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Volume 22, Issue 103, Jim Carnegie, Editor & Publisher
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Wednesday Morning May 25th, 2005
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TV News®
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 NAB fighting possible
Congressional "snow job"
The draft DTV House bill making the rounds on Capitol Hill, and scheduled for a hearing Thursday, does not include provisions for households expected to be unequipped to receive digital signals. The NAB is sounding the bugles in response. "Don't give over 20 million American homes a snow job" is the message in an ad which appeared on Capitol Hill daily reads Roll Call and The Hill. The bill is expected to make 12/31/08 the final day for the analog/digital side-by-side arrangement currently in use by over-the-air television broadcasters, shifting the next day to digital-only broadcast. That move is expected to leave blank screens in the homes of millions of viewers who do not subscribe to MVPD services like cable or satellite and who have not upgraded to digital receivers. Many, including Democratic committee members, favor including a plan to subsidize the purchase of digital-to-analog downconverting equipment to these often low-income households, with funding coming from the proceeds of the auction of newly-freed beachfront spectrum - - such a plank was included in the so-called Ferree Plan floated by the FCC's former Media Bureau chief last year and endorsed by former FCC Chairman Michael Powell. However, the Bush administration signaled its opposition to such a plan late last year.
TVBR observation: Another important issue will be the continued sale of analog receivers. In at least one TVBR household, we have no immediate plans to acquire a digital set - - at the same time, we're in the know, and will under no circumstances EVER by an analog set again. It's simply a matter of when to pull the trigger on DTV, which for us will probably as the deadline nears and prices come down. They should put a screen-size warning on every analog set in every store: "I'm going to be utterly worthless in three years and seven months," with monthly updates required.
DC broadcasters go public against LPM
If you thought Nielsen had solved its PR problems and could roll out Local People Meters (LPM) in Washington, DC without a fuss - - think again. Four DC station owners have scheduled a telephone press conference today to discuss "their opposition to the planned deployment of Nielsen's LPM system in Washington, DC prior to its accreditation and mounting concerns surrounding accuracy and reliability of our country's television ratings system." The stations opposing LPM in DC are Allbritton's WJLA-TV (Ch. 7, ABC), Gannett's WUSA-TV (Ch. 9, CBS), News Corporation's WTTG-TV (Ch. 5, Fox) & WDCA-TV (Ch. 20, UPN) and Tribune's WBDC-TV (Ch. 50, WB).
 Leno testifies in Jackson trial
Jay Leno may skewer Michael Jackson with jokes on NBC's "Tonight Show," but he provided Jackson's defense with ammunition yesterday in the entertainer's child molestation trial. Unlike CNN's Larry King, whom the judge excused without allowing the jury to hear his testimony, Leno was on the stand for about a half hour, telling of his own telephone encounters with the mother of the boy who has accused Jackson, and the boy himself. Leno testified that he was suspicious of the mother, whose son was a cancer patient in 2000, when she told Leno that he was her son's hero. "I'm not Bat Man. It seemed a little unusual," Leno said of the claim that the young boy was a big fan of a middle aged comedian whose show airs late at night. Leno, who regularly makes calls to sick children, said he believed he also spoke to the boy by phone in his hospital room - - and said the child's side of the conversation sounded coached. Although his testimony is seen as helping the defense portray the accuser and his mother as trying to exploit Jackson for money, Leno also testified that the mother never asked him for money.
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Another director leaving Paxson
There was already a vacant seat at the boardroom table, following the recent decision by Bud Paxson not to renominate Bruce Burnham, President of the Burnham Group, and John Oxendine, CEO of Blackstar Inc. and BroadCap, to the Paxson Communications board of directors (4/27/05 TVBR #83), with one of those two seats going to Paxson President Dean Goodman. Now, Elizabeth Hudson has notified Paxson that she is resigning from the board, on or about June 30th. Hudson, Senior Vice President of Communications of National Geographic Society, joined the board just last year and is a member of its audit committee. Her term was to have run until 2007. In addition to Goodman and, of course, Bud Paxson himself, the other remaining members of the board are Larry Patrick, President of Patrick Communications and Legend Communications, and Henry Brandon, Managing Director of Oracle Capital Partners.
