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Volume 23, Issue 172, Jim Carnegie, Editor & Publisher
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Tuesday Morning September 5th, 2006
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TV News ®
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 September 5, 2006:
A big day for television
It is not yet the official start of the fall season, but an amazing number of events have come together to make this an extraordinary day in the history of television. Two brand new networks are launching today - The CW, owned by CBS and Time Warner, and MyNetworkTV, owned by News Corp./Fox. This is also the day that Katie Couric makes her debut as anchor of "The CBS Evening News with Katie Couric." And it is also the day that Rosie O'Donnell returns to daytime television as moderator of "The View" on ABC, a spot that opened up in a chain reaction as Meredith Vieira took the "Today" show slot on NBC (she starts Sept. 13th) that Couric vacated.
TVBR observation: All eyes will be on Couric today as she makes her debut in the anchor chair once occupied by Walter Cronkite. Maybe Brian Williams should wear a red clown nose on the "NBC Nightly News" just to see if anyone is watching. But come tomorrow the race is on to see if either Couric or Charlie Gibson at ABC can push NBC News out of its long-held #1 place in the evening newscast ratings race. CBS is gambling big bucks on the belief that Couric can draw viewers who haven't been regular viewers of a daily network newscast - younger demos, more women. And that, in turn, could draw advertisers besides the ones who now dominate all three network newscasts with products aimed at the over-55 crowd. Meanwhile, News Corp./Fox is embarking on a great experiment to see if the success Univision and Telemundo (and many networks in Latin America) have enjoyed with Spanish novelas can translate into English success in the US as well. By US primetime TV standards, the budgets for "Desire" and "Fashion House" are low, so MyNetworkTV won't need big ratings to make money on its primetime fixed-run soap operas, but it will need enough viewers to convince advertisers that this is a real network. Ratings success should be more easily achieved by CW, since most of its programs are the cream skimmed from the former UPN and WB networks.
 Sinclair, others to
delay "9/11" broadcast
Sinclair Broadcast Group says it will delay the broadcast of the documentary "9/11" on its two CBS affiliates to avoid any risk of indecency fines by the FCC. No other company has announced a group-wide decision to delay or not air the documentary, but at least another dozen stations nationwide have made local decisions against taking the risk of an FCC fine. Sinclair says the September 10th broadcast will not air in primetime on its stations, but will be delayed until after local newscasts to put it into the 10 pm-6 am safe harbor for indecent programming. WGME-TV Portland, ME will air the program at 11:30 pm and KGAN-TV Cedar Rapids, IA at 10:30 pm local time. "It is unfortunate that the current rules, which promote censorship and impose excessive fines, coupled with the lack of clear or advance guidance from the FCC, impede broadcasters from airing programs that honor our heroes and memorialize significant events, such as 9/11, that have unified us as a nation. The application of such restrictions to broadcast television is especially troubling given the lack of restrictions imposed on content distributed via the Internet, as well as content on cable and satellite television, which are received by the vast majority of the public in the same manner as is broadcast television. Moreover, the rules and fines do not differentiate between broadcasters based upon market size, as a result of which the potential fines are such that if imposed, they could effectively put out of business television stations located in markets similar in size to the locations of Sinclair's CBS affiliates," Sinclair said in announcing the delay decision.
Emmy "T & A" targeted by PTC; Bozell stepping down
Upset about an exchange between actresses Helen Mirren and Calista Flockhart about "T & A" (using the actual words), the Parents Television Council is urging members in the Central and Mountain time zones to file complaints with the FCC over the Emmy Awards broadcast by their local NBC affiliates. The words with PTC found offensive were carried after 10:30 in the Eastern and Pacific time zones, after the 10:00 pm safe harbor kicked in, but in the 9:30-10:00 period for the other two mainland time zones. "People are getting sick and tired of networks allowing unedited profanity on their award shows in front of millions of youngsters, and with NBC this practice is becoming habitual. Didn't NBC learn anything from airing the live broadcast of the Golden Globes during which Bono dropped the F-word? NBC should have aired the Emmys on a tape delay, to bleep out the obscenities. A few seconds' delay would not have meant a thing," said Brent Bozell, President of the PTC. Bozell, by the way, announced Friday that he is stepping down from the post at the end of this year, but will remain on the PTC board of directors. Effective January 1st, PTC Executive Director Tim Winter will move up to the presidency.
