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Volume 24, Issue 186, Jim Carnegie, Editor & Publisher
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Monday Morning September 24th, 2007
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TV News ®
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 White spacers claim
"100% accuracy"
Microsoft and Philips Electronics are calling for the FCC to put off any decision on allowing unlicensed wireless devices to operate in white spaces of the TV spectrum so their proposed devices can be retested. As you'll recall, the original prototype devices failed the FCC tests for detecting operating TV stations to prevent interference. Now, though, the companies say all of the bugs have been worked out and their new devices "detected television signals at a level of -114 dBm or stronger with 100% accuracy." Microsoft, Philips and the rest of the White Space Coalition are now calling on the FCC to conduct its own tests of the new prototypes and put off for a couple of months a decision on whether to allow the unlicensed wireless devices to operate in TV white spaces. If approved, TV spectrum not in use by a local station could be used to provide wireless broadband access.
Not surprisingly, the NAB is not impressed. ""It's ironic that a company with a track-record of developing less-than-perfect products is now claiming to have invented a device that functions with '100 percent accuracy.' While frustrated users of Microsoft products have come to expect routine system errors and computer glitches, they do not expect the same to hold true for broadcast television service. As was shown in the FCC's July test results, the devices proposed by the White Space Coalition do not function as advertised. They do not detect broadcast signals, and they do interfere with TV reception," said NAB Executive Vice President Dennis Wharton.
TVBR observation: The original tests proved that the devices can fail to detect TV signals and, as a result, cause interference by trying to use occupied TV spectrum. So what if the new, improved devices are working now? How do we know they will not fail at some point, as the first prototypes did? And what will keep people from modifying them, boosting power levels and/or bypassing the signal detection safeguards in an attempt to "supercharge" their wireless devices?
 Pappas launches own network
Pappas Telecasting has given a name to its new Spanish TV programming venture, TuVisión, with the network now airing in five markets. Plans call for more than 15 stations to be added by the end of this year. The company says the new network will be offered to non-O&O affiliates in non-Pappas markets. TuVisión, which means "Your Vision," is being broadcast on Pappas stations KAZH-TV Houston, KTNC-TV, serving the San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose and Sacramento-Stockton-Modesto television markets, KAZR-TV Reno, KAZO-TV Omaha, NE and KAZJ-TV Sioux City, IA. Pappas has been airing its own lineup of Spanish programming since July 1st, after ending its previous relationship with Azteca America (6/13/07 TVBR #115). Pappas says that when Azteca's LMA of KAZA-TV Los Angeles ends in 2008, it will become a TuVisión outlet. "As the Hispanic market has matured, the desire by our viewers for additional great content has led to the development of this platform of high-value programming choices for America's Hispanic audience. The model relies on a tried-and-true formula reflecting proven models and our experience as broadcasters over four decades," said Pappas Telecasting Chairman and CEO Harry Pappas. Dennis Davis is President and COO of Pappas Telecasting and TuVisión operations are managed by Fernando Acosta, a veteran of more than 15 years in the Spanish-language television business who has led Spanish-language TV stations for Pappas Telecasting for nearly five years. The company said it is in talks with Latino talent in the US to develop original programming for the new network.
