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Volume 24, Issue 149, Jim Carnegie, Editor & Publisher
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Wednesday Morning August 1st, 2007
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TV News ®
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 Murdoch seals the deal
to buy Dow Jones
After pressing for a higher price, most of the Denver faction of the Bancroft family has blinked and accepted the 60 bucks per share offer for Dow Jones & Company from Rupert Murdoch and News Corporation, according to the website of the Wall Street Journal, the marquee property of Dow Jones. "A century of Bancroft-family ownership at Dow Jones & Co. is over," the WSJ proclaimed on its website late yesterday. That Denver change of heart gives Murdoch support from more than half of the Bancroft voting block and virtually assures shareholder acceptance of the five billion bucks buyout. The Bancrofts, who have controlled Dow Jones for the past 100 years, hold 64% voting control. News Corporation had indicated that it would not go forward with Bancroft backing that totaled only 28% of the total votes, which was apparently the tally by Monday's deadline. But that deadline proved flexible as the so-called "Denver Trusts" dropped their demand that a premium price be paid for the super-voting Class B shares and agreed to support the buyout, raising the level of support to at least 37.4% - with nearly unanimous support expected from the public holders of Class A shares, who own the majority of the company equity but only 29% of the voting power. Part of what persuaded the Denver faction to come into the fold was a move by the Dow Jones board of directors to assume the fees owed to the Bancroft family's financial and legal advisors, said to total around 30 million bucks, effectively moving those costs to the buyer, News Corporation.
TVBR observation: Not an unreasonable compromise, but it is just incredible that the bargaining finally came down to 30 million, which is pocket change for a five billion bucks deal. So, the price moves from 5.00 billion to 5.03 billion and the deal is done. The Denver Trusts are only the third largest block of Bancroft family shares, so it looks like their brinksmanship - which nearly scuttled the five billion bucks buyout - has saved them about four million bucks.
CBS meets expectations with mixed quarter
CBS Corporation CEO Les Moonves is clearly proud of the company's TV operation, bragging in this Q2 conference call about CBS winning another season in total viewership (even though Fox won the prime 18-49 demo), declaring that the network got mid-to-high single digit CPM increases in its upfront negotiations and expressing confidence in five "exciting new series" to debut this fall. TV revenues were down 4% for the quarter to 2.16 billion, but that was due to some TV station divestitures, no more UPN and the timing of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, while underlying TV revenues were up. Proving the point, TV OIBDA (operating income before depreciation and amortization) was up 35 to 549.5 million and operating income was also up 3% to 506.1 million. CBS Radio was the soft spot, posting double digit declines in revenues, OIBDA and operating income in Q2, indicating that new CBS Radio CEO Dan Mason has his work cut out for him. Meanwhile, the outdoor and publishing units were both up, giving CBS over all revenues in line with expectations, down 3% to 3.37 billion. Earnings beat the Wall Street consensus by three cents per share at 55 cents per share from continuing operations.
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 Latin TV switching
languages and biz plan
Hispanic media continues to grow by leaps and bounds in the US, but not everyone is making money. Latin Television Inc., a penny stock company based in Coral Springs, FL, is throwing in the towel. The company says it will sell off all of its broadcasting assets and instead focus on "the growing market for sports publications." Blaming the costs of converting from analog to digital and the "capital intensive changes" to produce programming in HD, Latin TV says its shareholders have approved a plan to sell off its broadcast equipment and intellectual property and refocus on sports publications. The company said it has already been in talks with the management of some operating sports publications. "The company has not been able to raise enough capital under our current corporate structure to effectively grow Latin Television to its maximum potential. However, we still strongly believe in Latin Television. The Hispanic market continues to be one of the fastest growing segments of the economy, and Latin Television would be ideally suited to capitalize on the Latin market once it acquires the necessary capitalization," said President Randall Appel. As you would expect, the company also anticipates a name change. Back when Latin Television made its Wall Street debut last year (2/13/07 TVBR #30), it claimed cable carriage covering 12.5 million households and set its sights on becoming the #3 player in Hispanic TV, behind Univision and Telemundo. At that time, its stock was trading around 2.25. It recently has been around 65 cents.
