites.  For seven of those years Sterling hosted a TV Show in Philadelphia in a bid to launch a television career.

No Sign Of Viewer Fatigue At MS NOW

MS NOW’s audience appears to be growing as Fox News’ ratings decline, according to Versant Media CEO Mark Lazarus, who told investors Tuesday that his network is seeing no signs of “viewer fatigue.”

“Some of the viewership is leaving other places and trying us,” Lazarus said, adding that audiences are spending more time with MS NOW because they see value in its coverage. He also described the network’s upcoming Election Day coverage as “the Super Bowl for the news organization” and said he expects its audience to keep growing.

Mark Lazarus

Variety reports the comments followed Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan Murdoch’s remarks Monday that Fox News viewers were experiencing fatigue, contributing to lower ratings in the third quarter and October. 

Murdoch said he did not believe those viewers were switching to other news channels; instead, they were watching slightly less television. 

He cited unusually strong audience interest in major stories over the past year, which made year-over-year comparisons harder, and said Fox News executives had a “playbook” for navigating the trend.

Big Night for Democrats

Democrats won control of the U.S. Senate and appeared poised to take the House of Representatives in a sweeping midterm-election victory, according to projections. The results marked a sharp rebuke of President Trump, whose policies and endorsement of Republican candidates shaped many of the races.

Democrats flipped Senate seats in Republican strongholds including Texas, South Carolina, Ohio, Iowa and Kansas, where the party won for the first time in more than 90 years. In Texas, state legislator James Talarico defeated Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton, despite Paxton’s endorsement from Trump. Democrats also captured the Texas governor’s race for the first time in more than 30 years.

The party made gains in the House as well, including in Kentucky, and had more than a 95 percent chance of winning a healthy majority, according to projections.

Trump: Fox News at Fault

Donald Trump blamed Fox News for Republicans’ sweeping midterm losses, saying the network “bears responsibility” for the “Blue Tsunami” after projections showed Democrats taking control of both chambers of Congress.

In a Truth Social post, Trump accused Fox News of “constantly and consistently putting on the Dumocrat opposition, and worse.” His comments came hours after he criticized the network’s election-night coverage and a Fox News poll, calling its questions “a hit job.”

Fred Jacobs to Become Chairman of Jacobs Media

Jacobs Media founder and President Fred Jacobs will step down as President at the end of 2026. His brother, Paul Jacobs, will succeed him. Fred will become Chairman and remain involved in select areas of the business.

“I’ve been thinking about this for a couple of years now, and I’m ready for a change,” said Fred Jacobs. “I appreciate all the opportunities I’ve had over the years, and the people, organizations, and companies we’ve worked for and collaborated with. From the early days of the company and the birth of the Classic Rock format to our focus on technology in the 2000s, it’s been quite a journey.”

Fred Jacobs

Jacobs Media to Focus on Strategy and Digital Revenue

“The core of the company will remain intact, but true to the Jacobs Media tradition, we’ll be making some changes to ensure we’re aligned with client and industry needs,” said Paul Jacobs. “Director of Digital Revenue Chris Brunt and Bill Jacobs will remain in their roles, and we’re still working through some additional changes. Our primary focus will be helping clients with their overall strategies, including digital transformation and building profitable digital revenue programs. That’s what broadcasters need in 2026 and beyond, and that’s where we’ll focus.”

Jacobs Media will continue its Techsurveys for commercial, public, and Christian music radio, with Fred participating in the design and implementation of those studies. Registration for Techsurvey 2027, conducted in collaboration with Inside Radio, opens this week. The study will field in January and February 2027 and will be the company’s 22nd survey of commercial radio listeners.

TV Ratings: K-C Loss Draws 28.18M Viewers To CBS Sports

CBS Sports’ broadcast of the Kansas City Chiefs’ 28-24 loss to the Denver Broncos averaged 28.18 million viewers, narrowly missing the most-watched game of the 2026 NFL season, the network said.

The Sunday afternoon game was just below the 28.5 million viewers who watched the Chiefs’ Week 4 game against the Raiders, which remains the season’s audience leader. The Chiefs-Broncos matchup was the most-watched Week 8 game on record for CBS.

Denver’s victory in the AFC West matchup came down to the final moments. The game also benefited from a strong lead-in from earlier Sunday broadcasts, including Ravens-Bills, and aired in the late-afternoon national window after the switch to standard time.

CBS Sports is averaging 19.56 million viewers this season, up 5% from the same point last year. Its 4:25 p.m. Eastern Sunday national window is averaging 25.3 million viewers, the most for any U.S. television program, the network said. CBS has aired the season’s two most-watched games and three of the top five.

Through Week 7, NFL games across domestic rights holders averaged 18.4 million viewers, the league’s highest figure at that point in a season since 2015. Updated numbers including Week 8 are expected Thursday.

