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Volume 24, Issue 148, Jim Carnegie, Editor & Publisher
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Tuesday Morning July 31st, 2007
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Radio News ®
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House subcommittee
 looks into royalties
The NAB calls royalties for airplay a performance tax. Howard Berman's (D-CA) Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet and Intellectual Property is taking up the topic today under the title "Ensuring Artists Fair Compensation: Updating the Performance Right and Platform for Parity for the 21st Century." The subcommittee is part of the House Judiciary Committee. Howard Coble (R-NC) is the Ranking Member. The session kicks off at 10AM, and will feature two witness panels. The first will be a solo outing for Rep. Paul Hodes (D-NH). The second features recording artists Judy Collins and Sam Moore, US Register of Copyrights Marybeth Peters, and ICBC Broadcating's Charles A. Warfield Jr. (ICBC is better known as Inner City Broadcasting Corporation).
RBR observation: We suspect Warfield will be the designated hitter for all broadcasters, and given the title of the session and the star appeal of some of the witnesses, we further suspect he will have his work cut out for him. The fact of the matter, of course, is that recording artists ultimately have little to gain if the current free play/free promotion arrangement is scuttled. We'll let you know how it goes.
NAB goes to war over performance tax
Key Washington radio stations and Capitol Hill news organs are being used by the National Association of Broadcasters to head off attempts by the recording industry to extract cash for airplay on the nation's radio stations. The ads contrast US broadcasters with international recording companies. The radio spot, which is running on key news and talk outlets including WTOP-FM (where RBR staff have heard it), WMAL-AM, WTNT-AM & WWRC-AM, makes this point: "For decades, radio has been promoting new music free of charge, contributing to the growth of new stars and new genres of music. But the big international record labels have a problem. They haven't kept up with the times. Now they are asking Congress to tax local radio stations to subsidize their failing business model to the tune of billions of dollars." The print ad adds to the NAB's argument: "A new performance tax would severely limit the ability of stations to deliver new music, news and public service messages to their listeners, simply to put more money in the pockets of giant international record companies." It's running in Roll Call, Congress Daily and The Politico.
| View the Print Ad |
RBR observation: Nobody disputes that broadcasters benefit from use of recording industry product. What's mystifying is the sudden inability of the recording industry to recognize how broadcasting returns the favor. What's next? Are we going to turn music radio into a shopping channel? If it's too expensive to play music, will radio stations be forced into a pay-for-play format? It should be perfectly legal, as long as each song is prefaced by an announcement like "And now, that great new band, the Airplay Seekers, brought to you by Brand X Records." Before the recording industry forces broadcasters into an equal and opposite reaction, they should consider the advantages of maintaining the status quo.
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Murdoch bid on the ropes
Resistance from members of the Bancroft family to a five billion bucks buyout of Dow Jones & Company by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation prompted News Corporation to threaten to walk away yesterday. The would-be buyer of Dow Jones and its prized possession, the Wall Street Journal, warned that it would not even seek a full shareholder vote if support from Bancroft heirs amounted to only 28% of the voting power at Dow Jones, as the WSJ reported was the tally several hours before the 5:00 pm ET deadline yesterday. The Bancrofts, with their super-voting shares, control 64% of the votes at Dow Jones, although they hold only a minority of the equity value. Hours after the deadline, there was no word on a final tally. The board of directors at Dow Jones, which has endorsed the buyout, is expected to hear today what the outcome was. Meanwhile, there was intrigue within the Bancroft clan. One heir who opposed the sale reportedly resigned as a trustee of one family trust, for fear of being sued by relatives who support the sale. Since the Bancrofts are deeply divided over the sale, there is the possibility that some heirs who are not trustees will sue their relatives who are for breech of their fiduciary duties if they refuse to vote for the sale at 60 bucks per share, which was a huge premium over the Dow Jones stock price in the 30s at the time Murdoch made his bid. With fears that Murdoch might walk away, Dow Jones stock fell more than 5% yesterday to close at 51.56.
