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Volume 23, Issue 168, Jim Carnegie, Editor & Publisher
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Tuesday Morning August 29th, 2006
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Radio News ®
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 Armada sails
with one less captain
Reacting to objections filed by Media Access Project, Armada Media Corp. has revised its ownership to delete Wisconsin political big-wig Nick Hurtgen, who is facing federal indictments in an alleged kickback scheme. The FCC has now cleared Armada to close one cluster acquisition, with another still pending. Hurtgen is a long-time close associate of former Wisconsin Governor and US Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson, who was also listed as an investor in Armada, although the guys actually running the show are veteran radio operators Jim Coursolle and Chris Bernier (and directors include John Lynch and Terry Shockley). The purchase of KSDN-AM & FM, KGIM-AM & FM, KBFO-FM and KNBZ-FM Aberdeen-Redfield, SD from Aberdeen Radio Ranch for 9.25 million (5/12/06 RBR #94) appeared pretty routine until Media Access Project learned about the charges facing Hurtgen and filed an objection with the FCC. Armada recently filed a revision to the FCC application with Hurtgen dropped from the ownership roster and the South Dakota license transfers were granted late last week. Armada has made the same change to its application to buy WJMS-AM & WIMI-FM Ironwood, MI and WAGN-AM, WMAM-AM, WHYB-FM, WMAM-AM, WLST-FM & WSFQ-FM Marinette-Peshtigo, WI- Menomonie, MI from Quicksilver Broadcasting for 8.5 million - a deal which had also drawn a Media Access Project objection. Those license transfers are still awaiting FCC action.
RBR observation: Armada's attorneys had first tried to argue that the FCC should ignore the indictments and take action only when and if Hurtgen is convicted of something. Isn't the Commission supposed to leave such matters to the courts until they are fully adjudicated? Well, anyone familiar with the bizarre case of WTMP-AM Tampa in 1993 - which was called back after closing when a federal prosecutor informed the FCC of drug charges against a principal of the buyer - knows that is not always the case.
San Antonio deal a half-price sale
 Wall Street may have been applauding CBS for the big multiple in its sale of KTSA-AM and KXJK-FM San Antonio to Tom Castro's Border Media Partners (8/24/06 RBR #165), but it turns out that it is a half-price sale as far as the seller is concerned. Infinity Broadcasting, which became CBS Radio, bought the two stations from Waterman Broadcasting in 2000 for 90 million. That was a stock sale, which explains why CBS now has a low basis in the stations as far as the tax man is concerned. Waterman got out of radio at an opportune time. It still owns TV stations in two markets.
RBR observation: How things have changed. The previous sale was done at the peak of the market, just before values began to decline. Not only did Bernard Waterman get 90 million bucks, but he made Mel Karmazin structure the deal to be tax-free for the seller. According to the 4/3/2000 issue of RBR, Waterman got 90 million in Infinity stock for the stock of Waterman Broadcasting Corporation of Texas. We wonder if he had the good luck to sell before Infinity/Viacom/CBS began to slide with other media stocks. Back in 2000 KTFM-FM was a successful CHR station, at the time the #2 billing FM in the market, but it later fell on hard times and was re-launched as KXJK with a "Jack" format, so Castro bought it for stick value. KTSA is still a heritage AM News/Talker, but since CBS was never able to grow beyond two stations in the market, it was never able to spread the high overhead of that format across a larger cluster. Of course, both CBS CEO Les Moonves and CBS Radio CEO Joel Hollander can claim, truthfully, that neither was involved in the 90 million purchase. With no opportunity to grow and little cash flow from the market, selling for 45 million in 2006 looks like a good deal.
