Be prepared for tomorrow with TVBR. We know the business of television because our middle name is business.
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Volume 23, Issue 157, Jim Carnegie, Editor & Publisher
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Monday Morning August 14th, 2006
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TV News ®
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 ESPN Wide World of Sports
"ESPN on ABC" will be the new branding as Disney puts sports programming for both cable and broadcast TV under the same banner. The new name kicks in on ABC September 2nd, beginning with the "College Football Countdown" and the regional play-by-play of games that day. George Bodenheimer, President of ESPN and ABC Sports announced the decision to extend the ESPN brand for sports across all platforms, saying ESPN on ABC would build on the legacy of ABC Sports.
TVBR observation: Is this good or bad for ABC affiliates? Frankly, we can't decide. ABC affiliate stations will be, in effect, promoting the ESPN cable network. But ESPN will also be promoting programming that will air on the ABC network. We are indeed old enough to remember the brand power of "ABC's Wide World of Sports" back before anyone had thought of an all-sports cable network. But that was then. Today the strongest brand name in sports television is indisputably ESPN.
 TV is the most complimentary
With auto advertising below the levels of recent years for both radio and television, is some other medium seeing growth in auto? If you guessed the Internet, you are correct. No surprise there, but Wachovia Securities sought to quantify it in a recent conference call for investors with Mitch Lowe, CEO of Jumpstart Automotive Media. He confirmed that ad spend is moving away from traditional media - and the pace is accelerating. Lowe said automakers are currently spending 4-5% of their ad budgets online and their dealers 6-7%, but he expects that to keep moving up to a range of 15-18% for the auto industry. Bad news for broadcasters, but even worse for newspapers, who are taking the biggest hit. About 60% of auto ad spending used to go to print, Lowe said, but that has already fallen to 37%, with the auto industry well aware that young consumers aren't big newspaper readers, but are the Internet generation. Lowe told the Wachovia clients that TV is the most complimentary medium to the Internet, but its share of auto ad spending is still declining. That's because the Web is not only visual, but is measurable, interactive and has a targeting capability that goes beyond simple demographic and psychographic characteristics. Asked about radio, Lowe said it hasn't been impacted as much because radio wasn't as big a part of auto campaigns as TV had been and is still cheaper than TV on a CPM basis.
TVBR observation: What's to be done? Two things: First, right now, go after those Internet ad bucks with offerings on your station website that provide local auto dealers with interactive marketing and demonstrate how effectively they can reach your listeners via the Internet. Lowe spoke about online providing better ROI to the auto industry because it is targeted and provides hard data about consumer inquiries. That leads to the second thing, the need for electronic audience measurement, which in TV means LPMs in more markets. Lowe said he expected it to be another 5-7 years before the technology is implemented to allow broadcasters to give auto advertisers the documented ROI they see now from the Web.
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FCC looking into airing
of unsourced VNRs
Stations are reportedly receiving inquiries from the FCC concerning the broadcast of news segments based on or using footage from unattributed video news releases. The action, reported by Reuters, stems from an April complaint from watchdogs Free Press and Center for Media and Democracy. At that time, the watchdogs said they had documented 36 VNRs, used by 77 stations, and aired 98 times without sourcing. The releases, which can come from the government or from the corporate world, are essentially an electronic version of the old-fashioned press release, and although the current complaint is directed at television, the releases can be audio-only for distribution to radio stations. The watchdogs expressed their concern that the documented incidents represent only the tip of the iceberg, writing, "Still, the findings represent only a small sample, less than 1%, of the thousands of VNRs the public relations industry produces each year for broadcast on television news programs."
TVBR observation: There is nothing inherently wrong with VNRs. As we've pointed out in the past, there was no press pool on the moon when Neil Armstrong took his giant leap for mankind. The world saw footage of this historic moment courtesy of the US government. However, VNRs became a hot potato when it was revealed that government agencies were using them, distributing "fake news" to further administration political goals such as No Child Left Behind and the Medicare prescription drug program. It'll be interesting to see where the FCC goes with this.
 Washimore or Baltington?
