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Volume 23, Issue 172, Jim Carnegie, Editor & Publisher
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Tuesday Morning September 5th, 2006
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Radio News ®
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 White smoke from the RAB
We have a CEO! The Radio Advertising Bureau has gone outside the radio industry and picked a marketing guy as the successor to Gary Fries. The new President and CEO of RAB, effective September 18th, is Jeff Haley, currently Sr. VP of Global Marketing for Time Warner. RAB Board and Search Committee Chairman Joe Bilotta, COO of Buckley Radio, hailed Haley for his strong track record in media sales and sales management and his expertise in multiple media platforms, which was called crucial to the RAB role. "Jeff's qualifications, while not directly in radio, afford him the opportunity to bring to the RAB an intimate knowledge of the broad advertising, marketing and digital media space and its impact on both advertisers and broadcasters. We sought out an individual who will represent our great industry in this rapidly changing media environment," Bilotta told RBR. Haley, who is 45, was initially recruited to Time Inc. to be part of the launch team for Entertainment Weekly, which RAB described as "perhaps the most successful new magazine launch of the last 20 years." He also served as Sales Development Manager for Time Inc. and Midwest Marketing Manager, both corporate roles designed to package the company's products in multi-title buys to its largest clients. In 1992, Haley joined Time Warner's Six Flags Theme Parks as Vice President of Sponsorships responsible for sales and promotions. He later worked at AOL in a business development role before joining the Global Marketing group in 2001. Most recently at Time Warner, Haley managed a team of sales, account and creative services staff and was responsible for creating and marketing advertising based programs (built using the media assets of AOL, Time Inc. Turner, Time Warner Cable, Warner Brothers Entertainment, HBO and New Line Cinema) to some of the largest advertisers in the US. "The Radio Advertising Bureau is a dynamic organization with a strong team in place. I'm looking forward to joining them in their efforts. Radio like all media faces great opportunities from new technology and shifting consumer habits. I'm confident the RAB will play an important role helping its member stations and their advertisers succeed in this changing environment," Haley said in the RAB announcement of his selection.
RBR observation: Marketing is what it is all about. The role of the President and CEO of RAB is to market radio as an advertising medium to the highest levels of the corporations who buy those ads. Bravo to the selection committee for recruiting outside the old boy network for some fresh blood to bring in new ideas from outside radio that will benefit radio.
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 Clear Channel wants more tiers
As of when we checked Friday, there were 38,857 comments filed so far in the FCC's latest proceeding on revising its ownership rules. Approximately 38,850 of them read, "Dear FCC: I write to urge you not to weaken the strong media ownership rules that have helped protect the rights of viewers and listeners like me. A strong democracy depends on its citizens having a wide variety of viewpoints to decide from. Those viewpoints should be diverse and derived from local sources, not simply homogenized, recycled feeds from big media companies saying the same thing in their 'local' newspaper and on their various 'local television stations'," with only the name and address of the sender different. The deadline for comments is September 22nd, so we expect to see a lot of major broadcasting and newspaper companies file their views in the next few weeks. But while the main focus of the 2003 ownership proceeding which was remanded by the federal courts was on TV ownership limits and crossownership with newspapers, Clear Channel Communications is working hard to tack another round of radio deregulation onto the current proceeding. Its lobbyists have been making the rounds of the Commissioners' offices to tout a plan to add more tiers to the radio ownership local limits. As it stands now, the most radio stations a single owner can have in one Arbitron market is eight, provided there are at least 45 stations in the market. But the New York market has 149 stations, so Clear Channel notes that eight stations is only 18%. If it were allowed to own 10 that would still be only 17% and a dozen would be only 16%. Here is the illustration that Clear Channel is using to make its case for adding two more tiers.
| View the Chart |
Clear Channel is also circulating a letter from House Telecommunications Subcommittee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) suggesting a "modest increase" in the ownership limits for markets with more than 60 stations and a less specific letter calling for further radio deregulation signed by 23 Members of Congress.