RBR observation: We would hate to be a Dow Jones & Company director at the next shareholders meeting if the Murdoch bid is spurned. And we doubt that anyone else would relish a seat on that board, so we would not be surprised to see a mass exodus of the independent directors who voted for the sale and have nothing to gain by staying on to be in the middle of a feud that pits various factions of the Bancroft family against each other and the entire family against virtually all other shareholders - the people who actually own the majority of the company. That is, if the five billion bucks buyout is turned down. There is no other bidder waiting in the wings - at least, not at any price approaching 60 bucks a share. But to stay put and try to grow the company - something the Bancrofts haven't had much commitment to for at least a generation - Dow Jones will have to cut its dividend drastically and start reinvesting in itself - a move that will hurt the Bancrofts deeply in their own wallets and make the family feud even hotter.
 Another helicopter accident
A news helicopter for Fox O&O KDFW (Ch. 4) Dallas-Ft. Worth made a hard landing yesterday morning after experiencing engine failure in flight. The chopper ended up on its side after hitting the ground hard. All aboard suffered only minor injuries, including pilot Curtis Crump, Fox 4 News reporter Chip Waggoner and traffic reporter Julie DeHarty, who delivers reports for CBS Radio's KRLD-AM & KVIL-FM. News reports from Dallas-Ft. Worth credited Crump with expert piloting in getting the craft down on the ground after the engine quit. In addition to flying for KDFW, Crump is a pilot for the Tarrant County Sheriff's Department. The accident in Dallas took place just three days after two news choppers crashed while covering breaking news in Phoenix, killing all four people aboard the two helicopters. KDFW had also experienced a crash previously. A station news helicopter crashed in West Texas in 1986, killing both people on board.
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EMI buyout nearing success
With no other potential bidders on the horizon, the Terra Firma private equity group has raised its tender tally to 85% of the outstanding shares of EMI Group. But it still needs to get to 90% to take the 4.8 billion buyout of the record company to closing, so the deadline has been extended yet again - to this Wednesday. Back before a British regulator forced Warner Music Group to put up or shut up - and WMG said it would not be making a bid after all - Terra Firma had only been able to get a single digit percentage of EMI shares tendered for its offer, despite the endorsement of the EMI board. Now there are no rival bidders, but it is proving difficult just to locate all of the outstanding shares and have them formally tendered. 90% is a huge barrier to clear, so Guy Hands' Terra Firma will be beating the bushes to find enough of those remaining shares so the deal can close.
 Senate to ask FCC to throw a block
Mark Pryor (D-AR) has an item on Thursday's Senate Commerce Committee executive session which instruct the FCC to begin a rulemaking on blocking technologies. S. 602 the "Child Safe Viewing Act of 2007" should pass without difficulty. Pryor's bill would instruct the FCC to begin a rulemaking proceeding within 120 days of the bill's enactment in order to encourage of require the use of advanced blocking technologies, to identify such technologies, and to match up such devices across a wide spectrum of communications media including broadcast, cable, satellite, DVRs and other outlets. It also instructs the FCC to look into devices that "can filter language based upon information in closed captioning; operate independently of ratings pre-assigned by the creator of such video or audio programming; and may be effective in enhancing the ability of a parent to protect his or her child from indecent or objectionable programming, as determined by such parent." The measure will be considered by the full committee Thursday, 8/2/07 at a session beginning at 10AM.
RBR observation: Pryor's bill proceeds from some questionable assumptions. For example, in its "findings" section, it says that "75% of adults surveyed believe that television content marketed toward children should be subject to compulsory principles." It is possible to find other surveys which would suggest that 75% of adults believe that the government should stay out of content regulation. However, free speech scholar Laurence Tribe testified before this committee recently and pointed out that such technologies are far less intrusive on free speech than are options such as Pryor wants the FCC to study. We say full speed ahead on this project.
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Ad Business Report TM
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 Sarah Fay on running Carat USA
Newly-appointed Carat USA CEO Sarah Fay (7/30/07 TVBR #147) spoke with RBR/TVBR about her promotion and more of the philosophy behind the Carat USA-Carat Fusion reorganization. Fay was Aegis' ISOBAR CEO, and is now Carat CEO, reporting to Carat Americas CEO David Verklin. She tells us: "We've kind of had strategies in the works for a long time, and I have to say [departing Carat USA CEO] Ray Warren was very much a collaborative participant in all of it. So it didn't come out of the blue one day, but did accelerate a little faster than everybody had planned. We're with both leadership teams today and we're starting to get the hammer and anvil out and really figure out how this thing is going to work. A lot of people are very excited about it. We've already had calls from potential clients and people reading about it in the press, so we seemed to have hit a need vein in the market."
