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Volume 24, Issue 116, Jim Carnegie, Editor & Publisher
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Thursday Morning June 14th, 2007
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TV News ®
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 Murdoch looks to
sell nine markets
In a surprise move, News Corporation announced late yesterday that it is looking to sell nine of its Fox O&O stations. The move comes as Rupert Murdoch is seeking to acquire Dow Jones & Co. and launch a new Fox Business Channel, so maybe some portfolio trimming isn't so surprising after all. News Corporation said it has retained Allen & Co. to assist it in selling: WJW-TV Cleveland, OH; KDVR-TV Denver, CO; KTVI-TV St. Louis, MO; WDAF-TV Kansas City, MO-KS; WITI-TV Milwaukee, WI; KSTU-TV Salt Lake City, UT; WBRC-TV Birmingham, AL; WHBQ-TV Memphis, TN; and WGHP-TV Greensboro, NC.
TVBR observation: We recall that just a few years back Jeff Smulyan was trying to buy the smaller market stations from Fox, but the deal never got done and, ultimately, it contributed to Emmis deciding to exit the television business completely. We also note that the list of stations to be divested, strangely, does not include the two very smallest markets in the Fox station group, Austin, TX and Gainesville, FL. What's up with that? The divestiture list, running from markets #17 to #47, also skips over Orlando and Baltimore.
Mass assault on Chicago licenses turned away
The FCC has denied petitions filed by a coalition of watchdogs which sought denial of license renewal for television stations in the Chicago and Milwaukee DMAs on grounds that they gave too little coverage to local elections in the 2004 cycle. The proceeding, which has been kicking around since 11/1/05, involved O&Os for all four major networks as well as stations owned by other top national groups. The complaints, brought by the Chicago Media Action, Milwaukee Public Interest Media Coalition and Media Access Project, relied on a study by the Center for Media and Public Affairs entitled "2004 Campaign News Study in Chicago, Milwaukee and Portland Markets," which stated that less than 1% of election coverage on local newscasts concerned non-federal races, nor did they adequately cover local issues. The FCC said that both the Communications Act and the First Amendment of the Constitution "...prohibit any Commission actions that would improperly interfere with the programming decisions of licensees" and that "...the Commission has very little authority to interfere with a licensee's selection and presentation of news and editorial programming." The FCC stated that the complainants "...have not provided evidence that the named licensees exercised their editorial discretion in bad faith. Quantity is not necessarily an accurate measure of the overall responsiveness of a licensee's programming." It did note that there is an ongoing proceeding on public interest requirements, and suggested that if the complainants have concerns about programming and newscast issues, they take them directly to the licensees.
TVBR observation: We are not surprised to see that these petitions were turned down. However, we're always surprised when it takes a couple of years to get around to it. Why can't the FCC simply pull the First Amendment out of the bat rack and smack the complaint out of the ballpark right away, if that's what's going to happen anyway?
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 Rather and Moonves
continue war of words
Dan Rather isn't backing down from his criticism of the new "CBS Evening News" after CBS Corp. CEO Les Moonves accused him of being "sexist" in his remarks about the newscast changes with new anchor Katie Couric. Rather fired back in a Fox News Channel appearance that it isn't about gender, but rather that Moonves "doesn't know about news." To recap, Rather began the public exchange of barbs by telling Joe Scarborough on MSNBC via a phone interview that CBS had damaged the newscast by "dumbing it down, tarting it up" and trying to make it more like NBC's "Today" show, from whence came Couric, to try to appeal to younger viewers. Moonves fired back in a New York event sponsored by the SI Newhouse School of Public Communications/Syracuse University, that Rather's comments were "sexist" and he repeated his confidence in Couric. In round three, Rather insisted on a Fox News Channel appearance with Neil Cavuto, "It doesn't have to do with Katie. It doesn't have to do with gender." Then he let one fly aimed right at his former boss. "Les Moonves knows about entertainment, but he doesn't know about news," Rather said.
