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Volume 24, Issue 77, Jim Carnegie, Editor & Publisher
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Thursday Morning April 19th, 2007
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| NAB2007 coverage from Las Vegas |
 Pittman:
Follow the consumer
Forget about radio and TV being on the way out. In a speech to NAB2007 on where to invest venture capital, MTV founder and former AOL President Bob Pittman, now heading the Pilot Group investment fund, noted the "continuing dominance of TV and radio" in consumer media usage. In Pittman's view, and he is also an experienced marketer, TV and radio are still the best way to build brands. While Internet use has been growing dramatically, Pittman says the Internet doesn't replace radio and TV in the buying process, but rather such things as brochures and the yellow pages in providing information to consumers in phase two of the buying process - not the branding process, phase one. "93% of adults now research products online before buying," Pittman said. He also took on the recent claim by Microsoft founder Bill Gates that TV viewing is declining in young demos because of the Internet. But Pittman posted Nielsen data that he said proved Gates wrong. The three venture capital fund partners in the panel that followed Pittman on the same stage did not fully endorse his upbeat view of radio and TV investments. While TV is still strong, Alan Thygesen of The Carlyle Group said the Internet will become a better branding vehicle as video moves increasing to the web, so "I don't think the TV industry should rest too much on its laurels."
RTNDA endorses First Responders bill
The Radio-Television News Directors Association (RTNDA) board of directors has endorsed the bill that Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) announced Monday in Las Vegas to brand broadcasters as "first responders" to help them keep communications lines open during times of disaster. "We are grateful that Senator Landrieu is bringing attention to this critical matter for broadcasters who need to be able to serve their communities in times of crisis," said RTNDA President Barbara Cochran.
Telemundo back in NAB fold
 Two days after sister network NBC announced that it had rejoined the National Association of Broadcasters, Telemundo announced that it was doing likewise. "We are very pleased to rejoin the NAB. Telemundo has become a major force in Spanish-language television and is a leader in producing original, relevant content for Hispanics in the US. Hispanics are reshaping the media market, and we are delighted to represent such an important and dynamic community at the NAB," said Telemundo President Don Browne. "This is terrific news for NAB and all broadcasters," said NAB President and CEO David K. Rehr. This reinstates the Telemundo network and its 16 television stations into NAB membership. The network dropped out of the organization in 2002 when it was acquired by NBC Universal.
Can't keep Goodman down
The word was out in Las Vegas that former Ion/Paxson president Dean Goodman's new company will soon be announced as the winner of more than 30 Midwestern markets in the Clear Channel Radio divestiture auction. After that, expect a series of additional deal announcements to add both radio and TV stations. Goodman has nailed down big financial backing in New York and is embarking on an acquisition binge.
Dolly honored by BMI
The board of directors of Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) saluted legendary BMI songwriter Dolly Parton at its 59th annual dinner honoring the directors of the NAB. Hosted by BMI Board Chairman Cecil L. Walker and BMI President & CEO Del Bryant, the dinner was held at the Bellagio hotel in Las Vegas. Saluted for a "lifetime of brilliant performances that have delighted and entertained broadcast audiences across America," Parton was recognized as a songwriter whose enormous entertainment contributions have shaped American music and culture.
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Radio News ®
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 On a Clear day,
you can see more money
Thomas H. Lee Partners and Bain Capital Partners have adopted a new tactic in their battle to take media giant Clear Channel private. Apparently, the addition of non-monetary incentives to the deal has done little to erode shareholder opposition to the buy-out, so the bidders have elected to up the ante. The new offer is for 39 dollars a share, up from 37.60, taking the total value of the deal by about half a billion dollars to 19.5B. The Clear Channel Board of Directors wasted no time approving the offer without dissent. The change in the bid was accompanied by a change in the shareholder voting date to allow shareholders time to consider the new offering. The new date is 5/8/07, and shareholders of record as of 3/23/07 are all still in on it. One analyst told Bloomberg.com that the offer may still be too little, as well as too late, speculating that if 39M had been on the table from the outset, it may have headed off the "groundswell of activism from major shareholders" who have been fighting the deal. Attentive Clear Channel watcher Victor Miller of Bear Stearns wondered if the bidders were playing "bump and run," hoping that investors will simply go for the increased bid. He speculated that the offer still was on the low side, representing a 9X multiple, which may yet be attractive considering it will take time to work up to realization of a perhaps more appropriate valuation of 44 dollars per share in the face of continuing revenue problems facing the radio sector as a whole.