TVBR observation: NBC Universal holds the right to name three directors, but those seats have been vacant since the FCC ruled that having representatives on the board would give NBC an attributable interest in Paxson. As for the other two vacancies, we don't expect to see a lot of people calling Bud to volunteer. The past few years have been rough for the company and it doesn't look like things are going to get any easier. Paxson Communications is trying to avert a cash crunch by not buying any more original programming. But that has NBC Universal crying foul, saying Paxson is violating its contracts and taking the matter to arbitration. Meanwhile, several would-be buyers are circling Paxson, but the directors are going to have to judge whether any of them actually have the two billion plus needed to do the transaction - - and make all of the shareholders, including NBC Uni and Bud Paxson, happy. Being a Paxson director right now is not a "show up and collect a nice check" kind of job.
Some real ad nauseum
According to AdAge.com, energy company BP has joined Morgan-Stanley in instituting a policy in which any magazine advertising they may have booked is to be pulled if the magazine contains any editorial the company feels is negative or otherwise objectionable. The article quotes TNS Media Intelligence data, pegging BP's 2004 US ad expenditures at 95.5M - - 23M on cable, 18.6M in magazines, 17M on spot TV, and combined newspaper just over 3M. It dredges up an issue which first came to light when Chrysler instituted a similar policy back in 1997. That episode resulted in a story being pulled from Esquire, but an outcry in response motivated Chrysler to abandon the policy before the year was out. The BP directive asks that publishers notify both their sales and editorial staffs about the policy.
TVBR observation: Editorial department here. We note this because this type of thing is just as applicable to radio and TV advertising. We dearly love our sales staff, especially on payday, but it is absolutely critical that we have an arms-length relationship when it comes to content. Without editorial integrity, there would be no point in reading us, nor would there be any point in advertising with us. Our sales staff has yet to be granted editorial privileges, just as our editorial staff has no say in what ads are sold, what they say or what they look like. Advertisers, if you want to control editorial in the magazines you advertise in, we suggest you do what Clear Channel did: Buy one.
 Politician finds Maher to be incorrect
A joke told by comedian Bill Maher on his HBO program "Real Time" has been called borderline treason by a member of Congress. Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-AL) took issue with Maher's remark that Army recruitment was in trouble and that "We've done picked all the low-lying Lynndie England fruit..." According to Newsday.com, Bachus said, "I think it borders on treason. In treason, one definition is to undermine the effort or national security of our country." Bachus said he doesn't want Maher put on trial, but he does want him off the air.
TVBR observation: Why is it so eternally tempting to protect freedom by attacking one of the most important of our freedoms? Mr. Maher's comments are not even remotely in the same neighborhood as turning over the schematics for West Point to the British, as Benedict Arnold did - - and there are any number of sayings, policies, and undertakings which could be deemed "treasonous" by some Americans. According to numerous recent polls, millions of Americans believe we should not be in Iraq right now. Do you agree or not? That's up to you. But opponents of the war are not guilty of treason for expressing their opposition, whether the expression is broadcast or not.
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Adbiz©
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 Mandel on the upfront
Indeed, the 2005-2006 upfront isn't starting off with a rush or panic, as in recent years. Media agencies, so far, are taking a slower, more methodical approach this time around, as Jon Mandel, Chairman/MediaCom US and Chief Global Buying Officer MediaCom Worldwide, will attest: "We're just getting ready to deal with it. We've got to do all the estimates on all of the programs, etc."
Are you kicking any tires yet?
"We've kicked the tires all year, so we sort of know where they're at. There's still a lot of work to do."
So you're not rushing into anything, it's a softer market as most are saying?
"There's that, and also, if you're going to do the job right, you take the time to do the estimates properly; you take the time to watch every single pilot; you take the time to talk to the producers about where the shows are going. You don't just go and buy based on two-minute clips. People that do that aren't doing a good media job. They're just buyers. The reason why clients get crazy at the business is because they feel that people don't give it the proper thought. And you can talk strategy all you want, but when you go and do conceptual deals without having watched the shows and matched the shows, the audience and the brand you're advertising, then you're doing a disservice to your client and you're doing a disservice to the industry."