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 ABC Radio chooses VitalStream for streaming, online ad insertion
ABC Radio has selected VitalStream as its exclusive provider of online ad-insertion and streaming media solutions, powering some 75 ABC Radio stations in major markets and ABC Radio Networks shows. The deal involves video display as well as audio ads. VitalStream's ad-insertion technology offers better-targeted ad delivery; its "FastAim" provides robust reporting capabilities and multiple ad formats including audio/video and rich media. VitalStream will also rep ABC Radio's streaming inventory for ad sales. No word yet on how that will affect the current rep relationship with Net Radio Sales. The new equipment should be installed by October. "ABC Radio believes the FastAim ad insertion product from VitalStream Ad Services will enable us to move to the next level in precision targeting of streaming ad delivery," said Robert Shiflet, marketing and Internet director of ABC Radio. "We have long realized the value of ABC audio streams and are continually looking for the best way to monetize those assets." Based on the initial use registration process, VitalStream will offer up targeting based on location/region, age, gender and more. VitalStream's audio player allows the advertisers to show banners synchronized with the audio spots.
RBR observation: We're a bit surprised this deal was done with the Citadel acquisition of ABC Radio and ABCRN in play. Nevertheless, radio buys are now showing greater levels of integration for clients on new media and traditional radio. When it makes sense, online radio should be pitched in conjunction with network and spot radio buys. The more targetable, the better, so ABC Radio has stepped up to the plate in that respect for their online offerings.
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NBC News Radio to air Katrina
anniversary interview with Bush
With all of the networks preparing Hurricane Katrina anniversary observances for this week, NBC News anchor Brian Williams has managed to get an interview with President George W. Bush, whose administration's handling of the catastrophe was widely criticized, leading to the ouster of the man who then headed FEMA. Williams had anchored NBC's coverage of the Hurricane Katrina devastation from New Orleans a year ago. His interview with President Bush will air tonight on the "NBC Nightly News" on television and is also being run on NBC News Radio, distributed by Westwood One. In fact, all or part of its being run on all platforms of NBC News: NBC Television, NBC News Radio, MSNBC, CNBC, msnbc.com, Williams' blog and NBC Mobile.
 Cutbacks in Alaska
Saying that program acquisition and other costs are growing faster than revenues, Alaska Public Media announced staff cuts and other reductions for KAKM Public Television and Alaska Public Radio News. Seven staffers are being let go and three vacant positions will not be filled. "Unfortunately, Alaska Public Media has had to employ cost-cutting measures regularly since the mid 1990s when state funding was reduced by three-quarters of a million. Until now, those changes have been all but invisible to the viewer and listener, but we no longer have that option," said Paul Stankavich, President and General Manager of Alaska Public Media. On the radio side, APRN has ceased production of "AK," the hour-long, weekly Alaskan lifestyle magazine program distributed to 23 public radio stations statewide. In TV, Stankavich said KAKM will begin using a service from PBS to handle much of its scheduling, reducing local control over the program schedule. Also, KAKM's "Ready To Learn" service which supplies books and educational outreach to adults with pre-school children at risk of school failure in Southcentral Alaska is in jeopardy of being terminated unless new funding can be found locally.
WABC-AM cancels Batchelor; adds new shows
WABC-AM NY canceled John Batchelor's late-night show last Friday. He's been replaced by KMBZ Kansas City import Jerry Agar, 8-10 PM weekdays. Batchelor debuted on WABC the day after 9/11. Batchelor remains in syndication with ABC Radio Networks. Mike McConnell has been added on Saturdays from 10-11pm and on Sundays from 12n-1pm. "Bauer and Rose," Sundays 10am-12Noon, is hosted by Gary Bauer and Tom Rose out of the ABC News Bureau in DC.
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| Wall Street Media Business Report TM |
Harris ups its dividend
Electronics equipment maker Harris Corporation, which has a large broadcast division, announced that its board of directors has increased the company's quarterly dividend by three cents to 11 cents per share. "Our financial performance for fiscal year 2006 was excellent, and we concluded the year with a record quarter for revenue, orders, and net income, and an improved outlook for each business segment," said CEO Howard Lance. The increased dividend will be paid September 15th to shareholders of record on September 6th.
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| Branding Business Report |
 Brandcasting with
Snapple and WFNX
Jay Coleman, EMCI President, organized a deal that took WFNX-FM Boston commercial free for six weeks this summer, with Snapple as sole sponsor. He calls the promotion "brandcasting," and it's gotten quite a bit of interest from broadcasters. Yesterday, Jay talked about the Brandcasting model (8/28/06 RBR #167).