TVBR observation: Isn't that interesting? The PTC is publicly urging its members to file fraudulent complaints with the FCC. They are being asked to state to a federal agency that they viewed a local broadcast, when in fact they were not even aware of it until several days later. The only actual "viewer" in this case was the PTC monitoring station in the Eastern time zone, where the alleged indecency was inside the safe harbor.
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 "Crocodile Hunter"
Steve Irwin killed
After years of routinely handling some of the world's most dangerous animals, Steve Irwin was killed yesterday in a rare attack by a stingray while filming in the water off Port Douglas, Australia. Even when humans are stung by a stingray, the painful injury is seldom fatal, but in this case the stinging barb went between his ribs and punctured his heart. Irwin, 44, was dead before paramedics arrived by helicopter. Irwin regularly tangled with crocodiles, venomous snakes and other critters on his "Crocodile Hunter" TV show, which airs in the US on the Animal Planet cable network. He is being mourned as a national hero in Australia, where he ran a private zoo, Australia Zoo, with his US-born wife, Terri. Irwin stirred up some controversy in 2004 when he was filmed feeding a crocodile while holding his baby son, the younger of his two children, in his other arm.
Tens of thousands say no to TV ownership dereg
As of when we checked Friday, there were 38,857 comments filed so far in the FCC's latest proceeding on revising its ownership rules. Approximately 38,850 of them read, "Dear FCC: I write to urge you not to weaken the strong media ownership rules that have helped protect the rights of viewers and listeners like me. A strong democracy depends on its citizens having a wide variety of viewpoints to decide from. Those viewpoints should be diverse and derived from local sources, not simply homogenized, recycled feeds from big media companies saying the same thing in their 'local' newspaper and on their various 'local television stations'," with only the name and address of the sender different. The deadline for comments is September 22nd, so we expect to see a lot of major broadcasting and newspaper companies file their views in the next few weeks. But while the main focus of the 2003 ownership proceeding which was remanded by the federal courts was on TV ownership limits and crossownership with newspapers, Clear Channel Communications is working hard to tack another round of radio deregulation onto the current proceeding. Its lobbyists have been making the rounds of the Commissioners' offices to tout a plan to add more tiers to the radio ownership local limits. As it stands now, the most radio stations a single owner can have in one Arbitron market is eight, provided there are at least 45 stations in the market. But the New York market has 149 stations, so Clear Channel notes that eight stations is only 18%. If it were allowed to own 10 that would still be only 17% and a dozen would be only 16%. Here is the illustration that Clear Channel is using to make its case for adding two more tiers.
| View the Chart |
Clear Channel is also circulating a letter from House Telecommunications Subcommittee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) suggesting a "modest increase" in the ownership limits for markets with more than 60 stations and a less specific letter calling for further radio deregulation signed by 23 Members of Congress.
 PPM tracking out-of-home viewing
Many TV stations and cable channels in Houston are still encoding for Arbitron's Portable People Meter (PPM) test, even though Nielsen has passed on any joint venture to combine radio and TV ratings platforms. However, Arbitron is still interested in selling PPM data so TV/cable can have a supplementary service tracking out-of-home viewing. PPM data supplied to TVBR by Arbitron shows out-of-home viewing accounts for more than 20% of total viewing for one Houston TV station, KNWS (Ch. 51, Ind.), and two cable nets, TV Land and ESPN2. Most other stations and channels being tracked have out-of-home viewing percentages in the teens. Here's a look at the in-home vs. out-of-home data for the Houston PPM test.
| View the PDF |
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Ad Business Report TM
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 CBS finds new advertiser to fill "Survivor"
Just days after GM explained its decision to drop advertising on "Survivor" (8/31/06 TVBR #170), CBS says it has a new sponsor to replace GM's ads, but it's a mystery. "The upcoming edition of `Survivor' has a full roster of advertisers across a wide range of categories and GM's position has been filled," CBS spokesman Chris Ender was quoted as saying. No word if an automaker had stepped in to take GM's place.
