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Volume 24, Issue 109, Jim Carnegie, Editor & Publisher
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Tuesday Morning June 5th, 2007
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TV News ®
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 Free speech 1, FCC 0
in split decision
The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York has branded the FCC's claim that it can fine broadcast licensees for "fleeting expletives" with the dreaded "arbitrary and capricious" label, giving a victory to Fox Television Stations in particular and to broadcasters and the First Amendment in general. The FCC's finding against Fox is vacated and the rule is remanded to the Commission for a do-over. To recap, the FCC under Michael Powell reversed a finding of its own Enforcement Bureau regarding fleeting f-bombs uttered by rock star Bono during an awards program on NBC. EB said the incident was not actionable. Powell said that from now on, if the fleeting utterance included an f-bomb, it was actionable. Fox had been nailed (without a fine) for similar incidents involving remarks from Cher and Nicole Richie. Fox argued that the FCC has provided no reasoned explanation for pulling a 180 degree turn on its enforcement of fleeting unplanned expletives. The Second Circuit agreed, faulting the FCC "...for failing to articulate a reasoned basis for its change in policy." Judge Rosemary Pooler wrote that "...the FCC's new policy regarding 'fleeting expletives' represents a significant departure from positions previously taken by the agency and relied on by the broadcast industry." Judge Pierre Leval did offer a dissenting opinion, saying that the FCC's reasoning, that the f-word was "not only of extreme and graphic vulgarity, but also conveys an inescapably sexual connotation," was sufficient to change the rules. But that view did not prevail and the NAB, via Executive Vice President Dennis Wharton, praised the court ruling: "This is a timely opinion as public policymakers weigh the merits of further program content restrictions. NAB has long believed that responsible industry self-regulation is preferable to government regulation in areas of programming content."
TVBR observation: We're surprised that there was any dissent on this case. The FCC can change the rules if it wants, after going through the usual comment and petition procedures, giving all interested parties a chance to weigh in, and giving those affected by the ruling an adequate explanation of the change. We expected this ruling after watching court arguments last December. So fleeting expletives join the ever-growing list of FCC actions sent back for further consideration. Now we'll watch to see if, how and when the FCC revisits the fleeting expletive issue.
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Meanwhile, the FCC gets the anti-indecency bomb
The FCC rules, in obedience to the Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act signed into law by President George W. Bush on 6/15/06, have now been officially changed, and what used to be a 32.5K top drawer fine that could be levied on any broadcast outlet found to have engaged in "obscene, indecent of profane" programming has now been extended to 325K. 325K happens to be the old ceiling "for any continuing violation." The new price tag for a continuing violation, should you be so inclined to commit such a thing, is now 3M. If you're interested in delving into the specific portion of the FCC rules thus affected, it is located as Section 1.80(b)(1). And if you're interesting in registering comments with the Commission on this matter, you can forget about it. "The rule changed adopted in this Order merely implements a specific statutory command," explains the FCC, "and does not involve discretionary action on the part of the Commission. Accordingly, we find that, for good cause, compliance with the notice and comment provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act is unnecessary.
TVBR observation: So the race is on. Will you be the first kid on your block to get slammed with a six- or even a seven-figure indecency fine? If so, do you have legal talent on retainer to fight your way out of a fine like that? Could you even sell your station for 3M? To say the least, it will be of exceeding interest to watch what happens if and when the FCC polishes up this brand new nuke in its regulatory arsenal and drops it on somebody. But then, the latest court action calls the whole thing into question anyway. Stay tuned.
