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Volume 24, Issue 86, Jim Carnegie, Editor & Publisher
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Wednesday Morning May 2nd, 2007
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TV News ®
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 Murdoch launches
surprise bid for Dow Jones
Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation has made an unsolicited offer of 60 bucks a share, or some five billion in total, for Dow Jones & Co., which among other things publishes the Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones and the controlling Bancroft family said at first that they were considering the offer, which may set off a bidding war for the company, but later in the day a Bancroft family representative informed Dow Jones that the family is opposed to accepting the Murdoch offer. Dow Jones shares jumped yesterday on the news of the bid, which values the company at a 67% premium to where the stock had been trading. While news of the offer sent Dow Jones' stock up around 20%, News Corporation stock fell more than 3%. A statement from Dow Jones said the offer from News Corporation is to acquire all of the common and super-voting Class B shares for 60 bucks a share in cash, or in a combination of cash and News Corporation securities. What all does Dow Jones do? It provides a range of global business news and information services. Its Consumer Media Group publishes The Wall Street Journal, Barron's, MarketWatch and the Far Eastern Economic Review. Its Enterprise Media Group includes Dow Jones Newswires, Factiva, Dow Jones Licensing Services, Dow Jones Indexes and Dow Jones Financial Information Services. Its Local Media Group, Ottaway Newspapers, publishes eight daily and 15 weekly newspapers and their community Internet sites in seven states. Dow Jones owns 50% of SmartMoney and 33% of Stoxx Ltd. It also provides news content to CNBC and radio stations in the US.
TVBR observation: Why do we think this has a lot to do with the coming launch of the Fox Business Channel? Locking up the Dow Jones and Wall Street Journal names for use on the new network, as well as access to their reporters and extensive data networks could go a long way to make it quickly competitive with NBC Universal's CNBC.
Cable can benefit from business business
The cable modus operandi for years has been centered on household penetration, but just as telecoms are heavily engaged in encroaching into cable's territory, so too is cable preparing to move into traditional telecom turf. A research company says cable can make big gains, but will have to spend big, too. Pike & Fischer thinks there is a good 11B-12B on the table annually for cable available from small- and medium-sized businesses. They'll be looking for both operations support systems and business support systems, and cable will be able to provide them. But the ability to expand into this market will come with a steep pricetag, according to P&F. Massive investments in personnel will be necessary - P&F speculates that this need will be so pervasive that it will attract heightened national labor union attention. And even after heavy spending on physical infrastructure to pave the way for the DTV transtion, P&F says another round of upgrades will be required. P&F warns that careful planning must be utilized to make sure cable gets where it needs to be with minimal missteps.
 DirecTV goes to the races
TVG, which calls itself America's Horseracing Network, announced that it has amended its distribution agreement with DirecTV to expand the scope and duration of its carriage. The long-term amended agreement will deliver the network's programming to over eight million DirecTV subscribers, broadening TVG's domestic reach to nearly 26 million homes nationwide. TVG will be shifted from DirecTV's Sports Pack into its Total Choice Plus and Choice XTRA and above packages, more than tripling its current DirecTV distribution. According to TVG's website, it currently offers wagering services in California, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Virginia, Washington and Wyoming.
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 Consolidation lovers
miss another meeting
The public forum on broadcast ownership in Tampa followed the script of the three prior official forums and the many non-FCC hoc forums which have been attended by the two Democratic commissioners. The 250-300 citizens who showed up, for the most part, were not there to praise big media conglomerates and local consolidation. The five commissioners are getting to the point where they have stump speeches for such events (click through below to see their opening remarks). Chairman Kevin Martin (R) intoned the magic words "competition, diversity and localism" before suggesting that many of the current rules are creaky with age; Michael Copps (D) and Jonathan Adelstein (D) rallied the protesters in the audience; and Deborah Taylor Tate and Robert McDowell for the most part simply indicated they were listening with an open mind. The local Media General operation of NBC 8 WFLA-TV and the Tampa Tribune garnered much of the attention. Media General defended the arrangement, saying it puts more resources at the disposal of its reporters; others argued that it is simply a way to repurpose one story and diminishes the number of independent versions of a given event. Critics of consolidation included citizens who fail to hear local talent on the radio and who were dissatisfied with the quality of much of the news (the glut of attention on Anna Nicole Smith was mentioned as a case in point), and smaller media companies worried about their continued ability to compete with bigger and bigger vertically-integrated local clusters.