Does anything change with Andy Donchin,
Carat Americas Director of Broadcast Buying?
"No, I mean he's super-important to the company. TV will continue to be very important as a discipline. One of the things we're proud of is our degree of specialty in all of the mediums. We have one of the biggest local broadcast buying groups under Mary Barnas; we have one of the biggest Outdoor offerings in the country and great planning, too. All of these parts and pieces are great in and of themselves, but the online and offline sides of the business have been parallel tracking. We've been two separate businesses with lines into the same client. You ultimately at some point in the game have to structure yourselves around the clients so there is a single client lead and a single client strategy-someone who can speak equally knowledgably across all of the services of the company and then develop strategies that leverage each of the mediums against each other. So we certainly won't stop devising big broadcast programs, but we want to use digital in ways that maps to those programs. So if you run a big TV campaign, what's going to happen in Search? And will people be ready with the plans and the inventory to map the search inventory to the TV message? It's really connecting the dots between the mediums so all of the mediums together create more impact and engagement." Fay tells us she'll keep her family in Boston for now and commute to the NYC offices. She may get an apartment in NYC down the road.
FCIC launches PSAs to promote USA.gov portal
The Federal Citizen Information Center (FCIC) has launched a new PSA campaign to raise consumer awareness about the abundance of information that is easily available at the recently renamed USA.gov Web site (formerly FirstGov.gov). The campaign includes TV spots, print ads and a radio spot developed by Campbell-Ewald that tout how easy it is to find government information on countless topics of interest. Television spots called "Ask the Government," which vary in lengths from :10 to :60 seconds, feature humorous situations of everyday consumers approaching random government employees - who may not necessarily be the best source for the information they're seeking. In one execution, a family in a station wagon approaches a park ranger in a forest to ask how to apply for student loans for their children. In another, a newlywed couple knocks on the window of a space shuttle to ask the astronauts inside how to change a name on a driver's license. "Need federal, state or local government information?" the announcer asks. "Go to the official source: USA.gov." The spots direct consumers to the USA.gov Web site or the telephone hotline at 1 (800) FED-INFO (1-800-333-4636). In addition to television, the campaign consists of a sixty-second radio spot that takes the form of a quiz show where government employees - a park ranger, a judge and an astronaut - struggle to answer the question, "Where do you find a government auction?" Print includes magazine and newspaper. In one, an image of a pet rock with the caption "Pets Made Easy" is juxtaposed with a picture of a laptop with the caption "Government Made Easy." The premise is applied to a second ad called "Commuting Made Easy" that features a man wearing a jet pack next to the "Government Made Easy" laptop. In addition to the general market campaign, FCIC is launching its first Spanish-language campaign to drive traffic to the Spanish version of the site located at GobiernoUSA.gov.
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| RBR News Analysis |
 More on how the XM-Sirius merger
may affect terrestrial radio
There's a theory in the market that if the proposed XM-Sirius merger passes, the next thing on [Sirius CEO] Mel Karmazin's target list might be Westwood One. Why? 1. The stock is cheap. 2. He became the overseer there in 1993 and knows the company intimately. 3. He can license formats and talent back to the radio stations via the networks--talent like Howard Stern and Martha Stewart (even though he denies this is his plan with Stern). 4. WW1 can provide additional ad sales capability and, of course, Mel's favorite thing-cash flow. 5. Westwood One is having tough times right now, so Mel would likely be able to use paper, rather than cash, to buy the company. 6. The move would re-associate Mel with Norm Pattiz (WW1 Chairman). Mel originally beefed up the company after WW1 was known as "Westwood One and an eighth." Norm made a lot of money with Mel at the time, so here's another way for them to reunite in business. Potential candidates with enough experience to run WW1 could really run the gamut, including everyone from Gary Schoenfeld, MediaAmerica President and former WW1 employee (he no longer has an equity interest in the company); to Kraig Kitchin, who is in the process of leaving Premiere Radio Networks. Remember, WW1 is an LA-based company, where Kraig resides. We also heard Mel had approached Kraig at one point to be DOS for Sirius. Currently, WW1's main concern, however, is getting the new deal done with CBS Radio. Departing WW1 CEO Peter Kosann will likely stay on at least through that, and a good transition period thereafter. After that, the multiple other possible options for the company will be addressed.
