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Volume 22, Issue 152, Jim Carnegie, Editor & Publisher

Thursday Morning August 4th, 2005

Radio News®

Neil wants electronic measurement,
but not PPM
Long-time PPM critic Bob Neil was back at it in yesterday's quarterly conference call for Cox Radio. Neil continues to want nothing to do with Arbitron's Portable People Meters and dismissed the recent Forrester Research study on the potential economic impact of PPM (7/21/05 RBR #142), saying the study commissioned by the RAB (but paid for by Arbitron) was tainted by leading questions. Is there anything out there that will do what Neil wants an electronic audience measurement system to do, but PPM doesn't? The Cox Radio CEO says he doesn't know yet, but he's anxious to see what systems are submitted to the pending request for proposals by Clear Channel, which will be evaluated by representatives of numerous radio groups. Asked about specific problems with the PPM technology, Neil said women are likely to put the devices in purses, which will prevent them picking up audio encoding from stations. He also noted that Arbitron is putting landlines into cell-only households for its Houston PPM test and questioned how broadcasters can afford to pay for millions of dollars worth of phone lines. Arbitron VP Thom Mocarsky was quickly on the phone to reporters to throw water on those flames from the Cox Radio CEO. Mocarsky insisted that PPMs work fine from inside purses and that there had been no problems with the devices failing to register listening in the earlier Philadelphia test. As for the cell-only households, Arbitron doesn't plan to install its own landlines in the future because it has now developed a PPM docking station that has its own wireless phone built in to upload data.

RBR observation: For the competing electronic measurement systems that we're aware of, the basic difference is in whether they use encoding or audio recognition, but none have a way to overcome Neil's objections that they don't measure all listening, such as from the time people get out of bed until they have showered, dressed and are ready to head out the door. Short of human implants, we wonder how would you deal with that?

Arbitron racking up patents for PPM
Don't expect Cox Radio's Bob Neil to care, but Arbitron says it has been awarded three new patents relating to its Portable People Meters. They cover enhancements to the amount of information that can be embedded into the inaudible PPM codes and improvements to the PPM's ability to detect inaudible codes. "We've worked hard to keep PPM's audience research technology state-of-the-art. The PPM system we are using in Houston is far more advanced than what we used in Philadelphia in 2002," said Pierre Bouvard, President, PPM at Arbitron.
| Technology geeks read on |

Analyst says spot loads fell in July
"After several months of staying at [approximately] 12 units and 10.5 minutes per house (FM stations, drive time only), the radio industry has resumed its inventory cuts," Wachovia Securities analyst Marci Ryvicker reports in her latest monthly analysis of radio spot loads. "For the month of July, FM stations averaged 11.3 units and 10.1 minutes per hour during drive time, which is roughly a 0.5 unit and 0.5 minute drop from June," she said. The analyst said inventory cuts in June were across most radio groups, although Clear Channel, with its Less is More initiative, led the pack. But while cutting inventory should lead to higher prices, Ryvicker says groups have not yet been able to push prices up fast enough to counter the reduction in inventory.

ABC, NAB kiss and make up
Walt Disney/ABC is back in the National Association of Broadcasters. It joined the other major networks in exiting the industry's major trade organization during the height of the dispute over the national audience reach cap. Michael Powell's FCC was pushing to up it from 35% to 45%, a move enthusiastically seconded by the majors and opposed by many smaller entities in the television universe. NAB sided with the smaller companies and the majors went on their way. The issue has been rendered moot by an act of Congress which has set the limit at 39%. ABC's Preston Padden said, "ABC believes that the best interests of our industry, our company and ultimately the viewing public can be promoted by returning to the NAB at this time. With policy differences now behind us, ABC and NAB are once again in a position to work together towards our important common goals." NAB President/CEO Eddie Fritts enthusiastically welcomed ABC back into the fold, saying, "This is great news for NAB, ABC and the entire broadcast industry. There is no denying that we are stronger as an industry when we are united."

RBR observation: With the audience cap now, to borrow a phrase being bandied about in an entirely different Washington theater, a matter of settled law, there is no point to any intramural squabbling when broadcasters - - especially TV broadcasters - - face a common foe. All broadcasters want their full digital signal, whether its high-def or multicast - - to be carried on its allotted cable system bandwidth as a matter of national policy. Cable wants one signal as a matter of national policy, and others at its own but there is a great deal of sentiment for the broadcast position on Capitol Hill. It is an especially important moment in time for broadcasters to put forth a united front.