CNN/YouTube propel campaign to the top
Domestic terrorism was cited by the Project for Excellence in Journalism as a hot topic, as it released its press coverage chart for the week of 7/22-27/07. However, it came in a distant third to the continuing preoccupation with the 2008 presidential campaign, with only a third of the total coverage. In fact, the #2 story, the alleged prevarications of AG Alberto Gonzales, only received half as much attention as the campaign. Two of the five media studied collaborated on a debate among Democratic candidates, cable's CNN and internet's YouTube, and that was the one single event which fueled most of the coverage. Although Iraq coverage was pushed out of the top three, it still claimed the 4th, 5th and 6th slots. The biggest stories to drop off the charts were one-timers tied last week at 3%, the tale of a Brazilian plane crash and the frightening New York City steam pipe blast. In fact, the week was strangely devoid of any meteorological or other one-time event, unless you want to count the steep stock dive toward the end of the week.
| Top ten lists here |
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Back and forth on artist compensation
Howard Berman (D-CA), pictured, and many other members of Congress feel it's time for a change in the way musicians are compensated when their material is performed on-air. Other venues pay for performance rights, and Berman said it's hard to justify an exemption for any one platform. And because America does not have an adequate performance right, American artists cannot get compensation in overseas, even though they provide most international music. What should give broadcasters pause is the fact that his views were largely echoed by Darrell Issa (R-CA), who is not going to be mistaken for a liberal Democrat any time soon. He said broadcasters should embrace the change that he is sure is coming, and that its ramifications will be wide-reaching. "The change we make is a change we make for the rest of the world..let's make a change we're all proud of," Issa stated. He also called for an all-broadcast panel in the near future to discuss the matter. The Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet and Intellectual Property Ranking Member Howard Coble (R-NC) spent his statement time reading his own brief outline both sides of the issue into the record. He said he has friends on both sides of the issue "...and I want to make it clear that I'm with my friends." ICBC's Charles Warfield told the gathering that he wondered why the recording industry wished to bite the hand that feeds it, and the ultimate result of any changes in the current system will likely be negative for both sides.
TVBR observation: Any time Democrats and Republicans demonstrate general agreement, as they did today, it means that the NAB has its work cut out. There was much talk of coming up with an equitable system that attempts not to punish small stations. But there seemed to be widespread sentiment to move ahead on this. Beware, folks - legislators are at work.
| Testimony summaries |
 Panel holds session on performance fees
At issue is the symbiotic relationship between broadcasters and artists. It has long been held that radio airplay is key to the financial success of musicians, and that this free exposure of their music is ample compensation for broadcaster's benefit in using it as program material. The push is on for artists to now be paid every time their work is played by broadcasters. If you're a musician or recording company it's a royalty. If you're a broadcaster, it's a performance tax. Yesterday Howard Berman (D-CA) and his Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet and Intellectual Property convened a hearing panel on the topic pitting ICBC's Charles Warfield, pictured, against two artists, a copyright expert and a musician-turned-Congressman. That would be Paul Hodes (D-NH), who joined recording artists Judy Collins (next to Warfield) and Sam Moore, and US Register of Copyrights Marybeth Peters in calling for an end to a broadcast exemption on paying performance royalties to artists and labels. ICBC Broadcasting's Warfield, testifying on behalf of the National Association of Broadcasters, was the lone voice in favor of retaining the exemption. The argument for ending the exemption is tied to technology and parity. There are said to be many more platforms for exposing music, including satellite, cable and internet sources, all of which do pay performance fees. Since record sales are hurting, broadcasters need to help take up the slack so musicians and producers can continue to provide product. The counter argument is that the change in the recording industry brought by technology is no fault of broadcasters. And radio still to this day provides over 230M listeners weekly who listen to the latest tunes, still by far the best source of exposure for musicians.