TVBR observation: Some see this as Rather itching to take down Moonves. Maybe what Moonves is looking at is Reality TV, while Rather is viewing the evening news as journalism. Rather made his point on Neil Cavuto's FNC program extensively that evening news programs have no value by incorporating Paris Hilton in their content of journalism when more serious events are happening world wide. Rather stated that Moonves is a brilliant entertainment and programming executive, not a journalist. In short, TVBR will side more with Rather on this one and make this point that Mr. Moonves is no William S. Paley. Paley understood journalism, but also understood that good news programming was a solid key to selling advertising and in return making a nice profit. Got a comment? Send it with your photo to tvnews@rbr.com
Journal Communications sells specialty pubs
Journal Communications yesterday announced another deal to sell some assets outside its core newspaper/radio/TV businesses. Three specialty publications based in Louisiana, operated as the Louisiana Publishing Group of Journal Community Publishing Group, are being sold to Target Media Partners. "Target Media is delighted to welcome the entire team at News on Wheels, Steals 'n Deals and Photo Seller, and all their readers and advertisers, to our current family of 77 publications and 40 targeted websites. Each month we reach more than five million targeted readers, and we look forward to continued growth for these great newly added publications in their rebounding markets," said Jim Sington, EVP of Target Media. Terms of the sale were not disclosed and Louisiana Publishing Group will now be treated as discontinued operations for financial reporting by Journal Communications, beginning with its Q2 report. "We made the strategic decision to sell our Louisiana-based publishing operations to more closely focus our community newspaper and shopper clusters in areas where we either currently have, or can create, a deep media offering," said Elizabeth "Betsy" Brenner, President and COO of Journal Communications' Publishing Group.
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 Dingell, Barton come to
virtual blows over DTV
The top dogs in the House Committee on Energy and Commerce are both looking forward to the DTV transition on 2/17/09. It will be a boon to first responders, and it will provide revolutionary new television service to American viewers. But the two don't see eye to eye on how we get from here to there. The scene for the duel was Congressional newspaper The Hill, and it pitted Chairman John Dingell (D-MI) against Ranking Member Joe Barton (R-TX). The points of contention are basically two: Will there be enough set-top boxes in circulation on that date to make sure that nobody loses service, and will enough be spent on educating the public beforehand. Dingell says, "Few Americans are aware of the upcoming nationwide transition from analog to digital broadcasting, and, to date, there is little sign that the federal agencies responsible for informing consumers have developed a plan to do so." He says the FCC wants 1.5M for the task, and compares that to the 2.6M a company might pay for one Super Bowl ad. In short, he finds the amount inadequate. He also cites 21M homes currently relying on over-the-air television and thinks the set-top coupon funding is also inadequate. Barton disagrees. He says the dual funding for set-top boxes, a 990M base allocation with 510M in reserve, should be enough for what he believes will be a demand for only 8M. And he thinks the education will take care of itself, or stakeholding companies will take care of it. He said, "TV watchers are the customers of broadcasters, cable operators, satellite companies and TV retailers. Those industries have a strong incentive to inform America how to manage the transition." He noted that Congress was prepared to help in the effort. Both agree on the need to hit the deadline.
 House looking at
pharmaceutical advertising
The Energy and Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Health is looking over a multi-pronged bill concerning health in the US. Among the items being considered is a lengthy amendment to the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act "to improve drug safety." Among the proposals being considered are a trio that concern advertising policy. For starters, an ad may need government approval: "[t]he risk evaluation and mitigation strategy for a drug may require that the applicant submit...advertisement of the drug for pre-clearance." The appropriate authorities would have 45 days for review. Second, if there have been any "significant adverse events" or other risk associated with the drug, this must be part of an advertisement, and "advertisements lacking such disclosure would be false or misleading." Finally, the bill states that "the risk evaluation and mitigation strategy for a drug may require that for a fixed period after initial approval, not to exceed three years, the applicant not issue or cause to be issued direct-to-consumer advertisements..."
TVBR observation: On a personal level, we've always wondered about going to our own doctor and announcing our own prescription. However, those in favor of pharmaceutical advertising point out that along with advertising a drug, symptoms are advertised which may inspire someone to seek help when they otherwise might not. It seems possible that the ultimate effect of this would be to simply move a pharma campaign three years down the road. It may be possible to challenge these provisions on First Amendment grounds, but it will be trickier than normal since commercial speech has always been more restricted than most other forms. Stay tuned.