FCC appointments: Whole lotta nuthin' goin' on
You can tell when Washington is in the throes of the August doldrums. That's when the annual stories about how nothing is happening start to appear. The topics change - - you can never tell in what particular area or over which particular issue nothing is happening. But the nothing part is the glue which binds such stories together. And this year, one such story concerns vacancies on the 8th Floor of the FCC. The Washington Times came out with the latest. It repeated the names considered to have the inside track to commission seats, Richard Russell and Deborah Taylor Tate. It noted that most of Congress and the President are out of town. It noted how anxious members of the broadcast ownership class are for reinforcements to push ahead the deregulatory policies put in motion by Michael Powell and handed off to Kevin Martin (and derailed by the Third Circuit Court). However, WT speculates that naming names with Congress out of town, at a time when Washington beat reporters are generally idle, will do nothing but provide a four-week window for muck-raking and dirt-digging.

RBR observation: The rumors last week naming names may have been well-founded, but the parts saying that the public naming of names was imminent are rapidly losing credibility as time passes. Some thought they the announcements were coming as early as 7/29/05, and if not then, early this week. Hump time (lunch on Wednesday) has come and gone with no names named. Unless President Bush miraculously unearths a candidate while clearing brush down on the ranch in Crawford TX, we may not have an answer until September.

New guidelines suit pharmaceuticals
Drug manufacturers enthusiastically took to the PR wires in support of the new voluntary direct-to-consumer advertising guideline put forth by Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA). According to AdAge, TNS Media Intelligence puts the total amount of advertising on pharmaceuticals in 2004 at 4B, while PhRMA says its members spent another 38B on R&D. Among those supporting the new guidelines was William C. Weldon, Chairman/CEO of Johnson & Johnson and PhRMA Board Chairman, who said, ""These Guiding Principles will make Direct-to-Consumer advertising across the pharmaceutical industry more helpful for patients and health care professionals, and better for our healthcare system. The Principles are an important step toward harnessing DTC advertising and putting it to work to educate consumers." Other companies enthusiastically backing the new guidelines included Abbott, AstraZeneca, Bayer HealthCare, Lilly, Sanofi-Synthelabo Inc./Aventis Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Wyeth.

Conference Calls Q2 2005

Citadel gained in Q2
Increased billings in Oklahoma City, Albuquerque and Modesto, CA were only partially offset by declines in Lansing, MI and Portland, ME, bringing Q2 in at a 2.4% revenue gain for Citadel Broadcasting to 109.9 million. Station operating income rose 7.6% to 51 million. In his quarterly conference call, CEO Farid Suleman said Q3 is pacing slightly better than Q2. Having switched reps a few months ago, Suleman was asked if he is satisfied with the job that Katz is doing. He said it is too soon to tell - - that Citadel's share of national revenues in its markets is improving, but that still amounts to a decline in total dollars. Suleman said he wants the national rep to devote more resources to working on new business, not just order taking. Like so many broadcasters, Citadel has been buying back its stock, but Suleman now says that paying a "significant" cash dividend is a real alternative going forward. "It will give the shareholders that have stayed a good return," he said. Citadel has been mentioned recently as a bidder for both the Susquehanna and ABC Radio stations. Of course, Suleman didn't comment on specific transactions. However, he did say that if the right deal comes along, he could go back to Forstmann Little for more funding - - but that he wouldn't sell more stock on Wall Street at current prices.

Cox Radio posts up quarter
Despite no longer having the Atlanta Braves broadcasts in its home market, Cox Radio posted a 0.3% gain in Q2 net revenues to 117.3 million and station operating income rose 3.1% to 50.8 million. Excluding the Atlanta market, Cox said local revenues were up 3% and national business shot up 11%. "Excluding the impact of the discontinuation of the Atlanta Braves broadcasting agreement, our net revenues increased 5% for the quarter, outpacing the revenue growth of our markets, as well as the industry as a whole. In addition, we continued to invest in the research and promotion of our brands, which will position us for growth as we look towards the back half of the year," said CEO Bob Neil. The CEO said he is optimistic about Q3, with July up in the low single digits and both August and September pacing up in the mid single digits.

