Thursday Morning June 23rd, 2011, Volume 28, Issue 123

Merlin Media is classic Randy Michaels
Randy Michaels didn't even have to come up with a new employee handbook for his new company, Merlin Media, which is acquiring three big stations from Emmis for $198 million. The guidelines will be no surprise to Tribune and Clear Channel employees.

RBR-TVBR observation: What was notable about Randy's tenure at Tribune Company was the number of former Jacor and Clear Channel associates who quit good jobs to go work for him again, even as the company was facing public criticism and heading toward Chapter 11 - even while it was in Chapter 11. That loyalty to Randy and his management style is already evident with the first personnel announcements at Merlin Media - and we expect to see more familiar names as the company gears up. More...

LPFM on next FCC open meeting agenda
The next get-together of the four FCC commissioners and the public is on the calendar for Tuesday 7/12/11, and the agenda will actually include an item of interest to the broadcast community - a plank that will look at new rules for the establishment of new low power FMs and FM translators.

RBR-TVBR observation: We have to say that any full power broadcast station that is sweating the economic impact of a 100 Watt non-commercial station should (a) be ashamed of itself; and (b) consider getting into a different business. More...

GM dealers to offer free 3-months of SiriusXM on used cars
Customers will now receive a 3-month subscription to SiriusXM when they buy a pre-owned factory vehicle that already has a satellite receiver-GM-made or not-from over 1,000 participating GM dealerships nationwide.

RBR-TVBR observation: Remember, with GM's original investment in XM, they entered into a 12-year "distribution agreement" between XM and GM's subsidiary, OnStar Corp. The agreement called for exclusive installation of XM Satellite Radio into GM vehicles from 11/12/01 until 11/13. A low-cost deal may have been made off of this original relationship here between GM and Sirius XM. Nonetheless, free satellite radio for three months is going to move the needle for some used car buyers. More...

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Apple TV to bundle with new TV sets?
That's according to DailyTech: Apple is readying a launch of TV displays powered by iOS-- Apple's mobile operating system. iOS was originally developed for the iPhone and has been extended to support the iPod touch, iPad and Apple TV.

RBR-TVBR observation: The idea of Apple entering the bundled TV display biz has been tossed around for a while now. It would save consumers the extra steps of acquiring and hooking up an Apple TV box to their own TV set. However, More...

Parents may think TV ratings are flawed, and so what
A study in Pediatrics magazine found that less than half of surveyed parents felt that the age-based content ratings assigned to television shows were accurate. At the same time, experts noted that there was no particular reason to think that parents were clamoring for any changes. So it should come as no surprise that Parents Television Council immediately said the FCC should modify the V-Chip based on the studies.

RBR-TVBR observation: There is no way on this planet that something as fluid and amorphous as creative content can be jammed in a little box with a suggested age limit tagged to it. More...

Tim Pawlenty takes to Iowa TV airwaves (video) RBR-TVBR observation
Moody's bullish on television in 2012 election
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Advertisement TV stations get little financial return from social media More...

Island of common ground amid differences at FCC reform hearing
Just about everybody in the room where a House Communications Subcommittee hearing was held agreed that provisions of the Sunshine Act should be done away with as they pertain to the FCC. Otherwise, Republicans wanted to limit the FCC's role overseeing business entities, and Democrats thought the Republicans were overreaching to the point of creating a counterproductive bill. More...

NFL, players may be moving toward settlement
According to reports, the National Football League and the players it employs are getting much closer to an agreement. If the final details can be worked out, there may soon be an end to the league's player lockout, and both side will be able to commence preparations for the 2011 season.

RBR-TVBR observation: It's starting to look like broadcasters that rely on pro football for a significant portion of their programming and advertising revenue can start to breathe a little easier. But keep those fingers crossed! More...

