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Volume 24, Issue 154, Jim Carnegie, Editor & Publisher
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Wednesday Morning August 8th, 2007
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TV News ®
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 NBC plans 3,600 hours
of Beijing Olympics
Next year's 2008 Olympic Summer Games from Beijing will be available on various NBC Universal platforms in the US for 3,600 hours. The company is calling it "the most ambitious single media project in history." The Beijing Olympics begin one year from today (8/8/08). According to NBC Universal Sports & Olympics Chairman Dick Ebersol, the 3,600 hours of coverage, including lots of broadband video streaming for the first time ever, will be highlighted by NBC primetime coverage that, despite the 12-hour time difference, will include live swimming, gymnastics and beach volleyball competition. One way to look at the unprecedented amount of coverage is that NBC Universal will provide 212 hours of video per day, or about eight days per day. By comparison, NBC Universal calculates that the last 12 Summer Olympics, back to the 1960 Rome games on CBS through the 2004 Athens games on NBC, have generated 2,562 hours of US TV coverage. NBC, USA, MSNBC and CNBC will all provide coverage from Beijing with high definition coverage on NBC's HD affiliates, USA HD and Universal HD. Spanish-language Olympic coverage will be seen on Telemundo. Online, Olympic fans will have access to approximately 2,200 total hours of live streaming Olympic broadband video coverage on NBCOlympics.com. In addition to the 3,600 total hours of coverage, NBCOlympics.com will also feature approximately 3,000 hours of Highlights, Rewinds and Encores. NBC Universal said it will be detailing its wireless "On-the-Go" coverage in coming months.
Further dereg unlikely under Democratic administration
Netroots bloggers met with Democratic presidential candidates in Chicago over the weekend at the YearlyKos Convention, and one of the things that came up was media consolidation. Big media hasn't been high on the radar of the Bush administration, but that may change if Democrats regain control of the White House. Chris Dodd (D-CT) went first, and was fresh off a brief appearance on Fox News Channel where he got into a shouting match with Bill O'Reilly over the DailyKos website which was closely connected to the convention. For starters, Dodd said he has asked the DOJ to look into Rupert Murdoch's plans to buy Dow Jones/Wall Street Journal. He continued, "Consolidation ought to be one of the great concerns of every single person in this country, denying us the kind of free access to information." He said we need diverse news sources "...other than relying on the traditional sources of information that are being consolidated and controlled by too few entities. I'll do everything I can to see that that's broken up as president of the United States." Hillary Clinton (D-NY) echoed his sentiments, saying, "We've got to do everything we can do to open up our media environment. It is just not appropriate to have a conventional view about media ownership without understanding that we have to have more competition, more voices, and keeping the internet open."
TVBR observation: We suspect the other Democratic candidates would have said much the same thing (and perhaps so would some of the Republicans). It's been very difficult for the FCC to move forward on further ownership dereg, with Michael Powell's 6/2/03 ownership rulemaking still bogged down. While the hurdles are high for any politician who would attempt to put the genie back in the bottle and reverse caps set under the 1996 Telecom Act, a Democratic administration will almost certainly put a stop to any further deregulation. There's been some self-motivated backtracking on consolidation going on within the media anyway, obviously led by the Clear Channel sell-off. Many other groups have been paring their portfolios as well. So it may not be that big a deal that further regulatory relief on ownership caps may not be forthcoming. But there are still many pushing for cross-ownership relief and the ability to build TV duopolies in smaller markets due to economic hardship. Will Kevin Martin try to sneak anything through before November 2008? Stay tuned.
