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Volume 23, Issue 148, Jim Carnegie, Editor & Publisher

Tuesday Morning August 1st, 2006

Radio News ®

Clear Channel stock:
Wall Street darling or dog?
While her one-time mentor Jim Boyle, now at CL King, has issued a sell call for the stock of Clear Channel Communications (7/31/06 RBR #147), Marci Ryvicker back at Wachovia Securities has reiterated her view that Clear Channel is a buy. "Clear Channel's radio segment should beat expectations as a result of persistent audience share gains, easy prior year comparisons and the company's focus on delivering local content via multi-distribution platforms," she said in a note following the RAB report that June radio revenues were up 1%. Ryvicker's other top choice is Entercom, which she said "should benefit from an improved Boston market, easing New Orleans comps and aggressive share repurchase activity." Victor Miller at Bear Stearns is also out with a note tapping Clear Channel as his top pick in radio. "CCU radio should deliver 4%+ Q2 2006 revenue growth, has not reflected CCO's recent 18% share appreciation, is repurchasing 600 million more in stock and will likely try to take advantage of one billion of its 1.5 billion in net capital losses against asset sales. We think CCU's implied valuation for radio (8.1x), share repurchases and ability to increase dividends make it our top pick," Miller said. He also likes Entercom and Cox Radio. "ETM's second half should be stronger with easy New Orleans comps (NO is 6% of ETM's revenue). CXR should see sequential Q2 performance improvement with a healthier Atlanta and exposure to the Southeast, which is generally seeing faster growth. ETM/CXR have low leverage and small floats," the Bear Stearns analyst said.

Strong debut for new stock
SoftWave Media Exchange was well received in its Wall Street debut. The stock, trading on the OTC Bulletin Board as "SWMX.OB," opened Monday at seven bucks and closed at seven bucks. In between it traded as high as 10:50 and as low as 6.00. As first reported yesterday by RBR (7/31/06 RBR #147), SoftWave, an electronic advertising sales company, sold new stock last week for three bucks a share and merged with a public shell company to make its Wall Street debut. CEO Josh Wexler told RBR yesterday that having public stock will give the company more visibility. "SoftWave has tremendous momentum right now, based on what we've been able to accomplish so far in radio, what we're experiencing in radio, and the opportunity that we see moving forward in television," he said. SoftWave, he said, is out to make the advertising business more efficient for the benefit of the both marketer and the broadcaster. "We're not looking to take advantage of one over the other. Because of that we've established tremendous credibility and trust in radio and we're just starting to do that in TV - and I think that the market has responded," Wexler said. Rather than an auction, like some of his competitors, Wexler says SoftWave gives the broadcaster control over inventory and pricing, so it is more of a bid/ask system. Although the radio business for SoftWave began with remnant inventory, he said the company is now moving to longer-term marketing deals. Wexler isn't out to replace reps, but say the SoftWave platform is designed to help them do their jobs better.

Advertiser on Religious broadcasting
nabbed by FTC
How's this for a scam? "...incorporate two companies, a non-profit organization, such as a church, and a for-profit healthcare company which would provide services to Medicaid-eligible clients...the ownership of the non-profit corporation needed to be untraceable to the healthcare company. The non-profit would collect donations, such as clothes and furniture, and distribute it to those in need, provided they gave the non-profit their Medicaid information. The participants were then supposed to funnel the Medicaid information to the for-profit medical services company that supplies its products or services to the recipient and bills Medicaid. The participant also could sell the Medicaid information to other providers and receive a referral fee between 100 and 500 [dollars]." This was a franchise business opportunity peddled by defendant Jeffrey W. McLain and others, an alleged former preacher, which used Religious radio and television to pull potential investors into seminars in 18 different media markets, including Atlanta, Baltimore, Raleigh-Durham, Chicago, Dallas-Ft. Worth, Memphis, Jacksonville, Nashville, Macon GA, Columbus GA, St. Louis, Philadelphia, Jackson MS, Norfolk, Richmond, and Austin. The Federal Trade Commission has succeeded in shutting down the business, prevailing in a US District Court on grounds that "...the defendants' business model would have required participants to break numerous state and federal laws." Numerous agencies aided FTC, including many state AG offices, US Postal Inspection Service in Atlanta, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

RBR observation: The broadcasters who ran the ads are not implicated in any way. However, it is a broadcaster's responsibility as much as possible to protect its audience from this kind of thing. McLain was going to make millionaires out of his clients via this scheme. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is, and you will be going above and beyond to call of serving the public interest to keep this kind of thing off the airwaves.