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| Media Markets & Money TM |
Another brick in GAP's Lufkin wall
George Laughlin's GAP Broadcasting has struck a deal with Radio Woodville for KVLL-FM in the Lufkin-Nacogdoches TX market. According to broker Todd Fowler of American MEdia Services, the price is 750K. The station will join KSFA-AM, KTBQ-FM & KAFX-FM, all of which came in GAP's earlier multimarket acquisition of Clear Channel properties. "GAP Broadcasting is very pleased to acquire this station as it allows us the opportunity to fill-in with our existing cluster in this important market as well as build our portfolio in this region," commented Laughlin.
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| Media Business Report TM |
 Peacock and Gray Lady team up
The New York Times and NBC News/msnbc.com announced that they will collaborate on coverage of the 2008 presidential election. Effective immediately, the two news organizations will work together to showcase each other's journalism on their web sites, in video and in print, and to "broaden and deepen their coverage of the campaign for viewers and readers." Details of the collaboration: Msnbc.com will publish premium national political content from NYTimes.com on its website; The New York Times will have access to NBC News' premium political video content for streaming and publishing on NYTimes.com; NBC News will have first access to breaking news and enterprise reporting from New York Times journalists on the campaign trail for all its on-air and online platforms; The New York Times will have first access to breaking news from NBC News journalists on the campaign trail for its various platforms. The Times and NBC say they will explore ways to work together on day-to-day political coverage and at major political events. They will also look for opportunities for joint enterprise reporting on the candidates and major issues and developments in the campaign. However, the collaboration will be in addition to, and will not replace, the news organizations' existing relationships with other content partners. "Collectively, The New York Times, NBC and msnbc.com can deliver the most comprehensive and innovative multimedia reporting on the 2008 election in media. Our combined reach across platforms exceeds 45 million," said Vivian Schiller, Sr. VP and General Manager of NYTimes.com.
Clear Channel Airports adds Seattle-Tacoma, San Jose
Clear Channel Airports, a division of Clear Channel Outdoor, today announced it has won advertising rights to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and Mineta San Jose International Airport. The 10-year contracts, for which Clear Channel Airports was selected over several interested parties, will begin in August. Ranked number 18 and 40 in the country for flight volume, Seattle-Tacoma and San José will expand Clear Channel Outdoor's client base and enhance its ability to help advertisers reach an extremely desirable consumer base that includes elite, frequent flier business travelers. Clear Channel Airports will provide a mix of the traditional backlit inventory, banners, wraps, and possibly new digital offerings at these locations. "These additions to Clear Channel Airports' growing network expand our delivery to an affluent, hard-to-reach target audience," said Mike Riley President Clear Channel Airports. "The elite, frequent flier demographic has high personal income, discretionary buying power and significant influence on business purchase decisions, which has contributed to the steadily increasing importance of airport advertising."
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| Washington Media Business Report TM |
PTC seizes a la carte to back XM/Sirius
 The proposed merger between satellite services XM and Sirius picked up a fan when it announced its plan to offer a la carte channel menus to subscribers, if and when they become a merged entity. Parents Television Council's Tim Winter said it was the best parental control option they've ever seen: "...it will be a groundbreaking moment for the future of subscription-based entertainment...We call upon the cable and satellite television industries to follow the lead of XM and Sirius and give real choices to their own customers who are deeply offended by many of the channels families are forced to buy just to get access to quality family programming available on cable."
RBR observoation: If the cable and satellite industries are not already opposing this merger on antitrust grounds, this argument by PTC ought to put them firmly in the opposed-to-the-merger camp. The a la carte model will bad for the providers, and it will be potentially devastating to niche program services, including many religious channels which have opposed a la carte. We're sure the two MVPD industries are not going to want to hear about DARS a la carte every time PTC gears up its press release machinery.
