TVBR's Daily Morning Epaper

2007: The Need for -- Ideas Working Now
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Volume 24, Issue 9, Jim Carnegie, Editor & Publisher

Monday Morning January 15th, 2007

TV News ®

Fox begins sprint to the finish
It's "American Idol" to the rescue, as the blockbuster reality series returns tomorrow. Fox will try to repeat its come-from-behind victory in the lucrative 18-49 demo based on the strong draw of Idol in the second half of the season. What will it take to get there? Fox is a bit behind where it was a year ago, but the good news for the network is that the competition is more evenly divided. With NBC finally getting its act together this season, ABC, CBS and NBC are locked in a virtual dead heat for the 18-49 lead after 16 weeks of the 2006-07 season. So, instead of having to move up from a 3.1 rating a year ago to catch ABC at 4.0, the challenge this year is for Fox to move from its current 3.0 on the strength of Idol to pass the other three, all currently at 3.6.
| Check out the numbers |

TVBR observation: Will Paul McCartney be the surprise super-guest-star this season? Despite all the speculation, we wonder, does Idol really need Sir Paul to win? Does anyone really talk about how exciting it was to see Prince on the show last year - or do the talk about how much they loved Taylor Hicks? Or perhaps about how disappointed they were that their favorite contender was beaten by Hicks. "I think the show can continue to be successful as long as we go out and find great talent," returning Idol judge Randy Jackson said last week in a conference call with reporters. Ya' got that right Randy.

NBCU Domestic TV renews "Martha"
NBC Universal Domestic Television Distribution has renewed "The Martha Stewart Show" in more than 80% of the U.S. for its third season in national syndication. Martha has now been renewed for next season on stations representing NBC Universal, CBS, Scripps, Sinclair, Hearst-Argyle, Media General, Gannett, Belo, Allbritton, Fisher, Gray, LIN and Nextstar broadcast groups and more. New stations for season three include KING-TV Seattle, WISN-TV Milwaukee, WLKY-TV Louisville and WOWT-TV Omaha. It was previously announced that Martha had been renewed on the NBC O&O stations in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco and other major markets. Martha Stewart and Mark Burnett are executive producers of "The Martha Stewart Show," which is produced by Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia.

Minority buyers hope to buy Clear Channel stations
Minority Media & Communications Council (MMTC) Executive Director David Honig is happy with the turnout for last week's three-day conference for minority and women entrepreneurs to find out how they can best position themselves to buy the radio and TV assets that Clear Channel has up for sale. Honig notes that the event drew more people than a similar one back in 2000 when Clear Channel divested 110 radio stations from its acquisition of AMFM, with 40 of those going to minority-owned or controlled companies. While only 16 participants chose to stand up and talk about themselves before the entire group, Honig told RBR/TVBR that approximately 60 separate potential buyers were in among the more than 120 attendees. "I don't know how many will actually bid," he told RBR/TVBR. Indeed, it will be a few more days before potential bidders will know which of the 448 radio stations and 43 TV stations slated for the initial sale round (not including larger market divestitures from the pending deal to go private) are still available, since some have already been sold and others are in advanced sale negotiations. Then an online due diligence room will open for qualified bidders. One broker who attended the gathering last week in DC complained to RBR/TVBR that without seller financing from Clear Channel itself, the effort to attract first-time minority buyers is an exercise in futility, since there is almost no lending available for broadcast deals under five million bucks. Clear Channel Chief Communications Officer Lisa Dollinger told RBR/TVBR that the company itself will not provide financing, but noted that "many financing sources attended the conference." Honig was optimistic that some of the attendees would merge their efforts to become more viable as bidders. For example, had noted that some had money but no experience in broadcasting, while others had plenty of experience but little cash to bring to the table. Pictured: Clear Channel Communications VP of Corporate Development Dirk Eller speaks at the gathering. Also shown are Kelly Callan (left), Frank Kalil (right) and Lou McDermott (far right) of Kalil & Co. The event, hosted by NAB, was presented by MMTC and sponsored by Clear Channel.

