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Volume 24, Issue 131, Jim Carnegie, Editor & Publisher
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Friday Morning July 6th, 2007
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TV News ®
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 Live Earth wall-to-wall
this weekend
It will be hard for channel surfers to avoid "Live Earth: The Concerts for a Climate in Crisis" this weekend as NBC Universal spreads the broadcast from concerts around the globe across its broadcast and cable networks. Sundance Channel and Universal HD will carry the full 22 hours, with nearly as much, 18 hours, on Bravo. NBC will air a three-hour primetime special and Telemundo plans a one-hour special focusing on the top Latin acts. CNBC, MSNBC and Mun2 are also involved. Hosted by Ann Curry and Carson Daly, the primetime special tomorrow on NBC (8-11 pm ET/PT) will feature highlights from the various concerts around the world, with live moments from the US concert taking place at Giants Stadium in New Jersey. The Telemundo special will air 7-8 pm ET, with Mun2 carrying a two-hour special focusing on the Latin acts just before that, 5-7 pm. For those who can't wait until prime time, wall-to-wall coverage begins at 4 am ET Saturday on Sundance and Universal HD, running through 2 am Sunday. With no Wall Street action on the weekend, even CNBC is involved, airing seven hours of the concert fare from 7 pm Saturday through 2 am Sunday. Bravo tops that, airing 18 hours from 8 am Saturday through 2 am Sunday. MSNBC will stick closer to its regular news format, but run special coverage of the global concert throughout the weekend.
 Can Fairness Doctrine
still be reanimated?
That's what one industry watchdog says. Accuracy in Media's Cliff Kincaid (pictured) called the bill just passed in the House and pending before the Senate is largely symbolic and would in no way prevent reinstatement of the Fairness Doctrine after the 2008 elections are in the books. This even though the bill passed the House by a 309-115 margin. It's simple, really. The bill, sponsored by Mike Pence (R-IN), prevents the FCC from putting any cash into reinstatement of the Doctrine in 2008. It doesn't say a word about what the FCC may do after that. Kincaid points out that a Democratic administration, backed by a Democratic Congress, with a new Democratic majority at the FCC, could very easily put the Fairness Doctrine back into effect. Being prevented from doing so in 2008 is utterly meaningless, since Democrats will not have access to the critical White House and FCC portions of the formula any earlier. Kincaid believes the Pence effort, which Pence knew was temporary, may have had the adverse effect of giving Democratic congressmen cover, and that once the 2008 ban expires, a new Democratic FCC could reimpose it without the need for congressional action. He is calling for a more permanent legislative fix. Pence has offered such a standalone bill, the Broadcasters Freedom Act, but its fate is still very much up in the air.
TVBR observation: We suspect that if Democrats are able to hold Congress and take over the White House and use this platform to reinstate the Fairness Doctrine, a serious court challenge will follow in short order. Given the current Supreme Court's decision on Wisconsin Right to Life, which favored freedom of speech over efforts to moderate the flow of special interest cash into the political process, we suspect it'll take a major makeover at that venue to Frankenstein the Fairness Doctrine back to life.
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Wicks affiliate buys trade pubs
NewBay Media, an affiliate of the Wicks Group of Companies private equity group, has expanded into the broadcasting trade publishing arena, buying IMAS Publishing on undisclosed terms. IMAS publications include Radio World, TV Technology and a number of related titles, as well as the show dailies for NAB and NRB. NewBay, headed by CEO Steve Palm, already owned some titles in the pro audio/music field and Television Broadcast, so this acquisition expands it into the heart of radio and television engineering. The company said it will retain the IMAS headquarters in Falls Church, VA, along with the international offices in the UK and Italy.
TVBR observation: The Wicks folks are definitely bullish on broadcasting and lots of businesses related to broadcasting. Principals Craig Klosk and Matt Gormly had plenty of involvement in radio and TV companies before Wicks and the original Wicks fund owned both radio and TV groups. In addition to NewBay, the two current Wicks funds have broadcast and related investments in Marketron Broadcast Solutions (broadcast software), Allegiance Communications (cable TV) and Wilks Broadcast Group (radio stations).
 The allure of LUR
and the remainder biz
If you put unsold inventory up for auction on the Internet, does that count when you are calculating lowest unit rate (LUR) when charging a politician for airtime? 41 state broadcaster associations (and one from Washington DC) want to know. The use of three internet services to peddle unsold inventory is a process that is off the rate card, and the coalition of associations wants a declaratory ruling on whether they should be considered, and also wants to know if there are any other pertinent issues involved with the use of internet services of this type. Three are mentioned specifically: Bid4Spots, SoftWave Media Exchange and dMarc Broadcasting. The FCC is opening the issue for public comment under MB Docket No. 07-137, on an ex parte permit-but-disclose basis.
