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Volume 24, Issue 158, Jim Carnegie, Editor & Publisher
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Tuesday Morning August 14th, 2007
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TV News ®
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 GOP salvages CNN/YouTube debate
Republican candidates were balking at following their Democratic counterparts into a debate format in which CNN asked questions submitted by citizens via YouTube. The 9/17/07 date has been scrapped, but the event has found a new home on the calendar: 11/28/07. At the beginning of the flap, John McCain (R-AZ) and Ron Paul (R-TX) quickly agreed to appear in the event, but others, including Rudy Giuliani (R-NY) and Mitt Romney (R-MA), were among those unwilling to commit. In Giuliani's case, scheduling conflicts were cited as the source of his reluctance to participate, and his campaign has agreed to the new debate. Romney was not comfortable with the format, calling it "demeaning," and has still not yet agreed to take part in the event.
TVBR observation: Back in the 19th century it was considered "demeaning" for a presidential candidate to go out and actually campaign for voter support. So, things do change over time. Radio changed campaigning and then television changed it again. Now the Internet is making its own modifications. Those who don't change with the times are destined to be left behind.
 Clear Channel sets going private vote for September 25th
Shareholders of Clear Channel Communications will vote Tuesday, September 25th on whether to approve the long-pending deal to sell the company to a private equity buyout group led by Bain Capital partners and Thomas H. Lee Partners, along with the Mays family. The record date for shareholders eligible to vote has also been changed again - to next Monday, August 20th. It was last November that Clear Channel announced that the Bain/Lee group had won the bidding battle after the company was put up for auction. But some large shareholders weren't happy with the original price of 37.60 per share and threatened to vote against the deal unless the bid was increased. Under Texas law, where CCU is incorporated, a buyout requires two-thirds shareholder approval, which was going to be a substantial hurdle if major shareholders planned to vote no. Eventually, the bid was upped to 39 bucks per share, but a final kicker was needed to win support from some of the reluctant shareholders. That kicker added another 20 cents, but also allows shareholders to convert shares in the current public company - up to 30.6 million shares - into shares of the new private company. While it would have been easy to change 39.00 to 39.20 in the proxy materials, the conversion option made things much more complicated. The legal language has all been worked out now, the proxies are ready to go and the vote is set for September 25th.
TVBR observation: Don't look for any late night nail-bitter as the votes are counted. As far as we can tell, there is no longer any organized resistance to the terms of the buyout. Highfields Capital, which had led the push for the stock swap option, has been buying more Clear Channel stock and appears to be hoping to capture the lion's share of that 30.6 million share stake available in the new company. As of a July 25th filing with the SEC, Highfields owned 31.8 million shares of Clear Channel.
Another stakeholder signs on to protect kids
Food manufacturers and media outlets have been under pressure to watch the waistlines of the preteen set all year. Kellogg's announced its intention to limit advertising of nutritionally-suspect products to the preteen set earlier this year and recently, eleven others followed suit. Now Discovery Kids has joined to group. Ed Markey (D-MA), who has taken Capitol Hill point on this issue, was quick with a response. He said, ""I commend Discovery Kids for taking this step to help protect children from unhealthy junk food ads and look forward to reviewing the details of their proposal. By helping kids discover the world beyond junk food, Discovery Kids is making an important statement about the responsibility that media companies have to join the fight against childhood obesity." Three FCC commissioners have been involved on a task force tackling this issue, and all three were also quick to get their PR machinery in gear. Deborah Taylor Tate (R) was first, followed in rapid succession by Michael Copps (D) and Chairman Kevin Martin (R). Their remarks are available below.