 NBC Uni has Tiger by the tail
It will be all Tiger Woods across the 11 networks of NBC Universal on Thursday, June 14th. As Tiger Woods tees off in the opening round of the US Open, the live broadcast on NBC's "Today" show will be simulcast across multiple platforms. The "NBC US Open Roadblock" presented by Lexus will be carried live on seven broadcast/cable networks and streamed live on four NBC Uni websites. Live coverage of the event begins at 8:00 am ET and will be hosted by Today co-host Matt Lauer with on site coverage from NBC golf host Dan Hicks and lead analyst Johnny Miller from the Oakmont Country Club in Pennsylvania. Joining the Today broadcast in progress will be six other NBC Uni networks - USA Network, CNBC, MSNBC, Bravo, SciFi and Universal HD - and four websites - NBC.com, NBCSports.com, MSNBC.com and CNBC.com. Beginning yesterday, the "US Open Roadblock" is receiving significant promotion across all 11 platforms. It is the first association for an advertiser with an NBC Universal "roadblock" and the first cross-platform simulcast for NBC Sports. Previous "roadblocks" were movie trailer world premieres. The "NBC U.S. Open Roadblock presented by Lexus" launches NBC Sports' 16 hours of live US Open coverage, which starts that Thursday afternoon, from 3-5 pm ET, continues Friday from 3-5 pm ET and concludes Saturday and Sunday, 1-7 pm ET. "This unique approach demonstrates Lexus' commitment to elevating the experience for the benefit of golf fans. We understand how passionate our customers are about this sport and want to continuously enhance every touchpoint in innovative ways," said Deborah Wahl Meyer, Lexus Vice President of Marketing.
TVBR observation: Pretty clever of Lexus to grab this identification with Tiger Woods via a deal with NBC Universal. Tiger himself is committed to promoting Buick through 2009.
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Hearst-Argyle, YouTube strike video clips deal
In the first deal of its kind, Google's YouTube and Hearst-Argyle Television announced Hearst will distribute news, weather and entertainment video to YouTube in a revenue-sharing arrangement. YouTube will pay licensing fees for the content and Hearst will receive an undisclosed portion of the ad revenue sold against the video clips it makes available. Both companies will be selling the inventory for the variety of ad options available, including banner, search and audio/video. Five of Hearst-Argyle's biggest stations yesterday begin posting local video content to channels on YouTube. The stations include WCVB Boston, KCRA Sacramento, WTAE Pittsburgh, WBAL Baltimore and WMUR Manchester, NH. Other stations will follow. The channels will include local television programming such as "Chronicle," on WCVB, one of New England's most honored television programs. YouTube will also serve as a platform to support Hearst-Argyle's new digital video initiatives including high school football, basketball and local amateur entertainment as well.
Pleased to meet you
Rupert Murdoch introduced himself to members of the Bancroft family yesterday in an effort to convince them to accept the five billion bucks that News Corporation has offered for Dow Jones & Co., including the Wall Street Journal. Afterward, he called the meeting "constructive." No announcement of an actual deal was expected to come out of the meeting, but it does show that the Bancrofts, who have controlled DJ & Co. for 100 years, are now seriously considering other options. Will Rupert's sweet-talking do the trick? Much as some at the company would like to see a white knight ride in on a horse to carry the company elsewhere, Murdoch's bid is so generous that it appears unlikely any other bidder will match it, let alone top it. Even so, the union representing many WSJ staffers has now hired its own financial advisor to try to find something, anything, other than News Corporation as an option.
TVBR observation: Why the rabid fear of Rupert Murdoch among WSJ staffers? It is hard to discern a real gulf between the political bent of the WSJ and that of Fox News Channel. One columnist, and we unfortunately can't remember who it was, even suggested that the WSJ might move a little to the left with Murdoch at the helm.
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| Wall Street Media Business Report TM |
Citadel now majority owner of Ion
Public shareholders of Ion Media Networks tendered 40,624,885 shares of stock to Citadel Investment Group's CIG Media LLC by the Friday deadline and all have been accepted for payment of a buck-46 per share. With those shares and what Citadel already owned, it now has 89.9% of Ion's outstanding shares of Class A stock. In an attempt to lasso the rest, Citadel announced a second tender period running through Friday, June 15th, with the same 1.46 offer.
