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Welcome to TVBR's Daily Epaper
Volume 24, Issue 87, Jim Carnegie, Editor & Publisher
Thursday Morning May 3rd, 2007

TV News ®

Retrans paying off
Sinclair Broadcast Group tells analysts that 2007 revenues from retransmission consent agreement will be around 59 million bucks - up 132% from last year. That helped produce a 1.5% increase in Q1 revenues to 150.2 million bucks, while local was flat and national down 5.0, owing to which network aired the Super Bowl each year (Sinclair has fewer CBS stations), sluggishness at its Ohio stations and few agency buys for MyNetworkTV affiliates. As for the latter, Sinclair officials told analysts they believe Q2 will be the bottom for MyNetworkTV, down slightly from Q1, and that they are optimistic about long-term prospects for the News Corp./Fox startup net. Q2 is expected to be flattish to slightly lower overall for the company (up 0.3% to down 1.5%). But the big story at Sinclair for some time now has been retrans. "We have made significant progress on our retransmission consent agreements and now have over 80% of the multi-channel video programming distributor subscribers in our markets under long-term contracts. For 2007, we are now estimating revenues from our retransmission consent agreements to be approximately 59 million as compared to 25.4 million last year, a 132% increase. This new revenue stream has helped to offset weakness in automotive ad spending, national agency buys for the MyNetworkTV programming and softness in the Ohio market," said CEO David Smith. "As we look forward to the remainder of this year, we are encouraged by the already large amount of funds raised by the Presidential candidates. With no incumbent running for the Presidency, we expect political ad spending to be more than the 2006 and 2004 levels with a portion of the spending occurring in the fourth quarter 2007 due to the many primaries that have been moved into early 2008," he added. Q1 retrans payments, by the way, were 11.2 million, up from 5.8 million a year ago.

Kerry raising money for future candidates
Do you think the 2008 political air wars are going to be hot? That's what every single observer we've heard says, and here's another exhibit to enter into evidence. Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) is using his political action committee to help fund candidates who don't even exist yet. Kerry wants more friends in the Senate, and he has identified three members of the opposite party who may be especially vulnerable due to their support of President Bush's Iraq policy, and added in Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) because, well, he's the minority leader. The other three are John Sununu Commerce Committee stalwart (R-NH), Susan Collins (R-ME) and Norm Coleman (R-MN). An organization called ActBlue is setting up campaign funds in these and other states in advance of the identity of specific candidates, and Kerry's money will be directed to ActBlue accounts. In addition, citizens who contribute (from among 3M being targeted in an email blast) will have the opportunity to fire off an email to the senator of their choice to let them know that they're helping to oust them from their seat - a ploy to get them to consider opposing the President in advance of the 2008 elections. According to blogger Greg Sargent, Kerry staffer Amy Brundage said they want to apply "daily intense pressure...from the grassroots up."

TVBR observation: The interesting thing here is that if Kerry successfully gets these senators to oppose the President on Iraq policy, it may help them hang onto their seats in 2008. But that is speculative. The surer thing is that Kerry's cash will likely inspire cash infusions from Republican sources, swelling the political ad-spending pot in all four states.


Rupert is a patient man
While the Bancroft family, at least a majority of it apparently, has indicated that it is not inclined to accept the five billion bucks offer for Dow Jones & Co. from News Corporation, the CEO of the would-be buyer is indicating that he is in for a long process. "There's plenty of time, and we just take it calmly and hope they will take it calmly," Rupert Murdoch said on his own Fox News Channel. "It's a generous offer and we are the sort of people with the same traditions that I think would prove great guardians for the paper," he added, referring to the flagship Wall Street Journal. Meanwhile, it looks like even a five billion bucks buy will not make a dent in the creditworthiness of News Corporation. Moody's Investors Service quickly affirmed its existing ratings for News Corporation and its subsidiaries and said the outlook remains stable. "We do not believe that the transaction, if completed consistent with the terms of the offer, would increase News Corp's debt to the point that it impacts ratings," said Moody's Sr. VP Neil Begley. After all, the acquisition would not even deplete the seven billion in cash that News Corporation has on hand.