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| Wall Street Media Business Report TM |
RRsat reports record Q2 earnings
Israel-based RRSat Global Communications Network Ltd., which trades on Nasdaq at RRST, reported that Q2 revenues were up 42.6% to a record 14.7 million. Adjusted EBITDA rose 27.4% to 4.0 million. Adjusted net income grew 37% to 2.7 million, for EPS of 16 cents. CEO David Rivel reported the highest order backlog in the company's history and he said the company has identified several potential acquisition targets in the US. RRSat is a provider of comprehensive content management and global distribution services to the television and radio broadcasting industries.
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Ad Business Report TM
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Long John Silver's appoints Northlich AOR
Long John Silver's has selected Cincinnati-based independent agency Northlich as its agency of record. This win nurtures a growing relationship between Yum! Brands and Northlich. A&W Restaurants earlier this year tapped Northlich to launch the most successful PR campaign in A&W's history called "Moove to American," which called for Americans to support 100% U.S. Beef.
 News Corp's mobile arm taps
ad exec to develop partnerships
Former vice president of worldwide television promotions for 20th Century Fox Licensing and Merchandising, Amy Lorbati, has been appointed as vice president of marketing partnerships and advertising strategy for Fox Mobile Entertainment (FME), a division of Jamster. Lorbati will oversee FME's efforts in developing partnerships with top-tier advertisers and integrating advertising into Fox's mobile content. Lorbati will report to Mitch Feinman, SVP/Fox Mobile Entertainment, and be based in LA.
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| Washington Media Business Report TM |
FCC posts ownership studies
Late yesterday the Media Bureau posted on the Internet all 10 studies commissioned for the FCC's review of its ownership rules. Comments are due October 1st. That drew a rapid and angry joint statement from the two Democrats on the Commission, Michael Copps and Jonathan Adelstein. They charged that 60 days is not nearly long enough for the public to review the voluminous reports and file comments.
FCC initiates proceeding on DTV consumer education
At the behest of powerful legislators John Dingell (D-MI) and Ed Markey (D-MA), the FCC is looking into how stakeholders can get out the word about the upcoming DTV transition. It will look at what should be expected of broadcasters, MPVDs and retailers/manufacturers, and what can be governmentally compelled. The Congressman wrote "the Commission is particularly well-suited to lead this effort given its existing expertise and resources." They further suggested the FCC use "...its existing authority to compel industry to contribute time and resources to a coordinated, national consumer education campaign." It's seeking comment on what should be done, with the usual 30-day comment/45-day reply comment window dating from publication of the NPRM in the Federal Register. The topics under consideration include "Broadcaster Public Service Announcements and Other Consumer Education Requirements," "Broadcaster Consumer Education Reporting," "MVPD Customer Bill Notices," and other topics relating to manufacturers, retailers and others. The item is included in the record as MB Docket No. 07-148.
