 Are you reading this from a forwarded email?
New readers can receive our RBR Morning Epaper FREE for the next 60 Business days! SIGN UP HERE
|
|
|
|
|
Volume 22, Issue 127, Jim Carnegie, Editor & Publisher
|
Wednesday Morning June 29th, 2005
|
|
|
Radio News®
|
 Smulyan says Emmis outperformed
in radio and TV
Broadcasting is still a tough business, but  Jeff Smulyan told Wall Street analysts that he was proud to report that the Emmis radio and TV groups both outperformed their markets and peers in the company's fiscal Q1, which ended May 31st. The company slightly exceeded its guidance and The Street consensus with revenues of 161.8 million, up 6% from a year ago and up 3% on a pro forma basis. Radio revenues rose 13% to 75.1 million, up 7% pro forma. TV revenues declined 3% to 66.6 million, which still slightly exceeded the company's guidance against last year's numbers inflated by political spending. "We're not as bearish on some signs in the radio business as I've seen from the analysts out there. Our June has been very good," said Smulyan, adding that July "has been coming up a bit lately and we're a bit bullish on August." Emmis' guidance for its fiscal Q2 is that domestic radio revenues should be up 4% and TV down 2%, owing to the lack of last year's four million in political advertising. CFO Walter Berger reported that spot rates for Emmis Radio were up 14% in Q1 and sellout down 8%, a nine-quarter trend which he jokingly referred to as "our mini Less is More thesis."
How about an Emmis-ABC swap?
If you expected to find out a lot about how the effort to sell Emmis Television is going by listening to yesterday's conference call, you were no doubt disappointed. CEO Jeff Smulyan played his cards close to his vest on the TV sell-off. He did say that the sale process is moving forward and that he was "pleasantly surprised" by the number of potential bidders who had expressed interest. Smulyan also said that while Wall Street expects the group to sell for a billion bucks, he expects to do even better than that - - and he said Emmis can sell the stations either as a group or individually, so he won't know until the bids come in which way that will go.
One analyst did succeed in getting Smulyan to talk about one rumor that's being heard - - that Emmis could end up swapping its TV group for some of Disney's ABC Radio stations. Smulyan noted speculation about what an ideal match-up that would be and praised John Hare and the management team at ABC Radio, but also insisted that he doesn't yet know if incoming Disney CEO Bob Iger has decided to get out of radio.
RBR observation: Smulyan couldn't do a deal for all of ABC Radio because Emmis would end up way over-leveraged. ABC Radio is worth 2-3 times the value of the Emmis TV group. But a workable and intriguing scenario would be to swap Emmis TV for some of ABC's larger market FM's, particularly those which would add to Emmis' clusters in New York, LA and Chicago. Clear Channel would be the most likely buyer for ABC's big AMs (Infinity is full-up in the big three markets) and the other stations could be sold off market by market. But what about ABC Radio Networks? How about News Corp./Fox? Emmis TV has no markets in common with Disney/ABC, so the only sure spin-off would be one of the two stations in Honolulu - - but that's the case no matter who buys the group. ABC would also have to make a lot of affiliate swaps, since Emmis has only one ABC affiliate, KGUN-TV (Ch. 9) Tucson. And while we're sure ABC would love to have an O&O in Orlando covering Disney World/Epcot, we wonder whether they'd really be willing to dump Cox's WFTV-TV (Ch. 9) to have WKCF-TV (Ch. 18) as an O&O. The Emmis group would also take the ABC O&O group into much smaller markets, such as #137 Topeka, KS and #149 Terre Haute, IN. (News Corp./Fox would still have the smallest market network O&O, WOGX-TV in #162 Gainesville, FL.) It's an interesting scenario, but we'll likely hear many interesting rumors until deals are actually announced for Emmis Television, Susquehanna Radio and, if it actually is for sale, ABC Radio.