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Ad Business Report TM
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GroupM signs 1 billion dollar deal with NBCU
Orchestrated by Rino Scanzoni, GroupM Chief Investment Officer, GroupM, via Mindshare, MEC and MediaCom, has signed with NBC Universal in for an estimated 1 billion TV ad deal-the first big deal in the 2007-2008 upfront. The agreement is based on Live +3 Commercial Minute Ratings, the new currency launched recently by Nielsen. The deal covers NBC-TV, NBCU cable properties, Telemundo and digital. Branded content and product integration are also included. While many thought this was Rino's biggest deal, he tells TVBR, "I have done bigger." Scanzoni was one of the biggest believers in commercial minute ratings, co-hosting a meeting with NBC President/Research and Media Development Alan Wurtzel for agencies and networks on hammering out the currency last summer. Scanzoni tells TVBR about using Commercial Minute Ratings: "This system addresses a problem that is going to become huge for this industry. As DVRs are rolled out on set top boxes, delayed viewing will grow exponentially. I have a vested interest in keeping television viable. Television for most of my clients is a key medium that actually delivers some of the best ROI. Moving to an average commercial minute currency allows us to capture viewing to our client advertising message and exclude viewers who have just forwarded over the commercials. We can't pretend that we are reaching an audience that we are not because ultimately then our ROI models will go out the window and we will see the effectiveness decrease."
 "Wal-Mart, It's Just Not
American Anymore" launches
Yesterday WakeUpWalMart.com, America's campaign to change Wal-Mart, officially launched its "Wal-Mart, It's Just Not American Anymore" nationwide TV campaign that will highlight how Wal-Mart's close business and political relationship with China has helped make China and Wal-Mart stronger while weakening America. The new ad campaign is the first part of a 1 million "Summer Southern Blitz" TV effort. The 3-month campaign, through a series of ads and grassroots actions, focuses on how Wal-Mart, as the #1 importer of Chinese goods, has helped strengthen China's economy while costing America's economy good jobs and its competitive advantage. The new ad begins with an image of Sam Walton and an American flag waving in the background with the announcer stating, "Sam Walton's Wal-Mart was an American company. But something has changed." The ad goes on to state that "as our trade deficit grows and good paying middle class American jobs are shipped overseas, Wal-Mart and China get stronger. ... America gets weaker." The ad ends with "Wal-Mart, it's just not American anymore." The campaign begins as Congress prepares to debate a series of tough new legislative proposals that seek to address China's overt manipulation of its currency, America's exploding trade deficit, and the loss of American manufacturing jobs because of China's unfair trade practices. The initial phase of the campaign will air in over 20 states, including Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Florida, New Hampshire, Iowa, Louisiana, North Carolina, Missouri, and over 30 markets.
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| Media Business Report TM |
 NBCU Digital Studios strike
content deal with Netflix
Netflix announced that NBC Universal Digital Studios will produce for Netflix a series of online webisodes that provide an entertaining take on classic movies. The broadband show, launching later this year and titled "I Love This Movie!" will highlight a classic film in each webisode that will introduce new audiences to some of the best of Hollywood's past. New webisodes will appear every other week and will be 2-3 minutes long. "'I Love This Movie!'" will be available for instant watching at the Netflix member Web site," said Robert Kyncl, VP/content acquisition at Netflix. "As part of a three-series content partnership between Netflix and NBC Universal Digital Studios, 'I Love This Movie!' is the first short-form content to premiere on our service and provides Netflix subscribers with unique and entertaining recommendations for classic films." "I Love This Movie!" will be available on two different areas on the Netflix site, both on the "Watch Now" section of the Netflix site, as well as in the site's regular subscription area. "I Love This Movie!" is part of a three-series original broadband order, and is an original idea and production of NBC Universal Digital Studios. Additional series will be announced later this year. NBC Universal Domestic Television Distribution arranged the deal with Netflix's content acquisition group.
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| Washington Media Business Report TM |
FCC posse rounds up three more retailers
Prominently displayed warning labels are supposed to be in close proximity to any television receivers which do not contain digital tuners. The FCC is continuing to check on retail establishments and has issued citations to many of the biggest vendors. It seems to be fishing at the shallow end of the pond now, but the parade of violators continues. The Commission has issued citations to three more caught in the dragnet: Computer Nerds International, Newegg.com and Buy.com. The citation comes free of charge this time, but all cited companies face an 11K fine to a maximum of 97.5K fine for a single continuing violation if caught again.
