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Volume 24, Issue 202, Jim Carnegie, Editor & Publisher
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Tuesday Morning October 16th, 2007
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TV News ®
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 Market reacts to dropped Hearst bid
The stock price of Hearst-Argyle Television declined 6% yesterday after Hearst Corporation dropped its bid to buy out public shareholders. Even so, the stock price closed three cents above the abandoned bid of 23.50 per share and well above the 20.42 price back in August before the offer was made. So, what happens now? Bear Stearns analyst Victor Miller doesn't think this is over. But he wonders what message Hearst Corporation was trying to send. "Hearst Corp. did not offer a 'bump' in the price, which was a bit surprising. The 'no bump' suggests Hearst Corp. is sending a message. Here are some ideas: Hearst Corp. a) has changed its mind on the prospects/valuations for TV assets, b) is preparing for a new bid but wants to tamp down shareholders expectations, c) could not come to an agreement on valuation with HTV's largest shareholders (for now) or d) is simply going through the machinations of the process and will weigh the possibility of a higher bid. Which one is Hearst Corp. sending?" Miller asked as he pondered the issue for his clients. But while there is no bid currently on the table, Miller thinks there is another chapter yet to be written, but that may take some time. "We still think a bid in the 25.50-27.00 range is a more accurate representation of company value," the analyst said.
TVBR observation: Hearst Corporation still owns 73% of Hearst-Argyle, so it is not likely to seek another buyer, nor would any unsolicited bid have much chance of going anywhere. As noted by some of the folks who'd objected to the 23.50 price, Hearst Corporation has paid more than that for many of the Hearst-Argyle shares it now owns. We wait to see if the company goes back to buying shares in the public market. That 27% stake now held by the public could just be gnawed away until Hearst Corporation makes another bid to take Hearst-Argyle private.
Political heading toward 3B in 2008
TNS Media Intelligence says that 2008 should produce a bumper crop of political spending, both on elections and issue advertising, with total ranging anywhere from 2.5B to 3B. That's on top of what has been a robust off year of political/issue spending. TNS's Campaign Media Analysis Group estimates that 529M has already been spent this year, a total that should settle somewhere around the 700M mark by the end of December, fueled in part by three off-year gubernatorial races in Louisiana, Kentucky and Mississippi. In addition to a great deal of issue advertising, including a recent blitz over the SCHIP veto, the presidential primaries are fueling early spending in 2007. TNS suspects that 2008 will blow past the 100M mark before the year is a month old. Republicans will face long odds in their attempt to regain control of the Senate, where they are defending 22 seats (to only 12 for the Democrats). On top of that, the party is facing at least five retirements, plus difficult defensive campaigns in Minnesota, New Hampshire and Maine. TNS speculates that Republicans may emphasize House races because of this, keeping Senate spending at or below 2006 levels while raising the ante for the House of Representatives. Tomorrow: Projected hot spots identified.
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Feeling down? Could be your job
A government study has found that 7% of all US full-time workers have suffered "a major depressive episode" during the past 12 months, and that the likelihood of such an event may be related to the type of employment the worker is engaged in. The bad news? Lawyers are below average at 6.4%. The worse news? Entertainment and media is nearer to the top of the depressive heap. Lumped into a category called Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports and Media, the group was over two points worse than average at 9.1%. The most depressed group is Personal Care and Service, at 10.8%, followed by Food Preparation and Serving (10.3%), Community and Social Services (9.6%) and Healthcare Practitioners and Technical (also 9.6%). Sales, also part of broadcasting, was near the middle of the pack at 6.7%. The least depressing jobs are Engineering, Architecture and Surveyors (4.3%), Life, Physical and Social Sciences (4.4%), Installation, Maintenance and Repair (4.4%) and Construction and Extraction (4.8%). The study is the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) from the Office of Applied Studies of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
 FCC runs out of patience
We guess this FCC proceeding has been a dragged-out affair. Just looking at the title of it: The 2006 Quadrennial Regulatory Review of the 2002 Biennial Regulatory Review of Broadcast Ownership Rules and a Whole Bunch of Other Related Stuff (OK, we mangled the title, but it does in fact eat up over half of any page the FCC releases on the topic). Anyway, the FCC has been trolling for comments one way or another on the most recent post-remand attempt at proceeding with the proceeding since 7/24/06. It has extended the period for comments many times, and the deadline was back at the beginning of the month with reply comments due today (10/16/07). A coalition of organization known as Diversity and Competition Supporters have asked for a further extension, in particular because they claim a number of broadcast companies would like to comment on DCS's proposals to increase minority and female ownership of broadcast properties. The National Association of Broadcasters has filed in support of the DCS request. The FCC isn't going for it this time. It said many of these proposals have been in the public record for over a year, and that anyone wishing to comment has had ample time to do so. In other words, the Commission believes it has assembled "a complete record upon which to base Commission decisions" and will honor its other responsibility, to act on its responsibilities in a timely manner.