TVBR observation: It is the same chicken and egg problem that has always presented a barrier to new entrants. You can't get credit without money and you can't get money without credit. The recent exit of Wells Fargo Foothill from the 1-10 million lending market for broadcast loans (12/14/06 TVBR #242) eliminated one of the very, very few sources for financing of small station purchases. It has never been easy to find financing for deals below 10 million, and particularly below five million, but it seems more difficult than ever today.

Bravo's "Top Design" names partners
Bravo announced GMC, LendingTree.com, Bacardi Limon, and Thomasville Furniture have been named partners for its new hour-long 10-episode interior design competition series, "Top Design," premiering on 1/31. Elle Décor Magazine has also signed on as the on-air magazine sponsor. As the auto partner of Bravo's "Top Design," GMC's first crossover, the 2007 GMC Acadia, will be integrated into the series via a branded challenge and general vehicle usage throughout the series. GMC will also provide the all-new 2007 GMC Acadia to the series winner who creates the winning "Top Design." LendingTree.com will provide a 100,000 cash prize to the winner to help them design their future; Bacardi Limon - a featured spirits brand in the series - will be integrated within a design challenge, and will execute a national retail promotion in support of the launch of the series; and Thomasville Furniture will sponsor a vignette series. In addition, GE Monogram will provide the finalists with access to their full line of appliances for a "Top Design" challenge. Decor Magazine will reward the winner with a feature. Plus, the winner will have the chance to showcase their skills at the magazine's Dining by Design charity event in NYC.

Feinstein reintroduces PERFORM Act
One of the quickest ways to get something on the agenda of a new Congress is to take failed, tabled or otherwise unfinished business from the previous Congress, slap it in the legislative microwave and serving it back up in the new Congress. That's what's happening with The PERFORM Act. A bipartisan quartet of senators are putting it back out there in an attempt to protect rights holders of content offered on digital platforms. The senators include Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Joseph Biden (D-DE) and Lamar Alexander (R-TN). The bill is designed to "...protect copyrighted materials distributed by cable, satellite and Internet radio services, while encouraging the use of new technologies and services." Said Feinstein, "The PERFORM Act would require satellite, cable and Internet broadcasters to pay fair market value for the performance of digital music. Additionally, the bill would require the use of readily available and cost-effective technology to prevent music theft. I believe this legislation is a good step forward in addressing a real problem that is occurring in the music industry, and I encourage discussion to ensure that this law will fully serve the needs of our emerging technologies." PERFORM stands for "Platform Equality and Remedies for Rights Holders in Music Act," and it would try to level the playing field by providing "...equity and parity among the 'new' platforms that provide 'radio-like' services - cable, satellite, and Internet. Currently, different rates standards are paid by these different companies, different conditions are applied to their performances, and the content protections have been outdated by on-going technological advances."
| Details here |

Hats in the ring, or aimed there
Forget about who is running for president. The potential 2008 field is so full that there have already been five drop-outs. According to CQ Politics.com, four Democrats - former VA Gov. Mark Warner, Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI), Sen. Evan Bayh (D-IN) and former Senate majority/minority leader Tom Daschle (D-SD) - and one Republican - former Sen. Bill Frist (R-TN) - have already officially pulled their names from consideration. That leaves 12 Democrats and 14 Republicans in various stages or running. On the Democratic side, official announced candidates include Sen Chris Dodd (D-CT), who just announced he was running on radio's Don Imus Show, Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), former Sen. and VP candidate John Edwards (D-NC), exiting Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack and former Sen. Mike Gravel (D-AK). Exploring the possibility is Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE), and subjects of widespread speculation include former candidate Sen. John Kerry (D-MA), Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY), Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL), activist Al Sharpton, former Gen. Wesley Clark, former Sen. and VP Al Gore (D-TN), and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson. On the Republican side, there's been only one official announcement, that of Illinois attorney John H. Cox. Exploring the possibility are Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS), former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani, former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson, former Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. Subject to widespread speculation are Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE), Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA), Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-CO), Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) former Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA), former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and former New York Gov. George Pataki.