Saga sees improvement
in August
Saga Communications reported that Q2 revenues rose 6.9% to 37.6 million, but operating income declined 6.2% to 8.6 million. On a same-station basis, the company said net operating revenues rose 2.4% and operating income decreased 8%. After seeing the RAB report June flat for the industry, Saga CEO Ed Christian said July looks much the same, but that august is currently pacing ahead. Saga is projecting that Q3 revenues will be up 1-3%. At the local level, Christian said merchants have been skittish, but are now becoming more confident. Saga's radio revenues were up 7.2% in Q2 to 33.6 million, but that gain was only 2.1% on a same-station basis. TV revenues rose 4.9% to 3.9 million.

DG Systems reports Q2 revenues of 15.2 million
In DG Systems' Q2, ended 6/30, the spot and content delivery provider reported revenues of 15.2 million, compared to 14.9 million in the year-ago Q2. The year ago Q2 included over 400,000 in revenue from political advertising and approximately 625,000 of deferred revenue in the company's StarGuide division, which did not recur in the Q2 '05. Q2 revs were impacted by a more competitive rate environment and a decrease in distribution volume by current and ongoing customers. The company improved the percentage of electronic delivery volume over its digital network to 87% in Q2 '05 vs. 76% in Q2 '04. DG finished Q2 with net debt of 19.4 million, comprised of debt totaling 22.5 million and cash of 3.1 million.

Entravision beats its own guidance
Once again, Spanish media was a hot place to be for Entravision in Q2. Net revenues rose 9% to 75.1 million and broadcast cash flow gained 11% to 32 million. "Our results for the second quarter once again outperformed the industry, as all three of our business segments exceeded our guidance and recorded solid top and bottom line growth. Operating fundamentals across our asset base remain strong as more advertisers see the value of Spanish-language media, and, as we continue to generate ratings increases, we are effectively converting these gains into additional advertising revenues," said CEO Walter Ulloa. For the quarter, TV revenues were up 8% to 38.8 million, radio up 10% to 27.2 million and outdoor up 12% to 9.1 million. Looking ahead, Entravision is projection that TV revenues will be up 5% in Q3, with radio up 11-12% and outdoor 12-13%.

Adbiz©

GM extends employee pricing after all
General Motors did an about face by extending its employee discount sales program through 9/6, a day after the wildly successful promotion was scheduled to end. GM had said it would not extend the program after it expired yesterday and instead would announce this week "value pricing" for 2006 models. The move came a day after Ford extended its own version of the incentive pricing program. GM said the discounts would continue on all 2005 models except the Chevrolet Corvette, Hummer H1 and Pontiac GTO, which are virtually sold out. GM said it sold 530,027 cars and trucks, up 20% compared with 7/04. Chrysler also said it will extend its employee-pricing program indefinitely on 2005 models, excluding the Chrysler 300/300C, Dodge Sprinter, Dodge Viper and all SRT vehicles.

TVB welcomes new drug ad guidelines
As we reported yesterday, new ad guidelines being adopted by the pharmaceutical industry will include a requirement that televised commercials clearly present drug risks and promote conversations with doctors. The new industry code guidelines say that to foster communication between patients and health care professionals, companies should spend an "appropriate time to educate health professionals" about new treatments before beginning DTC campaigns. It also said ads should be targeted to avoid audiences that are not age-appropriate for the spot. The TVB announced that targeting for audience and age appropriateness is a great boost for local television, as TVB has been talking to drug companies and their agencies for some time about spot's targeting attributes. Said spokesman Gary Belis: "Local broadcast television is uniquely positioned to help pharmaceutical manufacturers implement the targeting guideline, and we look forward to working closely with them."

GM ends LA Times boycott
GM has resumed advertising in The Los Angeles Times after a boycott began in April sparked by editorial that bashed the automaker. GM, its regional dealer associations and dealers spent 61.5 million to advertise in The Times last year, The paper this week printed a full-page ad for the '06 Pontiac Solstice.

Trajectory Sports names
ABC Television Sales exclusive rep
ABC Regional Sports Sales, a unit of ABC National Television Sales, has been appointed the exclusive national television sales rep for Trajectory Sports & Media Group, the NYC-based international media and management company. ABC Regional Sports Sales now handles inventory and sponsorships for a wide range of sports programming distributed in the US by Trajectory. This content includes live coverage of the entire Canadian Football League season, the official weekly programs of FIBA World Basketball, ATP Tennis and ICC Cricket World, as well as soccer, auto racing, horse racing, boxing, sports inspiration, bloopers/sports comedy, and documentary series leading up to the Soccer World Cup. Trajectory utilizes a national television net to provide master control functions, satellite distribution, commercial integration and traffic management for its lineup of sports programming. CFL and other programs are distributed on a national non-wired system comprised of 15 regional sports networks and other broadcasters, which provides access to 70 million television households in large, medium and small markets.