TVBR observation: Most people with knowledge of this issue seem to agree that reviving the tax credit with makes it more attractive to sell a broadcast property to a socially disadvantaged business is one of the best tools available. That is not a matter for the FCC, it is a matter for Congress. Charles Rangel (D-NY) has been one of the more recent legislators to bring the matter up, and John McCain (R-AZ) has been known to back it in the Senate. Maybe with your help, your own representatives will help bring it back to life.
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Ad Business Report TM
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 Broadcasters unveil 697 million
campaign on DTV transition
Television broadcasters have announced a comprehensive 697 million consumer education campaign, the second phase of the industry's DTV consumer education initiatives, which began in late 2006. NAB engaged Starcom MediaVest Group to do the media plan. The campaign will include:
* "DTV Action" television spots
* Crawls, snipes, news tickers during programming
* 30-minute educational programs about DTV
* 100-day countdown to the February 17, 2009 DTV deadline
* Public relations elements, including earned media coverage in newspapers and online
* DTV Road Show that will visit 600 locations nationwide
* DTV Speakers Bureau that will reach one million consumers
* Online banner ads on TV station Web sites
The combined elements of the campaign will generate 98 billion audience impressions during the course of the campaign, which will run through February 17, 2009, when all television stations must turn off their analog signals and begin broadcasting exclusively in the digital format.
Vsurance launches campaign on
ABC, CBS, NBC, CNBC, FOX News, CNN
Vsurance, a leading provider of pet health insurance, announced that the Company will launch a national television campaign on major networks such as ABC, CBS, NBC, CNBC, FOX NEWS, CNN, National Geographic and Discovery Channel. The effort will launch 10/17 on CNN. During this national marketing campaign kick-off period, Vsurance will be highlighting the company's pet health insurance products, such as its Get HIP plan, as well as the pet health insurance industry in the U.S. The campaign is part of the company's larger national campaign, which includes a broad combination of radio, television, print, as well as outdoor billboard in major metros.
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| Media Business Report TM |
Discovery discovers HowStuffWorks.com
Discovery Communications today announced the purchase of HowStuffWorks.com, adding to the online presence of the cable programming company. Terms were not disclosed. HowStufWorks claims 11 million global monthly unique visitors. "One of my early challenges at Discovery was determining how best to build a robust digital media portfolio. With HowStuffWorks, Discovery now has a solid platform for strengthening our digital businesses, leveraging our video assets to create new experiences for users, advertisers and our distribution partners, and taking those opportunities around the globe," said David Zaslav, President and CEO, Discovery Communications. For his part, Jeff Arnold, who will continue as CEO of HowStuffWorks, says teaming with a global media company will allow the web-based operation to continue to meet consumer expectations and aggregate large audiences.
In addition to an editorial team that creates new content every day, HowStuffWorks leverages the exclusive digital rights to over 30,000 books, 800,000 images and more than 180,000 maps as it explains the world from brains to bats, from rocket engines to roller coasters, from hybrid cars to HDTV, and countless other topics. As you would imagine, there is a video component to this, with clips from Discovery to be utilized on HowStuffWorks. And yes, there is a "How Stuff Works" TV show already in the works.