Minneapolis is wedded to St. Paul, Tampa to St. Petersburg, San Francisco to Oakland, Ft. Myers to Naples, Tyler to Longview, and if you're in the mood for a threesome, Saginaw to Bay City and Midland. The list of dual- or multiple-city markets goes on and on. Some are divided by nothing more than a body of water or an imaginary political boundary, and some are quite far apart. The question has occasionally been raised, should Washington and Baltimore join that list? Our road atlas separates by a mere 38 miles, and they compete for the loyalty of thousands upon thousands of media consumers in between (just look below the line in your Arbitron book). The answer has been no thus far, but the topic has come up on two different occasions recently. The NFL Baltimore Ravens are asking the league to treat the two cities as one market, which would force more Ravens games onto the schedule of Washington stations, allowing Maryland residents residing in the DC DMA to see all of the team(s) games. According to SI.com, the Washington Redskins haven't commented on the proposal. And, according to the Washington Post, Fox Broadcasting's Washington O&O, WTTG-TV, is going to ship five hours of daily news programming to its Baltimore O&O, complete with local Washington stories. (For the record, we wrote our article before looking at the Post effort, which included Washimore as a suggested multiplex name, did not mention Baltington, but also mentioned Baltiton and Baltiwash.)
TVBR observation: First of all, TVBR is based in the Washington market, and although we used to love the Baltimore Orioles after our beloved Washington Senators were purloined by Texas (and before current management allowed to franchise to lapse into a state of perpetual disrepair), we will not consider Baltimore to be a part of Washington until Metro puts a subway stop up there. Further, if the tables were reversed, we would not want to know about local Baltimore goings-on, and we suspect they will rightly feel the same way about things like the Washington mayoral election and when the cherry blossoms are expected to bloom. Therefore, we do not expect good things for WTTG news programming in Baltimore. However, we completely understand the NFL problem. The DC market extends though southern Maryland all the way to the Chesapeake Bay, and the closer to the Bay, the more likely the residents are to favor the Baltimore franchises over those from Washington. We understand the Ravens' request, and we're glad we're not the ones who have to make that particular decision.
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Political battlegrounds seem to be expanding
Back in January, we were expecting that about 10 US Senate seats would be in play in the midterm election season. However, that number may have gone up, if a recent New York Times handicapping chart is accurate. With 33 states electing a Senator, only 19 are considered safely in the hands of one party or the other. And governor races are even more uncertain. On the Senate side, NYT sees the Democrats with 12 safe seats and seven leaners; the Republicans have seven safe seats and four leaners. Three races are called toss-ups. Democrats have six safe and eight leaning state houses, compared to seven safe and six leaning governorships for the Republicans, and nine are up in the air. At this point, NYT does not see a Democratic takeover in the House unless they can take a healthy bite out of seats currently leaning Republican. The Dems have 189 safe and 13 leaning seats, compared to 194 safe and 25 leaning Republican. 14 are in the toss-up category.
| State-by-state standings here |
TVBR observation: The more toss-ups and leaners, the more cash you're likely to see flowing into the state. Only three states are completely out of the combined senate/state house picture, Kentucky, Louisiana and North Carolina. Double safeties, which should depress expenditures, exist for the Democrats in New Mexico and New York, and for the Republicans in Texas. Interestingly, Connecticut has two safeties, but it's the Senate for Democrats despite Joe Lieberman's independent run, and the governorship for the Republicans.
 Will CBS Supernova flame out?
CBS has been laboring diligently for months to find just the right lead singer for a new rock band, and has been devoting airtime to the project since 7/5/06 to the project. The show, "Rock Star: Supernova," is on the schedule through the end of September, and is winnowing an initial pool of wannabes reality-show style until it has a winner to front the new band. One problem: There already is a band called Supernova. It's been a going concern since 1989, has a movie credit on its resume (the song "Chewbacca" which was featured on cult classic "Clerks"). The band, through representatives from Fish & Richardson P.C. (three guesses what type of business Fish & Richardson is engaged in) has contacted CBS in an effort to protect the band's name, an effort that included a 6/27/06 lawsuit. Having not made satisfactory progress, they are now seeking a preliminary injunction to prevent the CBS version of Supernova to either record or perform "...under the name 'Supernova' alone."
TVBR observation: In any business that involves information and creativity, intellectual property is no joke. We've been there ourselves. The band Supernova is perfectly justified in protecting its vital turf. However, with an ever-expanding entertainment universe, it is becoming harder and harder to win the footrace to a given name. We were thinking that maybe the 60s-70s (and beyond) band Paul Revere and the Raiders had the right idea. The name Paul Revere was certainly in use, but during the 1760s-1770s rather than the 1960s-1970s, meaning Mr. Revere the elder was unlikely to lodge a serious intellectual property complaint. However, we did a little research, and were thus reminded that one member of the Raiders lineup was actually named Paul Revere, rendering our specific comment moot. But you get the idea. CBS might look to the pages of American history for inspiration. How about "Rock Star: Mugwump" or "Rock Star: Millard Fillmore." Just the thing to put your show on the map while avoiding messy and costly legal action.
