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Volume 22, Issue 79, Jim Carnegie, Editor & Publisher
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Thursday Morning April 21st, 2005
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TV News®
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 Fritts looks into his crystal ball
Look for the NAB and a number of broadcasters to file today for the FCC to reconsider its rejection of multicast must-carry. Even so, Eddie Fritts doesn't expect the Commission to have the final word on the subject. Rather, he says he expects multicast to be part of a broader DTV bill that will come out of Congress in the next six months. The outgoing NAB President also expects Congress to pass new broadcast indecency legislation, regardless of the guidelines developed by the NAB task force on responsible programming. "It might well help modify legislation," he noted. But in the end, he expects someone to file a court challenge of the new law. As the last NAB Las Vegas convention of his 23-year tenure drew to an end, Fritts was pleased to report a nearly 7,000 increase in attendance over last year to 104,427 - - a bump up that he attributed to the quickened pace of digital for both radio and TV. He also estimated that vendors at the convention would generate 36 billion in business at the show and over the next six months from leads developed in Las Vegas. Asked what advice he has for his successor, who is yet to be chosen, Fritts said, "Depend on the professionalism of the NAB staff...and do like I've done, stay out of the way."
Susquehanna Media officially on the Block
CEO David Kennedy this past Wednesday refused, 04/19/05 RBR #78, to make any comment on whether his company is for sale well Kennedy can now speak freely as Susquehanna Pfaltzgraff Co. Chairman Louis J.Appell, Jr. made it official and now easier for Kennedy to speak. The For Sale sign is posted. If you didn’t know Pfaltzgraff is the oldest continuously operating pottery manufacturing company in the United States and privately owned. Being private and family owned played a part in the Appell’s decision, “The passage of time has had a major impact on corporate and family circumstances, including the absence of a member of the younger generation inclined to assume a leading management role. Consequently, the family shareholders concluded that we have a responsibility to examine the potential strategic options for our businesses." RBR/TVBR suspected and analyzed the sell-off is being driven by the estate settlement needs of the founding family. Because the tax basis is near zero for the radio stations and cable systems which mostly have been under the same ownership for decades, so look for a stock-swap deal with a public company which will keep the seller from having to pay a big capital gains tax bill. The company has retained UBS Investment Bank to manage the sale of 33 radio stations, cable television systems in six states, an Internet service provider and an e-business provider. Its radio stations are concentrated in San Francisco, Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Cincinnati, Kansas City, Mo., and Indianapolis. Its cable unit serves 230,000 subscribers, most of them in York and Williamsport and Sawaya & Segalas & Co. LLC will manage the sale of The Pfaltzgraff Company.
TVBR observation: Guess what - we were correct in our analysis of why and will stick with our original observation of Public stock, radio group, cable MSO - - can you name one company that fits the bill? Yep, that makes Cox Enterprises the most likely buyer. It could presumably structure a transaction which would pay for Susquehanna Media with the public stock of Cox Radio, then move the cable properties into Cox Communications, which Cox Enterprises recently took private. The company has retained UBS Investment Bank to manage the sale of Susquehanna Media Company, and Sawaya & Segalas & Co. LLC to manage the sale of The Pfaltzgraff Company.
Viacom split may get May OK
A board of directors vote to consider the rending of Viacom into two companies may come as early as 5/3/05, and if not then, during another meeting later in the same month. If approved, the split would then be put on track for completion in early 2006. One would be based around MTV, other cable properties and new ventures, and would aim for rapid growth. The other, based on mature Viacom businesses such as TV networks, broadcast stations, outdoor and other assets, would be a stable, steady earner appealing to long-term investors. Tom Freston, who would handle the MTV side of the split, told Reuters that he would expect double-digit growth coming out of the box - - the trick will be to capitalize on new opportunities presented by new media to keep the company in that growth range. He also said that the split into two companies would result in another split - - that being the split of Sumner Redstone. According to Freston, at that point, Redstone will leave each company in the care and feeding of Freston and Leslie Moonves.
 Public indecisive on indecency?
