Two deals slip through
A 325K dollar deal is usually beneath the TVBR radar. This is especially true when that is the combined total of two separate deals. However, this time, it concerns a pair of station sales - - on temporarily frozen form 314 - - that managed to find their way into the FCC's "accepted for filing" database. Both deals have a construction element built in. On the TV side, there is a 200K deal for KFQX-TV, which brings Fox programming over Channel 4 in the tiny Grand Junction-Montrose CO DMA. Barry Parker has placed the entire amount into escrow for release to seller John Harvey Rees at closing. According to the FCC, the station's channel 15 DTV companion is as yet unbuilt. On the radio side, Educational Media Foundation is expanding into the Texarkana market with the acquisition of KWLL-FM from Broadcasting for the Challenged. The 125K cash deal won't have any immediate affect on Texarkana airwaves, however - - -EMF will have to build this one before it can broadcast its K-Love Contemporary Christian Network over it.

TV stocks were mixed, with slightly more gainers than losers. The biggest moves were to the down side by a couple of penny stocks - - Granite fell 10% and Paxson 5.5%.

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Wisk to market TiVo
Veteran marketing guru Matt Wisk, most recently at Herbalife, has joined TiVo as Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer. He'll direct the company's global marketing efforts, including branding, product marketing, corporation communications, public relations, online marketing and consumer relationship marketing.

New director for Belo
M. Anne Szostak has joined the board of directors at Belo Corp., expanding the board to 14 members. Szostak recently retired as Exec. VP and corporate director of human resources and diversity at FleetBoston Financial, the nation's seventh largest banking company.

TiVo tops 2M subscribers

NAB checks in with CheckHD.com

Another analyst warns about radio stocks
You can add Victor Miller of Bear Stearns to the list of Wall Street analysts warning of more rough sledding ahead for radio stocks. "Radio stocks, which are already down, as a group, approximately 33% for the year, could still see a bit more pain before they gain," Miller said yesterday in a note to investors. Core ad sales are still sluggish, the analyst said, and Q4 visibility is low. Miller is expecting the Radio Advertising Bureau to report August revenues for the radio industry flat to down slightly - - and he sees a possibility of a repeat of July's -3% performance. "If the RAB posts -3% for August, stocks will not react well and there still could be some selling pressure, especially into 'tax loss season'," Miller said, referring to the practice of selling stocks that are down near the end of the year to write them off on this year's taxes. But he sees better times ahead, with better ratings, heavy political ad spending, TV ad prices going up, share repurchases and other factors weighing in radio's favor. Thus, after lowering his projections for Q3 (from +1.5-2.5% to -0.5-1%) and Q4 (from +5% to +2-3%), Miller is optimistic that radio will grow 4% in 2005 - - although that's a downward revision from his previous 5%.

Viacom extends MTV presence in China
The Financial Times reports Viacom is extending its reach into China in a partnership with Beijing Television and expanding distribution of MTV, its music channel, in the southern province of Guangdong. Viacom expects the number of households receiving MTV's 24-hour channel in Guangdong to triple, bringing its total distribution of the service in China, including Hong Kong, to almost 10 million households by the end of this year. The alliance with BTV follows its announcement in March of a joint venture with Shanghai Media Group the first such partnership since China eased its ban on foreign investment in local production companies. Sumner Redstone, Viacom Chairman/CEO said the group's Paramount Pictures was also discussing possible collaboration, including co-production, with SMG. "There is no limit to our appetite here," Redstone told the FT. While the joint venture with SMG is focused on children's programming, Viacom and BTV will concentrate on music and entertainment content. These programs, which will be offered for syndication to channels in China and overseas, will not necessarily carry the MTV brand. They will, however, contain "MTV-type" content, Redstone said. Viacom also said that China Central Television had agreed to take on additional programs from Nickelodeon. Talks are under way with CCTV about licensing consumer products linked to the SpongeBob, SquarePants series.

Redstone vows "appropriate" consequences for CBS News scandal
Says he keeps his hands off the inner workings of CBS News, so he learned of questions about the authenticity of documents used in a "60 Minutes Wednesday" story attacking President George W. Bush's National Guard service the same as the rest of us. 09/24/04 TVBR #187

Boyle cuts radio outlook
You had to see this coming with his warning about industry bellwether Emmis now cut his Q3 and Q4 estimates for the entire radio sector. "The August monthly pacings came in flattish. Forward orders for September-October have fallen off more than we had expected,"
RBR observation: Boyle is not a total pessimist says the niche formats and niche groups are the place for growth in radio. 09/23/04 TVBR #187

Commissioners unanimous
but not eye-to-eye
The Commissioners voted 5-0 to nail Viacom for the Super Bow incident, but in so doing did not see things as one. Four of them, all but Kathleen Abernathy, appended personal comments to the NAL. A big area of disagreement was the decision to fine the 20 Viacom O&Os while letting some 200 additional affiliates off the hook. TVBR observation: NO guts Commissioners. What you call a whopper is something most buy in a drive thru fast food joint. A real fine would have been the 27 thousand to each CBS affiliate then you would have gotten peoples attention. Would have hurt the business but if you were looking for attention you didn't get ours just news outlets that wanted to take a shot at CBS. You should have fined the producers of the show like MTV and the NFL. 09/23/04 TVBR #186