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Fee for all, FY2007
During FY 2006, broadcasters were helping reduce the deficit via their license fees to the tune of 10M, according to attorney Peter Gutmann of Womble Carlyle Sandridge and Rice. With that burden removed for FY 2007, some license fees actually went down a bit, although a few increased slightly. Overall, the total being collected is 2.84% less than during the previous year. "There are no significant changes in the methodology and procedures for assessment and payment of the 2007 regulatory fees, as compared to the past several years," said Gutmann in a letter to clients. "Television fees are still assessed according to market size, and radio fees are based upon facility attributes and populations served. All fees are based upon facilities authorized as of October 1, 2006." The payment deadline has not been not been set yet, but Gutmann expects the usual mid-September due date.
| Fee schedule here |
SBS CEO upbeat on Mega TV
 Mega-TV (WSBS Miami) is still a small part of Hispanic radio specialist Spanish Broadcasting System, but it was the star performer in Q2, with revenues up 87% to 2.6 million bucks. The operating loss for the TV segment improved to 2.5 million from a loss of 5.3 million a year ago. So, what will it take to become profitable? In his conference call with analysts, CEO Raul Alarcon wouldn't project just when Mega TV will break even, but he said it will take a little over 20 million in annual ad revenues to reach that point. He noted that the Hispanic television ad market in Miami is over 175 million. SBS is not in the market to buy more TV stations, but Alarcon said there is syndication potential for some of the programming being produced by Mega TV - and he hinted that a major distribution deal is in the works.
XM/Sirius a la carte plan, disassembled
The a la carte plan being proposed by Sirius and XM has been praised by the Parents Television Council, and FCC Chairman Kevin Martin told reporters yesterday that it sounded good to him, although he hadn't looked into the details, according to the Associated Press. Sirius honcho Mel Karmazin himself took to the pages of the Washington Times to push the idea, saying it was about taking consumer choice "to the next level." And he was again pitching it yesterday on Fox News Channel. But not so fast, says the National Association of Broadcasters. While traditional radio experiments with the advertising concept of "less is more," it appears that the satellite services want to provide less FOR more, on a per-channel basis, at any rate. "If 'a la carte' is intended to mean more choice and lower prices, XM and Sirius fail the test," said NAB Executive Vice President Dennis Wharton. "Only in a monopolist's world are 50-channel minimums, higher prices, interoperability restrictions and a required hardware upgrade considered a consumer benefit. This analysis demonstrates that XM and Sirius are engaged in nothing more than a desperate PR stunt at the expense of consumers." NAB's analysis, which is being shared with the FCC and DOJ Antitrust division, shows that there is limited ability to mix and match channels between services. The so-called "best of both worlds" package includes 100 channels from a customer's primary subscription and an option on only 11 pre-selected channels from the other, all for two dollars more than a straight subscription to one service or the other. To select this option, the subscriber would have to buy a new radio, which is not yet available, and the price of which is unknown. NAB notes the 50-channel mostly-music package for 6.99 a month, well below the 12.95 currently charged, but adding Oprah, available on XM only, takes it up to 9.99, and adding anything else, like sports or Howard Stern speed walks subscribers within a dollar of, or well over, the base 12.95 price, all the way up to 50 channels/Howard and "Sports Super Premium," which costs 17.99, a 150% increase in price per channel for 45% less content.
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| Wall Street Media Business Report TM |
SBS underperforms
Spanish Broadcasting System disappointed investors with revenues down 2% overall to 47.8 million. Radio was down 5% to 45.3 million, with gains in New York unable to offset declines in other key markets. Revenues for Mega TV in Miami rose 87%, but that's still only a total of 2.6 million, so the new TV operation continued to post an operating loss of 2.5 million, improved from a loss of 5.3 million a year ago. Operating income for radio declined 18% to 17 million.
