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Volume 24, Issue 165, Jim Carnegie, Editor & Publisher
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Thursday Morning August 23rd, 2007
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Radio News ®
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 Why radio has to pay
for streaming royalties?
DDid radio miss a great opportunity to get a sweetheart deal on streaming audio royalties and DMCA fixes from the RIAA? Based on conversations with several radio groups he works with [we saw the internal emails from one of the groups on this], consultant Randy Kabrich was told, "They had the RIAA willing to settle on sweetheart streaming rates and DMCA fixes for a trade off of industry support on DRM [Digital Rights Management] in HD Radios. The powers that be, including CBS, Clear Channel and iBiquity Digital (which was desperate to get some revenue flowing), were so determined to get HD rolled out they didn't want to wait 18 months to give the Consumer Electronics Industry time to rethink HD and slow down (or bail out of) the rollout. So the RIAA offer fell by the wayside and because of that, that's the only reason we're facing this dramatic increase in streaming rights right now." DRM technology would make it impossible to make a digital recording off of an HD Radio. Who would have wanted to record it anyway-it's not CD quality. iBiquity CEO Bob Struble, however, says he doesn't recall any such deal on the table [and the company wasn't mentioned in the internal email we saw]: "We've had discussions on and off with the RIAA-productive discussions-but we are completely unaware of any such offer." Another broadcaster told us broadcasters only had proffered a settlement on the rates they would pay as one point of a larger negotiation to be undertaken when RIAA approached them. They indicated a willingness to discuss this and all issues as part of their HD concerns. There were many good faith discussions among RIAA and NAB around the technical issues involving DRM on HD. When the parties couldn't figure that out, things broke off and we are where things are now. The broadcaster wondered if broadcasters had been more willing as an industry to use the leverage RIAA had presented in their interest in DRM for HD to a) negotiate a settlement on streaming rates (not eliminate them), b) minor DMCA fixes broadcasters have long sought (the restriction on number of plays by the same artist, album, etc. over specific time periods for example), c) get relief from onerous recordkeeping requirements and d) get a pledge to leave the terrestrial exemption alone, the industry may have been further ahead than it is now.
RBR observation: Would DRM on HD be a minor price to pay? Talk about being between a rock and a hard place-broadcasters were under so much pressure to launch HD-and had to because they may have lost receiver manufacturer interest-that they may have had to give up a sweetheart deal that now looks like 20 cent a gallon gas . Now we've also got SoundExchange chiseling for all airplay.
Lawyers, stations and money
Warren Zevon wrote about lawyers, guns and money. We hope it doesn't get to the point that guns become part of the equation when it comes to a pending deal for 187 Clear Channel stations, but money has already been deposited and the lawyers are entering both stage left and stage right. Jeff Warshaw's Frequency License LLC is replacing Dean Goodman's GoodRadio.TV as the front man for ultimate buyer American Securities Capital Partner, which is no longer happy with the 452.1M price tag. Clear Channel, on the other hand, is taking steps to protect it. According to reports, Clear Channel has filed suit in a Texas court to see that the deal goes through as originally negotiated or that it gets a hefty break-up fee currently sitting in escrow, and American Securities literally followed suit in a New York court. According to the contract for the transaction filed with the FCC 5/15/07, the buyers have already forked over 20M into such an account. Clear Channel is said to have warned affected market managers to proceed with business as usual to assure that there are no grounds for charges that the businesses have been allowed to deteriorate in any way.
RBR observation: The much bigger deal, the multibillion dollar transaction to take Clear Channel private via a stock purchase by Mays family, Bain Capital and Thomas H. Lee Partners, has the oft-postponed shareholder vote on the calendar for 9/25/07. Rampant speculation is that the last thing the company wants to do ahead of that is show weakness of any kind. That vote is already half a year behind it's originally-scheduled date of 3/21/07. This should be interesting. Stay tuned.