| Commissioner statements |
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 Royalty battle continues
The National Association of Broadcasters is attempting to forge an agreement with royalty disburser SoundExchange to "resolve a rate dispute related to radio stations that stream music online." The lack of a promised response after two months has resulted in a new graphic on NAB's website. Meanwhile, a prominent attorney is questioning the organization's reported lobbying efforts. For the NAB's part, it is trying to protect the ability of radio stations to operate on-line, a prospect put in doubt by the threat of drastically-increased royalty requirements despite the fact that the artists in question are receiving free promotion by the very act of being streamed. NAB says it made a "good-faith" offer 6/6/07, and it's new home-page shot clock pegs the lack-of-response time at 68 days and counting. "The sounds of silence from SoundExchange are deafening," said NAB EVP Dennis Wharton. "SoundExchange's callous refusal to respond to our reasonable offer threatens not only the recording artists they purport to represent, but also a fledgling technology that benefits listeners." Meanwhile, Wired reports that Nashville lawyer Fred Wilhelms is questioning SoundExchnage's reported lobbying practices, apparently paid for on its clients' dime without permission, and further in defiance of the organization's charter. Wilhelms said that all licensing fees collected by SoundExchange less administrative costs should go to artists and labels. he said spending it on anything else is "impermissible by law and a breach of trust." Wilhelms questioned the organization's transparency, noting an earlier unrelated incident - the search for artists owed money but whose whereabouts were unknown - in which it failed to make information available to properly pay those who were entitled.
TVBR observation: Cox Radio's Bob Neil is already suggesting that each spin heard on radio or a radio website be changed from an entertainment segment into a paid commercial. Seriously, do recording companies think they can dip into broadcast wallets just like that? If they really want to, they can eliminate music from the Internet and the airwaves, or make it a programming choice that only the richest stations in the biggest markets can afford. If the Neil suggestion becomes widely used, recording companies will have turned broadcast music from a free promotional vehicle to just one more profit-draining expenditure that will further weaken their internet/Napster ravaged business. If they are looking at broadcast wallets as a quick fix for their problems, they're delusional - the broadcasting industry is not stupid enough to just sit there and let that happen. Continuing down this unproductive path will not be good for any involved parties - not broadcasters, not recording companies and certainly not the artists themselves. Let's hope people come to their senses soon and start negotiating something that will actually be workable and beneficial for all.
TiVo announces Stop||Watch
commercial rankings for June
 TiVo announced its Top Commercial Rankings for June, as viewed by TiVo subscribers. Categories tracked using TiVo's Stop||Watch ratings service include Top Total Viewing Commercials compared with Total Viewing of Top Programs; Timeshifted Commercials compared with Timeshifted Programs; and Least Fast-forwarded Brand Campaigns. June was dominated by two season finales, House and Boston Legal, in late-May (classified as the June broadcast month), followed by Dateline's interview with Prince William and Prince Harry-all other programming was either re-runs or summer fare. Since the finale of House had a bigger audience than any other program, the Top 10 commercials all appeared during this episode (unlike April and May, where the Top 10 spots were distributed across numerous programs).
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| Wall Street Media Business Report TM |
Revenues down 2.4% for Allbritton
Fiscal Q3 (April-June) revenues declined 2.4% to 58 million bucks for Allbritton Communications. As you would expect, most of that was due to a sharp drop-off in political, but local and national spot sales were off slightly from a year ago. Privately owned Allbritton, which has public bonds, reported in an SEC filing that local and national ad sales were down 1.7% to 53.9 million, while political was only 60K, compared to 2.1 million a year earlier. The company said ad sales were down in its largest market, Washington, DC, while a majority of its other stations had increased sales. Network comp was also higher because ABC no longer has NFL broadcasts and "other revenues" rose by a million to 3.8 million. Allbritton says those other revenues come principally from cable and direct broadcast satellite subscriber fees, the sales of University of Arkansas sports programming to advertisers and radio stations as well as receipts from tower rental and production of commercials. Operating income for fiscal Q3 declined 22.7% to 19.4 million. Increased expenses for the three months were attributed to hiring additional people for the launch of Allbritton's DC insider newspaper, The Politico, and higher programming costs from renewing some successful programs and replacing some other shows with new ones at higher prices.