J.C. Penney names Saatchi & Saatchi as new ad agency
J.C. Penney Co. has selected Saatchi & Saatchi as its new AOR, effective 12/1. Penney said its advertising and marketing plan with Saatchi & Saatchi will include television, radio, magazines, preprint, direct mail and digital media. DDB Chicago is Penney's current agency and will still develop the retailer's fall and holiday marketing campaigns. DDB has been the Penny's for the last six years. "In these times, forming long-term emotionally driven relationships with customers is the best way for a company to achieve prolonged success and unwavering customer loyalty," said Kevin Roberts, CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi. "We want to help take JCPenney to the next level in connecting more deeply with its customers by inspiring 'love' for the JCPenney brand and elevating the brand into a true 'Lovemark.'"
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| Washington Media Business Report TM |
The check is not in the mail
That's because you already cashed it, was essentially Gilmore Broadcasting's reply to an FCC order earlier this month dunning the TV station operator for failing to respond to a notice of apparent liability for failing to file a timely license renewal application and continuing to operate a satellite earth station for WEHT-TV (Ch. 25, ABC) Evansville, IN. It turns out that Gilmore had already paid the 4K fine and had the bank documentation to prove it. The FCC has now rescinded its order that Gilmore pay up.
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| Entertainment Media Business Report TM |
 NUMB3RS' third season
debuting as two-parter
CBS's Friday drama NUMB3RS kicks off its third season with a two-part episode airing September 22 (10:00 PM - 11: PM ET/PT); the conclusion will air on Friday, September 29 (10:00 PM - 11:00 PM ET/PT). Last season, NUMB3RS ranked #1 in its time period across the board and was Friday night's #1 scripted series across homes, total viewers, and all key demos. Ratings from season 2 improved across the board from Season 1, and NUMB3RS is CBS' highest rated series in the time period since "Nash Bridges" in 1999. The two-part premiere features guest stars Lou Diamond Phillips ("La Bamba"), David Gallagher (7th Heaven"), and Kim Dickens ("Deadwood".) They join former guest stars that include JoBeth Williams, Colin Hanks, Neil Patrick Harris, John Glover, Academy Award Nominee Robert Forster, and Academy Award Winner Olympia Dukakis. The third season premiere episodes track the FBI's frustrating man-hunt to catch a teacher and student (portrayed by Kim Dickens and David Gallagher respectively) who are on a cross country killing spree. Ridley Scott, Tony Scott, Barry Schindel, David W. Zucker, Nicolas Falacci, and Cheryl Heuton are executive producers. NUMB3RS is produced by CBS Paramount Network Television in association with Scott Free for CBS.
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| Internet Media Business Report TM |
Vivendi's Universal to back new rival to iTunes
 Vivendi's Universal Music is backing a start-up that will allow customers to download songs free of charge, according to a report in the Financial Times. The report said the new service, SpiralFrog, will rely on advertising for its revenues, rather than download fees iTunes charges via its online music store. The paper said SpiralFrog is due to start up in December.
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| Ratings & Research |
TVBR note:
As is usually the case with Monday holidays, the ratings delivery schedule for Nielsen Media Research is delayed by one day this week. Thus, the weekly network ratings which would normally be released Tuesday afternoon will be released Wednesday and appear in Thursday's TBVR Daily Epaper.