Media Business Report

Gannett switching Detroit fish wrappers
A complicated series of transactions announced late yesterday will have Gannett buying the Detroit Free Press from Knight Ridder and selling the Detroit News to MediaNews Group. The two new owners will continue to have a partnership manage the business operations of the two Detroit dailies, with Gannett as the general partner and MediaNews as the limited partner. Under the reorganization, the News will become a morning paper, both papers will publish Saturday issues, but the Free Press will be the only Sunday paper. Currently the two publish joint Saturday and Sunday issues. In addition, Gannett is acquiring the Tallahassee Democrat from Knight Ridder in a swap to add to its Florida holdings. Knight Ridder will receive the Idaho Statesman in Boise and two Washington papers, the Olympian in the state capital and the Bellingham Herald. Gannett will also receive an as-yet-undisclosed cash payment.

Radio & Television Business Report

Radio's Important September Face Off
UpFront 2005 - will radio face the mild reception as Network TV? Top media agency buyers and network radio sellers participating so far: Kelly Cadotte, Natalie Swed Stone, ,Irene Katsnelson, Chris Fontana, Rich Russo, Matt Feinberg, Matthew Warnecke, Kim Vasey, and Lisa Opensky Greenberg.

And we go One on One with Charles Courtier, Executive Chairman of Mediaedge:cia

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Media Markets & MoneyTM

Close encounter in Fresno
Media Services Group broker Tom McKinley told RBR that KFIG-AM Fresno is now officially under new ownership. A 2.5M deal has sent the station to Chris Pacheco's Fat Dawgs 7 Broadcasting. The seller is Radio Central LLC.

Close encounter in Saginaw
MacDonald Broadcasting has keys in hand for WSAG-FM Pinconning MI, in Saginaw-Bay City-Midland. According to Media Services Group broker Jody McCoy, seller Blue Moose Broadcasting has 750K cash as a result of the sale. MacDonald has another station for its cluster, which also includes WSAG-AM/WKCQ-FM Saginaw and WJMO-FM Essexville.

Washington Beat

NAB wants XM expansion on slow track
The NAB has asked the FCC to remove XM Satellite Radio's application to acquire Wireless Communications Service spectrum from fast-track consideration. NAB argues that "there are significant public policies at stake here." The organization says XM hasn't even disclosed how it plans to use the additional spectrum, so interest parties can't comment on whether or how the transfer of spectrum would serve the public interest - - or disserve it.

FCC to put buildout enforcement on autopilot
When your new station is built, inform the FCC immediately. If you need more time, get it promptly. Either way, beginning this fall, if the deadline for construction comes and the FCC hasn't heard anything, the license will simply disappear. "If a licensee fails to construct a frequency, fails to construct a locations, or fails to meet a coverage requirement, the frequency, location or license terminates automatically on the date of the construction or coverage deadline pursuant to 47 C.F.R. Section 1.946." Licensees that have successfully completed construction have 15 days after the construction deadline to so notify the FCC. Noting that the new policy is scheduled for implementation in the fall of 2005, the FCC says, "Prior to implementation of this automated feature, licensees are encouraged to review their licensing records to ensure the proper construction notifications have been filed. Licensees that have timely met their construction or coverage requirement, but have not yet filed the required notification, should immediately file FCC Form 601, Main Form and Schedule K, with a waiver request of the rule section that requires timely notification." Thanks to Gregg Skall and John Garziglia of Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice PLLC for calling this matter to our attention.

Judges should judge and legislators should legislate
Supreme Court nominee John Roberts sent written comments to the Senate Judiciary Committee, which had requested his views on the topic of judicial activism and court intrusion into the territory of other branches of government. While saying that it was entirely appropriate for a court to exercise its constitutional charge to overturn executive or legislative actions when brought properly before the court, it was not the court's prerogative to make policy. He wrote, according the Associated Press, that, "...judges must be constantly aware that their role, while important, is limited. They do not have a commission to solve society's problems, as they see them, but simply to decide cases before them according to the rule of law..."