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| Cable Business Report TM |
Cox sees lowest customer churn in its history
Cox Communications announced its bundle of video, Internet and telephone services is continuing to improve customer satisfaction and reduce customer defection even in the face of increasing competition. Total customer churn for the second quarter was 2.5%, the lowest in the company's history. At the close of the quarter, Cox increased total residential customer relationships by 2% versus the same quarter in 2006; more than 60% of customers subscribed to more than one service, and more than 28% of customers were fully bundled with all three services. Key metrics for the quarter:
5.91 million total residential customer relationships; 2.0% growth
3.6 million bundled customers; 11.9% growth
2.2 million telephone subscribers; 20.2% growth
3.5 million high-speed Internet subscribers; 13.7% growth
2.96 million digital cable subscribers; 11.9% growth
5.42 million basic video subscribers; 0.4% growth
494,000 "non-video" residential customers; 22% growth
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| Entertainment Media Business Report TM |
 Martha Stewart announces
new series on DIY
Martha Stewart will bring her crafting expertise to a new cable home beginning November as part of a distribution deal announced by Sheraton Kalouria, President, Broadcasting, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia and Kathleen Finch, GM/DIY Network. The new half-hour DIY Network series, entitled Martha Stewart Crafts, is a "best of" compilation featuring how-to segments in the areas of scrapbooking, hand-made gifts, paper cards, decoupage, glittering, framing, rubber-stamping and more. Set to premiere on Thanksgiving Day, the initial 39 episodes will be comprised of thematic content culled from over a decade of inspiring content from MSLO's original lifestyle TV series, "Martha Stewart Living." The new series announcement comes on the heels of MSLO's spring launch of an extensive line of paper-based crafting and storage products currently available at marthastewartcrafts.com and Michaels arts and crafts stores. The line will also be available in independent craft stores beginning in the fall.
Nine NBCU channels coming to Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless and NBC Universal are bringing programming to V CAST-enabled phones. V CAST customers with select phones can now view short video on demand from NBCU's suite of video channels, including NBC News, entertainment news from "Access Hollywood," NBC Sports, NBC Comedy with "The Office," "30 Rock," "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" and "Late Night with Conan O'Brien," BravoToGo, NBC Entertainment, Telemundo, mun2, and iVillage. Content from includes clips from "Heroes" and "Friday Night Lights," as well as a dedicated channel for comedy clips from "Late Night with Conan O'Brien." Subscribers will also have access to Bravo's Emmy-nominated culinary hit "Top Chef" and the upcoming Emmy-nominated "Project Runway," iVillage's love and health focused video content from the leading digital property for women, four daily updates from "Access Hollywood" and mun2's viral videos.
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| Internet Media Business Report TM |
 Study: online consumers who pre-shop on the web spend more in-store
Exposure to online advertising is fundamentally changing the way consumers shop, according to new research from Yahoo! and comScore. The study, which examined the impact of search and display advertising on in-store sales for five major retailers, showed that consumers exposed to online advertising tend to research or 'pre-shop' online prior to purchase, and this behavior ultimately leads to increased in-store sales. These highly-engaged 'pre-shoppers' spend an average of 41% more in-store when compared to consumers not exposed to online advertising. Insights from the study also included: Consumers exposed to online advertising are more engaged: Consumers exposed to display and/or search advertising viewed an average of six more pages during the period in which they were researching compared to those not exposed to advertising. Almost 90% of the incremental sales generated by online advertising take place in-store. Consumers exposed to online advertising spent an incremental six dollars in-store for every one dollar spent online. Integrated search and display campaigns have maximum impact: Combined search and display ad campaigns resulted in deeper engagement for consumers exposed to those ads, leading to increased sales.
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| Ratings & Research |
Summer surge softens for NBC
A "CSI" rerun on CBS was the top-rated show on TV last week, although NBC's "America's Got Talent" still claimed the largest estimated total viewership, according to Nielsen Media Research. NBC's other big reality show, "Spelling Bee," fell way back to a tie for 6th place. For the prime 18-49 demo, it was Fox again in 1st place, followed by CBS, NBC, ABC, Univision, CW, Telemundo, a tie by TeleFutura and MyNetworkTV, Ion and Azteca America. For Households, CBS again claimed the crown, followed by Fox, NBC, ABC, Univision, CW, MyNetworkTV, Telemundo, Ion and TeleFutura in a tie and Azteca America. Here are the top 20 shows.