How did you put Snapple/Cadbury
together with WFNX?
Well it was a combination of a lot of people. We brought in Bo Phillips who acted as our radio consultant and he worked with FNX's program people and the Snapple team to really create the on-air sound. It was first and foremost what do they want to do with their own programming mix? For 'FNX they tweaked it a little bit and went more towards the greatest hits of Alternative during that period so there is a little bit of a tweaking on their side. The rest of it was the station working with Snapple in designing and on-air sound and some promotional elements that could run through the whole campaign so there's a consistency to it and Bo and his people worked with the station programming people to really help develop that sound. Particularly the commercial, the Snapple branding aspects.
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Ad Business Report TM
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Google and eBay pact for "click to call" functionality
Internet giants Google and eBay announced a multi-year deal involving text-based advertising and "click-to-call" advertising functionality. Google will become the exclusive text-based ad provider for eBay outside the US. Yahoo struck a parallel deal in May to handle all of eBay's U.S. ads. The click-to-call functionality will leverage both Skype and Google Talk globally in each company's respective shopping and search platforms. They plan to begin testing both initiatives early next year. Google will become the exclusive provider of text-based advertising on eBay outside the US. Google advertisers will get access to eBay buyers and make it easier for them to find the products they seek. The click-to-call capability will allow a user to click on a link or icon within a product or service advertisement to initiate an Internet voice call to participating eBay merchants or Google advertisers directly from either company's respective sites, using Skype or Google Talk. Both Google, through its relationship with DMarc, and eBay, which has been chosen by the ad industry to build and test an online auction system for inventory, are getting more and more involved ad sales for radio & TV inventory.
 JCPenney to air live ads
on MTV's Video Music Awards
J.C. Penney will air its first-ever live ad concept at this year's MTV Video Music Awards show on Thursday. Aimed at achieving a "deeper emotional connection and relevance to youth," the live ads build on JCPenney's exclusive retail sponsorship of the MTV VMAs. "We are looking to blur the edges between advertising and show content," said Michael Cape, JCPenney's VP/brand marketing. "By making the viewers feel more integrated into our advertisements we are able to achieve a deeper emotional connection with our key audience." The seamless movement from the awards show into the ad is driven by technology that allows a screen with the awards show to be broadcast live into a screen embedded into the ad. Panning in and out of different teens' and kids' bedrooms, JCPenney's two live ads will reference its current back to school ads, ultimately panning into the live MTV VMA show inside Radio City Music Hall. JCPenney will also feature all new spots during the MTV VMAs including ads for Junior's and Young Men's as well as the premiere of the Company's fall fashion ads. The live ads will culminate JCPenney's back to school campaign which included online content on MTV websites linked from the JCPenney brand experience sitelet, www.jcpenneybts.com and a VMA "Insider" contest. As part of the campaign, two winners were chosen through the JCPenney VMA "Insider" contest and will receive a trip to New York City and access to exclusive VMA events, including appearing on MTV and being a special guest at the MTV Video Music Awards where they will report on the parties, exclusive rehearsals, red carpet action and have a video diary of their experience posted on MTV Overdrive. JCPenney will feature highlights of the Insider contest during the red carpet pre-show. Other elements include radio, on the ground and in-store.
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| Media Business Report TM |
 More newspapers on the auction block
Following the successful sale of Knight-Ridder and subsequent spin-offs by McClatchy, two more publicly traded newspaper companies are putting some of their papers up for sale. Journal Register Company announced that it has engaged Dirks, Van Essen & Murray to seek bids for the properties in its New England cluster: The Herald News and Taunton Daily Gazette in Fall River and Taunton, Massachusetts, respectively, and The Call, The Times and Kent County Daily Times in Woonsocket, Pawtucket and West Warwick, Rhode Island, respectively, and its weekly group, the Southern Rhode Island Newspaper Group in Wakefield, Rhode Island. Journal Register said the properties for sale have revenues of approximately 39.9 million and operating cash flow of approximately 8.9 million. Also yesterday, Dow Jones & Company said it was evaluating sales or swaps of its Ottaway community newspapers in Danbury, CT; Oneonta, NY; Plattsburg, NY; Santa Cruz, CA; Sunbury, PA; and Traverse City, MI. Proceeds would be used to pay down debt and sales would enable Dow Jones to utilize approximately 155 million of capital loss tax carry-forwards which expire December 31st.
