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Volume 23, Issue 43, Jim Carnegie, Editor & Publisher
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Thursday Morning March 2nd, 2006
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TV News ®
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 CBS to help affiliates get retrans cash
Speaking at a Bear Stearns investor conference in Florida, CBS Corp. CEO Les Moonves stood firm on his plan to make cable MSOs pay cash for retransmission consent now that CBS is separate from its former cable cousins at Viacom. And once CBS has gotten some experience under its belt negotiating retransmission deals for its O&O stations, Moonves says the net is going to help its affiliates go after the cable cash. At the Bear Stearns conference, Moonves said the first retrans deal will be announced within six weeks. "I can't comment on how much, but if some cable networks that have half our material get 25 cents [per month], we should be worth more than that," he said. Moonves noted that the retrans ramp-up will be gradual, beginning with a deal for 3-5 million subscribers, since some of the bigger deals currently in place don't come up for renewal until 2008, '09 and '10, covering 60 million households in all. Moonves said CBS is talking with some affiliate groups now about retrans negotiations. "Obviously the first few deals will be done on our own, and then we will incorporate them," he explained. The CBS honcho said he doesn't expect the other major networks to follow the same path, since ABC, NBC and Fox can continue to negotiate package deals with the MSOs including both their cable nets and broadcast stations. But in his view, CBS and Viacom are both better off than before their split, since Viacom can negotiate for payments based on the value of its established cable nets and CBS can go after payments separately for its broadcast signals.
 Nielsen turns thumbs down
on PPM joint venture
There'll be no common ratings currency for radio, TV and cable. Nielsen Media Research has decided not to exercise its option for a joint venture with Arbitron to deploy Arbitron's Portable People Meter (PPM) commercially across the US. Nielsen says it may license PPM for use in measuring out-of-home viewing, but is evaluating other options for measuring in-home viewing. Also, Nielsen owner VNU will continue Project Apollo with Arbitron, which is using PPM for a national research panel. In nixing a joint venture, Nielsen said it had concerns about both the PPM methodology and its cost. "We recognize the appeal of a portable, single source measurement tool. While it may offer considerable benefits for radio research, we believe that a one-size-fits-all measurement system is not the approach for a currency in today's complex television markets," said Nielsen Media Research CEO Susan Whiting. Nielsen said yesterday it had concerns about sample quality, including fault rates, said PPM's definition of "audience" resulted in "large and still unexplained increases in television viewership," which it attributed to PPM being designed to measure radio rather than TV, said that costs would be high and it appeared that TV would be subsidizing radio measurement, and questioned how many TV companies really support moving to PPM measurement. At Arbitron, CEO Steve Morris said his company will focus on its "radio only" option for rolling out PPM. Without having Nielsen as a partner, he noted that Arbitron will have "complete flexibility" for where and how to roll out PPM - - not mentioning that it will mean that the cost will be higher for radio broadcasters. Morris will hold a conference call with Wall Street analysts this morning to discuss the financial ramifications of the Nielsen decision to walk away. With no joint venture, Arbitron said it expects 2006 earnings per share to be 1.65-170.
TVBR observation: While Arbitron is disappointed that Nielsen is passing on PPM, another group that's sure to be upset are the advertising agencies who have been pushing for Nielsen and Arbitron to both deploy PPM - - and the sooner the better. Look for Susan Whiting to get an earful today at the 4As convention in Orlando, where the room will be full of folks who want nothing more than a single currency for radio, TV and cable - - and she will be the one who has burst their balloon.
TVBR Exclusive
Whiting explains; others react to PPM decision at 4As
In an exclusive interview with RBR/TVBR shortly after she arrived in Orland for the AAAAs gathering last night, Nielsen Media Research CEO Susan Whiting explained her decision to pass on doing a PPM joint venture with Arbitron. She said in talks with clients, Nielsen 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," she said. After looking at Arbitron's PPM testing and the financial requirements of a joint venture, which she said would have amounted to television subsidizing radio measurement, Nielsen decided that the joint venture was not the way to go. "We just decided that it was better for us to continue on our path with a portfolio of new tools for television, and radio to have its own path, and that the place we would work together using the PPM was really in the out-of-home measurement and also in Project Apollo. So this decision is only really about the decision we had to make on the option we had to join a joint venture for currency, but it doesn't stop us from - - and we are, in fact going to be talking to Arbitron about using that technology for measuring outside the home and also continue to use it for the Project Apollo joint venture. It's very specifically about television in the home and we had to make that decision yesterday," Whiting said. As the advertising industry assembled in Orlando for the AAAAs conference, there was plenty of reaction to the Nielsen decision to pass on a PPM joint venture.
