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Volume 24, Issue 149, Jim Carnegie, Editor & Publisher
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Wednesday Morning August 1st, 2007
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Radio News ®
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 Battle lines drawn on performance payments
At issue is the symbiotic relationship between broadcasters and artists. It has long been held that radio airplay is key to the financial success of musicians, and that this free exposure of their music is ample compensation for broadcaster's benefit in using it as program material. The push is on for artists to now be paid every time their work is played by broadcasters. If you're a musician or recording company it's a royalty. If you're a broadcaster, it's a performance tax. Yesterday Howard Berman (D-CA) and his Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet and Intellectual Property convened a hearing panel on the topic pitting ICBC's Charles Warfield, pictured, against two artists, a copyright expert and a musician-turned-Congressman. That would be Paul Hodes (D-NH), who joined recording artists Judy Collins (next to Warfield) and Sam Moore, and US Register of Copyrights Marybeth Peters in calling for an end to a broadcast exemption on paying performance royalties to artists and labels. ICBC Broadcasting's Warfield, testifying on behalf of the National Association of Broadcasters, was the lone voice in favor of retaining the exemption. The argument for ending the exemption is tied to technology and parity. There are said to be many more platforms for exposing music, including satellite, cable and internet sources, all of which do pay performance fees. Since record sales are hurting, broadcasters need to help take up the slack so musicians and producers can continue to provide product. The counter argument is that the change in the recording industry brought by technology is no fault of broadcasters. And radio still to this day provides over 230M listeners weekly who listen to the latest tunes, still by far the best source of exposure for musicians.
Back and forth on performance fees
Howard Berman (D-CA) and many other members of Congress feel it's time for a change in the way musicians are compensated when their material is performed on-air. Other venues pay for performance rights, and Berman said it's hard to justify an exemption for any one platform. And because America does not have an adequate performance right, American artists cannot get compensation in overseas, even though they provide most international music. What should give broadcasters pause is the fact that his views were largely echoed by Darrell Issa (R-CA), who is not going to be mistaken for a liberal Democrat any time soon. He said broadcasters should embrace the change that he is sure is coming, and that its ramifications will be wide-reaching. "The change we make is a change we make for the rest of the world..let's make a change we're all proud of," Issa stated. He also called for an all-broadcast panel in the near future to discuss the matter. The Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet and Intellectual Property Ranking Member Howard Coble (R-NC) spent his statement time reading his own brief outline both sides of the issue into the record. He said he has friends on both sides of the issue "...and I want to make it clear that I'm with my friends." ICBC's Charles Warfield told the gathering that he wondered why the recording industry wished to bite the hand that feeds it, and the ultimate result of any changes in the current system will likely be negative for both sides.
RBR observation: Any time Democrats and Republicans demonstrate general agreement, as they did today, it means that the NAB has its work cut out. There was much talk of coming up with an equitable system that attempts not to punish small stations. But there seemed to be widespread sentiment to move ahead on this. Beware, folks - legislators are at work.
| Testimony summaries |
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Sirius won't obey FCC compatibility rule
unless merger is approved
Sirius and XM grabbed headlines earlier this month by promising to offer lower-priced packages and eventually a la carte channel buying if their proposed merger is allowed to go through (7/24/07 RBR #143). In his quarterly conference call with Wall Street analysts yesterday, Sirius CEO Mel Karmazin was again touting the proposal as "more choices and lower prices" for consumers to bolster the case for allowing the only two satellite radio companies that exist to become one. Never mind that most of those things could be implemented today without a merger - and all could be if the two companies were in compliance with the FCC rule that requires them to have compatible receivers. But more on that in a moment. Lots of public comments on the proposed merger have been filed at the FCC and Karmazin gave analysts an update on the less-public process of the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice, saying Sirius expects to provide all of the data sought in DOJ's second request by the end of summer.