As a group, we think government program content intervention is a greater threat than indecent programming, but we want the government to intervene. We think we the audience are the most responsible for indecent content, but we want to punish the producers. We think we the audience are the best indecency police, but we want more government enforcement. Such are the findings of a Pew Research Center study. Check these numbers: 48% say undue government restriction is the greater danger, compared to 41% who say harmful content is worse. When asked who's more responsible for racy and/or violent content, 50% cited the audience, compared to 34% for producers and 13% who blame both. And the audience was cited as the best enforcer: 37% say public boycotts are the best deterrent, compared to 32% who prefer government rules and fines, and 23% for industry self-policing. Nevertheless, 75% want stricter government enforcement; 69% want bigger fines as proposed in Congress; and 60% want to impose broadcast indecency standards on cable and satellite services. On the audience self-policing front, 58% back boycotts, and on the industry self-policing front, 61% want a single all-purpose rating system.
TVBR observation: This study points out the obvious - - most people have not taken the time to sort out their thoughts on this most complex issue. It's significant that although we're not even sure who to blame, half are wise enough to blame ourselves. We know in out guts the programming we get is the programming we vote for as tabulated by Nielsen and Arbitron. But this insight is missing on Capitol Hill for some reason, where they're tripping over one another to demonize and punish the media. As a result, America is being deprived of a thoughtful and nuanced course of action and broadcasters are being scapegoated.
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Hispanic media is hot!
The proof of that was in the number of gringos who turned out for yesterday's Hispanic sessions at NAB2005 - - looking to see how their companies might grab a piece of the fast growing Hispanic media market. They're anxious to follow the lead of Clear Channel Radio, which was represented on a panel by its new Sr. VP of Hispanic Radio, Alfredo Alonso. "Clear Channel has an opportunity to expand the marketplace," he said. Indeed, Clear Channel's entry into Spanish radio is an encouragement, said Amador Bustos, CEO of Bustos Media, although he said competition from the radio giant also presents a risk for independent companies such as his. Clear Channel's involvement will help drive advertisers to Spanish radio, agreed Mary Hawley, COO of Lotus Entravision Reps. Making his own extrapolations from US Census data, Dr. Felipe Korzenny of Florida State University estimated that there are now 48.5 million Hispanics in the US, of which 80% speak some Spanish and 76% speak some English or only English. His latest research shows that American Hispanics watch almost equal amounts of Spanish and English television and listen to somewhat more Spanish radio than English, although that gap is narrowing. That multi-lingual media consumption is something that advertisers need to be more aware of. "You can't have a different message [in English] than you do in Spanish," Korzenny said. Echoing that multi-lingual theme, SBS Los Angeles market Manager David Haymore noted that people who listen to Spanish radio do so as a choice, not out of necessity, so stations have to be sure to make their programming relevant to keep their listeners.
 Court won't yield to shield appeal
Judith Miller of the New York Times and Matt Cooper of Time magazine have only the Supreme Court left as they battle to stay out of prison for refusal to identify sources in the Valery Plame CIA agent-outing grand jury inquiry. The US Court of Appeals in Washington DC refused to overturn contempt citations - - in fact, it refused to hear the appeal at all. Such an appeal was in the works if relief was not granted by the DC Circuit. Chief Justice William Rehnquist would be the first stop in such an attempt. Judge David Tatel wrote in an opinion that the Supreme Court was the appropriate venue to decide certain aspects of the case. New York Times publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr. said reporters must have the ability to protect confidential sources, according to NYT. "What's at stake here is journalism at the grass-roots level."
NAB attendance up 7%
A grand total of 104.4K individuals registered for NAB2005 in Las Vegas, up from 97.5K last year, amounting to an increase of 7%. 23.4K of the 2005 attendees were from foreign ports of call, representing a 4.8% increase over the 2004 total international crowd of 22.3K. The international attendees are counted as part of the total attendance.
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| TVBR News Analysis |
 So where is CC Radio's
"Zero Tolerance" policy on Limbaugh?