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Ad Business Report TM
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 P&G brings Dunkin' Donuts coffee to retail shelves
Procter & Gamble announced Dunkin' Donuts coffee will be available to consumers in select retail outlets nationwide by mid-August and broadly in September. Through a licensing agreement, P&G will provide Dunkin' Donuts coffee to grocery stores, mass merchandisers, club stores, and drug stores throughout the U.S. Select retailers have promoted the brand in stores and in circulars to alert consumers to the fact that Dunkin' Donuts coffee is "coming soon." Dunkin' Donuts coffee will be available in a variety of coffee flavors and roasts. Ground varieties will include Original Blend, French Vanilla, Dunkin' Decaf, Hazelnut and Cinnamon Spice. Original Blend will also be available in a whole bean variety. Dunkin' Donuts coffee will be available in a 12 oz. package for a suggested retail price of 7.99 and a 40 oz. package for a suggested price of 15.99. P&G will support with network TV, national consumer print and local radio, the dunkinathome.com website and a PR program that amplifies the "America Runs on Dunkin'" theme. P&G Coffee will be responsible for manufacturing, distributing, and marketing Dunkin' Donuts packaged coffee. This is the latest addition to the P&G coffee portfolio, joining Folgers Gourmet Selections and Millstone.
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| Media Markets & Money TM |
Close encounter in Columbus GA
Sagamorehill Broadcasting is now the proud owner of Channel 38 WLTZ-TV, the NBC affiliate serving the Columbus GA DMA, according to brokerage firm Kalil & Co. The group, which also operates in Wyoming, South Carolina, Minnesota, Texas, Nebraska and Alabama, acquired WLTZ from Lewis Broadcasting for 10.6M.
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| Washington Media Business Report TM |
 Microsoft wants white space redo
Broadcast television is about a year and a half away from becoming a digital only service. At the same time, the FCC is being pressured to make the frequencies between stations - white spaces - available to unlicensed devices. One of the proponents of this idea is Microsoft, which would like to provide wireless internet access and other services in the cracks between television stations. Although a recent FCC test of one of these devices created interference, Microsoft says it was a defective prototype and that newer versions can successfully operate in white space spectrum. The NAB is pushing back hard. It noted that the FCC test was comprehensive and that it believed the unsatisfactory results were accurate. NAB's Dennis Wharton said, "By continuing to press its self-serving agenda, Microsoft is playing Russian Roulette with America's access to interference free TV reception."
TVBR observation: There is much at stake on 2/17/09, the day analog television goes away. Concern that many citizens will be left behind with analog-only equipment is rampant in Washington. It hardly seems the appropriate time to be conducting experiments in ground zero of the digital transition. The entire white space debate should be postponed until we've established that the transition has been successfully accomplished.
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| Cable Business Report TM |
Free DVRs on the horizon
You can bet that consumers will like this. The New York Times reports that Time Warner Cable is preparing to launch a DVR service called Look Back at no charge to its cable subscribers. There is a catch, of course, but one that TV station owners and networks will like. There is no fast-forward function, so no ad zapping. Cable viewers will be able to time-shift TV viewing, but only on the same day as the original broadcast. The Times says Time Warner Cable will debut the service this October in South Carolina and gradually roll it out to other markets nationwide.
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| Internet Media Business Report TM |
 Yodle taps into online local search dollars
The online local search market is still largely untapped with no way to measure if ad placements translate clicks into real business lead phone calls. Yodle.com, a new player in the emerging category, says its patented algorithm allows small business owners to track exactly how many clicks and phone calls they get in response to their online ads. Yodle says it generates about 7,000 phone call leads a month for its customers So how does it work? Let's say a caterer in Scranton with no website, who in the past was dependent on local advertising and the Yellow Pages for business leads, signs up with Yodle. Yodle builds an industry-tailored website for the company and purchases strategic search keywords, so that now when a potential customer types "caterers in Scranton" into Google, ads leading to the newly-created site appear. Clicks turn into calls, and the algorithm allows the caterers in Scranton can track exactly how many phone leads are generated as a result of their ad efforts. Court Cunningham, CEO, previously GM of DoubleClick's marketing Automation business, joined as CEO in April 2007, and Vartan Hagopian, VP Sales, joined in May 2007, from Monster. In addition, Iggy Fanlo, CEO of AdBrite, and Dr. Michael Kearns, Head of the Computer Science Department at The University of Pennsylvania, are joining its advisory board.