 News organizations esteemed, but less so
In general, Americans have a favorable opinion of major news sources, according to the latest Pew Research Center for the People & the Press study. 61% is part of a chart showing the extent of approval for five major news source categories, and the good news is that it is the lowest number on the chart. Even better for broadcasters is that it belongs to competitors in the newspaper business, while national broadcast news was nearly flat. Everybody was down, though, in the study which compared an opinion sample taken in 2001 to a new sample from this year. Daily newspapers went from 82% to 80%; local TV news from 83% to 79%; cable TV news from 83% to 79%; network TV news from 76% to 75%. The 61% was for major national papers, which suffered the biggest drop, all the way from 74%. Except for that last category, news orgs are held in higher esteem than parts of the government sampled. Over the same period, the Supreme Court went from 78% to 66%; Democrats from 63% to 57%; Congress from 65% to 54%; George W. Bush from 64% to 55%; and Republicans from 54% to 52%.
|
|
|
 State Supreme Court becoming hot ad cat
A watchdog called the Justice at Stake Campaign sounding the alarm about what it thinks is an alarming increase in money spent to elect state supreme court judges in states where such a thing is possible. 10M was spent in 2000, a total easily eclipsed in 2004, with 24.4M in campaign spending. Part of the reason is that in 2000, ads ran in only one state out of five possible. Four states featured campaigns waged in part over the airwaves. 9.3M was funding was raised in Illinois, 7.4M in Alabama, 6.3M in Ohio and 2.8M in West Virginia. Even though its spending was lowest, West Virginia received special attention for being the site of the most negative campaigning. Said JSC's Bert Brandenburg, "After the 2000 elections, we sounded the alarm: no state that elects its judges is safe from the corrosive effects of money, nasty TV ads and special interest arm twisting. If 2000 was a turning point, then 2004 was the tipping point, when the threat spread across the country. The fairness and impartiality of the courts that protect our rights is in jeopardy." JSC does its work in conjunction with the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law and the Institute for Money in State Politics.
SCOTUS sets the chattering class on fire
Whenever something big happens in the communications arena, you can be sure that an entire flock of flacks will be sending out pearls of wisdom from the halls of Congress, the bureaucracy, associations and watchdogs. And after Monday's Supreme Court triple play which featured two rulings - - Brand X, Grokster, and one decision not to decide - - confidential source shielding, the wires have been humming with commentary. TVBR will spool it out for you in relatively easy-to-digest pieces. Today: three FCC commissioners on Brand X, RTNDA on shield and, on Grokster, Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA) and the Christian Coalition of America. | Read their comments |
US wins 13 golds at Radio
 Programming and Promotions Awards
The US walked away with the majority of Gold World Medals Monday at New York Festivals' 23rd Annual International Radio Programming and Promotions Awards. Although it took only one of the four Grand Awards, which are awarded to the best of the best Gold World Medal winners. The UK won two Grand Awards and Canada won the fourth before an international audience of radio executives and talent from 32 countries from around the globe. One of the highlights of the evening at the China Club, where the ceremony took place, was when Al Franken (pictured, with WMAL-AM DC GM Chris Berry) spoke after he was honored with the IRPP's first "World Achievement Award for Breakthrough Radio" for his perspective and commentary on his daily Air America show. The Chairman of the International Board of Judges and Advisors for the IRPP event, Chris Berry, president and general manager of the ABC Radio's WMAL-AM DC, said, "The New York Festival's International Radio and Programming Awards is one of the oldest radio competitions and is very well respected internationally. We honor a very comprehensive list of categories and take pride in our rigorous judging process, which is excellence-driven rather than a popularity contest. What also makes this competition unique is that United States radio programming not only competes domestically, but with other countries." | More... |
|
|
|
|
| Conference Calls Q1 2005 |
Emmis by the numbers
How did Emmis do in its fiscal Q1? We've arranged the main figures in an easy-to-use chart. | View the chart |
|
|
|
|
|
Adbiz©
|
TNS: 2005 ad spend to increase 3.4%
 Advertising spend will reach 145.3 billion this year, according to a TNS Media Intelligence forecast. TNS predicts a 4.1% rise for the first half of 2005 and 2.7% for the second half. The majority of media would see growth, with cable TV and Hispanic media more at 11.6% and 10.5%, respectively. Internet will be up 7.6%; Magazines up 7.5% and outdoor 5.5%. Newspapers were expected to see 3.8% growth, syndication a 3.3% increase and network TV 1.1%. Three media were expected to see ad spend down this year, including radio, down 0.1%, B2B magazines down 0.9% and spot broadcast TV down 6.4%, due to the absence of local political elections this year and competition from spot cable.