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Ad Business Report TM
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 Lord and Taylor launches 10 million branding campaign
Lord and Taylor has announced plans to launch a 10 million re-branding campaign this fall. Aimed to modernize the store's image while celebrating its 181-year-old heritage, this new campaign will debut in Mid-August and run through the Holiday Season. The campaign will showcase the results of the four-year repositioning effort which was spearheaded by Jane Elfers, Lord and Taylor's CEO, in 2003. Created by David Lipman and shot in California by celebrated photographer Mario Testino, the striking ads are "unapologetically classic with a multigenerational attitude." They feature a cast of iconic celebrities that include models Carolyn Murphy, Lauren Hutton, Jacquetta Wheeler, Hanne Termote, Megan McNeirney and Erin Heatheron, artist Ed Ruscha, socialites Lauren Davis and Lydia Hearst, plus the children John MacEnroe and Clint Eastwood. The images will appear in multi-page spreads in the September issues of Vogue and Vanity Fair, in ads featured in W, Harper's Bazaar, Elle, Town & Country, Cookie, In Style, Interview and GQ as well as in major national newspapers. In addition, 25 billboards will be placed in Boston, Chicago, Connecticut, Detroit, Philadelphia, New York, railroad stations in upscale suburban areas and the Bryant Park Tents during Fashion Week. As part of the re-branding, a 250 million capital budget has been earmarked over the next five years, reflecting the commitment of NRDC Equity Partners, which purchased Lord and Taylor from Federated Department Stores in 2006 for 1.1 billion.
Coca-Cola brings Olympians together in global spot
With just one year to go until "08-08-08" and the Opening Ceremony for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, Coca-Cola is announcing plans for a new global Olympic TV spot featuring Olympians LeBron James and Yao Ming. The new ad will highlight James and Yao as "Olympic Ambassadors" who symbolize how the world comes together over a Coca-Cola during the Games. The new commercial will be part of the global "Coke Side of Life" campaign. Yao Ming's new association with Coca-Cola was announced in July when Coca-Cola China unveiled its "Coca-Cola Olympic Star Team," a group of athletes who will be part of a variety of Coca-Cola programs in China including special packing, advertising and promotions. LeBron James has been involved with the Company since 2003 and has taken part in multiple activities for brands Sprite and Powerade. Residents and visitors to Beijing will also see the largest outdoor ad presence ever seen in China. Depicting members of the "Star Team" and featuring "Coke Side of Life" graphics, the campaign with the theme of "Shuang is Coming," will be present in half of Beijing's public transport ad panels beginning this month. The word "shuang," which means physical, emotional and spiritual refreshment.
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| Media Business Report TM |
A bridge to fear
If it bleeds it leads is more than a cliche, so it should come as no surprise that the bridge collapse in Minneapolis easily dominated news coverage for the week of 7/29/07-8/3/07, according to the weekly survey by the Project for Excellence in Journalism. The event was not all-consuming, but it still helped knock combined Iraq coverage out of double digits for one of the few times all year, and also kept the early focus on the 2008 campaign in single digits. It was otherwise a diffuse week, indicated that getting into a tie for fourth place required only 3% of the news hole. Five stories made the top ten that were not on the list before. There was news about news to cover - we refer to Rupert Murdoch's acquisition of Dow Jones/Wall Street Journal, which would combine it with Fox Network, Fox News Channel and other newspaper holdings. Print, online and radio journalists all made it a top ten story, but both network TV and cable focused their attention elsewhere, despite the fact that in both cases the major player was one of their own. Technical differences in the media were exposed by the Minneapolis bridge collapse. Cable coverage approached the halfway point as the story grabbed 43% of available time. The more static newspaper format led editors to limit it to a mere 10%. The other three media gave it between 19%-29%.
| Top ten lists here |
McDonald's has a hold on kids' taste buds
Asked to sample two identical foods from the fast-food giant McDonald's, children preferred the taste of the version branded with the restaurant's familiar "Golden Arches" to one extracted from unmarked paper packaging, say researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital. The study shows that even young children are swayed by brand preferences. The results are likely to fuel more debate over a growing movement to restrict marketing to kids under 8 years old.
| Read More... |
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| Washington Media Business Report TM |
 FCC re-ups a pair of O&Os
over UCC objection
The United Church of Christ is an experienced hand when it comes to dealing with media matters in general and the FCC in particular. It filed way back on 12/9/04 to have license renewals denied for a pair of network O&Os based in Miami, NBC's WTVJ-TV and CBS's WFOR-TV. In both cases, UCC's gripe was that the network refused to air one of its advertisements. NBC cited its policy "against addressing issues of public controversy through paid commercial advertisements." Similarly, CBS said the ad went against its "established policy not to accept editorial advertisements." The FCC did not get into whether the ads should have been run or not. Ruling very narrowly, it noted that UCC tried to place the ads with the networks, not the individual stations. For all it knows, the FCC said, they "may have aired the spot" if given the opportunity. Therefore, the FCC had no basis upon which to deny the license renewal.
