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Volume 23, Issue 151, Jim Carnegie, Editor & Publisher
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Friday Morning August 4th, 2006
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Radio News ®
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 Radio sell-off coming soon
CBS officials told analysts they are evaluating dozens of offers for the radio stations in 10 smaller markets that the company has put up for sale (5/24/06 RBR #102). Look for sale announcements in a few weeks. CBS Corp. CEO Les Moonves told analysts yesterday that the company has received dozens of offers, which it is in the process of reviewing. "The good news is these offers have been very, very attractive and we expect to have an announcement on the sale soon," Moonves said. Later in the call, CFO Fred Reynolds noted that some of the radio offers have tax advantaged structures, which, if accepted, would curtail CBS' ability to make share buybacks while the transaction is underway. Stay tuned.
RBR observation: Not surprising. Susquehanna Radio insisted on a tax-advantaged structure for its sale to Cumulus Media Partners and one of the holdups for the ABC Radio sale to Citadel is that Disney is waiting for an IRS ruling that the structure of the deal will allow it to spin off the radio group to Citadel tax-free. It would appear likely that in a tax-advantaged transaction, CBS shareholders would receive stock in the buyer - likely an existing radio company or a new one formed with equity capital backing. CBS corporation, however, could get some money out of the deal by having the new radio entity take on debt, and pass the proceeds to its parent, right before being spun off. It is all about number crunching, but certain to play a role in just who wins the bidding for these CBS Radio stations.
 Moonves upbeat on O&A
In his quarterly conference call, CBS Corporation CEO Les Moonves first dealt with the good news for TV, outdoor (really good) and even the tiny publishing division, before getting to the laggard. "Moving on to radio, where we continue to seek an aggressive turnaround, to glide back into the growth position we need to offer the programming that listeners want to hear - and we're making progress. Several of our new formats are doing terrific. The Spanish formats are up over 50% year to date. In the second quarter of 2006 Jack-FM was up 13% and Talk radio was up 9%. Plus the Spring Arbitron ratings released last month showed big gains for our stations in major markets, particularly during morning drive. New York, Philadelphia and Boston improved dramatically. The return of Opie & Anthony in New York had a huge impact on our listenership in the mid 25-54 demo - we jumped from 15th to second, or 140% since the show began broadcasting on April 26th. Overall this show in most of our markets has done exceedingly well. We're getting the ratings back and are beginning to monetize them already," Moonves said.
Looking ahead at Beasley
The Beasley Broadcasting show, featuring members of the Beasley Bunch including George, Bruce and Caroline, was built around the theme of optimism while facing a cloudy immediate future with poor visibility. Like other radio groups who have hit the dog and pony show circuit for Q2, they noted that ad flights are being booked very late, making it very difficult to give guidance, but also leading to sighs of relief as late buys erase the doubts which inevitably build up when inventory sits around unclaimed for too long. The Beasleys pretty much avoided the LIM debate, saying that it was a market by market thing for them (and few companies have as varied and diverse a portfolio as this group). They noted the continuing softness in the automotive category, which has been supplanted by retail as #1. The onset of back-to-school season is doing nothing to change that, although they did note that in any market where one dealer is lured on the air for a significant buy, other dealers are almost sure to follow. They said their local sales forces in general have been doing a good job, while national business has lagged. The group has no plans to sell off any stations, but said it would be open to exploring strategic swaps to shore up clusters in some of its existing markets.
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Viacom shores up MTV demo with Internet buy
We've been hearing about how MTV keeps re-inventing itself so that it stays in touch with the younger demos (rather than aging with whatever groups, whether it be Boomer, GenX or GenY, is watching it at any given moment). To that end, MTV parent Viacom has acquired Y2M: Youth Media & Marketing Networks, a publisher of some 450 electronic web-based college newspapers. According to BusinessWeek online, this is just the latest Internet buy for the cable stalwart. Y2M is expected to be tied to mtvU, a spin-off tailored for campus cable systems that is also available over cell phones.