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| Media Markets & Money TM |
Queen City owner sheds last outposts
When Cincinnati Classical Public Radio (CCPR) bought WVXU-FM and its six "X-Star Network" satellites from Xavier University last year for 15 million bucks (3/14/05 RBR #51), the buyer made it clear that it was only interested in the duopoly for its WGUC-FM Cincinnati. Earlier this year, CCPR, headed by President Richard Eiswerth, sold three small market Michigan stations to local commercial station owners for a total of 991K. Now it has a single deal to sell the remaining trio, all of which are in the reserved non-commercial band. Broker Greg Guy of Patrick Communications has found a buyer in Christian Voice of Central Ohio Inc., headed by President Dan Baughman, which already owns WCVO-FM Columbus and WCVZ-FM South Zanesville, OH. It will pay one million even for WVXW-FM West Union, OH, WVXC-FM Chillicothe, OH and WVXR-FM, just across the state line in Richmond, IN.
Pikes Peak scaled, shuttered
A long family broadcasting odyssey in Colorado has come to an end. Broker Kalil & Co. reports that the Hoth family's Pikes Peak Broadcasting Company has closed on its 8.5 million sale of KRDO-FM Colorado Springs to Citadel Broadcasting, expanding the Citadel cluster in the market to six stations (5/8/06 RBR #90). The Hoths had previously closed on the 45 million sale of their two TV stations in Colorado Springs and Grand Junction to News-Press & Gazette Company, along with KRDO-AM, where the Hoths launched their broadcasting empire in 1947.
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| Washington Media Business Report TM |
Sticks for sale, get 'em while they're hot
Actually, it figures to be very cold in Washington DC when FM Auction No. 68 kicks off. If everything stays on schedule, nine CPs will be on the block 1/10/07, but it is advisable not to get too excited. They are the nine leftovers from Auctions No. 37 and No. 62. Comments on the proposed auction are due at the Commission 9/6/06, and reply comments are due a week later. Here's what the FCC has in stock: Covelo CA, Class A on 96.9 mHz, opening bid 7.5K; Tecopa CA, Class A on 106.1 mHz, opening bid 1.5K; Cedar Key FL, Class A on 100.1 mHz, opening bid 1.5K; Perry FL, Class A on 93.5 mHz, opening bid 15K; Kihei HI, Class C2 on 107.5 mHz, opening bid 90K; Outlook MT, Class C on 105.7 mHz, opening bid 10K; Ocracoke NC, Class C1 on 92.7 mHz, opening bid 150K; Meyersdale PA, Class A on 98.5 mHz, opening bid 90K; Parowan UT, Class C2 on 107.9 mHz, opening bid 15K.
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| Internet Media Business Report TM |
 BET Interactive buys out
original investment group
BET Networks announced that BET Interactive, its Internet operating unit, is making a cash buyout of its original investment group consisting of Microsoft, News Corp., Liberty Media and IAC/InterActive Corp and the former investors from 360HipHop.com, led by hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons. Financial terms were not disclosed. BET Networks Chairman and CEO Debra Lee along with Michael Pickrum, BET Interactive EVP/CPP, announced the transaction. BET.com first launched in 2000 with initial venture capital funding from its original investors. Since then, strategic partnerships and commitment to serving its core audience helped BET.com achieve success across all of its key metrics. For Viacom, the buyout of the BET Interactive shareholders is another step in its multiplatform strategy that is fueling all of its business units. "BET.com is the leading African-American website and a great example of our ability to move our entertainment brands onto digital platforms," said Tom Freston, President and CEO of Viacom. "We have great plans for BET.com and are thrilled to bring this leading media site completely under our roof." BET.com has registered more than 3.6 million users and generates 2.6 million in total monthly unique visitors (based on June 2006 comScore data).