Gannett newspapers laying off 700 more staffers RBR-TVBR observation
Elvis has left the stock exchange
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Ideas Working Now ™
Closing the gap on discrepancies
By Cole Croshaw, CEO, etrafficdirector.com
Successful campaign management is essential to generating current and future revenue. In radio and TV, we sell time. Discrepancies are not only lost time, but lost revenue as well. While makegoods are convenient in making-up some lost revenue, more time is lost in doing so. Agencies often require 2 for 1 (sometimes even 3 to 1) on makegood spots. So that's twice as much time wasted and unable to be sold. There is also wasted time in researching and resolving the problems. Not to mention, stress for account executives and their relationships with clients. Can discrepancies be eliminated all together? Probably not. But by establishing metrics, quality assurances, best practices and transparency, you should be able to prevent major discrepancies from occurring and close the gap on the unavoidable ones. More...

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GroupM updates mobile privacy guidelines
GroupM's COO John Montgomery testified in March before the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee during a hearing on internet privacy issues. Out of those hearings, the mega media agency just issued new guidelines underscoring the fact that mobile marketers need to establish fair and aggressive guidelines for the protection of consumer privacy in order to prevent the possibility of government regulation.

RBR-TVBR observation: The IAB, 4As and media agencies have consistently managed to stay one step ahead of government regulation on internet and mobile privacy issues. Self-regulation is the way to go and the industry is doing well at it. More...

Record political ad spending expected in 2012
According to a note from Moody's Investors Service, spending on U.S. political advertising will surge to record highs in 2012 as campaign spending caps are eliminated. Corporations and unions can spend unlimited money on the 2012 presidential election and Congressional races for the first time in more than a decade, Moody's analyst Carl Salas wrote in a note to clients.

RBR-TVBR observation: So if Salas is right, expect total spend next year to be in the neighborhood of $2.51 billion to $2.71 billion. This should help almost all forms of media tremendously. The trick, of course, is to reach out to the candidates and advocacy groups as soon as possible to ensure you are on the buys. More...

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Fort Wayne FM to be bought by Bott
Bott Communications already has an AM station in Fort Wayne IN, and it is now adding an WNUY-FM in the market. An LMA is scheduled to kick in shortly, giving the newly-minted old-fashioned AM-FM combo a head start on operations prior to closing. More...

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Radio Transactions
Noncom FM action in Ohio, Idaho

Witnesses divided on FCC reform, but all agree on a Sunshine eclipse
The House Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet began on a collegiate note - Energy and Commerce Ranking Member Henry Waxman (D-CA) thanked subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR) for his cooperation in assembling a balanced panel of witnesses to discuss the draft bill "Federal Communications Commission Process Reform Act of 2011." And true to form, the views of the witnesses, which included former Republican FCC Commissioner Kathleen Abernathy, reflected the various views of subcommittee members. More...

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Radio
Language flip for KTRB-AM San Francisco
In receivership since last September and having lost some of its English-language sports play-by-play franchises to other stations, KTRB-AM San Francisco is re-launching Friday (6/24) as a Spanish sports outlet. It is a new affiliate of ESPN Deportes Radio Expands to Bay Area. More...

Journal debuts two HD2 channels in Omaha
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Television
WBRE-TV Wilkes-Barre/Scranton launching 4 pm news
Nexstar's WBRE-TV Wilkes-Barre/Scranton will launch "PA Live!" on September 12th. It will be the market's first one-hour live, local newscast at 4:00 pm.

RBR-TVBR observation: Can you guess what is airing on the station now at 4:00 pm? OK, that was too easy. It is Oprah, of course. More...

truTV greenlights 5th season of Hardcore Pawn
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Peacock takes Tuesday
ABC w/ 'Wipeout' sees third-place tie
NBC winner w/ 'America's Got Talent' and 'The Voice'
Fox's 'Masterchef' third in the 8pm slot
Tuesday Late-Night winner is 'Jay Leno' The Tonight Show
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Fed pessimism depresses stocks - 6/22/11
The Federal Reserve cut its forecast of GDP growth and Wall Street took notice. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 80 points, or 0.7%, to 12,110. Broadcasting stocks slipped with the market. The RBR Radio Index was down 1.831, or 0.5%, to 346.448. The TVBR Television Index was down 10.269, or 3.9%, to 256.346. More...

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Winners   Losers   Radio & Television Indexes CC Media +7.1% ACME -15.2% Radio One +0.5% Emmis -5.3% n/a n/a LIN -3.7%