Good Morning to Thursday: Here's The Pulse For July 23

Radio Broadcasting

Houston Sports On FM: Beginning August 13, Audacy's “95.7 The Spot” will discontinue its Adult Hits music format and begin simulcasting KILT-AM by rebranding as “95.7 The Fan,” building on the brand first used by WFAN in New York and later used in Minneapolis-St. Paul and other markets, the most recent addition being Los Angeles.

Trail Blazers Make Cuts: The Portland Trail Blazers are undergoing major cuts to their broadcasting operations as new owner Tom Dundon seeks greater efficiency, resulting in the departure of several longtime on-air talents and reductions in production.

Relax Radio Caps: Connoisseur Media and Beasley Media Group are urging the FCC to eliminate or significantly relax local radio ownership limits, arguing that rules adopted nearly 30 years ago no longer reflect today's competitive media landscape and are putting the radio industry at a growing disadvantage.

Media Industry

Revenue Growth: Alphabet Inc. posted 24% year-over-year revenue growth in the second quarter, driven by its surging cloud business, yet investor concerns over escalating artificial intelligence infrastructure costs tempered the reaction.

FNC Wins Primetime: FOX News Channel concluded the week of July 13th with 2.9 million weekday primetime viewers and 293,000 viewers in the 25-54 demo, dominating NBC (2.5 million viewers), ABC (2.4 million viewers) and CBS (2.1 million viewers) according to Nielsen

Record-Low Ratings: CBSThis Morning averaged just under 1.6 million total viewers — the first time the show has ever fallen below that benchmark — and only 220,000 adults ages 25-54.Despite operating with a significantly smaller distribution footprint, FOX & Friends continues to close the gap on its broadcast network rival in the competitive morning television battle.

U-S News

Russia Meddles: Iranian drone attacks on CIA facilities in the Gulf have prompted U.S. intelligence analysts to investigate whether Russia assisted by providing targeting information or ​advanced drone technology, said four people familiar with U.S. intelligence.

War Funding: House Republicans on Wednesday won narrow approval of their $95 billion budget plan to fund the war with Iran and impose new election restrictions President Trump has demanded, muscling through dissent in their ranks to send the measure to a skeptical Senate.

Red Sox Snap Win Streak: The Red Sox fell to the Orioles, 5-1, in the second game of a Wednesday doubleheader, snapping their win streak at 15 and costing them a chance to set a franchise record of 16 straight.