McCain fails to get
hard DTV deadline
Attempt to get a hard deadline of 1/1/09 for the return of all analog television spectrum to the government for reallocation to public safety organizations was headed off in committee. However, if the amended measure does move forward, some of that spectrum could go to public safety groups even earlier, and money will be allocated to make sure poorer Americans make the digital transition with everyone else. 09/23/04 TVBR #186

Will Emmis miss its radio guidance?
That's what Wachovia Securities analyst Jim Boyle is warning of. Emmis, always the canary in the coal mine. is due to report results next Tuesday (9/28) for its fiscal Q2 - - June-August. Thinking is Emmis may hit its 10.5% revenue growth guidance for TV, but miss its 3% target for its larger radio group and issue conservative guidance for fiscal Q3. TVBR observation: Have we hit bottom? Answer is maybe not. Hang on this could be an unpleasant ride! 09/22/04 TVBR #185

Disney board to pick Eisner's successor by June 2005
The Board said now use that expensive luggage and get it packed. The directors said they would engage an executive search firm to aid them in making the choice, saying they would consider outsiders and one insider - - President and COO Bob Iger. To achieve its objective, the Board will: 1. Engage an executive search firm 2. Consider both internal and external candidates 3. Complete the process and announce a successor as soon as possible 4. Michael Eisner and the Board will work to assure a smooth and effective transition but are elected for a one year term. TVBR observation: The line bet goes to Iger.
09/22/04 TVBR #185

Which do we protect: 17M or 70M?
The battle lines are continually being drawn and redrawn on the bumpy road leading to the digital television conversion. The plan offered by Sen John McCain (R-AZ) to provide 1B dollars to some 17M unconnected TV households so that they can still receive a television picture when analog transmission goes bye-bye is already being challenged.
TVBR observation: With the clock ticking toward Election Day lawmakers are eager to get back home to campaign, so the smart money is against anything of significance happening real soon like until 2009? Reminds one of AM Stero.
09/22/04 TVBR #185

Sen. John 'Wayne' McCain looking for 1B in anti-blackout funds
Is preparing to ask for a significant taxpayer contribution to the televiewing of the unconnected when the digital television transition is finalized and analog broadcasts go away. McCain's plan would in effect be at least somewhat of an endorsement of the so-called "Ferree Plan," which would bring the end of analog broadcast about on 1/1/09, but would get there by counting analog receivers getting down-converted digital signals in the 85% digital-ready theshold which is the statutory target for the analog turn-off. 09/21/04 TVBR #184

Telecom 1996 up for review
Says Frank Blethen, the Seattle Times publisher took to the OpEd pages of the Washington Post 9/19/04 warning of the evils of excessive ownership concentration and media cross-ownership. Senate Commerce Committee is supposed to revisit the 1996 Telecommunications Act next year, an agenda item which could easily light off even more fireworks in the already incendiary history of the ownership debate. The Commerce Committee has already approved numerous reversals of the FCC 6/2/03 ownership rulemaking. Some of them have reappeared in other guises, such as the reversion to a 35% national potential audience reach cap for broadcast television group owners, down from the FCC's 45%. TVBR observation: This is great news if regulatory uncertainty is your cup of tea. People wishing to sit in on the Commerce Committee's proceedings should probably head over to the Russell Building on Capitol Hill right now and get in line. 09/21/04 TVBR #184

Campaign financing regs remanded
The US District Court in the District of Columbia has sent a slate of campaign rules written by the Federal Election Commission (FEC) back to be rewritten, saying that they opened up "an immense loophole" which Congress had no intention of putting on the books. 09/21/04 TVBR #184

HBO dominates the Emmys
Bada-Bing! Teaming up "The Sopranos," "Angeles in America" and other original fare, HBO, which used to be a cable network dependent on showing movies that had already run in theaters, ran rough-shod over the broadcast networks. In all, HBO took 32 Emmys. Compare that to Fox, which took second place with 10. Here's the list of winners of the major Emmys. TVBR observation: You answer the question - - What does this say for network TV programming and what the consumer wants and is willing to pay for? TA DUM. Content is King, people. Radio in many ways has lost that edge, Cochise, and soon that trend will come to TV as well - - so watch out for more product placement in place of creativity. 09/21/04 TVBR #184

TVBR Close-Up
Broadcast stocks: How low is low?
If you own radio or TV stocks, you know that they've fallen this year - - a lot. Most pure-play radio companies have lost at least a quarter of their value, many more than a third. TV stocks haven't done quite that badly, but are down double digits.
TVBR observation: The question now - have we hit bottom? TVBR's analysis chart inside tells the sad tale.
09/20/04 TVBR #183