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Ad Business Report TM
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IdeaCast opens national ad sales office in NYC
IdeaCast, an independent provider of television programming and advertising to fitness centers and health clubs, has named ad sales vet Jason Brown as the company's first President of Sales & Marketing. Brownwill be responsible for launching and managing IdeaCast's national ad sales office in NYC. He'll report to IdeaCast CEO Fred Smith. Prior to joining, Brown served as EVP/National AdSales at Screenvision. There, he headed the U.S national and regional sales teams and was responsible for a 30% year-to-year ad revenue growth generated via national cinema spots, slides, promotional extensions and in-theatre integrated marketing programs. Brown will be joined at IdeaCast by, Bob Shaw, Adam Oliveri, Adam Schoenberg and Tess Mallery, keeping his Screenvision ad sales team intact.
 NBCU TV Networks offers local sales promotions
NBC Universal TV Networks Distribution is now offering affiliates local ad sales promotions including "Top Design" and "Shear Genius" from Bravo and "The Starter Wife" from USA Network. More than 85 markets signed up for each promotion. Participating affiliates include Bresnan Communications, Charter, Comcast Spotlight, Cox Communications, OnMedia a Division of Mediacom Communications Company, Time Warner Cable and more. "With USA being the number one basic cable network, we are seeing strong demand for promotional elements," said Brian Hunt, SVP/Marketing and Sales Strategy, NBCU TV Networks Distribution. "Bravo is one of the fastest growing cable channels and has generated tremendous buzz, which has led to wide-pick up of the 'Top Design' and 'Shear Genius' programs." NBCU's latest local ad sales promotion ties in season two of SCI FI Channel's "Eureka," which premieres on the network 7/10. The first 30 systems to sign up will get a chance to win Nintendo's latest video game console, Nintendo Wii. Affiliates can visit www.nbcunetworks.com to get more information and participation guidelines for "Eureka" as well as future local ad sales campaigns.
 Financier Irwin Jacobs
sues Julie Roehm
Financier Irwin Jacobs filed a defamation suit against fired Wal-Mart SVP/Marketing Communications Julie Roehm after she accused him of making preferred deals with the retailer and its CEO, H. Lee Scott. The complaint is in response to allegations Roehm made in her legal battle with Wal-Mart. Roehm was fired amid accusations that she had an affair with a subordinate and became too close with an agency the company was reviewing. She denies the allegations and claims Wal-Mart is creating a double standard when Scott violated his own ethics code by accepting gifts from suppliers and engaging in sweetheart business deals. She said Jacobs gave Scott discounts on diamond and yacht purchases and free rides on his personal jets to vacation homes in Florida and Vegas. In his suit, Jacobs argues her claims are damaging to his personal reputation and his companies, including Jacobs Trading Co., which regularly does business with Wal-Mart, reported The NY Post. "These false accusations are clearly an attempt to use Mr. Jacobs and his business relationship with Wal-Mart to sensationalize your client's claims," according to the letter, which Jacobs filed with his suit. He says he never sold Scott a diamond and that his boat company Genmar Holdings, sold three Wellcraft brand boats to Scott at "market prices." The lawsuit, filed in Arkansas, also names three of Roehm's attorneys as defendants.
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| Media Markets & Money TM |
Close encounter all over
Bonten Media Group LLC has the keys and BlueStone Television has the cash as a 230M multi-market television deal came to closure. The new owner is headed by Randy Bongarten and is part of Diamond Castle Holdings. The seller is headed by Sandy DiPasquale in conjunction with Providence Equity Partners. The group includes WCYB-TV Tri-Cities TN-VA; KRCR-TV Chico-Redding CA; KAEF-TV Eureka CA; KECI-TV & KCFW-TV Missoula MT; KTVM-TV Butte-Bozeman MT; KTXS-TV & KTES-LP Abilene-Sweetwater TX; KTXE-LP San Angelo TX; and WCTI-TV Greenville-New Bern-Washington NC.