| View the Chart |
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| TVBR Stats |
 Hot convenience and
department stores
growing at fastest rate
Though the retail industry grew 6.4% as a whole last year, a handful of fiery companies served as the pace car for others to follow. The Hot 100 Retailers list, to be unveiled in the August issue of STORES magazine, highlights the retail companies that reported the greatest year-over-year revenue percentage growth. All public companies with more than 100 million in sales were eligible for the list, which provides a definitive ranking of the nation's fastest-growing retailers. According to the list, the convenience store group experienced the highest growth last year with a 21.9% boost in sales. The department store sector continued its resurgence with 21.5% growth. While all but four of the Hot 100 Retailers saw double-digit sales increases in 2006, a handful of companies stood out from the pack. Many of the Hot 100 Retailers grew through acquisitions. The Bon-Ton Stores (#1), which was once an overlooked regional department store chain, tops the list this year with a revenue increase of 164.3%, due largely to its acquisition of what was once Saks' northern department store division. GameStop (#2)-in second place this year after topping the inaugural Hot 100 list-can also trace its 72% growth to an acquisition, the 2005 purchase of EB Games. The company opened its 1,000th international store in June and has continuing momentum due to the current strength of the video game market. Convenience store chain The Pantry (# 5) also saw its revenues grow from multiple acquisitions.
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| Transactions |
4M WBUI-TV Champaign-Springfield-Decatur IL (Decatur IL, CW, Ch. 23) from ACME Television Licenses of Illinois LLC (Thomas D. Allen, EVP) to GOCOM Media of Illinois LLC (Richard L. Gorman). 400K escrow, balance in cash at closing. 15K allocated to non-compete. Duopoly with WRSP-TV Springfield IL (Fox Ch. 55) & WCCU-TV Urbana IL (Fox Ch. 27). Parties are seeking a failed station waiver from the FCC to allow the deal to go through. [File date 7/9/07.]
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| Stock Talk |
Broadcasting stocks take a hit
CBS was on target with its Q2 results, but Wall Street was not impressed. Traders sold off radio and TV stocks, even more than the broader market, which was down on renewed worries about home lending. The Dow Industrials fell 146 points, or 1.1%, to 13,212.
Almost all TV stocks fell hard. CBS Class A fell 3.6% and Class B 3.2%. Other big declines for the day included Saga, down 3.5%, Belo, off 3.3%, and Gray Television common, down 3.1%.
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| Stocks |
Here's how stocks fared on Tuesday
| Company |
Symbol |
Close |
Change |
Company |
Symbol |
Close |
Change |
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Acme
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ACME
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3.96
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-0.04
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Lincoln Natl.
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LNC
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60.32
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-0.92
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Belo
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BLC
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17.90
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-0.60
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LIN TV
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TVL
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15.14
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+0.04
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| CBS CI. B |
CBS |
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31.72
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-1.05
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McGraw-Hill
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MHP
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60.50
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+0.06
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| CBS CI. A |
CBSa |
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31.66
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-1.17
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Media General
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MEG
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28.20
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-0.48
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Clear Channel
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CCU
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36.90
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-0.18
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Meredith
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MDP
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56.49
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-0.66
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Disney
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DIS
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33.00
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-1.01
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News Corp.
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NWS
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22.66
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-0.18
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Emmis
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EMMS
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7.35
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-0.22
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Nexstar
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NXST
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10.25
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+0.13
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Entravision
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EVC
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9.36
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-0.28
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Ion Media
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ION
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1.35
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-0.03
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| Equity Media |
EMDA |
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45.73 |
-0.39 |
Saga Commun.
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SGA
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7.35
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-0.27
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Fisher
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FSCI
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45.73
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-0.39
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SBS
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SBSA
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3.18
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-0.18
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Gannett
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GCI
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49.90
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+1.76
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Scripps
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SSP
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40.97
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-0.38
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Gen. Electric
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GE
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38.76
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-0.51
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Sinclair
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SBGI
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13.04
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-0.32
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| Google |
GOOG |
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510.00
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-6.11
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SWMX
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SWMX
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0.13
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-0.03
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Gray
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GTN
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8.05
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-0.26
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Time Warner
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TWX
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19.26
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-0.31
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Gray, C1. A
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GTNa
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8.25
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+0.16
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Tribune
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TRB
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27.96
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-0.11
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Hearst-Argyle
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HTV
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21.00
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-0.07
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Wash. Post
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WPO
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790.75
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+3.72
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Journal Comm.