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Ad Business Report TM
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 AAAA takes a stand on Commercial Ratings; Nielsen responds
In a letter sent to Nielsen CEO Susan Whiting on Thursday, the AAAAs gave the ad industry's positions on Nielsen's plans to release average commercial minute ratings data in the fall. AAAAs asks that Nielsen discusses the numerous issues with the Committees and their members in the coming weeks and months. The letter had the blessing of the AAAAs influential Media Policy, National Television and Radio, Local Television and Radio, Media Research and Media Technology committees. The letter requests Nielsen remove VCR recording from the equation until Nielsen can find a way to accurately provide VCR playback data, rather than using recording of TV shows as ratings data-AAAAs says recording data does not account for whether those shows were actually watched.
| Read it in full here |
While Nielsen's plan has been to utilize its Monitor-Plus system as the source for identifying commercial minutes for the new ratings, 4As says Nielsen needs to explain to the industry how the Monitor-Plus data can be brought up to speed to accurately identify all commercial minutes, and to distinguish between national and local cable minutes. As well, it will need MRC audit and accreditation for all national television activity. "What are Nielsen's plans in this regard?," the letter asked. 4As underscored that Nielsen should continue to provide flagging of individual minutes that contain commercials and strive to provide flagging of individual seconds that contain commercials-something buyers have been telling us they've wanted. Regarding commercial ratings data, the committees' letter noted a "disturbing response" came out of the recent Nielsen Client meeting in New York. When questioned about the validity and stability of the proposed data that the broadcast networks were requesting, Nielsen's response was that it was up to Nielsen's customers, not Nielsen, to decide if the data was stable enough to use as currency. "We believe that Nielsen has the responsibility of doing the testing and giving us the statistics that will enable an intelligent analysis. There must be a very high research standard for any measurement tool to potentially be used as trading currency." They also noted agency research that indicates that for primetime broadcast, the typical 60-minute show has 10-12 individual minutes that contain at least 30 seconds of national commercial time. "Does averaging 11 individual minutes provide as stable and robust a rating as averaging 60 minutes? These are not the same 11 minutes in different episodes of the same program. How does this differ for shorter-duration programs? How does this affect the stability and projectability of the data by demographic segment? What are the corresponding minute counts for cable, syndication, and other broadcast dayparts? How does the stability and projectability of the data over time compare to current average telecast ratings?"
 And Nielsen's reply...
While Nielsen is working on a formal reply to the list, Nielsen spokesperson Jack Loftus (pictured) responded to TVBR on the issue. Ironically, the AAAAs chose to send the letter first to a trade pub instead of Susan Whiting. Jack first clears up the confusion in the letter regarding commercial ratings data and Nielsen saying it was up to the customers, not Nielsen, to decide if the data was "stable" enough to use as currency. He said if there's not enough data for stability, then they won't report it. But "We think there will be enough of it because we report the program ratings. And what we're doing is extrapolating the commercial minutes from the total time ratings, so we don't think that's going to be an issue, but we'll be looking at it. The point of it is if they choose to negotiate on this, that's up to them. What they're trying to do is create hobgoblins that aren't there yet."
| Read More... |
TVBR observation: ANA CEO Robert Liodice was "unavailable" for comment. Why? We hear he didn't get a copy of the letter yet and needs time to go over before any comment could be made. Not sure if all the 4As issues were congruent with the ANA or not. We hope to clear the issue up-perhaps the ANA was indeed informed of the letter and is on the same page as the AAAAs on these issues. It's really quite complicated, the struggle for defining currencies. Agencies have some very valid questions here and want more backing from Nielsen to offer up suggestions for defined metrics, currencies and standards. Nielsen is saying here is the data-you decide how to use it and what standards you want to make out of it. Nielsen doesn't want to get in the middle, but is politely being asked to give it a try. It's a matter of work now needed to get everyone on board. Where do the networks stand? Response tomorrow. At least one group in the triumvirate of agencies, networks and Nielsen should put it all on paper and see where the others agree on commercial ratings.