HOLIDAY NOTE:
The Federal Communications Commission and other federal offices are closed today in observance of the Martin Luther King Holiday. US stock and bond markets are also closed.

Wall Street Media Business Report TM

Nice work if you can get it
A higher stock price for Disney and higher ratings for ABC Television paid off for Bob Iger in his pay envelope for last year. According to a Disney filing with the SEC late Friday, the CEO got a hefty bonus on top of his two million bucks salary for 2006. Iger also got a 15 million bonus (about double the previous year), a 4.3 million payout for his long-term compensation package and 2.9 million worth of stock options. All in all, that is 25 million plus spare change. The pay package for Iger was included in the materials filed for the annual meeting of Disney shareholders on March 8th in New Orleans. RBR/TVBR found an interesting side note in the proxy document. Steve Jobs, who has been a Disney director since its merger acquisition of Pixar, has declined to accept any cash or stock compensation for his service on the board, while other non-employee directors received a minimum of 65K in cash plus 6K shares of stock (plus additional payments for committee work and/or being chairman). Jobs holds 138,000,004 shares of Disney as a result of the Pixar merger.

Ad Business Report TM

Could Google deal for TV inventory drive down rates?
While analysts speculated last week Google will likely not get into the TV inventory space-at least until they accomplish their likely imminent major radio deals (1/12/07 RBR #8), the television industry (local affiliates to rep firms) may want to educate early on some of the issues circulating around Google Radio/Audio and potential inventory deals. One reason we speculated there was no CBS Radio deal (rumored to be imminent nonetheless) announced at CES is over ongoing issues that may be going on between Westwood One and CBS Radio over inventory. Peter Kosann is the CEO of WW1, a public company, and also an employee of CBS Radio. The problem is if CBS Radio, WW1's management company, does a deal with Google, they may be creating a new competitor for WW1 in the marketplace which could put further downside value on its stock. Kosann and the board may be worried about shareholder lawsuits and liabilities. CBS Radio CFO Walter Berger sits on the WW1 board as a representative of Joel Hollander and Les Moonves and CBS owns 18.5% of WW1 common stock. The same could be said for local or national/network television station inventory scooped up by Google-what would that mean for rep firms like Blair and Petry, which may find their inventory suddenly devalued? If big blocks of inventory bought by Google ahead of time become commoditized and priced less than Blair or Petry are pitching, it could spell trouble. Just as in radio, Google's entry into the broadcast inventory biz could get pretty complicated.

Meanwhile. we've also heard from sources Google was negotiating with CC Radio to do a 250 million dollar straight comp deal. Unfortunately, since it would be such a major conflict for Premiere nationally and Katz/CCRS locally, we heard the deal has stalled and is "going nowhere." If such a deal went through, if they ever decided to spin off Katz and/or Premiere, this could lower the value of the company and have an adverse effect on the new investor group coming in. (Yes, there are now rumors of a management-led buyout of Katz and Premiere as well). So far other radio groups have been hesitant to do a deal for similar reasons. Greater Media CEO Peter Smyth, pictured, tells RBR recently: "I am not going to go into competition with myself, nor am I going to do anything to go against Katz or the people that nationally represent me...or compromise our own sales departments across the country-that's ridiculous." Kim Vasey, Senior Partner and Director of Radio, Mediaedge, CIA, also questioned the rep issue at a Bear Stearns conference call on Friday: "I think also it's a bigger mix of complication in the sense of the national rep firms being involved. We do a great deal of business and want to protect that partnership there as well. We want to protect the partnership with the stations, the rep firms, but also we want to be opened to allowing a client to have inventory that can be obtained on a remnant basis at the last minute."

Wal-Mart chooses
Martin; MediaVest
Wal-Mart has reporedly awarded its 580 million creative and media account to Martin and MediaVest, respectively. This, after the much-storied firing of DraftFCB and SVP/Marketing Communications Julie Roehm, who led the Wal-Mart agency review that chose the agency (12/6/06 TVBR #236), The review was opened again last month. Lopez Negrete Communications, Houston, keeps Hispanic portion of the retailer's multicultural account; GlobalHue, Detroit wins the African-American biz. Martin Agency won Ogilvy & Mather in the creative review; MediaVest went up against Carat and Mediaedge:cia in the new media review.