TVBR observation: In short, been there, done that. This is not to diminish the points made on both sides. The media landscape is getting more rather than less complex, and this whole argument may seem laughably quaint in ten years, like arguing over cassette or eight-track. For now, Tampa is just another way station on the trek to the end of the Quadrennial Review which kicked off in 2002 and which is still not within sight of the light at the end of the tunnel.
| Commissioner comments here |
News menu goes back to the spread
America made it through the last full week of April without any of the kind of earth-shattering events that focus every camera, mic, pen and keyboard in one direction. The result, as recorded by the Project for Excellence in Journalism, was a return of focus on Iraq and the 2008 presidential campaign. The former story was fueled by an Iraq funding bill passed by the Democratic Congress containing the veto magnet of a withdrawal date. The latter story was fueled in part by the first Democratic candidate debate in South Carolina. And as PEJ noted in its lead comment, even fake news got into the act via a contentious interview between Republican candidate John McCain (R-AZ) and "The Daily Show's" John Stewart, an event which managed to touch on both stories at once. The VA Tech tradedy had residual coverage after consuming an incredible 51% of the total media news hole the previous week, and continued interest in the cable and radio communities even pushed the Imus story back into the overall top ten. As usual, there was a top 10 weather story. The biggest story to drop off the list concerned the US Supreme Court's ruling on certain abortion procedures.
| Top ten lists here |
 Nielsen reorganizes
measurement management team
The Nielsen Company EVP and Chairman of Nielsen Media Research Susan Whiting announced in a client communication they're making some management changes to better accommodate client needs. The Media Client Services Leadership now is under the direction of Dave Thomas, President, Media Client Services. The Media Product Leadership is under the direction of Jim O'Hara, President, Media Products. Nielsen is also creating two new positions within the company-an EVP and Chief Research Officer (CRO)-Paul Donato; and an EVP/CTO-Bob Luff. Each of these executives will continue to report to Whiting.
| Read More... |
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Ad Business Report TM
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MMS merges Into GroupM's MAXUS
Media Marketing Solutions (MMS), a GroupM media agency, has merged into MAXUS International, the fourth global network of GroupM. MMS's 30 employees will become part of the New York office of MAXUS, effective immediately. MAXUS also has North American offices in Chicago, Atlanta, Toronto, and, most recently, Los Angeles. "Combining the talent and resources of these two agencies strengthens MAXUS considerably in the U.S.," said GroupM North America CEO Marc Goldstein. "It's an exciting move for us that immediately bolsters MAXUS's role both nationally and globally." MAXUS began U.S. operations in January 2005, as a separate Communications company, initially dedicated to a select client roster with full and seamless access to all GroupM Resources. Since then, the agency has evolved into an extensive network whose client list includes blue-chip brands such as Church & Dwight Co., Estee Lauder, Welch's, T. Rowe Price, and Pirelli Tires. The agency was recently awarded the global media assignment for Palm, maker of the Palm Treo Smartphone and other products. The new account prompted the agency to open a new MAXUS office in Los Angeles to service the client. The MMS client roster includes clients that range across a variety of product and service categories including beverages and spirits, retail, automotive, and healthcare. They include such well-known brands as Barnes & Noble, Vespa, Chubb, and the New York Liberty of the WNBA. "The merger of MMS into MAXUS joins two GroupM units with tremendous Growth potential," said MAXUS President-CEO Carla Loffredo. "With our combined resources and expertise, coupled with the support of GroupM, MAXUS is now positioned to deliver more innovative, impactful, and effective results to our clients than ever before." MMS was founded in 1995 as the SMNY Marketing Consulting Agency by Loretta Volpe, and was sold to Young & Rubicam in 1999. It was acquired by WPP in 2000 when the holding company purchased Y&R and all its assets. In The agency's new configuration, Volpe will remain at MAXUS as COO, reporting to Loffredo.
More buyers comment on Philly PPM data
We've asked agency buyers what they thought about Arbitron's initial PPM data release for Philly (5/1/07 RBR #85). The commentary continues today with Agnes Lukasewych, VP, Account Director/Radio Broadcast at MPG:
 Any comments in general about
the Philly PPM numbers?