TVBR observation: If in some parallel universe, political campaigns are entitled to buy carpeting at lowest unit rate for its portable campaign stage, it should not be expected to pay the going rate for carpet remnants unless it is willing to buy the remnants and sew or glue them together itself. Likewise, broadcast inventory remnants have no business being considered in a calculation of this type. If politicians want to troll the internet for cheap airtime in an unsold daypart, fine, they should be welcome to do so. But a station's documented standard business procedure should be the sole determining factor for LUR.
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Ad Business Report TM
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Syndication upfront looks like 2.25 billion
The syndication upfront is reportedly close to completion with the market expected to take in about 2.25 billion, up some 3% over last year. CPM increases were all over the map-flat to 8-9% for the premium products such as Oprah and Live with Regis and Kelly. Said one buyer about syndication business in this upfront: "I think syndication was very, very orderly. There continue to be have and have-nots and the money deals were similar to last year-which is breaking a trend of the last few years where there was less money. The difference between program ratings and commercial ratings is very little. Therefore it was a smooth marketplace. There was more money (just talking syndication) in the Pharma category; a big driver of syndication. So the deals went down and there wasn't a lot of bad taste in anyone's mouth."
 Hanes adds Cuba Gooding Jr.
in "Look Who" campaign
Cuba Gooding Jr. will be featured alongside Michael Jordan in the brand's latest "Look Who" campaign. Supporting the new Hanes ComfortSoft Collection for Men undershirt and underwear, the campaign will feature Cuba Gooding Jr. and basketball great Michael Jordan in a series of three comedic television ads with twists of unscripted dialogue and alternate endings. The campaign, created by The Martin Agency of Richmond, VA, will begin on 7/9 and will also air the next night during the Major League Baseball All-Star Game. All three TV spots feature funny encounters between Michael and Cuba on the set of a fictional late night talk show where the two are guests. In "Gift Basket," Cuba arrives in his dressing room to find a gift basket of Hanes products along with a note from "MJ" urging him to try the ComfortSoft waistband underwear. The second ad, entitled "Meeting MJ," features a smooth Cuba who is being briefed by show producers about what not to do when meeting Michael -- specifically he is not to touch Michael's soft shirt. However, the minute Cuba sees Michael, he's overwhelmed with excitement about meeting the legendary basketball star, and Cuba grabs Michael into a bear hug. The third TV spot, "Dressing Room," features Cuba finds himself alone in Michael's dressing room with the basketball star's duffle bag. Unable to resist temptation, Cuba begins rifling through the bag and finds a cereal box with Michael's photo, Jordan Cologne, a basketball and a Hanes ComfortSoft Undershirt. The TV campaign will run through June 2008 and will be complemented with an online banner campaign. In addition, a 15-second teaser spot of "Meeting MJ" will air on TV, and will drive viewers to an integrated microsite, www.Hanes.com/Backstage, to see four different "alternate endings." Hanes launched "Look Who" campaign in 2005.
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| Washington Media Business Report TM |
 Consumers likely
stuck with box fees
Cable companies are supposed to be using new set-top boxes that use a special security cards which can plug into boxes provided by competing manufacturers, freeing consumers from renting the boxes from cable services without option. Although competition is supposed to either drive down prices or increase quality, it looks like the first think this new rule is going to do is swell consumers' monthly bill. According to the Associated Press, cable customers may see as much as 2-3 dollars added to their bills per month to cover the new, more-expensive boxes, which translates to 24-36 dollars per year. Although subscribers with newer boxes may not need to make a switch, some cable operators may spread the cost of the new boxes across their entire subscriber base rather than inflict the entire bill only on those needing to make a switch.
TVBR observation: Phones certainly have changed since consumers were freed from renting them from the phone company. The question is how fast viable alternatives to the cable company's box hit the market? Will they be cheaper? Will they offer outstanding new features worth paying for? Looks like all of us cable subscribers are going to have to pay well before there are any benefits materialize.
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| Entertainment Media Business Report TM |
NBC extends Wimbledon
NBC Sports has reached an agreement with The All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club on a four-year extension of its contract to broadcast The Championships, Wimbledon, taking it through 2011. The announcement was made by Dick Ebersol, Chairman, NBC Universal Sports & Olympics, in conjunction with Tim Phillips, Chairman of the All England Club. This year marks the 39th consecutive year NBC Sports has broadcast the Championships, the longest partnership in the network's history. As part of the new extension, NBC Sports retains digital media rights to the Championships, including sharing Wimbledon LIVE online coverage at NBCSports.com and live mobile coverage. NBC Sports presents more than 37 hours of coverage of the 2007 Championships, Wimbledon, culminating with exclusive live "Breakfast at Wimbledon" coverage of the Ladies' final on Saturday, July 7 and the Gentlemen's final on Sunday, July 8. ESPN is expected to shortly announce its own extension with the Wimbledon organization.
