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Welcome to RBR's Daily Epaper
Volume 23, Issue 106, Jim Carnegie, Editor & Publisher
Wednesday Morning May 31st, 2006

Radio News ®

Mel puts his money
where his mouth is

RBR may have expressed doubts yesterday about whether Sirius Satellite Radio can meet its promise to Wall Street to be cash flow positive by year end (5/30/06 RBR #105), but CEO Mel Karmazin is a confident man. In a filing with the SEC, Karmazin reported that he bought a million more shares of Sirius stock yesterday for 4.468 million bucks. That brings his total share ownership to 6.5 million shares, not to mention another 2,578 in his company 401(k) plan. Clearly, the CEO is putting his own money on the line to prove that he can make satellite radio succeed.

RBR observation: We would not be so bold as to suggest that Mel decided to buy yesterday because of our story. Rather, he was likely prohibited from making any insider transaction while negotiating the settlement of the lawsuit that CBS Corporation brought against Sirius over Howard Stern. That litigation was settled last week, with Sirius paying two million to CBS for the rights to Stern's old terrestrial radio shows, likely freeing Mel to unleash his pent-up desire to buy more stock.

Journal settles lawsuit; takes charge
Journal Communications says it will record a 5.1 million bucks reduction in revenues for Q2 for advertising credits to settle a lawsuit over circulation numbers for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The company says it expects to recoup some of the loss from its insurer. While the settlement will affect the bottom line at Journal, the company said it stands by its guidance for Q2 operating results - revenues of 196-201 million and 14-16 million in net earnings. To settle the litigation, which had been filed as a class action lawsuit by Shorewest Realtors, Journal will provide credits to run-of-press advertisers of the Milwaukee newspaper. Also included in the 5.1 million is a voluntary offer by the company to preprint advertisers of credits toward 2007 advertising related to changes that were made to the newspaper's paid net circulation numbers for 2003 and 2004. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is the only daily newspaper owned by Journal Communications. It also owns some 90 community newspapers and shoppers, 37 radio stations and nine TV stations, plus two others that it operates.

Spitzer closes in on
Democratic gubernatorial nod

New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer is expected to have the backing of the Democratic Party in his run for governor, and he's expected to win that effort, according to the Associated Press. That would end 12 years of Republican residence as the state's top executive, all belonging to the resume of George Pataki. Spitzer has gotten national headlines in his campaign against payola, getting large settlements from record companies and putting a great deal of heat on several large radio groups.

RBR observation: If the broadcasting and recording industries had final say, Spitzer would have trouble getting himself elected dogcatcher. On the plus side, if elected he will have to start worrying about budgets, taxes, education and other issues. On the minus side, if his ink helps drive his campaign all the way to the governor's mansion, he may be the kind of example to other AGs that we don't really need.


Tribune launches share buyback; may sell TV stations
Tribune Company announced a Dutch auction to buy back up to 53 million shares in a range of 28.00-32.50 (above Friday's close of 27.89) from the public and 10 million from the foundations that are its largest shareholders. CEO Dennis FitzSimons says Tribune will also cut expenses some 200 million (including some staff cuts) and sell up to 500 million in non-core assets, possibly including some broadcast stations. But if you guessed that Tribune's selling might include its lone radio station WGN-AM Chicago, you guessed wrong. FitzSimons says nothing in the top three markets - New York, Los Angeles and Chicago - is for sale. He specifically said the Chicago Cubs baseball team is not for sale, since it is so important to the company's radio and TV stations in Chicago. So, what is for sale? In a conference call with Wall Street analysts, FitzSimons acknowledged that Tribune might consider selling its stake in the Food Network, although he praised partner Scripps for its management of the venture and said growth at the cable net is so good that it is more valuable to keep the cash flow than to sell at prices that have so far been discussed. In answer to an analyst's question, FitzSimons said Tribune will consider selling some assets that are EBITDA generating. "For example, certain television stations that are non-core to our program buying strategy are something that we would consider [selling]," the CEO said. He did not identify any specific markets.