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| Cable Business Report TM |
 Opposition mounts to
Cablevision buyout
It took four attempts by the Dolan family to come up with a bid to buy out other shareholders and take Cablevision private that won a thumbs up from the company's independent directors (5/3/07 TVBR #87). But it now appears the 10.6 billion bucks offer is no slam dunk. Mario Gabelli, whose Gamco Investors owns an 8.3% stake, has stated in an SEC filing that he will vote against the deal, preferring to hold onto Cablevision's shares because the price, at 36.26 per share, is too low. Even more importantly, Institutional Shareholders Services (ISS) has advised its big money clients to reject the offer. It notes that appraisals from two investment banks valued Cablevision at 42.82 and 50 bucks. With Gabelli and a couple of other major shareholders, in all holding about 20% of the shares, indicating that they will vote no at the October 24th special meeting, the buyout deal looks to be in trouble. The Dolans themselves will not be able to vote their 20% stake.
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| Washington Business Report TM |
Bureaucrats, association heads descend on the Hill
Jonathan Adelstein will be doing the honors for the FCC and John Kneuer will represent the NTIA Wednesday as the Senate Commerce Committee takes yet another look at the DTV transition. After they are through being grilled, a select group of five association honchos will hop into the frying pan. They include David Rehr of the National Association of Broadcasters, John Lawson of Association of Public Television Stations, National Cable and Telecommunications Association's Kyle McSlarrow and Mark Peal of the Consumer Electronics Retailers Coalition. Also on hand to present the satellite perspective will be John Gieselman of DirecTV and Mark Pearl. The session starts at 2:30. For Kneuer, it will be his second hearing. He is said to be booked with the House Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet along with FCC Chairman Kevin Martin to discuss the same topic during a morning session. The other panelists for that meeting have not yet been announced.
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| Internet Business Report TM |
Nielsen Online, Nielsen Mobile debut
The Nielsen Company announced that it has launched two new Internet and mobile measurement services - Nielsen Online and Nielsen Mobile. Nielsen Online is comprised of the company's Nielsen//NetRatings and BuzzMetrics services, which provide independent measurement and analysis of online audiences, advertising, video, blogs, consumer-generated media, word-of-mouth, commerce and consumer behavior. Nielsen Mobile combines recently acquired Telephia, provider of syndicated consumer research to the telecom and mobile media markets, with several existing Nielsen initiatives in the mobile market. Nielsen Mobile will use its unique measurement tools and large-scale, integrated consumer panels to understand and interpret the behaviors, attitudes and experiences of mobile consumers. Sid Gorham, the former CEO of Telephia and a 20-year veteran of the telecom industry, has been named president and CEO of Nielsen Mobile. Nielsen Itzhak Fisher, former executive chairman of BuzzMetrics, will lead Nielsen Online as executive chairman of the service.
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| Ratings & Research |
Big ratings for "Battle of the Undefeateds"
CBS is relishing a big draw for its Sunday NFL broadcast, which pitted the still-undefeated New England Patriots against the then-undefeated Dallas Cowboys. Sunday's 18.5 rating and 35 share is the highest rating in the metered markets for a regular-season "NFL on CBS" game since CBS re-acquired the NFL in 1998. The network says the previous high for a regular-season NFL on CBS game was a 16.9/33 on December 6, 1998 when Denver extended its unbeaten record to 13-0, defeating Kansas City by a score 35-31. The 18.5/35 also is the highest-rated NFL regular-season game-to-date in the 2007 season on any network and the highest overall for a regular- season NFL game since a 19.1/35 by Fox on December 3, 2006, when Dallas beat the New York Giants 23-20 on a last-second field goal.
More consumers are watching TV broadcasts online
 Close to 16% of American households who use the internet watch television broadcasts online, The Conference Board and TNS reported. The number of consumers viewing entire episodes/shows on the internet has doubled from a year ago. Nearly 73% of online households use the internet for entertainment purposes on a daily basis and an additional 15% search for entertainment several times a week. Online viewers cite personal convenience and avoiding commercials as their top two reasons for watching TV broadcasts on the Internet. Four out of every five online viewers say that watching these programs online has not changed their television viewing habits, but a small percentage claim that their traditional television viewing has decreased. Online users catching up on missed content have increased to 42% from 30% a year ago. Consumers viewing entire episodes on the internet have doubled, and now approximately half watch their favorite shows online. This has replaced the news as the most widely viewed content online.
