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Radio News ®
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 Eight radio companies form NAVTEQ traffic consortium
Eight radio groups have formed a new joint venture, the Broadcaster Traffic Consortium, LLC (BTC), to build a nationwide network to distribute traffic data via radio technology. BTC is working with NAVTEQ, a global provider of digital maps and traffic for vehicle navigation and location-based solutions. BTC will use HD Radio technology to broadcast real-time NAVTEQ Traffic and other location-based info to portable navigation devices and automobile in-dash systems. The high bandwidth capacity provided via HD Radio technology will enable consumers to obtain high-quality, up-to-date information including traffic flow and points of interest when and where they need it most.
| Read more here |
Keeping the door open
Clear Channel Communications has once again extended its bond tender offers, which can close if and when the going private buyout closes. The latest extension is for a full week, moving the tender expiration from Friday, April 11th to Friday, April 18th.
RBR observation: We can't help but notice that the institutions listed time after time by Clear Channel as managers for the bond tenders are three of the six institutions it is fighting with in court.
| Read more here |
PTC blasts CW's America's
 Next Top Model
Is obscured nudity a basis for a finding of broadcast indecency? The FCC has been sitting on two such cases dating back to 2003. Now it has another, courtesy of "America's Next Top Model" on CW. PTC makes no bones about it: It finds the program in question indecent and is encouraging its members to protest.
RBR observation: But Mr. Winter, it IS about artistic freedom and pushing the envelope. Artists have been pushing the envelope just about since art began -- and you need journey no farther than the average public art museum to see full two- and three-dimensional nudity proudly on display without content labels of any kind. Often, this art has a religious theme to boot. And just where is the line?
| Read more here |
Legal wrangling continues in Florida
A federal judge in Miami has tossed out three counts from a lawsuit against Westwood One by Pompano Helicopters, which charges WW1 with using unfair trade practices to drive it out of business. The three counts were dismissed because the statue of limitations had been expired. Four counts remain, but the judge said he would consider a motion which could toss them as well. Pompano Helicopters filed the lawsuit last year (10/30/07 RBR #212).
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Mitt gets a radio gig
For one day only, former presidential candidate Mitt Romney is going to pinch-hit today for Paul Harvey on ABC Radio Networks. Romney will do both the regular morning and afternoon news segments of Harvey's program. Ron Chapman continues to fill in most days, with Harvey due back behind the mic April 25th. He's recovering from pneumonia and is scheduled for cataract surgery. Paul Harvey News & comment has been aired by ABC since 1951.
RBR observation: No word on what ABC Radio is paying Romney for his one day of work, but it probably won't help him recoup much of the 42.3 million bucks he spent out of his own bank accounts on his run for the GOP nomination. In all, Romney's unsuccessful campaign cost 98 million. Well, at least he had fun.
Barack's barrage: 100K
 Hillary Clinton (D-NY) has run an astonishing 60 thousand TV ads in her run for the Democratic presidential nomination for the 2008 election. But that number pales in comparison to the amount of air time purchased by the campaign of Barack Obama (D-IL). According to a Talkingpointmemo.com report based on TNS Media Intelligence data, Obama has spent 60M dollars to run 100 thousand ads. This compares to about 19 thousand ads run by John Kerry (D-MA) during the primaries while securing the 2004 Democratic nomination. The fact that the 2008 primary battle is still contested by two strong candidates is of course a major contributing factor, but the larger factor is the awesome cash-generating machine constructed by the Obama campaign, which relies mainly on small donations made over the internet. Other reports have pegged Obama's March donation income at about 40M, ahead of both Clinton at about 20M and presumptive Republican nominee John McCain (R-AZ) at about 15M.
Commissioners hijacked to Capitol Hill
What would an FCC Breakfast at the NAB Convention be without a Commissioner or two? Just eggs. So, NAB has been reshuffling since all of the FCC Commissioners have been called to Capitol Hill next Tuesday to testify about the recent 700 MHz auction. Instead of the FCC Breakfast, the RTNDA and NAB will jointly present "The Issues Breakfast: Election 2008: The Home Stretch" 7:30-8:45 am PT in the Las Vegas Hilton Barron Room. CNN Chief National Correspondent John King will moderate the discussion of election issues, candidates and coverage. Panelists scheduled to speak include Sam Donaldson, Correspondent, ABC News; John Harris, Editor in Chief, Politico.com; and Peter Maer, White House Correspondent, CBS News. The previously scheduled "Regulatory Face-off" which had been scheduled for Tuesday afternoon with Commissioners Jonathan Adelstein and Deborah Taylor Tate, has been cancelled. NAB says Tate is still planning to come to Las Vegas after testifying in Washington, but it is unclear whether she will be speaking at the convention.