RBR observation: The problem with the recent judicial flaps over since the enactment of Telecom 1996 hasn't been so much the court stepping on the toes of the other two branches of government per se. It has come down to how an expert bureaucracy, the FCC, has interpreted the intentions of Congress, which did not include the kind of detail necessary to come up with a workable body of rules. At issue has been where the line is between honoring the deregulatory bent of Telecom 1996 while protecting the public interest. That last sentence sounds exactly a dialogue between Michael Powell and Michael Copps, doesn't it? Can there be any more concise nutshell to describe the general tenor of the judicial proceedings? While we would expect Roberts to tend toward the Powell position, given his background, there is nothing in his latest remarks indicating one position or another on this type of interpretive case.

Programming

Stern strikes SVOD deal
You read it here yesterday (8/4/05 RBR #151), and now it's confirmed by none other than the "King of All Media." Howard Stern has entered into an agreement with iN DEMAND Networks to provide a new TV home in a VOD subscription-only format, televising Stern's upcoming Sirius Satellite Radio show. The three-year deal also grants iN DEMAND the rights to Stern's remaining shows while he's still on terrestrial radio. iN DEMAND has reached agreements with Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Cox that allow their operating divisions to offer the service on their VOD platforms. E! announced recently it was discontinuing "The Howard Stern Show," and a deal with Spike TV fizzled. Said Rob Jacobson, president and CEO, iN DEMAND: "The production baton for Howard's show has been passed from a traditional linear basic cable environment, to iN DEMAND, where Howard's viewers have more control over the content in their homes. With VOD, users can fast-forward, rewind and pause, and view a show at any time and as often as they want. By providing Howard Stern's show in a subscription VOD format, this content will be available to only those viewers that make an affirmative decision to view it, with the benefit of parental controls tools from their television provider."

XM and NYT Radio strike programming deal
XM Satellite Radio and New York Times Radio, the newly established New York Times Company unit that includes classical music radio station WQXR-FM NY, announced an agreement whereby XM will include NYT Radio-produced information and music content on a number of its channels. XM will incorporate a series of Times-branded information features on several of its talk channels, including reports, reviews, and commentaries from Times staffers; XM will present the WQXR music series "Reflections from the Keyboard" on one of its classical music channels; and the companies will jointly present a series of quarterly classical music specials. In addition, the companies will develop New York Times Radio hourly newscasts for select XM talk channels.

Transactions

8M WJYJ-FM Fredericksburg VA, WJYA-FM Emporia VA, WPVA-FM Waynesboro VA & WJCN-FM Nassawadox VA from CSN International (Jeffrey Smith, Michael Kestler) to Positive Alternative Radio Inc. (Vernon H. Baker, Edward A. Baker, Virginia L. Baker). 200K escrow, balance in cash at closing. Both buyer and seller are noncommercial. [File date 6/29/05.]

50K WQKR-AM Nashville (Portland TN) from Bravo Broadcasting Inc. (Devita Simpson) to Venture Broadcasting LLC (Floyd Howard Johnson). Cash. LMA in place. [File date 6/28/05.]

Stock Talk

Stocks gain a bit (but not radio stocks)
It was nothing to write home about, but stocks managed modest gains by the closing bell on Wednesday as oil prices eased a smidgen. The Dow Industrials rose 14 points, or 0.1%, to 10,698.

Radio stocks, however, were down on continuing worries about ad sales for the rest of this year. The Radio Index dropped 2.551, or 1.2%, to 209.099. Regent had the worst day, falling 7.1%. Saga reported its Q2 results and fell 4.8%.

Radio Stocks

**Here's how stocks fared on Wednesday**
Company	Symbol	Close		Change	Company	Symbol	Close		Change
Arbitron	ARB		41.68	+0.08	Jeff-Pilot	JP		50.48	+0.20
Beasley	BBGI		13.58	-0.14	Journal Comm.	JRN		16.00	-0.13
Citadel	CDL		13.03	+0.16	Radio One, Cl. A	ROIA		13.23	-0.27
Clear Channel	CCU		33.70	+0.10	Radio One, Cl. D	ROIAK		13.23	-0.34
Cox Radio	CXR		16.34	+0.08	Regent	RGCI		5.79	-0.44
Cumulus	CMLS		12.95	-0.10	Saga Commun.	SGA		14.76	-0.74
Disney	DIS		25.77	+0.21	Salem Comm.	SALM		20.80	-0.20
Emmis	EMMS		21.26	-0.44	Sirius Sat. Radio	SIRI		6.95	+0.20
Entercom	ETM		32.00	-0.09	Spanish Bcg.	SBSA		8.23	-0.02
Entravision	EVC		8.61	-0.12	Univision	UVN		28.73	+0.45
Fisher	FSCI		46.48	-0.52	Viacom, Cl. A	VIA		33.75	-0.14
Gaylord	GET		46.91	+0.21	Viacom, Cl. B	VIAb		33.58	-0.18
Hearst-Argyle	HTV		25.06	+0.20	Westwood One	WON		20.18	+0.04
Interep	IREP		0.69	+0.01	XM Sat. Radio	XMSR		34.90	+0.46
International Bcg.	IBCS		0.01	unch	-	-	-	-	-