TVBR observation: Will patience win the day? It appears that not all of the Bancrofts are dead set against selling Dow Jones, exactly 100 years after a member of Boston's already wealthy Bancroft family married into company ownership. With an aggressive bid on the table -we doubt that anyone would dispute that description of a 67% premium over the previous stock price - family members who would like to take their cash off the table may start putting the screws to their cousins who want to hold onto the legacy, not to mention mounting pressure from shareholders outside the family, who own even more of the company's equity but don't have voting control. Not a single member of the Bancroft family has any management role at Dow Jones & Co. Three members serve on the board of directors, along with the family's financial advisor. Will the 60 bucks a share bid from Murdoch force Dow Jones to start entertaining bids? The rumor mill always has Google stepping up to bid for anything big in the media sector. Who else might have more than five billion lying around?


To sell TVs or not to sell TVs...
When business is weak, where do you cut? Circuit City decided to lop off the very top of its sales force, the personnel making the most money, figuring they could get the job done with a younger, up-and-coming sales force. Besides drawing the ire of labor watchdogs, the move seems as if it may have backfired. According to the Washington Post, the company is getting ready to announce a Q1 loss, and analysts are blaming the lack of experienced sales people. The problem? Television sales. The upcoming DTV conversion means the floors are filled with new cutting edge technologies and generally higher price tags, resulting in the need for a great deal of customer education and reassurance. It's speculated that customers who fail to find that in a Circuit City location are simply heading across the street. CC says it's too early to tell if the personnel cuts are responsible for the weak results, noting that other factors are in play as well. But analysts don't seem to be buying that line - sure, there are other problems, but they still seem to be fingering the loss of "informed workers" as the biggest of them all.

TVBR observation: How many times have we heard about the difficulty getting effective broadcast sales people out on the streets? Are you going to pay what it takes to keep your effective vet, or start the onerous task of training some kid from scratch, or worse, hand him the local phone book and tell him to start dialing? Sure, you can cut your payroll, but if you are also cutting your income, what have you gained? And if your competition is effective at snapping up the cash you are leaving on the table, they may gain strength while you begin a long downward spiral. Who are you betting on in the retail wars, Circuit City, or the guys across the street?

Shrek attack
One portly green ogre, two conflicting messages. That's the problem a lot of watchdogs have with the star of two animated feature pictures with a third just weeks away from release. The ogre has been promoting healthy lifestyles for children at the behest of the US Department of Health and Human Services, but an organization called Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood has called asked DHHS to cease and desist. The reason? The upcoming movie will have tie-ins to food that is not considered part of a healthy childhood diet, including candy, fast food, sugary cereal and cheese snacks. A watchdog spokesperson said Shrek should promote health or junk food but cannot have it both ways. A DHHS official pointed out that putting Shrek to work on both sides of the issue was better than leaving him solely at the disposal of the junk food manufacturers. Shrek is said to be wildly popular among kids and adults, and in the 6-11 demo, his familiarity score is 94%, and his favorability comes in just ahead of SpongeBob SquarePants and just behind Santa Claus.

TVBR observation: We think we agree with the DHHS person. Better half an effort on the side of healthy lifestyles, or any effort at all, rather than a pure power play for the forces of obesity. The fact remains that this issue has become a hot one in Washington. We expect there will be increasing pressure on the Shreks and SpongeBobs of the world to focus on their entertainment careers and get out of the product-pitching business as the year progresses. Food manufacturers are already trying to head off regulatory and legislative action preemptively. We'll have to see if their efforts are sufficient. The underlying truth is that historically, there is ample court precedent holding that commercial speech is not quite as free as most other forms, which may embolden the regulators and legislators who have this issue in their sights. Stay tuned.


Wall Street Media Business Report TM
Q1 up for Lincoln Financial Media
Lincoln Financial Group reported that its Q1 net income was 396.5 million, or a buck-42 per share, up from 221.2 million, or 1.24 per share a year earlier, before it acquired Jefferson-Pilot. Of course, what we and our readers care about is Lincoln Financial Media - and, no, there was no indication whether the company might put its radio and TV properties up for sale. The broadcast operation had income from operations of 12.4 million for the quarter, up from 11.2 million a year earlier, when it was still known as Jefferson-Pilot Communications. Broadcast revenues for the quarter were 67.2 million and station operating income was 26 million.