Children's programming alliance launching HisKids.net
HisKids.net, an alliance of leading Christian radio programs for children, will launch its interactive web site - www.HisKids.net - 9/2, providing numerous programs and music on-demand at one central site. "For the first time in history, children's Christian broadcasters are working together as never before to reach kids in new and innovative ways," said Dodd Morris, director of His Kids Radio (www.HisKidsRadio.net), a broadcast ministry of Cornerstone University and coordinating partner of the alliance. "The unique endeavor is designed to give listeners their favorite programs online, anytime." In addition to listening to partner programs and His Kids Radio on their computers, children and families also will be able to hear programs on-demand on a wireless internet radio that has been modified by the alliance, said Morris. "Anyone with high-speed wireless Internet (Wi-Fi) will have access to safe and appropriate children's music and programs in their home," he said. "The internet radio also can be set to receive programming from local stations and churches. This special radio will be offered through HisKids.net at a reasonable cost."
AOL Radio lands
 Bob Dylan's XM Show
AOL Radio will begin carrying Bob Dylan's weekly XM show "Theme Time Radio Hour" on Wednesday, 8/30. In addition, Dylan fans can catch 18 "Theme Time" shows back-to-back as part of XM's weekend-long marathon, which will be simulcast on AOL Radio beginning 9/1, at 6 p.m. ET. AOL is also simulcasting XM's world premiere of Bob Dylan's heavily anticipated Modern Times album and stream it on demand all week as part of AOL Music's Full CD Listening Party. "Theme Time Radio Hour" debuted in May and features an eclectic mix of music based around a theme, with host Bob Dylan offering stories about the music and topics of interest.
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| Transactions |
440K KXIO-FM Clarksville AR from Barnett Broadcasting Inc. (Gary Barnett) to Blaine Leeds. Cash, payable upon beginning of LMA. [File date 8/11/06.]
N/A New FM Indianapolis IN (Danville IN) from Horizon Christian Fellowship of Indianapolis Inc. (William Goodrich) to Horizon Christian Fellowship (Mike MacIntosh et al). Donation. CP is for Class B1 on 88.1 mHz with 10 kw @ 410'. [File date 8/11/06.]
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| Stock Talk |
Rising tide raises all ships
There was good news for Wall Street on Monday. Tropical Storm (formerly Hurricane) Ernesto turned eastward and appeared less likely to damage Gulf of Mexico oil rigs. Oil prices went down and stock prices went up. The Dow Industrials rose 68 points, or 0.6%, to 11,352.
Radio stocks rode the wave. The Radio Index gained 0.295, or 0.2%, to 136.163. There were no really big moves to the upside. Radio One (Class A) rose 2.1% and CBS rose 1.8%. Volatile Salem had the worst day, down 6.3%.
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| Radio Stocks |
Here's how stocks fared on Monday
| Company |
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Close |
Change |
Company |
Symbol |
Close |
Change |
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Arbitron
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ARB
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36.01
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+0.24
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Hearst-Argyle
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HTV
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22.22
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+0.21
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Beasley
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BBGI
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7.03
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unch
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Journal Comm.
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JRN
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10.85
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+0.14
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| CBS CI. B |
CBS |
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28.94
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+0.48
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Lincoln Natl.
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LNC
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59.98
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+0.27
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| CBS CI. A |
CBSa |
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28.94
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+0.49
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Radio One, Cl. A
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ROIA
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5.92
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+0.12
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| Citadel |
CDL |
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8.64 |
-0.03 |
Radio One, Cl. D
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ROIAK
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5.92
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+0.10
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Clear Channel
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CCU
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28.47
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unch
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Regent
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RGCI
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4.11
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+0.07
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Cox Radio
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CXR
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15.35
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+0.12
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Saga Commun.
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SGA
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7.60
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+0.09
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Cumulus
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CMLS
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9.91
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+0.10
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Salem Comm.
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SALM
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10.25
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-0.69
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Disney
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DIS
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29.37
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+0.42
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Sirius Sat. Radio
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SIRI
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4.11
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-0.01
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Emmis
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EMMS
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12.32
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+0.02
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Spanish Bcg.