Here is how the Dutch auction will work. The tender offer that began yesterday is scheduled to expire June 26th. Tribune will buy shares at the lowest tender price within the 28.00-32.50 range that will allow it to buy 53 million shares. All tendering shareholders will receive the same price, even if they offered to sell at a lower price. Tribune will also buy 10 million shares from the McCormick Tribune Foundation and the Cantigny Foundation at the same price paid in the Dutch auction. The foundations, which periodically sell shares to fund their philanthropy, will continue to be major Tribune shareholders. What about the Chandler family, which holds a big stake from merging Times Mirror into Tribune? FitzSimons said the Chandlers are still considering whether to tender any shares, but he noted that Tribune management will not tender any shares - preferring to bank on future growth. Even after the tender, Tribune won't be through buying back its own stock. The company says it may buy back up to an additional 12 million shares through open market purchases. All in all, it looks like Tribune may end up spending about 2.2 billion to buy back 75 million shares of its stock.

Westwood outsources 24/7 formats
Westwood One announced a multi-year management agreement to have Excelsior Radio Networks take over the day-to-day operations of the WW1 24/7 music formats. Excelsior, though its Dial Communications - Global Media unit, will take over affiliate sales and programming as of August 1st and all operations, including ad sales, as of January 1st, 2007. "This partnership will enable Westwood One to focus on its other programming and new media initiatives, while benefiting economically from this platform. We will work hard over the coming weeks and months to ensure a seamless transition for our affiliates, advertisers, and employees," said WW1 CEO Peter Kosann. For Excelsior, it is an opportunity to further expand its business beyond Dial-Global's three RADAR-rated networks and CEO Spencer Brown says to expect new format introductions. As it stands today, the WW1 operation has eight 24/7 music formats.


Wall Street Media Business Report TM
Tribune settles with SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday concluded its investigation into inflated newspaper circulation figures by charging Tribune Company with reporting falsified circulation figures from at least January 2002 to March 2004 for two of its newspapers in New York - Newsday and the Spanish-language Hoy. The SEC issued an order finding that Tribune failed to uncover Newsday and Hoy's inflated circulation figures because it lacked sufficient internal controls to detect the schemes at those papers. In a separate proceeding, nine former employees and contractors of Newsday and Hoy pleaded guilty to various criminal charges in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York in connection with the same scheme. In settling the matter, Tribune noted that it had changed circulation management at the papers and received no penalty other than a cease and desist order. "We launched an extensive internal investigation immediately after allegations of circulation improprieties were made regarding Newsday and Hoy. We gave the SEC and other federal, state and local authorities our full cooperation and began communicating with our advertisers from the outset. We're happy the SEC's findings are consistent with our own investigation results and that we have closed this matter," said Tribune CEO Dennis FitzSimons.


Ad Business Report TM

Chrysler Media Day
(from March's RBR/TVBR Solutions Magazine)
Chrysler Media Day, held annually in the Detroit area, is attended by just about every radio, television and cable network and rep firm, magazine, internet and newspaper conglomerate in the biz. Here we ask Christine McKenzie, Chrysler Group Executive Director of Brand Events and Agency Relations, what it's all about:
| Read More... |

Katz Radio Group signs with
HipCricket for sales partnership

Katz Radio Group has signed with HipCricket to provide wireless marketing expertise and solutions for its client radio stations that includes the ability to deliver electronic media to mobile phone audiences. Said KRG President, Steve Shaw: "We can now enable our radio clients to become fully interactive with listeners while advertisers will benefit from a new media channel for marketing and cross channel promotion. HipCricket's expertise as a leading wireless marketing provider coupled with their knowledge of the radio industry made them the best choice for us."