Townsquare Media Reports Higher Q3 Revenue

Townsquare Media Inc. said Wednesday that third-quarter net revenue rose 3.9% to $110.9 million, beating its guidance, while the company suspended its quarterly dividend to conserve cash.

Adjusted EBITDA increased 2.7% to $22.6 million, within guidance. The net loss narrowed by $1.5 million to $4.0 million, or 23 cents per diluted share. Excluding political advertising, net revenue rose 1.4% and adjusted EBITDA fell 7.9%.

Chief Executive Bill Wilson attributed the results primarily to growth in the company’s digital advertising business and political advertising that is running ahead of expectations. Digital advertising net revenue climbed 12.7%, the third consecutive quarter of acceleration, led by a 22.5% increase in programmatic revenue.

NYTimes Reaches 13.8M Digital-Only Subscribers

The New York Times Company added 420,000 digital-only subscribers in the third quarter, bringing its total paid subscriber base to 13.8 million and keeping it on pace toward its goal of 15 million subscribers by the end of 2027.

The company, which includes The Times’s news products, Wirecutter, Cooking, Games and The Athletic, added about 1.46 million digital-only subscribers over the past 12 months. That followed a slower second quarter, when it added 280,000.

Third-quarter revenue rose 9.7 percent from a year earlier to $768.5 million. Adjusted operating profit increased to $149.6 million from $131.4 million.

Digital-only subscription revenue climbed 14.6 percent to $421.3 million. Average revenue per digital-only subscriber was $9.93, slightly higher than a year earlier. Digital advertising revenue rose 12 percent to $109.9 million, while affiliate, licensing and other revenue increased 6.2 percent to $78.4 million.

Print subscriptions continued to decline: The Times had 540,000 print subscribers at the end of the quarter, down from 570,000 a year earlier.

Adjusted operating costs rose 8.7 percent year over year to $618.9 million, in line with the company’s forecast of an 8 to 9 percent increase. The company attributed the rise to higher compensation and benefits, general and administrative expenses, and marketing and promotion costs.

Chief Executive Meredith Kopit Levien said subscriber growth was driven by strong engagement and retention. She said the company also increased profit while continuing to invest in areas such as video.

TV Rating WNBA Game 7 Hits 3.3M Viewers

The WNBA Finals’ first Game 7 drew 3.3 million viewers, making it the most-watched playoff game in league history and the second-most-watched WNBA game since the league’s 1997 opening weekend, Sports Media Watch reported Tuesday.

The Valkyries defeated the Dream to win their first championship, in only their second season. The game aired on USA, CNBC and Peacock on Saturday, Halloween. The audience figure is based on Nielsen Big Data + Panel numbers and digital data from Adobe Analytics.

If the figure holds, it would be the most-watched WNBA regular-season or postseason game since the league’s inaugural season. Before this century, only three WNBA games drew more than 3 million viewers, according to Sports Media Watch.

A Fever-Sky regular-season game in August drew 3.31 million viewers on NBC, the first regular-season game to surpass 3 million since 2000. The 2024 All-Star Game drew 3.4 million viewers, but was an exhibition.

With the current Game 7 figure, the seven-game Finals averaged 1.89 million viewers, surpassing the previous record of 1.5 million set by the five-game Liberty-Lynx series in 2024.

Versant Reports Revenue Slippage

Versant Media reported third-quarter adjusted EBITDA of $353 million, above Wall Street’s $305 million estimate, and earnings of 34 cents per share, compared with analysts’ expectation of 5 cents. Revenue was $1.59 billion, beating the $1.57 billion estimate. The company reaffirmed its full-year 2026 revenue and adjusted EBITDA outlook and said free cash flow is now expected to exceed its previous forecast range.

Revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 30 slipped to $1.59 billion from $1.66 billion a year earlier. Net income fell to $47 million, or 34 cents per share, from $80 million, or 56 cents per share.

Digital platform revenue, including Fandango, rose nearly 10% year over year to $245 million. Fandango’s ticketing revenue reached its highest level since the pandemic, the company said. 

Advertising revenue declined 5.3% to $373 million, primarily because the prior-year period benefited from the Ryder Cup.

Buffalo Radio: Nikki Preston Joins Mornings On 98.5 KISS-FM

Kiss 98.5 (WKSE-FM), an Audacy station in Buffalo, has added Nikki Preston as a co-host of its morning show. Preston joins Nicholas Picholas and Wease weekday mornings from 6:00 to 10:00 a.m. ET.

“We are excited to welcome Nikki Preston to Audacy Buffalo,” said Sue O’Neil, Regional Vice President, Audacy. “Her on-air, podcast experience makes her a strong addition to mornings. We look forward to teaming her up with Nicholas and Wease to wake up listeners every day.”

“I’m beyond excited to be returning to Western New York after more than a decade on-air in Southern California,” said Preston. “I can’t thank Sue O’Neil and the entire team enough for welcoming me back and allowing me to get behind the mic and do what I love, in a place that has always felt like home.”