| Here is a look at the current programming lineup |
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Legal beagles make a la carte a class action
Are you a consumer? Do you live in the United States? Congratulations! A who's who list of major media companies is being sued for denying you your right to purchase cable channels a la carte, whether you want to purchase them that way or not. Thanks go to Blecher & Collins PC. It's not quite inclusive of everyone - you have to have subscribed to a preset cable tier. "The lawsuit challenges industry-wide agreements and practices that effectively mandate that consumers must purchase prepackaged tiers of bundled cable channels and cannot purchase channels or programming on an "a la carte" basis. The lawsuit alleges that the agreements and practices are unlawful restraints of trade in violation of the federal antitrust laws." Named in the lawsuit are Time Warner Cable Inc., Comcast Corporation, Comcast Cable Communications, Cox Communications, The DirecTV Group., Echostar Satellite, and Cablevision Systems Corporation. And the list goes one, "due to restrictive bundling agreements, to include program suppliers NBC Universal, Viacom, The Walt Disney Company, Fox Entertainment Group and, once again, Time Warner. The firm says consumers are deprived of choice, forced to acquire channels they do not want, and according to the FCC, are over-charged as much as a collective 100M per year. Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) countered that destroying the current bundling business model would completely disrupt the way advertising works, and would actually increase prices, often drastically. Channels would retain core fans, but would lose untold numbers of casual viewers who land there while channel surfing. Under an a la carte regime, CAGW says, "Bear Stearns projects that a monthly subscription to the Disney Channel would increase from 1.48 to 5.90. MTV would jump from 0.43 to 2.32, and most notably a subscription to ESPN would skyrocket from 3.78 to 15.82."
TVBR observation: Let's not let cable butt in line. If we're going to unbundled media entities, the newspaper comes first. Just as soon as we can buy the sports page, and only the sports page, we can move on to younger media like cable. And what about pinto beans? Sometimes I only want one or two, but try buying anything less than an entire bag full - it's an outrage, and that's been going on far longer than cable bundling.
 Pharma ad conspiracy exposed?
The Wall Street Journal took a look at the new FDA bill just out of Congress and noted the absence of a three-year moratorium on advertising new product that had been part of an earlier incarnation of the bill. WSJ points out that media companies helped pharma companies excise the ad ban. We are not shocked. The support for knocking that plank out of the bill was bipartisan, and part of the reasoning is that advertisements are one of the important ways that consumers learn not only about the drugs, but about the medical conditions they are designed to combat. Often the ads are the main reason a person knows to seek medical attention in the first place. WSJ says that 5.3B was spent on pharmaceutical advertising in 2006, up from 4.6B a year earlier, but it doesn't break out where that money is going. Presumably most of it is on behalf of pharmaceuticals which have long since moved on past their third birthday. Of course, the media makes no bones about going to bat for a client. NAB's Dennis Wharton said, "NAB applauds Congress for adopting legislation that does not sever an important information link for American consumers. Each year, thousands of Americans seek treatment for heart disease, high blood pressure and other diseases through education that comes in part from prescription drug advertising. There is simply no legitimate reason to deny American citizens this potentially life-saving information."
TVBR observation: Frankly, as private consumers and citizens, we would not dream of going to our doctor and requesting to be put on a prescription drug because of an advertisement. But we also believe that within reason, a legal product is a legal product and as such, discussing its fine qualities in an advertisement is a matter of freedom of speech. The overwhelming preponderance of opinion seems to hold that some products, such as cigarettes, are worth special treatment, but the bar for such treatment should be high. Part of the new bill empowers the FDA to go after false claims; let's hope as consumers that they live up to this responsibility and grant most manufacturers the presumption of innocence tempered by meaningful and effective oversight.
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| Wall Street Media Business Report TM |
Harman buyout blows up
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and GS Capital Partners VI fund say they are walking away from their eight billion bucks deal to take Harman International private. They claim the current credit crunch is not to blame, but rather that a material adverse change in Harman's business has occurred, which means they are no longer obligated to complete the buyout. Harman denies that anything has changed, so look for this to head to court post-haste. In any case, shares of the audio equipment maker plunged 24% on Friday after the deal breakup was announced.
TVBR observation: Investors have good reason to be worried about whether private equity firms will be able to make good on their buyout deals. Financing of mega deals is very tough right now and if the equity guys can find an excuse to slip out of a hard-to-finance deal, they are likely to take it. It still looks like the Clear Channel and Cumulus Media buyouts are solid, and Hearst Corporation certainly has the wherewithal to fund its proposed buyout of the public shareholders of Hearst-Argyle. But new radio or TV deals in the billions or hundreds of millions aren't likely to take place for a while. American Security is trying to wriggle out of its long-pending deal to buy the biggest block of Clear Channel Radio spin-offs and the word on the street is that Lincoln Financial Media will come off the market after initial bids were disappointing. Nexstar has already been pulled back and LIN Television has slowed down its strategic review because of the credit tightening. Guess that means folks are going to have to just hunker down and make profits from operations.