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| Ratings & Research |
Wave is a Killer for Ion
Ion Television is celebrating a ratings surge from the first original content broadcast under its deal with RHI Entertainment to program the RHI Movie Weekend on Ion. The US premiere of the four-hour action-disaster miniseries "Killer Wave" on Sunday, August 5th, drew over a million viewers. According to Nielsen data relayed by Ion, Killer Wave delivered 362,000 household impressions in the adult 25-54 category and 584,000 household impressions in the adult 35-64 category. Compared with season-to-date figures, the show increased delivery in women ages 25-54 by 77% adults ages 25-54 by 41%. "Killer Wave is only the beginning, as we have more original productions, the next of which is to be announced shortly, and a slate of popular, award-winning titles from RHI that will run every weekend. These programs are proven attractions to a wide variety of viewers," declared Brandon Burgess, CEO, Ion Media Networks.
 Confidence wilts but future
purchase plans remain strong
Consumer confidence is down in August, according to BIGresearch's (http://www.bigresearch.com) monthly Consumer Intentions & Actions Survey (CIA). Confidence declined to 43.8% from July when it was at 47.8%. However, the August number is still higher than August 06 when confidence was 38.6%. Some of the other key economic mood findings from the survey include (versus July numbers in parenthesis): Focused more on needs over wants in purchasing 46.5% (47.4%) More layoffs next 6 months 33.3% (31.4%) Current financial situation worse off than a year ago 31.7% (N/A) Top financial plan - "paying down debt" 33.1% (33.8%) Consumers continue to cast a wary eye on the price of gas and when asked what price a gallon of gas would be on Labor Day, they said an average of 3.14. More than half (61.1%) felt gas prices would rise by Labor Day, 31.4% said they would stay the same and 7.4% were optimistic and believed the price would decline. Shopping strategies appear to be evolving towards a price orientation as 17.8% cited only buying clothing when on sale, versus 13.7% who said sales are not important when buying clothing. However, familiar brands continue to increase in importance when buying clothing, with 42.5% saying so (versus 39.5% in August 06). Future purchase plans (next 6 months) for most big ticket durables were up from August 06 for computers, furniture, appliances, jewelry, TVs, digital cameras and vacation travel.
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| Stock Talk |
Cash infusion keeps stocks flat
The Fed and other central banks have been pumping money into the banking system to curb the fall out from bad housing loans. That's helped confidence on Wall Street, but stock prices still gave up their mid-session gains to close slightly lower. The Dow Industrials were off three points to 13,237.
TV stocks were mostly lower. Media General fell 7.7% and Journal Communications was off 5.3%.
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| Stocks |
Here's how stocks fared on Monday
| Company |
Symbol |
Close |
Change |
Company |
Symbol |
Close |
Change |
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Acme
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ACME
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3.85
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+0.03
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Lincoln Natl.
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LNC
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60.04
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-0.47
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Belo
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BLC
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17.55
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-0.09
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LIN TV
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TVL
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14.08
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+0.23
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| CBS CI. B |
CBS |
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31.04
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+0.42
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McGraw-Hill
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MHP
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53.65
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-0.42
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| CBS CI. A |
CBSa |
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31.04
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+0.18
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Media General
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MEG
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27.88
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-2.31
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Clear Channel
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CCU
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35.20
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+0.27
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Meredith
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MDP
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54.30
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+0.76
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Disney
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DIS
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33.24
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+0.08
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News Corp.
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NWS
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22.30
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+0.29
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Emmis
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EMMS
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5.75
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-0.04
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Nexstar
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NXST
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8.41
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+0.45
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Entravision
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EVC
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8.47
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+0.17
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Ion Media
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ION
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1.40
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+0.01
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| Equity Media |
EMDA |
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2.93 |
-0.16 |
Saga Commun.