Media Business Report TM
Small market TV peels Pittsburgh
Monongalia County WV is between the Clarksburg-Weston WV DMA, where Withers Broadcasting Company's CBS WDTV-TV makes its home (it is licensed to Weston), and Pittsburgh, home of CBS O&O KDKA-TV. Although Nielsen counts the county in the latter market, Withers has successfully petitioned the FCC to redefine it as part of WDTV territory. Withers had a number of arguments which swayed the Commission over the objections of KDKA and another station which filed in opposition. First, it has traditionally been carried on cable systems in the county, going back to 1965 in its key municipality of Morgantown. It argued that it's physically closer to the market than are any Pittsburgh stations. Further, WDTV employs a news reporter to the Monongalia County beat, actively sells advertising to businesses there, provides programming of interest to its residents (more so than any Pittsburgh stations), and draws ratings from its residents. KDKA admitted it was more distant, but argued that Nielsen counted the county as part of Pittsburgh with good reason and that it outdraws WDTV in terms of viewers. The FCC found that Withers made sound arguments, and though KDKA's claim to higher ratings was true, the ratings were nevertheless in the same ballpark.

RBR observation: As we understand it, this ruling does not constitute a territory grab for the entire Clarksburg-Weston market, but rather a special market definition for WDTV alone. As for KDKA, it told the FCC that it feared another CBS affiliate being home to the market since cable operators would be required to carry duplicative programming, and if it opts to take one only, WDTV would win on grounds of proximity. It looks like KDKA is now exposed to that possibility. We do not see cases like this every day, but it begs the question, will the FCC be open to challenges of Arbitron market definitions? We have seen one case of this in Vermont, where the FCC allowed new rules to be bent a little bit because Arbitron did a major bit of redefining in that state and neighboring areas of New York and New Hampshire just about the time that the market-based local cap rules replaced the old contour method. Bottom line: If you have a gripe, air it. You do have a chance to prevail if you can make a good enough case.


Media Markets & Money TM
MacDonald builds Michigan group
MacDonald Broadcasting was already in a pair of Michigan markets, with holdings in Saginaw and Lansing. That will not change, but it has a deal in the latter that will upgrade the Lansing cluster from a combo to a double duopoly. The stations, coming from Mid Michigan FM Inc. for 3.65M, are WXLA-AM and WQHH-FM. They will pair up in Lansing with WILS-AM/WHZZ-FM. The cluster in Saginaw also has four stations, but three are FM, making it a superduopoly.

Close encounter in Kentucky
Broker Ed Henson tells us the keys have been exchanged at WVLC-FM in Mannsville KY. Shoreline Communications acquired the station from MegRae Broadcasting for 1.1M. The buyer already owns WHVE-FM Russell Springs in the area.


Washington Media Business Report TM
NAB welcomes fifth commissioner
In Washington, an appointment and confirmation nearly always signals the onset of a letterfest. Everyone on all points of the political and ideological spectrum puts finger to keyboard to offer their heartfelt congratulations to the newly anointed, if only to keep their own name before the public. Brand new FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell is no exception. However, it can be said without fear of contradiction that the National Association of Broadcasters has some fish to fry over at the FCC, and would dearly love to see some action on the matters of broadcast/newspaper cross-ownership and reasonably useful television duopoly rules in struggling smaller markets. Those issues were going nowhere with a two-two stand-off on the 8th Floor. The gift of a tie-breaking vote for Chairman Kevin Martin opens the possibility of movement on these tough issues, so no doubt the sincerity of the following statement from NAB President/CEO David Rehr is unimpeachable. "NAB congratulates Robert McDowell upon his confirmation as the fifth FCC Commissioner. His background and extensive knowledge of communications issues will serve Mr. McDowell well in his new position. NAB looks forward to working with him, Chairman Martin and the other commissioners as the FCC addresses broadcast related issues pending at the Commission."


Entertainment Media Business Report TM
Whoopi Goldberg to take
'KTU morning drive?