RBR observation: Is it enough? We reported a few days ago that the magic number was 40 bucks. This offer doesn't quite get there, but is much closer. Still, it is a huge hurdle to get the two-thirds approval required by Texas law, especially since unvoted shares count as no votes. Vic Miller at Bear Stearns and Jonathan Jacoby at Bank of America continue to tell clients that 39 is just not full value for Clear Channel. "Although this is a step in the right direction, we do not believe the increase will sway core investors. A 5% owner already has come out publicly against the new offer," noted Jacoby in a note yesterday. That investor, Highfields Capital, and the Fidelity mutual fund group quickly repeated their opposition to the buyout, even at the higher price, so there will still be a strong core of no votes. Key now is what the big advisory firms say about the new offer, particularly Institutional Shareholder Services. An ISS endorsement would make it much more likely that the May 8th vote will approve the buyout, while another thumbs down would make it very difficult to pull off, no matter how much Lee, Bain and the Mays family lobby for approval over the coming weeks.
Markey wants to slim down junk food advertising
Leaving no doubt that there's a new oversight sheriff in town, Ed Markey (D-MA) has fired off another letter to the FCC, this time on the topic of possible link between childhood obesity and the advertising practices of America's junk food manufacturers. He wants answers by the beginning of next month. Noting numerous statistics dug up by the Kaiser Family Foundation, Markey said that "no one can plausibly argue that there is no link between television advertising and childhood obesity." Markey praised Chairman Kevin Martin (R) and Commissioners Michael Copps (D) and Deborah Taylor Tate (R) for their recent work on the topic, but wondered if voluntary industry initiatives would be enough, noting that 3B in fast food advertising alone is on the table. He asked the Commissioners to answer four questions by 5/4/07. 1) Have they studied similar efforts in other countries? 2). Can and will the Commission institute a rulemaking on the topic? 3). Would they disqualify any educational/informational children's programming from being attributable to meeting a station's weekly obligation if it accepts junk food advertising? 4). Markey asked the FCC to come up with other ideas to tie a station's license to use the public airwaves in a manner that "...does not exacerbate the problems of childhood obesity and poor nutrition."
RBR observation: We've been warning that this issue is picking up a head of steam. It really is a sticky problem (and not because some of the food in question is especially sticky). Junk food in not a controlled substance - it is perfectly legal, and the right of a business to advertise its wares should generally not be tampered with. Most of the children in question do not make food purchasing decisions (although their arsenal to influence such decisions is well-known to any parent, generally following a progression starting with asking, proceeding to begging and sometimes going all the way to the nuke in the armory, the full-blown floor-pummeling tantrum). While there may be a link between advertising and childhood obesity, we'd argue that the bigger problem is lax parenting. We'd like to hear Mr. Markey's ideas on improving that much more critical portion of the childhood obesity equation.
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 How's your retention rate?
Karl Rove has been in the news lately - it seems that several years worth of emails involving business conducted on an improper server to begin with have gone AWOL. Our purpose is not to get into that Washington brouhaha, but to illustrate the changing nature of record retention. The Broadcast Cable Financial Management Association (BCFM) is taking an interest in the issue as well, as it pertains to communications companies, and is holding a seminar on the topic next week. The name of the session says is "Record Retention in the Digital Age" and the subtitle asks the pertinent question: "Eeny, Meeny, Miney, Moe - Keep the Papers, But When to Let Go?" The session is a teleconference costing 74 dollars for members and 94 for other interested parties. The expert panel includes Dan Polatsek, Lee Shubert and Angela Wilson of Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP, and Jim Michalowicz of ACT Litigation Services. It will cover issues such as * The Paper Chase - Local Public File and Beyond; * Which record has a record retention period of 30 years?; * What's all this about OSHA Form 300A?; * Managing Media in the Digital Age of e-Discovery; * How to keep e-discovery from taking a byte out of your budget; and * Electronic risk control - spotting vulnerabilities.