| Read More... |
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Internet, cable are hot, says TNS
TNS Media Intelligence says that advertising growth in the US as a relatively stagnant 3% in 2005. It blames caution on both sides of the commercial divide, both among businesses and consumers, for a Q4 tap on the brakes. TNS SVP Jon Swallen went further, saying, "Large blue chip advertisers, as a group, have recently cut back their ad budgets. The growth is currently coming from outside the top 100 marketers." The total spent on advertising in 2005, as measured by TNS, was 143.3B. The greatest growth came from the smallest category - - local magazines - - up 21.3% to 385.5M (it's also the only one of 17 categories under 1B in total revenue). Of the major categories, Internet was up 13.3% and CATV was up 11.4%. The biggest loser was spot TV (minus Hispanic spot), which dropped 9.5%. In fact, it was generally a rough year for television, a fact which is now becoming a standard feature of odd years, with their dearth of election activity and complete absence of Olympic action.
| See charts here |
 Alarcón closes Miami buy
and launches Mega TV
Spanish Broadcasting System is now in the TV business, launching "Mega TV" yesterday on Channel 22 in the Miami market as WSBS-TV. Programming features TV versions of some of its radio shows, a debate program, dance and music contests, reality and entertainment shows, and an interactive spy game show. "The launch of Mega TV reflects our long term vision of creating multiple branded entertainment channels that will further unlock the substantial value of our proprietary content. This content consistently generates substantial audience shares in the nation's largest Hispanic markets. When combined with several fresh and engaging new shows, we are certain Mega TV is an ideal platform in which to extend our winning brands," said SBS CEO Raúl Alarcón. SBS completed its purchase of what had been WDLP-TV Key West and its Miami LPTV on Tuesday (2/28) after paying 550K for two contract extensions to raise the total price to 37.55 million.
| Here's a look at the programming for the new station. |
Watchdog dog fight over indecency
TV Watch, essentially a watchdog of watchdogs formed by a coalition of television and free speech interests, is getting ahead of the curve by protesting the rumors of upcoming government action on the indecency front. It is asking why there is so much fuss when the general public is generally silent on the matter. The reason, it claims, is the Parents Televison Council, which in many cases is single-handedly flooding the FCC with complaints about specific programs which seem to generate little if any seconding complaints from the public, despite the fact that the viewers of these programs often number in the tens of millions. The charge: "The Parents Television Council (PTC) is an activist group that pushes the government to enforce their personal television preferences on all Americans." TV Watch explains, "These special interest groups abuse the complaint process, knowing that by filing one single complaint they can force the federal government to begin investigating a moment of broadcast television. If they are successful, fewer people than it takes to field a baseball team can change what we all see on TV."
TVBR observation: Polls have shown that a majority realize there is racy material on TV and the radio. They also show that a similar-sized majority want the government to refrain from regulating program content. TV Watch is pushing the video content safeguards already built into television receivers and provided by cable systems. And although there are know technological magic bullets that work the same way for radio, parents at this Epaper have not had any problem with our children being subjected to improper radio programming. We don't want anybody, from PTC or anywhere else, "protecting" us from the media, thank you very much.
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| From the AAAA's in Orlando |
 New initiative to be
announced at AAAAs
RBR/TVBR attended the AAAAs Welcome Reception last night in Orlando amongst a record crowd of attendees. Probably one of the most anticipated disclosures at the show will be what Jon Mandel, Chairman/MediaCom US and Chief Global Buying Officer MediaCom Worldwide, first alluded to and what Jean Pool, EVP/Director of North American Operations Universal McCann, Chairman of Media Policy at the AAAAs and Ray Warren, Carat Americas President, confirmed: In response to ABC's Mike Shaw's recent ultimatum that ABC will not do business in the 2006-07 upfront with media agencies that insist on using only Nielsen's live ratings as the measurement currency, there will be a new way of doing business unveiled for the upfront.
Pool tells RBR/TVBR: "I will be announcing a new initiative on Thursday."
