Broadcasters, vendors
file for FM HD power hikes

More reaction to the PPM restart
Arbitron Radio Advisory Committee (RAC) Chairman Chuck DuCoty says the big issue is not accreditation, but that PPM must be right - and in his view the main concern is still sample size. Saga CEO Ed Christian warns that Arbitron should not "rush headlong back into an unproven technique and a methodology with unanswered questions." Arbitron spokesman Thom Mocarsky, meanwhile, responds to the worries of Kathy Crawford (6/13/08 RBR #116) and assures broadcasters that the MRC audits for all eight new markets will be complete before they go currency with the September data. The list speaking out reads like the Who's Who on this issue at RBR.com

RBR observation: Just like talk radio, the phone lines are open - except in this case it's email. Was Arbitron right to go ahead with the restart? Is accreditation by MRC needed before ads should be bought and sold based on PPM? Or do you have other concerns? We're waiting to hear from you at [email protected]

Organizations back FCC on profanity
It will come as no surprise to veterans of the 21st Century indecency wars to learn that the Parents Television Council has filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court supporting the FCC's ability to punish incidents of fleeting profanity. Another organization has similarly weighed in - the American Center for Law and Justice is doing to on behalf of 18 members of Congress. ACLJ basically argued that context should be considered in all indecency proceedings, fleeting or not. PTC said 80 years of jurisprudence, the green light on cursing granted to broadcasters by two federal judges and an overwhelming sense of the nation all support the FCC's case.

RBR observation: If there is a problem with indecency enforcement, it is the fact that it is very subjective and full of shadings of gray. The FCC has struggled for years to find as bright a line as possible so that broadcasters have some idea what is and what is not permissible. ACLJ's argument would actually make the whole thing one great big gray area. For more, follow the headline to RBR.com.

Legislators leery of royalties
Perhaps we were a bit premature in our recent comments on the prospects of performance royalties in Congress. If your perspective is limited to the Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet and Intellectual Property, you'd think legislation making them a reality is a mortal lock. However, the NAB has been busily assembling a lengthy bipartisan roster of reps who oppose new royalties, and that effort is within votes three of a floor majority. The senate effort is less far along. Recent additions to the list of legislators supporting the Local Radio Freedom Act (S. Con. Res. 82) brings the House total to 215 (out of 435), and the senate total to 13.

RBR observation: This is one of those issues that springs forth from time to time like a cicada uprising. If NAB is able to help shoot this down in 2008, it deserves a nice round of applause, since the committee responsible for the legislation seems perfectly ready to move forward with it. But watch out - even if it's driven underground this year, it's sure to rise again in the future.

XM/Sirius sees White Smoke
From the chimney of the FCC according to various reports early this morning which claim FCC Chairman Kevin Martin is giving is blessing to this long awaited merger removing probably the last regulatory hurdle calling it a done marriage. Details are sketchy but according to the WSJ there will be a few conditions that will have to be met to protect the interest of consumers namely controlling any price increases with the satellite services. In the WSJ report another condition is the satellite guys have to set aside 8% of its channels for noncommercial and minority interests.

Another soft month
Look for the RAB to report May revenue figures sometime this week. It will, by all accounts, be another down month. The Wall Street consensus is a 4% decline. CL King analyst Jim Boyle says based on his checks of markets across the country, he is expecting the decline to be 5-6%. Once again, Boyle says smaller markets did better than their larger brethren, with the revenue gap growing in May. That's 24 months out of the last 28 that small to medium markets performed better than large markets, Boyle notes.

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Washington Business Report
Analog sales action,
With a twist, 2 new consent decrees
taking aim at the sale of analog

Makers & Shakers
Transactions: 4/28/08-5/2/08
Radio, Clear Channel enriches
Blueberry portfolio. Television, Going through a quiet spell

Ratings & Research
Kids and Teens:
The Video Generation and
Where the spend their time

Upped in Lincoln
KLIN-AM Lincoln, NE News Director John Bishop has been promoted to Program Director of the NRG Media station. Bishop has been part of the "Voice of Lincoln" staff for more than 15 years.

Windy City return
Citadel's WLS-AM Chicago announced that "after some successful negotiations, Christina Filiaggi returns to the Roe Conn Show on Chicago's Talk Station, WLS 890 AM. The lone female voice of the show and her traffic reports have been missed since late February." Filiaggi made a "guest appearance" Friday and officially returns to the staff full time today.

PPM restart a "go"
What most people in radio had been expecting - Arbitron will resume its Portable People Meter (PPM) rollout this fall. Details at RBR.com

RBR observation: If your market is in line for PPM and you haven't really kept up on developments because the rollout was on hold, got to the Media Center at RBR.com to hear the panel discussion of PPM issues.
06/13/08 RBR #116

Clear Channel racing
toward July 30 closing
Just a few weeks ago Clear Channel Communications was telling shareholders to expect the company's long-pending buyout to go to closing in Q3. But they'll only have to wait until the first month of the quarter.

RBR observation: We still have not heard any indication that there will be any organized opposition to the $36 price at the July 24th meeting. That $39.20 bid is now a distant memory as shareholders look at what's happening to oil prices, the US economy and stock prices every day. Time to take the money and run.
06/13/08 RBR #116

Chamber goes to
bat for broadcasters
The broadcast industry must not be shackled with onerous rules that would hinder its ability to compete. Sounds like something the NAB might say, but in fact these are the words of William L. Kovacs, VP/Environment, Technology & Regulatory Affairs for the US Chamber of Commerce. USCC wants the FCC to pull back.

RBR observation: The station can produce a completely empty creel regarding the FCC's fishing expedition for the kind of public interest programming it would like to see, and still the FCC would have no recourse. And if we are correct, and the FCC cannot do a thing about such a ridiculous abuse of the airwaves (which no broadcast company in its right mind would ever perpetrate) (except maybe as an interim format flip stunt) then the whole entire FCC enterprise is a waste of time and money.
06/13/08 RBR #116

Performance royalties
get loft in subcommittee
Many see only the performers side, and the members who see merit in the broadcast side also see merit in the performer's argument. That means the tilt would seem to be firmly to the performer side of the issue.
06/12/08 RBR #115