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| Entertainment Media Business Report TM |
 "Jericho" return set for July 6th
"Jericho," CBS's drama about how residents of a small, peaceful, Kansas town band together to survive in the wake of a nuclear explosion, will return to the Eye net on July 6th, as promised by CBS Entertainment President Nina Tassler after a deluge of peanuts from fans of the show persuaded the network to reverse its cancellation order. Rebroadcasts of episodes from the first season will air in the Friday, 9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT time period for the remainder of the summer. Seven new episodes have been ordered, which will begin airing at mid-season, likely early in 2008. On July 13, CBS will present back-to-back broadcasts beginning with "Return to Jericho" (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT), which recapped the first 11 episodes, followed by episode 12, "The Day Before" (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT), which launched "Jericho's" spring return. The remaining summer broadcasts will consist of episodes 13-22, in which tensions continue to escalate between Jericho and the neighboring town of New Bern as they battle the Kansas winter, dwindling resources and the uncertainty of a new world. The citizens of Jericho must now find a way to unite against these hardships, working together to preserve their community and their way of life as they prepare for an all out battle for survival in the season finale. Jon Turteltaub, Stephen Chobsky and Carol Barbee are executive producers of "Jericho" for CBS Paramount Network Television.
China expects four billion TV viewers for '08 Olympics
Four billion people are expected to watch the 2008 Beijing Olympics on television, a billion more than the Athens Games in 2004, China state media reported yesterday. "The figure will be one billion more than that of the 2004 Athens Olympics, and I believe we can achieve that goal," Xinhua news agency quoted Ma Guoli, COO of Beijing Olympics Dissemination Corporation Ltd, as saying. In March, the IOC issued a tender for mainland China for the sale of Internet and mobile phone platform rights for next August's Games, after already selling over-the-air TV rights to state broadcaster CCTV, reported Reuters. China in January said it would launch two satellites this year dedicated to broadcasting Olympic television and radio coverage.
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| Internet Media Business Report TM |
Yellow Book Network shows fastest
growth in Yellow Pages search
comScore released its qSearch Internet Yellow Page (IYP) search rankings for Q1, which revealed that Yellow Book Network was the fastest growing property with an 85% gain in searches vs. Q1 2006, while Yahoo! Sites was the market leader, accounting for 22.4% of IYP searches. Growth in the overall IYP U.S. search market in Q1 2007 has been driven by an increasing number of searchers, with the total number of unique IYP searchers growing by 21%. However, the total number of IYP searches conducted rose by a modest 5% during that time-frame, indicating that lighter searchers have entered the market. Nonetheless, Yellow Book Network and Yellowpages Network both realized increases of at least 80% in the number of search queries conducted. The surge in search volume at Yellow Book Network can largely be attributed to a major national TV campaign, as well as strategic partnerships. Yellowpages Network achieved growth primarily as the result of the inclusion of Switchboard.com traffic in December 2006 and did not contribute significantly to IYP search market growth. For the fifth consecutive quarter Yahoo! has led in IYP search share, accounting for 22.4% of IYP searches in Q1 2007. Idearc Media ranked second with a 19.6% share, followed by Yellowpages Network with 17.6% and Google Sites with 12.1%. Yellowpages Network posted the biggest share gain in Q1 2007 with an increase of 7.3 share points, followed by Yellow Book Network with a gain of 2.1 points. Idearc Media led the competition in IYP search engagement, as measured by both searches per searcher (5.0) and result pages per searcher (9.7), driven primarily by activity on its Superpages.com site. Yahoo! Sites ranked second in searches per searcher with 4.6, followed by Yellowpages Network with 4.4. In terms of search results pages per searcher, Yellowpages Network ranked second with 9.4, while Yahoo! Sites rounded out the top three with 8.8.
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| Ratings & Research |
"Judge Judy" is #1
No, she didn't beat "Wheel of Fortune," but she did tie the syndicated ratings juggernaut in the latest week's ratings from the Syndicated Network Television Association (SNTA), based on data from Nielsen Media Research. The Top 10 list is actually a Top 11, with a tie for that 10th place by "King of Queens" and "That 70s Show."
| View the Chart |
 Retail sales rebound in May
Consumers' spending habits were revived in May as retailers showed healthy sales gains across the board, helping to ease concerns about a slowing economy. According to the National Retail Federation, retail industry sales for May (which exclude automobiles, gas stations, and restaurants) rose 4.7% unadjusted over last year and 1.1% seasonally adjusted from April. May retail sales released by the Commerce Department show total retail sales (which include non-general merchandise categories such as autos, gasoline stations and restaurants) increased 1.4% seasonally adjusted from last month and a solid 5.4 % unadjusted year-over-year. Industry sales in most sectors saw strong gains. Clothing and clothing accessories stores sales surged well past expectations, seeing a 2.7% increase seasonally adjusted over last month, and a strong 9.1% increase unadjusted year-over-year. Health and personal care stores sales rose 0.8% seasonally adjusted from last month and 6.5% unadjusted over last year. Showing the effect of the weak housing market, building material stores sales rose 2.1% seasonally adjusted from last month, but decreased 0.7% unadjusted over last year. Furniture and home furnishing stores sales rose a subdued 0.3% seasonally adjusted and 2.9% unadjusted over last year.