Anything you've seen so far that stands out and is exciting you?
"Yes, but different things excite me for different brands."
Tomorrow: Andy Donchin, Carat Americas Director of Broadcast Buying
 No stampede this year...yet
With the recent news that OMD has already struck a deal with ABC/Disney this early in the upfront (5/23 TVBR #101), one would have thought the usual upfront stampede might begin. Not so, from everyone we've talked to so far. "Networks like to create a sense of urgency, a stampede and the panic buying at inflated prices that accompany this stampede. Obviously that's not currently happening, it is much more slow and deliberate," says Ira Berger, pictured, Director of Broadcast, The Richards Group. Jon Nesvig, President, Sales, Fox Broadcasting, agrees-networks have been known to stir up urgency (ever heard Les Moonves or Mel Karmazin speak around this time of year?), but indeed, the early bird often gets the worm. "People are moving on their own time tables. Nobody's ever been hurt by going early on Fox," he tells RBR/TVBR. Most are telling us this whole market is going to be minimal increases-on the high side, 5%--a reasonably priced market. "We're in negotiations now, but no one's tipping their hand," a buyer told us off the record. "It's kind of a poker game, everybody is playing it close to the vest. And you've got someone floating rumors that Omnicom did something-that gets everyone else thinking, 'what are they getting that I'm not or might not?' If you're sitting there and you're thinking your competition is getting a better deal, you think, 'Oh wow, I better get in there and do something.' I think a lot of people are kicking tires and talking. Everybody wants to do a deal and get the best deal, but you don't want to go do the first deal and find out later deals got done at a better rate."
OMD tests "fast-forward" ads
OMD will reportedly begin testing a new type of media buy that will deliver a message even when TV viewers are fast-forwarding through spots on TiVo or DVRs. The plans were detailed this week by David DeSocio, OMD Director of Strategic Marketing at the CAB's local ad sales conference. The new fast-forward ad message would allow OMD clients to involve the consumer, similar to some of the techniques TiVo is developing including audio ad messages, superimposed billboard messages, or spots in picture-in-picture screens while viewers fast-forward through spot breaks.
 PTC not happy
about Paris Hilton ad
A website touting Paris Hilton's racy TV spot for burger chain Carl's Jr. crashed for four hours as Internet surfers raced to see the 30-second spot, which features the hotel heiress washing a Rolls Royce and chomping on Carl's Jr.'s Spicy BBQ Burger in a stringy black swimsuit. Carl's Jr., at the same time as the TV ads aired beginning last Thursday, launched a special website (http://www.spicyparis.com) featuring a special 60-second version of the ad. A day later, the site crashed and was down for about four hours, the company said. Hilton's Carl's Jr. ad, created by Mendelsohn Zien Advertising LA, will also be used to promote CKE's Hardee's hamburger chain. It will hit airwaves in markets in mid-June, Reuters reported. Meanwhile, the scantily clad Hilton frolicking with a water hose is too hot for the Parents Television Council. "This commercial is basically soft-core porn," said Melissa Caldwell, research director for PTC. "It's inappropriate for television." The LA Times reported the group plans to mobilize its 1 million members to protest and is considering asking the FCC to declare the ad indecent.
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| Media Markets & MoneyTM |
Meredith planning to expand publishing empire
Multimedia company Meredith Corporation, known for its fleet of large market television stations, has entered into a 350M agreement in principle to acquire publishing assets of Gruner & Jahr, primarily to get four magazines and related products. The mags include Parents, Child, Fitness and Family Circle, and include spin-off periodicals, one of which is written in Spanish. If the deal goes through, Meredith will also have an option to acquire G&J's Inc. and Fast Company, business pubs which it expects to resell one way or another. The publications are expected to enhance Meredith's access to its existing subscriber base via such titles as Better Homes and Gardens, Ladies Home Journal and American Baby.