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| Media Business Report TM |
 NBC, 20th TV launch
MySpace effort for "Earl"
NBC and 20th Century Fox Television will partner with MySpace to offer users an opportunity to submit a photo and have a chance to see their mug featured as a "Friend of Earl" in one of the first three episodes of "My Name Is Earl." At the end of each episode, the production credits normally conclude with the "Amigos de Garcia" logo - the executive producer Greg Garcia's production company that normally features friends of the show's creator. Winners will now have a chance to be featured as one of the "Amigos." The first "Friend of Earl" winner will appear in the season premiere of "My Name Is Earl" 9/21 (8-8:30 p.m. ET) and two other winners in two subsequent episodes. In addition, MySpace will offer user-generated content, sneak previews of "Earl's" first season DVD and soundtrack, "Earl" content for cell phones and other 'Earl'-Licensed merchandise. Now through 9/5, users can log onto MySpace.com and submit their photo on a special "My Name Is Earl" profile page. Each week, five "amigo" photos, selected at random, will be featured on the "Earl" MySpace profile page. Show creators will choose three sweepstakes "amigo" winners from MySpace "Friends of Earl" entrants based on a random data pull from MySpace. The first of three winners' photos will be featured at the end of the season premiere on Thursday, 9/21, while the second winner will be seen 9/28 and the third on 10/5. To drive awareness, NBC is airing air a 20-second sweepstakes spot each week in an "Earl" episode starting on 8/10, and will continue on August 17, 24 and 31. The promo will run after and adjacent to the "Amigos de Garcia" end card and will describe the promotion, plus drive traffic to the myspace.com/mynameisearl profile and sweepstakes. Myspace will promote this on their homepage as well as through newsletters, Myspace homepage "specials" and on a MySpace Comedy homepage.
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| Media Markets & Money TM |
 Yager picks up a dozen TVs
Barrington Broadcasting has closed on its 262M acquisition of 12 Raycom television spin-offs. The stations include NBC WSTM-TV & UPN-to-CW WSTQ Syracuse NY; Fox KXRM-TV & UPN-to-CW KXTU Colorado Springs CO; NBC WNWO-TV Toledo OH; Fox WACH-TV Columbia SC; Fox WFXL-TV Albany GA; NBC WPBN-TV & NBC WTOM-TV Traverse City-Cheboygan MI; NBC WLUC-TV Marquette MI; CBS KGBT-TV Harlingen TX; and ABC KTVO-TV Kirksville MO. Barrington CEO Jim Yager said, "This mix of strong local stations blended with stations poised for significant growth represents a great opportunity for Barrington. Today starts a new chapter in the history of our company. Our management team under the guidance of Chris Cornelius and Warren Spector have been looking forward to welcoming these new stations and their employees into our operations for quite some time, and we're very excited that this day is here."
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| Washington Media Business Report TM |
Seattle paper asks for public outcry
The topic is media consolidation, and the Seattle Times took to its editorial page to urge its readers to let the FCC know their opinion, as happened when Michael Powell undertook to loosen the regulations back on 6/2/03. The paper notes as a positive development Chairman Kevin Martin's promise to hold six public meetings on the topic. It goes further, though, strongly suggesting that Martin do something Powell did not, which is to actually attend more than a couple. (Powell went to one independently-organized forum in New York and another, scheduled by the FCC, in Richmond, avoiding a number of other independent forums which attracted only Democratic commissioners Michael Copps and Jonathan Adelstein.) The paper also noted that Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) had written to Martin requesting that one of the meetings be held in Washington state.
TVBR observation: This is just one more indication that a lot of eyes are on the FCC as it prepares to re-examine the rules. There is zero chance that this is going to happen quietly behind closed doors.
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| Entertainment Media Business Report TM |
Beach reality benched
 The number in the title of "One Ocean View" proved to be a close approximation of the viewership, so ABC has jerked the summertime reality series after two weeks of dismal ratings. Although the series was created by the folks behind the long successful "The Real World" on MTV, which launched the whole reality TV craze, "One Ocean View" was ripped by critics for being, well, boring - and apparently viewers agreed. So, look for reruns of "Supernanny" to fill the Monday timeslot until the fall season begins.