 If the regulatory approvals are forthcoming and the merger closes by the end of this year, Karmazin said Sirius/XM should be able to offer its lower cost packages by around Fathers Day and graduation time ("dads and grads" sales) in 2008, with a la carte offerings, which require a combined chipset, by the Christmas sales season. Then Sirius President of Operations and Sales Jim Meyer made this astounding statement: "I think you need to be careful. It's not a given that we need an integrated chipset to offer any of the things that Mel has talked about. I want to reiterate what Mel said. The packages will be available by Fathers Day of next year. More importantly, they will be retroactive to virtually all of the products that are in the field. So there is not a risk of obsolescence with any of those. And then the a la carte will take more work and will require a new radio which will be in the market to support the Christmas selling season next year. That said, if the merger goes through I'm very positive that we will very, very aggressively go after an integrated chipset. The timing of that chipset is probably somewhere between one year and two and a half years, depending on what we decide to feature in it, and we won't be able to begin that work until it's clear that the merger's approved."
RBR observation: How's that? From the very beginning, XM and Sirius were required by the FCC rules creating the satellite radio service to have mutually compatible receivers - a legal requirement that both companies blithely ignored when they launched with proprietary systems. Since then, and long before any merger was proposed, they have repeatedly told the FCC that they have been working to come into compliance with the compatibility requirement. But now Sirius is saying that it isn't going to go ahead with the compatible chipset unless the merger is approved. Can you imagine what would happen to an AM, FM or TV broadcaster who openly violated FCC rules in such a manner? There would almost certainly be huge fines assessed and perhaps even a license revocation hearing. Why isn't that happening here?
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 Moonves expresses confidence
in Dan Mason
In several past quarterly conference calls, CBS Corporation CEO Les Moonves had praised the success of the "Jack" format for CBS Radio, but yesterday he was talking about the recent return of the "beloved Classic Rock format" at WCBS-FM New York, with no reference to the jettisoned Jack. Moonves hailed new CBS Radio CEO Dan Mason, pictured, for his "swift and decisive changes" that have boosted ratings in New York - with expectations that he will do the same in other markets. "Dan is a programmer at heart," Moonves said. Mason has his work cut out for him. CBS Radio revenues were down 11% in Q2 to 463.4 million, which was attributed partly to station divestitures in some smaller markets. On a same station basis, radio revenues were down 5%. Radio OIBDA (operating income before depreciation and amortization) was down 18% to 187.3 million and operating income also decline 18% to 179.4 million. TV revenues were down 4%, but operating income increased. Meanwhile, the outdoor and publishing units were both up, giving CBS over all revenues in line with expectations, down 3% to 3.37 billion. Earnings beat the Wall Street consensus by three cents per share at 55 cents per share from continuing operations. Looking ahead, the company offered this guidance to investors: "When comparing full year 2007 to 2006 on an as reported basis, several factors - including higher expense for stock-based compensation, the sale of 39 radio stations and nine television stations, the shutdown of UPN and the non-renewal of low-margin major urban outdoor transit contracts - will result in revenue and operating income that will be comparable to that of 2006."
Murdoch seals the deal to buy Dow Jones
After pressing for a higher price, most of the Denver faction of the Bancroft family has blinked and accepted the 60 bucks per share offer for Dow Jones & Company from Rupert Murdoch and News Corporation, according to the website of the Wall Street Journal, the marquee property of Dow Jones. "A century of Bancroft-family ownership at Dow Jones & Co. is over," the WSJ proclaimed on its website late yesterday. That Denver change of heart gives Murdoch support from more than half of the Bancroft voting block and virtually assures shareholder acceptance of the five billion bucks buyout. The Bancrofts, who have controlled Dow Jones for the past 100 years, hold 64% voting control. News Corporation had indicated that it would not go forward with Bancroft backing that totaled only 28% of the total votes, which was apparently the tally by Monday's deadline. But that deadline proved flexible as the so-called "Denver Trusts" dropped their demand that a premium price be paid for the super-voting Class B shares and agreed to support the buyout, raising the level of support to at least 37.4% - with nearly unanimous support expected from the public holders of Class A shares, who own the majority of the company equity but only 29% of the voting power. Part of what persuaded the Denver faction to come into the fold was a move by the Dow Jones board of directors to assume the fees owed to the Bancroft family's financial and legal advisors, said to total around 30 million bucks, effectively moving those costs to the buyer, News Corporation.