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 Mixed reaction to
Tribune's cleared hurdle
The sale of Tribune Company to Sam Zell in the form of an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) was blessed with an overwhelming 97% approval vote by shareholders. This was hailed in the executive suites, but warnings were sounded by at least one group more closely associated with the loading dock. Sam Zell was happy, saying, "I believe Tribune Company is reasserting itself as a national leader in news generation and distribution. Despite the recent upheaval in the credit markets, my view of the company as an investment has not changed." And triple-hatted Dennis FitzSimons, pictured, who serves as chairman, president and chief executive officer of the company, added, "We're pleased that Tribune shareholders recognize the value of this transaction and have voted overwhelmingly to approve it. With financing fully committed, we anticipate closing the transaction in the fourth quarter, following FCC approval and satisfaction of the other closing conditions." But the Teamsters Union had other concerns, particularly the lack of a seat for them on the board. Teamsters president James P. Hoffa said, "Without a voice for the employee owners the Tribune's new corporate structure leaves employees, who will bear the lion's share of risk in the company, without a means to address the challenges of paying off the massive multi-billion dollars of debt the company has taken on to finance this short-sighted transaction." He said that as owners Teamsters and other employees should be able to elect an ESOP trustee and to name Directors to the Board. He also said the union has filed with the FCC, urging it to assure that the goals of localism and diversity are served before granting any of the broadcast/newspaper cross-ownership waivers that Tribune is seeking to extend.
Advertising: Now the FDA gets into the act
The Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Trade Commission have been examining various aspects of the advertising business, particularly the idea of whether ads for products deemed less than beneficial should be restricted of not. Now the Food and Drug Administration is joining the fun with an inquiry into pharmaceutical advertising. The question is one of presentation. Are people getting the message that certain drugs carry the risk of unpleasant or possibly harmful side effects, or are they lulled by relaxing imagery and music? The New England Journal of Medicine has published a report suggesting that the FDA is not adequately monitoring drug advertising, and in response the FDA has announced plans to conduct a study of its own to gauge the reaction of average citizens when exposed to the advertisements. According to the Associated Press, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America made its standard argument, that pharma ads are an important source of information for consumers, alerting them not only to the existence of the drugs, but to medical symptoms and conditions they may not otherwise be aware of and which they then take action to remedy. But Public Citizen's Dr. Sidney Wolf countered, "If advertisers were really interested in getting information about drug risks out, they'd show pictures of those problems, but you almost never see that." Instead, in ads for things like erectile dysfunction remedies, relaxing images of people in hot tubs or strolling along a beach to laid back music tend to accompany the spoken litany of potential adverse drug properties.
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| Wall Street Media Business Report TM |
 Pennies not from heaven
This has been the year of the penny stocks in broadcasting. No, not that radio and TV penny stocks have been great money makers. Rather, quite a number of companies whose stock price was previously above the five bucks cut off have slipped into penny stock hell. Lots of pension funds and other institutional investors have prohibitions against owning penny stocks. Also, they aren't marginable, so active investors who trade on margin don't want to own them. Thus, when a stock drops below that magic five bucks line, dumping often drives them even lower before they stabilize. Who all has dropped into penny stock hell this year - many of them just in the last month as stock prices in general were beaten down? Citadel, Radio One and Westwood One are recent radio additions to the club. In television, ACME recently fell into penny stock territory. What's worrisome is that several other broadcasting stocks are in single digits and could also be beaten down further if a real bear market takes hold: Emmis, Saga, Beasley, Gray Television, Salem and even Cumulus, should its pending going-private buyout not be completed. So far in 2007, only one broadcaster has managed to escape from penny stock hell. Nexstar began the year at 4.65 and pushed above 10 bucks based on its financial performance even before the company announced in May that its entire TV group was up for sale. That sale process was recently put on hold because of the well known difficulties in the credit markets, but Nexstar's stock price still remains a few bucks out of penny stock territory.
CBS schedules its dogs and ponies
Multimedia giant CBS Corporation has become one of the first to schedule its Q3 2007 revenue results conference call. They'll release the numbers and open the telephone lines up at 4:30 PM Eastern on 11/1/07. The company owns and operates large-market television and radio stations, along with program networks, cable channels, recorded music and more. As usual, we'll tune in to hear what they have to say so you don't have to.
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Ad Business Report TM
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School bus radio service questioned
Some believe that it's easier to keep kids quietly in their seats on the bus if they have some entertainment to concentrate on. But local radio has veered off into raunchy and often inappropriate territory. Enter Bus Radio, a service that provides radio-like programming as well as safety features like GPS and emergency notification capabilities, all while delivering age-appropriate content, adjustable by the bus driver to the age of each different busload of children. The objection? According to the Minneapolis-St. Paul StarTribune.com, every hour the service programs 44 minutes of music, six minutes of PSAs, two minutes of contests - and eight minutes of commercials. That is the rub - watchdogs feel that the public schools should not be in the business of exposing children to even more advertising than they are already. The service is said to reach 100K students on 1K buses.