RBR observation: Thank you CBS
The move by CBS to take the FCC to court over its fine for Janet Jackson's Super Bowl flash (7/31/06 RBR #147) should be welcomed by everyone in broadcasting, from shock-jocks to conservative Religious stations. At long last licensees are going to get a clear definition of what does or does not constitute indecency - and whether the law that prohibits the broadcasting of indecent material between 6:00 am and 10:00 pm is constitutional. Nearly everyone in radio and television would have to agree with the claim in CBS' lawsuit that the FCC's indecency enforcement is "generally arbitrary, capricious and contrary to law." Having read pretty much every FCC indecency citation over the past 16 years, we must confess that we don't have a clue what the Commission's standard is. It is an ever-moving target that changes with each political wind that blows through Washington. That is not how a regulatory body is supposed to operate. It has been nearly 30 years since the George Carlin decision and it is high time that a federal court put the FCC back on track regarding indecency. Most broadcasters would be willing to comply with the rules - if only it were possible to know what they are.

CCU makes elections tougher
Clear Channel Communications has come under fire from CALpers, the California Public Employees' Retirement System, in the past for its corporate governance practices, but it appears the company is ahead of the curve in one area where Wall Street activists have been urging reform by public companies. No longer will a management-backed candidate be able to win a Clear Channel board seat no matter how many shareholders vote against him/her in an uncontested election. Under new bylaw changes passed last week by the Clear Channel board, a candidate has to receive a majority of votes to win - in other words, more "for" votes that "withhold" in an uncontested election. There is, however, a loophole. If a sitting director doesn't get a majority of "for" votes they must tender their resignation and not participate in board activities while other board members vote within 90 days on whether or not to accept the resignation. So, rejection by the shareholders doesn't necessarily mean that they lose their board seat.

Starring in a political ad near you...
Bill Clinton is not running for office. Neither is George W. Bush. Hillary Clinton is running, but only in New York. Tom DeLay may be running, but is currently going to court to avoid that possibility. Yet all of them can be seen wherever political ads are produced and aired. Bush has emerged as an element in ads supporting Democratic candidates, a tactic was far less popular in 2002 and 2004 when his popularity polls were running higher. Notably, ads tying Joe Lieberman (D-CT) and Bush have been a feature of the fierce primary struggle in Connecticut between the incumbent and challenger Ned Lamont. Lieberman has countered by using the potent Democratic bona fides of Bill Clinton in an effort to shore up his standing within the party in the intramural round of the election. Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton is liable to show up anywhere, in ads supporting Republican candidates. According to a pollster who spoke with the Associated Press, she is taking over this dubious starring role from Ted Kennedy. Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX) performs in commercials in exactly the same way for Democratic candidates.

RBR observation: We always hear that there's no such thing as bad publicity. At the very least, being used as an icon demonstrates that you have been an effective warrior, making your appearance as something to run against a form of flattery. Adopting this tactic constitutes making use of a generalization, and if we may generalize ourselves, we'd rather learn about the candidate buying the ad, not about who is in his hall of pet peeves. But when you only have 0:30 or 0:60 to get your point across, it's fair to use an iconic opposition politician as shorthand for all the things you are against. We're RBR, and we approved this message.

Sales & Marketing Business Report

Close-up: New electronic buying systems
Seems there are plenty of new entrants in the electronic buying systems marketplace. Some have more to offer than others. We asked Kathy Crawford, MindShare President/Local Broadcast, what she thinks about and wants from these systems.

