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Volume 22, Issue 105, Jim Carnegie, Editor & Publisher

Friday Morning May 27th, 2005

Holiday Schedule

RBR returns Tuesday, May 31st, following the Memorial Day Weekend. There will also be no MediaMix this afternoon. However, the RBR/TVBR newsroom and offices will be open all day today as our staff stays on top of the information you'll need to do business next week.

Radio News®

SBS goes bilingual in LA; Emmis heads to court
KXOL-FM Los Angeles, formerly "El Sol," has relaunched as "Latino 96.3" - - targeting 18-34 year old Hispanics with a mix of Reggaeton and Hip-Hop. Former air staffers have been pink-slipped and the search is on for new DJs. But the move has Emmis up in arms. It leases tower space to SBS for KXOL and says the new format violates the provision that SBS can't compete with an Emmis station in LA. Look for court action to follow. As for the new format, SBS says Reggaeton is an upbeat music genre with roots originating almost 20 years ago in Panama and Puerto Rico and is now "becoming the hottest new musical trend among Spanish-speaking audiences throughout the world." SBS LA VP/GM David Haymore says Latino 96.3 will benefit from SBS' radio presence in Puerto Rico, which includes an intimate relationship with core Reggaeton and Latin Hip Hop artists through its recently launched "Reggaeton 94" FM network on the island. SBS radio stations WSKQ-FM in New York and WXDJ-FM in Miami also feature a regular staple of Reggaeton acts. ""It's exciting to target the Hispanic youth of Los Angeles, which also happens to be a majority of this market's radio listeners. It's about time the country's number one radio market has a station that features this unique mix of music for these listeners," said Haymore.

RBR observation: What's the legal beef? Earlier this month the local web blog LARadio reported that SBS had shelved plans to go bilingual and youth oriented because Emmis had invoked a clause of its lease that let it veto any format on KXOL that would compete with KPWR-FM, which goes after the young demos and has a 40% Hispanic audience. Now, though, SBS has apparently decided to go ahead anyway and let the lawyers fight over whether the new format competes with KPWR. Emmis says it does: "In Los Angeles, Emmis has leased tower space to SBS under the stipulation that any format change cannot conflict directly with an Emmis station. It is our position that SBS's actions have violated this condition of the agreement. Emmis intends to take appropriate action to enforce this provision of the lease," the company said last night in a statement sent to RBR.

On 12/31/08, kiss analog TV good-bye
The House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet entertained a panel of no less than 11 witnesses as it discussed the Staff Discussion Draft of the DTV Transition Act of 2005. At this point, nothing is set in stone, much less ink. But we will say that in the packed room on the 3rd Floor of the Rayburn House Office Building, there did not seem to be a single person who objected to setting 12/31/08 as the last day for analog TV broadcast. House Energy and Commerce Chairman Joe Barton (R-TX) said he had been persuaded to abandon his preferred 12/31/06 by, among others, subcom Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI). "This date certain will not become a date uncertain," said Barton. "I would say that this date is probably frozen." He noted that cordial negotiations with Democrats had failed to yield agreement on several issues. The current bill - - as yet unnumbered - - is a starting point to initiate public discussion, with much still on the table. Telecom Ranking Member Ed Markey (D-MA) laid out the areas of agreement and disagreement. He said that everyone was on the same page on the deadline and the need for consumer education about the upcoming changes. However, he said five elements were absent from the draft: (1) public interest requirements for broadcasters; (2) multicast must-carry provisions; (3) codification of down-converting back to analog at cable headends; (4) addressing competition and consolidation issues; and (5) taking care of consumers left behind after the transition. We'll have much more on this in days to come.

Sinclair won't drop
"Nightline" death list this time
Unlike last year, when Sinclair Broadcast Group refused to let its eight ABC affiliates air Ted Koppel's reading of the names of US soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan on ABC's "Nightline" (5/3/04 TVBR #86), Sinclair is giving Koppel a thumbs up for another reading of more than 900 names this Monday (5/30). What's changed, according to Sinclair, is the timing. The company had accused Koppel of advancing an anti-war political agenda last year, but it says it is appropriate now to honor fallen service members on Memorial Day. "Sinclair Broadcast Group applauds Nightline for paying tribute to those service men and women killed in Iraq and Afghanistan by reading their names on Memorial Day, a day set aside to honor our fallen heroes. Unlike Nightline's reading of the names last year, which coincided with the start of the May ratings sweeps, we feel that this year's Memorial Day selection is the appropriate setting to remember those who have sacrificed their lives to keep all Americans safe and free. We thank our U.S. service men and women for their infinite courage and perseverance in the constant face of danger," the company said in a statement.