RBR observation: Not an unreasonable compromise, but it is just incredible that the bargaining finally came down to 30 million, which is pocket change for a five billion bucks deal. So, the price moves from 5.00 billion to 5.03 billion and the deal is done. The Denver Trusts are only the third largest block of Bancroft family shares, so it looks like their brinksmanship - which nearly scuttled the five billion bucks buyout - has saved them about four million bucks.
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Summer Reruns Worth Watching.
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| Wall Street Media Business Report TM |
Sirius reduced losses, outgrew XM in Q2
Sirius Satellite Radio says it ended Q2 with more than 7.1 million subscribers, growing faster than rival (and would-be merger partner) XM in both retail and OEM receiver sales. Sirius reported that it claimed 75% of after-market retail sales for the quarter and, a figure it said might surprise investors, also had 60% of OEM sales. Revenues jumped 51% from a year ago to 226.4 million - putting the company on track to have nearly one billion of revenues this year. Sirius cut its net loss by 44% to 134.1 million for the quarter. The adjusted net loss per share (adjusted for stock-based compensation) was eight cents, an improvement from 11 cents a year earlier.
RRsat reports record Q2 earnings
Israel-based RRSat Global Communications Network Ltd., which trades on Nasdaq at RRST, reported that Q2 revenues were up 42.6% to a record 14.7 million. Adjusted EBITDA rose 27.4% to 4.0 million. Adjusted net income grew 37% to 2.7 million, for EPS of 16 cents. CEO David Rivel reported the highest order backlog in the company's history and he said the company has identified several potential acquisition targets in the US. RRSat is a provider of comprehensive content management and global distribution services to the television and radio broadcasting industries.
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Ad Business Report TM
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 Tony Ponturo to Keynote
Interep's 9th Annual Power
of Urban Radio Symposium
Interep announced Tony Ponturo, VP/Global Media and Sports Marketing, Anheuser-Busch, and President/CEO of Busch Media Group will deliver the keynote at its 9th Power of Urban Radio Symposium on Thursday, September 20th, at the Grand Hyatt in New York City. The theme of this year's symposium is "Urban Radio Means Business: Invest in Urban Radio, Watch Your Business Grow." Ponturo will discuss Anheuser-Busch's commitment to diversity and the company's creative efforts to engage multicultural consumers. Local radio plays a significant role in Anheuser-Busch's marketing efforts to reach both general market and multicultural audiences. Ponturo will discuss the particular benefits that radio offers Anheuser-Busch and similar marketers, and what Urban Radio in particular can do to help bring value to multicultural advertisers. Ponturo is responsible for directing all media planning and buying activities for the Anheuser-Busch beer brands and for Busch Entertainment (including Busch Gardens and Sea World). He also oversees all sports entertainment and digital marketing for the company. Co-chairs of this year's symposium include Wayne Brown, VP/GM, Radio One, Atlanta; Rick Caffey, Sr. Vice President/Market Manager - Atlanta - CBS Radio; Tony Kidd, Vice President /GM, WALR-FM, Cox Radio.