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SBSA
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4.30
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unch
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| Entercom |
ETM
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24.62
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+0.40
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Univision
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UVN
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34.41
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+0.12
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Entravision
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EVC
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7.03
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+0.08
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Westwood One
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WON
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7.17
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+0.07
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Fisher
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FSCI
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40.49
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+0.44
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XM Sat. Radio
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XMSR
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13.07
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-0.42
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Gaylord
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GET
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42.82
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+0.77
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Bounceback
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 We want to
hear from you.
This is your column, so send your comments and
a photo to [email protected]
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Below the Fold
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Branding Media Business Report
Snapple and WFNX
Promotion "brandcasting," and it's gotten quite a bit of interest...
Ad Business Report
Google and eBay pact
For "click to call" functionality...
Media Business Report
More newspapers on the block
That is auction block this time Journal Register Company...
Media Markets & Money
Queen City owner
Sheds last outposts...
Washington Media Business Report
Sticks for sale
Get 'em while they're hot...
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Stations for Sale
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CA Central Coast FM
Power increased. New site.
1.5M - Possible Terms.
Brett Miller - MCH Enterprises, Inc.
(805) 237-0952
www.mchentinc.com
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Radio Media Moves
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Lloyd goes Long
Long Island, that is, as Chris Lloyd joins Cox Radio to become Program Director of WBAB-FM, effective September 12th. He had been PD of Citadel's WBSX-FM Wilkes-Barre, PA.
iBiquity Digital
hires Kitsa Lee
iBiquity Digital has hired Kitsa Lee as Broadcast Business Manager, based in the company's Columbia, MD HQ. Most recently, Lee was operations director at Research Director, Inc. in Annapolis, Maryland. Previously, she was programming research manager at NPR. Lee began her radio career at Arbitron, where she worked directly with radio stations in a number of positions.
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More News Headlines
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ABC News Radio to offer extensive
coverage on 9/11 anniversary
ABC News Radio will offer extensive coverage on the 5th anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks. Programming will include live anchored coverage of the events taking place at Ground Zero, the White House, the Pentagon, and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. As part of the coverage, ABC News Radio will offer facilities for 30 affiliates to broadcast live from Ground Zero in New York City. ABC News Radio will have correspondents reporting on the day's events and ceremonies. ABC News Special Correspondent Gil Gross, ABC News National Correspondent Jim Hickey, and ABC News Correspondents Aaron Katersky, Larry Jacobs and Cheri Preston will be at Ground Zero; ABC News Correspondent Ann Compton will be at the White House; ABC News Correspondent Pam Coulter will be at the Pentagon; ABC News Correspondent Steve Portnoy will be in Shanksville, PA. In the evening, ABC News Special Correspondent Gil Gross will host a live, one-hour special from Ground Zero recapping the day's events.
K-Fed heading to CSI
If you didn't get enough of Kevin Federline in his Fox appearance on the "Teen Choice Awards" show, he will be appearing soon on CBS. Federline, a/k/a Mr. Britney Spears, has been booked to appear in an upcoming episode of "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" as an arrogant teenager who hassles the CSI team as they investigate a crime scene.
RBR observation: Lets hope the reviews for K-Fed's acting abilities are better than they were for his rapping and dancing. At least, they can't be any worse. By the way, Federline's personal website doesn't yet have any bells and whistles, like a photo of him, but there is a note that if you live in the LA area please "hit-up Ryan Seacrest @ KIIS FM & Power 106" and try to get them to play Federline's debut single, "Lose Control."
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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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Whew, lots of New
Clear Channel Chiefs
When the official announcement finally came out it confirmed much of what RBR reporting for many days. The managers of CC Radio's most important big markets are no longer overseeing smaller markets in their region, they have been given the new title of President & Market Manager.