Media Markets & Money TM

Lockwood locks in on CW affiliate
WQCW-TV, serving the Charleston-Huntington DMA from across the state line in Portsmouth OH (and with the aid of LPTVs in each of the market's title cities) is changing hands. James Lockwood has formed Mountain TV to acquire the CW-affiliated trio from Commonwealth Broadcasting Group. The price for the stations is 5.25M, although the seller will get an additional 600K if it can secure permission for a new transmitter location for WQCW's digital version. WQCW is licensed for analog on Channel 30, with its DTV facilities pegged for Channel 17. Also in the mix are WVCW-LP Huntington WV Channel 45 and WOCW-LP Charleston WV Channel 21. Lockwood and his partners have interests in television stations in the Sherman TX-Ada OK and Huntsville-Decatur-Florence AL DMAs.

Cable Business Report TM

Dolans boost Cablevision buyout bid
The Dolan family has increased its bid to buy out public shareholders and take Cablevision private to 30 bucks a share, up from the 27 they offered in October. Is the bid of 8.9 billion enough? Many on Wall Street had been expecting more, but the Dolans are calling this their "best and final offer" and are demanding an answer from the company's independent directors by the close of business Wednesday (1/17). The Dolans noted that their new bid is 25.4% above where Cablevision's stock was trading before they made their original buyout offer. But some analysts and money managers say the offer still undervalues the company, based on where cable deals have been priced in recent months.

Washington Media Business Report TM

Birds beware: Tower tilt extended
Are communications towers taking a toll on migratory birds? Does something need to be done in addition to normal obstruction lighting to make sure that our avian friends do not go crashing into them on their way north or south, as the case may be? Maybe, maybe not, but parties studying the matter on both sides are telling the FCC that they cannot have their material ready by 1/22/07. Asking for more time are the American Bird Conservancy, CTIA, Defenders of Wildlife, Environmental Defense, National Audubon Society, the National Association of Tower Erectors, PCIA and our own National Association of Broadcasters. And these parties are asking for three more months. The FCC, while noting that it doesn't routinely grant such extensions, also noted the ubiquity of the request, and granted it. Comments are now not due until 4/23/07 and reply comments are due 5/23/07.

TVBR observation: The broadcasters who have spoken to this issue are wondering why they are not finding multitudes of crashed birds around their towers, if this is such a big problem.

Auction 68 produces modest results
There are nine CPs up for grabs at the FCC auction which began last Wednesdaym 1/10/07. As of Round 13 Friday afternoon, the bidding was ongoing, and all of them had been spoken for if not finally claimed. That is something of a positive feat, since these are all leftovers from Auctions No. 37 and No. 62. By the end of the 13th round, 3.161M had been committed (amounting to 2.7775M after bidding credits are deducted where appropriate). The top prop at this point is the Kihei HI stick, upon which Visionary Related Entertainment has staked over 1.1M. Tri State Radio has put down an 892K bid on Parowan UT. No other property has yet reached the 400K level, and one, the stick earmarked for Covelo CA, hasn't hit 30K.
| Recap of available FM CPs here |

Entertainment Media Business Report TM

Chiller is a scary thriller
NBC Universal Cable Entertainment announced plans for a March 1st launch of Chiller, a 24-hour entertainment cable channel dedicated to the horror genre. DirectTV is the first multi-channel distributor to sign on to carry the new network. The new multi-platform channel will be offered as a triple pack service, which features a standard definition channel (SD), hi-definition simulcast channel (HD), and a video-on-demand (VOD) channel as well as broadband on demand offerings. Dan Harrison, Senior Vice President Emerging Networks, NBC Universal Cable Entertainment, will oversee day-to-day operations of Chiller. He also runs Sleuth and Universal HD under the Emerging Networks banner. Chiller will feature classic horror films and television shows around the clock. At launch, the programming slate will include the television series "Friday the 13th," "Twin Peaks," "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" and "Tales from the Crypt." Feature films in rotation will include "The Shining," Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho" and "The Birds," "Sphere," The Stephen King mini-series "The Langoliers," "Blade Runner," "Believe," "The Crew" and "The Unholy."