RBR observation: We can't see this as that big a deal. Eight minutes seems a fair price to pay for the other benefits provided. The bigger problem we could foresee is if the service is advertising the kinds of products that have been under withering fire all year long in Washington, like sugary fatty cereals. As long as the ads are likely to be Ed Markey-approvable, this may be an idea that can be appropriated by broadcasters looking for something to do with an HD side channel.
 Fox using the "Blinks"
again for tune in
Reuters reports Fox will put Simpsons :02 "blinks" on CC Radio stations 15,000 times. Homer Simpson's ubiquitous "D'oh!" or "Woohoo!" followed by the familiar tag, "Tonight on Fox!" for example, has been a popular two-second blink for the network last and this year. "We love the blinks and adlets. They are great frequency builders, especially when you have iconic sounds associated with shows," Kaye Bentley, SVP/Fox Broadcasting, told Reuters. CC said at least 20 national advertisers have tried out the shorter format since launching the ads last summer. Nearly half of those are entertainment companies. Unlike longer ads in commercial breaks, the blinks and adlets are slipped in between songs. "It's (adlets/blinks) grown so much in the last six months. It continues to grow on a daily basis," Jim Cook, SVP/creative services for Clear Channel Radio, told Reuters, noting the mini ads work particularly well for companies with recognizable brands and in conjunction with longer ads. Clear Channel would not disclose pricing, but one ad executive said five-second adlets typically price at up to 20 percent of 60-second ads, which cost about 800 bucks in major markets, while two-second blinks cost 10%, or 80 dollars. Bentley said Fox plans to run about 15,000 "Simpsons" blinks across a multitude of stations on one day in September to promote the series' fall season and has similar plans for other Fox series as well. Bentley said she has also placed blinks with other radio groups like CBS Radio.
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| Media Markets & Money TM |
Radio One spins out of Augusta
Another chapter is in the book of the ongoing liquidation project in progress at Radio One. It's recently spun out of Dayton OH, Louisville KY and Minneapolis-St. Paul MN. Now we can add Augusta GA to the list. The group's one-AM, four-FM cluster is headed for Perry Broadcasting Company Inc. for 3.1M. The cluster follows the group's Urban formula with the exception of AltRock WAEG-FM. The other stations include Urban AC WAKB-FM, Mainstream Urban WFXA-FM, and Gospel duo WTHB AM & FM. The company pegs the pricetag at 17x operating income for the year ending 6/30/07.
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| Washington Media Business Report TM |
Merger mania food for thought
A district court judge who shot down the FTC's denial of approval to merge organic food producer Wild Oats into rival Whole Foods did so despite the fact that Whole Foods CEO John Mackey was on record as desiring the merger "to eliminate competition and avert price wars." The FTC has already appealed the ruling, and the transaction is now hung up in an appeals court. The judge, Paul L. Friedman, said that if Whole Foods decides to raise its prices, there are any number of supermarkets in most locations that also sell organic items. Safeway was mentioned as one chain which has already put its own store label on the market. In mounting its appeal, the FTC said that it the judge should not have disregarded Mackey's statements, and that the two chains are uniquely competitive and constrain each other prices in a way that competition from traditional grocery stores may not.
RBR observation: This transaction has been frequently compared to the proposed XM/Sirius merger. XM/Sirius would have everybody believe that if their single-entity price goes up (once a conditional price-capping term expires) then there are ample options available to consumers, not the least of which is traditional AM and FM radio, just like dissatisfied Whole Foods customers may go to Safeway. (As an aside, let us note that we go to Safeway, and while we have no complaints, it's not exactly a cornucopia of organic product. We would be happy to have an option like Whole Foods or Wild Oats in our area, which sadly we don't.) Most antitrust testimony we've heard so far disagrees with this assessment, however. Each satellite service is able to provide far more format options than an entire market's worth of radio stations can in most cases, and it is irreplaceable in rural areas with little or no terrestrial service, or for subscribers who treasure its mobility. For many subscribers, there are no options. When you add in little things like they were chartered as two separate competitive entities by design, it becomes more and more difficult to believe that we're even entertaining serious discussion of this merger.