We all heard it in front of the Senate Commerce Committee, as CC Radio CEO John Hogan stated that any talent on his 1,200 stations that uttered another indecency will be terminated or pulled from the air permanently. All part of the company's "Responsible Broadcasting Initiative" (2/26/04 RBR #39), (2/27/04 RBR #40). So Howard Stern was pulled, Bubba The Love Sponge was fired at 98 Rock in Tampa, along with "The Regular Guys" (Larry Wachs and Eric Von Haessler) on WKLS-FM Atlanta. In fact, CC Radio made talent sign pledges to the effect they understand they'll be fired if they utter an indecent phrase or perform an indecent act on-air. Well, we gave it a week after the increasingly agitated (as of late) Rush Limbaugh uttered the words "blow job" a few times on his 4/12 show (4/14 RBR #74). And you guessed it-not a word from Clear Channel-no suspension, no pulling from stations, no nothing. Guess there's a double standard emanating from San Antonio. The rules apply when they're convenient, but not when they could do some real harm to the bottom line. Do you know that a few people in the industry have told us they think Stern was pulled from CC Radio stations because he wasn't pulling in enough bucks for them, and the "Zero Tolerance" policy was a convenient scapegoat? Well, we can't vouch for that, but you never know. Meanwhile, Limbaugh is heard on all of Clear Channel's news/talk facilities, enough to register a major fine from the FCC, if they were to play it "fair" as well. This is certainly in the range where the FCC could get complaints filed from the same groups that criticized all the others. But of course, you know, nothing will happen to Mr. Teflon, El Rushbo. Your observations appreciated, send to tvnews@rbr.com
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Adbiz©
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 Fleishman-Hillard to pay LA
4.5 million for overbilling
Fleishman-Hillard announced it will pay the city of Los Angeles 4.5 million to settle charges that it overbilled the city for PR work for the water and power department as well as the Harbor Department, Department of Airports and the Convention and Visitors Bureau. Fleishman had previously fought the 4.2 million claim that City Controller Laura Chick said the agency improperly billed, vowing to fight it in court. In a press release containing an apology, the agency acknowledged the size of the settlement, calling it a "substantial payment." The agency also said "some senior executives of the Los Angeles Office, who are no longer with the firm, caused certain bills to be presented to the City that appear to be improper and indefensible." The settlement, if officially approved by the city, may not mean the end of the mess that has already led to the indictment of one Fleishman midlevel exec. More formal charges may reportedly be in sore.
Half of all buys driven by ROI
Nearly half of advertisers and agencies altered their 2005 buying plans based on some form of ROI analysis, according to a study released during the Advertising Research Foundation's annual convention in NYC this week. The study says advertisers and agencies are moving away from a commoditized view of media. The findings, the first in planned series of studies by the ROI Council, a task force of 16 agencies organized by Court TV, found 44% of marketers and 31% of agencies "regularly or often" utilize at least some form of ROI metrics to compare advertising across different media. The study, which surveyed 168 planners, 156 buyers, 48 advertisers and 19 agency AEs, also found:
* Asked to rate each medium's delivery of ROI, cable TV was cited by 57% of the respondents followed by network TV (54%), online (45%), radio (36%), TV sponsorship (35%), magazines (30%), live event sponsorships (27%), newspapers (23%), product integration/placement (20%), outdoor (18%) and new media (11%). * 60% of marketers said they changed their 2005 media plans based on ROI criteria, compared to 48% of agency execs. * 69% of marketers and 50% of agency execs said their companies had made progress in establishing a unified set of metrics for estimating ROI across various campaigns and media. * 75% of marketers and 59% of agencies said there would be a greater emphasis on measuring ROI in advertising in 2005.
 comScore launches new services to measure online
ad effectiveness
comScore Networks announced the introduction of two research solutions to meet the demands of marketers seeking to understand and maximize ROI in interactive media. These services include comScore Campaign Metrix, which comprehensively evaluates the effectiveness of online media campaigns, and comScore Online Video Ratings, a new service to objectively measure performance among competing providers of online video content. Based upon comScore's global consumer panel, Campaign Metrix fuses passively observed media exposure and consumer behavior with self-reported attitudes and intentions. It allows marketers to monitor exposure levels for display advertisements, microsites and streaming video, and use survey instruments to determine post-campaign brand awareness, recall, affinity and purchase intent. Additionally, it can include analysis of pre- and post-campaign behavior to determine if marketing stimuli impacted consumers' online activity, such as likelihood to search for a particular brand or visit a specific site. Online Video Ratings is a new research service that measures consumer viewing of online streaming video. Using comScore's ability to measure a full range of digital media consumption within its global panel, Online Video Ratings reports key metrics and analysis for specific sites and content providers, including: * Streams delivered by site * Audience demographic profiles * Reach of streaming video by site within overall online population and by target audience * Viewer segmentation by daypart
Nielsen Sports signs SKI & Company
SKI & Company, AOR for General Motors Racing, signed a new licensing agreement with Nielsen Sports for their new Sponsorship Scorecard service. The partnership will employ the sponsorship verification and measurement product as part of its ongoing efforts to maximize the investments behind its racing program with GM Motorsports properties. Sponsorship Scorecard verifies and provides the currency for sponsored placed media for all televised sporting events including NASCAR.