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| Executive Comment |
 Getting the point across
about cross-ownership
It's easy to find someone to attack newspaper/broadcast media combinations; not quite so easy to find a reasoned defense. Yet the Second Circuit itself made the case for them in part even as it was shooting down much of the FCC's 2003 ownership rulemaking. Tribune's Tom Langmyer, who works for a rare cross-ownership group including radio, television and newspaper, says the combination allows for a degree of localism that would otherwise be impossible to achieve. Here are his comments, prepared for delivery at last week's FCC ownership forum in Chicago.
| Read More |
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Ad Business Report TM
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TI DLP Products launches
integrated marketing campaign
DLP Products from Texas Instruments announced the largest campaign ever supporting DLP technology and DLP-based micro display HDTVs. The 100 million dollar effort includes a new campaign anchored by three major sports sponsorships and kicks off the peak fall 2007 HDTV buying season. As a part of the new campaign, DLP Products will be a prominent sponsor of ABC and ESPN's Monday Night NFL and College football programming, as well as those stations' Nextel Cup NASCAR programming. The campaign will also use radio, outdoor and online, targeting sites used for consumer research before making HDTV purchases, as well as on banner ads and spots on espn.go.com. Radio will run in 12 markets along the "Chase for the Cup" NASCAR series. The new spots help convey key advantages that DLP's advanced display technology hold over the competition, including no motion blur, no burn-in, and a sharp clear picture, even on the biggest of TV screen sizes. The spots are via JWT Communications, Entertainment and Technology Practice.
Pizza Hut names Brian Niccol CMO
 Pizza Hut has named Brian Niccol its Chief Marketing Officer, replacing Bill Ogle, who left the company to pursue outside opportunities after holding the post for nearly two years. Niccol was previously the VP of National Brand Marketing and Strategy where he was responsible for the development of a mega brand strategy and the development of all national brand marketing programs. In this role, he helped lead Pizza Hut in 2007 to its highest share level in three years while delivering same store sales growth. Niccol joined Pizza Hut in 2005 as the VP of Strategy. Before, Niccol spent 10 years in various brand management positions at P&G.
John Eckel joins Grey's Alliance as CEO
Steve Hardwick, President of Grey New York, announced John Eckel, is joining Alliance, Grey's leading branded entertainment marketing company, as President and CEO, effective immediately. John Eckel comes to Alliance from Creative Artists Agency (CAA), Los Angeles, the world's leading talent agency, where he served as a senior commercial endorsements talent agent representing the firm's film, TV, music and sports star roster. In his new role, John Eckel will lead the Alliance team, HQ'd in New York, with an office in LA. He'll also be expanding the Alliance offering into sports marketing.
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| Media Business Report TM |
Petraeus really comes into focus
If you though the testimony of General David Petraeus before Congress put the news focus on the debate over Iraq policy, you were right. As we reported earlier in the week, the ongoing events surrounding the General ate up 36% of available news time and space, according to the Project for Excellence in Journalism. As usual, talkers took the newsers' favorite ball and really ran with it, taking the topic just a hair under the halfway point with 49% of total talk attention. The 2008 campaign picked up a healthy 10%, double what newsers gave it, and September 11 commemorations ate up another 5%. With 4% of talk focus going to immigration, there was barely time left for anything else, indicated by the fact that five stories made it onto the top ten list with a mere 1% share.