"With the significant changes we've seen with PPM AQH ratings in Philly, it will not just be a simple process of adjusting cost. The greater issue will be in keeping the balance of radio usage on advertising plans. As the cost gap between TV and radio narrows there is a danger that radio will not be as attractive to some advertisers. It will no longer be necessary to buy as deep on station selection to attain reach goals, therefore I foresee a more aggressive playing field among stations for advertising dollars. Stations deemed desirable for a particular advertiser will stand a chance to grow shares since more units will have to be purchased in order to attain same frequency goal as in a pre PPM world. The good news on the data received out of Philly is that radio is still a highly targeted media. And based on RAEL studies we know that listeners have a more personal experience with radio than they do with other media vehicles."
Will you be willing to bump up CPP to compensate for lower AQH numbers?
"The willingness to bump up cost in order to achieve same GRP goals is something that we would look at on an individual client by client basis. There is no one answer for this. Some advertisers might choose to start utilizing shorter length units to defray cost increases should that become a reality based on supply/demand, for others it may be a choice of changing R&F goals to compensate for higher reach levels in which case total campaign budgets may be re-allocated by media. For the industry there is no going back, electronic measurement will create a more accountable methodology that buyers, sellers and advertisers will have to adjust to. Next change in methodology/metrics should be about applying all our learnings to measuring actual ROI."
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| Washington Media Business Report TM |
First Amendment watchdog goes on the record
Who said, "...if there is to be free speech, it must be free for speech that we abhor and hate as well as for speech that we find tolerable and congenial?" It was the FCC, explaining its decision to stay on the sidelines in a license challenge of Skyline Broadcasters' KGEZ-AM in Kalispell MT brought by Montana Human Rights League (MHRN) and several individuals. They object to language from Skyline president and air personality John Stokes. They claimed he compared environmentalists to Nazis, advocated selling white sheets at Martin Luther King Jr. events, and called a gay woman a "stupid gumba. They claim he incites violence by encouraging automobile drivers to run down bicyclists. He launches personal attacks against them without providing opportunities for them to respond and - on the indecency front - suggested that petitioner Kate Hunt's name yields interesting results if the initial consonants are switched. They also claim he broadcast their home address, and misrepresented MHRN as a hate group affiliated with domestic terrorists. They also attacked the station's financial viability and the legality of the corporation. The FCC said that the petitioners may have a point but that it was out of FCC jurisdiction. If Stokes is presenting a clear danger, or if he is invading personal privacy or making slanderous statements, or if the company should be declared insolvent, it is a matter for the courts. On the Hunt indecency matter, a tape was provided, but Stokes never said anything on the FCC's list, so there is nothing the FCC can do on that count.
TVBR observation: We will not use this space to comment on Stokes' programming material. You all have your own opinions on that. We're just thrilled because it's always nice to have the First Amendment 'splained, just to clear things up. It's OK to advocate sheets at an MLK remembrance, but if you use the wrong variation of a word that parents are forced to use several times a day when potty training their child, it can cost you 350K. It's OK to advocate the infliction of serious bodily harm to cyclists, but at the same time, we should allow bureaucrats the authority to punish broadcasters for depicting violence - maybe that would make the alleged Stokes comments actionable - who knows?
No wandering for WPLO
 A Grayson GA AM station has been ordered to stay put by the FCC. It had attempted to take advantage of the AM Auction No. 84 filing window to execute a city of license change which would take it five miles up the road to Lawrenceville. However, even though the application was free and clear of any competition (not mutually exclusive, in FCC jargon), the application was denied because it would leave Grayson without any radio service. Both towns are about 25 miles or so northeast of Atlanta. Lawrenceville is larger, with a population of about 22.4K compared to Grayson's sub-1K total of 765. The station is licensed to Teresa Prieto.
TVBR observation: This is not what you'd call a hot one. It appears to be entirely cosmetic, as a matter of fact. The CP application the station has on file does not call for the power to go up so much as one watt either day or night, and it does not call for the transmitter to move so much as an inch. The owners of the station apparently would like to identify with a slightly larger small town that's five miles away, which by the way does not have a broadcast facility licensed to it. It would be a trade of one one-horse town for another. What's always fun in an instance like this is reading the FCC's reasoning for the turndown, since allowing the move would "...deprive the community of Grayson of a radio service on which it has come to rely for programming serving its needs." Uhhh, right. Except the station isn't really moving. If you can hear it now, you'll still be able to hear it in either case. No one is being deprived of anything. So again, no big deal, but we don't see what the harm would be in allowing a cosmetic-only exception to the city-of-license rules that allow a broadcaster some leeway in these situations.