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| Media Business Report TM |
The iPhone cometh
 If you were watching television at all over the weekend, you no doubt saw an add from Apple and AT&T Wireless announcing that the Apple iPhone will make its debut on June 29th. As the exclusive US service provider for the much-awaited device, AT&T is hoping for an advantage over its wireless rivals and is planning heavy promotion of the iPhone. It carries a big price tag, though - 500 bucks, or 600 if you want more memory. Some technophiles are looking down their noses at the iPhone, since it uses old fashioned GSM, rather than the new 3G wireless technology. But as a latecomer to the mobile phone biz, Apple is hoping that consumers will take to the iPhone's sleek design and easy operability, with touch-screen icons making it a mobile device that is so self-explanatory that non-techies will flock to it.
TVBR observation: We are reminded of what Bob Pittman said in his speech at NAB2007 in Las Vegas in April - that consumer acceptance of a new technology or device isn't about being the best, but rather about being the most convenient. If the iPhone is able to deliver on its promise of being an easy, painless way to deal with email, texting, music downloads and mobile video, it may well be embraced by the public. The average consumer doesn't want to have to break open a manual to figure out how to use their latest wireless device.
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| Washington Media Business Report TM |
FTC finds changes in children's advertising exposure
Children are seeing more ads overall, but less advertising minutes, according to a Federal Trade Commission study comparing results of studies conducted with 1977 and 2004 data samples from Nielsen Media Research/Nielsen Monitor-Plus. Also, although children are seeing more ads overall, they are actually seeing less paid advertisements. That's because program outlets are devoting a much larger percentage of the time between the entertainment promoting their other shows. Here are some key numbers: Children 2-11 saw 19.7K paid ads and 21.9K total ads in 1977, compared to 2004 totals of 18.3K paid ads (a decrease of 7%) and 25.6K total ads (a 17% increase). Thanks to shorter spot lengths in today's environment, total advertising minutes seen dropped 2% over the period, for the paid category the drop was an even more significant 19%. In the critical food advertisement category, a hot topic this year in Washington, children were found to have seen 6.1K in 1977 and FTC thinks the current total is down about 9%. Children's cable channels account for a large portion of the ads seen, whereas the cable industry was just warming up back in 1977. FTC does not say if there is a link between food advertising and childhood obesity. It does say that if indeed there is a link, it is not evident in the results of this study, which shows that the exposure of children is equal to or down slightly from 1977 levels.
TVBR observation: Our take is that the obesity problem is complex - any attempt to try to pin it on any one culprit can be expected to overlook many other contributing factors and thus doom the search for a remedy to failure. Broadcasters and food advertisers would do well to do what they can well to contribute to a nation of healthy children, but they should also insist that their contributions are just one portion of a much bigger picture.
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| Cable Business Report TM |
Kentucky satellite tax stands
A federal appeals court has upheld a Kentucky tax on satellite TV which had been challenged by both DirecTV and EchoStar. The tax passed in 2005 is collected on both wired cable companies and the satellite companies, but the cable operators get to deduct local franchise fees from what they owe the state. The satellite companies had argued that the tax scheme unfairly benefited the cable companies, since the satellite companies had to pay the full amount, not having any local franchise fee payments to deduct. The federal appeals court ruled, though, that Kentucky had merely "substituted a uniform state taxation scheme" that prevented localities from unfairly penalizing cable companies.