Mandel adds: "It's going to be in Jean's [keynote] speech [at 8:45 AM]. It's so simple and elegant. It really gets at...I mean everybody is talking about the wrong thing. Jean is making a speech about it, among a number of things."
Will the television side be on the same page as the media agencies when it's unveiled?
"At first, they won't," says Mandel. "But if they calmly think about it, they'll realize it solves all of the problems. And more than that, it gives the television business, and frankly the radio business, a better leg to stand on when they're competing with all of the 'so-called' accountable media." RBR/TVBR will be there to bring you the details.
Media agencies swarm Orlando
Today marks the first day open to everyone for the American Association of Advertising Agencies' annual conference, this time in Orlando at The Royal Pacific Resort. The focus is on the now rapidly changing and fragmenting media landscape and its transition to wireless and online, where the accountability is supreme. The new digital technologies that are fragmenting audiences and forcing advertisers to find new ways to market their products are reflected in the panel session topics. The conference's theme: "Now, Soon and the Future." Among the topics: "How to Sell Non Traditional Media Ideas to Your Clients"; the "Shape of the Modern Media Organization" and "Deconstructing Branded Entertainment." Among the speakers are former VP Al Gore, who runs Current, the youth-oriented current-affairs channel; David Verklin, Carat Americas CEO; Joe Uva, OMD CEO; Irwin Gotlieb, head of GroupM and Jack Klues, who oversees Publicis Groupe Media. We hear this is a record year for advertiser/client attendance. As advertisers pare down TV advertising and look to cellphones, blogs, podcasts and gaming, they are increasingly turning to media agencies-and their conferences-for enlightenment. And, of course, the real search for the Holy Grail will be in finding better measurement of the effectiveness of advertising-the cause-and-effect relationship between a marketing act and some kind of consumer action.
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| Cable Business Report TM |
 Charter spins off some subs
As it works to cut its 20 billion debt load, Charter Communications has announced two deals to sell systems serving about 549,000 revenue generating units, RGUs (316K analog subs, 142K digital subs and 91K high-speed Internet subs), for 896 million - - with all of the proceeds to be used to pay down debt. Cebridge Acquisition Co. is buying systems in West Virginia and Virginia serving 434K RGUs. Cebridge's primary owners are GS Capital Partners (the private equity arm of Goldman Sachs) and Oaktree Capital Management. New Wave Communications is buying systems in Illinois and Kentucky with 115K RGUs. It's major investor is Wachovia Capital Partners. Charter was advised on the sales by Daniels & Associates and JPMorgan Securities. Charter reported this week that Q4 revenues rose 5.2% to 1.34 billion, but its loss for the quarter was 336 million, down only slightly from 340 million a year earlier.
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| Wall Street Media Business Report TM |
TV down 13% at Washington Post
With little in the way of political advertising, like other TV groups, the Post-Newsweek TV group saw revenues decline 13% in Q4 to 90.1 million. However, gains in the education and magazine divisions brought the quarter in above expectations for the entire Washington Post Company. Net income for the full year was down 5.5% to 314.3 million, or 32.59 per share, but that was well ahead of the Thompson/First Call consensus of 29.64. Q4 newspaper revenues were down 3% to 957.1 million, with ad revenues down 7% in Q4 for the Washington Post newspaper. By the way, if you want to listen to the company's quarterly conference call, you're out of luck. They don't do them.
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Ad Business Report TM
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Transit TV attracts eyes, willing or not
Los Angeles has joined the list of municipalities which have opened up public transportation to a closed system of videocasts. Bus rides in the sprawling metropolis now feature a program complete with "...printed trivia, nature footage, weather and ads, with a spot of news thrown straight in," according to reporter Donnell Alexander of Los Angeles CityBeat, who experienced it firsthand. Everywhere you turn, there's another player with a hungry mouth and a fork poised and ready to carve out a piece of the media pie. Alexander noted the low quality of the broadcast (updated electronically when the bus passes a strategically-located "hot spot") and his own possession of reading material, and seemed almost chagrined that his eyes continually strayed to the video monitors mounted in the front and toward the back of the bus. Other riders, without reading material, gave the system their full attention. The system's owner, based in Orlando FL, is said to have systems up and running in Chicago, Milwaukee and Atlanta. For the cities, it's found money. For broadcasters, it's found competition.
 Media Audit
trying to cell out?