RBR observation: With all of the side-channel possibilities being presented by HD radio, it'll be interesting to see if at some point MTV is able to regain its old music focus. But whatever they do, it won't matter to us very much. We used to watch MTV back when that was what it was all about, but according to plan, we have aged beyond the cable institution's plans. However, our rapidly growing children are another matter.
 The shocking fallout from bad publicity
Horizon Productions Inc. is the producer of a Super Bowl halftime alternative program, the upcoming version of which will be called "Bodog.com Lingerie Bowl IV." (Despite being an alternative to the program which perhaps did more than any other to propel the indecency issue to the front burner on both Capitol Hill and across the Mall at the FCC, we do not believe that this is the alternative many of the anti-indecency proponents have in mind.) At any rate, Mel Gibson's recent brush with the law and political correctness has caused Horizon to issue the following statement: "...due to recent developments regarding Mel Gibson and his alleged racial remarks, Gibson will not be cast in this season's Super Bowl XLI halftime alternative." They say the role for which Gibson was under consideration will instead go to Brian 'The Boz' Bosworth.
RBR observation: Every event in the course of human affairs has the potential for a person, company or product to glom on for some cheap publicity. We can do it, too. For that reason, we hereby announce, due to their utter lack on interest in our publication, that we are not accepting any articles from any member of the New York Time OpEd writers crew, nor from any other similarly highly-respected and utterly-disinterested roster of OpEd writers, until a) further notice; or b) they ask real nice. (That'll teach 'em. Hey AP and Reuters, are you getting this?)
Tower down in Massachusetts
Winds gusting up to 140 mph were more than the tower for WESO-AM in the Worcester, MA market could take and the 245-foot structure crashed to the ground Wednesday night. WESO General Manager Dick Vaughan told RBR that the Classic County station was going back on the air yesterday afternoon with a temporary tower. Heavy thunderstorms moved through that section of Massachusetts Wednesday evening, with damage from both heavy winds and a few lightning strikes.
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| Wall Street Media Business Report TM |
Q2 2006 Conference Calls
CBS hits its mark
The financial news was right on target as CBS Corporation reported Q2 earnings per share of 50 cents. CEO Les Moonves crowed about growth in TV, outdoor and publishing, saying the company was hitting on all cylinders - except for radio. TV revenues were down 1% to 2.26 billion, but that was attributed solely to CBS moving DVD sales from in-house to an outside vendor. Moonves said revenues for the O&O stations were up 5%, with total TV ad revenues flat with a year ago - so we can surmise that the station group was performing a bit better than the networks. Outdoor was the star performer, with revenues up 32% to 107.9 million. Publishing, the smallest unit, was up 5% to 8.2 million. And then there was radio, where revenues slumped 20% to 219.6 million. Saying "radio needs programming that listeners want to hear," Moonves said Opie & Anthony are getting the ratings back at former Howard Stern stations on the East Coast (with no mention of the sorry interim experiment with David Lee Roth). He also noted that CBS had cut more than 100 staff positions (7/13/06 RBR #135) to reduce overhead costs.
 An upside to Beasley's downer
The ink is red at Beasley for Q2 2006 compared to the same quarter last year, but it is also considerably better than expected. Net revenue dropped from 33M to 32.2M. Not great, but it sure beat the consensus 30M Thomson/First Call had predicted. Also down was net income per diluted share, from 13 to 16 cents, but the same consensus opinion was only looking for 9 cents, so again the news was better than expected. Stations in six out of 10 Beasley markets ended up in the red, but the company was glad to report gains in Philadelphia, Fort Myers, Boca Raton (Miami) and Augusta GA. Summing up, Chairman/CEO George G. Beasley said, "In the second quarter, Beasley Broadcast Group again exceeded the revenue guidance provided at the time we reported our first quarter results as we realized some initial benefits from operational, personnel and programming changes that we believe will result in continued improvements in future periods."