 RealNetworks, CBS deliver access to Big Brother 8
CBS and RealNetworks teamed to offer exclusive 24-hour-a-day access to live video feeds inside the Big Brother 8 house. Following last night's premiere, fans chatted with one another about the episode and monitored the Big Brother 8 houseguests online via live, unedited video feeds from within the house, most of which never appears in the weekly television coverage. The webcast began immediately following the premiere. Coverage is accessible through Real's SuperPass subscription service at www.real.com/bigbrother in addition to the official Big Brother 8 Web site at CBS.com.
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| Cable Business Report TM |
Is MSNBC finally on track?
Having struggled for years, MSNBC notes proudly that it had the greatest ratings growth of any cable news channel in Q2 - the third consecutive quarter that it could make that claim. MSNBC says for total day in the quarter, MSNBC was up +26% in total viewers over second quarter 2006 (296,000 v. 234,000) and up 34% in the key adult 25-54 demographic (123,000 v. 92,000), according to Nielsen Media Research data. In total viewers, CNN was up 11% (471,000 v. 425,000) and Fox News Channel was up only +5% (815,000 v. 776,000).
| Here's more bragging from MSNBC |
TVBR observation: As the underlying numbers indicate, MSNBC is still a distant #3 in the cable news channel ratings race. It is, however, moving in the right direction. Does it finally have the right shows in place? Will it stick to a strategy long enough for the ratings traction to accomplish something?
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| Ratings & Research |
Judge Judy on top
It doesn't happen often, but "Wheel of Fortune" was not the #1 show in syndication for the most recent week reported by the Syndicated Network Television Association (SNTA), based on data from Nielsen Media Research. Instead, "Judge Judy" claimed sole possession of the top spot, following a few weeks of tying Wheel. Both are from CBS Television Distribution, as are eight of the top 10 shows in syndication.
| See the chart |
 Global entertainment, media spend
accelerated by convergent platforms
The global Entertainment & Media industry is experiencing sustained growth and will increase at a 6.4% compound annual growth rate to 2 trillion by 2011, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers Global Entertainment and Media Outlook. Digital and mobile spending in each territory during the next five years rising to 153 billion by 2011, says the report. And, spending related to the distribution of entertainment and media on convergent platforms (convergence of the home computer, wireless handset and television) will exceed 50% of global spend by 2011, reports The Center for Media Research. The study shows that within the next five years, nearly half of the total industry growth is expected to be generated through online and wireless technologies and, during the same period, broadband households will grow by 300 million to 540 million subscribers and wireless subscribers will increase by 1.1 billion to 3.4 billion. The migration to digital formats is having an adverse impact on competing revenue streams while consumer-generated media is accelerating content fragmentation. Global advertising will increase at a 5.4% CAGR during the forecast period, rising to 531 billion in 2011. Internet will remain the fastest-growing advertising medium, with a projected 18.3% compound annual increase to 73 billion in 2011. Advertising on the internet by 2011 will comprise 14% of the global advertising market. Out-of-home will be the second fastest growing ad medium, with a projected 6.5% compound annual increase.
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| Internet Media Business Report TM |
Facebook sees flood of new traffic
comScore released the results of a study on the visitation to Facebook.com, which showed the site grew to 26.6 million unique visitors in the U.S. in May 2007, marking an 89% increase versus the same month last year. The dramatic growth comes on the heels of Facebook.com's decision in 9/06 to open up registration to the general public, a change from the previous policy requiring a valid email address from a university or a selected group of secondary schools and businesses. In the months prior to allowing open registration, Facebook.com's traffic hovered at approximately 14 million visitors per month. However, after Facebook opened its doors to the general public, visitation accelerated to reach a level of 26.6 million visitors in 5/07, up 89% vs. the same month last year and 100% versus 9/06. Meanwhile, the number of pages of content viewed at Facebook.com in May 2007 increased to 15.8 billion, up 143% versus May 2006 and 121% versus September. Visitors averaged 186 minutes at the site in May 2007, which marked a 35% increase versus the same month last year. Interestingly, engagement levels peaked in 2/07 at 200 minutes per visitor, then leveled off slightly as the influx of new visitors (who tend to begin as lighter users) tempered the average.