That's what we're hearing, and WKTU-FM New York GM Rob Williams would neither confirm nor deny. Premiere Radio Networks' new AM drive syndication deal with Whoopi launches "Wake Up With Whoopi" nationally 7/31. A Premiere spokesperson wouldn't confirm but said an announcement is coming Thursday. "Baltazar & Goumba Johnny" are the current 'KTU morning drivers. We had heard even though Whoopi is aimed at AC formats, it isn't looking like CC Radio's AC WLTW-FM morning driver Bill Buchner will be ousted.

TRN launches "Science Fantastic"
TRN Entertainment announced the launch of Science Fantastic with Dr. Michio Kaku. Dr. Kaku is one of the world's leading experts in theoretical physics, and according to New York Magazine, one of the "100 Smartest People in New York." On Science Fantastic, which debuted last month, Dr. Kaku discusses today's hottest and most relevant scientific/cultural topics covering everything from time travel, reversing the aging process, the future of medicine and biotechnology, to hip, provocative discussions on the science behind love, philosophy, and the future of the human race. Science Fantastic airs Saturdays 2:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m. PT. and 5:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m. ET, and Sundays 6:00-9:00 p.m. PT and 9:00 p.m.-12:00 p.m. ET.


Internet Media Business Report TM
MySpace creates campaign for ''An Inconvenient Truth''
MySpace.com, the leading Internet lifestyle portal, announced it has joined forces with Al Gore to create an "unprecedented" campaign for the global warming documentary, "An Inconvenient Truth." The campaign launched yesterday and runs for the next several weeks. The campaign includes a custom-designed community to raise awareness and facilitate conversation about global warming. Among other features, the community's home page offers a personal environmental impact calculator so every user can assess his/her individual contribution to global warming. The site also provides facts about global warming and useful tips for reducing carbon emissions and living a green lifestyle. MySpace's Music channel will feature an Artist on Artist interview between Gore and a world-renowned musician who is part of the MySpace community. The MySpace Movies channel will spotlight an interview with the film's director, Davis Guggenheim. MySpace is also contributing ad space to raise awareness about the threats posed by global warming. The campaign will also move beyond MySpace's online network, culminating in a 10-city MySpace theater buyout on 6/16 with free tickets going to members of "An Inconvenient Truth's" MySpace community.

Baskin-Robbins invites America
to "Find the Pink Spoon"

Baskin-Robbins has launched "Find the Pink Spoon," an online game and nationwide mobile tour that incorporates the company's iconic pink spoon in a fun and interactive way. The online game encourages consumers to search for hidden pink spoons that can be found by answering a variety of trivia questions. The "Road Trip" hits the highway taking the adventure offline and bringing a mobile tour across the country visiting various cities and towns throughout June and July. The online game is the first of its kind to combine a trivia game with the latest in interactive mapping technology. The game kicked off yesterday and encourages players to answer trivia questions that lead to a Baskin-Robbins pink spoon, hidden in a secret location within the US on a map powered by Yahoo! Maps. The game provides a chance to win 13 grand prizes, worth more than 100,000. Hitting the road 6/8 in San Francisco, the mobile tour will make stops in Sacramento, Los Angeles, San Diego, Phoenix, Washington, D.C., and New York before concluding in Chicago on 7/17.


Ratings & Research
DMA unveils "Reaching the US Hispanic Market"
The Direct Marketing Association (DMA) released market research on Hispanic consumers' attitudes and purchasing habits via direct marketing channels. "Reaching The US Hispanic Market: Consumer Attitudes and Buying Behavior Report" demonstrates the many positive aspects about Hispanic consumers' experiences with buying direct. A nationwide sample of Hispanics, in which 10,000 records were used, was the basis for the study. Quotas were set for 70% of respondents to be direct response buyers and/or donors and 30% non-buyers. 1,116 respondents (788 direct buyers/donors and 328 non-buyers) completed interviews for the analysis. Of those 788 individuals who made purchases from mail, catalog, online, telephone, or DRTV offers or who made donations, 36% purchased through more than one channel.
| See highlights here |


Transactions
3.5M KTHS AM & FM Berryville AR from KTHS/KSCC Inc. (James T. Earls) to Carroll County Broadcasting Inc. (Jay W. Bunyard,. Theresa S. Bunyard). 50K escrow, balance in cash at closing. [File date 5/8/06.]