FCC wants opinions on kidvid regulation
One need look no further than Univision to confirm that the FCC is serious about children's programming. In fact, Univision has 24 million reasons to concur with that assessment. Now the Commission is giving you a chance to weigh in on the topic. The FCC cited the Univision consent decree - the Hispanic giant basically paid 1M each for 24 O&O television stations that were trying to claim that a telenovela (or soap opera) met the children's educational/informational requirement pretty much because it featured children among the major members of the cast. The United Church of Christ led a protest, and the consent decree came about as a condition of the FCC's approval of the sale of the company to Broadcasting Media Partners Inc. The FCC now wants to know, "Are licensees complying with the CTA (Children's Television Act)? Does the programming that licensees have reported as core children's programming generally meet the Commission's standards?" It also wonders if the FCC's definition of such programming is adequate, and what should the rules of the road be when such programming is pre-empted? Ex parte comments are on a permit-but-disclose basis. Filings should go to MM Docket No. 00-167. Deadlines will be determined in accordance with the appearance of a public notice of the inquiry in the Federal Register - comments will be due 30 days thereafter with another 15 days for reply comments.
RBR observation: We have yet to hear of any attempt to overlay children's requirements of any kind on radio broadcasting (other than the ongoing effort to protect children from indecent radio programming). Will the advent of HD multicasting give birth to such an effort? We think not, but at this point, nothing that happens in Washington is capable of surprising us.
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| Wall Street Media Business Report TM |
SBS suffers a 'daq attack?
 Spanish Broadcasting System is out of compliance with the rules of the Nasdaq Stock Market, and CBS Radio is indirectly at fault. No, the Viacom group is not launching format attacks against SBS properties. Nor does it have anything whatsoever to do with the company's financials. Rather, it CBS hired Dan Mason to head its radio group. Mason has departed the SBS board, and in particular, its independent audit committee, and that hole in the oversight structure of the company is what earned it the warning, according to the Associated Press. It has until 10/1/07 to address the situation.
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Ad Business Report TM
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Kmart signs Draftfcb as AOR
Perhaps realizing what Wal-Mart passed up in dismissing the agency as AOR after the Julie Roehm drama, Kmart, announced that it has chosen Draftfcb as Kmart's new advertising agency of record effective 5/1. "We believe this agreement with Draftfcb will move Kmart a step closer toward its goals for the business and the brand," said Bill Stewart, Kmart's chief marketing officer. "As a company, we're committed to building lifetime relationships with our customers and Draftfcb has a proven track record of helping its clients achieve success by utilizing a full range of marketing tools and capabilities." Draftfcb's scope of work will include all television, magazine, and radio advertising, customer analysis and strategy, data analysis, customer relationship marketing, and branding work. "We're very much looking forward to working with Kmart," said Howard Draft, chairman and CEO of Draftfcb. "Everyone we have met at Kmart is focused on building their business by establishing even stronger connections with their loyal shoppers and bringing more people into their stores. Our two organizations have a shared commitment to accountability and creativity. We're looking forward to working together to uncover human insights that will incite consumer behavior in creative and measurable ways." Grey Worldwide, Kmart's current AOR, will assist in the transition.
 Vegas spots-not slots-and
casino ads detailed
In honor of the NAB2007 convention this week in Las Vegas, MediaMonitors took a look at what ran on the radio in there last week and the Casino ads which ran nationwide. As more and more communities have Casinos opening on Native American Reservations, riverboats and in legalized zones, there are more ads being run inviting adults to come and have some fun playing games of chance. Number one on the radio in Las Vegas last week was the HD Digital Radio Alliance with 690 commercials on the air. Next was, The Home Depot running 615 units. The 3rd position was held by Desert Toyota AutoNation with 541 spots, while Centennial Toyota was 4th with 481 spots. Valley Eye Center, who does Corrective Surgery, was clearly #5 with 380 commercials. The Las Vegas Motor Speedway rolled in at #6 with 323 spots. Lucky #7 was USA Land Sale, the Auctioneers, ran 320 commercials, while Fletcher Jones Toyota Scion was 8th with 316 units on the air. And one of their other dealerships, Fletcher Jones Imports, was #9 with 277 spots. Rounding out the Spot Ten was the Cinco De Mayo Freedom Park with 276 commercials. Interestingly, there are no casinos that made the top ten in the city where they exist.