A wish-list for the new electronic buying systems
By Kathy Crawford, MindShare President/Local Broadcast
Yesterday Kathy discussed issues involved with the eBay test for an online auction system for buying and selling ads, (7/31/06 RBR #147).

Now, for Bid4Spots, stations offer inventory that they haven't been able to sell for the next broadcast weeks. Advertisers get spots at lower rates because stations compete against each other. They say it's a reverse auction where radio stations sell whatever and it's for the next week but we don't normally buy that way. They ask us to fill in all of these things which is fine. That does change the way in which we do business and I have no problem with all that. The truth of the matter is do I know that all the stations in the marketplace are there? I mean this doesn't tell me what stations are available there. That's an issue. Then next week is the only week that I can buy, but I don't want to do that: I want to be able to buy for four weeks. Again, this is best for direct response or something like that where they're buying a week at a time. It's best for an account that doesn't need to have specific goals and budgets on a week-to week basis. Besides that if I have to buy it weekly through this system then I'm doing it four times in a row. That's really not how we do it and an inefficient use of manpower. SoftWave Media Exchange is already in radio. They don't have television now but cable [recently launched]. It's a web-based full service media platform specializing in delivery of automated excess inventory solutions. Well anytime they say that it means it's completely preemptable and, again, I don't know how many stations are participating. The big problem with all of these guys is if I don't have all the stations in a marketplace participating then I'm limiting myself to the stations that are. Can I buy it and not get preempted? When I buy it it's a buy? I don't think the radio stations look at it that way. When they say this is unsold inventory that means its unsold inventory until they can get a buyer. And if somebody at a large agency buys them do they preempt me first? Scatter TV is now moving into the world beyond scatter. Their problem, and I've said this to them, is that they don't have the whole market either. Then they want to know if we would use it? The issue at hand now is am I now going to buy time differently in Market A from Market B? I'm not sure that that expectation is a reality. They don't have the entire market either. And, we have to rekey it into Donovan.

Tomorrow: This could solve the discrepancy problem

Ad Business Report TM

Net Radio Sales repping ABC Radio streams
Net Radio Sales announced an agreement with ABC Radio to represent its network of online stations to national advertisers. "We are delighted to be working with ABC Radio with their legendary list of stations and excellent programming options. Their group of stations has well established online audiences that expand the reach of our network and offer more options within our network to advertisers," declared Jennifer Lane, President of Net Radio Sales. "ABC Radio has had an established streaming network for several years, and our audience has grown significantly. Net Radio Sales is a leader in the development of streaming radio revenue nationally, and we expect them to become a strong partner in our sales efforts," said Robert Shiflet, Internet Director for ABC Radio.

Click fraud case costs Google 90M

A class action suit against Google led by Lane's Gifts and Collectibles has resulted in a settlement worth 90M against the Internet search engine, but the plaintiffs do not stand to pick up any cash. According to the Associated Press, 30M will go to the lawyers, while the plaintiffs essentially get make-goods worth the remaining amount, to the tune of three dollars and 80 cents for each thousand dollars spent with Google over the past four and a half years. Smaller advertisers were said to be unhappy with the ruling because they would not be able to easily prove losses attributable to click fraud. Google claimed that 19 out of its top 20 large advertisers were happy with the deal, and also said it would continue its efforts to "manage invalid clicks effectively."

Jiffy Lube enters the entertainment biz
Is there going to be any place left in America that is free of electronic content? Jiffy Lube is the latest company to try to wring some extra money out of the captive audience it generates when it's servicing vehicles. J-TV Media Network will soon be a fixture in its waiting rooms across the country, treating customers to "car-care tips, additional service options and specials, and third-party programming." The company says the average stay in the waiting room is 20 minutes, more than enough time to squeeze in promotional material for its own services, along with additional messages from "select sponsors." The new service will roll out at 280 locations and is expected to be operating at 1K sites by the end of 2007.