TVBR observation: Will the UCC make a practice of offering its ads to at least one O&O station from now on to leave open the possibility of a license challenge if necessary? Will they get a different result? We suspect that if the individual stations had decided to turn down the ad, the end result would have been the same, although the FCC would have said that its ability to second-guess what goes out over the air on any station is severely limited by the First Amendment. The ad in question, in which the church stated its open door policy to people of all races and sexual orientation, wasn't all that controversial in our opinion, and the networks probably should have taken the money and let UCC make its point. At any rate, we'll stay tuned to see if a more narrowly tailored license challenge takes place if a situation like this comes up again.
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| Entertainment Media Business Report TM |
 Reality renewals at NBC
NBC has re-upped its successful summer series franchises "America's Got Talent" and "Last Comic Standing," for a third and sixth season respectively. "Both of these innovative series have proven to be summer staples and important franchises for NBC," said Craig Plestis, Executive Vice President, Alternative Programming, Development and Specials, NBC Entertainment. "America's Got Talent" has averaged a 3.6 rating, 11 share in adults 18-49, 12.1 million viewers overall) making it primetime's #1 series in total viewers this summer, NBC said. The talent competition series has improved the Tuesday 8-9:30 pm ET timeslot by 21% in adults 18-49 versus last summer. "Last Comic Standing" hit a six-month time-period high for NBC last week, scoring the network's strongest Wednesday 9-10 pm ET rating since January 31. The series is delivering a 2.8/8 in 18-49 and 6.7 million viewers overall this summer. The pickup announcement comes as "America's Got Talent" is preparing for its live, two-part season finale with a special 90-minute performance episode on Tuesday, August 14 8-9:30 pm ET. The following Tuesday, August 21, the million-dollar winner will be revealed in a two-hour live episode 8-10 pm (ET). "America's Got Talent" is produced by FremantleMedia North America and Simon Cowell's SYCO TV. Cowell, Ken Warwick, Cecile Frot-Coutaz, Jason Raff and James Sunderland are the executive producers. "Last Comic Standing" is produced by Peter Engel Productions, Magical Elves and Universal Media Studios. The executive producers are Peter Engel, Dan Cutforth, Jane Lipsitz and Barry Katz. Javier Winnik is the co-executive producer.
"Ugly" is the cool place to be
Fashion icon Kenneth Cole will make a guest appearance on ABC's comedy "Ugly Betty" in an episode that begins filming this week in Los Angeles. Cole will play himself, as he's honored at a lavish "Black & White" Ball being hosted by the dysfunctional Meade family. The episode will air in October.
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| Internet Media Business Report TM |
Music publishers join suit against Google, YouTube
Music publishers have joined the growing list of companies suing Google and YouTube over copyright infringement. The National Music Publishers' Association, the largest music-publishing association in the U.S. with over 600 members, added itself to the suit originally filed in May in Manhattan federal court by English soccer's The Football Association Premier League Ltd. The complaint alleges YouTube, with "the knowing encouragement and complicity of" parent Google, facilitated massive infringements of music videos, concert footage and more. The growing class-action lawsuit comes as YouTube is facing a similar 1 billion suit from Viacom. The decision by music publishers to sue Google and YouTube rather than negotiate a licensing deal for viral video distribution rights marks a stark contrast to the major record labels, reported The NY Post. Labels like Universal Music Group, Sony BMG, Warner Music Group and EMI have all entered into licensing deals with YouTube in exchange for participation in YouTube's revenues, and reportedly for some, a small equity stake in YouTube.