RBR observation: Clearly Hogan is reconfiguring Clear Channel Radio to focus on the big bucks - trying to drive ratings and revenues in the largest markets. The 10 big market Pres./MMs are being told to focus exclusively on building ratings and revenues in the big bucks markets, while no longer having to worry about overseeing other markets - and, in most cases, fewer layers of management between them and Hogan. Will LESS layers of management produce MORE cash? One wag sent RBR an email questioning whether any layers of management had been eliminated. He or she noted that the old structure was Pres./CEO, SVP, RVP, me, while the new one is Pres./CEO, EVP, SVP, RVP, me. "Must be the new math," that CC manager concluded. Regardless, the real issue is the payoff. Clear Channel CEO Mark Mays has been telling Wall Street that his company is not like other radio companies and will ! continue to outgrow its peers. 2007 will be the test of that. Less is More will have completely lapped itself, the easy comps will be history and investors will be looking for the Mays boys and Hogan to deliver on their claim that Clear Channel can outperform the rest of the industry on a consistent basis. Last note as RBR continues to only hear that Clear Channel has a list of stations ready for sale, but this is unconfirmed. But if Clear Channel takes step as ABC and CBS in selling unwanted stations no matter the size it makes sense as it takes money to run any operation. RBR can not wait to see how Wall Street spins the happenings from last week and if May's words are true that Clear Channel is not like other radio companies.
08/28/06 RBR #167
TVB finds correlation between
spot spend and vehicle sales
This may be TV but the research is something that is vital for Local Radio to have as you compete on the street. The information comes from a Television Bureau of Advertising (TVB) analysis of 2Q '06 automotive ad spending data compiled by TNS Media Intelligence points to a strong correlation between spot TV ad spending and vehicle sales.
RBR observation: If you did not take a close look then suggestion is do it, and see the data and print it out. It will be valueable data when selling on the street against your competitors.
08/28/06 RBR #167
PPM holdout comes
aboard in Houston
Radio One has quietly dropped its long opposition to encoding for Arbitron's PPM test in Houston and begun encoding. Its stations are doing pretty well, too. The revelation came as Arbitron Thursday issued a weekly ratings data report to demonstrate new software for PPM stations.
RBR observation: Mary Catherine Sneed had been the most vocal critic of Arbitron at Radio One. That makes us think that her recent departure as COO may have had something to do with the corporate change of heart toward PPM. Total details and stats in
08/24/06 RBR #165
GE exec takes VNU helm
Folks at Billboard, Radio & Records, Adweek, Nielsen Media Research and such have a new boss at VNU corporate headquarters. He has no media background, but David Calhoun is definitely a heavy-hitter as far as Wall Street is concerned.
RBR observation: One does not leave a Vice Chairmanship at GE at the peak of one's working life to preside over a break-up, so this move makes it clear that the new owners are out to build VNU (or whatever new name it soon takes) and have brought in a superstar CEO to take command. Our sources say the new owners have confidence in Susan Whiting as CEO of Nielsen Media Research and they recently brought in publishing veteran Robert Krakoff to head up VNU Business Media USA, so Calhoun doesn't need a background in media to do his job - streamline operations, set strategy to grow each of the businesses and tell the company story to the financial community. Folks on Wall Street who were familiar with Calhoun at GE were shocked that he went to a company as small as VNU to be CEO, but he indicated to Bloomberg that he was looking for an entrepreneurial opportunity. We doubt that his family will need to relocate to The Netherlands. Look for VNU to move its corporate headquarters to New York and, once the heavy lifting has been accomplished, launch an IPO.
08/24/06 RBR #165
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State Broadcast Association
President for one of the nation's top broadcast associations seeks a replacement for its retiring executive.
See Radio Careers
Talk Radio Network
Seeking professionals in three areas to join our TRN team: Executive, Board Operator & Staff Engineer.
See Radio Careers
General Manager
Saga Communications has a rare opening at Rock 102 and Lazer 99.3.
See Radio Careers
Hard finding that key person
to fill the important position at your organization? Media HeadHunters is the place that key media firms use to get results. See Media HeadHunters and get results with service--Period.
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Help Desk
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__FIRST__ __SECOND__ :
Having problems with our epapers?
Please send Questions/Concerns to:
[email protected]
If you wish to remove your name completely from our database use this link __UNSUB__
RBR Epaper -- 108 annual
or just 9 a month
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©2006 Radio Business Report, Inc. All rights reserved.
Radio Business Report -- 2050 Old Bridge Road, Suite B-01, Lake Ridge, VA 22192 -- Phone: 703-492-8191
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