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| Cable Business Report TM |
 Starz adding three new HD channels
Starz Entertainment President and COO Bill Myers announced plans to launch three additional high definition (HD) channels, bringing to four the total number of HD channels offered by the premium cable service. The three new channels offered in HD will be East Coast feeds of Starz Comedy, Starz Edge, and Starz Kids & Family. They will complement the existing Starz HD channel, which is available in East and West Coast feeds, (as well as the Starz On Demand HD and Encore On Demand HD services). The new channels are expected to launch by the end of this Summer. "Starz has always been a leader in terms of offering our customers more ways to enjoy our great movies. We pioneered in digital transmission, multiplex, on demand and online. We will now be able to offer the largest package of HD movie channels of any widely distributed programming service, and the only one featuring first-run hit movies," said Myers.
Black Family Channel replaced by Gospel Music Channel
Gospel Music Channel (GMC) announced an agreement with Black Family Channel (BFC) and a number of cable operators, in which BFC has ceased broadcasting as a linear cable television network and GMC is now distributed in the majority of markets in its place. GMC has added nearly 275 systems from Bright House Networks, Charter Communications, Comcast Digital Cable, Cox Communications and Time Warner Cable. Beginning yesterday, Gospel Music Channel is now available on: Bright House Networks systems in Tampa and Bakersfield; Charter in St. Louis; Comcast Digital Cable in markets including Philadelphia, Miami, Boston, San Francisco, Minneapolis, Denver, Houston, Pittsburgh and Sacramento; Cox systems in Hampton Roads and Roanoke, Va., and Omaha; and Time Warner Cable systems in New York City, Los Angeles, Dallas, Kansas City, San Diego, Northeast and Southwest Ohio, Charlotte, Raleigh and others. Gospel Music Channel said it expects to finish the year with more than 20 million subscribers.
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| Internet Media Business Report TM |
 Google says Viacom's
1B lawsuit is all wrong
Google has made its response to the one billion bucks copyright infringement lawsuit that Viacom filed against Google and its YouTube subsidiary, denying that it violated anything and insisting that it owes Viacom nothing. Google presented various defenses, saying that it is shielded from liability by the 1998 digital Millennium Copyright Act because it complied with Viacom requests to remove copyright material. But it also suggested that many of the clips posted by YouTube users constituted "fair use" of Viacom's shows anyway. In an aggressive response to the lawsuit, Google charged that Viacom is threatening the way people legally exchange information, news and entertainment online.
Joost launches commercially
Joost (www.joost.com), a broadcast-quality Internet television service, has commercially launched. Campaigns from the 32 companies announced as ad partners last week (4/27/07 TVBR #83) will begin airing on the platform this month. Additionally, as a part of this launch, all existing Joost beta testers now have an unlimited number of invitations that they can send to their friends, family and colleagues. Last week, Joost announced that it had signed more than 30 brands including Coca-Cola, HP, Intel and Nike, as ad launch partners. This week, ads from some of the ad launch partners will begin to play on the platform. Ads from all launch partners will be on later this month.
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| Ratings & Research |
Idol juggernaut marches on
Until "American Idol" runs its course and selects a winner, we do not expect to see any change in the top two shows in television. With Idol still firmly on top of the ratings, Fox handily won the 18-39 demo gain, followed by ABC, CBS, NBC, Univision, CW, Telemundo, MyNetworkTV, a tie by Ion and TeleFutura and then Azteca America. In households, CBS was on top with a 7.0 rating and 12 share, with Fox at 6.9/12, ABC 6.3/11, NBC 4.4/8, CW 2.1/3, Univision 2.0/3, MyNetworkTV 0.6/1, Telemundo 0.5/1, Ion 0.4/1, TeleFutura 0.3/0 and Azteca America 0.1/0.
| View the Chart |
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| Stock Talk |
Rupert gooses the stock market
Rupert Murdoch's five billion bucks bid for Dow Jones & Co. got Wall Street excited and gave a boost to media stocks, as well as the broader market. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which he would like the title to, rose 73 points, or 0.6%, to a record high 13,136.
TV stocks enjoyed the lift. The leader is getting out of the TV biz, but was one of the newspaper stocks boosted by the bid for Dow Jones. The New York Times Company rose 6.5%. Murdoch's News Corporation fell 4.2% after its bid for Dow Jones was made public.
