RAC chairman Steve Sinicropi, pictured, of Cox Radio told RBR the letter is a step in the right direction and that the guarantee will make in-tab performance as important to Arbitron as it is to broadcasters. "All of us want more confidence in the currency. Hitting targets lets us all have more confidence in the currency - both buyers and sellers," Sinicropi said. As for those buyers, Arbitron is pledging to step up efforts to educate ad buyers on the changes necessary to buy radio under PPM, rather than diary measurement. "Remember this formula: 70 PPM ('meter') GRPs can equal 100 diary GRPs," reads a headline in a draft of an ad that Arbitron is preparing to run in advertising industry trade publications. Sinicropi said there is still a lot of confusion among buyers, which is something we have heard from other broadcasters as well. "What has changed is the measurement, not the underlying value," Sinicropi said, noting that a lot of work remains to be done to get that message out as PPM rolls out to eight more markets through the end of 2008.
| Read the Steve Morris letter. The draft ad is the last page. |

RBR observation: Broadcasters would rather have Arbitron hit the sample targets than rebate their ratings bills, but this guarantee at least gives Arbitron an additional incentive to hit those targets. "With Arbitron, the devil is always in the details," said Cox Radio CEO Bob Neil in an email we received about the Arbitron letter. Neil, who has been a long-time skeptic about various aspects of PPM, called the 6+ sample guarantee "a joke," since radio really needs every major demo to come in on target. "That is what we are paying for," he said. As for the problem with buyers not adjusting GRP targets for PPM, we doubt that a few magazine ads are going to suddenly get everyone to change their numbers. This is going to be a tough education process and it has to go up the chain to planners and ad agency executives who are now planning budgets for 2008. We doubt that many buyers have the authority on their own to revise the GRP target numbers for a planned buy because the market has switched from diaries to PPM.

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Come on, guys..."there's more 'drama' in the Democratic race"? (8/31/07 RBR #171) If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, and has webbed feet and a yellow bill, you can pretty well figure out it's a duck! The "Big Three" news departments are notoriously biased to the socialist side and it's been obvious and obnoxious for years. Not only do the Dems get more coverage, it's "softball coverage". When they (and CNN, by the way) ask a Republican "when are you gonna stop beating your wife?" and they ask a Democrat "when are those Republicans gonna stop beating their wives?" you just have to walk away and shake your head...oh, and change the channel.

Brett Miller
MCH Enterprises, Inc.

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He's Mickey's guy
Ray De La Garza has been named Vice President of Programming, Radio Disney, overseeing all aspects of Radio Disney programming. He will be based at Radio Disney's Burbank, CA, offices. De La Garza's professional experience spans over 24 years in the field of entertainment, network and local radio programming, sales, marketing, TV programming, executive management and live event production. He was most recently Vice President/General Manager of KMXE-AM (now KLAA) Los Angeles.

Cooney to Beasley
Beasley Broadcast Group announced the appointment of Michael Cooney as Vice President & Chief Technology Officer. He will be responsible for the general supervision and oversight of all engineering and technology matters for Beasley's forty-four radio station portfolio and will be integrally involved with the company's HD Radio initiative. He will be located in the corporate office in Naples, Florida and report directly to Bruce Beasley, President and COO. For the past eight years, Cooney has served as Director of Engineering / IT for Entercom Radio in Kansas City.

Eastlan expansion
Eastlan Ratings announced a consulting agreement with veteran radio broadcaster Bud Janes, who will work on expanding the radio ratings company in the Midwest. Janes, currently with KRMS-AM Osage Beach, MO, founded Bick Broadcasting in 1981 and served as the company's President until it was sold to Double O Radio in 2006.

James Kennedy
dead at 76
Prominent televangelist Dr. D. James Kennedy has died at his home in Florida at age 76. He had been ill since suffering a heart attack in December. Kennedy's daily radio show, "Truths That Transform," was carried on radio stations nationwide since 1974. His weekly "Coral Ridge Hour" on TV had also aired nationally since 1974.