Richmond, gasoline radio spots examined
Media Monitors took a look at gasoline advertisers, the city of Richmond, VA and their use of spot radio. Coming in #1 was VERIZON with 726 units. Next was FORD LINCOLN MERCURY with 660, while GEICO was #3 with 412 commercials. #4 was CHRYSLER - JEEP - DODGE placing 378, with 306 spots MECHANICSVILLE TOYOTA comes in #5. #6 CLEARWIRE ran 296 commercials and #7 with 291 was PATRICK CHEVROLET. HOME DEPOT comes in #8 with 281 closely followed by #9 CAVALIER TELEPHONE BUNDLE with 272. MCDONALD'S rounds out #10 with 269. Last week in America, Gasoline companies running the most were spots were SHELL at 4,448 spots. #2 is DIAMOND SHAMROCK-VALERO with 1,158, CITGO was #3 with 1,150. #4 with 718 was CHEVRON with SUNOCO hitting #5 and 545 spots. 269 was TESORO in the #6 slot. #7 airing 251 commercials was HESS CORPORATION followed by #8 EXXONMOBILE with 140. Rounding out #9 and #10 are MARATHON with 69 spots and LUKOIL OIL COMPANY with 44. On the NATIONAL SPOT TEN last week, FORD LINCOLN MERCURY is the leader with 29,017 spots. Next was HD DIGITAL RADIO ALLIANCE at 27,282 while VERIZON rounds out the top three at 26,954.
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| Media Business Report TM |
 Hot convenience and
department stores
growing at fastest rate
Though the retail industry grew 6.4% as a whole last year, a handful of fiery companies served as the pace car for others to follow. The Hot 100 Retailers list, to be unveiled in the August issue of STORES magazine, highlights the retail companies that reported the greatest year-over-year revenue percentage growth. All public companies with more than 100 million in sales were eligible for the list, which provides a definitive ranking of the nation's fastest-growing retailers. According to the list, the convenience store group experienced the highest growth last year with a 21.9% boost in sales. The department store sector continued its resurgence with 21.5% growth. While all but four of the Hot 100 Retailers saw double-digit sales increases in 2006, a handful of companies stood out from the pack. Many of the Hot 100 Retailers grew through acquisitions. The Bon-Ton Stores (#1), which was once an overlooked regional department store chain, tops the list this year with a revenue increase of 164.3%, due largely to its acquisition of what was once Saks' northern department store division. GameStop (#2)-in second place this year after topping the inaugural Hot 100 list-can also trace its 72% growth to an acquisition, the 2005 purchase of EB Games. The company opened its 1,000th international store in June and has continuing momentum due to the current strength of the video game market. Convenience store chain The Pantry (# 5) also saw its revenues grow from multiple acquisitions.
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| Media Markets & Money TM |
Old-fashioned radio deal
Here'a a nostalgic look at how radio stations used to be sold: two at a time, in a matching AM-FM, similarly-called set. WTSA AM & FM in Brattleboro VT are being sold. William and Kelly Corbeil are getting the pair from Tri-State Broadcasters Inc. for 1.5M cash. RBR actually first got wind of the deal in April 2006, when we learned that William Corbeil was returning to his place of employment dating back to when he was in high school.
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| Washington Media Business Report TM |
 FCC posts ownership studies
Late yesterday the Media Bureau posted on the Internet all 10 studies commissioned for the FCC's review of its ownership rules. Comments are due October 1st. That drew a rapid and angry joint statement from the two Democrats on the Commission, Michael Copps and Jonathan Adelstein. They charged that 60 days is not nearly long enough for the public to review the voluminous reports and file comments.
FCC initiates proceeding on
DTV consumer education
At the behest of powerful legislators John Dingell (D-MI) and Ed Markey (D-MA), the FCC is looking into how stakeholders can get out the word about the upcoming DTV transition. It will look at what should be expected of broadcasters, MPVDs and retailers/manufacturers, and what can be governmentally compelled. The Congressman wrote "the Commission is particularly well-suited to lead this effort given its existing expertise and resources." They further suggested the FCC use "...its existing authority to compel industry to contribute time and resources to a coordinated, national consumer education campaign." It's seeking comment on what should be done, with the usual 30-day comment/45-day reply comment window dating from publication of the NPRM in the Federal Register. The topics under consideration include "Broadcaster Public Service Announcements and Other Consumer Education Requirements," "Broadcaster Consumer Education Reporting," "MVPD Customer Bill Notices," and other topics relating to manufacturers, retailers and others. The item is included in the record as MB Docket No. 07-148.