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| Stock Talk |
Wall Street celebrates retail sales jump
A stronger than expected government report on retail sales sent stock prices higher on Wednesday. The Dow Industrials rose 187 points, or 1.4%, to 13,482.
TV stocks enjoyed the boost. The leaders were two groups which have recently hung out "for sale" signs. LIN rose 3.8% and Nexstar gained 3.7%.
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| Stocks |
Here's how stocks fared on Wednesday
| Company |
Symbol |
Close |
Change |
Company |
Symbol |
Close |
Change |
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Acme
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ACME
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4.89
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-0.08
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Lincoln Natl.
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LNC
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72.16
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+0.92
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Belo
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BLC
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21.64
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+0.03
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LIN TV
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TVL
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19.77
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+0.72
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| CBS CI. B |
CBS |
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33.14
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+0.31
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McGraw-Hill
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MHP
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68.74
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+0.64
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| CBS CI. A |
CBSa |
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33.11
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+0.30
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Media General
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MEG
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34.93
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-0.02
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Clear Channel
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CCU
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38.48
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+0.18
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Meredith
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MDP
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61.83
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-0.01
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Disney
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DIS
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33.40
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+0.29
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News Corp.
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NWS
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23.70
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+0.17
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Emmis
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EMMS
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9.60
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-0.09
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Nexstar
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NXST
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13.32
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+0.48
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Entravision
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EVC
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10.47
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+0.11
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Ion Media
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ION
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1.44
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-0.01
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| Equity Media |
EMDA |
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4.18 |
unch |
Saga Commun.
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SGA
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10.03
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+0.01
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Fisher
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FSCI
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51.56
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+0.25
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SBS
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SBSA
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4.36
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+0.04
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Gannett
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GCI
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58.20
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+0.92
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Scripps
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SSP
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45.45
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+0.78
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Gen. Electric
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GE
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37.64
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+0.59
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Sinclair
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SBGI
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14.84
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+0.29
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| Google |
GOOG |
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505.24
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+0.47
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SWMX
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SWMX
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0.13
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-0.06
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Gray
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GTN
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9.62
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+0.20
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Time Warner
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TWX
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20.65
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+0.32
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Gray, C1. A
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GTNa
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9.82
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+0.20
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Tribune
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TRB
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30.83
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+0.03
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Hearst-Argyle
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HTV
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25.10
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+0.04
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Wash. Post
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WPO
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766.56
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+1.31
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Journal Comm.
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JRN
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13.48
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+0.08
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Young
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YBTVA
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3.72
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-0.05
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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
From AWRT regarding
Dan Rather's comments:
 American Women in Radio and Television expresses its deep disappointment in former "CBS Evening News" anchor Dan Rather's remarks that CBS is "dumbing it down and tarting it up," referring to the current "CBS Evening News with Katie Couric." Stated AWRT President Maria E. Brennan (pictured), "It's surprising - to say the least - to have someone with Mr. Rather's experience make such deliberately inflammatory remarks about a professional colleague - particularly one with the credibility and accomplishment of Katie Couric. While Mr. Rather may wish to backtrack on the sexist nature of his remarks, I can only note that never have I heard the word 'tart' in reference to the male gender." Concluded Brennan, "Unfortunately Mr. Rather's views seem far more personal and pejorative in nature than those of a media professional offering an informed analytical view of the content of 'CBS Nightly News.'" Couric is a lifetime member of AWRT and has been awarded multiple AWRT Gracie Awards in recognition of her significant contributions to electronic media.
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Below the Fold
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Ad Business Report
GroupM signs 1 billion dollar
Deal with NBCU, agreement is based on Live +3 Commercial Minute Ratings...
Media Business Report
NBCU Digital Studios
Strike content deal with Netflix will produce a series of online webisodes...
Entertainment Media
Business Report
"Jericho" return set for July 6th
Ss promised by CBS after a deluge of peanuts from fans, Fans Won...
China and 4 billion viewers
Expected to watch the 2008 Beijing Olympics that out does Athens by 1 billion...