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| Stock Talk |
Debt worries on Wall Street
Stock prices declined on Monday after some of the nation's biggest banks, urged on by the US Treasury, announced creation of a fund to buy up assets from structured investment vehicles (SIVs), which buy corporate bonds and subprime mortgage debt - essentially a bail-out of the crumbling subprime market. That worried traders because it showed that the issue is still roiling the credit markets. The Dow Industrials fell 108 points, or 0.8%, to 13,948.
TV stocks joined in the retreat. Hearst-Argyle dropped 6% after Hearst Corp. dropped its buyout bid. Media General declined 2.8%.
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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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3.83
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-0.05
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Lincoln Natl.
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LNC
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67.77
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-1.09
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Belo
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BLC
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19.34
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-0.23
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LIN TV
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TVL
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13.68
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+0.08
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| CBS CI. B |
CBS |
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29.29
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-0.60
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McGraw-Hill
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MHP
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51.78
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-0.99
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| CBS CI. A |
CBSa |
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29.33
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-0.52
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Media General
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MEG
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28.37
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-0.83
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Clear Channel
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CCU
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37.80
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+0.02
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Meredith
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MDP
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58.28
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-0.69
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Disney
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DIS
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35.14
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-0.33
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News Corp.
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NWS
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24.02
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-0.32
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Emmis
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EMMS
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5.52
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-0.06
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Nexstar
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NXST
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9.65
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-0.21
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Entravision
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EVC
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9.81
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-0.18
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Ion Media
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ION
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1.33
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-0.05
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| Equity Media |
EMDA |
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2.90 |
-0.05 |
Saga Commun.
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SGA
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7.78
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+0.09
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Fisher
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FSCI
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49.12
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-0.28
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SBS
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SBSA
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2.83
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+0.13
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Gannett
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GCI
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43.53
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-0.78
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Scripps
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SSP
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42.28
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-0.39
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Gen. Electric
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GE
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40.82
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-0.21
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Sinclair
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SBGI
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12.70
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-0.10
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| Google |
GOOG |
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620.11
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-17.28
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SWMX
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SWMX
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0.03
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-0.01
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Gray
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GTN
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9.34
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-0.13
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Time Warner
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TWX
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18.79
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-0.19
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Gray, C1. A
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GTNa
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9.35
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-0.18
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Tribune
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TRB
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29.73
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-0.13
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Hearst-Argyle
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HTV
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23.53
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-1.51
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Wash. Post
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WPO
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804.45
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+2.42
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Journal Comm.
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JRN
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9.72
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-0.11
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Young
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YBTVA
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2.39
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-0.09
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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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Cable Business Report
Opposition mounts
To Cablevision buyout, took 4 attempts by the Dolan family to come up with a bid...
Ad Business Report
Broadcasters unveil
697 million campaign on DTV transition
Internet Business Report
Technology waits for No One
Nielsen Online, Nielsen Mobile debut 2 new Internet & mobile measurement services...
Ratings & Research
Battle of the Undefeateds
Big ratings for CBS is relishing a big draw for its Sunday NFL broadcast...
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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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TV Media Moves
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Veterans join
Mega TV
 Spanish Broadcasting System's Mega TV announced the addition of two television veterans. Mauricio Gerson has joined the operation as Senior Vice-President of Programming and Development and Maggie Salas-Amaro as Director of Affiliate Relations. Before joining Mega TV, Gerson was the Senior Vice President of Programming at Telemundo Network Group, a division of NBC Universal. Salas-Amaro served as Director of Program Planning & Strategy at Telemundo Network Group.
 Maples to Equity
Bill Maples has joined Equity Media Holdings Corporation as General Manager of the company's Central Arkansas stations in the Little Rock Market: KWBF (Ch. 22, MyNetworkTV), KKYK (Ch. 20, RTN) and KLRA (Ch. 58, Univision). Maples comes to Equity Media from CBS, where he served as Director of Business Development for the CBS Television Station Group.