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| Entertainment Media Business Report TM |
Industry panel added to CRB Hispanic presentation
Edison Media Research President, Larry Rosin, will present The Hispanic American Relationship to Country Radio and Music, at Belmont University's Massey Performing Arts Center today at 4:00 PM. This is an encore presentation of the study which was the most talked about panel at this year's Country Radio Seminar. Point being - Country radio may be missing out on a financial windfall by neglecting America's fast-growing Hispanic population, suggests the study of 600 Hispanics nationwide, age 12-49, and their relationship with Country music. Commissioned by Country Radio Broadcasters, the study was conducted by Edison to examine the growth potential of the format among America's most rapidly expanding demo. The event offers another opportunity for those who were unable to attend the presentation at the 38th Annual Country Radio Seminar. The study revealed 24% of Hispanics in America already listen to country music and 40% don't but are open to it. Because of this, Rosin said, Country stations should see the Hispanic community as a large area of opportunity. Taking census data and survey results into consideration, about 10 million Hispanic Americans already listen to Country radio and an additional 16.5 million are possibly waiting for an invitation to tune in. Immediately following the presentation, there will be an discussion about the study by representatives of various segments of the Country music industry, including: Mike Dungan, President Capitol/Nashville; Kevin King, Program Director, WSM-FM; Gary Overton, EVP/GM EMI Music Publishing Nashville; Bobby Roberts, CEO The Bobby Roberts Company (Talent Agency); and Rick Trevino, Warner Brothers Records (Recording Artist).
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| Internet Media Business Report TM |
 Study: online consumers who pre-shop on the web spend more in-store
Exposure to online advertising is fundamentally changing the way consumers shop, according to new research from Yahoo! and comScore. The study, which examined the impact of search and display advertising on in-store sales for five major retailers, showed that consumers exposed to online advertising tend to research or 'pre-shop' online prior to purchase, and this behavior ultimately leads to increased in-store sales. These highly-engaged 'pre-shoppers' spend an average of 41% more in-store when compared to consumers not exposed to online advertising. Insights from the study also included: Consumers exposed to online advertising are more engaged: Consumers exposed to display and/or search advertising viewed an average of six more pages during the period in which they were researching compared to those not exposed to advertising. Almost 90% of the incremental sales generated by online advertising take place in-store. Consumers exposed to online advertising spent an incremental six dollars in-store for every one dollar spent online. Integrated search and display campaigns have maximum impact: Combined search and display ad campaigns resulted in deeper engagement for consumers exposed to those ads, leading to increased sales.
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| Ratings & Research |
Research on videogame ad effectiveness released
Double Fusion has released a study which offers the first wide-scale positive proof of the efficacy of video game advertising, outlines ad effectiveness measurements and takes a step toward developing an in-game ad rating system. The research, designed with and conducted by new media research firm Interpret LLC, combined both qualitative and quantitative methods and biometric testing to analyze advertising impact across 36 dynamic and integrated in-game and around-game ad placements across 10 top-selling games from a variety of genres.
Key findings:
* 75% of gamers engage with at least one ad per minute across most, but not all, game types; 81% of gamers engage at least every other minute
* Less-cluttered ads are three times as effective at garnering gamer notice than ads that are either cluttered or within cluttered environments
* While both contribute positively to ad engagement, placement of the ad in the primary camera plane (eye-level) is more important than large-size ads
* Not all ads are created equal - dynamic billboards, around-game interstitials, sponsorships, and interactive product placements all offer different levels of user engagement and pervasiveness in the game
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| Transactions |
4M WBUI-TV Champaign-Springfield-Decatur IL (Decatur IL, CW, Ch. 23) from ACME Television Licenses of Illinois LLC (Thomas D. Allen, EVP) to GOCOM Media of Illinois LLC (Richard L. Gorman). 400K escrow, balance in cash at closing. 15K allocated to non-compete. Duopoly with WRSP-TV Springfield IL (Fox Ch. 55) & WCCU-TV Urbana IL (Fox Ch. 27). Parties are seeking a failed station waiver from the FCC to allow the deal to go through. [File date 7/9/07.]