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SGA
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7.28
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+0.41
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Fisher
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FSCI
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46.81
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-1.61
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SBS
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SBSA
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2.89
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+0.07
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Gannett
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GCI
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47.28
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-0.09
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Scripps
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SSP
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40.44
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+0.56
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Gen. Electric
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GE
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38.17
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-0.06
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Sinclair
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SBGI
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12.25
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-0.06
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| Google |
GOOG |
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515.50
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-0.25
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SWMX
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SWMX
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0.09
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-0.01
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Gray
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GTN
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8.43
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-0.33
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Time Warner
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TWX
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18.80
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+0.18
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Gray, C1. A
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GTNa
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8.40
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-0.23
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Tribune
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TRB
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25.77
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-0.73
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Hearst-Argyle
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HTV
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20.66
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-0.59
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Wash. Post
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WPO
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792.47
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-0.28
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Journal Comm.
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JRN
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10.51
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-0.59
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Young
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YBTVA
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2.09
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-0.31
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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
 I was disturbed to learn of yet another attempt by the FCC to minimize both their work load and, what they see as a misuse of the NCE spectrum, by limiting new non-commercial applications to 10 applications during the upcoming open window (8/13/07 TVBR #157). Having recently been awarded a new NCE CP....10 years after we applied for it, I know about FCC backlogs!
The Commission must maintain clear separation from anything that smacks of ruling against, or limiting, any "format" types. They would never admit that this is their goal, yet who could this be aimed at? Clearly, there are no national "NPR" type organizations, that I am aware of, that the FCC is overly concerned about when it comes to "speculative filings." That leaves Religious broadcasters as the target. After freezing new NCE applications for years, they now complain about the possible backlog this new window will open. Yet, they just recently placed into action the very workable "Point System" to assist in the determination of a license award in cases where mutually exclusive applications exist. That "Point System" was upheld by the Courts, is in place, and even "rewards" local broadcasters. Now, it appears they worry about the large and successful Christian radio networks applying for too many new frequencies. The "Point System" works, and if they will let it work, their "system" will not be backlogged. And, what about commercial broadcasters having no limits on ownership of radio facilities? In all fairness, how can the Commission place any limits on Non-Commercial applicants while they are not willing, or able, to place the same limits on commercial broadcasters? It should be OK for educational broadcasters to have our "Clear Channels" as well. Let the "system" work and the marketplace rule!
Joseph C. Emert
President, Life Radio Ministries, Inc
Griffin, GA
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Below the Fold
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Cable Business Report
Free DVRs on the horizon
You can bet that consumers will like this...
Ad Business Report
Coffee to retail shelves
P&G bringing Dunkin' Donuts to retail will support with network TV, national consumer print and local radio...
Media Markets & Money
Close encounter in Columbus GA
Sagamorehill Broadcasting is now the proud owner of Channel 38...
Ratings & Research
Wave is a Killer for Ion
Celebrating a ratings surge from the first original content broadcast...
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Stations for Sale
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The Exline Company
LPTVs - Central and Coastal CA
Call Andy McClure or Erick Steinberg
(415) 479-3484
Exline@pacbell.net
 Market your Stations For Sale
in our daily epapers.