Thompson haunts
Fox GOP debate
Fred Thompson (R-TN) is not participating in the debate being staged on Fox News Channel featuring Republican candidates for President. That's appropriate, because he has not yet announced his intention to run. However, he is going to run ads during the debate that will announce his intention to announce, and will also make an appearance on NBC's "Tonight Show with Jay Leno." The actual announcement is said to be taking place on Thompson's in the wee hours Thursday morning, and the other events are to drive traffic there. By the time you read this, he should be in.

SBS takes
Mega TV national
Spanish Broadcasting System has signed with DirecTV to make its Miami-based Mega TV available nationally via the satellite service's DirecTV Más package. SBS CEO Raul Alarcón had previously hinted to analysts that negotiations were underway to expand the fledgling Spanish TV channel without having SBS make a large investment. "This is the first step in our strategy for expansion and growth for Mega TV in the United States. We are reaching the Hispanic consumer with greater strength each and every day, and we will continue to integrate radio, TV, and the Internet as part of our overall strategy of disseminating original content through different media outlets," said SBS CEO Raul Alarcón. Beginning October 17th, Mega TV will be available nationwide on the DirecTV Más platform on channel 405. Cynthia Hudson-Fernandez, Executive Vice-President and Chief Creative Officer of Mega TV, says several original productions will be incorporated into the new channel concept of "Radio en Television" with hit SBS radio shows such as "El Cucuy" from Los Angeles' La Raza 97.9 and "El Vacilón de la Mañana" from New York's Mega 97.9 serving to expand the radio brands onto television. DirecTV Más customers will have access to exclusive programming from Mega TV, including "María Elvira Live," "Bayly," "Paparazzi TV," "MEGA News" ,The Brazilian MegaSeries: "Chocolate con Pimienta," "Xpediente," "El Círculo," "Lamusica.com," "Código Astral," "Handyman," "Raíces & Recuerdos," "Mis 15," "Agenda del Inmigrante" and "MEGA Cine."

Radio picks up political purchases
That's the good news. According to the Radio Advertising Bureau and Nielsen Monitor-Plus, 26.3K political spots have been bought on radio stations in the first half of 2007, a 17% gain over 2005's 22.5K total. But here's the ugliness: Local, national and network were down 2% apiece in Q2. But a 16% surge in non-spot was able to reduce the damage to only minus 1% overall for the quarter.

RBR observation: If radio can keep on taking a bigger slice of the political pie, that may help inject a little black ink into 2008. The medium may also benefit from spillover from regular television users who are forced to seek alternative means to get their message out in battleground areas where TV becomes inundated with political ads. See the figures in this report page of RBR
09/05/07 RBR #173

Wall Street not surprised by CBS
Wall Street traders and analysts greeted the increased dividend and stock buyback announcement by CBS with a big yawn. It had little effect on the company's stock price. Bear Stearns quips that the CBS letters stand for Cash Back to Shareholders. Lehman Brothers downgraded the stock from "1-Overweight" to "2-Equal Weight." Bank of America remains neutral on the stock. Note: CBS Corporation has only been an independent public company for a little over 20 months, but it has announced the 5th increase in its dividend. With the latest increase by 14%, three cents per share, shareholders will receive 25 cents per share when the next quarterly payout is made October 1st to shareholders of record on September 14th. More details in RBR
09/05/07 RBR #173

Regent and Riley continue sparing
Riley Investment Management has continued to buy stock in Regent Communications, even as it battles in two courts to try to force Regent to hold a special shareholders meeting at which Riley hopes to place its own representatives on the board of directors.

RBR observation: The dissident shareholders had demanded that a special shareholders meeting be held on September 3rd. That deadline has now passed without any such meeting. It now appears to be up to the courts whether there will be such a meeting - and when. (There are more details in RBR)
09/04/07 RBR #172

New Listing
General Sales Manager
One of America's Legendary CHR stations, KDWB, looking for a world class GSM to lead a talented sales team! We have 5 questions for our next GSM to answer. If you can say Yes to some or all then lets talk. A college degree is preferred with two years related experience and/or training, or equivalent combination of education/experience. Clear Channel's KDWB, EEO – Hey, it doesn't get any better than this. Complete requirements and where to apply See Radio Careers

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