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| Entertainment Media Business Report TM |
ABC Television Group, AOL Video sign content deal
Disney-ABC Television Group and AOL announced the availability of full-length episodes of popular primetime shows on AOL Video. Delivered via a co-branded version of ABC.com's broadband player, full episodes of ABC programs are available at video.aol.com and beginning feature ABC's new fall lineup of programming. New episodes of ABC series offered free to consumers on AOL the day after their broadcast premieres include: "The Bachelor"; "Big Shots"; "Brothers & Sisters"; "Carpoolers"; "Cavemen"; "Dancing with the Stars"; "Desperate Housewives"; "Dirty Sexy Money" ; "Eli Stone"; "Grey's Anatomy"; "Lost"; "Men In Trees"; "October Road"; "Private Practice"; "Pushing Daisies"; "Samantha Who?" and "Ugly Betty".
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| Internet Media Business Report TM |
Agencies team with ON Networks
for content-based video ad trial
ON Networks (www.ONnetworks.com), a new-media company offering original, episodic HD shows across multiple platforms including Web, TV and mobile devices, announced leading agencies have joined its partner program to test new forms of content-based advertising. Among them are Carmichael Lynch, TPN, GSD&M's Idea City, Critical Mass and SicolaMartin. Unlike traditional video ads where advertising is tied to the TV network, ON says it attaches ads to its shows and allows the ads to travel wherever a show goes--across on-line and off-line networks and devices--to capture the largest share of target markets.
 CBS Radio News to offer
60 Minutes podcasts
Programs via audio podcast free on iTunes, CBSNews.com., and websites of CBS Radio News affiliates. CBS streams selected excerpts and segments of 60 Minutes on CBSNews.com and offers abbreviated audio and video versions of 60 Minutes as podcasts, but this will be the first time that the show will be available for download in its entirety. The podcasts will be available every Sunday at 11:00 PM ET on Apple iTunes, CBSNews.com and CBS Radio News affiliate websites. The podcast began yesterday, the 40th season premiere.
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| Monday Morning Makers & Shakers |
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Transactions: 8/6/07-8/10/07
New Vision's 330 million bucks agreement to acquire nine television stations in four markets from Montecito, which itself had acquired them from Emmis not that long ago, headed up trading in a week with three other television transactions and almost no action on the radio side. Television trading shows more signs of coming out of its post-6/2/03 stall.
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Total
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Total Deals
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9
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AMs
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2
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FMs
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3
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TVs
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14
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| Value |
372.01M
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| Complete Charts |
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Radio Transactions of the Week
Red Zebra is Redskin Tidewater stalking horse
| More... |
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TV Transactions of the Week
New Vision gets old Emmis stations
| More... |
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| Transactions |
26.6M KFTY-TV San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose CA (Santa Rosa CA, Ch. 50, indy) & KVOS-TV Seattle-Tacoma WA (Bellingham WA, Ch. 12, indy) from Newport Television LLC (Sandy DiPasquale), a subsidiary of Providence Equity Partners to LK Station Group LLC, a subsidiary of Que Suerte LLC (Barbara Laurence, Seth Kanegis). 1.4M escrow, balance in cash at closing. [File date 9/3/07.]
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| Stock Talk |
Gains on Friday, but not for broadcasters
Wall Street ended the week on a high note, buoyed by strong earnings from Oracle. The Dow Industrials were up 53 points, or 0.4%, to 13,820.
TV stocks missed out, with most posting losses. Nexstar was off 2.8%. Time Warner declined 1.7%. Tribune had a better day, up 2.6%.
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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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4.18
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+0.04
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Lincoln Natl.
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LNC
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64.67
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-0.21
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Belo
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BLC
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17.36
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-0.04
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LIN TV
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TVL
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13.04
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+0.07
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| CBS CI. B |
CBS |
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31.59
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+0.20
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McGraw-Hill
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MHP
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50.78
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+0.27
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| CBS CI. A |
CBSa |
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31.70
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+0.21
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Media General
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MEG
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27.30
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-0.28
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Clear Channel
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CCU
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36.88
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-0.70
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Meredith
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MDP
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57.17
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+0.74
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Disney
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DIS
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34.60
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+0.56
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News Corp.