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| Stocks |
Here's how stocks fared on Tuesday
| Company |
Symbol |
Close |
Change |
Company |
Symbol |
Close |
Change |
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Acme
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ACME
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5.43
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-0.08
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LIN TV
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TVL
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15.88
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-0.08
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Belo
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BLC
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19.83
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+0.56
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McGraw-Hill
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MHP
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65.90
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+0.37
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| CBS CI. B |
CBS |
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31.71
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-0.07
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Media General
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MEG
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37.23
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+0.49
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| CBS CI. A |
CBSa |
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31.97
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+0.17
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Meredith
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MDP
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58.90
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+0.98
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Clear Channel
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CCU
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35.60
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+0.17
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News Corp.
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NWS
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22.99
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-1.01
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Disney
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DIS
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35.47
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+0.49
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Nexstar
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NXST
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11.35
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-0.60
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Emmis
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EMMS
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9.97
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-0.02
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NY Times
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NYT
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24.93
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+1.53
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Entravision
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EVC
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9.95
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+0.14
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Ion Media
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ION
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1.26
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+0.01
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Fisher
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FSCI
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48.41
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-0.11
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Saga Commun.
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SGA
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9.99
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-0.01
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Gannett
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GCI
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58.17
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+1.11
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SBS
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SBSA
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3.43
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+0.02
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Gen. Electric
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GE
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37.05
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+0.19
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Scripps
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SSP
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43.33
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+0.03
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Granite
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GBTVK
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0.05
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unch
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Sinclair
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SBGI
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16.55
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+0.22
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Gray
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GTN
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10.54
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-0.13
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SWMX
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SWMX
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0.25
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-0.30
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Gray, C1. A
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GTNa
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10.91
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-0.49
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Time Warner
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TWX
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20.59
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-0.04
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Hearst-Argyle
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HTV
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26.14
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-0.49
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Tribune
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TRB
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32.80
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unch
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Journal Comm.
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JRN
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13.79
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+0.30
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Wash. Post
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WPO
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765.30
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+21.30
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Lincoln Natl.
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LNC
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70.79
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-0.36
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Young
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YBTVA
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4.23
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-0.33
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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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Ad Business Report
MMS merges Into
GroupM's MAXUS the fourth global network of GroupM...
Cable Business Report
Starz adding three new
HD channels of Starz Comedy, Starz Edge, & Starz Kids & Family...
Internet Media Business Report
Google says
Viacom's 1B lawsuit is all wrong denying that it violated anything...
Ratings & Research
Idol juggernaut marches on
Do not expect to see any change in the top two shows in television...
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TV Media Moves
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 SESAC ups Ellen Jones
SESAC announced the promotion of Ellen Bligh Jones to Associate Vice President, Corporate Relations. Formerly Senior Director, Corporate Relations, Jones has been with SESAC for 11 years and will continue to oversee the performing rights organization's advertising, promotion, sponsorships, website, online marketing and corporate magazine. Jones will report directly to Pat Collins, President/COO, SESAC.
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More News Headlines
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Comcast and Yahoo! announce ad partnership
Comcast announced its Comcast Interactive Media and Yahoo! have entered into a multi-year strategic partnership for online display and video ad services on Comcast.net. Yahoo!'s ad sales organization will be the primary marketing and sales channel for display and video advertising. Comcast.net will tap into Yahoo!'s network of brand advertisers and get ad-serving, targeting and inventory management capabilities to enable the pricing, targeting, delivery and reporting. Comcast Spotlight will continue to bundle Comcast.net in cross-platform and locally-targeted ad packages to its base of local, regional and national advertisers through its existing sales force of over 3,000 sales execs. Yahoo! and Comcast Interactive Media will collaborate to create and market new sponsorships and custom advertising packages that are supported by Yahoo!'s platform. Yahoo!'s ad services will be integrated within the redesigned Comcast.net planned later this year.
A&E sets special on school shootings
In the wake of last month's campus killings at Virginia Tech, A&E is airing "A Killer On Campus: A Bill Kurtis Special Report" on Thursday (10 pm ET). The one-hour special, hosted and narrated by Kurtis, tries to answer the question "why?" Exploring the tragic story from many angles, the special features in-depth interviews with students, faculty and witnesses as well as experts in forensic psychology, criminal profiles and school shootings. Dr. N.G Berrill a forensic psychologist with over 20 years experience who is on the faculty at John Jay College of Criminal Justice has had access to the bone-chilling 4,000 word manifesto, mailed to NBC by Cho on the day of the shootings. Berrill agreed to exclusively review the documents for A&E and offer his opinion on what was going on in the mind of Seung Hui Cho. Although the Virginia Tech shootings are the most recent, the special will also examine what A&E calls "a proliferation" of such cases over the past 10 years.