| View the charts |
Diageo launches new effort
for Captain Morgan's Parrot Bay rum
Diageo launched a new campaign for Captain Morgan's Parrot Bay, its premium line of tropical flavored rums. The campaign, via Grey Worldwide, presents consumers with the contrast between the laid back lifestyle traditionally associated with rum and the energetic, fun lifestyle that complements Parrot Bay. Ads capture people in real-world situations being transported in a Parrot Bay bus that carries the tagline "The Parrot is Calling," also the name of the campaign. The spots begin airing this week on cable nets including A&E, Comedy Central, E! Style, FX, Fox Reality, TBS, TNT, TLC, Travel, USA, VH1 and VH1 Classic. This is the second season for Captain Morgan's Parrot Bay Rum TV effort and coincides with the recent launch of Diageo's new Parrot Bay Passion Fruit, which rounds out the additional offering of Pineapple, Mango and Coconut. A new print campaign is scheduled to break in August.
Physicians Committee for
Responsible Medicine sues dairy industry
In a class action lawsuit obtained Monday by The Associated Press, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine takes aim at industry-funded TV and print ads which claim that consuming 24 ounces of fat-free or low-fat dairy per day can help the body burn fat. The physicians committee, which advocates a vegan diet, asks a district court in Virginia to issue an injunction banning the ads. The filing claims that most scientific evidence shows people will either gain pounds or remain the same weight when increasing dairy consumption. Defendants in the case include is the International Dairy Foods Association, the National Dairy Council and Dairy Management, General Mills (which makes Yoplait yogurt), Kraft Foods, Dannon, Lifeway Foods and McNeil PPC. The claim made by the dairy industry is that studies show that people will lose weight by consuming three servings of dairy a day, if they are already eating a reduced-calorie diet. The physicians committee filing says the industry heavily relies on a U of Tennessee researcher, Michael Zemel. The suit argues his findings are suspect because he receives funding from the dairy industry.
 Ad Council presents Clear Bell Awards
The Ad Council presented its 2005 Clear Bell Awards for outstanding support for TV and Radio to New York, NY's WCBS-TV and WKTU-FM, to Buffalo's WUTV-TV and to Rochester's WROC-AM. The awards were presented at the New York State Broadcasters Annual Conference in Lake George. The Ad Council's Clear Bell Award is presented to those media outlets that exemplify extraordinary generosity and leadership in disseminating the org's PSAs. "We are proud to honor these stations with our Clear Bell Awards for their lasting dedication to public service," said Peggy Conlon, CEO of Ad Council. "The Clear Bell recognizes media outlets that continuously support the Ad Council's life-saving messages and spark social change. I strongly believe that these four stations have shown this lasting commitment."
|
|
|
|
| Media Business Report |
 Apple releases iTunes update
Apple Computer rolled out an update to its iTunes music software yesterday to handle podcasting. The software, designed for both Windows-based PCs and Apple's Macs, is available at http://www.apple.com/itunes/download. All podcasts on the iTunes Music Store are free. The software adds a "Podcasts" menu item on the left side of the iTunes software's screen. That leads to a directory of podcasts, which are audio files that can be downloaded for playback on PCs or iPods/MP3 players. Programs featured on the directory's welcome page include Adam Curry's Daily Source Code and Bravo's Queer Eye, as well as podcasts from ABC News, ESPN, Disney Online and KCRW.com. Ruth Seymour, KCRW GM, tells MBR the move has all but crashed their servers with demand: "It's going bonkers over here today. iTunes has just launched their podcast program service and we're a part of that. Our website is on the verge of crashing. We're working with the company that manages the site to try and stop it-the traffic is so enormous. We were at 100,000 downloads a week before today. Now I can't imagine what it will be this week!"