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| Localism |
KekeLuv makes 175 hours on air for child abuse
 Peak Broadcasting's 103.3 Kiss FM Boise PD and DJ KekeLuv has made a record 175 hours straight on air, calling attention to child abuse prevention. The station held a parking lot party yesterday with a stage at 5 p.m. MT when his mission was up. April is National Child Abuse Awareness Month and Keke has brought attention to it in a big, big way. As of yesterday afternoon, something close to a thousand people had gathered in the parking lot, along with TV stations and networks. Instead of going home to bed, Keke, (Steve Kicklighter), 35, wants to go from the parking lot of the station to Hannah's, a bar in Boise, reported the Idaho Statesman-although station folks tell us they may not let him, just for his own health!
| Read more here |
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Ad Business Report TM
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TargetSpot partners with eight new broadcasters
Expanding its roster of broadcasters and shows looking to tap into the streaming media ad market, TargetSpot announced partnerships with Fox News Radio, NRG Media, Peak Broadcasting, Woodward Radio Group, Dick Broadcasting, Steel City Media, Mel Wheeler, Inc. and the Stephanie Miller Show. These companies will utilize TargetSpot's unique platform of unlocking the monetary value of streaming media. The eight new additions include nationally syndicated powerhouses and stations in regions throughout the country. TargetSpot's technology allows businesses to create, buy and place their own ad messages on internet radio services.
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| NAB Daytime Planner |
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The following will be attending the NAB. Call or email to make your appointment in advance.
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BROKERS
John Pierce & Company LLC;
John L. Pierce, Jamie Rasnick;
office 859-647-0101, John cell 859-512-3015; Jamie cell 513-252-1186, Bellagio Hotel; [email protected]; [email protected]
Serafin Bros., Inc.; Glenn Serafin;
office 813-885-6060; cell 813-494-6875;
Planet Hollywood (formerly the Aladdin) Hotel; [email protected]
Kozacko Media Services;
Dick Kozacko, George Kimble;
office 607-733-7138; Dick cell - 607-738-1219; George cell - 520-465-4302; Bellagio Hotel; [email protected], [email protected]
Patrick Communications;
Larry Patrick, Managing Partner;
Susan Patrick, Managing Partner;
Greg Guy, Managing Partner;
Todd Wirth, Director;
office: 410-799-1740;
Larry cell 410-707-4602 Bellagio Hotel; [email protected], [email protected]; [email protected]
Frank Boyle & Co; Frank Boyle,
office 203-377-3030;
Frank cell 203-249-07818;
Rio Suites Hotel;
[email protected]
Schutz & Company;
Bill Schutz; Bellagio Hotel;
office 757-258-8740,
Bill cell 757-880-9251;
[email protected]
American Media Services;
Todd Fowler/David Reeder;
office: 843-972-2200; Bellagio Hotel;
[email protected], [email protected]
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BROKERS
Media Venture Partners; Elliot Evers, Brian Pryor, John Cunney, Bill Fanning,
415-391-4877, Bellagio Hotel;
pcarberryharris@mediaventurepartners.com
CONSULTING ENGINEERS
Cavell Mertz & Associates, Inc.;
Gary Cavell, Richard Mertz, Dan Ryson; Main Office 703-392-9090;
[email protected]
BANKERS
Dover Capital Partners, LLC
Kirk Warshaw, General Partner
Peter Ottmar, General Partner
Office: 401/723-1063, x109
Peter's Cell: 401/639-4958
Bellagio Hotel; [email protected];
[email protected]
LEGAL
Womble Carlyle
Sandridge & Rice, PLLC;
Gregg P. Skall office 202-857-4441,
Gregg cell; 703-623-0600;
John Garziglia; office 202-857-4532;
John cell 202-270-8967; Bellagio Hotel; [email protected]; [email protected]
NET. RADIO/ SYN. PROG.
Talk Radio Network;
Mark Masters; office: 541-474-2297, Mark's cell: 541-521-8604; Bellagio Hotel; email: [email protected]
Exec. Asst.: Erin Terry, [email protected]
Contact [email protected] to get your company listed today.
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| Media Business Report TM |
Swap shop: Baton Rouge for Charlotte
Peter Davidson is expanding in Louisiana and Michael Glinter is getting a station closer to home in a straight up trade involving station in the Baton Rouge and Charlotte NC markets. Davidson Media Group is sending WBZK-AM York SC to Glinter -- it's near Rock Hill SC and which in turn is part of the Charlotte NC Arbitron market. In return, he gets WPYR-AM, licensed to Baton Rouge and joining WGSO-AM in Davidson's Louisiana portfolio. According to broker John Pierce, who handled the transaction, an estimated value of 400K is headed in each direction. Pierce says Davidson is looking for more outlets for his Hispanic programming strategy, while Glinter, who owns an FM in the Pensacola area, is getting a station closer to his new South Carolina home.