Bounceback

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Arbitrends

Upped & Tapped

Quinn goes Mile High
Entercom has sent Milwaukee Market Manager Ray Quinn west to become Market Manager of its four-station cluster in Denver. In addition, Denver VP/Director of Sales Amy Griesheimer-Mandeau has been promoted to GM of KEZW-AM & KALC-FM.

Brody heads south
Veteran New England broadcaster Scott Brody has been named VP/GM of Genesis Communications' WAMT-AM & WHOO-AM Orlando and WIXC-AM Melbourne, FL. Brody formerly managed stations in Boston and most recently was Director of Sales for Nassau's nine New Hampshire stations.

Stations for Sale

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More News Headlines

Sony practices result in another legal hit
After handing a huge chunk of change over to New York state in the Spitzer payola probe, multimedia giant Sony has been nailed again. This time it's a 1.5M settlement of a class action suit in California regarding the company's practice of planting its own phony rave reviews in advertisements for its movies. According to the Associated Press, anyone holding a ticket stub for "Vertical Limit," "A Knight's Tale," "The Animal," "Hollow Man" or "The Patriot" stands to make 5 dollars per, under terms of the settlement. any overage in Sony's payment will go to charity.

Fox News Radio pacts with NRG Media for Midwest
FOX News Radio has entered an agreement with NRG Media to provide its one-minute news service to select radio stations. The deal includes 20 stations in the Midwest region of the US, including Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota, Kansas and Wisconsin. NRG Media, a Waitt Media affiliate, is the premiere local radio group in the Midwest, consisting of 88 radio stations throughout the Midwest and the Waitt Radio Network.

AP re-launches
AP Radio News
The Associated Press Radio announced the debut and re-launch of its audio news network with a new sound, new anchors, and sweeping changes to its newscasts, online actuality service, Live Special Reports, and Crisis Coverage. A faster paced, vibrant sound and more live reports delivered by a new lineup of anchors are the latest features. Designed to deliver a daily mix of news and information, the 24 hour audio network also features Up to three newscasts an hour; up to four live special reports an hour, as needed; more natural sound; expanded cut feeds; Up to three long-form live channels; and a contemporary new on-air sound.

Carnie Wilson to guest host for Dick Clark
United Stations Radio Networks announced singer Carnie Wilson will fill in for Dick Clark for two weekends in August on his Adult Contemporary-formatted countdown show, Dick Clark's US Music Survey. The Carnie Wilson-hosted editions of the program will air on the weekends of August 13-14 and 20-21. Wilson, one of the daughters of music legend and Beach Boy Brian Wilson, is a member of the Grammy-nominated group Wilson Phillips.

BCFM/BCCA seminar addresses ratings, accountability
Broadcast Cable Financial Management Association (BCFM) and its Broadcast Cable Credit Association (BCCA) subsidiary have lined up experts from the advertising, audience measurement and media auditing sides of the industry to address the latest developments in the media planning process. The half-day seminar, "Ratings and Accountability," will be held from noon to 5 p.m. on 9/13, at the New York Athletic Club. Panels and confirmed speakers for the seminar include: The Current state of Accountability:

* A research presentation by Steven J. Farella, President & CEO, TargetCast TCM

* Trends in Agency-Client relationships: Eric W. Leininger, SVP - Global Business Research, McDonald's Corporation; Steven J. Farella, President & CEO, TargetCast TCM; (additional speakers TBA)

* Recent Developments in Ratings Measurement: Pierre Bouvard, President-Personal People Meter, Arbitron; (other speakers TBA)

* Media Audits Practices & Industry Perspective: Ed Rosenthal, Partner, Hawk Audits; Charlie Collier, EVP Ad Sales, Court TV; Peter Dunn, President, Viacom Television Stations Spot Sales.