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| Stock Talk |
Mixed day follows holiday
Wall Street traders returned after a day off, but mixed economic signals and higher bond yields produced a mixed market. The Dow Industrials were down 11 points to 13,566, but the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite were up a bit for the day.
More TV stocks were up than down. Nexstar rose 2.5% and News Corporation gained 2.2% as the top performers.
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| Stocks |
Here's how stocks fared on Thursday
| Company |
Symbol |
Close |
Change |
Company |
Symbol |
Close |
Change |
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Acme
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ACME
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4.61
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-0.09
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Lincoln Natl.
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LNC
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71.23
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-0.49
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Belo
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BLC
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20.79
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+0.06
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LIN TV
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TVL
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19.46
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-0.08
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| CBS CI. B |
CBS |
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34.12
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-0.11
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McGraw-Hill
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MHP
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68.17
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+0.91
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| CBS CI. A |
CBSa |
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34.18
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-0.04
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Media General
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MEG
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34.04
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+0.04
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Clear Channel
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CCU
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37.94
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+0.24
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Meredith
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MDP
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62.42
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+0.82
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Disney
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DIS
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34.63
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+0.09
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News Corp.
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NWS
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23.24
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+0.50
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Emmis
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EMMS
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9.17
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-0.01
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Nexstar
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NXST
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14.94
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+0.37
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Entravision
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EVC
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10.54
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+0.05
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Ion Media
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ION
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1.43
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-0.02
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| Equity Media |
EMDA |
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4.30 |
+0.03 |
Saga Commun.
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SGA
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9.72
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-0.12
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Fisher
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FSCI
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51.05
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-0.56
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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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55.40
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+0.49
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Scripps
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SSP
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46.31
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+0.70
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Gen. Electric
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GE
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38.54
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-0.16
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Sinclair
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SBGI
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15.02
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+0.20
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| Google |
GOOG |
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541.63
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+7.29
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SWMX
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SWMX
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0.21
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unch
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Gray
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GTN
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9.24
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-0.06
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Time Warner
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TWX
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21.17
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-0.24
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Gray, C1. A
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GTNa
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9.36
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+0.03
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Tribune
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TRB
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30.55
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+0.41
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Hearst-Argyle
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HTV
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23.83
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+0.06
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Wash. Post
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WPO
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777.34
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-0.67
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Journal Comm.
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JRN
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13.39
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+0.22
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Young
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YBTVA
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3.60
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-0.07
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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
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Below the Fold
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Cable Business Report
MSNBC finally on track?
Having struggled for years, MSNBC notes proudly that it had ratings...
Ad Business Report
Syndication upfront
Looks like 2.25 billion up some 3% over last year. CPM increases were all over the map..
Ratings & Research
Global entertainment
Media spend accelerated by convergent platforms...
Judge Judy on top
It doesn't happen often, but
Wheel of Fortune not #1...
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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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Upped at Telemundo
Telemundo announced the appointment of Ken Wilkey to the position of Senior Vice President of Telemundo Network Broadcast Operations, based in Hialeah, FL. He had previously been Senior Vice President of Technology NBC and Telemundo Television Stations.
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More News Headlines
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Broadcasters absent from issue lists
Sometimes when you're inside the Beltway, you can't help but think that issues surrounding communications in general and broadcasting in particular are of vital importance and interest to just about everybody. Hearings on the topic often pack in wall-to-wall audiences, and the politicians and witnesses heap on massive piles of rhetoric about influence on the democratic process, our children, our waste lines, our morals - in short, you name it. We still remember Fred Upton (R-MI) the first time he introduced the Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act calling it the most important bill before Congress. Although perhaps he can be forgiven - such hyperbolic language is thrown about casually all the time in Washington - but we couldn't help thinking that dozens of issues were facing the nation at the time that easily eclipsed the importance of raising fines on broadcasters for saying naughty words on the air. But given all this, an TVBR survey of the websites of all 19 announced presidential candidates revealed that only three figured broadcast issues were important enough for them to list a position on it. The lone Democrat was Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), who wants free air time for politicians, more public broadcasting, public involvement in license renewals and more LPFM, among other things. On the Republican side, Sam Brownback (R-KS) touted his introduction of the aforementioned Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act (he carried Upton's torch through the Senate), and let it go at that. Tom Tancredo (R-CO) noted that he voted for the same Act. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is it. Note that John McCain (R-AZ), who has a lengthy track record of dealings on communications issues, is among the 16 who left it off the website.
TVBR observation: So once again it is obvious that as hot as communications issues can get in Washington, it is extremely unlikely to be an issue that makes or breaks anybody's candidacy on either side.