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| Washington Business Report TM |
Television has its place
 Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, pictured, is famously against allowing the electronic media to invade the sanctity of his place of business. And he is famously averse to reporters. At a venue where he was giving a lecture, he once ordered a reporter's tape destroyed, setting off a flurry of First Amendment arguments. Note that it is difficult to win such an argument with a sitting Supreme Court justice. But word comes from the Associated Press that the Justice will sit before the cameras of CBS news magazine "60 Minutes." There is, of course a reason for allowing the generally spurned media a moment of access to his Honor: He has a book to promote. AP notes that Justice Clarence Thomas, similarly media-averse, also managed to overcome this distaste when he had a book for sale.
RBR observation: Hey, we realize that the Supreme Court is not the syndicated "People's Court," but the fact that it IS in fact the lower case people's court makes it all the more important that the public have clear access to whatever goes on there. If we are allowed to see how a judge arrives at the value of a damage award when somebody's dog digs up a neighbor's prize geraniums, than it is much more important that we all see how the court arrives at its upcoming decision on the enforcement of fleeting expletives. Scalia and Thomas work for us, not the other way around, and cameras and microphones should be allowed in the court at all times.
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| Entertainment Business Report TM |
 Perez Hilton gets radio show
via Steve Lehman, Andy Schuon
Perez Hilton (Mario Lavandeira), blogger of celebrity gossip on the net, is expanding with a radio show in conjunction with Steve Lehman, former Premiere Radio Networks CEO and Andy Schuon, former head of programming at MTV, MTV2, VH1 and Infinity/CBS Radio. Launching 5/5, "Radio Perez" will air two three-minute, daily vignettes via Lehman's and Schuon's "C" Student Entertainment. Running in the morning and afternoon rush, the show will launch in markets including Los Angeles, New York and Chicago. Perez will call into the biggest stations to chat live with the hosts; smaller stations will get a produced version with some quips tailored for individual cities. "This is the first time a superstar created on the Internet has made the transition to radio. Having someone as compelling as Perez as part of a station lineup will significantly drive listeners to radio," said co-founder Andy Schuon. Partner Steve Lehman added, "Perez is as electric and entertaining on-air as he is on his blog. He's a natural talent and will register as peoplemeter-active. "C" Student Entertainment will focus on bringing compelling personalities like Perez into radio and take advantage of cross platform opportunities on the Internet and mobile."
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| Internet Business Report TM |
NHL Network Online launches
The National Hockey League (NHL) unveiled the NHL Network Online, a broadband media service sponsored by NHL partners Bud Light, Cisco, Dodge and Verizon Wireless, and available for free to fans at NHL.com. A component of the NHL's strategy to build global scale through digital media, the NHL Network Online is delivered to fans through a sleek new broadband media player. This immersive, all-access experience invites fans to NHL.com to spend more time behind-the-scenes with their favorite players and teams.
| Read more here |
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| Transactions |
160K KWOF-AM & KWOF-FM Waterloo IA (Waterloo, Hiawatha IA) from Friendship Communications Inc. (Michael Facciani) to Extreme Grace Media Inc. (Chris Behmlander, Regina Behmlander, Karen Goldberger). 8K escrow, balance in cash at closing. LMA 3/1/08. Stations are noncommercial. [File date 3/11/08.]
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| Stock Talk |
Oil up, stocks down
Stock prices fell as oil and gasoline futures prices hit record highs. The Dow Industrials fell 49 points, or 0.4%, to 12,527.
Virtually all radio stocks were lower. The RBR Radio Index declined 2.335, or 2.6%, to 88.068. Westwood One plunged 16.7% on a press release from another party stating that a federal judge refused to throw out a large lawsuit against the company - although that proved not to be an accurate representation. Entercom was off 6.5%.
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| Radio Stocks |
Here's how stocks fared on Wednesday
| Company |
Symbol |
Close |
Change |
Company |
Symbol |
Close |
Change |
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Arbitron*
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ARB
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44.79
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+0.07
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Google
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GOOG
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464.19
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-3.62
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Beasley*
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BBGI
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5.38
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+0.22
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Hearst-Argyle
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HTV
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19.82
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-0.60
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| CBS CI. B |
CBS |
 |
21.98
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-0.34
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Journal Comm.
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JRN
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6.94
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-0.25
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| CBS CI. A |
CBSa |
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21.95
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-0.38
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Lincoln Natl.
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LNC
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52.83
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-1.28
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| Citadel* |
CDL |
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1.79 |
-0.02 |
Radio One, Cl. A
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ROIA
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1.47
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-0.02
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Clear Channel*
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CCU
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28.62
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-0.13
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Radio One, Cl. D*
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ROIAK
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1.49
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-0.04
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Cox Radio*
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CXR
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11.94
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-0.33
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Regent*
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RGCI
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1.14
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-0.01
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Cumulus*
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CMLS
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5.82
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-0.38
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Saga Commun.*
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SGA
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6.01
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+0.12
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Debut Bcg.