MBR observation: Remember, so far no licensing deals have yet been struck with radio stations to podcast their music shows. Negotiations continue with ASCAP, BMI and SESAC. When that gets done someday, it should be interesting the effect it may have on the industry. Also remember, when WiFi/WiMax expand and in general the Internet becomes completely mobile, podcasting and satellite will take a major hit-people will be able to go direct to the source and access shows from archives. And who will pay 10 bucks a month for satellite when they will have thousands of streaming stations and formats to choose from via a true wireless internet package? Be sure to see our Podcasting story in Radio and Television Business Report's August print edition.
|
|
|
|
|
Radio & Television Business Report
|
 Need to target key industry media ad agencies and the influential?
Our monthly Solutions print/digital Magazine attracts over 15,000 readers each issue. Our 7:30am delivery of our Morning RBR Epaper and TVBR Epaper is now the standard for quality news, analysis, and unbiased observations. Use RBR/TVBR as the vehicle to reach the decision makers and players in your industry.
Reserve your Ad Marketing Space today. Advertising space is limited, contact:
June Barnes [email protected] -- or -- Jim Carnegie [email protected]
|
|
|
| Media Markets & MoneyTM |
One off the Parkersburg lot for CCU
It's time for Clear Channel to say, "Good night, Elizabeth." Elizabeth WV is the city of license for WRZZ-FM, a station that is leaving one Parkersburg WV-Marietta OH superduopoly and going to another, owned in part by the Donald Alt/Kerby Confer family of licensees. The station is Classic Rock WRZZ-FM. It's going to Burbach of DE LLC, owned by Nicholas A. Galli, the Judith M. Confer Irrevocable Trust (Kerby Confer, trustee) and the Judy Slicho Alt Irrevocable Trust (Donald J. Alt, trustee). The deal is valued at 750K. The station leaves Clear Channel with two AMs and four FMs in the market (WHNK-AM, WLTP-AM, WDMX-FM, WNUS-FM, WRVB-FM & WVVV-FM) and ups Burbach to that same configurations (joining WADC-AM, WVNT-AM, WGGE-FM, WHBR-FM & WXIL-FM).
RBR observation: We don't know if this is a sign of further activity for Clear Channel in the market, but the cluster was grandfathered at one over the legal limit of FMs. If CCU has any plans to spin completely out of the market, it has to make the cluster compliant with the new Arbitron/geographical market definitions in order to sell it intact. Also of note - - in this deal, Galli and Alt/Confer are partners. In recent dealings in the State College and Johnstown areas of Pennsylvania, they've been on opposite sides of the dealing table.
|
|
|
|
| Washington Beat |
FEC takes a soft position
Candidates and holders of federal office, including both the White House and both houses of Congress, are allowed to attend and speak at party functions which aim to raise soft donations. Interpretation of a law banning such individuals from raising soft money was the catalyst for the ruling, which had been sent back to the Federal Elections Commission for better justification or a rewrite. According to the Associated Press, the FEC did not think it was the intention of Congress to bar candidates from such functions as part of its general prohibition on raising soft money.