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| Internet Media Business Report TM |
Viacom and Adobe pact for web and mobile content
Viacom and Adobe Systems announced a strategic alliance to develop and deliver Viacom's branded content using the Adobe Engagement Platform. Adobe will become Viacom's preferred technology provider for rich media authoring tools and interactive online video solutions, enabling Viacom to deliver content from its television, motion picture and digital properties to online and mobile audiences. The two companies will also work together in developing new media applications leveraging Viacom's exclusive content and using Adobe's next-generation developer tools and ubiquitous cross-platform client software. Adobe Reader and Adobe Flash Player are installed on more than 600 million connected PCs and devices worldwide. Viacom will utilize Flash video as an interactive online video solution and provide Viacom-branded content to mobile phone handsets via FlashCast channels. Viacom will also develop new applications leveraging content from Viacom properties including MTV, Comedy Central, Spike TV and Nickelodeon.
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| Ratings & Research |
 Summertime and the
viewing is syndie...
Network TV viewing is typically down in the summer months. Hence the proliferation of reruns and low-budget fill-ins. But people still do watch TV and syndicated shows have been posting strong numbers against their network cousins. The Syndicated Network Television Association (SNTA) notes that for the last week of July, syndicated shows accounted for 29 of the top 50 shows in terms of total viewership and 26 of 50 for Adults 18-49. Here's a chart of the top 50 (Persons 2+) for the week of July 24-30.
| View the Chart |
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| Engineering Business Report TM |
FCC calls XM on the carpet over receivers
Apparently some of the terrestrial receivers used to pick up the programming of XM Satellite Radio are susceptible to springing leaks. Engineers at an FCC lab determined that the Delphi XM SKYFi2 was exceeding emission limits, as was Audiovox, a receiver manufactured by Audiovox Xpress. The FCC also want additional info on other receivers, including Sportscaster, Roady XT, MyFi, Airware, Tao and Roady 2. The NAB has been complaining about interference from such devices to FM broadcasts. In a recent letter to the FCC seeking relief, NAB President/CEO David Rehr wrote, "Although press reports indicate that XM and Sirius have requested their manufacturers to suspend production of noncompliant devices, these actions do nothing to address noncompliant products already in consumers' hands or those already shipped to distributors or retailers."
| Here is XM's SEC filing on the matter |
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| New Owners |
What makes them tick? New entrants just venturing into radio and/or TV-why are they getting into it? What do they see that others that are bailing out don't?
New owners taking the broadcasting plunge
The Federal Communications Commission is getting ready to take up the issue of local and national broadcast ownership caps, as well as the issue of broadcast and newspaper cross-ownership. New rules which we passed on partisan lines at the Commission 6/2/03 were not struck down by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, as you read various places from time to time. They were not even labeled as being bad rules. They were instead said to be poorly justified. They were sent back to the Commission to either be rewritten or better explained. It is well known that Kevin Martin is particularly in favor of easing restrictions on newspaper/broadcast combinations. As we've noted many times, that concept was almost endorsed by the Third Circuit, which noted that in many markets where such combinations exist, they are demonstrably the finest news operation in town. Still, the Court had a problem with how the Commission arrived at the local media counts that would be permitted for markets of varying sizes.
| Read More... |
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| Monday Morning Makers & Shakers |
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Transactions: 6/26/06-6/30/06
We realize the ugly connotations of the phrase "on the beach" in the broadcasting business, but in the case of Makers & Shakers, we have to assume that's where everyone really was this week. Only six transactions showed up at the FCC, none on the television side. While the weather may have been hot, the trading market certainly was not.
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Total
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Total Deals
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6
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AMs
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5
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FMs
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8
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TVs
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0
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| Value |
16.71M
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| Complete Charts |
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Radio Transactions of the Week
Archway enters Illinois
| More... |
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TV Transactions of the Week
Television trading takes a timeout
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| Transactions |
86.8M KFYR-TV, KQCD-TV, KMOT-TV & KUMV-TV Bismarck ND (Bismarck, Dickinson, Minot, Williston ND); KVLY-TV Fargo ND; and KSFY-TV, KABY-TV & KPRY-TV Sioux Falls SD (Sioux Falls, Aberdeen, Pierre SD) from North Dakota Television LLC/South Dakota Television LLC, subsidiaries of The Wicks Group of Companies (Robert Gluck) to Hoak Media LLC (Eric D. Van den Branden). 4.75M escrow, balance in cash at closing. Price adjusted for working capitak, assumed obligations and digital buildout of KFYR-TV. Flagship/satellite set-up. Bismarck and Fargo groups are NBC affiliates; Sioux Falls group are ABC affiliates. Also includes an LPTV in Bismarck, three in Fargo and one in Sioux Falls. Hoak will also be entering into an SSA in Fargo with CBS KXJB-TV, which Parker Broadcasting is acquiring from Spirit Television. [File date 7/24/06.]