For casino ads, the #1 spot-buyer on the radio in the nation was the Chukchansi Gold Resort & Casino Chukchansi Indians with 667 commercials. Next was the Pala Casino Spa Resort Pala Band of Mission Indians at #2 ran 590 spots. The Pechanga Resort & Casino was #3 with 571 spots, while the Potawatomi Bingo Casino was #4 with 439 commercials. Next up was #5, the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Seminole Tribe with 433 commercials. The Tulalip Casino Tulalip Tribes was #6 running 384 spots. Lucky #7 was the Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort with 376 spots and coming in at #8 was the Isleta Casino & Resort Pueblo of Isleta with 365 commercials. #9 was held by the Morongo Casino Resort & Spa with 361 units, while the 10th slot was won by the Jackson Rancheria Casino & Hotel with 342 spots. On the national Spot Ten Chart, MediaMonitors had The Home Depot at #1 with a grand total of 48,078 spots, with HD Digital Radio Alliance at #2 with 30,250 and coming in #3 was GEICO with 23,762 commercials.
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| Washington Media Business Report TM |
 The high cost of leaving
If you participate in an FCC station auction and decide to bail after placing a bid, you had better hope that someone comes along and puts down more on the stick than the amount you abandoned. Once a bid is on the table, the FCC is guarunteed that it will pocket at least that amount, no matter what. It has just released a slew of bills for unfortunate withdrawn bidders who did not have a white knight come up from behind and bail them out. The good news is that the FCC figures all of this out in actual dollars, not the total of gross funds plus any allowable bidding credits. And it defrays the bill by any deposits already tendered. The biggest loser was Visionary Related Entertainment, which owes 590,720; followed by Tower Investment Trust (245,323.50); Radioactive (211,820); and Wilbur Johnson (22,344). Three others defaulted on bids and owes the FCC cash, including Spearman Properties (166,334.50); In Vibration (two stations totalling 23,503.50); and Hargan Family Media (10,150). On the plus side, two bidders were overbid, and received deposit refunds, including Kemp Communications, which received 42,878 and Salvador G. Ceja, who had 30,915.50 returned.
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| Media Markets & Money TM |
Price revealed in Bloomington
AAA Entertainment's deal to sell its Bloomington IL FM trio has been filed at the FCC, thus revealing the 2.5M pricetag, which includes a non-compete with AAA's Peter Ottmar. The stations are WWQZ-FM Lexington, WRPW-FM Colfax and WYST-FM Fairbury. The buyer, Jerome Zimmer's Pilot Media LLC, is a subsidiary of Great Plains Media and owner of KLWN-AM/KLZR-FM Lawrence KS and, about 40 miles to the southwest, KMXN-FM Osage City KS. An LMA began 4/1/07. When the deal closes, according to the filing, it will bring AAA's run of radio ownership to an end.
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| Entertainment Media Business Report TM |
Tammy Bruce goes live in Vegas
TRN-Enterprises' The Tammy Bruce Show is now on six days a week in Las Vegas on KDOX-AM, Live Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 12 noon. "The Tammy Bruce Show" joins TRN's "The Laura Ingraham Show" and TRN's "The Rusty Humphries Show" on KDOX.
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| Music Media Business Report |
Latest user of product placement: new music
According to a Reuters report, musical acts that have despaired of using the increasingly "strictly formatted and risk averse" radio universe to break out are turning to television, and are utilizing a variety of tactics. Programmers on broadcast and cable have theme, soundtrack and promotional music needs. Advertisers are often eager to tie their product to a cutting edge artist that hasn't quite cut through yet. With the aid of good talent scouts, creators of both entertainment and advertising can tap into frustrated top talent while the pricetag is still relatively low. The large potential audiences and the ability to bypass radio entirely thrill the musical talents' representatives. And the artists themselves get a quick check to put in the bank.