Strong quarter for Univision
Haim Saban was no doubt pleased to see the Q2 results announced late yesterday by the company he is in the process of buying - Univision. Net revenues shot up 24.7% to 634 million and pro forma operating income before depreciation and amortization jumped 29.7% to 237 million. Soccer played a big role, with the 2006 FIFI World Cup contributing 84.5 million in incremental net revenues and an estimated four million to operating income. TV was the big gainer, with revenues up 37.9% to 489 million and operating income up 42.7% to 191.1 million. Univision Radio far outpaced its general market competitors, growing net revenues 5% to 104.3 million and operating income 8.4% to 45.4 million. Internet revenues nearly doubled to 10.4 million. Only the record labels didn't join in the up quarter, as the Univision music division saw revenues drop 38% to 30.3 million and last year's operating profit turned to a loss of 2.4 million. Univision did not conduct a conference call with analysts and, citing the pending sale, said it would not provide any forward guidance.
 TV and radio both up for Entravision
Spanish media companies are continuing to outgrow general market broadcasters. Entravision reported that Q2 revenues were up 6% overall to 79.3 million, with gains in all three divisions - TV, radio and outdoor. EBITDA rose 12% to 31 million. Helped by broadcasts of World Cup games on its Univision/TeleFutura affiliates, Entravision TV revenues rose 12% to 43.3 million. Radio revenues gained 4% to 26.2 million. (That is pro forma, excluding the stations that Entravision sold in the San Francisco/San Jose market.) Outdoor was up 7% to 9.4 million. Looking forward, Entravision is expecting Q3 revenues to be up in the mid-single digits.
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| Next Week: Management Business Report |
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The Art of the Interview: "Hiring the Best"
By Julie Ballard-Lebe, a 19 year veteran of CBS Television Stations and currently Senior Vice President/Director of Sales managing 7 of their 10 national sales offices. She gives plenty of tips and emphasizes, "Hiring the best employees has to be the single most important and most challenging responsibility facing media sales management today."
And....Media Moguls
"Another run for Yager"
Long-time TV veteran Jim Yager is back again, building another new company from scratch. What does he see in the business that the Wall Street guys don't? And where is he looking for acquisitions to keep filling out the station portfolio of Barrington Broadcasting?
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| Executive Comment |
In regards to...
Robert Neil and David Field (8/3/06 RBR #150) Less really IS more, and that's a problem.
I'm so sick of reading fabricated, hucksteristic crap about commercial clutter on radio! "Clutter on radio" is nothing more than a public company windmill to tiff at for the prurient benefit of light-weight Wall Street investors, and to a lesser extent media queens, who can not see through the flimsy smoke screen. Savvy investors and media buyers know the charge that radio needs to cut commercial clutter is unadulterated baloney. Radio is about QUALITY, including quality of commercials. It is not about HOW MANY commercials. TV, magazines, newspaper, internet, outdoor, etc. do not flag under the charge of too many commercials! A good ad is like a good song. A bad ad is like a bad song. Play a bad one; lose listeners. While publicly traded Radio Company executives sit in their ivory towers pontificating about cluttered business models, they continue to ignore the profound fact that in virtually every market in America the station with the highest RATINGS plays the MOST COMMERCIALS. It's that same ol' axiom of supply and demand. Smell the coffee, Head Drips, great radio has little to do with spot load and most to do with quality-- from good, alluring, entertaining commercials to music. Keep on positioning commercials as a "necessary evil" and you will create a manure wagon that will ride you slowly and inevitably out of business! If you want something valid to wring your hands over, go worry about streaming wireless content. Tower types are posturing to make it a commercial content issue. It is not. It is a talent, information, and musical content issue that happen to be delivered by new technology. If it were a commercial content issue, radio would have died when the 8-track got installed in the first Chevy. Gimme a break already!