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| Entertainment Media Business Report TM |
 Traug Keller: Taking the ESPN brand ahead of the curve
Traug joined ESPN as SVP/ESPN Radio and ESPN Deportes in December 2004. He's responsible for all aspects of ESPN Radio including talent, staffing, national programming content, scheduling, event production and coordination with ABC Radio Networks/Citadel for ad sales and affiliation needs. Keller is also responsible for ESPN Deportes, coordinating synergistic efforts with ESPN's domestic operations as well as enhancing and developing ESPN Deportes' relationships with affiliates. They recently added oversight of the Bass and Outdoor business of ESPN. Keller took on the role of Bristol, CT integration for Mobile ESPN in June 2006, responsible for developing new, potentially exclusive, video content for the phone, driving more integrated promotions of Mobile ESPN on-air, and serving as Mobile ESPN's rep in evaluating and executing on all other Mobile ESPN synergy ideas.
| Read More... |
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| Internet Media Business Report TM |
Google adds video ads to YouTube content
Google believes it finally has found the formula to cash in on YouTube's potential as a magnet for online video advertising and keep its audience loyal at the same time. The company announced that after months of testing various video ad models, it was ready to introduce a new type of video ad, which it said was unobtrusive and kept users in control of what they saw. The ads, which appear 15 seconds after a user begins watching a video clip, take the form of an overlay on the bottom fifth of the screen, not unlike the tickers that display headlines during television news programs. The ad disappears after about 10 seconds if the viewer does nothing; the featured clip automatically pauses if the viewer clicks on the overlay to launch the full pitch. If the user clicks on it, the video they were watching will stop and a video ad will begin playing. Once the ad is over, or if a user clicks on a box to close it, the original video will resume playing from the point where it was stopped. "For now, Google will place the ads only on video clips of its content partners - the more than 1,000 small and large media companies that have licensed their videos to YouTube. By doing so, YouTube will avoid the potential liability of having ads appear on copyrighted clips it is not authorized to display. And it will also prevent ads from playing on clips generated by users whose message may not be to the liking of advertisers," the Times story said. Eileen Naughton, Google's director for media platforms said Google would charge advertisers only 20 bucks for every 1,000 times the ads were displayed. The ads began appearing yesterday throughout the site. Advertisers would be able to take aim at specific channels and genres, as well as demographic profiles, geography and hour of the day.
 Sky debuts in Google Earth
Google announced the launch of Sky, a new feature that enables users of Google Earth to view the sky as seen from planet Earth. With Sky, users can now float through the skies via Google Earth. This easy-to-use tool enables all Earth users to view and navigate through 100 million individual stars and 200 million galaxies. High resolution imagery and informative overlays create a unique playground for visualizing and learning about space. To access Sky, users need only click "Switch to Sky" from the "view" drop-down menu in Google Earth, or click the Sky button on the Google Earth toolbar. The interface and navigation are similar to that of standard Google Earth steering, including dragging, zooming, search, "My Places," and layer selection.
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| Ratings & Research |
Phone companies grabbed most
new broadband subscribers
According to a new study by Leichtman Research Group, the 19 largest cable and telephone providers in the US, representing about 94% of the market acquired over 1.7 million net additional high-speed Internet subscribers in Q2. The top broadband providers now account for nearly 58 million subscribers, with cable companies having 31.5 million, and telephone companies over 26.4 million, according to The Center for Media Research. Additional key findings for the quarter include: Total broadband additions were the fewest since the second quarter of 2004, and about 400,000 less than in the second quarter of last year; Charter was the only major broadband provider to record significantly more net broadband additions in the second quarter than a year ago; The top telephone companies added about 925,000 subscribers, representing 54% of the net broadband additions for the quarter; The top cable broadband providers have a 54% share of the broadband market, with about a 5.1 million subscriber advantage over the telephone companies.