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DBTB
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0.78
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-0.02
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Salem Comm.*
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SALM
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4.15
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+0.02
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Disney
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DIS
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30.85
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-0.22
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Sirius Sat. Radio
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SIRI
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2.61
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-0.08
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Emmis*
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EMMS
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3.37
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-0.09
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Spanish Bcg.*
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SBSA
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1.83
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-0.05
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Entercom*
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ETM
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9.27
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-0.64
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Westwood One*
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WON
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1.90
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-0.38
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Entravision
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EVC
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6.88
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-0.14
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XM Sat. Radio
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XMSR
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11.18
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-0.49
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Fisher
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FSCI
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31.05
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-0.95
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-
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-
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-
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-
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-
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*Component of the RBR Radio Index
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Bounceback
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 We want to
hear from you.
This is your column, so send your comments and
a photo to [email protected]
The PPM dialog continues
Randy Kabrich responds to Mike Cavanaugh (4/9/08 RBR #70).
No one is saying going back to diary. The points are:
1) PPM is the future - but as radio pays up to 90% more than the diary, instead of taking 2% of radio revenues, moving it upward to levels of 3.2%-3.6%+, we are not paying for flawed data. Arbitron tested this in real markets for the last 8 years. They said they had a product that was ready for the market, yet it fails the basics - not in performance - but in recruitment, which Arbitron has had 50 some years to perfect.
2) Get recruitment right and MRC approval. Then move forward with the rollout. They have yet to prove they can market correctly under their current conditions. How much more embarrassing for radio would it have been if NY and Nassau-Suffolk went live on 12/31/2007, then Arbitron announced its bid for MRC approval was rejected and also that they had lost their appeal to keep MRC approval in Houston? These are realities that COULD HAPPEN in 2008. How much damage would that do to the Industry?
3) Diary was not inaccurate, as can be shown by numerous examples now, the Don Imus return in NY and Bubba the Love Sponge's return in Tampa being the latest. Others include Howard Stern's departure from CBS Radio, the OJ verdict and countless others - including format changes and sign-ons.
Arbitron has done a major disservice to markets 50+ by the PR campaign against the diary by virtue of PPM.
Randy Kabrich
Consultant
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Below the Fold
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Media Markets & Money
Swap shop: Baton Rouge for Charlotte
Peter Davidson is expanding is getting a station closer to home...
Internet Business Report
NHL Network Online launches
Broadband media service sponsored by NHL partners Bud Light, Cisco and others...
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Stations for Sale
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 Market your Stations For Sale
in our daily epapers.
Contact
Jim Carnegie
[email protected]
Northern California
FM Group
* Highly Desirable Market
* Excellent Signals
* Seller Financing Available
 The Exline Company
Andy McClure
Erick Steinberg
415-479-3484
[email protected]
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Radio Media Moves
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New GM in Atlanta
Citadel Broadcasting announced he appointment of Paul O'Malley as President and General Manager of its Atlanta cluster and will report directly to Mitch Dolan, President of Citadel Broadcasting's Major Market Radio Station Group. Most recently O'Malley served as the Southeast Regional President for Citadel Broadcasting.
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RBR Radar 2008
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Radio News you won't read any where else. RBR--First, Accurate, and Independently Owned.
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Pay cut for Suleman at Citadel
Citadel Broadcasting CEO Farid Suleman saw his compensation go down last year as the company acquired ABC Radio and then watched its stock price plunge as both the new big market stations and the existing Citadel portfolio underperformed.
RBR observation: It was an unprecedented shareholder uprising against Michael Eisner at the Disney annual shareholders meeting in 2004 that led to his early departure. Many of those Disney shareholders are now shareholders of Citadel by virtue of the Citadel shares. Read more cause it is head shaking experience how a CEO's continues to do what they do, nothing.
04/09/08 RBR #70
RBR/TVBR Blog Log
A cautious welcome to Las Vegas
As good a piece of business as the NAB convention may be for Las Vegas, there are some serious problems within the industry which need to be dealt with and it's not going to happen if what passes for leadership in the industry spends its time kissing up to politicians, Hollywood lefties and really stupid ideas. Let's take the political climate first.
04/09/08 RBR #70
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RBR.com Classifieds
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New Listing
Honolulu Sales Manager
Live, Lead, and Love What You Do in Paradise! Clear Channel Hawaii is in search of its next great sales manager to lead one of Honolulu's Top Performing Radio Stations. Join Hawaii's most dynamic media management team & line-up of tier one stations. To learn more see Radio Careers below.
Hard finding that key person
to fill the important position at your organization? Try RBR Classifieds.
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