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| Stock Talk |
Week ends on down note
Worries about the economy, oil prices and terrorist threats sent stocks lower on Friday. The Dow Industrials fell 36 points, or 0.3%, to 11,088.
Most TV stocks joined in the retreat. Gray (common) fell 3.2%. News Corp. dropped 2.5%. ACME, which completes the Q2 earnings cycle with its report on Tuesday, fell 2.3%.
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| Stocks |
Here's how stocks fared on Friday
| Company |
Symbol |
Close |
Change |
Company |
Symbol |
Close |
Change |
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Acme
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ACME
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5.06
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-0.12
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LIN TV
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TVL
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6.26
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-0.10
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Belo
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BLC
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15.98
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-0.11
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McGraw-Hill
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MHP
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57.08
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+0.23
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| CBS CI. B |
CBS |
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26.37
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-0.13
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Media General
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MEG
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37.43
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+0.40
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| CBS CI. A |
CBSa |
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26.34
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-0.11
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Meredith
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MDP
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46.71
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-0.12
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Clear Channel
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CCU
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27.77
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+0.07
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News Corp.
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NWS
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19.21
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-0.50
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Disney
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DIS
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29.43
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-0.15
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Nexstar
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NXST
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4.50
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unch
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Emmis
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EMMS
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11.42
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-0.01
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NY Times
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NYT
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22.51
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+0.03
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Entravision
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EVC
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6.81
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unch
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Ion Media
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ION
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0.97
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unch
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Fisher
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FSCI
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38.92
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-0.25
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Saga Commun.
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SGA
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7.37
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+0.04
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Gannett
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GCI
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54.46
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-0.22
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SBS
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SBSA
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4.08
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-0.33
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Gen. Electric
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GE
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32.50
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-0.17
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Scripps
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SSP
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43.33
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+0.44
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Granite
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GBTVK
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0.15
|
unch
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Sinclair
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SBGI
|
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7.81
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-0.04
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Gray
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GTN
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6.06
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-0.20
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Time Warner
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TWX
|
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16.05
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+0.01
|
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Gray, C1. A
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GTNa
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6.81
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unch
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Tribune
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TRB
|
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29.71
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+0.07
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Hearst-Argyle
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HTV
|
|
21.07
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-0.05
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Univision
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UVN
|
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33.47
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+0.01
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Journal Comm.
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JRN
|
|
10.51
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-0.05
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Wash. Post
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WPO
|
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737.75
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+1.00
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|
Lincoln Natl.
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LNC
|
|
57.47
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+0.13
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Young
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YBTVA
|
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2.76
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+0.05
|
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Bounceback
|
 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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TV Media Moves
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 Dose of reality
Jennifer Bresnan has been named Senior Vice President, Alternative Programming, for The CW Network. The veteran reality producer will oversee current reality offerings and future development of non-traditional programming.
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Below the Fold
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Ad Business Report
4A's and Nielsen at it again
AAAA takes a stand on Commercial Ratings and Jack Loftus of Nielsen responds...
Media Business Report
Earl gets his space
As NBC, 20th TV launch MySpace effort for "Earl" and see your face...
Media Markets & Money
Yager picks up a dozen TVs
Barrington Broadcasting has closed on its 262M acquisition of 12 Raycom spins...
Washington Media Business Report
Seattle paper asks for public outcry
The topic is media consolidation...
New Owners
Taking the plunge
Look for activity on ownership caps...
Ratings & Research
Summer is syndie time
And the viewing is syndie but people still do watch TV...
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Stations for Sale
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For Sale 100+ Market
Spanish TV
Network Affiliate $1,500,000
100,000 watt FM $1,200,000
$2,500,000 combo price
or sold separately
barbaraboff@bellsouth.net
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More News Headlines
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Zenith Media adds Moxie Interactive
After working together for the past five years on the Verizon Wireless account, with, Zenith Media has acquired Moxie Interactive, an Atlanta-based digital agency to become its branded digital offering. The new digital offering will help Zenith cover online media, search engine, and email marketing, technology development and hosting, interactive kiosks, and ecommerce retail. Applications will include PC, mobile, out of home, and TV platforms. "This union with Moxie will enable us to develop even more holistic solutions, online and offline, for our clients," said Tim Jones, ZenithOptimedia NA. "Digital has moved from being a tertiary or secondary concern to front and center. This is the biggest thing on clients' agendas."