Sinclair filling its coffers
Sinclair Broadcast Group announced plans to sell 300 million bucks worth of convertible senior notes due 2027. When the notes mature 20 years from now they will be convertible into Sinclair stock at a fixed conversion rate. The underwriters will have an option to increase the bond offering to as much as 345 million if it is oversubscribed. Sinclair says it will use the cash to partially redeem the 8% senior subordinated notes outstanding of its Sinclair Television Group subsidiary. Those notes are due in 2010.


Ad Business Report TM

Dunkin' Donuts keeps Rachael Ray running in new ads
Dunkin' Donuts recently launched its marketing campaign with King World-syndicated daytimer Rachael Ray. Through a major national broadcast, online and print ad campaign, the company's new brand representative will show Americans how Dunkin' Donuts coffee gets her going and allows her to keep running all day long. Created by Hill Holiday of Boston, the new 40 million multi-channel marketing campaign consists of a media mix of television, radio, print, outdoor and online spot placements. In addition, Dunkin' Donuts will augment its campaign with in-store marketing and personal appearances by Ray to benefit the brand. The campaign reflects the company's "America Runs on Dunkin'" platform and showcases Ray on the move at a fast pace, visiting a Dunkin' Donuts store for her morning coffee and bagel. Robert Rodriguez, Dunkin' Donuts brand president, tells TVBR: "Ray is appearing in a multi-platform marketing campaign for Dunkin' Donuts, including television and radio spots, in-store marketing and personal appearances through 2010. This is the most exciting time in Dunkin' Donuts' 57-year history. The company has begun an aggressive national expansion plan that will ultimately triple Dunkin' Donuts to 15,000 restaurants throughout the country by 2020." Ray will also lend her perspective to the Dunkin' Donuts culinary team in the development of new, "better for you" food and beverage options.

Editor's note: Be sure to catch our interview with Rodriguez in our June issue of SmartMedia Magazine.

MARS Advertising taps two
MARS Advertising Detroit announced the addition of two new staff members. Anne Cook has joined the agency as drug channel director and Jason Hescott was appointed creative director on the ConAgra Foods account. Cook brings to MARS 21 years of experience in consumer packaged goods. She joins the company from Bayer HealthCare where, for the past three years, she managed the Bayer business at Walgreens. There, she developed a best-in-class integrated, multi-market, Hispanic program for the Alka-Seltzer brand. Hescott comes to MARS from I.M.I. Cornelius, a leading manufacturer of beverage dispensing systems in Glendale Heights, Ill., where he was creative director working on the Coke, Pepsi, Coors, Anheuser Busch and Diageo accounts.


Media Business Report TM
Eos Airlines launches new branding
Eos Airlines pioneered its single-class premium service -- "Eos Class" -- on the strength of an innovative cabin design in which 757s that normally hold 220 passengers are reconfigured with only 48 "suites." Now, Eos is launching a brand campaign that expands on the benefits of this "uncrowded" experience for the airline's guests. A series of vignettes, which Eos calls glimpse ads, illustrate the benefits that an airline flying 48 guests per flight can offer. The first to run, called "Pond Hoppers," offers a glimpse of a stylishly dressed young couple arriving at the airport with less than an hour to go before their international flight, which is just fine with Eos. The airline offers curbside guides to assist with fast track check-in, allowing for arrival 45 minutes prior to departure. Another brings the "uncrowded" message home. In a tennis stadium, two fans happily occupy a large roped-off area, as an attendant stands nearby. As the headline suggests, they are "Uncrowded in a Crowded World." The ropes are blue velvet and emerge as an icon in all aspects of the campaign. A forthcoming newspaper ad uses them to separate cluttered editorial copy from the Eos message. Print will run in leading business and travel pubs, and a series of non-traditional brand encounters will be created for outdoor. The campaign breaks in the NYC and London, the two cities that Eos currently serves, and is targeted to premium class travelers in the finance, entertainment and fashion industries, among others. The work is the first from Mullen, which became AOR in January. Initial spend is 6 million.