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NWS
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23.55
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+0.53
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Emmis
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EMMS
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6.07
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-0.09
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Nexstar
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NXST
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10.59
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-0.30
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Entravision
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EVC
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9.55
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-0.04
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Ion Media
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ION
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1.27
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-0.08
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| Equity Media |
EMDA |
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3.00 |
-0.03 |
Saga Commun.
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SGA
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7.27
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-0.09
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Fisher
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FSCI
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49.15
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-0.61
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SBS
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SBSA
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2.60
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-0.01
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Gannett
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GCI
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45.06
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+0.12
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Scripps
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SSP
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42.19
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-0.29
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Gen. Electric
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GE
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41.25
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+0.01
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Sinclair
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SBGI
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13.07
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-0.09
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| Google |
GOOG |
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560.10
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+7.27
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SWMX
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SWMX
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0.05
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-0.01
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Gray
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GTN
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9.03
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+0.08
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Time Warner
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TWX
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18.09
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-0.31
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Gray, C1. A
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GTNa
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9.12
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unch
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Tribune
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TRB
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28.09
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+0.72
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Hearst-Argyle
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HTV
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25.62
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+0.02
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Wash. Post
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WPO
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798.40
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+5.03
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Journal Comm.
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JRN
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10.33
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+0.09
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Young
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YBTVA
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2.27
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+0.05
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Bounceback
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 We want to
hear from you.
This is your column, so send your comments and
a photo to tvnews@rbr.com
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Below the Fold
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Executive Comment
Getting the point across
About cross-ownership Tribune's Tom Langmyer takes on FCC in Chicago...
Ad Business Report
TI DLP Products
Launches integrated marketing campaign to the tune of 100M bucks to kick off fall HDTV season...
Media Business Report
Petraeus really comes into focus
If you though the testimony was something then there is more here...
Entertainment Media
Business Report
ABC and AOL
Television Group, AOL Video sign content deal of full-length episodes of popular primetime programming...
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Stations for Sale
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 Market your Stations For Sale
in our daily epapers.
Contact
June Barnes
jbarnes@rbr.com
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More News Headlines
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Two added
to Forbes 400
Two broadcast owners are new additions to the annual Forbes 400 list, but via unfortunate circumstances. Cox Enterprises Chairman and CEO James Cox Kennedy and his sister, Blair Parry-Okedon, inherited their 6.3 billion each from the recent death of their mother, tying them as America's 50th most wealthy person. Their aunt, Anne Cox Chambers, is #24 with 12.6 billion. Cox Enterprises is a major group owner in radio, TV, cable and newspapers.
| Who else made the list?
TVBR observation: What about Lowry Mays at Clear Channel? By our calculation, he just missed the list at 1.2 billion. We note though that while Ted Waitt made the list at 1.8 billion, his low-key brother Norman isn't on the Forbes 400 list. We're pretty sure that Norman Waitt, who cashed out of Gateway before its stock price plunged and invested in broadcasting and other ventures, actually has a larger fortune. He just doesn't flaunt it.
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RBR - Radio News
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Retailers back merger, watchdog yawns
RadioShack, Circuit City and Crutchfield have come out in favor of the proposed merger of satellite radio competitors XM and Sirius. The DARS duo touts this as clear evidence that the merger would be good for consumers, earning a rousing "Huh?" from an interested watchdog group. Julian C. Day of RadioShack said, "...the merger will bring greater vitality and financial resources tom this upstart technology. Allowing this to happen will, in turn, spark a new generation of services and products with more advanced and user-friendly features." Bob Williams of the consumer group Hear Us Now countered, "It's probably fair to say that RadioShack and Circuit City are not the first names that leap to mind when it comes to gauging consumer benefits." He pointed out that monopolies are generally not good for consumers. "As for XM and Sirius, we would like to offer a little bit of advice should they be interested in finding out what consumers really think about their proposed merger: Ask some actual consumers rather than their corporate cronies."