Contact
June Barnes
jbarnes@rbr.com
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More News Headlines
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July retail sales stronger than expected
Driven by back-to-school spending on electronics, apparel and other necessities, July retail sales rebounded from a slow start to the summer. According to the National Retail Federation, retail industry sales for July (which exclude automobiles, gas stations, and restaurants) rose a solid 4.0% unadjusted over last year and 0.5% seasonally adjusted from June. June retail sales were also revised up from 3.4% to 3.8%. July retail sales released by the Commerce Department show that total retail sales (which include non-general merchandise categories such as autos, gasoline stations and restaurants) increased 0.3% seasonally adjusted from last month and 3.1% unadjusted year-over-year. "Back-to-school shopping sprees and summer clearance promotions drove consumers to department and specialty stores in July," stated NRF Chief Economist Rosalind Wells. "While concerns of a housing market slump and high gas prices still weigh heavily on consumers' minds, many people still hit the stores last month, giving retailers a nice rebound from earlier this summer." While apparel sales were expected to remain flat this summer during the essential back-to-school shopping season, seasonally adjusted month-to-month sales show clothing and clothing accessories increased 1.3% from June and 4.1% unadjusted year-over-year. New mp3 players, laptops and other electronic must-haves also helped boost July sales. Electronics and appliance stores sales increased 1.0% seasonally adjusted from last month and 2.5% unadjusted year-over-year. Health and personal care stores did surprisingly well, increasing 0.7% seasonally adjusted month-to-month and 6.3% unadjusted over last July. General merchandise stores sales increased 0.9% seasonally adjusted from June and 4.7% unadjusted year-over-year. Sporting goods, hobby, book and music stores sales increased 0.4% seasonally adjusted from June and a solid 5.6% unadjusted year-over-year.
Thompson calls it quits
Fred Thompson hasn't entered the Republican presidential primary sweepstakes yet, but there was a Thompson in the mix. That is no longer the case after a discouraging result in the Iowa straw poll prompted former Wisconsin governor Tommy Thompson to withdraw from the race. Whereas Fred will bring television credentials to the campaign, Tommy is taking away radio creds. He was recently chairman of the new, small-market-oriented Armada Media Corp.
AP signs with Teletrax
Teletrax announced that it has entered into a multi-year agreement to track video usage for the Associated Press (AP), the world's oldest and largest global newsgathering organization. Under the terms of the agreement, the AP will utilize the Teletrax comprehensive suite of video monitoring and reporting services to track broadcast usage of its video news content in real-time, on a story-specific basis worldwide. The organization has previously used the Teletrax service on a month-to-month basis under terms similar to the new agreement. Teletrax is a subsidiary of Medialink Worldwide Inc., which trades on Nasdaq as MDLK.
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RBR - Radio News
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Clear Channel
Radio sell-off back
to 20 markets
We've been updating our list now that 11 markets are back in play after one large transaction collapsed. By our count, there are now 20 Clear Channel Radio markets up for grabs from the original 90. All that remains, though, are small markets - nothing in the top 200. The largest market from the cratered Blue Point Media deal was Duluth, MN, Arbitron market #204, which isn't even the largest left. That is #201, Yakima, WA. 11 of the markets still to be sold are not rated by Arbitron.
| See the updated list |
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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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Some TV in Univision asset sales
Univision's new private equity owners haven't announced any asset sales yet, but in the company's quarterly conference call CFO Andrew Hobson indicated that the process is well underway to sell the half-billion bucks in non-core assets that the company has indicated it plans to divest. For the first time, Univision indicated in its quarterly SEC filing that some TV assets will also be divested.
TVBR observation: A little housecleaning seems perfectly logical for a new owner. Getting out of the music business is clearly a smart move, since that has been a real drag on the company's profitability - and a lot more trouble than it could ever be worth. We had wondered whether big bidders would show up for the auction, but, despite their own difficulties with declining sales, the major record companies apparently all see Latin music as one growth area in a business that currently is lacking in such. Most of the rest of the 500 million in expected proceeds will be coming from radio, where Univision is expected to divest stations in markets where it has no TV O&Os.
08/13/07 TVBR #157
Seven secrets of great advertising
Most advertising professionals know what makes great advertising. But they work in a volatile business and are generally afraid to talk about it -- so they keep it a secret. Tips: 1. Be Honest, 2. Take a Stand, 6. Focus on Strength all 7 are posted in this report page of TVBR.
08/13/07 TVBR #157
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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.
New Listing
Sales Associate
A fast growing network radio company seeks a Sales Associate for its Chicago office. The ability to multi-task and prioritize are paramount in this position, as is the willingness and desire to learn in a fast paced environment. Please send resumes with cover letter to: tfleming233@gmail.com
See Radio Careers
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