RBR observation: Here is yet another hungry mouth to feed, siphoning what crumbs it can from the media pie. It may bring in a few extra dollars from the "select sponsors." We're not being overly cynical if we suspect that "select sponsors" means "sponsors willing to fork over some cash to join the select group of select sponsors," are we? However, while J-TV may goad a few customers into upgrading their service there, Jiffy Lube will still need outside media to drive the customers into the location in the first place. Don't let them forget...

Media Markets & Money TM

Philadelphia, Boston figure in multifaceted deal
Greater Media has finally agreed to acquire 102.5 mHz WCRB-FM Boston from Charles River Broadcasting, but they won't have it for long. The group will turn right around and swap its calls, format, the current WKLB-FM Lowell MA on 99.5, and cash to Lou Mercatanti's Nassau Broadcasting Partners for 97.5 mHz WTHK-FM Burlington NJ, part of the Philadelphia market. Brokers Tom McKinley and George Reed from Media Services Group represented Charles River Broadcasting in the sale of WCRB and then Greater Media in the swap deal, while Glenn Serafin of Serafin Bros. was at the bargaining table for Nassau. When the dust clears in Boston, Nassau will add the Classical WCRB format to its Massachusetts portfolio which currently consists of stations in the Cape Cod area. Greater Media will preserve WKLB-FM's Country format by moving the programming and calls to the incoming 102.5 frequency. On the Philadelphia end of the deal, WTKH-FM will move in with WMMR-FM, WBEN-FM, WMGK-FM & WPEN-AM, with a new format and set of calls which have yet to be determined. No financial details were announced, but RBR sees it in the 90 million-plus range.

RBR observation: Classical music fans in Boston will no doubt be relieved that the format will be preserved, if on a signal that is strongest to the northwest side of the market, rather than being relegated to an HD2 channel, which had been a possibility. Nassau has a dedication to the Classical format, since it already owns a string of Classical stations, known collectively as W-Bach, along the Maine Coast.

Mapleton adds equity partner
Fast-growing radio group Mapleton Communications announced an equity partnership with Corporate Partners II, an investment fund of Lazard Alternative Investments. "Over the past five years, Mapleton's management team under the leadership of Adam Nathanson has a proven track record of taking under-achieving radio stations in mid-size markets and turning them into highly profitable operations," said Ali Wambold, CEO of Lazard Alternative Investments. Mapleton most recently announced a deal to acquire 10 stations in Redding and Chico, California from Regent Communications for 17.5 million (7/20/06 RBR #140).

Washington Media Business Report TM

NAB asks FCC to stop the bleeding
Expanding its previous complaint about non-compliant satellite radio devices which exceed field strength limits, the NAB has asked the FCC to do more than simply suspend their manufacture until the problems are satisfactorily addressed. The problem is that the devices, 13 out of 17 of which have been shown to interfere with licensed FM radio stations, are already out there. "Although press reports indicate that XM and Sirius have requested their manufacturers to suspend production of noncompliant devices," wrote NAB President/CEO David Rehr in a letter to FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, "these actions do nothing to address noncompliant products already in consumers' hands or those already shipped to distributors or retailers." The devices include wireless satellite radio receivers and MP3 units. The answer: product recalls of all noncompliant devices.

Entertainment Media Business Report TM

Excelsior launches Dial Global Programming
Excelsior Radio Networks has closed on its acquisition of the 24/7 music formats from Westwood One (5/31/06 RBR #106) and created a new programming division within Dial Global consisting of the 24/7 formats and its X Radio syndication unit. Dial Global Programming is being headed by President Kirk Stirland, who will report to Dial Global co-Pres/CEOs David Landau and Ken Williams. Dial Global Programming will include the eight newly-acquired 24/7 music formats, renamed Dial Global Digital 24/7 Formats, and all of X Radio's current shows, including the Rick Dees' Weekly Top 40, Backtrax USA with Kid Kelly, Gospel Traxx with Walt "Baby" Love, The Big Time Saturday Night with Whitney Allen and Big Boy's Hip Hop Spot, and the full lineup of X Prep services. Also announced were some changes to enhance the 24/7 formats, including live announcers and programming through the day, seven days a week, customized jingles and other materials customized for each station. Dial Global also announced a barter-free introductory period for new stations, through 2006.