Judy back to #2
The strong summer showing for "Judge Judy" continues, but the Paramount show couldn't hold onto the #1 spot it shared the previous week with KingWorld's "Wheel of Fortune." Judy fell back only one slot, though, to a tie for #2 with KingWorld's "Everybody Loves Raymond," according to the weekly syndicated ratings by the Syndicated Network Television Association (SNTA), based on data from Nielsen Media Research. Here are the top 10 shows.
| View the Chart |
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| Digital Media |
 Beth Comstock, President,
Digital Media and Market Development, NBC Universal
Beth was named president of Digital Media and Market Development in December 2005. She's accountable for driving NBC Universal's digital strategy and leading the company's content and distribution efforts to capitalize on new and emerging digital platforms. Her responsibilities also include strategic marketing, research, communications, and advertising and promotion. She reports directly to Bob Wright, vice chairman of GE and chairman and CEO of NBC Universal. Comstock had served since 2003 as corporate VP and chief marketing officer of General Electric. Comstock has been a GE company officer since 1998, at which time she was named GE's VP/Corporate Communications. Previously, Comstock served as senior vice president of Communications at NBC (1996-98), and as VP/NBC News Communications (1993-96). Before that, she held a succession of communications and publicity positions at NBC, Turner Broadcasting and CBS Entertainment, beginning in 1986. She started her career for a television news service and in local cable programming in Virginia.
| Read More... |
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| Tuesday Morning Makers & Shakers |
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Transactions: 7/17/06-7/21/06
The sale of a gigantic group is just the tonic you need for a big trading week, and that's what the transfer of Univision provided this time, inflating numbers on both the radio and the television side. That is the sum and total of the 13.7B we list in the box below due to format considerations. Other transactions added another 25.49M to the total.
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Total
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Total Deals
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12
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AMs
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27
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FMs
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70
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TVs
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42
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| Value |
13.7B
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| Complete Charts |
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Radio Transactions of the Week
Univision is both top transactions
| More... |
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TV Transactions of the Week
We estimate the television side of this transaction at 10.4B.
| More... |
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| Transactions |
35M WIAT-TV Birmingham AL and KIMT-TV Rochester MN-Mason City IA-Austin MN (Mason City IA) from MG Broadcasting LLC, a subsidiary of Media General Inc. (James Zimmerman) to NVT Birmingham Licensee LLC/NVT Mason City Licensee LLC, subsidiaries of New Vision Television LLC (Jason Elkin et al). 3M escrow, balance in cash at closing. 27M allocated to WIAT, 8M allocated to KIMT. WIAT is CBS affiliate on Channel 42; KIMT is CBS affiliate on Channel 3. [File date 8/18/06.]
22M WDEF-TV Chattanooga TN from MG Broadcasting LLC, a subsidiary of Media General Inc. (James Zimmerman) to WDEF-TV Inc., a subsidiary of Morris Multimedia Inc. (Charles H. Morris et al). 1.1M escrow, balance in cash at closing. WDEF is aCBS affiliate on Channel 12. [File date 8/22/06.]
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| Stock Talk |
Job growth boosts stock market
How appropriate. Just before the Labor Day weekend, Wall Street traders pushed stock prices higher as the government reported slightly better than expected job numbers for August. The Dow Industrials rose 83 points, or 0.7%, to 11,464. US markets were closed Monday for the holiday.
Almost all TV stocks were higher on Friday. ACME led the charge, rising 4.1%. Scripps was up 3.4%.
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| Stocks |
Here's how stocks fared on Friday
| Company |
Symbol |
Close |
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Company |
Symbol |
Close |
Change |
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Acme
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ACME
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5.28
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+0.21
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LIN TV
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TVL
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7.25
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-0.05
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Belo
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BLC
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16.33
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+0.03
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McGraw-Hill
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MHP
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56.72
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+0.81
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| CBS CI. B |
CBS |
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28.86
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+0.31
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Media General
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MEG
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39.98
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+0.66
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| CBS CI. A |
CBSa |
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28.87
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+0.31
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Meredith
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MDP
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47.96
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+0.62
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Clear Channel
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CCU
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29.24
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+0.20
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News Corp.