Downconverter subsidies is the sore thumb
When it comes to the DTV conversion, the biggest sticking point between the Democrats and Republicans is over the issue of subsidizing consumers who are neither subscribers to cable nor satellite, and who have only analog equipment. Democrats noted that conservative estimates peg the government's take from an auction of spectrum returned by broadcasters 12/31/08 will be 10B. Other estimates put that total much nearer 28B-30B. The number most frequently used as a total of households receiving over-the-air service only is 20M. Rick Boucher (D-VA) noted that if the government bought a total of 73M owners of analog-only TVs a 50 dollar converter box, that would total 3.7B. "Don't anger millions of American needlessly," he said. "Don't be stingy." Numerous Republicans said they were open for discussing subsidies, but wanted them to be limited and means-tested. Democrats charged that the entire DTV bill package was being driven by the Republicans not so much for the purpose of drafting effective telecommunications policy, but rather to get the auction under way in order to help reduce the overall US budget deficit. In fact, many predicted a consumer revolt when screens suddenly go blank. "If the bill passed on Tuesday, we'd all be impeached on Wednesday," said one Democratic congressman.

Hollander on the hot seat
Bear Stearns analyst Victor Miller will get to grill Infinity CEO Joel Hollander in the featured "One-On-One Leadership Dialog" as the morning kick off of Interep's second annual Radio Symposium set for June 16th in New York. There should be a lot to talk about. Since taking over at Infinity, Hollander has restored promotion budgets which had all but disappeared at Infinity's stations. He's also been talking about selling stations outside the top 20 markets, although that now seems to be on hold. Hollander can also talk about the network radio business, since his previous job was as CEO of Westwood One.

Adbiz©

ABC just about done with upfront deals
ABC is reportedly nearly finished with upfront wheeling and dealing, and is expected to finish by COB today. Strong shows like "Desperate Housewives," "Lost" and "Grey's Anatomy" helped the net dramatically this time around. ABC was able to secure CPM increases of 4% to 6%. Meanwhile, most of the other big four are still in the talking stages with media agencies.

Anonymous on the upfront...
Here's an in-depth look at the current state of the 2005-2006 upfront from a major seller in the marketplace, who wishes to remain anonymous: "Right now there are very preliminary kinds of conversation. Everyone is saying, sit tight. We'll call them and ask if anything is going on...anything happening, can we do anything? No, just sit tight, we're trying to get our budgets, etc. I think they all want to know what the networks are doing because the networks are obviously sending a signal that they're going to be very accommodating this year. So if that's still the linchpin, and regardless of what everyone says in the trades, it is the linchpin of your national buy as far as television is concerned, you've got to do that first. So everything else is being held back. Yes, we are having some substantial conversations with a couple of people, but I don't know if any of it will pan out. As soon as the networks and the agencies get their deals moving, then the rest of the marketplace will move." | More... |

Coke to give Fresca new look
Coca-Cola said Wednesday it plans a makeover for its Fresca diet soft drink in the latest move to win over increasingly health-conscious, calorie-phobic consumers. Beginning in September, cans and bottles of the citrus-flavored drink will feature a new, more contemporary logo and graphics. It is the first makeover Fresca's green and yellow packaging has had since 1996. Two new flavors - - Sparkling Peach Citrus Fresca and Sparkling Black Cherry Fresca - - will also hit grocery store shelves as part of the brand's revamp, says Reuters. The original Fresca's flavor will remain the same. The move to update the 39-year-old Fresca brand comes as Coke is rolling out a number of new diet drinks. Fresca's relaunch will be accompanied by a campaign developed by Campbell Mithun Minneapolis. The effort will emphasize the drink's sophistication, and tag, Fresca is "ideal for moments of perfectly relaxed pleasure."

Media Markets & MoneyTM

Davidson finds another big market
Davidson Media Group is continuing to build its fleet of stations, usually small stations in big places. This time, according to Jay Handy of Star Media Group, its rescuing a pair of AM stations from a noncommercial owner in Minneapolis-St. Paul. For 5.2M, Peter Davidson's group is getting KLBB-AM and KLBP-AM from Minnesota Public Radio. Davidson started out with stations in the Carolinas and has been expanding rapidly ever since in a geographically diverse fashion. One of his most recent moves was to pick up a pair of AM stations in the Nashville market (5/3/05 RBR #87).