Washington Media Business Report TM
Shield bill back on the table
The Free Flow of Information Act is back. Known as the shield bill, it would allow reporters leeway in protecting confidential sources, a hot issue which became white-hot when US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald threw then-NYT reporter Judith Miller in jail for refusing to reveal a source. Broadcaster Jim Taricani also spent four months in house arrest for a similar refusal. Shield legislation died in the 109th Congress, but it'll get another shot in the 110th. In the Senate, it's being sponsored by Richard Lugar (R-IN) and Christopher Dodd (D-CT); in the House, the sponsors are Rick Boucher (D-VA), John Conyers (D-MI), Mike Pence (R-IN), Howard Coble (R-NC) and John Yarmuth (D-KY). The Radio-Television News Directors Association applauded the renewed attempt to pass the legislation, noting that such protections exist in 32 states and Washington DC, and that 17 other states at least recognize reporters' privilege. The protection is qualified, according to RTNDA, and can be overridden by "'imminent and actual harm' to national security or 'imminent death or significant bodily harm' to individuals," along with other instances of compelling and overriding public interest.


Cable Business Report TM
4th time is the charm
The 4th buyout offer from the Dolan family has finally won acceptance from the independent directors at Cablevision. The deal announced yesterday will have the Dolans pay 36.26 per share to buy out other shareholders. That price, which values the MSO at 22 billion bucks, including debt and the stock already held by the founding Dolans, is up from the 30 bucks they offered in January (1/15/07 TVBR #9), which had been the third in a series of unsuccessful bids to take the company private. The bid which was accepted by the independent directors is 50% above where Cablevision's stock price was before the latest string of offers began last October. Even though the board has said yes, the transaction still requires approval by a majority of the holders of Class A stock not owned by the Dolans or Cablevision directors or executive officers. In the transaction, the Dolan Family Group will contribute approximately 2.1 billion in equity to the transaction through reinvestment of its Cablevision shares in the new privately held company. Merrill Lynch & Co., Bear Stearns & Co. and Bank of America have committed to provide approximately 15.5 billion in debt financing to fund the merger consideration and refinance certain bank indebtedness of Cablevision. The company's existing notes and debentures will remain outstanding.


Ratings & Research
Another 7-in-a-row week
CBS Television Distribution continues to dominate the syndicated television landscape. For the most recent week, the syndication arm of CBS claimed the top seven spots in the list of top 10 shows from the Syndicated Network Television Association (SNTA), based on data from Nielsen Media Research. Sony Pictures Television claimed two spots as CBS nailed eight of the top 10 in total.
| View the Chart |


Stock Talk
Another record day
M&A activity, including a Cablevision buyout agreement and speculation about who else might bid for Dow Jones & Co., helped drive stock prices higher, along with a favorable government report on factory orders. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 76 points, or 0.6%, to another record high close of 13,212.

TV stocks were also higher. ACME had a good day, up 4.1%. Gray Television's common rose 3.1%.


Stocks

Here's how stocks fared on Wednesday

Company Symbol Close Change Company Symbol Close Change

Acme

ACME

5.65

+0.22

LIN TV

TVL

16.10

+0.22

Belo

BLC

20.25

+0.42

McGraw-Hill

MHP

66.03

+0.13

CBS CI. B CBS

31.81

-0.16

Media General

MEG

38.28

+1.05

CBS CI. A CBSa

31.80

-0.17

Meredith

MDP

58.69

+0.09

Clear Channel

CCU

35.95

+0.35

News Corp.

NWS

23.43

+0.44

Disney

DIS

35.70

+0.23

Nexstar

NXST

11.66

+0.31

Emmis

EMMS

10.01

+0.04

NY Times

NYT

25.28

+0.70

Entravision

EVC

10.08

+0.13

Ion Media

ION

1.29

+0.03

Fisher

FSCI

48.99

+0.58

Saga Commun.

SGA

10.01

+0.02

Gannett

GCI

58.17

unch

SBS

SBSA

3.50

+0.07

Gen. Electric

GE

37.31

+0.21

Scripps

SSP

43.60

+0.32

Granite

GBTVK

0.06

unch

Sinclair

SBGI

15.33

-1.22

Gray

GTN

10.87

+0.33

SWMX

SWMX

0.25

unch

Gray, C1. A

GTNa

11.20

+0.29

Time Warner

TWX

20.94

+0.35

Hearst-Argyle

HTV

25.91

-0.23

Tribune

TRB

32.78

-0.02

Journal Comm.

JRN

13.73

-0.27

Wash. Post

WPO

768.14

+2.84

Lincoln Natl.

LNC

72.05

+1.26

Young

YBTVA

4.27

+0.04


Bounceback

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Below the Fold

Media Business Report
Eos Airlines launches
New branding, "Eos Class" on the strength of an innovative cabin design...