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| Entertainment Media Business Report TM |
Pirates lands at USA
USA Network has acquired the cable television rights from Disney-ABC Domestic Television to the global box office smash, Walt Disney Pictures' "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End." Under the agreement, USA has the network window premiere beginning in September 2009. "This acquisition completes USA's ownership of rights to the 'Pirates' trilogy, and we couldn't be more thrilled. It's one of the most popular franchises in film history and our viewers have made it clear that it's a favorite of theirs," said Jane Blaney, USA's Sr. VP of Programming. The 2006 premiere of "Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl" was the biggest theatrical movie in USA's history and the highest-rated movie in five years in the P25-54 demo. The premiere and its subsequent three primetime runs have established "Pirates" as the top movie on cable since its debut on USA. Last year, USA announced acquisition of "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest," the record-shattering second film in the series.
 NBC details upcoming "Age of Love"
NBC's upcoming reality dating series "Age of Love," premiering on Monday, June 18 (9-10 p.m. ET) and hosted by Mark Consuelos ("All My Children"), features a timely, unique twist on the reality dating show format. More than just a dating competition, it's a social experiment based on the question: When it comes to falling in love, does age really matter? 30-year-old Australian tennis superstar Mark Philippoussis will attempt to find true love among women ranging in age from 21-48 in this unique series based on the current phenomenon of younger men dating older women. Philippoussis will date 13 women from two very different groups -- the "Kittens," six fun, enthusiastic women in their 20's, and the "Cougars," seven beautiful, sophisticated women in their 40's. But only one woman can win Mark's heart. Is she an attractive, experienced woman who knows what she wants and has already carved out a niche of her own, or is she a sexy younger woman who lacks the experience of her older counterpart, but has an enthusiasm for life that only comes with the inexperience of youth? In the end, both Mark and the viewers will discover if love is truly ageless. The suspense builds in early episodes as Mark -- unaware of the concept -- is first introduced to the "Cougars." As he meets them one by one, their ages increase much to his surprise. The series takes a dramatic turn when Mark learns there's a second group of much younger women -- the "Kittens" -- who will also be attempting to vie for his affections. Unaware of each other, the two groups of women meet for the first time taking the competition for Mark's affections to a whole new level. From there, each week the field of women will be narrowed down with the remaining vying for his attention -- but only one can win Mark's heart. "Age of Love" is produced by 3 Ball Productions. JD Roth ("The Biggest Loser," "Beauty and the Geek"), Todd A. Nelson ("The Biggest Loser," "Beauty and the Geek"), Adam Greener ("Unan1mous") and Craig Armstrong ("Survivor," "Super Nanny") are executive producers.
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| Internet Media Business Report TM |
 What local media websites earn:
2007 survey
Borrell Associates' Fifth Annual Benchmarking Report on local media websites analyzed web revenues for 2,855 local media properties, including 740 Daily Newspapers; 252 Weekly Newspapers; 1,260 Radio Stations; 570 TV Stations and 33 Independent Local Sites. The action on the local media battlefield is focusing on the Web. Newspapers are scrambling to make up losses in classified advertising. TV stations are scrambling to cover declines in automotive and political ads. Radio operators are worried about a future in which audio programming comes from computer speakers and iPods instead of radios. And yellow page directories are finally getting serious about trying to stop the migration of business look-ups to the Web as Google and Yahoo add local addresses and phone numbers to search results. Borrell gauges this year's U.S. local online advertising at 7.5 billion, growing at a clip of 31.6% over 2006. Newspapers continue to hold the dominant share. They control 35.9% of all locally spent online advertising, but pure-play internet companies (Google, Yahoo, Monster et al.) are hot on their heels, with 33.2%. Yellow pages operators control 11.7%; Other Print (e.g., Homes & Land and other local magazines) 9.2%; TV stations 7.7% and radio stations 2.2%.
| See key stats from the report here |
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| Ratings & Research |
SNTA: Nielsen confirms syndication's
commercial audience leadership
Coming off the heels of Nielsen's latest research for the average commercial minutes, The SNTA (Syndicated Network Television Association) released an analysis that concluded viewers are watching more of syndication's commercials.