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| Ratings & Research |
NBC slips to 3rd place
"America's Got Talent" was again the #1 show in television last week, but NBC slipped to 3rd place in both 18-49 and Households. Fox won the 18-49 crown, followed by CBS, NBC, ABC, Univision, CW, Telemundo, a tie by TeleFutura and MyNetworkTV, Ion and Azteca America. CBS won HH, followed by Fox, NBC, ABC, Univision, CW, MyNetworkTV, a tie by Ion and Telemundo, TeleFutura and Azteca America. Here are the top 20 shows for the week.
| View the Chart |
 MTV Networks utilizes TNS data for new viewing data
MTV Networks signed an agreement with TNS Media Research for its digital audience measurement service in LA, based on second-by-second data. The data will allow for in-depth analysis of all MTVN programming. By leveraging aggregated and anonymous set top box data coming from more than 300,000 digital subscriber households in the LA market of Charter Communications, MTV Networks can get analysis of spots within a commercial pod as well as commercial pods within a specific program. TNS processed Charter's aggregated and anonymous set top data and allows for analysis through the InfoSys media analysis and planning system. "The granularity of TNS' second-by-second data is a valuable resource for deepening our analyses of how today's audiences are consuming and interacting with content," said Colleen Fahey Rush, EVP/Research, MTV Networks. "The data will be another important tool for us to use in how we are reinventing commercial pods, for example, which drives value for both our audiences and marketing partners. As we further delve into the data we are encouraged by the complete package that TNS provides through data, application and integration with commercial activity." Nielsen Media Research is also developing audience research services based on set-top-box data.
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| Stock Talk |
Fed does nothing, traders rejoice
The Federal Reserve did exactly what it was expected to do - leave rates unchanged and say that inflation was still a concern. But Wall Street traders decided that was OK, that corporate profits would still do well, so stock prices rose. The Dow Industrials were up36 points, or 0.3%, to 13,504.
TV stocks were mostly higher. Gray Television shot up 5.5% for its common and 5.8% for its Class A, a day after reporting its Q2 results. LIN Television plunged 12.3%. There is still no official confirmation from LIN that it has pulled itself off the auction block. The company reports its Q2 results on Thursday.
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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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3.94
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-0.01
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Lincoln Natl.
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LNC
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60.51
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+0.54
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Belo
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BLC
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17.37
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+0.02
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LIN TV
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TVL
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11.40
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-1.60
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| CBS CI. B |
CBS |
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32.11
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+0.06
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McGraw-Hill
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MHP
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57.27
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+0.17
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| CBS CI. A |
CBSa |
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32.09
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+0.02
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Media General
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MEG
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28.17
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+0.68
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Clear Channel
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CCU
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36.79
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+0.01
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Meredith
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MDP
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53.90
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-0.68
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Disney
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DIS
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34.55
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+0.25
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News Corp.
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NWS
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22.34
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-0.22
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Emmis
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EMMS
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5.45
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-0.04
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Nexstar
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NXST
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8.26
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unch
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Entravision
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EVC
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8.46
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-0.35
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Ion Media
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ION
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1.40
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+0.05
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| Equity Media |
EMDA |
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3.65 |
-0.08 |
Saga Commun.
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SGA
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6.75
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-0.12
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Fisher
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FSCI
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49.73
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+1.22
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SBS
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SBSA
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2.97
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+0.01
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Gannett
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GCI
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49.28
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-0.51
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Scripps
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SSP
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40.13
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-0.30
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Gen. Electric
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GE
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39.48
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+0.38
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Sinclair
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SBGI
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12.36
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+0.30
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| Google |
GOOG |
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516.02
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+6.02
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SWMX
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SWMX
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0.08
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-0.02
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Gray
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GTN
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7.54
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+0.39
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Time Warner
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TWX
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18.61
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+0.13
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Gray, C1. A
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GTNa
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7.54
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+0.41
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Tribune
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TRB
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26.84
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-0.25
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Hearst-Argyle
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HTV
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19.80
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-0.93
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Wash. Post
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WPO
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795.50
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+1.00
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Journal Comm.