O&A strike again:
Rover is over in Chicago
A second Howard Stern replacement show at CBS Radio is looking shaky. Is Rover in danger of following David Lee Roth? At least Rover is still a strong performer in his former home market of Cleveland, although as of today he has lost his flagship station, WCKG-FM Chicago, where his show has failed to duplicate that Cleveland success. As of today, the CBS O&O is the latest expansion for Opie & Anthony, now airing on 20 CBS and Citadel stations in addition to their nationwide show on XM, which operates free of the FCC restrictions on the content of their terrestrial radio offering. Meanwhile, the Rover website shows eight affiliate stations remaining and it's back to WXRK-FM Cleveland as home base. In addition to Chicago, O&A begin airing today on KIFR-FM San Francisco, also a CBS O&O, in the 10:00 am to 1:00 pm slot.

Internet Media Business Report TM

AOL goes after YouTube
Like Google and Yahoo!, AOL is sensing a threat from user-fed video websites like YouTube and is trying to claim its own position as a key website for people looking for online video entertainment. AOL has announced a major revamping of its video portal in an effort to give visitors one-stop access to videos - not just those on AOL's own site, but those of rivals as well. In other words, searching for video on AOL could lead you to selections found on YouTube or Google, so don't be surprised if lawsuits ensue. AOL's video search will also feature video clips from more than 45 video-on-demand suppliers, such as A&E, National Lampoon and Nickelodeon. A beta of the new AOL video search site is due to launch later this week.

Transactions

2.5M WABQ-AM Cleveland OH from D&E Communications of Ohio Inc. (Dale Edwards) to Good Karma Broadcasting LLC (Craig Karmazin). 250K escrow, balance in cash at closing. [File date 7/12/06.]

100K KPWL-AM CP Newport WA from Radio Layne LLC (Scott Powell, Amy Meredith) to RuDex Broadcasting Limited Corporation (John Cooper). 50K deposit, 50K cash within 10 days of broadcast commencement. Buyer will build station. CP is for 1370 kHz with 50 kw-D, 500 w-N, DA2. [File date 7/12/06.]

Stock Talk

Slight declines to end July
Month-end profit taking didn't have a big impact on stocks Monday as the market closed down slightly. There was renewed concern about rate hikes as St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President William Poole said odds were 50-50 for another rate hike at the August 8th Fed meeting. The Dow Industrials finished down 34 points, or 0.3%, at 11,186.

Radio stocks were also slightly lower. The Radio Index declined 0.256, or 0.2%, at 142.170. No terrestrial radio stock moved a lot. Cumulus gained 1.7% and Fisher was down 1.4% as the bookends. But XM Satellite Radio took a new hit, falling 8.5%.

Radio Stocks

**Here's how stocks fared on Monday**
Company	Symbol	Close		Change	Company	Symbol	Close		Change
Arbitron	ARB		36.61	-0.13	Hearst-Argyle	HTV		20.00	-0.24
Beasley	BBGI		7.05	+0.05	Journal Comm.	JRN		10.55	-0.02
CBS CI. B	CBS		27.43	+0.18	Lincoln Natl.	LNC		56.68	-0.33
CBS CI. A	CBSa		27.38	+0.08	Radio One, Cl. A	ROIA		7.15	-0.01
Citadel	CDL		9.27	+0.10	Radio One, Cl. D	ROIAK		7.18	-0.01
Clear Channel	CCU		28.95	-0.03	Regent	RGCI		4.02	-0.01
Cox Radio	CXR		14.65	+0.03	Saga Commun.	SGA		7.60	-0.07
Cumulus	CMLS		9.50	+0.16	Salem Comm.	SALM		12.13	+0.01
Disney	DIS		29.69	-0.01	Sirius Sat. Radio	SIRI		4.20	+0.06
Emmis	EMMS		14.82	-0.01	Spanish Bcg.	SBSA		4.61	-0.06
Entercom	ETM		25.35	-0.07	Univision	UVN		33.40	-0.09
Entravision	EVC		7.78	-0.10	Westwood One	WON		6.66	-0.13
Fisher	FSCI		40.49	-0.58	XM Sat. Radio	XMSR		11.60	-1.07
Gaylord	GET		38.22	+0.01	-	-	-	-	-