Broadcast data provider Media Audit and partner Ipsos (MA/I) note that Arbitron is thinking about using cell phones to recruit the perennially survey-shy younger men demos in an effort to increase their participation in diary keeping. MA/I thinks that's a start, but is looking to go one step further - - they want to get a phone into the hands of young men - - and other groups - - that will eliminate the diary and actual do the measurement. They figure that it will be a relatively easy matter to get young men and minorities to use a "Smart Phone" which will measure a wide variety of media. MA/I says the roster of measurable media will include "...radio, television, radio and television streaming via the internet, cable, satellite television, and billboards." It notes that the increasing use of cell phone for multiple purposes will entice young men and minorities to carry them; indeed, the groups are already the most likely to purchase a cell in the near future. 20% of the general public are said to be in the market. How many men 18-24? About twice that, at 39%. 30% of Blacks and 27% of Hispanics are also in the market.
Global management team announced for Neo@Ogilvy
Neo@Ogilvy announced the appointment of key management to serve its fastest growing regions. In North America, Eric Wheeler, Managing Director of OgilvyInteractive North America, was appointed to the additional post of CEO of Neo@Ogilvy, North America. In Asia Pacific, Ken Mandel, Vice President of Digital, was named to the additional role of CEO of Neo@Ogilvy, Asia Pacific. "Both executives have a deep grasp of the digital space and understand the growing importance of developing and offering integrated marketing platforms to our clients around the world. Both will have dual roles, keeping them involved in all aspects of the agency's diversified digital offering. They will soon be joined by a European CEO whose appointment is imminent," said Nasreen Madhany, Neo@Ogilvy's Global CEO. Neo@Ogilvy manages digital media investment for clients covering digital advertising and direct marketing, digital and direct TV, direct response print and email, email marketing, search marketing and new forms of digital media such as blogs and vlogs.
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| Media Markets & Money TM |
Bidding group for VNU said to shrink
Reports from both the Financial Times of London and Reuters say Permira, a European equity investment group, has dropped out of the private equity team preparing a bid for VNU, indicating that it was unable to justify upping the price to be offered. That leaves six members: Netherlands-based AlpInvest and five US partners, Blackstone, Carlyle, KKR, Hellman & Friedman and Thomas H. Lee. VNU had previously indicated that it expected to receive a bid by the end of February, but it appears that never-firm deadline has been extended. Some of VNU's largest shareholders are said to be dissatisfied with the indicated bid price of around 8.8 billion bucks and would prefer to sell off the company in pieces themselves (2/15/06 TVBR #32).
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| Washington Media Business Report TM |
 Is a la carte picking up steam
at the FCC?
Kevin Martin is on record as a proponent of a la carte cable channel options for subscribers. He went to the trouble of having a Michael Powell-era study on the topic which found that is would increase consumer expense while damaging niche channels redone, coming to opposite conclusions on both counts, a new result disputed by Booz Allen, the entity which produced the study in first place. In the meantime, cable and satellite companies have been developing and offering family-friendly tiers as options for subs short of a la carte, and Ted Stevens (R-AK), head of the all-important Senate Commerce Committee, seems to see them as a possible way to avoid sticky legislative wars and even stickier court disputes which would likely be the result of any legislation on a la carte. Nevertheless, the FCC may act on its own at the urging of Chairman Martin. The newest member of the FCC, Debi Tate, came aboard just about the time the family tiers were being announced and seemed satisfied to adopt the Stevens approach - - giving them a chance to germinate. Now, however, she appears to have moved closer to Martin's view on the matter. "I've been applauding them," she said of family-tier MVPDs at an NAB function in Washington, "At the same time I've been saying, I don't think you've gone far enough."
TVBR observation: The common-sense argument for a la carte is that nobody should be forced to pay for something they don't want and won't use. It gets even thornier when aggrieved MVPD subscribers believe that they are actually subsidizing objectionable material which they have to go to the trouble of blocking so their children won't see it. It is instructive to note, however, that niche and religious programmers alike are extremely worried about the a la carte movement. Why are they so worried if a la carte will actually increase diversity? On the topic of pricing, cable companies note that blocking technology is already factored in. Setting up an entire new billing infrastructure and - - even more to the point - - infrastructure to deliver snowflake program lineups to thousands of subscribers, is not. Can legislators and regulators accurately say that a la carte will not increase subscriber costs? We suggest denizens of the Hill and the across the Mall at the Portals proceed with extreme caution on this matter.