|
|
|
|
| Ratings & Research |
Nielsen claims progress on task force recommendations
Remember the report issued by the Independent Task Force on Television Measurement back in March? Three months later, Nielsen says it's making progress on the recommendations from the group that had been assembled to evaluate how Nielsen measures minority audiences. And the Chair of that task force, retired Rep. Cardiss Collins (D-IL), agrees. "Nielsen has done a commendable job at moving forward with many of our recommendations," she said in a statement distributed by Nielsen. | More... |
|
|
|
|
| TVBR - TV News |
 The "i" has it at Paxson
Goodbye Pax. As of July 1st, Paxson Communications will re-brand its TV network as "i" - - reflecting its new programming strategy of providing "an independent broadcast platform for producers and syndicators who desire to reach a national audience." This should come as no surprise to TVBR readers. Since April we've been writing that this was what was coming at Paxson (4/11/05 TVBR #71), even as stories appeared elsewhere insisting that the company had no alternative but to go all-infomercial. That was denied by Paxson President Dean Goodman (4/25/05 TVBR #81), but the misinformed stories continued to abound as NBC Universal filed an arbitration claiming that Paxson's coming programming changes breeched its contract with NBC Uni (5/16/05 TVBR #96). So, what's "i" going to be? "The change in brand names reflects our strategy to operate our primary network as independent television by offering a mix of original series, movies, specials, sports and news that appeals to a variety of interests. Supported by our broad distribution platform, we want to evolve our primary network as a strongly branded television destination for all viewers and for producers and syndicators seeking a national venue for their programs," said Goodman. And don't look for "i" to be quite as tame as Pax. "Viewers will begin to see programming changes as we sign on new shows, however, we do not intend to open the floodgates to programs featuring serious violence or sexual themes. We remain sensitive to content and will be prudent in scheduling programs based on the appropriate viewing hours," a Paxson spokeswoman told TVBR. After the transition to "i" is complete, Paxson, which is currently digital multicasting on 45 of its 60 stations, will continue to air family-friendly programming under its Pax TV brand on one of its digital channels over the air and in select cable homes.
TVBR observation: The concept is a lot like a time-brokered radio station, except Paxson is doing it on a national basis. Producers who want to get their programming out on a national platform can buy their way onto "i" and sell their own ads. It's not been confirmed by Goodman, but what we've heard is that both all-cash and cash/barter deals will be considered. Meanwhile, "i" can fill any open holes in its schedule by rerunning programming from the Paxson library - - but the company won't be buying any new programming on its own - - and Paxson is maintaining a national sales staff to sell its own inventory of commercial time. Meanwhile, infomercials in non primetime periods will continue to bring in revenues, but there won't be any more of them than before.
|
|
|
|
| Transactions |
60K KBMK-FM CP Bismarck ND from Broadcasting for the Challenged (George S. Flinn Jr.) to Educational Media Foundation (Richard Jenkins). Cash at closing. [File date 5/25/05.]
40K KDRE-FM CP San Angelo TX from Broadcasting for the Challenged (George S. Flinn Jr.) to Educational Media Foundation (Richard Jenkins). Cash at closing. [File date 5/25/05.]
40K KRSR-FM CP Roswell NM from Broadcasting for the Challenged (George S. Flinn Jr.) to Educational Media Foundation (Richard Jenkins). Cash at closing. [File date 5/25/05.]
40K KKCC-FM CP Clovis NM from Broadcasting for the Challenged (George S. Flinn Jr.) to Educational Media Foundation (Richard Jenkins). Cash at closing. [File date 5/25/05.]
30K WDRS-FM CP Dorsey IL from Broadcasting for the Challenged (George S. Flinn Jr.) to Educational Media Foundation (Richard Jenkins). Cash at closing. [File date 5/25/05.]
20K KNNU-FM CP Newton IA from Broadcasting for the Challenged (George S. Flinn Jr.) to Educational Media Foundation (Richard Jenkins). Cash at closing. [File date 5/25/05.]