Bounceback

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Below the Fold

Sales & Marketing Business Report
New electronic buying systems
Pt 2 Kathy Crawford, MindShare Pres/LB; Big problem with all of these guys is if I don't have all the stations in a marketplace participating...

Ad Business Report
Click fraud case costs Google
90M in a class action suit led by Lane's Gifts and Collectibles...

Media Markets & Money
Philly, Boston in multifaceted deal
Sees Greater Media & Nassau Broadcasting Partners doing interesting deal...

Washington Media Business Report
NAB asks FCC to stop the bleeding
Expanding its previous complaint about non-compliant satellite radio devices...

Internet Media Business Report
AOL goes after YouTube
Like Google and Yahoo!, AOL is sensing a threat...

Stations for Sale

CD Border 25kw FM
Profitable competitive op.
Small/dual market FM with huge upside for turnaround operator.
595K 781-848-4201 or [email protected]

Radio Media Moves

Upped at Salem
Christopher J. Henderson has been named Vice President of Human Resources at Salem communications. He had been an attorney with the company since 2001 and was named VP and corporate counsel earlier this year.

Dial-ing up a promotion
Dial Global has promoted Aviva Brukner to Director of Affiliate Services, where she will oversee the Affiliate Services Department including all systems, personnel and clearance information for RADAR and syndicated networks. Brukner had been Coordinator of Clearance Information for Dial Global RADAR networks and was hired as an Affidavit Analyst in 2004.

And more promotions
In conjunction with the launch of Dial Global Programming, Matt Caldaronello has been promoted to Vice President, Affiliate Management and Rob Edwards has been promoted to Vice President, Programming.

More News Headlines

RTNDA session
on updating
news operations
The Radio & Television News Directors Association is going to address a critical issue for broadcasters in conjunction with the NAB New York Content Creation + Show. ON Wednesday, 10/25/06 it's holding a "News and Technology Summit" which will address issues facing broadcast news operations moving into digital. It will look at technical, financial and other challenges which will come with operating in hi-def; how to survive in an on-demand world, melding air product with the web, cell phones and iPods; how to integrate your website and drive traffic; and how to harness the power of citizen journalists. RTNDA President Barbara Cochran explained, "This presents an excellent opportunity to provide RTNDA members on the East Coast with cutting- edge information on the impact of technology on electronic newsrooms." NAB President/CEO said he was pleased to extend his group's association with RTNDA beyond the April show. The session is designed for radio, television and on-line operators.

RBR Radar 2006

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

RBR First: Softwave Media Exchange hit the Market Monday
First reported by RBR and now official Softwave Media Exchange (SWMX) began public trading after a quick move to complete a reverse merger with Edgemont Resources Corp., a publicly traded company that shut down its energy exploration operations in June. The publicly traded shell provided a rapid path for Softwave to take its stock to Wall Street. Edgemont has changed its name to SWMX Inc. and, effective today, the stock will trade on the OTC Bulletin Board with the symbol of SWMX.OB. In connection with the merger, SWMX sold a private placement of four million shares of new common stock at three bucks per share, giving the company 12 million in gross proceeds for expansion and funding of current operations.