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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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CBS Consumer Products expands
CBS Consumer Products, the product licensing and merchandising arm of CBS Entertainment, announced six key new appointments to the division, marking the first expansion under new Executive Vice President and General Manager Liz Kalodner. Among the new hires are Jorge Ferreiro as Senior Vice President, Creative; Jason Korfine as Vice President Marketing, who will concentrate on the "Star Trek" franchise; Bill Burke as Vice President, Marketing; JJ Ahearn as Director of Licensing; Veronica Hart as Director of Licensing; and Ben Berlin as contract administrator. The new staff members join CBS Consumer Products directors Brad Fazzari and Maryann Martin on the team.
Sander & Frank
win election
Belo Sr. Advisor Jack Sander has been elected NAB Joint Board Chairman. Alan Frank of Post-Newsweek Stations was re-elected Television Board Chairman. Lynn Beall of Gannett was elected 1st Vice Chair and David Barrett of Hearst-Argyle 2nd Vice Chair. And, yes, David Rehr was re-elected NAB President and CEO.
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More News Headlines
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"Mr. Wizard"
dead at 89
Mr. Wizard Studios announced that Don Herbert, star of the "Watch Mr. Wizard" TV series of science experiments for kids, has died of cancer, just a bit more than a month shy of his 90th birthday. The show first aired on NBC's Chicago O&O (then WNBQ) in 1951, later moving to New York as it expanded to stations nationwide. NBC canceled the show in 1965, but briefly revived it in 1971-72. New episodes of "Mr. Wizard's World" ran on Nickelodeon 1983-90 and both shows are still being sold on DVD.
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RBR - Radio News
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Audio star wars continue
XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio is fighting to keep its proposed merger alive, and has issued a press release citing a number of the more prominent groups that support its cause. Included are * League of Rural Voters * National Consumers League * National Black Chamber of Commerce * Hispanic Federation * The Latino Coalition * League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) * New York State Federation of Hispanic Chambers of Commerce * Women Involved in Farm Economics (WIFE). All are said to have filed comments in support of the merger with the FCC. Meanwhile, the NAB has set up a dedicated website to further crystallize the opposition. Located on the web at xmsiriusmonopoly.com, it aggregates Congressional testimony, news stories and other sources of information supporting the turndown of the merger. NAB has even adorned its building in Washington DC with an invitation to passersby to check out the website.
RBR observation: If this was the Civil War, this pair of actions would probably be reported as mere skirmishing. The real action will be at the FCC, DOJ and Congress, where it appears the merger will have a tough row to hoe.
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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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Bancrofts still
dancing with Murdoch
The courtship dance continues. The union representing some Dow Jones workers has been seeking out other potential bidders and there has been talk of some being interested, no one has yet stepped forward to equal or top the 60 bucks per share being offered by Murdoch. The Fidelity mutual funds group apparently figured that bid is about as good as it is going to get. Fidelity, which once owned 4.6 million shares of Dow Jones, roughly a 7% stake, has reduced that to 166,754.
TVBR observation: With Dow Jones trading just below the 60 bucks bid, fidelity apparently decided it was time to cash in its chips and avoid any risk of the deal talks blowing up and the stock dropping back to where it was pre-Murdoch. Why hold onto 166,754 shares? While Fidelity is primarily about mutual funds, it also offers regular brokerage accounts where individuals can own stocks, bonds, mutual funds and other securities. We suspect that's where those stray Dow Jones shares are.
06/13/07 TVBR #115
Citadel now owns ABC Radio
The 2.5 billion bucks acquisition of ABC Radio by Citadel Broadcasting was apparently uneventful. Disney and Citadel finally confirmed in a joint announcement about 6:30 pm ET yesterday that the deal had been closed, but RBR had begun getting subscription changes hours earlier from ABC Radio folks switching to their new Citadel email addresses.
RBR observation: Some readers have asked what the relationship will be post-merger between Disney and Citadel, since Disney shareholders now own more than half of Citadel. Not much. Disney itself has no ownership stake at all in Citadel. All of the new Citadel shares are being distributed to individual Disney shareholders. For each share of Disney stock, you still own that stock, but you also receive 0.0768 shares (the final, official calculation) of Citadel to do with as you wish - hold, sell, or buy more. So, if you own 100 Disney shares, you now also own seven Citadel shares, plus 68% of another Citadel share. According to yesterday's announcement, fractional shares are going to be sold in the open market by the Wall Street distribution agent and the cash proceeds delivered to the shareholders who would have received those fractional shares. Citadel has rights to use the ABC Radio name and radio rights to some ABC News content. Otherwise, the companies are completely separate.
06/13/07 RBR #115
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