Stone to acq Ptak pack
Middle Georgia Communications is sending its mid-Georgia combo, WKGQ-AM Milledgeville and WMGZ-FM Eatonville, to Paul Stone's Southern Stone Broadcasting in exchange for 1.1M in cold, hard cash. Stone already has WDDK-FM Greensboro in the vicinity. The trio are in unrated territory to the northeast of Macon and east to southeast of Atlanta. Stone has interests in numerous radio stations in unrated portions of Georgia, as well as the Athens area, a market which will soon be getting the attention of the Eastlan ratings company. Stone also has an interest in WTXL-TV, an ABC affiliate in Tallahassee FL.
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| Washington Beat |
Churn continues in anticonsolidation community
The meetings continue - - Bill Moyers appeared in one House of Representatives office building yesterday, at an event sponsored by Maurice Hinchey's Future of American Media Caucus (FAM). Another House office building was the venue for a forum called "Media Bias and the Future of Freedom of the Press". It featured, among other, Air America's Al Franken and Randi Rhodes, David Brock from Media Matters for America, and Eric Alterman from the Center for American Progress. Today, FCC Commissioner will be speaking at a luncheon sponsored by the Media Institute's Communications Forum. The session, called "Fresh is Not as Fresh as Frozen: A Response to the Commercialization of American Media." Adelstein is expected to focus his remarks on a new anti-payola initiative.
TVBR observation: Why is it we usually see left-of-center groups holding events such as these? Because the Republicans control Washington. When pro-consolidation events are held, they're called things like Commerce Committee hearing, FCC open meeting or trade group convention.
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| Programming |
 "American Idol" finale tonight
By now, the votes have been tallied from last night's final performances by Carrie Underwood and Bo Bice - - but you can bet that Fox will keep you waiting for the results until the end of tonight's two-hour finale. Home viewers had four hours to dial in their votes after hearing the two finalists each perform three songs - - including an original - - during last night's broadcast. In advance of the Fox tally - - the only one which counts - - a USA Today/CNN/Gallup poll found that 38% favored Underwood, who tends toward the country genre, and 34% Bice, a rocker. One of them will be named tonight as the winner of the 4th "American Idol" competition, joining past winners Kelly Clarkson, Ruben Studdard and Fantasia (who has dropped her last name). But being #2 isn't always bad, as attested to by the success of Clay Aiken, who was runner-up to Studdard in year two.
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| Ratings & Research |
Raymond goes out on top
The series finale of "Everybody Loves Raymond" topped the Nielsen ratings for the past week and helped give CBS yet another weekly win. Helped by the two-hour season finale of CSI, which was #3 overall, Raymond gave CBS a win in the 18-49 demo as well, although it still remains barely behind Fox for the season to date. ABC claimed #2 with the season finale of "Desperate Housewives." Such tough competition held Fox's "American Idol" down to #4 for the Wednesday installment. For Households, CBS scored an average 9.1 rating and 15 share, followed by ABC at 6.4/11, Fox 6.3/11, NBC 6.0/10, UPN & WB 2.4/4 and Pax 0.4/1. | Here's the Nielson Numbers |
Nielsen to add video on demand to ratings
Come Q2 of 2006, Nielsen Media Research will add video on demand (VOD) usage to its TV ratings service for both its national and metered market samples. A phase-in is planned, using the embedded audio codes that are recognized by Nielsen's new Active/Passive (A/P) meter, which is already being used in local metered samples to collect date on time-shifted viewing. By Q2 2006, Nielsen will measure viewership to recently aired programming that is watched via VOD within seven days of its initial airing on traditional television. By Q4 2006, Nielsen will measure VOD viewership to theatrical movies, pay-per-view events, older television programs, etc. that the ratings firm refers to as "Library Content."