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JRN
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9.80
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-0.12
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Young
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YBTVA
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2.29
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+0.14
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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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Ad Business Report
GM to end sponsorship
Not to renew its US Olympic Comm sponsorship when contract ends...
Media Business Report
A bridge to fear
If it bleeds it leads is more than a cliché...
Entertainment Media
Business Report
Reality renewals at NBC
Re-upped successful summer series franchises America's Got Talent & Last Comic Standing for 3rd & 6th season...
Ratings & Research
NBC slips to 3rd place
"America's Got Talent" was again the #1 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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 Daly re-ups
with NBC
"Last Call" host Carson Daly and executive producer David Friedman have signed new two-year contracts with NBC. Daly has also been confirmed to repeat as host of NBC's New Year's Eve broadcast.
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More News Headlines
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GM to end US Olympic team sponsorship
General Motors has decided not to renew its US Olympic Committee sponsorship when its contract ends after 2008. The company said the move is a result of changes in its marketing strategy and came after GM evaluated the return on its advertising investment. The 10-year multimillion-dollar agreement included payments to the USOC, plus the entire cost of advertising and other items. The current agreement keeps GM an official U.S. Olympic team sponsor through 2008. "We have other avenues to be able to reach this same audience without bearing the expense of being an official sponsor of the U.S. Olympic team," spokeswoman Ryndee Carney told The AP. She had no word on what GM's strategy would be for advertising related to the Olympics beyond the '08 Beijing games. Chevrolet continues to sponsor the U.S. Snowboarding team, and GM of Canada is sponsoring the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver, she said.
Hal Fishman dead at 75
Hal Fishman, who is believed to have been the longest-serving anchor in television history, has died at age 75. KTLA-TV (Ch. 5, CW) Los Angeles revealed just last week that Fishman had been diagnosed with colon cancer and that it had spread to his liver. Fishman began his 47 year on-air run in LA at KCOP in 1960 and shifted between stations, serving continuously as anchor of the 10 pm newscast at KTLA since 1975.
Koules becoming
an owner
TV and film producer Oren Koules is part of an investment group that is buying the Tampa Bay Lightning of the NHL. The group, Absolute Hockey Enterprises, is led by former NHL coach Doug MacLean, who coached the Florida Panthers to the Stanley Cup finals in 1996
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SmartMedia Magazine
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Coming in September
FALL NAB ISSUE
SPECIAL DISTRIBUTION:
NAB RADIO SHOW
Media Markets and Money:
What's attractive to equity capital these days?
Ad Biz:
Gennele Niblack, Katz Political President
News/Talk:
Using your website to get, keep and grow your audiences
Legal Ease:
Gregg Skall:
"The FCC rules on political ads-Network exception issue".
New Media:
Gary Arlen: YouTube, Joost and the emerging Fox-NBC website are just the start of big bandwidth video via the Internet.
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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How much is credit tightening?
The Federal Reserve's policy makers announce their latest move - or lack of movement - on rates. Despite the recent roiling of the credit markets, the Wall Street consensus is that Chairman Ben Bernanke and his fellow Fed members won't change rates. And, unless there are more drastic changes in the economy, they are viewed as likely to stay the course for many, many months to come. But while tightening credit has pulled Nexstar off the auction block - and possibly LIN Television as well - it appears there is still financing available for most radio and TV deals...at least for now.
TVBR observation: Not today, maybe not next month, but if credit gets tighter and threatens to slow down the economy, Bernanke and the Fed will need to lower rates and keep economic growth from flat-lining. If he stays too focused on inflation, to the exclusion of all other economic factors, he runs the very real risk of repeating the foolish policies of his predecessor who ran the US into an unnecessary recession back at the start of this decade. (Complete details in TVBR)
08/07/07 TVBR #153
Nexstar no longer in sales talks
Citing "difficult conditions in the financing markets" Nexstar announced that it has decided to suspend discussions with potential buyers of the company. CEO Perry Sook tells TVBR that a "hiatus" is an accurate description and it is likely that sale talks will resume when the markets improve.