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JRN
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10.59
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-0.05
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Young
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YBTVA
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2.73
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-0.02
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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
Cox sees lowest customer
Churn in its history announced its bundle of video, Internet and telephone services is continuing to improve...
Media Business Report
Research on videogame
Ad effectiveness released study offers the 1st positive proof of...
Washington Media Business Report
FCC initiates proceeding
On DTV consumer education at the behest of powerful legislators...
Ratings & Research
Summer surge
Softens for NBC but A "CSI" rerun on CBS was the top-rated show...
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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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Dielectric appoints VanAtta as new GM
SPX's Dielectric Communications announced Garrett VanAtta has been appointed as the company's VP and general manager. In his new role, VanAtta will oversee Dielectric's development and manufacture of systems for radio, mobile media, and television broadcasting. VanAtta, who has held upper management positions within SPX since 2001, has been promoted from his previous role as VP of operations for Dielectric. David Wilson, Dielectric's former president, has been promoted to the role of vice president of global aftermarket sales and marketing for SPX Service Solutions.
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More News Headlines
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Research on videogame ad effectiveness released
Double Fusion has released a study which offers the first wide-scale positive proof of the efficacy of video game advertising, outlines ad effectiveness measurements and takes a step toward developing an in-game ad rating system. The research, designed with and conducted by new media research firm Interpret LLC, combined both qualitative and quantitative methods and biometric testing to analyze advertising impact across 36 dynamic and integrated in-game and around-game ad placements across 10 top-selling games from a variety of genres.
Key findings:
* 75% of gamers engage with at least one ad per minute across most, but not all, game types; 81% of gamers engage at least every other minute
* Less-cluttered ads are three times as effective at garnering gamer notice than ads that are either cluttered or within cluttered environments
* While both contribute positively to ad engagement, placement of the ad in the primary camera plane (eye-level) is more important than large-size ads
* Not all ads are created equal - dynamic billboards, around-game interstitials, sponsorships, and interactive product placements all offer different levels of user engagement and pervasiveness in the game
Cancer surgery for Robin Roberts
ABC "Good Morning America" co-anchor Robin Roberts announced that she has been diagnosed with breast cancer and will undergo surgery on Friday. "Now I join the ranks of millions of Americans who are fighting this same battle each and every day. I appreciate YOUR courage and YOUR example. Thank you for showing me the way," Roberts said in a message to viewers on the ABC News website.
Bricks and mortar
for Letterman
Ball State University in Muncie, IN has announced plans to name its new Communications Media Building for the man the local Star Press calls the school's "most revered alumnus." That would be David Letterman. His mother, who has frequently appeared on Letterman's CBS show, was on hand for the vote by the university's board of trustees. Letterman himself plans to be at the September 7th dedication.
Commissioners
out and about
Two members of the FCC's 8th Floor will be on the road tomorrow. Chairman Kevin Martin (R) will be in Raleigh NC for the North Carolina Chamber of Commerce Distinguished Speaker Series Luncheon at 12 Noon. Meanwhile, Michael Copps (D) will be in Chicago for the YearlyKos Convention to discuss the so called netroots' place in the media universe and its prospects for influencing policy in Washington.
Stevens investigation progresses
Senate Commerce Committee Ranking Member Ted Stevens (R-AK) is enduring another chapter in the ongoing investigation of his dealings with certain constituents back in Alaska. In this episode, the FBI executed an exhaustive search of his home in the resort town of Girdwood AK. The investigation involves improvements made to the home back in 2000 with the involvement of VECO, an Alaskan energy company that has admitted to bribing local officials in the state. Steven's son Ben, the president of the state senate, is widely believed to be one of the officials. Other than saying he paid for the renovations, Stevens is not commenting on the case, but is asking that his constituents to withhold judgment until all the facts are known. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington have asked the Stevens be removed from all committee assignments pending resolution of the investigations.