Washington Media Business Report
Shield bill back on the table
The Free Flow of Information Act is back it would allow reporters leeway...

Cable Business Report
4th time is the charm
Buyout offer from the Dolan family has finally won acceptance at 36.26 per share...

Ratings & Research
Another 7-in-a-row week
CBS Television Distribution continues to dominate...


Stations for Sale
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Contact
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TV Media Moves

Whitaker to Peacock
Former Newsweek Editor Mark Whitaker will join NBC News on May 21st as Senior Vice President. He will be the second-in-command to NBC News Preisdent Steve Capus and oversee all daily editorial and newsgathering efforts worldwide.

Sinclair ups Schwartz
Sinclair Broadcast Group announced David Schwartz has been named Director of Sales for the entire TV group. Since 2004 Schwartz has served as General Manager of Sinclair's WSMH-TV (Ch. 66, Fox) Flint, MI. Prior to that, he was VP and Director of Sales for Transit Television Network.

New Mouseketeer
Susan Arnold gets her mouse ears as a new member of the board of directors at The Walt Disney Company. She is Vice Chairman - P&G Beauty & Health, The Procter & Gamble Company.

With eight
you get eggroll

Westwood One EVP of Sales, Marketing & Operations Sal Siino announced the appointment of eight Sr. VPs to the Metro Networks sales team: Michael O'Neil, New England and Southeast Region; Fred Bennett, Mid-Atlantic Region; Dave Smith, New York Region; Karen Henderson, Southern Region; Marc Rochman, Midwest Region; Peter Connolly, Central Region; Larry Urena, Southern California and Las Vegas Region; and David Mcllwaine, Rocky Mountains and Pacific Northwest Region.


More News Headlines

Did Imus have a
two-strikes clause?
According to Fortune magazine, fired syndicated radio and MSNBC morning host Don Imus is preparing to sue CBS Corporation for the remaining 40 million bucks on his contract. Hardly big news, since that had been expected. But the Fortune story says a provision of his contract required CBS to give a warning if content on the show was going over the line. In other words, he got two strikes, but after the slur against the Rutgers women's basketball team CBS fired him without a warning. Thus, Imus and his high-powered legal team are set to claim that CBS flagrantly violated the contract and that he is due the entire 40 million remaining. No doubt CBS' lawyers will have a different interpretation.




RBR - Radio News

Clear Channel auction list dwindling
In its latest update on its divestiture of 448 radio stations in 88 smaller markets, Clear Channel reports that it has signed deals to sell an additional 201 stations in 38 markets since its update with its Q1 financial results. By our calculation, the price tag for the 201 stations is 489 million bucks, which should produce a nice commission check for the brokers at Kalil & Co. Most of that, all but around 20 million, is the sale of 36 mostly Midwestern markets to Dean Goodman that we reported last month (4/19/07 RBR #77) - the largest single sale of radio stations to a private company ever (unless the going private sale of Clear Channel itself is approved next week). The remaining two markets from the latest sales are Eugene (Albany), OR and Medford, OR, both going to Bi-Coastal Media. As of now, only 86 stations in 16 markets are yet to be sold. Here is the list that CCU released late yesterday: Ashland/Mansfield, OH; Ashtabula, OH; Centralia, WA; Charlottesville, VA; Defiance, OH; Dickinson, ND; Frankfort, KY; Grand Forks, ND; Marion/Carbondale, IL; Rome/Utica, NY; San Luis Obispo, CA; The Florida Keys, FL; Tri-Cities, WA; Victorville, CA; Yakima, WA; and Yuma, AZ.


TVBR Radar 2007
Television News you won't read any where else. TVBR--First, Accurate, and Independently Owned.

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.

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.
05/02/07 TVBR #86

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. Whiting tells TVBR about her new role and the restructuring. Review this interview on this page of TVBR.
05/02/07 TVBR #86

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 (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.
05/02/07 RBR #86

Mel happy with Sirius Q1
Mel Karmazin told investors and analysts that Q1 results were right on target for Sirius Satellite Radio and he expects to have over eight million subscribers by year end. The company's net loss declined to 144.7 million from 458.4 million a year ago as revenues grew 61% to 204 million for the quarter. Despite his pending merger with rival XM, Karmazin was bragging about how Sirius is outperforming XM.
05/02/07 RBR #86

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.
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.
05/01/07 RBR #85


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