How can broadcasters make money on the Web?
With Internet revenues a part of every broadcasting and cable company's plans for 2007, Broadcast Cable Financial Management Association (BCFM) is devoting its 2006 fall Regional Seminar in New York to "Business Modeling the Internet." The seminar will be held Wednesday, September 13th in Manhattan. Jim Clayton, CFO for Scripps Networks, and Sheldon Lee, Controller for Belo Corp's KING-TV Seattle, are Co-Chairs for the event, which will provide case studies from companies that are already using the Internet to deliver additional revenues; examples of partnership opportunities that are available; and practical answers to accounting and business questions. Confirmed speakers include Scott Yinger, Senior Vice President of Financial Planning, Analysis and Corporate Development for AOL; Dan Halyburton, Senior Vice President/Market Manager of Emmis New York; and Steve Safran, President, Safran Media Group, who also serves as Digital Media Advisor for Comcast's New England Cable News (NECN) and Managing Editor of LostRemote.com. "The mantra that can be heard throughout our membership is: 'no matter what business your plan says you are in, it's going to change.' New media applications require companies to adopt the same discipline the industry used for growing the robust business that it enjoys today, and that's the mission for this seminar," said BCFM President & CEO Mary Collins.
Broadcast pioneer
Mike Douglas passes
Mike Douglas, who served the radio industry pre-WWII as a staff singer at WKY-AM in Oklahoma City and rose to his greatest fame as a daytime variety host on syndicated television, has died at the age of 81. He was credited with charting the waters for television talk, but said in his memoir that believed his was a music show with interludes of talk and laughter.
Ted Metcalf dead at 88
WJAR-TV Providence reports the death of Ted Metcalf, who anchored the first TV newscast in the state of Rhode Island on WJAR 57 years ago. Following his TV career Metcalf had worked for the Rhode Island Department of Economic Development. He was 88 when he died last week.
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TVBR Radar 2006
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Television News you won't read any where else. TVBR--First, Accurate, and Independently Owned.
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CBS exposing itself
to six-figure fines
That's so it can air a update of previously-aired documentary "9/11," narrated by Robert de Niro, that avoids doing what the filmmaker's believe would be a disservice to the heroic fire fighters who responded to the attack on the World Trade Center. CBS feels that the gravity of the occasion demands that the events be aired precisely as they were captured that day, harsh language and all. Versions of the film have previously aired, when the top drawer indecency fine much lower. It was 27.5K and was increased to 32.5K before getting a ten times increase this year to 325K.
TVBR observation: Again FCC can fine but without key guidelines we applaud CBS.
08/11/06 TVBR #156
Don't look for a Google
mega-deal at Disney
Rupert Murdoch may have committed Fox Interactive to a 900 million bucks plus Internet ad deal with a single partner, Google, but Bob Iger wants to play the field. Disney is in talks with various Web companies on potential deals. While there was talk of rumors that the agreement to sell ABC Radio to Citadel Broadcasting is about to fall apart, Disney officials say it is still on track.
08/10/06 TVBR #155
Executive Comment
Here are my insights
into the :30s discussion
Jerry Lee, WBEB-FM Philadelphia. I come from the school of thought that an Interruption is an Interruption is an Interruption. When Clear Channel first announced their :30s initiative, I launched a study with Bill Moyes to prove Clear Channel wrong. I now publicly admit that I was wrong. Based on this research I am convinced that number of commercials in a Pod are immaterial to the listener. I do have a caveat. We don't know how the public would react if you ran 8 :30s or 16 :15s in lieu of 4 :60s. I think that this should be researched.
RBR observation: There is a lot more comment and a research study to what Jerry Lee is discussing and RBR highly recommends you review the study, print it out and digest it. See this report in
08/10/06 RBR #155
Commissioner #5 weighs in;
Kicks must-carry to The Hill
Robert McDowell held his first meeting with the press on the occasion of his 69th day in office...he called it a Q&D session (question and dodge).
TVBR observation: This is a laundry list of topics so best check out TVBR for complete details.
08/09/06 TVBR #154
Hogan insists that listeners
don't hear spots as units
Clear Channel Radio CEO John Hogan isn't buying the argument from Cox Radio CEO Bob Neil and others that radio needs to hold down units per hour to attract listeners.