Mike Ginsburg, Director of Sales
KLBN-FM, KMMM-FM, KGST-AM-ESPN Deportes, Fresno, California
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Ad Business Report TM
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Toyota passes Ford
In an industry first, US vehicle sales by Toyota surpassed Ford in July, putting the Japanese automaker in the #2 position behind GM for the first time ever. Toyota sales were up 11.7% from a year earlier to 241,826 units. "Market contidiions are playing to traditional Toyota strengths of fuel efficiency, strong passenger car offerings as well as our comprehensive hybrid lineup," said Toyota USA Exec. VP Jim Lentz. GM still held the #1 spot, but fell 22.2% to 402,640. Ford sales fell 35.3% to 224,130. And Toyota wasn't the only Asian car company to have a good month. Honda sales were up 6% to 151,804, putting it ahead of DaimlerChrysler in US sales for the first time ever. DaimlerChrysler fell to #5 in July as its sales slid 37.4% to 150,349.
RBR observation: Quarterly conference calls in both radio and TV have frequently noted heavier advertising by foreign carmakers as the US big three continue to grapple with slipping market share. Back in April at the TVB conference in New York, Dan Dembicki, Business Development Manager, Polk North America, which tracks car buying trends, predicted that the Asian car companies would continue to grab market share. He noted that Toyota and Nissan are making inroads in the US Heartland, long the strongest market for domestic brands, with heavy-duty pickups that are appealing to traditional Ford, Chevy and Dodge buyers.
 Truthvertising?
"Traditional TV advertising is based on illusions," says an exec from new web service RealityAdz.com. "Companies rarely share the truth about the product, the reality that a consumer will experience. Consumers are inundated with advertising everywhere and most of it is wasting consumer's time. We sit through hours of ad drivel during prime time." RealityAdz solution? It lets consumers make up their own ads about the products of their choice, to share with other consumers. Raves, Rants and Spoofs are just some of the categories into which consumers can place their spots. The service notes that the site should be of particular interest to the companies who wind up being the subject of a consumer submission, allowing them to find out what people really are thinking. It goes so far as suggesting that companies encourage it. RealityAdz suggest that "...the smarter, forward-looking companies will embrace consumers as part of the creative process."
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| Media Business Report TM |
 Newspapers opening up
new advertising territory
Some of the biggest names in the newspaper business are reacting to the widespread business downturn by finding a new, high profile location for advertising. It's a move which is sparking a debate within the print journalism community, many of whom view the front page as sacred territory. According to Editor and Publisher, The Baltimore Sun just joined a group which it says includes the Times (both New York and Los Angeles versions), the Wall Street Journal, the Chicago Tribune, and others. E&P grudgingly approved of the practice in a highly satirical article, as long as it does not harm the credibility of the medium. The trade mag took it even further, suggesting single-client sponsorships for section fronts, headlines, columnists, etc. (Without going into detail, the headline idea would be a real opportunity for newspaper to get some promotional money out of Bush's Baked Beans.)
RBR observation: Newspapers will do what they have to do to survive. But it does seem that you can't go anywhere without being bombarded by one type of commercial message or another. Suffice it to say that we will not be surprised when we take our children to the nature trail at our local park and come upon a turtle with a pitch for car wax on its shell...
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| Media Markets & Money TM |
Liberman bulks up, Entravision exits Dallas
Entravision Communications announced a deal to exit the Dallas-Ft. Worth market, selling its five stations to in-market Spanish competitor Liberman Broadcasting. Liberman will pay 95 million bucks for KTCY-FM, KZZA-FM, KZMP-FM, KZMP-AM and recently acquired move-in KBOC-FM. Entravision said it expects the sale to close in Q4. Entravision CEO Walter Ulloa said the company wants to continue to build strong positions in markets where it can own both radio and TV stations. Entravision didn't have any TV options in Dallas - at least not in its usual practice of owning Univision and TeleFutura stations, since Univision itself has O&Os in the market. Liberman, by the way, owns an independent Spanish TV station in Dallas, along with one radio station, KNOR-FM.