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| TVBR Stats |
 Big 3 TV nets see revenue drop
That's according to Broadcast Cable Financial Management (BCFM), which tallies revenues for the network TV business. Q1 revenues for ABC, CBS and NBC combined were down 2.07% in Q1 to 2.88 billion. However, note that Fox does not participate in the BCFM revenue gathering, and it had the Super Bowl this year. Thus, sports revenues for the big three dropped 21.35% to 545 million. "While not having the Super Bowl on one of the three networks is a major factor affection results for 2005 when compared with 2004, results in the sports category are also down when compared with earlier years. All other categories gained over a two-year period," said Mary Collins, President and CEO of BCFM. | Here's the Chart |
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| Stock Talk |
Stocks close mixed
Some profit taking, countered by some reassuring words from the Fed about inflation, led to a mixed day on Wall Street. The Dow Industrials slipped 20 points, or 0.2%, to 10,504, while other indices were slightly higher.
TV stocks were nearly flat. Meredith jumped 5.5% after announcing a big magazine purchase. Journal Communications fell 4.9% on a brokerage downgrade. Other TV stocks were little changed.
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| Stocks |
Here's how stocks fared on Tuesday
| Company |
Symbol |
Close |
Change |
Company |
Symbol |
Close |
Change |
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Acme
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ACME
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3.55
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-0.16
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McGraw-Hill
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MHP
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43.95
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+0.77
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Belo
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BLC
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24.20
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+0.05
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Media General
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MEG
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61.60
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+0.32
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Clear Channel
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CCU
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30.44
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-0.15
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Meredith
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MDP
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50.28
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+2.64
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Disney
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DIS
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27.66
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+0.11
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News Corp.
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NWS
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16.60 |
+0.41
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Emmis
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EMMS
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18.00
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+0.01
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Nexstar
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NXST
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4.77
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-0.10
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Entravision
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EVC
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7.61
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+0.11
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NY Times
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NYT
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32.52
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-0.40
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Fisher
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FSCI
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50.99
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+0.06
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Paxson
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PAX
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0.66
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-0.01
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Gannett
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GCI
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75.37
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-0.09
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Saga Commun.
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SGA
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13.90
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+0.10
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Gen. Electric
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GE
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37.07
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-0.11
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Scripps
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SSP
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51.64
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+0.04
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Granite
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GBTVK
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0.20
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unch
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Sinclair
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SBGI
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8.62
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+0.02
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Gray
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GTN
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12.01
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-0.06
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Time Warner
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TWX
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17.72
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+0.05
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Gray, C1. A
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GTNa
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11.58
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unch
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Tribune
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TRB
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36.46
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-0.16
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Hearst-Argyle
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HTV
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24.77
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-0.14
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Univision
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UVN
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26.62
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+0.12
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Jeff-Pilot
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JP
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49.80
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-0.03
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Viacom, Cl. A
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VIA
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35.51
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-0.04
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Journal Comm.
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JRN
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16.05
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-0.82
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Viacom, Cl. B
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VIAb
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35.41
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-0.04
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Liberty Corp
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LC
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36.82
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-0.56
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Wash. Post
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WPO
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838.50
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+2.75
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LIN TV
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TVL
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14.68
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-0.16
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Young
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YBTVA
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5.15
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-0.11 |
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Bounceback
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 We want to
hear from you.
This is your column, so send your comments to tvnews@rbr.com
Regarding Cumulus' rep switch (5/24/05 TVBR #102).
 Just thought I would add my two cents worth: It seems we all want to cry wolf and shift the weight when business is not as strong as we would all like it to be. I have read with interest the various viewpoints of concern with Interep and their various rep firms. We all know the smaller the market the smaller the national sales and vise versa. As an independently owned company in the Greensboro market we do not have the luxury of three of four stations to combo to make the CPP or force a buy .. we are still doing it the old fashion way .. knocking on doors and asking for dollars. It is our opinion that our rep firms operates in the same manner. INTEREP's team at McGavern Guild has done an excellent job for us over the years and sometimes with out stellar numbers. We signed on with McGavern over four (4) years ago and have seen nothing but improvements month in and month out and it continues to grow. McGavern and Interep have done nothing but produce results for us and we am very proud to be a part of this selling machine. Our national business is pacing up from last year and up from the previous year. Think that says it all!