17K KDRE-FM CP Sterling CO from Broadcasting for the Challenged (George S. Flinn Jr.) to Educational Media Foundation (Richard Jenkins). Cash at closing. [File date 5/25/05.] |
|
|
|
| Stock Talk |
Oil down, stocks up
We're back to the familiar pattern - - whatever direction oil prices move, stock prices move the opposite direction. And yesterday oil prices were lower. Also, stocks got a boost from the Conference Board's upbeat report on consumer confidence. The Dow Industrials rose 115 points, or 1.1%, to 10,406.
Radio stocks also gained. The Radio Index gained 3.417, or 1.7%, to 206.239. Spanish Broadcasting System led the way, up 4.8%. Saga gained 3.1%. Emmis, which reported quarterly earnings, edged up 0.4%.
|
|
|
|
| Radio Stocks |
Here's how stocks fared on Tuesday
| Company |
Symbol |
Close |
Change |
Company |
Symbol |
Close |
Change |
|
Arbitron
|
ARB
|
|
42.58
|
+0.53
|
Jeff-Pilot
|
JP
|
|
51.22
|
+0.52
|
|
Beasley
|
BBGI
|
|
14.58
|
-0.02
|
Journal Comm.
|
JRN
|
|
16.80
|
+0.24
|
| Citadel |
CDL |
|
12.10 |
+0.09 |
Radio One, Cl. A
|
ROIA
|
|
13.32
|
+0.25
|
|
Clear Channel
|
CCU
|
|
30.91
|
-0.08
|
Radio One, Cl. D
|
ROIAK
|
|
13.33
|
+0.25
|
|
Cox Radio
|
CXR
|
|
15.76
|
+0.39
|
Regent
|
RGCI
|
|
6.05
|
+0.15
|
|
Cumulus
|
CMLS
|
|
12.27
|
+0.32
|
Saga Commun.
|
SGA
|
|
14.59
|
+0.44
|
|
Disney
|
DIS
|
|
25.86
|
+0.23
|
Salem Comm.
|
SALM
|
|
20.20
|
+0.16
|
|
Emmis
|
EMMS
|
|
17.79
|
+0.07
|
Sirius Sat. Radio
|
SIRI
|
|
6.43
|
+0.44
|
| Entercom |
ETM
|
|
33.00
|
+0.63
|
Spanish Bcg.
|
SBSA
|
|
10.10
|
+0.46
|
|
Entravision
|
EVC
|
|
7.93
|
+0.09
|
Univision
|
UVN
|
|
28.20
|
+0.38
|
|
Fisher
|
FSCI
|
|
48.12
|
+0.59
|
Viacom, Cl. A
|
VIA
|
|
32.90
|
+0.43
|
|
Gaylord
|
GET
|
|
45.70
|
+0.73
|
Viacom, Cl. B
|
VIAb
|
|
32.64
|
+0.42
|
|
Hearst-Argyle
|
HTV
|
|
24.70
|
+0.73
|
Westwood One
|
WON
|
|
20.43
|
+0.50
|
|
Interep
|
IREP
|
|
0.46
|
+0.04
|
XM Sat. Radio
|
XMSR
|
|
34.20
|
+0.59
|
|
International Bcg.
|
IBCS
|
|
0.01
|
unch
|
-
|
-
|
- |
-
|
-
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Bounceback
|
 We want to
hear from you.
This is your column, so send your comments to [email protected]
|
|
|
Upped & Tapped
|
Kibler to Big D
Clear Channel Radio announced that Kelly Kibler has been named Vice President of Sales for its six-station Dallas cluster. She was previously Vice President and Market Manager for CC Radio's San Diego cluster.
Jones taps Tomczak
Jones Media Group announced Ken Tomczak has joined it as a Jones Radio Networks marketing manager. Tomczak, who formerly worked at several Denver radio stations, was most recently marketing coordinator and publicist at House of Blues Concerts, Universal Concerts and Fey Concerts.
|
|
|
Stations for Sale
|
Rocky Mountain
Rated Market
New market FM on the air and ready to go! One of the Rocky Mountain Region's most upscale markets priced to sell! A great opportunity for an aggressive, innovative operator!