Tommy Newsom
dead at 78
Johnny Carson called him "Mr. Excitement" as a running joke on "The Tonight Show." Saxophonist and #1 backup to bandleader Doc Severinsen, Tommy Newsom was not flashy and not very excitable, but he had a deadpan sense of humor that allowed him to keep pace with the one-liners from Carson. Although he was upstaged by Severinsen on the long-running NBC show, Newsom won two Emmys for his musical direction of TV specials and released several albums as a bandleader, including "I Remember You, Johnny" in 1996, four years after he and Carson ended their run on NBC. Newsom died Saturday of cancer at age 78 in his hometown of Portsmouth, VA.
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RBR - Radio News
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ISS says no to Clear Channel buyout
Just as it advised clients to reject the original 37.60 per share buyout bid for Clear Channel Communications, Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) says 39 bucks is not enough either. RBR noted earlier this week (4/30/07 RBR #84) that ISS could be the key to whether of not the pending buyout deal is approved in the shareholder vote on May 8th. It is the largest and most influential of the firms which advise institutional investors on proxy votes. With two of its largest shareholders, Highfields Capital and the Fidelity mutual funds group, committed to voting against the buyout at 39 per share, the ISS recommendation of a no vote will make it very difficult to win approval of the buyout by Thomas H. Lee Partners, Bain Capital and the Mays family. Approval of the deal will require acceptance of two-thirds of all shareholders, with all unvoted shares counting as no votes.
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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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If the rumor is true, what does Lincoln have to sell?
Should Lincoln Financial Group decide to get out of broadcasting - which, we would note, is still only a rumor - some very attractive properties will be coming on the market. All of the radio properties are in top 40 markets and the TV stations are long-established news leaders in high growth southeastern markets.
TVBR observation: The best arguments for Lincoln Financial Group to sell Lincoln Financial Media are that the private market for broadcast stations, both radio and TV, is healthy right now - as demonstrated by the recent sales by CBS Radio, Disney's ABC Radio, NBC, New York Times and Media General in television, and others. Also, while the broadcast division had accounted for 11% of revenues for Jefferson-Pilot (like Lincoln, primarily an insurance company), it accounts for only 4% of revenues for Lincoln Financial Group. There is, however, one very strong argument against a sale. The stations still carry the tax basis from J-P and J-P had owned them for a very long time. Uncle Sam will get a big cut if Lincoln Financial Group decides to cash out of broadcasting. View the List in this special page report of TVBR.
05/01/07 TVBR #85
CCU sets annual meeting
(and bonuses)
Will it be the last? Clear Channel had already postponed its annual shareholders meeting until after the May 8th vote on going private. But even if the vote is yes, closing won't come immediately, so shareholders will have their annual get together on May 22nd in San Antonio. No new members will be joining the board of directors. Executive Performance Subcommittee of the board's Compensation Committee: awarded Lowry Mays 3,312,500 in cash incentive bonus, Mark Mays 6,625,000 in cash incentive bonus, Randall Mays 6,625,000 in cash incentive bonus and John Hogan 987,552 in cash incentive bonus.
RBR observation: That is a lot of green in their jean. Wonder how the Clear Channel workers feel about this? See the full details in this issue of RBR.
05/01/07 RBR #85
Wall Street pressure to spin NBC
General Electric stock jumped a buck on Friday after Citigroup analyst Jeffrey Sprague issued a research report that called on GE to set free three units which are not core to the industrial giant. One of those is NBC Universal, which Sprague said "has no meaningful synergy with the rest of the portfolio."
TVBR observation: Don't rule it out. There had been previous hints that Immelt had gotten more directly involved in how NBC Uni is run to prepare the company for a spin off from the mother ship. Of all the units at GE, the TV/entertainment unit is clearly the odd duck. Would it be better valued by Wall Street as a standalone operation? And then, of course, there are those rumors that Google might take out its checkbook to buy its way into another area of media in a big way...
04/30/07 TVBR #84
First "currency" data
from Philadelphia PPM
Arbitron released the first "currency" radio ratings from the Philadelphia PPM ratings, covering 3/8-4/4. One compelling new finding is the dramatic increase in the composition of the radio audience (persons 18+) who are employed Full Time compared to what was reported by the diary. See charts in this page report of RBR and also see Ad Business Report on Agency comments.
04/30/07 RBR #84
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