USA greenlights "In Plain Sight"
USA Network has picked up the pilot for "In Plain Sight," starring Mary McCormack, and ordered 11 more episodes. The weekly one-hour light drama from NBC Universal Television Studio is directed by Mark Piznarski, executive produced by Paul Stupin and written by David Maples, who will also serve as executive producer. Production on the series is slated to begin in the summer for a launch in the fourth quarter this year or first-quarter 2008. "The Federal Witness Protection program is a secret world that really hasn't been explored in a TV series. The unexpected twist of the show is that the identity of a Federal Marshal cannot be revealed. If discovered, the Marshal's enemies would be tracking them down to eliminate witnesses. Our way into this franchise is through the character of Mary Shannon, a tough, funny, sexy woman with a high-risk, high-impact job. And Mary McCormack is one of the few actresses around who can pull it off," said Jeff Wachtel, USA's Executive Vice President, Original Programming.

Monday Morning Makers & Shakers

Transactions: 11/27/06-12/1/06
Two big transactions fueled the bottom line as November segued into December. The biggest was an eight-market, ten station television group sale to Bonten Media Group. Two cluster sales from CBS Radio, to Peak in Fresno and Curtis in Greensboro, accounted for most of the week's value.

11/27/06-12/1/06	Total
Total Deals	11
AMs	12
FMs	7
TVs	11
Value	333.111M

| Complete Charts |

Radio Transactions of the Week
CBS spins out of Fresno
| More... |

TV Transactions of the Week
Blue Stone turns into Diamond
| More... |

Stock Talk

Another record high
Despite the usual caution ahead of a three-day weekend, stock traders pushed the Dow Industrials to another record close on Friday, up 41 points, or 0.3%, to 12,556. A strong report on retails sales and still lower oil prices gave stocks a boost.

TV stocks were also higher. Nexstar solidified its position outside of penny stock territory, rising 2.7%. LIN also rose 2.7%. Gray Television had a good day, with its common up 2.4% and its Class A up 2.2%.

US stock markets are closed today in observance of the Martin Luther King Holiday.

Stocks

**Here's how stocks fared on Friday**
Company	Symbol	Close		Change	Company	Symbol	Close		Change
Acme	ACME		5.30	+0.05	McGraw-Hill	MHP		67.89	-1.33
Belo	BLC		18.37	-0.04	Media General	MEG		38.42	+0.17
CBS CI. B	CBS		31.62	+0.42	Meredith	MDP		56.65	-0.23
CBS CI. A	CBSa		31.60	+0.35	News Corp.	NWS		23.66	unch
Clear Channel	CCU		36.19	+0.38	Nexstar	NXST		5.27	+0.14
Disney	DIS		35.21	+0.22	NY Times	NYT		24.05	-0.11
Emmis	EMMS		8.65	+0.03	Ion Media	ION		0.58	+0.03
Entravision	EVC		7.95	+0.13	Saga Commun.	SGA		9.94	-0.12
Fisher	FSCI		43.67	+0.51	SBS	SBSA		4.18	-0.05
Gannett	GCI		58.42	-1.07	Scripps	SSP		51.95	-0.20
Gen. Electric	GE		37.89	-0.03	Sinclair	SBGI		11.23	+0.07
Granite	GBTVK		0.10	unch	SWMX	SWMX		1.85	unch
Gray	GTN		7.79	+0.18	Time Warner	TWX		22.73	+0.11
Gray, C1. A	GTNa		8.47	+0.18	Tribune	TRB		30.60	+0.05
Hearst-Argyle	HTV		25.96	-0.09	Univision	UVN		35.82	+0.08
Journal Comm.	JRN		12.88	unch	Wash. Post	WPO		766.47	+0.72
Lincoln Natl.	LNC		65.90	-0.28	Young	YBTVA		2.59	-0.05
LIN TV	TVL		10.56	+0.28	-	-	-	-	-

Bounceback

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Below the Fold

Ad Business Report
Google deal for TV inventory
Could it drive down rates your rates...