500K WUCZ-FM/WRKM-AM Carthage TN. 90% of Wood Broadcasting Inc. from John R. Wood (90% to 0%) to Dennis M. Banka, Tracy M. Banka (each 5% to 50%). Note. Contract was signed 9/1/04, buyers have been operating stations in an LMA since then. [File date 7/9/07.]
206K FM CP Tulsa OK (Pawhuska OK) from Joe G. Gregory to Tallgrass Broadcasting LLC (Joseph E. Walker, William H. Kurtis). 6K deposit, balance in cash at closing. Duopoly with KOSG-FM Pawhuska OK. CP is for Class A on 94.5 MHz with 1.05 kw @ 295'. [File date 7/9/07.]
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| Stock Talk |
Broadcasting stocks take a hit
CBS was on target with its Q2 results, but Wall Street was not impressed. Traders sold off radio and TV stocks, even more than the broader market, which was down on renewed worries about home lending. The Dow Industrials fell 146 points, or 1.1%, to 13,212.
Almost all radio stocks fell hard. The Radio Index plunged 3.267, or 2.3%, to 139.116. CBS Class A fell 3.6% and Class B 3.2%. The day's biggest losers were Westwood One, 4.4%, and Radio One Class D, 4.3%.
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| Radio Stocks |
Here's how stocks fared on Wednesday
| Company |
Symbol |
Close |
Change |
Company |
Symbol |
Close |
Change |
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Arbitron
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ARB
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49.80
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-0.25
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Google
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GOOG
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510.00
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-6.11
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Beasley
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BBGI
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8.63
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+0.03
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Hearst-Argyle
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HTV
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21.00
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-0.07
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| CBS CI. B |
CBS |
 |
31.72
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-1.05
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Journal Comm.
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JRN
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10.59
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-0.05
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| CBS CI. A |
CBSa |
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31.66
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-1.17
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Lincoln Natl.
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LNC
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60.32
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-0.92
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| Citadel |
CDL |
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5.02 |
-0.08 |
Radio One, Cl. A
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ROIA
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6.12
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-0.25
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Clear Channel
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CCU
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36.90
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-0.18
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Radio One, Cl. D
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ROIAK
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6.09
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-0.27
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Cox Radio
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CXR
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12.95
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-0.50
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Regent
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RGCI
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3.50
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+0.05
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Cumulus
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CMLS
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10.56
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+0.04
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Saga Commun.
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SGA
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7.35
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-0.27
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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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8.49
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-0.34
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Disney
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DIS
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33.00
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-1.01
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Sirius Sat. Radio
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SIRI
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3.01
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+0.04
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Emmis
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EMMS
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7.35
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-0.22
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Spanish Bcg.
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SBSA
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3.18
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-0.18
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Entercom
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ETM
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22.58
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-0.65
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SWMX
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SMWX
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0.13
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-0.03
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Entravision
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EVC
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9.36
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-0.28
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Westwood One
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WON
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5.26
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-0.24
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Fisher
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FSCI
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45.73
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-0.39
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XM Sat. Radio
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XMSR
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11.45
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+0.29
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Bounceback
|
 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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Media Business Report
Hot convenience & department
Stores growing at fastest rate, a handful of fiery companies served as the pace car...
Media Markets & Money
Old-fashioned radio deal
Here'a a nostalgic look at how stations used to be sold two at a time...
Internet Media Business Report
Study: online consumers
Who pre-shop on the web spend more in-store...