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NWS
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20.06
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+0.19
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Disney
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DIS
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29.89
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+0.24
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Nexstar
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NXST
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4.50
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+0.05
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Emmis
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EMMS
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12.14
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-0.09
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NY Times
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NYT
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22.69
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+0.17
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Entravision
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EVC
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7.49
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+0.06
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Ion Media
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ION
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0.90
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unch
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Fisher
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FSCI
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43.09
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+0.19
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Saga Commun.
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SGA
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7.99
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+0.03
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Gannett
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GCI
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57.15
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+0.30
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SBS
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SBSA
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4.35
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unch
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Gen. Electric
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GE
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34.14
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+0.08
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Scripps
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SSP
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47.01
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+1.54
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Granite
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GBTVK
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0.12
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unch
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Sinclair
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SBGI
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7.80
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+0.08
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Gray
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GTN
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6.40
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+0.01
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Time Warner
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TWX
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16.76
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+0.14
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Gray, C1. A
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GTNa
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7.10
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unch
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Tribune
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TRB
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31.25
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+0.04
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Hearst-Argyle
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HTV
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23.20
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+0.34
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Univision
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UVN
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34.82
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+0.26
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Journal Comm.
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JRN
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11.01
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+0.04
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Wash. Post
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WPO
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770.00
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+2.23
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Lincoln Natl.
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LNC
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60.92
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+0.22
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Young
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YBTVA
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2.75
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+0.25
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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
On indecency...
1) My mother had a superior strategy of keeping us (myself, my sister and brother) from gaining access to "indecent" programming while growing up - I believe it is still called the "on" "off" button on the remote. Amazingly effective, especially when backed up with the all impressive "You're grounded for a month" tactic. My sister uses it to considerable effectiveness with her own children. Can't understand why parents these days don't do the same.
2) While not a proponent of profanity, indecency and blue material on prime time, seems to me that there is a lack on the FCC's part to realize that they can not regulate a person's self-determination. Again, my suggestion would be the same response as my point in 1) above.
Love this newsletter!
Well done folks, well done.
Best regards,
Stacy Jo McDermott
Marketing Specialist
KKSF 103.7 FM
San Francisco
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Below the Fold
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Ad Business Report
CBS finds mystery advertiser
Just days after GM explained its decision to drop advertising on "Survivor," CBS says it has a new sponsor to replace GM's ads...
Entertainment Business Report
NUMB3RS' third season debut
CBS's Friday drama NUMB3RS kicks off its third season with a two-parter...
Ratings & Research
Judy back to #2
The strong summer showing for "Judge Judy" continues, but the Paramount show couldn't hold onto the #1 spot it shared the previous week...
Digital Media
Beth Comstock, President, Digital Media and Market Development, NBC Universal,
says digital media is moving from experiments to generating cash...
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More News Headlines
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Diageo moves Smirnoff business to JWT
Diageo has moved creative for Smirnoff from Bartle Bogle Hegarty, over a conflict with brewer InBev, to JWT. BBH handles InBev's Boddington's and Murphy's brands. Diageo said it is consolidating business with JWT with brands including Smirnoff Ice, Ice Triple Black, Twisted V and Raw Tea. JWT already handled creative for Smirnoff vodka. Diageo spent 36 million in media for its Smirnoff brands last year.
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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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GOP passes on Tomlinson hot potato
Senate Republicans are wary of a political hot potato in this election year, so it looks like Ken Tomlinson won't even get a hearing on his nomination to a second term as Chairman of the Broadcasting Board of Governors. But that doesn't mean he won't keep the job. President Bush still has options - like a recess appointment.
TVBR observation: Not that anyone at the White House is asking for our advice, but President Bush could pile up some political chits with Democrats and put a real broadcaster in the helm at BBG by bringing back Norm Pattiz to run the show. Even many Republicans agree that he is the best member ever to serve on the BBG.