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| Internet Media Business Report TM |
2005 Internet advertising estimated at 12.5 billion
Spending on Internet advertising in Q4 was 3.6 billion, according to estimates by PricewaterhouseCoopers for the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB). That brought the total for 2005 to 12.5 billion, up 30% from the previous record of 9.6 billion in 2004. "We fully expect Interactive to continue to play an ever increasing role of importance for marketers," said IAB CEO Greg Stuart.
TVBR observation: The bad news for broadcasters is that advertisers are looking more and more to the web as a real advertising platform - - with auto makers and dealers leading the charge. The good news for broadcasters is that you can compete with the best of them on the Internet, since you have established brand identity and valuable content.
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| Ratings & Research |
 TiVoers prefer Idol & Housewives to Olympics
Folks with TiVo devices did watch NBC's coverage of the Torino Olympics, and most watched the games telecast live. But they didn't abandon their mainstay favorites and in the latest week reported (which did not include the last day of the Olympics), preferred three showings of Fox's "American Idol" and one each of ABC's "Desperate Housewives" and "Grey's Anatomy."
| Tivo Top 25 |
More spots in 2006 Olympics wrap-up
The ad counters at Nielsen Monitor-Plus say NBC ran 35 minutes of national commercials during Sunday's three-hour telecast of the closing ceremonies at the Torino Winter Olympics. That's up from 31 minutes four years ago for the Salt Lake City Games. Auto ads dominated, claiming 7.5 minutes. The biggest advertisers, though, were from other categories, with Coke, Gillett and Visa each airing two minutes of spots in the closing ceremonies telecast. In addition to those 35 minutes of paid spots, Nielsen Monitor-Plus notes that NBC also used six minutes to promote its own shows, including "Conviction," "Deal or No Deal," "Las Vegas," "Apprentice," "Law & Order," "My Name is Earl, "Today," and "West Wing."
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| Stock Talk |
Google this: How low can you go?
A warning from Google that its rapid growth can't continue unabated (and what sensible person thought it could?) brought tech stocks crashing to earth in Wednesday's trading, with tepid economic news adding to the downward slide. The Dow Industrials fell 60 points, or 0.6%, to 11,054. But the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 1.5%.
TV stocks had a better day, with most gaining a little ground. Saga was down for a second day after its disappointing Q4 results, falling 3.5%. SBS was up 2.3% as it launched its first TV station. The biggest gainer was Sinclair, up 3.1%.
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| Stocks |
Here's how stocks fared on Wednesday
| Company |
Symbol |
Close |
Change |
Company |
Symbol |
Close |
Change |
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Acme
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ACME
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3.75
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+0.06
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LIN TV
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TVL
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9.46
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+0.13
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Belo
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BLC
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21.66
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+0.42
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McGraw-Hill
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MHP
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54.28
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+1.19
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| CBS CI. B |
CBS |
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24.65
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+0.19
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Media General
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MEG
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50.80
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+0.70
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| CBS CI. A |
CBSa |
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24.61
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+0.14
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Meredith
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MDP
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54.94
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-0.15
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Clear Channel
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CCU
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28.59
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+0.29
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News Corp.
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NWS
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17.37
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+0.22
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Disney
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DIS
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28.09
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+0.10
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Nexstar
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NXST
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4.12
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+0.06
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Emmis
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EMMS
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16.37
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unch
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NY Times
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NYT
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28.28
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+0.06
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Entravision
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EVC
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7.50
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+0.07
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Paxson
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PAX
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0.97
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+0.01
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Fisher
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FSCI
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43.13
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+0.33
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Saga Commun.
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SGA
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9.14
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-0.33
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Gannett
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GCI
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62.73
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+0.57
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SBS
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SBSA
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5.74
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+0.13
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Gen. Electric
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GE
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32.76
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+0.11
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Scripps
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SSP
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48.59
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+0.51
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Granite
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GBTVK
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0.14
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unch
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Sinclair
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SBGI
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7.41
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+0.22
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Gray
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GTN
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8.50
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+0.08
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Time Warner
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TWX
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17.41
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+0.10
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Gray, C1. A
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GTNa
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8.05
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-0.17
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Tribune
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TRB
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30.76
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+0.16
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Hearst-Argyle
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HTV
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23.89
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+0.02
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Univision
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UVN
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33.84
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+0.39
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Jeff-Pilot
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JP
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59.97
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-0.28
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Wash. Post
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WPO
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756.50
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+4.25
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Journal Comm.