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| HD Radio 2007 |
 HD Radio rules take effect
by Peter Gutmann
The FCC's HD radio rules are to take effect September 14, 2007. Subject to the limitations noted below, AM stations will be able to broadcast HD at night and FM stations can operate HD2 and HD3 streams without a need for special authorization. At this point, HD radio remains a "hybrid" IBOC (in-band, on-channel) system that permits the transmission of both analog and digital signals within the spectrum occupied by a single AM or FM channel. Among the benefits of the digital carriers that can be added to a station's analog signal are improved fidelity and reception, added information services, and compatibility with existing receivers (although new HD-capable receivers, currently scarce and expensive, are needed to receive the digital streams). The Commission anticipates moving toward an all-digital radio service, but intends to rely upon marketplace forces in lieu of a timetable or a formal conversion policy. This seems particularly appropriate since, unlike HDTV, the IBOC technology neither requires new spectrum nor frees up existing radio channels for other uses. The Commission plans to explore technical and policy issues germane to an all-digital radio environment, but once HD receiver penetration reaches a critical mass. The highlights of the rules that are to take effect September 14 are as follows:
| Read More... |
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| TVBR TV News |
NAB focused on DTV transition
The National Association of Broadcasters' Jack Sander has fired off a letter the FCC Chairman Kevin Martin detailing the multipronged plans the NAB has to assure viewer awareness of the upcoming 2/17/09 conversion to digital television broadcasting. At risk are 19.6M over-air-only households, and another estimated 14.7M households with unconnected secondary over-air-only receivers. "The goal of our campaign is for no consumer to lose access to free local television programming after February 17, 2009, due to a lack of information about the DTV transition," Sander wrote. From the letter, he detailed the following elements of the NAB plan. * On-air announcements: Four to six fully produced and edited 30-second announcements on the transition, and at least one 60-second version, that will be distributed to stations later this year; * Story Ideas and Copy for stations to use in their newscasts; * Video package: NAB will produce and distribute a DTV video package with B-roll footage of transmission towers, converter boxes, interviews and other useful footage to help stations report on the DTV transition; * Graphic elements: Graphics, artwork and other production elements that local stations and state broadcasters groups can use to create their own spots; * "Donut" spots: One or two "donut" spots - 30-second advertisements produced on the front and back ends, with room in the middle for a sound bite from a local official or news anchor - where local stations can insert their local talent into the DTV public service announcements; * DTV educational TV program: A half-hour educational television program on the DTV transition that local commercial and public television stations can air when appropriate; * "Crawls": NAB will be working on and consulting with local stations and networks on how best to use "crawls" - or DTV-related messages that scroll across television screens during programming - to alert consumers to the transition and drive traffic to the Web site; and * Non-English language spots: NAB is working with a number of groups that will produce spots in a variety of different languages for use on stations with non-English language programming.
TVBR observation: Viewer retention is a matter of simple survival for NAB members. Of course, the transition will not be perfect - there is a Murphy's Law that states that while you can make something foolproof, you can't make it damfoolproof. But fortunately, the ideal venue to reach analog television users is television, so this is one media campaign that should be perfectly targeted, and therefore, wildly successful.
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| Transactions |
1.5M WTSA AM & FM Brattleboro VT from Tri-State Broadcasters Inc. (Edward N. Ney, Michelle Kilduff, John Kilduff) to Four Seasons Media Inc. (William J. Corbiel, Kelly Corbiel). Cash. Includes non-compete. [File date 7/30/07.]
520K WOHT-FM Grenada MS. 100% of Century Broadcasting LLC from Steve White (51% to 0%), John Taylor Paschal (49% to 0%) to Gregory F. Slotsky (0% to 100%). Unspecified down payment and promissory note. Includes non-compete. Includes LMA of WMUT-FM Grenada MS, owned by George S. Flinn Jr. LMA 7/2/07. [File date 7/30/07.]
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| Stock Talk |
Radio stocks up
With the Dow up 150 points yesterday, the tide rose radio stocks as well. Cox Radio saw a 0.45 increase; Fisher 0.99 and Lincoln National 2.20
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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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51.41
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+0.71
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Google
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GOOG
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512.75
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+6.14
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Beasley
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BBGI
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7.01
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-0.06
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Hearst-Argyle
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HTV
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20.40
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+0.39
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| CBS CI. B |
CBS |
 |
31.39
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+0.57
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Journal Comm.
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JRN
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10.09
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-0.24
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| CBS CI. A |
CBSa |
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31.32
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+0.50
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Lincoln Natl.
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LNC
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61.04
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+2.20
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| Citadel |
CDL |
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4.19 |
-0.02 |
Radio One, Cl. A
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ROIA
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3.83
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+0.12
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Clear Channel
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CCU
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37.00
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+0.30
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Radio One, Cl. D
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ROIAK
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3.85
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+0.14
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Cox Radio
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CXR
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13.67
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+0.45
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Regent
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RGCI
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2.75
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-0.01
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Cumulus
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CMLS
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10.34
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+0.35
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Saga Commun.