Washington Beat

Uncaptioned tornado advice: 8K a pop
A Washington DC-area thunderstorm/tornado watch emergency which occurred almost exactly a year ago has left in its wake 40K in fines to local TV stations. ABC Channel 7 WJLA-TV, NBC Channel 4 WRC-TV and Channel 5 Fox WTTG-TV each took hits for their ongoing weather team coverage. The fines were for failure to issue emergency warnings in a manner accessible to the hearing-impaired, essentially via close captioning. Each took an 8K hit for each instance in warned parts of its audience in certain locations to get away from windows and to take cover in basements or interior rooms. In all five instances, close captioning was not included during the warning. WJLA took one FCC fine strike, when Doug Hill warned viewers in the Leesburg-Lucketts VA area to go into hiding at about 6:50. At WRC, Bob Ryan warned southern Prince Georges County MD between 8:42-8:49, and then all viewers at 9:02, without the benefit of accompanying text, resulting in a total strike of 16K. WTTG' Gwen Tolbart warned Frederick and Hagerstown MD at 6:20 and Lovettsville, Leesburg and Lucketts VA at 6:45 without text support, also garnering a double hit of 16K. All three actions are notices of apparent liability and may be appealed.

International

UK's OFCOM unveils relaxed broadcasting code
UK radio and TV regulator OFCOM has unveiled a new, relaxed broadcasting code which will allow almost anything on the air after 9PM, but broadcasters in return must take all reasonable steps to protect children from programming that could "seriously impair their moral development," more specifically defined as verbal and physical violence, use of drugs, smoking, and sexual behavior, restricted before 9PM. The new code takes effect July. Hard-core porn rated R18 movies will be completely banned from transmission, even with the present pay-per-view system. Rules preventing product placement may be relaxed as well. OFCOM said that it was retaining the existing rules banning product placement but acknowledged "the pressure on traditional broadcast advertising as a key source of funding". It added that it would look again at the issue later this year in a wide-ranging review of the TV ad market.

Transactions

2,515,781 KNTK-FM Weed CA, KSYC-FM Yreka CA, KTDE-FM Gualala CA, KMFB-FM Mendocino CA. 29.3% of Four Rivers Broadcasting Inc. from John Power (19.1% to 0%), Randy Butchard (5.6% to 0%), Allan Williams (4.6% to 0%) to Gibbs Holdings LLC (John Gibbs). 375K cash, 2,140,781 note. Transfer in stock done in part to free company of excessive alien ownership. [File date 4/25/05.]

0 KNFA-FM CP Grand Island NE from Educational Opportunities Inc. (Shan Easterling) to American Family Association (Donald E. Wildmon). Donation. CP is for Class A on 90.7 mHz with 250 w @ 161'. [File date 4/27/05.]

Stock Talk

GDP numbers boost stocks
Stock traders cheered as the government reported that the economy grew at an annual rate of 3.5% in Q1, rather than the 3.1% rate estimated a month ago. The Dow Industrials gained 80 points, or 0.8%, to finish at 10,538.

Radio stocks went along for the ride. The Radio Index rose 2.036, or 1%, to 202.862. Saga had the best day, up 3.1%. Salem gained 2.5%.

Radio Stocks

**Here's how stocks fared on Thursday**
Company	Symbol	Close		Change	Company	Symbol	Close		Change
Arbitron	ARB		40.84	+0.19	Jeff-Pilot	JP		50.34	+0.86
Beasley	BBGI		16.38	+0.04	Journal Comm.	JRN		16.69	+0.16
Citadel	CDL		12.00	-0.09	Radio One, Cl. A	ROIA		12.55	+0.06
Clear Channel	CCU		30.14	-0.06	Radio One, Cl. D	ROIAK		12.50	+0.01
Cox Radio	CXR		16.12	+0.04	Regent	RGCI		5.96	+0.05
Cumulus	CMLS		12.57	+0.17	Saga Commun.	SGA		14.11	+0.42
Disney	DIS		27.80	+0.15	Salem Comm.	SALM		18.42	+0.44
Emmis	EMMS		17.96	+0.18	Sirius Sat. Radio	SIRI		5.79	+0.15
Entercom	ETM		32.90	+0.33	Spanish Bcg.	SBSA		8.38	+0.16
Entravision	EVC		7.63	+0.10	Univision	UVN		26.64	+0.13
Fisher	FSCI		50.26	-0.11	Viacom, Cl. A	VIA		35.34	+0.11
Gaylord	GET		42.03	+0.59	Viacom, Cl. B	VIAb		35.20	+0.10
Hearst-Argyle	HTV		24.99	+0.05	Westwood One	WON		19.96	+0.13
Interep	IREP		0.47	+0.02	XM Sat. Radio	XMSR		31.64	+0.77
International Bcg.	IBCS		0.01	unch	-	-	-	-	-

Bounceback

Send Us Your Opinions We want to
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This is your column, so send your comments to [email protected]

On whether to air radio shows that are also on XM or Sirius.