RBR observation: It's a sad thing, really, that radio no longer seems capable of covering the wide spectrum of music that is out there. The musical tastes in this office are admittedly eclectic, but we used to be able to find interesting radio playlists that both satisfied our curiosity and helped inform our own music purchases, on commercial radio, right here in our own market. We were fortunate enough, for many years, to benefit from access to the once legendary, brilliant and adventurous WHFS-FM. It's gone, of course, and even onetime reservoirs in the noncommercial realm seem to have given way to Talk programming, just as Talk has invaded commercial FM. We read somewhere recently that radio programs for people who hate music. While that seems a little harsh, it's true that there is nowhere to go for someone who loves great music. All we get - are three chords and a beat, if that (yawn) - pick your format, they all hew to that bland theoretical diet. We would love to continue using radio for the purpose of keeping current with the musical cutting edge, if only someone out there had the guts and talent to put it out there. And if nobody does, what might be lost? They say nature abhors a vacuum, so if radio is going to leave a hole, it provides video a perfect opportunity to fill it and claim all the glory and riches that may go with it.
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| Internet Media Business Report TM |
New coalition of webcasters to take
royalty case to Congress, courts
 Webcasters are again mobilizing in the wake of the ridiculously high new royalty fee structure approved Monday by the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB), after it denied a request to reconsider its 3/2 ruling that increases the fees broadcasters pay to copyright holders. The webcasters, via SaveNetRadio.org, will take the case to an appeals court in DC and lobby federal lawmakers to introduce a bill in Congress that would block the rate increase. As it stands now, the rates will go into effect in about a month. "The CRB's ill informed decision to increase royalty fees to this unjustifiable level will quite simply bankrupt most webcasters and destroy Internet radio," said SaveNetRadio, which specified the move will increase its member stations' rates between 300% and 1,200%--greatly outstripping revenues. They'll be paying for each song every time it's heard by one listener.
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| Engineering Business Report TM |
WZLX Boston first station to air in 5.1 Surround HD
CBS Radio's WZLX-FM Boston launched its new 5.1 Surround service this week on the station's main HD channel, based on MPEG Surround technology provided by Fraunhofer IIS and Telos Systems. WZLX is the first commercial radio station to broadcast fulltime in 5.1 MPEG Surround. To broadcast multi-channel sound on its HD radio signal, WZLX uses the new MPEG Surround technology provided by Fraunhofer. This new MPEG standard allows broadcasters to switch from stereo to surround in a smooth and cost efficient way. It can be used in any digital broadcasting system. Due to its backward compatibility, existing stereo HD radio receivers will be supported without any loss in quality. Bose, Boston Acoustics and Tivoli - all based in the Boston area - are monitoring and evaluating the WZLX broadcasts on prototype receivers provided by Fraunhofer IIS as a step in the eventual marketing of a genuine surround receiver.
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| Transactions |
6M WDRL-TV Roanoke-Lynchburg VA (Danville VA) from Mine Broadcasting LLC/WDRL-TV Inc. D.I.P. (Melvin N. Eleazer) to Liberty University Inc. (Jerry L. Falwell et al). 2M escrow, of which 1M will be kept in indemnity account, with replacement values, missing asset values and bankruptcy settlement values counting toward purchase price. LMA until closing. [File date 3/30/07.]
2.9M KBWS-FM Sisseton SD, KMSD-AM Milbank SD & KDIO-AM/KPHR-FM Ortonville MN from Pheasant County Broadcasting Inc./Big Stone Broadcasting Inc. (Robert E. Ingstad) to Armada Media Corporation (Jim Coursolle, Christopher A. Bernier et al). 250K escrow, balance in cash at closing. Existing duopoly. [File date 3/28/07.]
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| Stock Talk |
Clear Channel drops
On the day that investors upped their Clear Channel bid to 39 dollars a share, the stock of the multimedia company retreated in the other direction, riding a 49 cent-per-share hit down to 36.23 and contributing to a slightly down day for radio issues. Most ended the day just about where they started.
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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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48.50
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-0.24
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Hearst-Argyle
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HTV
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27.50
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-0.37
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Beasley
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BBGI
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9.02
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+0.01
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Journal Comm.
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JRN
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12.99
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-0.08
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| CBS CI. B |
CBS |
 |
31.70
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+0.11
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Lincoln Natl.
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LNC
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68.87
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-0.43
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| CBS CI. A |
CBSa |
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31.73
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+0.16
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Radio One, Cl. A
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ROIA
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7.31
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+0.08
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| Citadel |
CDL |
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9.69 |
unch |
Radio One, Cl. D
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ROIAK
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7.28
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+0.07
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Clear Channel
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CCU
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36.23
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-0.49
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Regent
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RGCI
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3.44
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+0.02
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Cox Radio
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CXR
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14.97
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-0.10
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Saga Commun.