70K WPEB-FM Philadelphia PA from West Philadelphia Educational Broadcasting Foundation (Atikah Hashim Bey) to Scribe Video Center Inc. (Louis J. Massiah). 5K deposit, 35K escrow, 30K note. [File date 5/5/06.]


Stock Talk
Stocks take a tumble
Oil prices moved up and Wal-Mart issued a weak sales report, raising worries about the retail sector. In other words, Tuesday was not a happy day on Wall Street. The Dow Industrials fell 184 points, or 1.6%, to 11,094.

Radio stocks were no exception. The Radio Index plunged 2.890, or 1.8%, to 154.744. Every terrestrial radio stock was down. Saga had the worst day, off 3.8%.

The story was quite different for satellite radio, where Sirius gained 5% on word that CEO Mel Karmazin had bought a million shares for his personal account. XM was down, but only 0.5%.


Radio Stocks

Here's how stocks fared on Tuesday

Company Symbol Close Change Company Symbol Close Change

Arbitron

ARB

39.42

-0.73

Hearst-Argyle

HTV

22.04

-0.44

Beasley

BBGI

7.10

-0.13

Journal Comm.

JRN

11.75

-0.06

CBS CI. B CBS

25.51

-0.69

Lincoln Natl.

LNC

55.58

-0.93

CBS CI. A CBSa

25.55

-0.62

Radio One, Cl. A

ROIA

7.59

-0.20

Citadel CDL
9.65 -0.14

Radio One, Cl. D

ROIAK

7.58

-0.23

Clear Channel

CCU

30.74

-0.26

Regent

RGCI

4.13

-0.09

Cox Radio

CXR

14.29

-0.12

Saga Commun.

SGA

9.25

-0.36

Cumulus

CMLS

11.65

-0.16

Salem Comm.

SALM

14.21

-0.20

Disney

DIS

30.20

-0.31

Sirius Sat. Radio

SIRI

4.39

+0.21

Emmis

EMMS

15.98

-0.17

Spanish Bcg.

SBSA

5.43

-0.13

Entercom

ETM

26.83

-0.77

Univision

UVN

35.66

-0.43

Entravision

EVC

7.76

-0.15

Westwood One

WON

8.09

-0.15

Fisher

FSCI

42.60

-0.40

XM Sat. Radio

XMSR

14.24

-0.07

Gaylord

GET

43.56

-0.38

-

-

-

-

-


Bounceback

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hear from you.

This is your column, so send your comments and
a photo to [email protected]




Below the Fold

Ad Business Report
Chrysler Media Day
Christine McKenzie
discusses the day...

Media Markets & Money
MacDonald builds Michigan group
Already in a pair in Saginaw & Lansing latter will upgrade...

Internet Media Business Report
MySpace creates campaign
For ''An Inconvenient Truth'' joined forces with Al Gore...

Ratings & Research
Hispanic consumers' attitudes
DMA unveils "Reaching the US Hispanic Market"...




Arbitrends

Arbitron
Market Results
| Cincinnati |
| Dayton |
| Phoenix |
| St. Louis |
| Tucson |

NBA Minute


Stations for Sale

Full Class B in Philadelphia
$95M. Contact Todd Fowler ([email protected]) or Ed
Seeger ([email protected])
843-972-2200.