TVBR observation: The rumblings in the financing markets have become louder in recent weeks. Tribune allayed fears when it declared that all of the financing is committed for its buyout. And KKR drew headlines in the financial press for holding its bankers feet to the fire for financing commitments they'd made to its deal to buy Dollar General. But for deals not yet done, terms are tightening and financing is becoming harder to get.
08/06/07 TVBR #152
Not Bull No Longer Bear
Slew of upgrades from BofA analyst Jonathan Jacoby isn't a bull, but at least he's no longer a bear when it comes to radio stocks. Stock prices have fallen to what Jacoby says reflects his slow growth long-term view, so he's upgraded Citadel, Cox Radio and Entercom from "sell" to "neutral." Jacoby had downgraded the trio to sell back in November, when the Wall Street consensus was that 2007 radio revenue growth would be in the 2-3% range. "We argued that persistent audience erosion would cap average top-line growth at approximately 1% over next five years and at less than 2% over the next ten years. Seven months into '07, it is evident that radio's best hope is for flat revenue this year. And investors seem to have responded to the continued malaise by revaluing the sector, which now reflects our tempered long-term view," Jacoby said in his update to clients.
08/06/07 RBR #152
A legal eagle eye's view
of DTV outreach
Congress has instructed the FCC to educate the people about the upcoming transition to digital television, to forestall a massive case of blank screens after analog switches are set to the off position for good on 2/17/09. In fact, John Dingell (D-MI) and Ed Markey (D-MA) would like the FCC to throw its weight around to the extent it is legally entitled. Review the entire report in TVBR special section.
08/06/07 TVBR #152
Fox sister a drag on Sinclair
Bear Stearns analyst Victor Miller has a new name for News Corporation's MyNetworkTV - My NOTwork TV. He notes that revenues for Sinclair's MyNet affiliates were down 21% in Q2, helping to drag revenues down 1.4% for the company overall. Sinclair also indicated that Q3 will be worst than Miller had projected, down 1.9-3.1%. So, the analyst has lowered his target price for the stock by a buck to 17 bucks, which is still well above where Sinclair is now trading. Miller expects full year 2007 EBITDA to be 232 million, rather than his previous estimate of 242 million. That's because of weak ad trends and accounting for the sale of Sinclair's ABC affiliate in Springfield, MA. In 2008, though, Miller sees TV stocks benefiting from political ad spending and retransmission consent payments - the latter an area where Sinclair has been particularly aggressive.
08/03/07 TVBR #151
Arbitron defends
PPM training for agencies
Responding to the blistering attack from Cox Radio CEO Bob Neil (8/2/07 RBR #150), Arbitron notes that is has provided training on Portable People Meter (PPM) ratings to hundreds and hundreds of agency buyers, planners and managers. By the numbers, Arbitron says it conducted about 200 training session in 2006 (stations and agencies combined), about 240 station training sessions and nearly 200 agency training sessions in the first six months of 2007, with most in Houston and Philadelphia, the first two markets to go live with PPM.
08/03/07 RBR #151
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Hard finding that key person
to fill the important position at your organization? Media HeadHunters is the place that key media firms use to get results. See Media HeadHunters and get results with service.
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Help Desk
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__EMAIL__ :
Having problems with our epapers?
Please send Questions/Concerns to:
Memberships@rbr.com
If you wish to remove your name completely from our database use this link __UNSUB__
TVBR Epaper -- 108 annual
or just 9 a month
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©2007 Radio Business Report, Inc. All rights reserved.
Television Business Report -- 2050 Old Bridge Road, Suite B-01, Lake Ridge, VA 22192 -- Phone: 703-492-8191
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