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JRN
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12.32
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+0.01
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Young
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YBTVA
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2.97
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-0.06
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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
 It's not the athletes that dampened NBC's ratings (2/28/06 TVBR #41), it was their terrible coverage. Blame the producers and directors who were likely brought out of retirement homes to do the games. Get ESPN to do the next winter games and watch the ratings climb. Imagine the "Best Damn Sports Show" after every night's coverage! Wow...that would be fun.
The Very Best,
John Lund
The Lund Consultants
to Broadcast Management, Inc.,
and Lund Media Research
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TV Media Moves
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 From TV to
the Grammys
Former Paramount Pictures Television Sr. VP David Grossman has been named Exec. VP of the Recording Academy, the organization that, among other things, gives out the Grammy Awards. Grossman will handle business development, artist relations and long-range planning.
Greene upped at Harris
With Gary McArthur promoted to CFO (3/1/06 TVBR #42), Harris Corporation has now promoted Charles "Chuck" Greene to VP/Tax and Treasurer. He had been Assistant Treasurer when McArthur was Treasurer.
 Vaughn returns
to NBC News
Former "Today" supervising producer Doug Vaughn is back at NBC News as a Vice President. He won't need to change 401(k) or health plans. Since 2002 Vaughn had been VP of Special Programs for NBC Entertainment. In fact, he'll still oversee special programming for NBC Entertainment while developing long form programming for NBC News and overseeing booking efforts for all NBC News programs.
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More News Headlines
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Four honored
as Pioneers
A quartet of veteran broadcasters will honored with the 2006 Broadcast Pioneer Awards, to be presented at the Broadcasters' Foundation Breakfast during NAB2006 next month in Las Vegas. The honorees are the former president of RKO Radio, Dwight Case, Hearst Corporation Director and former President & CEO of Hearst Argyle Television John Conomikes, Radio Advertising Bureau President Gary Fries, the Tichenor Family and the President and CEO of Barrington Broadcasting, K. James Yager.
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RBR - Radio News
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Radio noses up, slightly
Momentum in national radio advertising eclipsed a minor slump in the local category, bringing advertising for the month of January 2006 a percentage point ahead of the same month a year earlier. Gains in non-spot, which edged into double digits, also contributed. Local was down 1%, but was able to ride the coattails of 6%-gaining national into the black ink. We said that non-spot edged into double-digit territory, and we did not exaggerate - - it gained 10%.
RBR observation: These results confirm what we've been hearing in conference call after conference call - - the year is starting out sluggishly. February may be depressed as well, since the Olympics have a tendency to draw cash away from radio. However, upcoming comps comparing LIM stats to year-old LIM stats should, if nothing else, supply favorable cosmetic results, and the end of the Olympics should return real dollars to radio. And political buying, which seems more and more to be a key category for radio, will continue to gather steam through November.
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TVBR Radar 2005
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Television News you won't read any where else. TVBR--First, Accurate, and Independently Owned.
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CBS sues Howard Stern
for mega bucks
Howard Stern got more than 600 million bucks by moving from Infinity Radio (now CBS Radio) to Sirius Satellite Radio, but now CBS is claiming that it deserves a big chunk of that cash. It's sued Stern and his agent, Don Buchwald, in a New York state court, claiming multiple breaches of contract, fraud, unjust enrichment and misappropriation of CBS Radio's broadcast time.
 TVBR observation: Got to print out the legal action but there are two sides to a coin. Stern made no bones he was leaving and CBS higher ups left him on the air. CBS made money from Stern in the process even when Stern asked to be let out of his contract and said so on CBS 60-minutes. So where is the beef? Sirius is still struggling and CBS is out a bunch - No - a 'you know what' pot load of money without Stern. CBS should take a harder look at all their programming and money they are spending for current air talent because it is not working worth Jack, (cough)! Both are getting headlines and it seems that is what they need to drum up ad business. Sometime this year someone at CBS radio is going to walk the plank. Read the lawsuit here
03/01/06 TVBR #42
TV is #1 news source
54% of Americans have a daily local broadcast TV news habit, and more than three out of four go there for news, if not every day, then several times a week. The total with a weekly habit is 77%.