Cliff at Clifton Gardiner & Co
(303)758-6900
[email protected]
Class A FM in Carolinas
Fulltime AM in Top 160 Market
Florida Panhandle 2 FMs, 1 AM
Louisiana AM-FM, Ranked Market
Gordon Rice Associates
(843) 884-3590 or Email
[email protected]
|
|
|
More News Headlines
|
Hyatt to offer
XM in rooms
Hyatt Hotels signed a multi-year agreement with XM Satellite Radio to provide free XM service in all of its rooms nationwide, starting this fall. Hyatt is the first hotel chain to offer complimentary satellite radio service across the country. The hotel chain has more than 50,000 rooms in the continental US. XM said it hopes hotel guests will be prompted to subscribe to its service at home after trying it out as a Hyatt customer.
Sirius launching Chinese and Korean channels
Sirius and MultiCultural Radio announced a multi-year exclusive agreement to create and launch Asian language channels on the satellite service. The Asian programming, the first of its kind to be broadcast on satellite radio, will launch first with a Korean channel and later followed by a Chinese channel. MultiCultural will bring its expertise in Asian programming to help Sirius create programming that appeals to Asian American listeners. The Korean channel, which will be called Radio Korea USA, is expected to launch this fall, and will offer a variety of news, entertainment and music programming in Korean. The Chinese channel that is expected to launch thereafter will offer popular music from China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, as well as short news and information updates of interest to these subscribers.
That darn exchange rate
Actually it was just a missing word, else we'd be jetting across the pond to buy a fine castle in England for just the cash in our wallet. In yesterday's story on the sale of BBC Broadcast (6/28/05 RBR #126), the price of 166 million pounds should have been the equivalent of $303 million, not $303. But you probably already figured that out.
|
|
|
May Digital Magazine
Now Available
|
May Radio & Television Business Report focuses on One-On-One interviews with the money Ad Players: David Verklin, Steve Grubbs, Harry Keeshan, Jon Mandel, Ray Warren, Ira Berger, Jean Pool, Julie Roehm and others that read TVBR religiously. They're participating because they want you to know what they need to help make informed decisions. They comment on programming that they view promising for this upfront; they examine thoroughly the real issues that affect the marketplace as all are getting busy. This is a large story already and getting bigger.
Read RBR/TVBR in 2 simple steps:
1.Create a simple account with Zinio and download the Zinio Reader.
2. You can then download the
May Issue of RBR/TVBR
|
|
|
RBR Radar 2005
|
|
Radio News you won't read any where else. RBR--First, Accurate, and Independently Owned.
|
RBR observation:
No, Mel isn't stupid
Lots of rumors float around this business, but by far the silliest one we've heard lately is the idea that Sirius Satellite Radio would buy ABC Radio to give it a terrestrial outlet in major markets for some of its content - - like a PG-rated version of Howard Stern, while the R-rated version runs only on satellite. Whoever concocted this scenario seems to have forgotten that money will have to change hands. So it could end up costing Mel and Sirius 5-7 billion to buy ABC Radio, while Disney would only receive a payment of two billion. Not ever gonna happen!
06/28/05 RBR #126
Gannett-Emmis Big deal
rumor examined
Gannett has never stopped buying media properties and is always willing to look at any decent newspaper or TV property that comes on the market. RBR observation: Before getting too excited about the potential for Gannett buying the Emmis TV stations, we decided to check into whether Gannett CAN buy the Emmis group, since the FCC's crossownership rule remains in effect. What we found was that there would have to be so many spin-offs that the deal wouldn't be worth doing. Of course, if Emmis TV is sold off piece-meal, Gannett could be a buyer. But the only way it could buy the whole thing would be to head into a drawn-out court battle alongside Tribune and Media General to try to get the crossownership rule tossed out - - with a real financial risk if federal judges don't see things its way. Due to its newspaper holdings, Gannett (so long as the crossownership rule stands) can't own the Emmis stations in Charleston-Huntington, WV, Mobile, AL-Pensacola, FL, Ft. Myers-Naples, FL, Green Bay-Appleton, WI, Honolulu, HI or Tucson, AZ ! - - and Portland, OR is iffy, although it looks like a detailed engineering study would OK the overlap with Gannett's Salem, OR paper. So, it seems unlikely that Gannett would bid to buy all of Emmis TV if it then has to spin-off eight of the 16 stations.
