TV News ®

Indecency: An amendment not made
Democrats took the opportunity of the markup of H.R. 3717 "Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act of 2004" to remind their Republican colleagues that there are other broadcasting issues as yet unresolved which need attention. The amendments were made with the full intention of withdrawing them, just to have them read into the record, but the intent is clear. Battle lines over consolidation and crossownership remain drawn. | Full Story Click Here |

CBS and NBC both claim sweeps win
The final numbers aren't in yet, but both CBS and NBC are claiming victory in the February sweeps. Of course, NBC, as always, is focused exclusively on the 18-49 demo, while CBS is crowing about winning the crown for total viewership.
| Full Story Click Here |

Christian "cautiously optimistic" about 2004
It may be an often-heard phrase, but Saga Communications CEO Ed Christian was sticking with saying he was "cautiously optimistic" about the year ahead when talking with analysts yesterday.
He noted that there had been a couple of previous false-starts to an advertising recovery, but right now things are looking good. Christian also noted that right now the recovery is stronger for Saga's radio stations than for TV. That's good news for Saga, which gets the overwhelming majority of its revenues and cash flow from radio.

Conference Calls, Q4 2003

Saga beats Q4 expectations
For yet another quarter market by lackluster performance industry-wide, Saga Communications was proud to report that its Q4 revenues were up 5.2% to $32.9M - - well above the $31M that Wall Street had been expecting. For the current quarter, Saga is telling The Street to expect growth of 2-4%. | Full Story Click Here |

Sen. McCain needs to get his facts straight
For many years we've noticed that Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) has a bad habit of making knee-jerk decisions and never bothering to check whether the facts back up his assumptions. He did it again Friday (2/27) by declaring at a Radio & Records seminar in Washington that consolidation is responsible for increasing incidents of indecent broadcasting. The facts certainly don't offer any support for that view. "If a company has 1,200 stations and may of those stations carry the same programming, that is going to exaggerate the problem," McCain was quoted as saying. So, where is the evidence to support that conclusion? Well, there isn't any. | Full Story Click Here |

Washington Beat

And so it goes in Washington
Wednesday marked the first day at the gavel for Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX), piloting the House Committee on Energy and Commerce in place of outgoing Chairman Billy Tauzin (R-LA). Everyone on both sides of the aisle who had a chance at a live mic made a point of acknowledging Barton and wishing him well. Few did so as eloquently and with as much time as Ranking Member John Dingell (D-MI), who sat in Barton's chair for a great many sessions during his 50 years on the Committee. In closing, he said that he hoped Barton's tenure would be successful. And rewarding. And full of accomplishment. Etcetera, etcetera, etcetera... and he finally wound down to this conclusion: "...and short."

Programming

Hiz Honor to play Hiz Honor
Following in the footsteps of Ed Koch, New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg is about to make his TV series debut. The role shouldn't be much of a stretch, though. Bloomberg will play himself in two scenes for an upcoming episode of NBC's "Law & Order." The mayor will be shown speaking at news conferences about the episode's murder victim - - an assistant district attorney. By the way, the billionaire mayor is donating his $678 paycheck to a fund for the families of deceased police officers and firefighters.

UPN on rapper hunt
UPN announced that it will launch a new rap-oriented reality series starring Grammy winner Missy Elliott. Tentatively titled the "Missy Elliott Project," the show will feature hip-hop wannabes showing their stuff - - singing, rapping and dancing. You know the drill - - the contestants live, work and train together and some are voted off the show each week. The first auditions will be this weekend in LA.

TV Ratings

ABC wins the week
The Academy Awards are always a good draw and Sunday's broadcast was the strongest in years, so ABC was well positioned for a rare first place finish in the weekly Nielsen ratings. With a good showing by a Barbara Walters special and "Super Millionaire" thrown in, that rarity came to be. | Full Story Click Here |

TVB: Broadcast scored 99 out of 100 for the week
In the 23rd week of the 2003-04 broadcast season, ended Sunday, Feb. 29, broadcast topped ad-supported cable by substantial margins, according to a TVB analysis of Nielsen Media Research figures. | Full Story Click Here |

If you didn't hit goal in 2003, what are you going to do differently this year? - Part 2 of 3
By Jeffrey Myers, Personal Selling Principles
As broadcasters evaluate 2003 performance, it's also time to consider how to improve in 2004. As you evaluate your company's leadership, here are some questions that may help you assess whether you have good managers or strong leaders. | Full Story Click Here |

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