Ratings & Research
Research on videogame
Ad effectiveness released study offers the 1st positive proof of...
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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
 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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MJI Interactive ups Somilleda; taps Gits
MJI Interactive, an Excelsior Radio Company, has promoted Lily Somilleda, to the position of Affiliate Sales Manager, from Affiliate Sales Rep. MJI has also hired John Gits as Affiliate Sales Manager. In his new position, John is responsible for sales of MJI Interactive's tool suites and web content. He's based in MJI Interactive's Buffalo, NY office.
 Harber
gets Hip
Mobile marketing company HipCricket has named Eric Harber as President and COO. Most recently, Harber was at Amdocs|Qpass, where he held the position of Vice President of Business Development in the Amdocs Advertising, Commerce, and Entertainment Division.
Exit in Des Moines
After nearly 22 years as co-host of "Maxwell and Polly in the Morning" on KIOA-FM Des Moines and 14 as news director for the Saga cluster as well, Polly Carver-Kimm is leaving because her contract expired and was not renewed. "Polly will be missed. We're proud to have had Polly on our team for over 20 years," said General Manager Bill Wells in an announcing her departure.
Dielectric appoints VanAtta as new GM
SPX's Dielectric Communications announced Garrett VanAtta has been appointed as the company's VP and general manager. In his new role, VanAtta will oversee Dielectric's development and manufacture of systems for radio, mobile media, and television broadcasting. VanAtta, who has held upper management positions within SPX since 2001, has been promoted from his previous role as VP of operations for Dielectric. David Wilson, Dielectric's former president, has been promoted to the role of vice president of global aftermarket sales and marketing for SPX Service Solutions.
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More News Headlines
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CNN/YouTube propel campaign to the top
Domestic terrorism was cited by the Project for Excellence in Journalism as a hot topic, as it released its press coverage chart for the week of 7/22-27/07. However, it came in a distant third to the continuing preoccupation with the 2008 presidential campaign, with only a third of the total coverage. In fact, the #2 story, the alleged prevarications of AG Alberto Gonzales, only received half as much attention as the campaign. Two of the five media studied collaborated on a debate among Democratic candidates, cable's CNN and internet's YouTube, and that was the one single event which fueled most of the coverage. Although Iraq coverage was pushed out of the top three, it still claimed the 4th, 5th and 6th slots. The biggest stories to drop off the charts were one-timers tied last week at 3%, the tale of a Brazilian plane crash and the frightening New York City steam pipe blast. In fact, the week was strangely devoid of any meteorological or other one-time event, unless you want to count the steep stock dive toward the end of the week.
| Top ten lists here |
Commissioners
out and about
Two members of the FCC's 8th Floor will be on the road tomorrow. Chairman Kevin Martin (R) will be in Raleigh NC for the North Carolina Chamber of Commerce Distinguished Speaker Series Luncheon at 12 Noon. Meanwhile, Michael Copps (D) will be in Chicago for the YearlyKos Convention to discuss the so called netroots' place in the media universe and its prospects for influencing policy in Washington.
Stevens investigation progresses
Senate Commerce Committee Ranking Member Ted Stevens (R-AK) is enduring another chapter in the ongoing investigation of his dealings with certain constituents back in Alaska. In this episode, the FBI executed an exhaustive search of his home in the resort town of Girdwood AK. The investigation involves improvements made to the home back in 2000 with the involvement of VECO, an Alaskan energy company that has admitted to bribing local officials in the state. Steven's son Ben, the president of the state senate, is widely believed to be one of the officials. Other than saying he paid for the renovations, Stevens is not commenting on the case, but is asking that his constituents to withhold judgment until all the facts are known. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington have asked the Stevens be removed from all committee assignments pending resolution of the investigations.
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SmartMedia Magazine
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Coming in September
FALL NAB ISSUE
SPECIAL DISTRIBUTION:
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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
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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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. 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.
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.
07/31/07 RBR #148
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
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