Cable Business Report
Dolans boost their buyout bid
To buy out public shareholders & take Cablevision private...

Entertainment Media
Business Report
Chiller is a scary thriller
NBC Universal Cable Entertainment launches a Chiller of a net on March 1...

Monday Morning Makers & Shaker
Transactions: 11/27/06-12/1/06
Television, Blue Stone turns into Diamond
Radio, CBS spins out of Fresno...

TV Media Moves

Anchoring in Music City
Eva Melo has joined WLLC-TV (Ch. 42, TeleFutura) Nashville as anchor of its nightly news program, "Noticias Locales." Melo is heavily involved with middle Tennessee's Hispanic community through her work as President of the Franklin Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and publisher of Nashville's only bilingual entertainment guide, Que Pasa en Tennessee.

Stations for Sale

Market your Stations For Sale
in our daily epapers.
Contact June Barnes
jbarnes@rbr.com

More News Headlines

CNN in polling partnership
Opinion Research Corporation announced the establishment of a formal polling partnership with CNN. With the newly established partnership, The CNN Poll will become the CNN/Opinion Research Corporation Poll. "As the network gears up to offer the most in-depth and expansive coverage of the 2008 election, Opinion Research Corporation will be a key part of giving viewers the accurate and relevant information they demand to help them make decisions," said Sam Feist, CNN's Political Director."Opinion Research Corporation is very pleased to join the CNN family, and we look forward to a long and productive partnership," said Jeffrey Resnick, Managing Director for Opinion Research Corporation USA. CNN had previously contracted for polling conducted by Opinion Research Corporation, but the new deal makes them formal partners in polling.

Lawmakers jump
into retrans
A committee of the Iowa General Assembly has scheduled a hearing for this Thursday (1/18) on the ongoing retransmission consent dispute between Sinclair Broadcast Group and Mediacom, which has primarily affected Mediacom cable subscribers in Iowa. It is not clear what the state legislature can do, since retransmission consent is a federal law, but the hearing at the behest of Mediacom is clearly designed to paint Sinclair as the villain. Mediacom is also trying to get the US Congress to hold hearing on Capitol Hill. Meanwhile, Sinclair noted that the FCC on Friday again denied a request by Mediacom for interim carriage of 22 Sinclair stations on Mediacom cable systems, ruling again that it had no authority to grant such relief since the FCC's Media Bureau had ruled that Sinclair had not violated the Commission's good faith bargaining rules in its negotiations with Mediacom. The FCC did grant a request from Mediacom to fast-track its review, ordering Sinclair to respond to Mediacom's appeal by this Friday (1/19). Sinclair said it did not oppose that request.

Azteca America
adds Milwaukee
Interep's Hispanic television rep firm - Azteca America Spot Television Sales - has added Bustos Media's Azteca America affiliate in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to its client roster. Tom Marsillo, President of Azteca America Spot Television Sales, said, "We are thrilled to welcome WBWT-TV to our client base. Our footprint across the U.S. has expanded exponentially over the past year, and with each new affiliate our ability to deliver the Hispanic market to national advertisers grows even stronger."

TVBR Radar 2006

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

Biggest retransmission
fights ahead
In 2005 it was Nexstar which stared down reluctant cable MSOs, pulling its network affiliate stations and local newscasts off cable systems until they agreed to pay for retransmission consent. In 2006 Sinclair stepped up to take over the battle and is still at the forefront in 2007. But the biggest battles are yet to come. CBS Corporation CEO Les Moonves has said repeatedly that he will be demanding payment when his O&O retransmission deals come up for renewal. Fortunately for the MSOs, there is still some time remaining on the old deals struck.