Close encounter in Sioux Falls
According to Kalil & Co., Backyard will need a bigger lot in Sioux Falls SD now that it's completed its acquisition of a trio of stations there from Feller Broadcasting. The 3.8M deal brings in KSQB AM & FM and KWSF-FM, building a cluster which already includes KELO-AM, KWSN-AM, KELO-FM, KRRO-FM & KTWB-FM. According to an engineering study filed with the FCC, there are 47 radio signals in the relevant area.
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| Washington Media Business Report TM |
 FCC steps into
cable/programmer dispute
It isn't taking long for the fallout to begin from the just-approved sale of Adelphia to Comcast and Time Warner, along with related Comcast/TW system swaps. In the immediate situation, the National Football League has successfully petitioned for a time out after TW booted it off some of its newly acquired systems without warning. NFL Network is getting set to air a 54-game preseason schedule and eight regular-season games. It claims that TW dropped it upon taking over the Adelphia and Comcast systems without giving subscribers and local franchising authorities the required minimum of 30-days notice. NFL complains that they were thus deprived of the opportunity to protest TW's decision. At the same time, TW failed to arrange for carriage on an alternate MVPD service so that NFL Net programming was still available in the systems' coverage areas. The FCC has granted NFL interim relief. The dispute dates back to 8/1/06. TW has until 8/15/06 to respond to the NFL petition, and the NFL has another five days after that for reply.
RBR observation: The good news for the NFL is that the FCC recognized that its programming has merit, that TW has no philosophical problem with carrying the net, and that it's problem is carrying it on terms agreed to by the prior owners. FCC also said lack of interim relief would harm NFL far more than carrying NFL will harm TW. While not taking sides, the FCC concluded that "...NFL has established a sufficient prospect of success on the merits to justify this relief." What's even more interesting is the role of sports in piquing the FCC's interest in programming issues. It used to be the show had to be indecency before the FCC took any notice...
Meet the press
At least one member of the Inside-the-Beltway crowd isn't scooting directly out of town as if he just drew an "Advance directly to GO" card off the Community Chest pile. The newest FCC Commissioner, Robert R. McDowell, is holding his first press briefing next Tuesday, 8/8/06. August is definitely the slow season in Washington, but nonetheless, a great deal is percolating at Commission. We'll head over and see what we can find out for you.
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| Ratings & Research |
The future of radio ratings
 With the Next-Generation Electronics Ratings Evaluation Team down to two finalists to bring electronic ratings to US radio, RBR asked both The Media Audit/Ipsos (TMA/I) and Arbitron to answer a series of questions about their systems. Yesterday we asked: What advantages does your system offer over its competitor? (8/3/06 RBR #150)
How far along are you on having a product ready to deploy for US radio ratings?
TMA/I: There are two components to introducing and working with electronic measurement. 1) Proving that the technology works. 2) Getting comfortable with the ratings results. So far The Media Audit has conducted studies of cooperation and compliance here in the US. These studies showed that the consumer was much more likely to agree to participate in a panel using a cell phone than a pager. This means that the sample will be much more representative and reliable. In a few weeks The Media Audit/Ipsos is embarking on a series of transparent tests including committees from the radio and advertising industries. These tests will prove the different attributes of the Smart Cell Phone. Results will start to flow in early summer.
Arbitron: Houston is set to become the first market with Next Generation lectronic Ratings produced by the PPM. Pending accreditation by the Media Rating Council (MRC), this could be as soon as 2006! Philadelphia, Los Angeles and New York will follow in 2007.
| Read More... |
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| Internet Media Business Report TM |
Google paying AP for content
After long insisting that linking to other websites is protected by copyright law as "fair use," Google has confirmed that it is paying the Associated Press for access to its news stories and photographs. Google insists that the deal, which apparently was put in place months ago, is no change of policy. "Google has always believed that content providers and publishers should be fairly compensated for their work so they can continue producing high quality information," the company said in a statement. Another wire service, Agence France Presse (AFP), is hoping that the AP deal will strengthen its position in the lawsuit it filed last year against Google in a US federal court, claiming that the search engine company has ridden roughshod over AFP's copyrights by linking to its news stories and photos.