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| Internet Media Business Report TM |
 Effectiveness of media buys
may hinge on average daily reach
Online advertisers targeting new-vehicle buyers can tailor how quickly their advertising reaches their intended audience by understanding the differences between daily and monthly Web site visitation patterns, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2007 Online Media Study--Wave 1. The study finds that websites vary widely in their average daily audience reach, which can affect online advertisers' success in conveying their messages. For example, retail-oriented messages such as cash-back promotions are more effective when placed on websites that have high average daily audience reach and accumulate their maximum reach quickly, while branding campaigns do not require this type of speed. For instance, when measured during a span of four weeks, the ESPN and Travelocity websites had a reach of 32% and 33%, respectively, among consumers who will buy a midsize premium crossover utility vehicle in the near future. However, the ESPN Web site achieves its reach in a shorter period of time. ESPN delivers nearly one-third of its total monthly audience in just one day, on average, while the Travelocity site has a daily reach averaging 4%. The study, now in its second year, is based on a random national sample of 11,240 verified new-vehicle buyers with Internet access who purchased a vehicle between August and October 2006. Approximately 88% of new-vehicle buyers use the Internet. The study finds that these new-vehicle buyers spend an average of 11 hours per week online.
The study also finds that visitation to particular Web sites can vary greatly by the type of vehicle consumers are likely to purchase. For example:
-- Compact basic car buyers are 44% more likely to visit YouTube at least once per month than the average new-vehicle buyer.
-- 14% of large pickup truck buyers visit NASCAR.com at least once per month, compared with 10% of buyers overall.
-- Midsize car buyers are more than 20% more likely to visit MSNBC at least once per month than the average new-vehicle buyer.
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| Transactions |
7.75M WCHV-AM/WKAV-AM/WCJZ-FM, WCYK-FM, WHTE-FM & WSUH-FM Charlottesville VA (Charlottesville, Staunton, Ruckersville, Crozet VA) from CC Licenses LLC, a subsidiary of Clear Channel Communications Inc. (Mark Mays) to Sistema 102 LLC (George Reed). 775K escrow, balance in cash at closing. Existing superduopoly. [File date 7/9/07.]
7,719,497 KTVE-TV Monroe LA-El Dorado AR (El Dorado AR, NBC Ch. 10) from Piedmont Television of Monroe/El Dorado License LLC, a subsidiary of Piedmont Television Holdings LLC (Paul Brissette) to Mission Broadcasting Inc. (David S. Smith). 385.975 escrow, balance in cash at closing. Will enter into SSA/JSA wiht Nexstar's KARD-TV Fox Ch. 14. Nexstar is paying one dollar for purchase option at seven times 12-month cash flow less the station's indebtedness. [File date 7/9/07.]
650K KBAC-FM Sante Fe NM (Las Vegas NM) from Educational Media Foundation (Richard Jenkins) to Hutton Broadcasting LLC (Edward B. Hutton Jr., Georgis S. Hutton). 32.5K escrow, balance in cash at closing. Superduopoly with KQBA-FM, KVSF AM & FM, KLBU-FM. [File date 7/9/07.]
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| Stock Talk |
A bit of a rebound
Wall Street recovered a bit on Monday, as bargain hunters moved in after the big drops of Thursday and Friday. The Dow Industrials rose 93 points, or 0.7%, to 13,358.
Most radio stocks were higher for the day. However, the Radio Index fell 0.555, or 0.4%, to 142.383. That was largely due to big drops for two stocks. Saga fell 6.5% and Citadel 4.7%. Westwood One was the day's big gainer, up 4.8%.
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| Radio Stocks |
Here's how stocks fared on Monday
| Company |
Symbol |
Close |
Change |
Company |
Symbol |
Close |
Change |
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Arbitron
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ARB
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50.05
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+1.21
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Google
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GOOG
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516.11
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+4.22
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Beasley
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BBGI
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8.60
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-0.07
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Hearst-Argyle
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HTV
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21.07
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+0.13
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| CBS CI. B |
CBS |
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32.77
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+0.07
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Journal Comm.
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JRN
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10.64
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-0.03
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| CBS CI. A |
CBSa |
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32.83
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+0.08
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Lincoln Natl.