If the shoe was on the other foot, would we wear it? Imagine that satellite radio had enough penetration to create a nationwide sensation on the realm of Sean Hannity... | More |

Brian Schimmel
General Manager
Mississippi River Radio Marion/Carbondale

Arbitrends

Upped & Tapped

Dymond jumps
to Radio One
Radio One announced that it has hired Nancy Dymond as Director of Sales for its Detroit cluster - - WDTJ-FM, WCHB-AM and WDMK-FM. She had been GM of the cumulus cluster in Flint, MI.

Buckley ups Tom Ray
Buckley Broadcasting president Richard Buckley announced that Tom Ray, CPBE, Corporate DOE, has been named VP/Corporate Director of Engineering of Buckley Broadcasting. The announcement comes near the end of a massive project to move the WOR-AM NY, studio and office complex on Broadway to a new, digital, state-of-the-art facility in the Wall Street area.

'KTU gets Liquid
Liquid Todd that is. The award winning DJ, programmer and producer has joined Clear Channel's WKTU-FM New York to host "Altered State featuring Liquid Todd" 1-3 am as part of the station's "Friday Night Dance Factory."

Malone promoted
at GE lending unit
GE Commercial Finance has named Robert Malone a Vice President, focusing on the media sector. Since joining the company in 2001, Malone has underwritten transactions in the radio, outdoor, publishing and technology sectors.

More News Headlines

"Inside Golf on ESPN Radio" launching 6/11
ESPN Radio announced the creation of a new show, "Inside Golf on ESPN Radio" - that will tee-off 6/11 and continue to air Saturday's in the 7-9 a.m. ET time slot. It will be co-hosted by Hank Haney, the legendary Dean of Instruction for ESPN Golf Schools and the expert to whom Tiger Woods recently turned when he decided he needed to change his swing, Stevin Gribin, host of Sunday Tee Time on ESPN Radio 103.3 FM in Dallas, and Golfweek magazine lead columnist Jeff Rude.

RIAA issues more infringement suits
The RIAA today announced another dose of copyright infringement lawsuits against illegal file-swappers utilizing the university computer network "Internet2." The RIAA added 20 new schools to the list of those with students targeted previously. From those 20 schools, a total of 91 individual students have been hit with suits.

RBR Radar 2005

Radio News you won't read any where else. RBR--First, Accurate, and Independently Owned.

Stern will have fewer commercials
Zen Master Mel Karmazin says fewer commercials than the 20 minutes per hour that his show currently carries on Infinity. any other big personalities going to be signed by Sirius? Don Imus? "He's very greedy," Karmazin said, suggesting that he'd like to have the "I-Man," but doubted that the math would work. RBR observation: Speaking of math, what was Mel smoking before he suggested that satellite radio could reach 300 million subscribers? What a salesman. But at some point satellite radio is going to have to prove to Wall Street that it can turn a profit. Sirius claims it can go cash flow positive in 2007. But rival XM has to meet its own cash flow positive commitment this year. We remain skeptical that either company will ever reach that point. It's a good thing Mel already has that waterfront house in Naples, Florida.
05/26/05 RBR #104

Andy Donchin on the upfront
Carat Americas Director of Broadcast Buying - still in the talking phase right now and thinks it will be heating up soon. Any programs out there getting your attention? "No. I'm still definitely a believer in broadcast television, but support cable in a big way, and syndication. There's really not to say right now, as I said, we're still feeling each other out and talking-kicking the tires.
TVBR observation: We told ya - no big rush and business will be under the microscope so best get your business plans in order now if you want to compete in 2006. Radio & Television Business Report's June issue has a close-up view. If you didn't sign in you won't get it. 05/26/05 TVBR #104

GSM Opportunity with Emmis
Legendary KSHE-95 St Louis needs a strong GSM with minimum 5 years battle experience and NTR skills a plus. Generous benefits and compensation await. Are you ready for this challenge!

General Manager
On the NJ Shore with at least five years suburban market and cluster exp. Strong sales but programming and engineering knowledge a plus. Excellent benefits including 401(k).

Broker Opportunity
Established in 1979, conducted over 1 billion in transactions seeking just one exec that desires to learn and become a player in the investment media station brokerage business. First quality in our firm is integrity.

Sales Position
We're expanding our sales force to spread the word about MusicMaster for Windows music scheduling software. Self-starters that can build relationships apply and grow. Must be able to travel but no relocation required.

See Radio Careers

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