Highlights:
* 84% of syndication is viewed "Live", so commercials can't be skipped, +45% advantage over prime network
* Syndication's "Live+3" commercial ratings are 97% of the program ratings, +35% over prime network and +14% over prime cable
* 8 in 10 program viewers watch syndication's commercials in playback mode, virtually double prime networks 4 in 10 and prime cable's 5 in 10 for prime cable
* Syndication's consistent commercial ratings are at least 96% of program ratings at all points of time, while both prime network & prime cable commercial audience declines as time progresses vs. the original air date.
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| Stock Talk |
Small gains despite China worries
Wall Street traders eventually shrugged off worries about a plunge by the Chinese stock market and carried the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 to new record highs. The Dow ended the day up eight points at 13,676.
TV stocks were higher as well. ACME was the leader, up 3.1%. Belo didn't move much, up 0.3%, following a Barron's article suggesting that it would be worth 30 bucks a share if it would split its newspaper and television operations into separate companies.
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| Stocks |
Here's how stocks fared on Monday
| Company |
Symbol |
Close |
Change |
Company |
Symbol |
Close |
Change |
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Acme
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ACME
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5.65
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+0.17
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Lincoln Natl.
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LNC
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73.00
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-0.07
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Belo
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BLC
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22.28
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+0.06
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LIN TV
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TVL
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19.66
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+0.13
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| CBS CI. B |
CBS |
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33.66
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+0.18
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McGraw-Hill
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MHP
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71.96
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+1.57
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| CBS CI. A |
CBSa |
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33.65
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+0.20
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Media General
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MEG
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37.67
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+0.27
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Clear Channel
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CCU
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38.56
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+0.06
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Meredith
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MDP
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63.06
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+0.48
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Disney
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DIS
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35.70
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+0.46
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News Corp.
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NWS
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24.10
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-0.12
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Emmis
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EMMS
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10.23
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+0.30
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Nexstar
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NXST
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14.48
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+0.16
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Entravision
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EVC
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10.38
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+0.12
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Ion Media
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ION
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1.46
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+0.01
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| Equity Media |
EMDA |
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4.20 |
+0.01 |
Saga Commun.
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SGA
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9.67
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+0.17
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Fisher
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FSCI
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50.31
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+0.25
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SBS
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SBSA
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4.76
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-0.08
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Gannett
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GCI
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59.79
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+0.17
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Scripps
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SSP
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46.83
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+0.32
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Gen. Electric
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GE
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37.81
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+0.36
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Sinclair
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SBGI
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15.55
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+0.05
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| Google |
GOOG |
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507.07
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+6.67
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SWMX
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SWMX
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0.25
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unch
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Granite
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GBTVK
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0.15
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+0.01
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Time Warner
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TWX
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21.23
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-0.08
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Gray
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GTN
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10.43
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+0.12
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Tribune
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TRB
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32.24
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+0.08
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Gray, C1. A
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GTNa
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10.60
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+0.11
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Wash. Post
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WPO
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774.52
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+2.78
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Hearst-Argyle
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HTV
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26.52
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-0.02
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Young
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YBTVA
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3.89
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-0.04
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Journal Comm.
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JRN
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13.98
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+0.05
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-
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-
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- |
-
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-
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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 tvnews@rbr.com
As one broadcaster with on-air, programming, operations, sales and technical experience bulging under and above the belt, it is simple understanding the drop in Afro-tino ratings AQH etc. with PPMs. Dare anyone look at the collection process of diary (and personal contact) retrieval bound up in the ethnic sampling procedure? The ethnic gets more money for their response, and regular phone contact for reviewing "what we've been listening to today". I doubt there are more than 20 percent of our CEO/GM/PD people who have taken the time for discovering the world of mechanical diary record-keeping...
| Read the full response |
Jerry Smith
Contract guy Radio-TV
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Below the Fold
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Ad Business Report
NBCU TV Networks
Offers local sales promotions...
Cable Business Report
Kentucky satellite tax stands
Federal appeals court has upheld a Kentucky tax on satellite TV...