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More News Headlines
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Mitt Romney tops with campaign ad placement, so far
So far this year, Republican Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney has placed more political ads than any other two presidential candidates combined, according to The Nielsen Company findings. Altogether, Romney placed 10,893 political ads from 1/1 to 10/10/2007, compared to 5,975 for Bill Richardson and 4,293 for Barack Obama, the two runners-up. Almost 95% of the total 28,725 presidential campaign ads placed this year were on local television, and over 71% of those were placed in Iowa. During August, HillaryClinton.com (759,000) and BarackObama.com (749,000) continued to be in a tight race for the most unique visitors to their campaign websites.
Overall, the Democrats have taken the lead in running Presidential campaign advertising, with a total of 16,683 TV spots compared to 12,042 spots by the Republican candidates. Hillary Clinton has only run half as many ads as Richardson or Obama, but has spread her advertising around in many more states. With nearly 11,000 ads, Romney has far outpaced his Republican rivals. John McCain, for example, has run 166 local ads, all in New Hampshire, and Fred Thompson has run 13 ads, all on national cable. Both McCain and Thompson have only recently started running spots, with their ads airing since September. Rudy Giuliani continues his strategy of running ads exclusively on radio with a total of 642 spots airing during this time period.
Shield looks like
a go in the House
A bill that would provide a federal shield for reporters protecting sources recently cleared a key Senate committee with a 15-2 vote, and now it looks like the full House of Representatives is set to OK a version. According to USA Today, one of the bill's backers, former Talkmeister Mike Pence (R-IN) is expecting "a strong bipartisan vote," and Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is said to be ready to bring the matter to the floor.
Clear Channel letter bringing big bucks
Clear Channel CEO Mark Mays won't be keeping the letter from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), and signed by 40 other Democratic senators, demanding that Mays repudiate comments allegedly made by syndicated Talk host Rush Limbaugh. Mays is letting Limbaugh auction the original letter on eBay to raise money for a charity that provides scholarships for the children of US Marines and police officers killed in the line of duty. As of mid-day yesterday, the bidding had passed 45K. Limbaugh announced yesterday that he will match the winning bid with his own donation to the charity - and challenged Reid and the other signers, including presidential hopefuls Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL), to do the same. The online auction continues through Friday.
Ponderosa/Bonanza Steakhouses in review
Ponderosa/Bonanza Steakhouses are launching an agency review for their 8 million account that includes creative and media for television, radio, print, E-mail, direct mail, outdoor and interactive. A division of Metromedia Restaurant Group (MRG), Ponderosa/Bonanza oversees more than 340 steakhouse restaurants worldwide.
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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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Commercial Minute
Ratings as currency
Shari Anne Brill, SVP/director of programming for Carat USA and her team have issued an official white paper defining why the media agency endorses Average Commercial Minute ratings, including up to three days of DVR viewing, or "C3." The catalyst behind the industry's migration to Commercial Minute Ratings was the growing number of DVR households and the need to include the increasing amount timeshifted viewing. View the white paper in TVBR
10/15/07 TVBR #201
Hearst drops Hearst-Argyle bid
To buy out other shareholders of Hearst-Argyle Television for around 600 million bucks. The tender offer to buy out the public shareholders for 23.50 per share expired last Friday (10/12/07) and Hearst Corporation then announced that its buyout bid was over and that all tendered shares would be returned to the shareholders.
TVBR observation: It will be interesting to see what happens to Hearst-Argyle's stock price today. It had closed at 20.42 on August 23rd, before the buyout bid at 23.50 was announced the next day. Traders had bid the price up above the tender offer in expectation of Hearst Corporation being forced to raise its bid to get the job done. But, instead, there is now no longer a bid on the table.
10/15/07 TVBR #201
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TVBR Classifieds
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New Listing
General Sales Manager
KSBI-TV, Oklahoma statewide independent network, is seeking an experienced GSM. Candidate with proven track record. Key is to have knowledge is sales strategy with contacts in national and regional business. Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Management or Business preferred. Enjoy making a great income. Opportunities are tremendous. See TV Careers
Additional Positions
Available in TVBR Classifieds.
See TV Careers.
Hard finding that key person
to fill the important position at your organization? TVBR Classifieds, Results with Service. Contact April McLynn at classifieds@rbr.com
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