TVBR observation: Having stood firm and pulled its stations off Mediacom systems serving some 700,000 homes, Sinclair is now going down to the wire in talks with the two cable giants, Comcast and Time Warner cable. Comcast has been adamant that it will not pay anything to anyone for the right to carry broadcast TV stations on its cable systems. We wait to see if they come up with some way to pay Sinclair while pretending not to. But Comcast is going to have to deal with reality, unless it wants to see a mass migration of its customers to DirecTV, EchoStar and such startups as FiOS, who are all paying for retransmission consent. It may not take a big financial hit right away if it refuses to deal with Sinclair, whose biggest TV markets are Tampa, Minneapolis and Baltimore. CBS is a different matter. Can you really imagine Comcast taking WCBS-TV off its cable systems in the New York market?
01/12/07 TVBR #8

Politicians jump
into Retrans dispute
With the largest number of Mediacom cable subscribers not now receiving Sinclair stations in Iowa, the state's congressional delegation has jumped into the dispute at the behest of Mediacom. In a letter addressed to the CEOs both companies, Senators Grassley and Harkin and Congressmen Boswell, Braley, King, Latham and Loebsack urged binding arbitration.

TVBR note: There is more detail on the next Big Retrans fight in TVBR.
01/12/07 TVBR #8

Moonves unveils CBS
digital initiatives at CES
"There's no such thing as old or new media anymore. We're just media," Moonves said. "Whether 'programming' means CSI or C++, we're all playing on the same big digital field. In some cases, we're developing our ideas entirely in house. And in other cases we're forming partnerships to bring ideas to life."

TVBR observation: Got to give Big Les a chuckle as he can turn a one liner. Take a look see what CBS and Big Les is up to in TVBR
01/11/07 TVBR #7

Big TV merger in Canada;
CBS plays a role
Two of Canada's largest television companies are going to become one. Alliance Atlantis confirmed yesterday morning that it was in takeover talks with Canada's largest media company, CanWest Global Communications, and the private equity firm Goldman Sachs Capital Partners - and by the end of the day it was a done deal, valued at 2.3 billion (Canadian). Once the deal closes, CBS will take over the distribution of the CSI shows now handled by Alliance Atlantis. "The combined expertise of CanWest and Alliance Atlantis will enable us to produce even better Canadian content, promote it more effectively, and provide greater access to more viewers across more platforms.
01/11/07 TVBR #7

Super Bowl ad winner named
Gino Bona, director of business development at Garrand Marketing Communications in Portland, ME, was picked the winner for the national Super Bowl ad contest.

TVBR observation: Did not see the video, well it is worth a view here in TVBR.
01/11/07 TVBR #7

Martin responds to
Dorgan localism inquiry
Addressing concerns that the FCC may proceed with ownership rule revisions without first completing a study of localism. That study was initiated by Martin's predecessor, Michael Powell. Martin assured Dorgan et al that the project would be seen through to completion.

TVBR observation: Dorgan and most of the senators who signed the letter of inquiry will no doubt have a chance to talk to Martin face-to-face when the Commerce Committee holds its first FCC hearing of the year 2/1/07.
01/10/07 TVBR #6

They do it again SWMX launches
SWMX Hispanic, a new division serving the company's growing roster of Spanish-language broadcasters and advertisers. SWMX Hispanic will provide advertiser access to local broadcast TV, cable TV and radio. SoftWave currently reps Spanish-language radio stations owned by Univision Radio, Entravision Radio and Spanish Broadcasting Systems, including many located within the top 50 U.S. Hispanic DMAs. By the end of 2007, SWMX Radio expects to reach over 70% of the U.S. Hispanic population, including Puerto Rico.
01/10/07 TVBR #6

Local Sales Manager
KSTR 49-TeleFutura Dallas is Seeking an experienced TV executive to join our dynamic team. Must have 4 yr degree in Marketing / Advertising / Business and minimum 5 yr experience in TV sales. Bilingual (Engl/ Span) preferred but not required. Ability to lead and manage. Good listener. Team player. Motivated and dedicated. Responsible for revenue production and managing local sales team.
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