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SGA
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10.24
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+0.03
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Cumulus
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CMLS
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9.99
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-0.38
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Salem Comm.
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SALM
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13.84
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+0.17
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Disney
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DIS
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34.92
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-0.23
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Sirius Sat. Radio
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SIRI
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3.02
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-0.01
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Emmis
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EMMS
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9.72
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+0.04
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Spanish Bcg.
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SBSA
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3.70
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-0.01
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| Entercom |
ETM
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28.94
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+0.03
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SWMX
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SMWX
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0.65
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unch
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Entravision
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EVC
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10.02
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-0.04
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Westwood One
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WON
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6.78
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-0.01
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Fisher
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FSCI
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50.01
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+0.41
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XM Sat. Radio
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XMSR
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11.75
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-0.15
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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 Imus afterthoughts
continue to pour in...
 While it is true that the First Amendment grants us the right to free speech, it did not take away the moral imperative to use that right in a just and dignified manner. Just because you CAN say it doesn't mean you HAVE to say it! When you are on the "public" airwaves you must exercise restraint and judgment. Should you go to a paid format, you can exercise your right in a more liberal manner because your listeners pay to hear your views. Yes radio has changed, but for the better in my opinion.
Dennis M. Gettis
General Sales Manager
WKJS, WCDX, WPZZ, WROU
Richmond VA
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Below the Fold
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Ad Business Report
Kmart signs Draftfcb as AOR
Perhaps realizing what Wal-Mart passed up in dismissing the agency as AOR after the Julie Roehm drama...
Media Markets & Money
Price revealed in Bloomington
AAA Entertainment's deal to sell has been filed at the FCC, thus revealing the 2.5M pricetag...
Washington Media Business Report
The high cost of leaving
If you participate in an FCC station auction & decide to bail after placing a bid, you had better hope...
Music Media Business Report
Latest user of product placement
New music and they are turning to TV instead of Radio...
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Stations for Sale
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Philadelphia and Pittsburgh
Newly Upgraded Daytime AM’s
Each covers over 2 mil pop
As package or alone
[email protected]
215-205-2920
Ski Country FM
NEast, very profitable w. T site.
8.5x trailing CF. Price 950K
Inquiries 781-848-4201
email: [email protected]
Web: RadioStationsForSale.net
 Market your Stations For Sale
in our daily epapers.
Contact
June Barnes
[email protected]
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Radio Media Moves
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KKOL names Tom Clendening PD
Tom Clendening joined the team at News Talk 1300 KKOL in Seattle as program director. He was most recently with KIRO AM and KTTH AM in Seattle where he was instrumental in developing talk format programming. He was also director of talk programming at Jones Radio Networks in Seattle, director of news and programming at KTRH AM and KBME AM in Houston, program director for WTAE AM in Pittsburgh, and news director for WBAL AM in Baltimore.
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More News Headlines
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HD royalties detailed
It was announced last week that the Radio Music License Committee (RMLC) had reached agreement with BMI on a three-year extension to their performing rights agreement for commercial radio stations (4/11/07 RBR #71), including for the first time fees for HD Radio. "It's a nominal fee," RMLC Executive Director Keith Meehan told RBR. To be specific, it is 100K this year, spread across all of US radio, rising to 150K in 2008 and 350K in 2009. By comparison, US radio stations will pay over 215 million in performing rights fees to BMI over that period. The deal also extended the current agreement covering online streaming by radio stations. That will total 675K this year, 700K in 2008 and 725K in 2009. Of course, that is just for BMI's songwriters, composers and publishers, not the record companies. If things stay as they are now, there may not be any streaming, since a copyright panel has ruled that the record companies are entitled to payments that exceed the revenues of any known streamer.
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RBR Radar 2007
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Radio News you won't read any where else. RBR--First, Accurate, and Independently Owned.
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NAB 2007 From Vegas
FM translators for
AM stations an idea on a roll
One AM station in Rock Hill, SC already has an FM translator under Special Temporary Authority and the two FCC Commissioners speaking at NAB2007 in Las Vegas indicated that action may come quickly on making it possible for many other AMs to do the same. - More from NAB in this report
04/18/07 RBR #75
Confusion for clients at
CC Radio over Google deal?