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SGA
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7.36
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-0.06
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Debut Bcg.
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DBTB
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1.25
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unch
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Salem Comm.
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SALM
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9.19
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-0.17
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Disney
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DIS
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33.57
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+0.28
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Sirius Sat. Radio
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SIRI
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2.77
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unch
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Emmis
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EMMS
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6.07
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-0.02
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Spanish Bcg.
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SBSA
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2.89
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+0.01
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Entercom
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ETM
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20.72
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-0.63
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SWMX
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SMWX
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0.09
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+0.01
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Entravision
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EVC
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9.09
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+0.24
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Westwood One
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WON
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2.96
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+0.08
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Fisher
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FSCI
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49.80
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+0.99
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XM Sat. Radio
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XMSR
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11.09
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-0.19
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Bounceback
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 We want to
hear from you.
This is your column, so send your comments and
a photo to [email protected]
Another broadcaster weighs in on the performance tax
 Fees for "performing" copyrighted music on radio, are a historic travesty. The radio industry once stood up for its rights and told ASCAP where to get off, forming BMI and enticing many artists away from ASCAP because radio wouldn't play any ASCAP music. Now we have RIAA in the act, and true to form they are looking at the very narrow view of instant profits rather then helping to prop up a newly developing industry. Radio streaming will, in all likelihood replace over the air radio in the future. It will grow much faster than satellite, and will provide listeners with a tremendous variety of programming, including in some cases, music. Music, however, isn't the only thing being provided on web streams. Schools are streaming their sports activities. Churches are streaming their Sunday services, and special interest audiences that aren't big enough to justify a broadcast are now able to get their message out worldwide. We don't want to let anybody mess that up. But exorbitant fees threaten to set back by many years an industry that already has established a firm technological base. We need to tell the music people what we told the buggy whip people when horses gave way to cars, "start providing something useful if you want to survive." The future is not in CDs or mini-disks or Vinyl, the future will lie in digital files that do not require a conventional distribution system. My advice is stop suing everybody, then sit down and determine where RIAA fits into this new world order, and create a useful service that people are willing to pay for, not an archaic one that must be crammed down their throats. Our legislators need to heed this message and let the marketplace decide where this industry is going, not provide legislation designed to keep an unneeded, unwanted, and outmoded organization in business for a few more years.
John F. Schad, President
Smarts Broadcast Systems
And just to show there are other topics out there, here's one on FM translators for AM stations
 When the NPRM came out about AMs on FM translators, I made mention of the fact that the FCC should create a standard for the coverage of these translators not tied to the AM station's 2 mV/m daytime contour. The reason is that exactly the same AM facilities will vary greatly in coverage across the U.S due to differences in ground conductivity. The example I used was a 1450 AM with 1KW in Cornelia GA gets a 2 mV/m daytime contour at 9 miles from its tower while the exact same facility at Yankton, SD enjoys a 2 mV/m contour at 34 miles from its tower. So. an exact copy of an AM in the midwest with one is the south will get nearly 4 times the coverage. So, the translator on the AM in the south or other regions of low AM ground conductivity will be restricted greatly compared to the one in the midwest. I suggested a simple standard to be applied across the U.S. An FM translator duplicating an AM station can't have a 60 dBu contour extending beyond 25 miles of the AM transmitter site. The maximum power allowed by the FCC for a FM translator is 250 Watts. So, how high up would the FM translator have to be to produce a 60 dBu of 25 miles. 1000 meters or 3280 feet..assuming the translator were to meet all signal separation rules. The tallest TV tower in the U.S. is just over 2,000 feet so you can see that in reality, there will be no FM translators producing a 60 dBu of more than 25 miles...not even close. However, why limit them to just 9 miles to equal the AM 2 mV/m contour when in fact, technically the contour might could go 12 miles if not limited by the AM 2 mV/m contour? I'd even settle on a 20 mile limit for the translator 60 dBu.
Douglas M. "Art" Sutton, Jr., President/CEO GA-Carolina Radiocasting, Toccoa GA
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Below the Fold
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Media Markets & Money
Radio One
Spins out of Augusta. another chapter is in the book of the ongoing liquidation...