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| Media Markets & MoneyTM |
Salem ups guidance
Religious specialist Salem Communications is doing better than expected. It was looking for 46.7M-47.2M in Q1 2005 net broadcasting revenue, which would have constituted an increase in the high-single digits over the same quarter in 2004. Not bad, but it's going to be even better, with a gain of approximately 10%. That percentage will hold true on a same-station basis. The time and date of the company's conference call to discuss results has not yet been announced.
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| Washington Beat |
 Jeffords to step down
Another "help wanted" sign is going up in the Senate, and it will be one of the rare instances in which neither party is at risk of losing a seat. The seat count is important when calculating committee assignments and even more importantly, committee chairmanships, but the exit of Jim Jeffords (I-VT) will leave the Republican total of 55 seats and the Democratic total of 44 intact. Jeffords is said by the Associated Press to be exiting for health reasons. He was formerly a Republican, but often found himself voting with Democrats. He did not see eye to eye with the Bush administration and decided to leave the GOP in 2001.
TVBR observation: Vermont is one of those states where anything seemingly is possible - - it currently has a Republican governor, but the other senator is Democrat Patrick Leahy and its only rep is Bernie Sanders, both of whom are quite liberal. And the governor replaced Howard Dean. You'd think the Democrats would have a good chance to pick this one up.
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| Programming |
Sundance Channel gets rights to "Slings and Arrows"
Sundance Channel has acquired U.S. pay television rights to the Canadian television series "Slings and Arrows," a humorous look inside the workings of a dysfunctional Shakespearean theatre festival. Sundance Channel has acquired rights to the first two seasons of the series, each comprised of six episodes, and has pre-bought rights to a third season, also six episodes. "Slings and Arrows" is slated to premiere on Sundance Channel in August 2005. It is currently playing on The Movie Network, Showcase and Movie Central in Canada. "Slings and Arrows" is directed by Peter Wellington and written by Bob Martin, Mark McKinney and Susan Coyne.
ABC to air "Trump Unauthorized"
"Trump Unauthorized," ABC's dramatization about legendary real estate developer Donald Trump, will air 5/24 (9:00-11:00 p.m., ET) as an "ABC Premiere Event." The telefilm, starring Justin Louis ("Missing," "Hidden Hills") as Trump, is based on Gwenda Blair's acclaimed biographies, Donald Trump: Master Apprentice and The Trumps: Three Generations that Built an Empire, as well as other sources. "Trump Unauthorized" spotlights the man's tenacity and ingenuity, hallmarks of his career ever since his beginnings in Queens, working for his father. The movie follows Trump's first major success, transforming the derelict Commodore Hotel into the luxury Grand Hyatt during NYC's lean economic years. As his empire grew, the telefilm shows that Trump became a master at using the media to bring favorable attention to his visions. Of course, Ivana, Marla Maples and his near financial collapse and comeback are covered as well. It is executively produced by Barbara Lieberman ("Gleason"), Dan Lux and Vin Di Bona; producers are Jorg Westerkamp and Michael Hagemeyer.
 Trail Blazers and Belo's KGW
Northwest NewsChannel 8 renews another four years with the Portland Trail Blazers adding on to the previous 13. The current agreement between the franchise and the network expires at the conclusion of this basketball season on April 20. This season, 26 Trail Blazers games are scheduled to air on NewsChannel 8, while the new deal will ensure that a minimum of 26 games will be broadcast on the network each season. The Trail Blazers are one of only five NBA teams (San Antonio, Sacramento, Dallas and Memphis being the others) that have their over-the-air schedule carried by a major broadcast affiliate (CBS, NBC, ABC, FOX). In addition, no team in the league televises as many games (26) over a major broadcast affiliate as the Trail Blazers.
TVBR observation: NBA is supreme in the Northwest and this is local content not off of cable. As others in the radio and television can't make it work in content and into revenue KGW seems to be doing something right. Three pointer.
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| Stock Talk |
Look out belowwwwwwwwww...
Meredith's stock gained two pennies a share yesterday, and just about everybody else in the TV business is probably wondering how they did it. How did the company find a little pool of black in what was churning, seething sea of red ink? We mean everyone got hit. It was the kind of day when you expect to start seeing IPRs - - initial public repurchases.
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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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4.20
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unch
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McGraw-Hill
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MHP
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81.19
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-1.24
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Belo
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BLC
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22.75
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-0.19
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Media General
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MEG
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62.39
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-0.29
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Clear Channel
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CCU
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32.38
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-0.56
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Meredith
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MDP
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45.07
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+0.02
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Disney
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DIS
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26.65
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-0.50
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News Corp.