Entertainment Media
Business Report
Pirates lands at USA
Acquired the cable television rights "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End"...
Ratings & Research
SNTA: Nielsen confirms
Syndication's commercial audience concluded viewers are watching...
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Stations for Sale
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 Market your Stations For Sale
in our daily epapers.
Contact
June Barnes
jbarnes@rbr.com
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TV Media Moves
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 New calling for Pope
Katherine Pope has been appointed President, NBC Universal Television Studio - the first major personnel change announced by NBC Entertainment and NBC Universal Television Studio Co-Chairmen Marc Graboff and Ben Silverman. Pope, who most recently has been Executive Vice President, NBC Entertainment, will head the studio which currently has 15 series on primetime TV.
New director
Entravision Communications announced that Gilbert R. Vasquez has been elected to the company's Board of Directors at the company's 2007 annual stockholder meeting. Vasquez was also appointed as a member of the Audit Committee of the Board. He has been the managing partner of the certified public accounting firm of Vasquez & Company LLP since 1967 and served as an executive board member of the 1984 Olympic Organizing Committee.
Changing of the guard
 He said this day was coming in our May issue of SmartMedia magazine. Now Franklin Schurz has announced his retirement as CEO of Schurz Communications, effective the end of this month, but will continue as Chairman of the Board. His nephew, Todd Schurz, adds the CEO title to President July 1st. Schurz Communications publishes 13 daily newspapers in medium and small markets with a combined circulation of nearly 235,000. It also publishes eight weekly newspapers, phone directory and shopping guide publications. SCI has five television subsidiaries, thirteen radio stations, two cable companies, and a printing company. Geographically, Schurz Communications has a presence in Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Pennsylvania, South Dakota and Virginia.
Three get new posts
at Nielsen
The Nielsen Company promoted three executives to global roles within Nielsen's Consumer Product Leadership. Mitch Barns, formerly President of BASES and Nielsen Analytic Consulting, becomes Global President of Nielsen's Homescan, Spectra and Loyalty services. Dennis Moore, formerly Senior Vice President in charge of Nielsen Analytic Consulting for North America, becomes Global President of Nielsen Analytic Consulting. Tim Willke, formerly head of BASES in North America, advances to Global President of BASES.
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More News Headlines
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Chandler reps
hit the road
Now that phase one of the Tribune Company going-private transaction has closed, the three representatives of the Chandler family have resigned from the board of directors. Jeffrey Chandler, Roger Goodman and William Stinehart Jr. all exited, leaving nine members on the board: CEO Dennis J. FitzSimons; Enrique Hernandez, Jr.; Betsy D. Holden; Robert S. Morrison; William A. Osborn; J. Christopher Reyes; Dudley S. Taft; Miles D. White; and Samuel Zell, who will become Chairman once phase two closes upon FCC approval of essential crossownership waivers. Since only a bit over 57% of the shares tendered in phase one were accepted for payment, the Chandler Trusts still have a substantial stake in Tribune. The Chandler Trust representatives were elected to the board in 2000 when Tribune acquired The Times Mirror Company. Prior to the tender offer, the Chandler Trusts held approximately 48.1 million shares of Tribune common stock, representing about 20% of total shares outstanding. Following the tender offer, the Chandler Trusts held approximately 20.4 million shares, representing about 17% of shares outstanding.
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International
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MTV Russia
has new owner
Prof-Media announced that it has bought 100% of Wayfarer Media, the owner of MTV Russia and VH1 Russia, for 360 million bucks. Wayfarer was previously owned 53% by Viacom, 42% by Russia Partners and 5% by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. "Prof-Media continues strengthening its positions in entertainment television. We expect to cover a larger audience and increase MTV Russia's market share," said Rafael Akopov, the Russian media mogul who heads the company. MTV Russia, which has been operating since 1998, broadcasts to 35 million households via 21 O&O TV stations and some 650 affiliates, as well as cable and satellite. VH1 Russia, launched in 2005, reaches 14 million households, primarily via cable.