Tom Collins
Vice President
WTHZ FM / WLXN AM
Greensboro, North Carolina
Regarding Saga's decision to cancel Sean Hannity (5/19/05 RBR #99).
I think the Saga position is principled and admirable. However, does it serve the Listener? And the question is, who blinks first: The Syndicator or the Listener, who can easily go out and buy a satellite radio? I would suggest that if there is enough compelling content on the local station, especially local and including syndicated programming, then the Listener will stick with their local, terrestrial station. If the Listener cannot get the programming they want locally, they will go out of market for it, including to XM or Sirius.
H. Randolph Holder
Clarke Broadcasting Corporation
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Upped & Tapped
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Belo names two GMs
Bud Brown is the new President and General Manager at WWL-TV (Ch. 4, CBS) new Orleans, succeeding Jimmie Phillips, who has retired after a 36-year career but will remain a consultant to Belo. Succeeding Brown in Spokane, WA as President and GM of KREM-TV (Ch. 2, CBS) and KSKN-TV (Ch. 22, WB), although not until this fall, is Deborah "DJ" Wilson, currently Belo's VP/Assistant GM in Seattle.
Ferrel managing Elvis
Long-time associate Mike Ferrel has been named President of CKX Inc. as Bob Sillerman relinquishes one of his titles, but remains as Chairman and CEO of the company which now owns the rights to the name, image and likeness of Elvis Presley and the "Idols" television brand, including "American Idol." Ferrell had previously been president of radio and entertainment companies headed by Sillerman.
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TVBR Radar 2005
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Television News you won't read any where else. TVBR--First, Accurate, and Independently Owned.
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Cumulus Media, Inc. does as it says
Set a 30-day deadline on May 4th, to make a change either Interep's Cumulus Radio Sales will adopt that types of new business initiatives and accountability that Cumulus has adopted for its local sales, or Cumulus will take its national business elsewhere. They go across the street to Katz Media with their 310 stations. RBR observation: Said it before but worth repeating. It's not that they were anxious to jump to Katz as Citadel did rather he was complaining that the national rep business isn't structured for growth. True, in reality they are not but one would have to examine future growth. Cumulus also felt both rep companies are too focused on continuing business from existing national advertisers, rather than working to expand the mix of advertisers and build new business. Again we have to say True to some extent. Now the reality of losing the second largest in number radio group is a blow to the Interep ego but in dollars, approximately give or take 3 million, is not a large hunk of business in green backs and the capital expenditure in developing those dollars for 310 stations in mid to small markets is costly. It is called cost effectiveness as it takes the same dollar to pay the same person to sell etc a cluster in market 20 as it does in market 150. Time is money and the key for a small firm is to concentrate on quality of their clients giving more time to allocate the people expense over from market 150 into new business development. Seems both sides win on this deal - Interep will be able to redeploy people resources and focus more time on the major clients they have. Cumulus wins as Katz Media has the financial resources to spread the goodwill value of their sales effectiveness that Cumulus stations need as Clear Channel owns a bunch of small market stations. Meanwhile, Guild will have explaining to do this morning as he has to keep his current clients content while he fends off a bidder in Oaktree and seeks to recapitalize with Allen & Co. Interep you have one good opportunity to redeploy but it has to be executed this year as many firms will face the question soon: Can you compete in 2006 and beyond by doing business that same ol same ol?
05/24/05 TVBR #102
Product placement in
Neil Simon Broadway play
As part of a product placement campaign in Broadway's Sweet Charity, playwright Neil Simon approved a script change to promote Jose Cuervo's Gran Centenario tequila. Sweet Charity stars Christina Applegate. Simon approved a script change to incorporate the brand into the dialog. The brand logo will also appear in set and ads will be placed in the playbill. NY-based Bridge to Hollywood/Broadway put the deal together-it previously brokered product placement deals for appearances in Thoroughly Modern Millie and Raisin in the Sun.
TVBR observation: Ok this is hard beverage dollar shit but it pushes the point that more national spot dollars will move into this environment in 2006. 05/24/05 TVBR #102
Is deconsolidation
just part of a cycle?