RBR observation: The key to any station's success is selling out inventory and not having to auction it off, but placing positive value and collecting the cash. Remember, once unsold inventory is gone, you cannot get it back. There is more to SWMX.OB see
07/31/06 RBR #147

Back with a vengeance
Long-time radio analyst Jim Boyle is out with his first reports for his new employer, the boutique Wall Street firm CL King & Associates, and he is no shrinking violet. Boyle sees a tough second half of 2006 ahead for radio and he has issued his first-ever sell call - for industry giant Clear Channel. Despite the increased radio revenues that Clear Channel reported for Q1 over 2005, Boyle notes that its revenues were still behind Q1 of 2004, before its Less Is More initiative. "So after two years of change, CCU radio's top-line hasn't grown and its station operating income fell 16%. Audience increases have ground to a halt.

RBR observation: Big isn't always better. If CBS Radio is successful in selling off the 10 non-core markets that it is shopping at decent prices, pressure will grow on Clear Channel to do likewise. Boyle, who is alone among Wall Street analysts in actually having worked in broadcasting, is finally telling The Street what many people inside the business have been saying for years: "in a management-intensive business, the giant radio platforms have too many 'balls in the air,' which has led to sub-par growth, in our analysis."
7/31/06 RBR #147

New electronic buying systems
Seems there are plenty of new entrants in the electronic buying systems marketplace. Some have more to offer than others. We asked Kathy Crawford, MindShare President/Local Broadcast, what she thinks about, and she wants from these systems. I have been pitched pretty much all of the electronic media systems out there and they fall into essentially two categories, online auctions and then there is the full blown systems.
7/31/06 RBR #147

Churn bites XM;
Subscriber forecast cut
For years RBR has been predicting that increasing churn would prove to be a problem for satellite radio companies, with disconnects by once-paying customers increasing at the same time it becomes more difficult to attract new ones. In his quarterly conference call, XM Satellite Radio CEO Hugh Panero admitted to Wall Street that churn was a problem in Q2 and contributed to the company reporting subscriber numbers that fell short of expectations. In an attempt to deal with the churn problem, Panero is promising better customer service.

RBR observation: New XM President Nate Davis has a big job ahead of him. He is recruiting a Chief Marketing Officer to oversee all sales and marketing efforts, but for now he is the point man on dealing with the twin problems of boosting the percentage of new car buyers who convert from test listeners to paying subscribers - expected to drop to 52% in Q3 - and keeping paying customers from canceling their subscriptions.
07/28/06 RBR #146

Layoffs at Westwood One
No surprise here, after new CEO Peter Kosann reported dismal results for Q1 and indicated that Q2 would be a tough one as well. Westwood One hasn't yet scheduled its Q2 conference call, but when it comes Kosann will be able to tell Wall Street that he is reducing costs. Pink slips went out yesterday in a staff reduction that a company spokesman said was across the board and affected WW1 operations nationwide.

RBR observation: Who will be next? The staff cuts at WW1 come just a week after 115 people were pink-slipped at CBS Radio. We wondered if new competitor Traffic.com had anything to do with Metro's problems. Traffic.com's earnings issued a day earlier included 10 million in radio ad sales. That's 10 million that Metro-Shadow would have or should have had before Traffic.com came on the scene.

RBR note: Hold on tight during Q2 calls as it is going to be a hard ride. Negative earnings have a way of affecting the total radio medium as it run down hill. Leadership need more than ever and RBR will do our part to help all not just with blood and guts news but with solutions to work out of this mess. Stay with us.
07/28/06 RBR #146

General Manager
Saga Communications, a top of the line radio and media company really has a rare opening at Rock 102 and Lazer 99.3. Saga carefully reviews all GM applicants but this opportunity necessitates being extra picky. Considering only GM's with a documented reputation for effective leadership and management to oversee these facilities that are accustomed to high standards at all levels. Excellent facilities, benefits and quality of living in Springfield, MA. Saga a top of the line company committed to excellence in media today. EOE.
See Radio Careers

General Manager
Needed for growing multi-station radio group in Mid-Atlantic region. Must have 6+ years of GM experience with proven results. Quality leadership skills with a strong sales background and totally familiar with all aspects of management. Great opportunity with Excellent benefits.
See Radio Careers

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