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NWS
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16.60 |
-0.10
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Emmis
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EMMS
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16.54
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-0.29
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Nexstar
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NXST
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5.58
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-0.35
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Entravision
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EVC
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8.01
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-0.56
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NY Times
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NYT
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33.12
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-0.34
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Fisher
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FSCI
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49.61
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-1.86
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Paxson
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PAX
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1.11
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+0.02
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Gannett
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GCI
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76.48
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-0.82
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Saga Commun.
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SGA
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14.84
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-0.30
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Gen. Electric
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GE
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35.56
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-0.44
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Scripps
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SSP
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50.74
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-0.36
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Granite
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GBTVK
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0.30
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unch
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Sinclair
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SBGI
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7.59
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-0.19
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Gray
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GTN
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13.14
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-0.11
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Time Warner
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TWX
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16.92
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-0.17
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Gray, C1. A
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GTNa
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12.32
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-0.22
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Tribune
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TRB
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37.74
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-0.35
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Hearst-Argyle
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HTV
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24.97
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-0.07
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Univision
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UVN
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25.93
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-0.47
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Jeff-Pilot
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JP
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47.50
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-0.83
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Viacom, Cl. A
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VIA
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34.45
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-0.27
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Journal Comm.
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JRN
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16.19
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-0.01
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Viacom, Cl. B
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VIAb
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34.25
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-0.29
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Liberty Corp
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LC
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37.00
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-1.32
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Wash. Post
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WPO
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857.00
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-20.00
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LIN TV
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TVL
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16.15
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-0.47
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Young
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YBTVA
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7.13
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-0.46 |
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__UNSUB__ to this email service.
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Bounceback
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 We want to
hear from you.
This is your column, so send your comments to tvnews@rbr.com
The debate continues. Who really invented Less is More?
 A bit of really ancient history for the limited commercial file... The first limited commercial format radio station went on the air in Dallas, Texas in 1947. The station was KIXL at 1040 AM and 104.5 FM. The spot format consisted of twelve commercial units per hour, presented in four spot clusters of no more than three spots. Twelve spots was the total allowed, no matter whether they were :60 or :30....and the rate card was structured to promote :30s. The usual spot load was about 8:30 or 9:00 minutes an hour. The format was conservative music, what later would be called Beautiful Music. No irritating commercials were allowed, and the station actually turned down quite a few spots...which was touted by the sales staff as an indicator of the classiness of the station. The originator of KIXL was a Dallas broadcaster named Lee Seigal who had originated the popular 1940s network radio program "Dr. IQ." After WWII Lee put some of his friends who were major movie stars of the era (William Holden, Robert Taylor, Greer Garson, Tyrone Power) into an investment group which bankrolled the revolutionary idea of limited commercial radio! The original Dallas station prospered for many years as KIXL... "ten forty on both radio dials." Ultimately KIXL gave rise to emulators such as Gordon McLendon's KABL in San Francisco, as well as the long running success story of WPAT in New York City....and, ultimately to syndicators such as Jim Schulke who made a lot of money with his format of taped music and limited commercials.
Best...
Art Holt
Holt Media Group
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Upped & Tapped
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CC Radio names Tom Schurr SVP/Southeast
Clear Channel Radio named Tom Schurr to Senior Vice President of the Southeast Region, replacing Jay Meyers. The region includes Alabama, Florida, Louisiana and portions of southern Georgia and southern Mississippi. Soon to be based out of the Southeast Region, Schurr will immediately assume responsibility for the 27 markets and 138 stations of the region.
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Radio & Television
Business Report
The First Real Monthly
Business Media Magazine
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Upfront looms on
the horizon
Advertising space in May is
Sold Out. Reserve your Marketing space for the June issue...