* Closing Session - Putting It All Together: all panelists

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RBR Radar 2005

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

Zen Master raises
Sirius expectations
Sounding just like the Zen Master from his Infinity days and crowing about his company's rapid growth and predicting great things ahead after beating Q2 expectations. Karmazin has raised the subscriber goal for Sirius to three million by year-end marking the third time this year that Sirius has raised its subscriber estimate. Also expects to be free cash flow positive for all of 2007 and maybe even in Q4 of 2006. Sirius is now shopping only for programming to round out its current offerings at reasonable prices.
RBR observation: Hello again we say Content is King and Sirius can't build from one self proclaimed King in Stern. Zen Master already said Don Imus is out to expensive. Martha is nice but now comes the true test as any station today - Content, structure, hot clocks, and the talent to entertain. Where oh where is that quality talent to be found? Again, Local broadcasters our recommendation is cultivate your Local talent and treat them good cause it is your one key strength. 08/03/05 RBR #151

SBS's defends move into TV
Raul Alarcon said SBS would be vindicated by showing how valuable the TV station will be for cross-promotion - - something several other players in Spanish media are already able to do. Alarcon also denied that he had decided to get into TV because multiples aren't attractive in radio. Alarcon left unanswered is SBS looking to make other TV acquisitions? Meanwhile, Alarcon expressed confidence that Styles Media will be able to make its delayed closing on two of SBS' Los Angeles stations for 120 million. Asked if he'd considered just keeping the 20 million non-refundable deposit and remarketing the stations after Styles couldn't close on time, Alarcon said it would not have been in his company's best interest to blow up the deal. 08/03/05 RBR #151

GM Planworks to announce
new appointments soon;
National staying in NYC
GM Planworks CEO/President Dennis Donlin tells RBR/TVBR that after Starcom officially gets GM's buying from GM Mediaworks come 10/1, all national broadcast buying will be staying in NYC. Some had speculated it would move to Chicago or Detroit. We hear Mediaworks' Michael Rosen and his team including Suzanne Irving will be staying on board there as well. Editor's note: Be sure to read our One On One interview with Dennis in our August Radio & Television Business Report magazine. 08/03/05 RBR #151

WMAL puts Graham on ice
President/GM Chris Berry, said that Talker Michael Graham crossed the line when he suggested all Muslims are terrorists on his show Monday 7/27/05. "We do not condone his position and believe his statements were irresponsible." Graham hinted on his website that the action came down to the station from corporate. "My radio station, 630 WMAL, has publicly announced that I've been suspended by ABC (no doubt Ted Koppel and Peter Jennings are thrilled) and I am 'under investigation' for my discussion on Islam and the tragedy of its current links to terror. What exactly is I'm being 'investigated' over, I have no idea. After all, everything I do, I do on the air in front of thousands of people. What's to investigate?"
RBR observation: Chris Berry took the proper course of action no matter what today's tense environment is with world issues at hand. There is no place in the business of radio, TV, or any media for this type of action and putting the license care taker in harms way. Michael Graham while on vacation we suggest a career change like enrolling in an 18 wheeler truck driving school. 08/02/05 RBR #150

Gatorade comes in first
at MLB All-Star game
One way to get your product's image before a big audience is to put that image somewhere where there are likely to be TV cameras. Such a place was Comerica Park in Detroit, site of this year's Major League Baseball All-Star game. Counting in-stadium and superimposed images, Gatorade led all comers when it came to making a lot of impressions.
RBR observation: It is called spending advertising dollars on 'Product Placement'.
08/02/05 RBR #150

RBR Observation
Readers reject Burns bill
The NAB may be supporting federal regulation of TV ratings, but RBR didn't find much support for the idea among rank-and-file broadcasters. Lots of words tossed around and name calling but in short the business of audience measurement and both commercial mediums must move forward. The phone calls and emails RBR received would never pass FCC guidelines as mother is only one-half of a word. So our observation and advice is for Nielsen chiefs and Broadcasting chiefs including NAB -TV Executive committee members, sit down and talk face to face. Break out the ham salad sandwiches and cream sodas. RBR will supply the ice packs for cooler heads or to position any place you like. Just start talking face to face. 08/01/05 RBR #149

General Manager

Saga Communications Brad Eure retires and we seek his replacement with a radio professional that has passion and commitment to the radio business to take the leadership at WWWV / WQMZ & WINA Charlottesville, VA. Saga, we believe in our people. Interested then tell us about yourself.

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