That's the theory put forth by Thomas Weisel Partners analyst Gordon Hodge in a research note on the current wave of media companies spinning off units or selling assets. After a boom-bust consolidation period in the late 1980s, the Telecom Act of 1996 propagated another consolidation wave, which rolled through the Internet bubble and then crashed into the breakers of recession, antitrust concerns and 9/11. We are living in the aftermath of that wave. TVBR observation: Reminds us of a Yogi Berra quote on his hitting, "Slump? I ain't in no slump ... I just ain't hitting." Well same with many companies they just ain't hitting because as Berra would say - "90% of the game is half mental." Think about it because Hodge and Berra are both correct either a slump of the sum of their parts. Key for all media companies is your business plan and execution of the plan. If you didn't see it coming after 9/11 and the '02 recession which is still alive then you best get your house in order now or you will find it very difficult to compete in 2006. 05/23/05 TVBR #101
Time Warner may spin AOL
Has discussed with management of AOL the possibility of selling shares of the unit in an initial public offering and decided not to go ahead with such a plan "at this point," said Parsons. The likelihood of a spinoff probably depends on whether AOL CEO Jonathan Miller succeeds in his strategy of attracting more Internet users and advertisers to his service to compensate for the decline in dial-up subscribers. AOL's 112 billion purchase of Time Warner in January 2001 led to a record 98.7 billion loss in 2002 and caused the shares to tumble. TVBR observation: A good idea. AOL still hasn't realized its main client base is dial-up. When Juno and Netzero came along with basically the same core service at less than half the price, AOL should have immediately matched those 9.95 a month fees to keep its customers from leaving. It didn't. Instead, it bought Netscape and made a Netscape service for 9.95-too little too late. What it should have done is offered the AOL service for 9.95 a month and touted its extra benefits/services. But AOL ad sales are showing some real promise lately, so we will see what happens.
05/23/05 TVBR #101
OneDomain sued
for copyright infringement
Tapscan claims in a federal lawsuit that Birmingham competitor OneDomain Inc. infringed on its copyrighted computer code that runs software products for broadcasters. TVBR observation: We are in the techie age and no going back and what Tapscan is claiming we will see more of - companies protecting their names and their established brands along with intellectual property because people in general are more computer and internet literate. Do a simple engine search and see if a brand is being used because there are rules to follow and the first being common sense. Nobody today can claim ignorance and say - DA I didn't know. Sorry, doesn't cut it.
05/23/05 TVBR #101
EBay TV to launch on
Time Warner Cable TV
Struck a deal to let cable customers make Internet bids through their TVs. Time Warner Cable digital subscribers in the Austin will take part in a one-year test of new technology. Viewers in Austin will be able to click their remotes to view the status of eBay bids they made on their computers. Users can set the software to alert them on their TV screens if they are outbid, and can then use their remotes to raise their bids. TWC is already testing similar applications that let viewers tailor interactive menus to access local weather, news, stock prices and sports team scores from their TV sets in four markets including Portland, Maine and San Antonio.
TVBR observation: Called consumer interaction with that TV screen. Getting they away from the computer screen to the TV screen is excellent in positioning and branding. TV screen is fighting the computer screen and soon VOD screens. The more you can keep them in front of that TV better all TV will be for today and tomorrow. 05/20/05 TVBR #100
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Local Sales Manager
LIN TV, one of the premiere operators, needs a leader at WOOD-TV8, NBC affiliate, in Grand Rapids to take charge of the Sales Team. Revenue successes with Marshall Marketing, NSI Stellar data and Eckstein Summers projects required. Knowledge of VCI and One Domain a plus.
GSM Opportunity with Emmis
Legendary KSHE-95 St Louis needs a strong GSM with minimum 5 years battle experience and NTR skills a plus. Generous benefits and compensation await. Are you ready for this challenge!
Broker Opportunity
Established in 1979 we've conducted over 1 billion in transactions and seeking just one executive that desires to learn and become a player in the investment media station brokerage business. First quality in our firm - Integrity. - See TV Careers
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