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LNC
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61.24
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+0.62
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| Citadel |
CDL |
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5.10 |
-0.25 |
Radio One, Cl. A
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ROIA
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6.37
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-0.15
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Clear Channel
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CCU
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37.08
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+0.13
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Radio One, Cl. D
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ROIAK
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6.36
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-0.13
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Cox Radio
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CXR
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13.45
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+0.54
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Regent
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RGCI
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3.45
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+0.03
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Cumulus
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CMLS
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10.52
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+0.20
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Saga Commun.
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SGA
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7.62
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-0.53
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Debut Bcg.
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DBTB
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1.80
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unch
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Salem Comm.
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SALM
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8.83
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-0.13
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Disney
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DIS
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34.01
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+0.27
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Sirius Sat. Radio
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SIRI
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2.97
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+0.08
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Emmis
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EMMS
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7.57
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-0.26
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Spanish Bcg.
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SBSA
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3.36
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-0.04
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Entercom
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ETM
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23.23
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+0.02
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SWMX
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SMWX
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0.16
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+0.04
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Entravision
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EVC
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9.64
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+0.02
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Westwood One
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WON
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5.50
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+0.25
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Fisher
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FSCI
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46.12
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-0.57
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XM Sat. Radio
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XMSR
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11.16
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+0.14
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Bounceback
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 We want to
hear from you.
This is your column, so send your comments and
a photo to [email protected]
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Below the Fold
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Ad Business Report
On running Carat USA
Newly-appointed Carat USA CEO Sarah Fay goes One on One with RBR...
RBR - News Analysis
The XM-Sirius merger
More on how the potential merger may affect terrestrial radio...
Media Markets & Money
Another brick in GAP's Lufkin wall
Has struck a deal with Radio Woodville for KVLL-FM the price is 750K...
Internet Media Business Report
Effectiveness of media buys
May hinge on average daily reach...
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Stations for Sale
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Colorado
FM CP, Class C3
Transmitter, Antenna,
Tower Lease included
Gordon Rice Associates
(843) 884-3590 or
E-mail Gordon Rice Here
MCH Enterprises, Inc.
CA Coast FM: $1.5M
NV Boomtown: $895K
www.mchentinc.com
805.680.2265 (cell)
New Hampshire
AM/FM combo
First Class facilities in NH's
fastest growing area. Double
digit increases last 6 years.
Priced at 10x trailing BCF $4.99MM
Inquiries 781-848-4201 or
E-mail: [email protected]
WEB: radiostationsforsale.net
 Market your Stations For Sale
in our daily epapers.
Contact
June Barnes
[email protected]
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Radio Media Moves
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DiTomo joins Entercom
 Entercom Communications announced that Emily DiTomo has joined the company as Director of Communications and Environmental Affairs. In this newly established position, DiTomo will be responsible for the strategic planning, direction and hands-on implementation of Entercom's internal and external communications efforts. She also will oversee the company's broad-ranging environmental practices. Prior to joining Entercom, DiTomo served as senior public relations counsel for Buchanan Public Relations LLC.
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More News Headlines
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CC Radio unveils
panel of judges for
EAR Awards
Clear Channel Radio has unveiled the ad industry media notables participating on the independent panel of judges for the Excellence in Advertising on Radio (EAR) Awards (7/17/07 RBR #138). Panelists will include: Scott Donaton, publisher of Ad Age and Creativity; Teressa Iezzi, editor of Creativity, Jonah Bloom, editor of Advertising Age, Bradley Johnson, director of data analytics for Advertising Age and former editor of American Demographics, Josh Jackson, co-founder and editor-in-chief of Paste and Amy Corr, managing editor of MediaPost's online newsletters. Judges will be selecting the best advertising creative in six different award categories following a preliminary judging phase to be handled by dozens of ad execs.
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SmartMedia Magazine
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Coming in September
FALL NAB ISSUE
SPECIAL DISTRIBUTION:
NAB RADIO SHOW
Radio Roundtable:
Radio execs find solutions.
Media Markets and Money:
What's attractive to equity capital these days?
Ad Biz:
Gennele Niblack, Katz Political President
Sales:
Dial Global's Eileen Decker on radio ad sales
News/Talk:
Using your website to get, keep and grow your audiences
Political Advertising:
Greg Pinello, GMMB: Political dollars for radio: The need for there to be more ideological diversity in the news-talk format; Tom Edmonds, a Republican strategist with Edmonds and Associates
Legal Ease:
Gregg Skall:
"The FCC rules on political ads-Network exception issue".