09/01/06 TVBR #171
Closing leaves Emmis
with two to sell
Emmis Communications has just two TV stations left to sell, after selling off 14. Closing was Thursday on the 217.5 million sale of WKCF-TV (Ch. 18) Orlando to Hearst-Argyle for a duopoly. The closing is just in time for Hearst-Argyle to oversee the conversion from the WB to the new CW network, launching on Tuesday. Still no word on a buyer for "The Daily Buzz," which will continue to originate out of the old WKCF studio, which Emmis has retained.
09/01/06 TVBR #171
TVBR has the real story behind
General Motors drops "Survivor"
General Motors, after 14 cycles of CBS's reality hit "Survivor," is pulling advertising for the show's upcoming season, filmed in the Cook Islands. While many assume the decision is based on CBS's controversial decision to divide the next Survivor tribes by race, Dennis Donlin, President/GM Planworks, tells TVBR the real reasons. As well as Ryndee Carnee, top GM spokesperson, points to the key Marketing Strategy of GM with Brand Entertainment. All in TVBR as we give you the details others do not.
TVBR observation: Nonetheless, the timing is interesting: NYC City Council members 8/28 held a protest in front of CBS HQ and reportedly were planning to write letters to the show's sponsors. If more sponsors pull out, we will assume those letters may have been sent. No advertiser wants to get on a boycott list. However, in this case, it may just be coincidence. Donlin and Carnee made perfect sense in their explanations for the pullout. In this entire GM and Survivor issue the key word every broadcaster better become familiar with is called Branding. Ryndee Carnee's statement sums up how the business will take shape in marketing of products and advertising today. All in TVBR as we give you the details others do not. Branding is the key. See this report
08/31/06 TVBR #170
NBC and Clear Channel claim
toilet contract hanky-panky
Two broadcast-related outdoor advertising companies are heading to court against the City of New York, claiming that they were cheated out of the contract to put ads on the city's bus shelters, newsstands and public toilets. When the contract was announced (5/17/06 TVBR #97) it appeared that Cemusa, a subsidiary of the Spain-based conglomerate Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas, had simply outbid other contenders, including Clear Channel Outdoor, CBS Outdoor and a joint venture of NBC Universal and JC Decaux. But after further inspection, details in TVBR.
08/30/06 TVBR #169
OMD backs away on
liability language
After the Broadcast Cable Management Association (BCFM) sent out a bulletin to members about new contract language being used by OMD to shift potential liability away from the ad agency and solely to the station, BCFM reports that it had a talk with the agency and OMD has reprogrammed its computers back to the language it was using prior to July.
08/30/06 TVBR #169
Google and eBay pact for
"click to call" functionality
Internet giants Google and eBay announced a multi-year deal involving text-based advertising and "click-to-call" advertising functionality. Google will become the exclusive text-based ad provider for eBay outside the US. Yahoo struck a parallel deal in May to handle all of eBay's U.S. ads. The click-to-call functionality will leverage both Skype and Google Talk globally in each company's respective shopping and search platforms.
TVBR observation: Hard to over come perception being reality and when you say Google it is automatic to think search. eBay similar one thinks selling others people, well, junk. RBR continues to remind executives to research before you commit to a internet service.
08/29/06 TVBR #168
EchoStar settles with
affiliates for 100M
Facing a federal court order that would require it to end delivery of distant network service to all subscribers, EchoStar has struck a 100 million bucks settlement with the ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox Affiliate Associations. Having previously settled with the ABC, NBC and CBS networks and O&O groups, along with many other station groups, EchoStar is just one step away from settling all litigation over distant signal delivery, with the Fox network and its O&O stations as the last holdouts.
08/29/06 TVBR #168
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State Broadcast Association
President for one of the nation's top broadcast associations seeks a replacement for its retiring executive.
See TV Careers
Regional Account Executive
LIN Television West Michigan is looking for a Regional Sales professional for WOODTV8, WOTV 4 and WXSP TV. No Phone calls
See TV Careers
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--Period.
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