Washington Media Business Report
Merger mania food for thought
A district court judge who shot down the FTC's denial of approval to merge...
Entertainment Media
Business Report
Traug Keller on
Taking the ESPN brand ahead of the curve...
Internet Media Business Report
Google adds
Video ads to YouTube content...
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Stations for Sale
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MCH Enterprises, Inc.
CA Lakeside Cluster: $995K
OR Coastal FM's: $895K
www.mchentinc.com
805.680.2265 (cell)
 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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Peter Smyth/Greater Media new honorary AWRT trustee
American Women in Radio and Television (AWRT) is pleased to announce its newest Honorary Trustee of the Foundation, Peter H. Smyth, President and Chief Executive Officer, Greater Media. Smyth joined Greater Media in 1986 and has held numerous positions upon being promoted in March 2002 to Greater Media's President and Chief Executive Officer.
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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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Data glitch? Houston PPM
Carry rates drop 1/3 in 1 week
RBR 1st reported 8/21/07, Houston, we may have a big problem when it comes to PPM carry rates. There is a sudden sharp drop in Houston August Week 1 weekly PPM intab. The daily intab is in range but the weekly has suddenly dropped by around one-third in most demos. Is this possible? Arbitron quickly took a second look and Arbitron spokesperson Thom Mocarsky gave the official company explanation of what happened to cause the sudden sharp drop in Houston August Week 1 weekly PPM intab (see story). He says there was actually "no precipitous decline in panelist cooperation in Houston for the week of July 26 through August 1, 2007." The file used to process the weekly cume estimates (the unified weekly sample) was incompletely loaded from the data warehouse to the production system. But the fall out from this RBR was flooded with email from broadcasters POed about the PPM issue: Bob Neil, Cox Radio CEO: "Why didn't we hear about this in last week's big conference call?"... Consultant Randy Kabrich: "Less than one week ago on their subscriber conference call, in response to a question on panel management, Pierre [Bouvard, Arbitron President/Sales & Marketing] told me to "handle programming and let them (Arbitron) deal with panel management". 48 hours later, Arbitron told the NABOB "PPM ratings are not flawed" and said they "remain confident in the validity" of the data. Less than 1 business day later, Arbitron put out flawed PPM data with no validity - passing through all their quality controls without raising a single red flag. If I had followed Pierre's advice, we would have never learned of this error..." See the data and the charts in RBR
RBR observation: Suggestion if you did not read the three part report is to revisit RBR. Yep broadcasters are POed and have a right to be. In this stage of development of moving forward with PPM Arbitron must pull double duty and checking and re-checking data. Arbitron can not afford many PR errors of taking 1 step forward and then falling back 2. Broadcasters voice your concerns but Arbitron is workable as they too are in business to serve their clients.
08/22/07 RBR #164
Comments lead the pack
on the Royalties Issue
As a local broadcaster, I can only look to the future and wonder what industry I'll be part of in 5 years. Too young to retire, and unable to afford the excessive fees the placed on us by the CRB decision of this year. Come on guys - we're not the enemy! We've provided a service and paid you for the opportunity for decades. The CRB decision is only hurting your cause, and even the fan base will suffer in the end. Dan DeBruler, General Manager, Christian Listening Network.
Frank Boyle, Station Broker feels, How about the reverse fees that record companies, artists, composers should pay to radio stations, collected by and distributed by NAB. 1. P.A.C.S.A, aka Payment After Calculation of Songs Played. 2. IMB, aka Individual Music Broadcast. Each station would send its rate cards to each record company, indicating the average cost per 2 1/2 minutes for each record played. 3. Run Of Schedule. Each record companies' ad agency would place an annual bulk order for average plays per month-for clients of each record company.
08/21/07 RBR #163
The case for performance
fees fairness
We admit it. The MusicFirst Coalition is right: "Radio should be held to the same standards and should play by the same rules as its competitors." Agreed. AM and FM stations should pay the same performance royalties as Internet streamers and satellite radio - and that royalty rate should be zero. The radio industry should be aligning itself more closely with the Internet streamers to not only fight the outrageous CRB increases in Internet streaming fees, but to have Congress eliminate them altogether. RBR note: RBR encourages your view on this topic so send your comments and a photo to [email protected] (Complete observation in RBR)
08/20/07 RBR #162
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