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| Transactions |
950K WAYE-AM Birmingham AL from Christian Broadcasting of Birmingham Inc., a subsidiary of Willis Broadcasting Corporation (Levi E. Willis Sr.) to Davidson Media Station WAYE Licensee LLC, a subsidiary of Davidson Media Group LLC (Peter Davidson). 47.5K escrow, 52.5K post-closing escrow, 850K cash. Duopoly with WLPH-AM, coming from same seller in concurrent transaction. [File date 7/17/06.]
150K WJDZ-FM Pastilla PR. 100% of Gamma Community Services Corporation from Gamalier Bermudez, Rosa H. Bermudez & Mauricio Guerra Mondragon to Aurio A. Matos. 10K deposit, balance in cash at closing. Noncommercial station. [File date 7/14/06.]
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| Stock Talk |
Broadcast stocks miss lift
Generally good July sales reports from major retail chains gave a boost to the Blue Chips and normally would have helped broadcast stocks, but someone forgot to tell that to traders on Wall Street. Radio stocks were down and TV stocks mixed. The Dow Industrials rose 43 points, or 0.4%, to 11,243.
The Radio Index dropped 2.211, or 1.6%, to 139.185. Wall Street was not impressed by the outlook at CBS, despite a Q2 that was right on target. The widely traded CBS Class B stock was down 2.9% and Class A fell 3.1%. Saga took a big hit, down 5.7%, and Citadel fell 5.3%
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| Radio Stocks |
Here's how stocks fared on Thursday
| Company |
Symbol |
Close |
Change |
Company |
Symbol |
Close |
Change |
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Arbitron
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ARB
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36.37
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+0.35
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Hearst-Argyle
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HTV
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21.01
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+0.17
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Beasley
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BBGI
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6.60
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+0.28
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Journal Comm.
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JRN
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10.47
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-0.22
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| CBS CI. B |
CBS |
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26.36
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-0.79
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Lincoln Natl.
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LNC
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56.89
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-0.17
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| CBS CI. A |
CBSa |
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26.37
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-0.84
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Radio One, Cl. A
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ROIA
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6.90
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-0.05
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| Citadel |
CDL |
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9.05 |
-0.51 |
Radio One, Cl. D
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ROIAK
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6.94
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-0.03
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Clear Channel
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CCU
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28.96
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-0.42
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Regent
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RGCI
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4.08
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+0.01
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Cox Radio
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CXR
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15.18
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+0.15
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Saga Commun.
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SGA
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7.20
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-0.43
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Cumulus
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CMLS
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9.40
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-0.18
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Salem Comm.
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SALM
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12.09
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+0.06
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Disney
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DIS
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30.04
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+0.24
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Sirius Sat. Radio
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SIRI
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3.96
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-0.06
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Emmis
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EMMS
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14.68
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-0.15
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Spanish Bcg.
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SBSA
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4.63
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-0.07
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| Entercom |
ETM
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22.53
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-2.52
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Univision
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UVN
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33.47
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-0.03
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Entravision
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EVC
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7.62
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+0.03
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Westwood One
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WON
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6.64
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-0.11
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Fisher
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FSCI
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40.28
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+0.09
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XM Sat. Radio
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XMSR
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11.81
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-0.35
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Gaylord
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GET
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38.86
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+0.60
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-
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-
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-
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-
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-
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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]
 It's nice to see the issue of spot length continues to be in the headlines (8/3/06 RBR #150) but pretty soon, our industry needs to start addressing the issue of "spot content" which should really be the deciding factor of length. What do the :60s, :30s, :15s, :10s, :05s and :01s sound like on your station? Are you sitting down with your clients/prospects and demonstrating how important the message will be, regardless of length? Are you using writers and voice talent that offer believable, single-focused commercials? "This weekend only," "Attention all back pain sufferers" and "Are you in debt?" continue to be examples of the type of commercials that I hear on the radio and until that changes, the debate over spot length and spot load will not have been completed. Radio commercials are the glue that hold your format together. Are the breaks in your programming entertaining enough to stop a listener from changing the station?