We're hearing from sources off the record that there's a bit of confusion in the client community and CC sales folks over the CC Radio-Google inventory deal yesterday (4/17/07 RBR #75). It could have been handled better internally: "A client just told me that she tried to get an update from Premiere yesterday but everyone was in the dark. The salespeople are looking for an answer but Kraig [Kitchin-Premiere Radio Networks President] hasn't had any sort of sales meeting. .. ." We also heard the rank and file sales folks at CC Radio aren't necessarily taking it well, at least just yet: The salespeople and some executives are upset about it for three reasons..." To review the 3 reasons see RBR Ad Business Report section in this issue.
RBR observation: Again and again the classic example of upper management not informing the key players involved on what is going on or, putting the Cart before the Horse. When will they ever learn.
04/18/07 RBR #75
Financing those small station deals
There was so much reader interest in our story about a new lender entering the low end of broadcast financing (3/23/07 RBR #58) that we went back to find out more about what is available for small broadcasting companies. At Gladstone Capital, lenders Dave Meier and Brian Eick tell us they are typically able to lend 5-6 times EBITDA, based on historical numbers. What about sticks and turnarounds? They will look at stick deals, but maximum lending is 50% of stick value.
RBR observation: Gladstone is lending and for details see RBR issue
04/18/07 RBR #75
NAB 2007 From Vegas
Google chief wants to
partner with broadcasters
CEO Eric Schmidt sought to dispel ideas that Google poses a threat to broadcasters. Speaking just a few hours after announcing a major deal for Google to sell radio ad inventory for Clear Channel Radio, Schmidt called it the "defining deal for our radio business." Rather than competing with traditional radio ad sales organizations, Schmidt said Google's business model is not to target traditional radio advertisers or replace radio sales staffs, but rather to bring new advertisers to radio.
04/17/07 RBR #75
CC Radio signs Google
for ad inventory
Well, after months of rumor on the matter, Google and Clear Channel Radio announced a multi-year relationship that enables Google to sell guaranteed :30- second ad inventory on more than 675 of Clear Channel's stations. CC pre-sold about 200 million of ad time to Google for each of the next three years. :30's account for about one-third of CC Radio's total inventory.
04/17/07 RBR #75
SWMX reacts to Google/Clear Channel announcement
SWMX COO Bill Figenshu discussed implications of the Google/ Clear Channel deal. Fig said the deal was actually good news for SWMX, stating the age of electronic revenue generation for radio is here and that Google's worldwide name will lend legitimacy to the medium. "90% of SWMX revenue for radio stations is NEW revenue," he explained. "If Google brings more money into radio, it's good for radio.." There is also an a view from the agencies with Rich Russo, JL Media's SVP/Director of Broadcast Services, sort of called some of the details of the deal back in December. See Ad Business Report section in RBR.
04/17/07 RBR #75
Hogan's email to all GMs:
An RBR source delivered an email to us from CC Radio CEO John Hogan, which was sent to all GMs and radio operating management. Read the Hogan email in this RBR report page.
04/17/07 RBR #75
Day 1, CBS Radio CEO
Mason's Mission
Returning CEO Dan Mason. He's walking in at the beginning to a hopeful new era at CBS Radio. I wondered what it was like sitting on the sidelines during the Imus-NBC-CBS media frenzy-which lead to the firing of Don Imus-and for CBS losing another long standing recognizable brand, especially in NYC. Mason and I spoke over this past weekend to share his focus for CBS-not about what has happened but what will happen and it starts today. My perspective on what to expect is this...So what do you do when faced with this black eye on CBS? First I do not see Imus returning to CBS. From my perspective, Mike & The Mad Dog and the like, I trust you got your hostility out because Mason is moving forward with "Mason's Mission." This is what will happen and it breaks down in areas of: Local Radio - Local Content - World Wide Distribution - and doing a good job. (Read more in RBR)
04/16/07 RBR #74
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Web Content Director
RBR/TVBR is looking for an aggressive and progressive Media Website Director. Will be working side by side with all aspects of our editorial, sales, marketing and production staff. RBR/TVBR is moving forward with a Pro-Active Strategy see what is required as we begin our 25th year in the media business. See Radio Careers
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