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TVBR Radar 2007
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Television News you won't read any where else. TVBR--First, Accurate, and Independently Owned.
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NAB and NCTA
grapple on the issues
Marci Ryvicker and her colleagues at Wachovia Capital Markets refereed a meeting of the minds last week featuring David Rehr of the National Association of Broadcasters and Kyle McSlarrow of the National Cable and Telecommunications Association. Wachovia observed quite a bit of common ground: a love of free markets and capital flow; a love of competition; all of which leads to victory for the consumer. Big issues standing in the way are retransmission and multicast must-carry.
TVBR observation: Some of the recent retrans battles have gotten quite ugly and have highlighted the rancor which exists between NAB and NCTA. This session was encouraging in that the two organizations acknowledged their interdependence, and seem highly committed to moving forward for their mutual benefit. We would suggest that the key will be for each to think not of their strongest members. A huge cable system in a major market and the market's big network affiliates are going to play ball. If the two organizations can come up with something that works just as well in Glendive, Montana, we can rest assured that a firm foundation for the future has been installed. You can read the entire special report in TVBR.
06/04/07 TVBR #108
Analyst negative
on Emmis privatization
Bear Stearns analyst Victor Miller says the timing is not right for CEO Jeff Smulyan to try again to take Emmis Communications private. Therefore, Miller has downgraded the stock to "underperform." The analyst spelled out his arguments against a buyout in a detailed research note, but summed it all up on the front page: "We think Emmis has eight 'going private' hurdles that are not likely to be overcome;
RBR observation: This is, of course, 180 degrees from the view of CL King analyst Jim Boyle, who is urging clients to buy the stock because he sees the sale of WQCD coming soon and then a buyout - or at least another big stock buyback. Who is right? We wait to find out. - NOTE: there are 8 key points to Miller's reason why in this issue of RBR as we are the only publication of Record to print in detail.
06/04/07 RBR #108
Kicking grandpa out of the house
RBR can now identify to fallout from the 452.1M Clear Channel/GoodRadio.TV multimarket radio group deal. The change in ownership wiped out Clear Channel's grandfather clause, affecting some oversized clusters that were vestiges of the old contour overlap method of calculating market size. We now have a list that includes 13 orphaned stations in eight markets. Here's what has been put on the shelves in this issue of RBR. See Media Markets & Money section.
06/04/07 RBR #108
TiVo fast forward numbers up to 90%; when MSOs offer viewing data
An interesting conversation with a major media buyer on Friday (6/1/07) on the Nielsen average commercial minute and DVR numbers that came out last week led to a conversation about TiVo's second by second numbers, of which he subscribes. While he noted there were no surprises with the Nielsen data, most of the TiVo numbers are being suppressed, as the clients themselves and therefore not public domain pay them for. In the TiVo world, there are indications that up to 90% of all the commercials are skipped on video playback.
TVBR observation: Review these comments in TVBR special page report.
06/04/07 TVBR #108
Nielsen releases first
commercial minute ratings
The Nielsen Company began offering the first standardized ratings of television commercials, giving clients a way to measure the impact on commercial viewing of DVRs. Because of the increasing use of DVRs and the ability of consumers to fast-forward through commercials during DVR playback, clients asked Nielsen last year to provide a closer measure of the audience for commercials, not only when programs are viewed live but when played back as well.
TVBR observation: A couple of interesting pieces of data agencies are interested in and Nielsen is providing to clients include the percentage of viewers fast-forwarding through commercials. It depends upon the programming, when they're playing it back (closer to live=less fast-forwarding). The programs and program genre lists that detail fast forwarding are going to be more and more important in negotiation as DVR use increases. There is more to this data and info in TVBR special page report.
06/01/07 TVBR #107
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