TVBR observation: Use the stats in your sales and programming departments.
02/28/06 TVBR #41
Competition douses Olympic flame
The February sweeps ended but they pretty much wrapped up for NBC as the Torino Winter Olympics concluded. And while the Peacock net is crowing about winning three weeks in a row for primetime viewership, with an average 20.5 million viewers in primetime through Saturday, it's clear that the Olympics is no longer a guaranteed ratings bonanza. Rather than roll over and schedule reruns, as had been the practice in past Olympic months, ABC and Fox saw a ratings weakened NBC and decided to battle the Olympics head-on and were winners.
TVBR observation: Would it have made a big difference for NBC if popular figure skater Michelle Kwan hadn't been injured and skier Bode Miller had delivered even a single medal after all the hype he had going into the Winter Games? Perhaps it would have helped NBC's ratings somewhat. But we think there's really been a shift in how Americans relate to the Olympics it is call viewing now and not tape delay.
02/28/06 TVBR #41
 MyNetwork TV a network or not
TVBR hears there's a bit of an issue out there as to whether MyNetwork TV is really a network or not. Care to clarify? Bob Cesa, EVP/Advertising Sales Twentieth Television & DIRECTV - "When something is new, some may not have heard everything the way we wanted it to come out. First of all, it is a network service that we're starting. We going to run in-pattern, just as the WB and UPN networks did, with the same stations. We haven't, certainly, cleared all of the stations. We've got a long way to go, but our launch pad is our 10 stations that reach 25% of the country...."
02/27/06 TVBR #40
More media agencies look
at MyNetwork TV
Jon Mandel, Chairman/MediaCom US was unmoved: "I don't know why you're calling me about a network-this is not a network. This is a syndicator with a group deal. All it is, is a syndicator selling a program to the vertically-integrated station group that's trying to get other people to go in. Big deal. Every syndicator wants to be a network. It's pretty funny-just because you call yourself a network doesn't make yourself a network."
02/24/06 RBR #39
Most want to choose
their own TV lineup
Three out of four Americans, if they had their druthers, would elect to cherry-pick their own personal cable television channel lineup, rather than have bundled channels as assembled by the cable operator.
TVBR observation: The question that wasn't asked is this: Would you rather pay more money for less options under an a la carte system, or would you rather go to the minimal trouble to learn to operate existing channel blocking and V-Chip technology and as a reward get more channels for less money? The a la carte movement is gathering steam.
02/24/06 TVBR #39
Law & Order comes
to ABC News Radio
Speculation goes to truth and justice as RBR previously reported with former Sen. Fred Thompson, R-Tenn, now Law & Order DA star to the post of special program host and senior analyst starting this spring.
TVBR observation: What do Paul Harvey, Casey Kasem, Howard Stern and Rush Limbaugh have in common? Each is such a unique radio personality that they can't be replaced. Thompson has a unique voice for radio and style but also has access to the press and to political leaders as well. TVBR sees Thompson being utilized more than just a Harvey replacement.
02/24/06 TVBR #39
FCC and/or CBS ready to
sound off on indecency?
According to numerous reports, the long-awaited next round in the indecency wars is about to commence. Decisions on 40-some separate cases are ready to be unveiled. The big enchilada will be the refusal of the Commission to back down from its 550K action against CBS Television for the infamous 2004 Super Bowl incident featuring Janet Jackson.
TVBR observation: After getting hit with a number of FCC fines, then-CBS honcho Mel Karmazin vowed to comply and fight but Karmazin is long gone but the fight of this incident continues.
02/24/06 TVBR #39
 Clear Channel says
corner has been turned
Has weathered the tough year of 2005. The loss of inventory due to its less is more (LIM) initiative caused a 6% loss in radio revenue over the course of 2005, but the positive effect has been an increase in ratings, thanks to stations with less commercials and fewer breaks. Outdoor did well but there's more on the CCU drawing board - - or to put it another way, there will be further stress placed on items already on the drawing board. In particular, CCU execs noted the increased reliance by the automotive category in the Internet.
TVBR observation: Weathered the tough 2005 is correct and now the hard work begins as all clear eyes will be on 'LIM' by comparing the apples to apples. The radio medium waits for the Q1 2006 conference call results as many report that pacing for first quarter is way off in many markets and second quarter as of today is so-so.
02/22/06 TVBR #37
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