RBR observation: Instead of two companies working hard to outdo one another both in quality and pricing, we are supposed to believe consumers will benefit from one company which can now focus more on maximizing its own bottom line without any of that pesky competition to worry about. This is from the Econ 101 textbook. It's amazing that this proposal has any traction at all.
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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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38 more LPM markets
Nielsen announced a timetable to bring Local People Meters (LPM) to 38 additional markets by 2011. That will put LPMs in 56 of the top 63 markets, including all of the top 38. Nielsen noted that this will allow local markets to receive demographic information for events such as March Madness, playoff games, award shows, and Christmas holiday programming, which typically air outside traditional "sweeps" measurement periods. Eight markets were already scheduled to switch to LPM ratings yet this year or next, completing the roll-out in the top 18 markets. The 38 additional markets just announced are to go live with LPMs from January 2009 through October 2011.
TVBR observation: Back on March 2, 2006, (03/02/06 TVBR # 43), Nielsen made two important decisions. Decision 1: Turned thumbs down on a joint PPM venture with Arbitron. Decision 2: Was told that it needed to be able to measure video viewing from new sources, such as the Internet and iPods, with the same quality by which it measures television. "Basically, follow the video." So, it has been doing just that with refined technology, new services and projects still in the works. Got to give Nielsen guys some credit 17 months later through buyout, restructuring they have stayed focused to that now great branding phrase: Nielsen - Follow The Video. To view the list see this special report page.
09/21/07 TVBR #185
Is it a media company?
At the company's annual Shareholders Day, Washington Post Company CEO Donald Graham noted that revenues and growth are coming increasingly from the education side, not the traditional media businesses. Post Newsweek Stations President and CEO Alan Frank for how well he has been dealing with challenges in the industry. Noting that TV is now a business with a two year cycle, with 2007 being one of the years without Olympics and political revenues.
TVBR observation: Thanks Alan for stating TV (and we also add Radio) is now a business with a 2 year cycle. TVBR notes we have been stating this 2 year cycle since 2003. OK, the current two year ends December 31st meaning any improvements, building, etc to your 2008 business plan get it done now as January 1st is the start of our next 2 year cycle. In short - if you are thinking, planning any improvements to your structure now is the time to complete the task. You do not flip in the middle of a New Year or you could find yourself pushing a boulder up hill.
09/21/07 TVBR #185
Kohl's law will aim
at analog TV seniors
Herb Kohl (D-WI), chair of the Senate Select Committee on Aging, says he is going to introduce a bill which will coordinate the DTV education of consumers, particularly senior citizens. NAB EVP Marcellus Alexander assured the committee that NAB is doing what it can to move the ball forward.
TVBR suggestion: With respect to the special needs of senior citizens, local television stations may want to organize a posse of civic-minded regular viewers via PSAs and the station website who can volunteer to assist seniors who need help picking up and installing new digital equipment or getting a converter box hooked up properly. We'd bet a large number of viewers would be happy to donate the small amount of time this will take, and it will look fabulous in the outreach portion of your public file. Do not forget to maintain this file or a fine awaits. TVBR will be send out a Special Report on the Does and Don'ts for you and your stations staff to protect your license and no fines.
09/20/07 TVBR #184
One word, one fine
Rep. Chip Pickering (R-MS) has joined with three other House members to introduce the Protecting Children from Indecent Programming Act, a bill which would clarify the FCC's ability to fine a broadcaster for an act of indecency no matter how fleeting it may be.
09/20/07 TVBR #184
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New Listing
Account Executive
KUVN-TV, Dallas/ Ft. Worth – Univision 23 seeking experienced AE. Responsible: Generating ad revenue from established and prospective clients - both directly and through advertising agencies. Minimum 5 years of experience in TV sales in top ten market with excellent new business development skills. Also, working knowledge of internet sales is a Big Plus for candidate. If you are hungry and like to join a winning team then apply and we will reply. 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.
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