For Sale - Metro Rank #31
Salt Lake City
50KW AM, New RF Equipment
The EXLINE Company
415-479-3484
[email protected]


Radio Media Moves

Kato returns to ABC
ABC Radio Networks announced that Christopher "Kato" Watson will return to ABC Radio Networks as Senior Producer of ePrep Services after a three-year-hiatus that took him to the syndicated "Rocky Allen Show" as head writer. As Senior Producer, Watson will compile and supervise topical content for ABC Radio Networks ePrep subscription service, which is distributed to hundreds of morning radio shows across the country.

Vibes Media
taps Steve Levy

Vibes Media, a provider of interactive text message and mobile content marketing programs, announced that radio veteran Steve Levy has joined the company as Senior Account Director for its iRadio Mobile Messaging Platform. He joins Vibes after more than five years as both Assistant Program Director and Marketing Director at ABC Radio's Chicago FMs.


More News Headlines

Clear Channel siblings separate in Cincinnati
It is quite common for radio and TV stations in the same market to partner up for news, weather and promotions - and also common for the partnerships to change. But what is unusual in Cincinnati is that WLW-AM is ditching WKRC-TV (Ch. 12, CBS), although both are owned by Clear Channel, to team up with Hearst-Argyle's WLWT-TV (Ch. 5, NBC). As the call letters indicate, the two were commonly owned many years ago. According to the Cincinnati Enquirer, management of WKRC wasn't told in advance and was stunned by the announcement of the partnership change, which will take effect August 1st. WKRC will continue to be affiliated with the other seven Clear Channel radio stations in the Cincinnati market.


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RBR Radar 2006
Radio News you won't read any where else. RBR--First, Accurate, and Independently Owned.

Will the satellite guys keep their promise to Wall Street?
The Holy Grail for proving that satellite radio is a viable business is for one or both of the companies to start producing positive cash flow. Neither achieved that when they hit the four million subscriber mark, which had long been pitched to Wall Street as the magic number for hitting cash flow break even. Having missed the original target, both XM and Sirius have told investors that they expect to turn cash flow positive by the end of 2006. Are they moving closer to that goal? RBR has been crunching the numbers from their Q1 results to find out - view
05/30/06 RBR #105

Media Business Analysis
TV is cyclical - get used to it

BIA Financial Network (BIAfn) Mark Fratrik, VP and Chief Economist, is predicting that US television stations will take in 22.2 billion in revenues this year, up more than 7% from 2005. However, the bulk of that 1.5 billion gain from last year's 20.7 billion is going to come from political spending, continuing the two-year pattern that has become increasingly apparent in recent years. Back in the 1980s and '90s, growth in other major ad categories, led by automotive,..

RBR observation: What does all this mean for radio stations? Do not count on trickle down rate pressure, even in political years. Demand for TV ad time from major non-political categories, including auto, is not strong enough to fill the inventory gap in odd years and likely will not be strong enough to have a major impact on radio inventory demand in even years. Sure, there will be some spill-over as accounts squeezed out of TV by political ads turn to radio. But they can also look to the Internet and other options, so radio should not expect a windfall.
05/30/06 RBR #105

VNU buyer wants bonds too
Now that Valcon, created by a consortium of equity funds, has won the right to buy out shareholders of VNU for 9.7 billion bucks it is offering to buy out most bondholders as well. The soon-to-be owner of Nielsen Media Research, Billboard magazine and other VNU properties is making a tender offer for nearly 1.3 billion bucks of VNU's public debt. To facilitate the bond buyback, VNU has called a series of meetings for June 19th and 20th for holders to vote on approving the redemption of some or all of the bonds at 100% of their face value, plus accrued and unpaid interest.

RBR observation: We wait now for the bigger moves. Who will be the new CEO, as VNU gets a new name and moves its incorporation from The Netherlands to the US? What role will Nielsen Media Research President and CEO Susan Whiting play? RBR hears that Whiting's star is on the rise as she was the guiding light through this storm. Bottom line: When the CEO is appointed that will give some idea on the focus of the company.
05/30/06 RBR #105


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