EMI offer
has few takers
The second acceptance deadline passed with hardly any EMI Group shareholders accepting the 4.7 billion bucks buyout offer from the Terra Firma private equity group, so it has been extended again - to July 12th. Shareholders appear to be holding out in hopes of a higher bid from Warner Music Group, which has yet to actually make a bid. Only 3.56% of EMI shares were tendered by the July 4th deadline, hardly up from the 3.53% of shares of the record company tendered by the original June deadline (6/29/07 TVBR #127). So, Terra Firma has extended its offer for a second time to July 12th, noting in its announcement that there is the possibility of a further extension.
TVBR observation: As the old adage goes, "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush." In this case, the birds in the bush are former EMI CEO Jim Fifield - who lost his equity backer and doesn't appear to have found a new one, making it unlikely he will bid - and Warner Music Group - which didn't get its bid together during the formal bidding process and has not done so, except to say last month that it is still interested in bidding. At some point Terra Firma boss Guy Hands is going to decide that his bid isn't going to close and walk away, which would leave shareholders without the bird they now have in hand, nor either of the two in the bush. The Terra Firma bid also appears to raise no antitrust issues, while an EMI merger with Warner Music Group would face tough going, particularly with EU regulators. To switch metaphors, we have to wonder whether the reluctant EMI shareholders are overplaying the hand they have been dealt.
Azteca moves on
Azteca America says it successfully completed its transition to new affiliates on July 1st in Houston (Una Vez Vas), San Francisco (Granite) and Sacramento (Bustos Media), following its break with stations operated by Pappas Telecasting. In addition, Una Ves Mas fired up another new LPTV affiliate in Abilene-Sweetwater as part of its "Texas Network" project to put Azteca America into every DMA in Texas. Una Ves Mas owns the largest group of Azteca America affiliates, 23 station in all so far, including these markets in Texas: Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, Brownsville/McAllen, El Paso, Austin, Corpus Christi, Lubbock, Odessa, Amarillo, Victoria, Sherman and Abilene.
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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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Radio stocks improved in Q2
Television stocks have clearly outperformed their radio brethren so far this year. But radio did show some long-awaited improvement in Q2. Have radio stocks finally begun to recover after hitting bottom? Most radio stocks are now up year-to-date, improving over their Q1 performance. Still, TVBR's sister publication RBR notes that it's not much of a trend to get excited about - at least, not yet. Seven radio stocks are now up double digits for the year thus far, an improvement over only three at the end of Q1. The best performer is one of the newest and smallest companies. Debut Broadcasting. See the Radio chart for complete results in the special report page in TVBR.
07/05/07 TVBR #130
Tribune vote set for August 21
There's no indication when action may come on required regulatory approvals, but Tribune Company has set a special shareholders meeting for August 21st to vote on the deal to have Sam Zell and a new Employee Stock Ownership Plan finish buying out the public shareholders and take the company private. Shareholders of record on July 12th will be eligible to vote. The proxy is to be mailed out later this month. There is no known organized opposition, so it appears the vote will be a mere formality.
TVBR observation: Tribune's stock price has dropped a couple of bucks in recent weeks, so it appears traders are becoming concerned about whether the company will get the needed waivers of the newspaper/broadcast crossownership rule from the FCC - or, if so, when. The buyout of remaining shares for 35 bucks each can't take place without those waivers, since it would constitute a change of control of the company and void the existing waivers.
07/05/07 TVBR #130
MySpace founder
takes on Murdoch
Rupert Murdoch made Brad Greenspan a wealthy man when News Corporation bought EUniverse and its MySpace subsidiary. Now Greenspan wants to challenge Murdoch in bidding for Dow Jones & Company. Greenspan's offer is to buy about a quarter of Dow Jones' stock, so it would not be a complete buyout as Murdoch has proposed for five billion bucks.
TVBR observation: It's hard to imagine why Dow Jones shareholders would be interested in selling a piece of the company and betting their future on Greenspan's not-yet-fully-developed plan for new offerings in TV and Internet video. At least, not while there is a full buyout offer at 60 bucks a share on the table from Murdoch. Maybe Burkle, Greenspan and perhaps others can team up to match or exceed that, but so far all they have done is talk.
07/05/07 TVBR #130
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National Sales Manager
Univision 23- Dallas seeks experienced dynamic NSM to help us lead our stations to the next level. Extensive travel required. 5 yrs experience in TV sales with successful track record. 4-yr degree req., preferably in marketing/ advertising, business, media. Must have excellent interpersonal, listening, and presentation skills. Bilingual ( English/ Spanish) preferred.
See TV Careers.
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