06/27/05 RBR #125
Cumulus' WLTO-FM sued
over "100 Grand" contest
A woman who won a radio contest that promised the winner "100 grand" sued after Cumulus' WLTO-FM Lexington, KY gave her a candy bar (a Nestle's 100 Grand) instead of 100,000 dollars. Norreasha Gill filed a complaint claiming the station and Cumulus breached a contract to pay 100,000 to the contest winner. Cumulus offered her 5,000, Gill said. "I said Iwanted 95,000 more." Cumulus/Lexington OM Robert Lindsay didn't return calls by deadline. RBR observation: FCC rules on contesting are pretty strict, and precedents set will make it pretty hard for Cumulus to get out of this one. Cumulus this is gonna cost ya. 06/24/05 RBR #124
Tribune's Mullen has hopes for PPM, but no love for LPM
You're not likely to hear Tribune Broadcasting President Pat Mullen say anything good about Nielsen's Local People Meters (LPM). by the end of this year the ratings impact of LPMs will have cycled through in New York, LA and Chicago, where Tribune's stations have suffered from what he claims is LPM's undercounting of young demos. Mullen is hopeful to see TV ratings move to a passive device, such as the Portable People Meter (PPM) that Arbitron is currently testing in Houston. Publisher observation: No matter what the future holds the consumer is in control and nobody in the media or media research will ever get 100% cooperation but you can get a higher rate of participation if you adjust your incentive program to today's consumers spending habits. Don't understand - then give us a call and we'll explain. This is not brain surgery. 06/24/05 RBR #124
TV One signs Time Warner
Just days after launching on a single Time Warner Cable system in Houston, TV One has announced a long-term distribution with the MSO. TV One will be on in Charlotte, Dayton and Cincinnati by the end of this month, with launches on other Time Warner systems expected by the end of this year.
RBR observation: This is a big breakthrough for TV One. Up until now, most of its cable carriage had been on systems owned by Comcast, which is one of the major owners of TV One, along with Radio One. While there have been some deals with individual cable systems, Wall Street analysts have repeatedly asked Radio One CEO Alfred Liggins when the network would sign major deals with the MSOs - - and he's always responded that talks were underway. Now, he'll have a big deal to talk about. 06/24/05 RBR #124
|
|
|
|
 |
|
General Manager
Small-market radio cluster in the beautiful Northwest. Dominant stations with a fantastic team with excellent benefits. If you have genuine passion apply.
See Radio Careers
President/General Manager
Schurz Communications, Inc. is seeking President/General Manager candidates for one of its network affiliated television stations. Demonstrable success required in leading strong news & sales efforts. See TV Careers
Seeking Challenge
Professional communications executive with strong international media background seeking a new challenge. Prior experience includes: CEO& COO. See Positions Wanted
|
 |
|
|
|
|
Help Desk
|
Having problems with our epapers?
Please send Questions/Concerns to:
[email protected]
If you wish to remove your name completely from our database use this link __UNSUB__
If you wish to unsubscribe
to RBR only, use this link
RBR Epaper --  108 annual
or just 9 a month
|
|
|
|
©2005 Radio Business Report, Inc. All rights reserved.
Radio Business Report -- 2050 Old Bridge Road, Suite B-01, Lake Ridge, VA 22192 -- Phone: 703-492-8191
|
|