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SmartMedia Magazine
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Coming in September
FALL NAB ISSUE
SPECIAL DISTRIBUTION:
NAB RADIO SHOW
Radio Roundtable:
Radio execs find solutions.
Media Markets and Money:
What's attractive to equity capital these days?
Ad Biz:
Gennele Niblack, Katz Political President
Sales:
Dial Global's Eileen Decker on radio ad sales
News/Talk:
Using your website to get, keep and grow your audiences
Political Advertising:
Greg Pinello, GMMB: Political dollars for radio: The need for there to be more ideological diversity in the news-talk format; Tom Edmonds, a Republican strategist with Edmonds and Associates
Legal Ease:
Gregg Skall:
"The FCC rules on political ads-Network exception issue".
HD Radio:
Monetizing Conditional Access
New Media:
Gary Arlen: YouTube, Joost and the emerging Fox-NBC website are just the start of big bandwidth video via the Internet.
Streaming:
The impact of CRB Royalty rates on webcasters and streaming ads.
For advertising
information, contact:
June Barnes
jbarnes@rbr.com 803-731-5951;
Jim Carnegie
jcarnegie@rbr.com 813-909-2916 or
Carl Marcucci
cmarcucci@rbr.com 703-492-8191.
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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 goes to war
over performance tax
Key Washington radio stations and Capitol Hill news organs are being used by the National Association of Broadcasters to head off attempts by the recording industry to extract cash for airplay on the nation's radio stations. For decades, radio has been promoting new music free of charge, contributing to the growth of new stars and new genres of music. But the big international record labels have a problem. They haven't kept up with the times.
RBR observation: Nobody disputes that broadcasters benefit from use of recording industry product. What's mystifying is the sudden inability of the recording industry to recognize how broadcasting returns the favor. What's next? Are we going to turn music radio into a shopping channel? If it's too expensive to play music, will radio stations be forced into a pay-for-play format? It should be perfectly legal, as long as each song is prefaced by an announcement like "And now, that great new band, the Airplay Seekers, brought to you by Brand X Records." Before the recording industry forces broadcasters into an equal and opposite reaction, they should consider the advantages of maintaining the status quo.
07/31/07 RBR #148
NAB/MSTV try to
keep spectrum clean
Major television trade associations are worried about the introduction of unlicensed spectrum devices into the band used by broadcast television stations, particularly in the face of the transition to digital-only broadcast. NAB's David Rehr and MSTV's David Donovan are trying to head off any rash moves in this arena.
TVBR observation: With all the worries expressed by politicians about pulling off the DTV transition at all, it is unfathomable that anybody would consider putting it at risk for an ill-defined experiment in first-come, first-served spectrum grabbing. White space projects need to be moved back until we make sure the spectrum incumbents are able to operate safely.
07/30/07 TVBR #147
Watchdogs, some senators
have DTV doubts
By and large, representatives from the NTIA and FCC think that the groundwork for the DTV transition is going forward as it should. But a number of member of the Senate Commerce Committee aren't so sure, and members of the watchdog community also have some questions.
07/27/07 TVBR #146
David Rehr's pen pals
You'd never know it's the summer doldrums in Washington, particularly if you're trying to keep up with NAB President/CEO David Rehr. He's been blanketing the city with mail lately, firing off a letter on XM/Sirius to the FCC, another letter on the DTV transition to the Senate Commerce Committee, and yet another letter on streaming audio royalties to no less a dignitary than President George W. Bush. Rehr told Kevin Martin and the other Commissioners that late XM/Sirius promises are "...designed to dress up the proposed merger-to-monopoly as a benefit to the public. But you can't make a silk purse from a sow's ear."
07/27/07 RBR #146
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