HD Radio:
Monetizing Conditional Access
New Media:
Gary Arlen: YouTube, Joost and the emerging Fox-NBC website are just the start of big bandwidth video via the Internet.
Streaming:
The impact of CRB Royalty rates on webcasters and streaming ads.
For advertising
information, contact:
June Barnes
[email protected] 803-731-5951;
Jim Carnegie
[email protected] 813-909-2916 or
Carl Marcucci
[email protected] 703-492-8191.
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RBR Radar 2007
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Radio News you won't read any where else. RBR--First, Accurate, and Independently Owned.
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Cumulus Tallahassee cluster
takes 20K FCC hit
An informal objection to the license renewals of five Cumulus Media radio stations in the Tallahassee market has been denied by the FCC, but underlying problems with the clusters public files at two of them have caused the cluster to deal with a lighter wallet. In its application for the renewals, Cumulus had indicated that its public files were up to regulatory snuff, but the stations were still missing the program/issues information when FCC inspectors showe! d up. Cumulus was deemed to have served the public interest, so the licenses were renewed, and Cumulus was hit with a total of 20K in fines.
RBR observation: Do not know how many times RBR has told every operator to get their public file clean and up to date. Getting hit with a fine is like tossing cash out the window. Just takes a little time each week to do a self inspection. It is the GM's responsibility to see this is completed.
07/30/07 RBR #147
NAB/MSTV try to
keep spectrum clean
Major television trade associations are worried about the introduction of unlicensed spectrum devices into the band used by broadcast television stations, particularly in the face of the transition to digital-only broadcast. NAB's David Rehr and MSTV's David Donovan are trying to head off any rash moves in this arena.
TVBR observation: With all the worries expressed by politicians about pulling off the DTV transition at all, it is unfathomable that anybody would consider putting it at risk for an ill-defined experiment in first-come, first-served spectrum grabbing. White space projects need to be moved back until we make sure the spectrum incumbents are able to operate safely.
07/30/07 TVBR #147
David Rehr's pen pals
You'd never know it's the summer doldrums in Washington, particularly if you're trying to keep up with NAB President/CEO David Rehr. He's been blanketing the city with mail lately, firing off a letter on XM/Sirius to the FCC, another letter on the DTV transition to the Senate Commerce Committee, and yet another letter on streaming audio royalties to no less a dignitary than President George W. Bush. Rehr told Kevin Martin and the other Commissioners that late XM/Sirius promises are "...designed to dress up the proposed merger-to-monopoly as a benefit to the public. But you can't make a silk purse from a sow's ear."
RBR observation: Our recommendation to David is keep a high level of caffeine and keep up the pressure. More details on Rehr's pen pals in RBR.
07/27/07 RBR #146
Watchdogs, some senators
have DTV doubts
By and large, representatives from the NTIA and FCC think that the groundwork for the DTV transition is going forward as it should. But a number of member of the Senate Commerce Committee aren't so sure, and members of the watchdog community also have some questions.
TVBR observation: Note more details in TVBR but here is our take in a nutshell. We're with Sununu. He noted that broadcasters and other interested parties have their economic health at stake and he is sure that motivation will get them working toward a smooth transition. He also noted the possibility that the 1.5B or so allocated for converter coupons may wind up being more than is needed to meet demand. We don't know that we'd go that far, but it certainly is a possibility. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) asked about targeting analog-only TV users. Seidel talked about various outreach efforts, but the simple answer is that people who watch TV will find out what they need to know by watching TV. They will be self-targeting.
07/27/07 TVBR #146
WaPo Radio experiment
nearing a plug pull?
The joint effort to run an in-depth news radio station struck in Washington between the Washington Post and Bonneville International appears to be on life support. The two-stick station, WTWP-AM 1500 kHz and WTWP-FM 107.7 MHz, utilizes the vast journalistic resources of the Post. It's a compliment to Bonneville's local all news institution WTOP. Unfortunately, few are tuning in, and according to Washingtonian, the plug may be pulled by the end of the current baseball season (the stations carry MLB Washington Nationals baseball games).
07/26/07 RBR #145
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