RBR observation: The jury is still out on whether Less is More accomplished all it was supposed to. Is clutter coming back by packing more, but shorter spots into each pod? Wall Street analysts are trying to get a handle on whether Clear Channel is succeeding in putting upward pressure on pricing now that Less is More has been fully implemented for over two quarters. RBR noticed as we listened to the conference call, that whenever an analyst asked a question about just how many units are airing vs. a year ago, Hogan and Clear Channel Communications CEO Mark Mays managed to talk a lot about other questions, without ever getting around to answering that one.
08/09/06 RBR #154
eBay system is worth a try
Of course, some networks in the industry are pretty standoff-ish on the new pilot program to test online buying and selling of advertising (admarketpilot.com), which is working with eBay to develop and manage the framework. However, Andy Donchin, Carat Americas Director of Broadcast Buying, had a few good points. He agrees it's not going to work for everyone, but it's worth exploring. He said the agency side is just looking for alternative systems, and while there are indeed many out there now-from SWMX to DMarc to Spotbuy.tv-the strong will survive.
TVBR observation: It's apparent that multiple systems will be in the space from here on out. Yes, the strongest will survive in the end, but as far as auctions for media inventory go, it should be interesting to see who ends up surrendering their inventory-beyond remnant and last-minute scatter-to such a system.
08/08/06 TVBR #153
Earnings rolling fast but
Not keeping pace
LIN sees pacing picking up; Puerto Rico sale next month. SBS pleased with TV investment. Emmis' stock takes a nosedive trading volume shot up to about seven times normal as traders bailed out of Emmis stock and remember they still have two TV to sell. Fisher turns to profit. Complete details
08/08/06 TVBR #153
Advertisers launch eBay experiment
TVBR first reported in May that an advertising industry taskforce was working on a pilot program to test online buying and selling of advertising - and we reported hints that it would involve eBay 5/11/06 TVBR #93. Sure enough, the task force announced Friday that it has launched a website for interested participants to sign up - admarketpilot.com - and is working with eBay to develop and manage the framework. Advertisers already committed to participate include Wal-Mart (whose Julie Roehm was an early advocate of the project), Toyota, Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard and Home Depot.
TVBR observation: There are certainly Internet-based advertising buying and selling sites already in operation for various media. What is different about this one is who is running it - the advertisers and agencies, who obviously will be seeking a system designed to do business the way they want to do business. That's not necessarily a bad thing for broadcasters, but they should want to offer some input on how the platform should function as viewed from the other side.
Publisher note: Just a few agency people have a way of running head first to get what they want before thinking with which they have to do business with to get their ad and brands across. The broadcaster. Over the last few weeks I have been fielding a number of questions on internet-based buying services being asked the difference and my only answer today is when I hear Google I only think Search Engine. Now with eBay I think Bidding on someone's used goods. On any internet service my recommendation to our colleagues is to do your own research and you determine who you want to do business with and go a little slow as this is no time to be running into the wall head first.
08/07/06 TVBR #152
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State Broadcast Association
President for one of the nation's top broadcast associations seeks a replacement for its retiring executive. Applicants must have broadcast management experience; knowledge of broadcast governmental, legal and regulatory affairs; an awareness of small and medium market broadcaster needs; ability to plan and coordinate a convention, workshops, seminars, and solicit event sponsors. Must have excellent verbal and written communication skills.
See TV Careers
Regional Account Executive
LIN Television West Michigan is looking for a Regional Sales professional for WOODTV8, WOTV 4 and WXSP TV. Candidate must have proven success in retaining solid client relationships and ability to target accounts and strategize rate and share increases. Time management and organizational skills a must. Knowledge of VCI, One Domain, Marshall Marketing a plus. No Phone calls but Send resume.
See TV Careers
Editorial & Sales Reps
Working for a print trade with no growth? Working for B&C, MediaWeek, TVWeek, or any other TV/Cable Trade publication? TVBR is looking for that one or two key experienced pros. Capitalize on your experience, contacts, relationships, and secure your future growth. NO Relocation necessary. Contact TVBR publisher Jim Carnegie in confidence at publisher@rbr.com
Hard finding that key person
to fill the important position at your organization? TVBR's - Media HeadHunters is the place that key media firms use to get results. See www.mediaheadhunters.com and get results with service--Period.
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