'05 Clock is Ticking -
Heading for Closure
Reserve your Ad Marketing
Space today Advertising space
is limited, contact:
June Barnes jbarnes@rbr.com
Jim Carnegie jcarnegie@rbr.com
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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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Viacom split signals
tortoise/hare approach
If and when Viacom splits in two - - and execs there seem certain it's a when - - if will be divided into a high multiple/fast growth unit built around Viacom's cable and studio assets, combined with a stable, cash-flowing unit attractive to yield investors based around the CBS network, broadcast stations and other assets. TVBR observation: Moonves is upfront with the upfront and in no way is jumping or over committing to a prediction of a double digit season even though the Kids upfront going well. Lot of attention was paid to the MTV networks, digital and the word multiplatform - any hints or clues to the future here people? In cable it is full steam ahead and the word spectacular used by Redstone and Moonves says CSI can't be stopped and Infinity is just keeping pacing. Watch that word - multiplatform. 04/19/05 TVBR #78
State Broadcaster Association News
RBR & TVBR kicks off a joint effort with many that are on the front line working and informing of the issues facing radio and television broadcasters at the state and local level. Oregon, Bill Johnstone "Our legislature is in session, and the Legislators really don't want to be bothered with facing the issue of balancing budget." - Washington Mark Allen, "After defeating bills in several recent legislative sessions." - Maine Suzanne Goucher "We're in the late stages of a fiscal crisis that's been going on for several years now." 04/19/05 TVBR #78
Broadcasters grapple with indecency
LIN Television CEO Gary Chapman "Our objective is to have self-regulation." But even so, no one is predicting that NAB Task Force guidelines on responsible broadcasting, expected to be published this summer, will derail efforts on Capitol Hill to increase indecency fines and perhaps threaten the licenses of repeat offenders.
TVBR observation: The guidelines due out this summer will be interesting to see, but neither that nor approval of higher fines by Congress will help with the basic problem - - the FCC has been all over the board on what is and is not indecent broadcasting. 04/19/05 TVBR #78
Network TV news a dinosaur
ABC News correspondent Sam Donaldson "I think its dead." Donaldson noted that the average age of people watching the evening newscasts is 60, with younger audiences increasingly looking to 24 hour cable channels for news.
TVBR observation: So Sam tell us something we all don't know. Even local news is on an iron lung with the 5pm local news as the average household isn't even home from work. With Talk Radio, 24/7 cable local and network have to rethink what first is news. On the network side: NBC is the only one that can improve its evening cast with Brian Williams but those gurus won't take our advice. So, keep breathing on your 60 demo iron lung. Radio you have the upper hand it you know how to Program your product and market it. 04/19/05 TVBR #78
Who's going to buy Susquehanna?
Infinity CEO Joel Hollander may have let the cawt out of the bag, but Susquehanna Media CEO David Kennedy is refusing to make any comment on whether his company is for sale. RBR/TVBR has learned, however, that the sell-off is being driven by the estate settlement needs of the founding family. Because the tax basis is near zero for the radio stations and cable systems which mostly have been under the same ownership for decades, look for a stock-swap deal with a public company which will keep the seller from having to pay a big capital gains tax bill. TVBR observation: Public stock, radio group, cable MSO - - can you name one company that fits the bill? Yep, that makes Cox Enterprises the most likely buyer. It could presumably structure a transaction which would pay for Susquehanna Media with the public stock of Cox Radio, then move the cable properties into Cox Communications, which Cox Enterprises recently took private. 04/19/05 TVBR #78
Hostile bidder targets Interep
Oaktree Capital Management already owns over 2% of the stock of Interep and owns more of the radio rep firm's public bonds, but it wants more - - it wants control of the company and the ouster of founder and CEO Ralph Guild after being rebuffed in its approach to Guild and Interep's board of directors. TVBR observation: With its stock price in the tank, it's not surprising that a vulture capital firm is making a play for Interep. Interep upper management have to rethink an entire business strategy and put together a solid business plan that brings a little radio rep firm into the 21st century. In other words not just selling national spots as Interep will have to think 2010 but deploy the action in '05 or the outlook for 2010 is not pretty. 04/19/05 TVBR #76
Advertising panel: Change is coming
"It's a confusing world for everyone," on where the advertising business is heading. Burtch Drake, CEO of 4A's the biggest change is that some advertisers are seriously considering national product launches without a TV ad platform as a certainty. For the first time, Drake said, advertisers are willing to spend money on research to access how to effectively reach consumers and he called Arbitron/VNU's Project Apollo as the first step. Broadcasters are also moving to implement EDI to replace paper with electronic communications for buying and selling advertising. TVBR observation: EDI traction, well maybe but two of the four wheels of the EDI machine are still stuck in the mud according to our high level ad agencies sources that have to work day-to-day with the problem. Radio reps are said doing a better job with EDI as TV rep firms are over heard not moving fast enough with EDI. But we agree EDI and ROI go together so kick in that four wheel drive Radio and TV before you hear that up front bubble go thud like a lead balloon. 04/19/05 TVBR #77
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©2005 Radio Business Report/Television Business Report, Inc. All rights reserved.
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