DJ Williams
Director of Client Services
Clear Channel Creative Services Group
Atlanta, GA
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Below the Fold
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Wall Street Media Business Report
CBS hits its mark
The financial news was right on target company hitting on all cylinders except for Radio ...
Ad Business Report
Toyota passes Ford
Toyota USA Exec. VP Jim Lentz; An industry first, putting the automaker in the #2 post...
Media Business Report
Newspapers opening new territory
Advertising territory and starting to accept Ads on their front page which sparking debate...
Media Markets & Money
Close encounter in Sioux Falls
Backyard will need a bigger lot...
Ratings & Research
The future of radio ratings
Pt 2 Arbitron and Media Audit/ Ipsos Answer RBR questions...
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Stations for Sale
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CD Border 25kw FM
Profitable competitive op.
Small/dual market FM with huge upside for turnaround operator.
595K 781-848-4201 or [email protected]
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Radio Media Moves
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Promotions for three
Dial Global has announced three promotions within its newly formed Programming Division. Chris Corcoran has been named Vice President, Affiliate Management, and will continue to oversee affiliate sales and service for the programs and prep services formerly from X Radio. Sean Cherry was named Vice President, Programming and Operations, where he will manage the production and distribution of the company's radio programs. Bonnie Bordins is now Vice President, X Prep Brands, where she directs the editorial content of X Prep, X Prep Gold, Country Kickers and Urban Fun Factory. All three had similar roles in X Radio, which was recently combined with the Dial Global Digital 24/7 Formats to form Dial Global Programming.
Sat veteran to Sirius
Sirius Satellite Radio announced that the company has appointed Adrienne Calderone as Senior Vice President and Controller. Previously, Calderone was Vice President and Controller of PanAmSat Corporation.
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More News Headlines
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SoftWave claims
40% penetration
SoftWave Media Exchange, which began public stock trading this week, announced that its SWMX Radio marketplace achieved its highest single-month growth rate in July, adding over 140 new US radio stations to its electronic system for buying and selling advertising. The results take SWMX's total US broadcast market penetration over 40%, representing a national daily audience of over nine million listeners. SWMX Radio said it now serves a total universe of over 1,300 leading radio stations across the country, including each of the top 15 US broadcast groups, 50 of the top 50 radio markets and 39 of the top 50 US stations, according to Arbitron. "In just over 18 months, SWMX Radio has built a network of top-tier U.S. broadcasters that is unsurpassed in the industry," said Josh Wexler, Chief Executive Officer, SWMX. "While other providers in our space have chosen to target emerging formats including satellite and others to foster growth, we've built our business delivering increased efficiency and profitability to the over-the-air broadcast industry and that is where our commitment will remain. The radio broadcast industry has been a great partner to SWMX since our inception, and we are not going to forget where we came from."
New officers for BCFM/BCCA
Newly elected officers take over next week at the August 10th board meeting of the Broadcast Cable Financial Management Association (BCFM) and its Broadcast Cable Credit Association (BCCA) subsidiary.
Chair: Edward H. Deichman, Senior Vice President/Controller, Media General Broadcast Group
Vice Chair & 2007 Conference Co-Chair: Anthony A. Vasconcellos, Executive Vice President and CFO, Regent Communications Inc.
Secretary: William Fitzsimmons, Vice President, Accounting & Financial Planning, Cox Communications Inc.
Treasurer: Sam Bush, Senior Vice President, Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer, Saga Communications
The following members are beginning new three-year terms on the BCFM Board of Directors:
Trila Bumstead, Executive Vice President and CFO, New Northwest Broadcasters (NNB)
Linda Feldmann, Esq., Partner/Attorney, Leventhal Senter & Lerman, PLLC
Andrew Kober, Senior Vice President and Controller, Bresnan Communications
Dalton Lee, Vice President and Controller for the Broadcast Group of Meredith Corporation
Ellen McClain, Vice President of Finance, Hearst-Argyle Television
Richard Taub, Vice President of U.S. Distribution, LIN Television/WAPA-America
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RBR Radar 2006
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Radio News you won't read any where else. RBR--First, Accurate, and Independently Owned.
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Google selling satellite radio ads
Google is moving ahead with its plans to become a middle man for ad sales across the full spectrum of media. Google-owned dMarc already connects buyers and sellers of spots on terrestrial radio and now it is moving into satellite radio. XM announced a deal to have dMarc sell commercial inventory on its non-music channels.
RBR observation: From the time it bought dMarc early this year Google has made it clear that terrestrial radio was just the beginning. It paid 102 million for dMarc, but the payoff for management and former investors could grow beyond one billion if certain targets are met. dMarc has been working to make its system compatible with software from vendors besides its own Scott Studios. Television is also on the drawing board. In other words, Google doesn't want to be seen as just a giant player in Internet advertising - it wants to be a one-stop shopping center for advertisers to buy all types of media. Some people in radio, TV and print may see that as a threat, giving Google too much clout, but others hope it just means that buying and selling advertising becomes simpler and grows the pie for everyone. RBR last word of caution is to go slow and do your own research on all the companies getting into this inventory business. We will have more on this issue of Google but for now RBR would like your comments along with a photo, email to [email protected]
08/03/06 RBR #150
Less really IS more,
and that's a problem
Cox Radio President/CEO Robert Neil likes the idea of less-is-more (LIM), but not the way he sees it going down right now. His personal gripe is the new emphasis on shorter spots that has gone hand in hand with LIM, which he says has actually led to more commercials than when most of them were 60 seconds, increasing the perception of clutter and driving down pricing. Neil believes the industry standard should be 10 minutes of advertising per hour, with 10 minutes = ten spots. He called it a simplistic solution, but no more simple than supply and demand. Entercom CEO David Field disagreed with Neil's claim that :30s are bad. "It's a better way to conduct our business because we will be able to create a far greater yield for each second, if you will, than we can in a 60-second environment. To deliver a message in 30 seconds, or 15 or 10 is just far more efficient than doing so in 60 seconds. There is no reason in this day and age why that is necessary," Field said.
RBR observation: We just read Cox's Bob Neil's take on spot length compared to Entercom's David Field. With respect to both executives, you can first spot that Neil is the programmer of the two and Neil's simplistic solution it just may be wise to keep it simple. RBR has to agree on this debate with Bob Neil except make it 9 minutes instead of 10. Clutter is something radio needs much less of and get back to being local and entertaining if you are going to compete for today's listeners with all kinds of devices. And if the radio business can not decide on a simplistic solution how is HD going to make any difference? Radio right today just has too many bean counters in control.
08/03/06 RBR #150
New analyst sees troubles for radio
Morgan Stanley analyst Benjamin Swinburne has initiated coverage of five radio stocks, but worries that radio is losing listeners and advertising share, so historically low stock prices are not bargains for investors. They also believe radio will continue to lose advertising share to Internet, TV and Outdoor and that Internet (classified and paid search) in particular represents a major threat. We also believe greater programming investment is needed to stem usage declines. His only overweight (buy) recommendation is for Cox Radio, based on the possibility of Cox Enterprises taking it private. Otherwise, he sees no reason for investors to buy the stocks. He ranks Radio One at equal-weight (hold) "due to its low relative valuation." Swinburne gave underweight (sell) ratings to the other three - Clear Channel, Entercom and Cumulus.
08/02/06 RBR #149
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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
Director of Sales
Needed for radio cluster in Mid-Atlantic region. 5 years plus experience as DOS a must, with successful track record. Must be able to develop sales talent into a winning team. Excellent benefits & compensation plan.
See Radio Careers
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