LPFM activists oppose FM translators for AM daytimers
The Prometheus Radio Project, which led the campaign for low-power FM stations, is asking the FCC to toss out the proposal from NAB to allow AM daytimers to operate FM translators to provide 24-hour programming for their local communities. "The NAB's petition seeks to hoard the FM band for AM stations at the expense of other authorized services, namely Low Power FM (LPFM) radio service. This request deliberately seeks changes to the FM band that would have a devastating impact on the LPFM service and the public interest. Moreover, the Commission already has before it pending proceedings that are also seeking to gain access to the FM band. Without resolution of these pending proceedings, NAB's requested rulemaking would be an unnecessary drain on the Commission's resources. Thus, the Commission should dismiss the NAB petition," the Prometheus Radio Project said in comments filed by lawyers from the Media Access Project. Meanwhile, many small market broadcasters and most state broadcast associations have filed comments in support of the NAB petition (RM-11338). They argue that AM daytimers have long records of serving their local communities and need 24-hour service in order to compete in today's media marketplace and keep serving their communities after the sun goes down.
 College station gets the plug pulled
The Wausau, Wisconsin area's only community-run radio station, WNRB-FM, went off the air 8/31, and the 75,000 Northcentral Technical College will save by closing it will be put to better use and benefit more of the community, school officials told The Wausau Daily Herald. The college already has relinquished the frequency to the FCC. "WNRB is too far away from the core mission of the organization to provide education and knowledge," Melanie Platt-Gibson, director of marketing and communications for NTC, told the paper. "There is value in WNRB and in a community station, but operationally, there are immediate economic needs (that need to be addressed), for businesses and for learners and for taxpayers that we need to provide them here at NTC." The station, which could only be heard over the air in the Wausau area and via the Internet, began operations in April 2005. It had 6,000 to 12,000 listeners per week, said station manager Dino Corvino, who was laid off in the move. He had been the station's only paid employee. The station was a valuable resource for the community, its supporters say. It was an alternative voice in a media market that has few other outlets, and one that let residents have their say. "The cool thing was that 118 volunteers all bought into the same idea," Corvino said.
RBR observation: One of the few examples where a college radio station didn't go all-NPR. Even though there already is an NPR affiliate in the market, it's often the case that two or three end up in the same market, playing the same thing. Has the college ever heard of fundraising? Seems with 118 volunteers, the station could have paid for itself with fund drives. Nonetheless, another one bites the dust for local radio, as they say.
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PTC files complaints over Emmy language;
Bozell stepping down
Upset about an exchange between actresses Helen Mirren and Calista Flockhart about "T & A" (using the actual words), the Parents Television Council is urging members in the Central and Mountain time zones to file complaints with the FCC over the Emmy Awards broadcast by their local NBC affiliates. The words with PTC found offensive were carried after 10:30 in the Eastern and Pacific time zones, after the 10:00 pm safe harbor kicked in, but in the 9:30-10:00 period for the other two mainland time zones. "People are getting sick and tired of networks allowing unedited profanity on their award shows in front of millions of youngsters, and with NBC this practice is becoming habitual. Didn't NBC learn anything from airing the live broadcast of the Golden Globes during which Bono dropped the F-word? NBC should have aired the Emmys on a tape delay, to bleep out the obscenities. A few seconds' delay would not have meant a thing," said Brent Bozell, President of the PTC. Bozell, by the way, announced Friday that he is stepping down from the post at the end of this year, but will remain on the PTC board of directors. Effective January 1st, PTC Executive Director Tim Winter will move up to the presidency.
RBR observation: Isn't that interesting? The PTC is publicly urging its members to file fraudulent complaints with the FCC. They are being asked to state to a federal agency that they viewed a local broadcast, when in fact they were not even aware of it until several days later. The only actual "viewer" in this case was the PTC monitoring station in the Eastern time zone, where the alleged indecency was inside the safe harbor.
 Indecency fine fears
prompt "9/11" delay
Sinclair Broadcast Group says it will delay the broadcast of the documentary "9/11" on its two CBS affiliates to avoid any risk of indecency fines by the FCC. No other company has announced a group-wide decision to delay or not air the documentary, but at least another dozen stations nationwide have made local decisions against taking the risk of an FCC fine. Sinclair says the September 10th broadcast will not air in primetime on its stations, but will be delayed until after local newscasts to put it into the 10 pm-6 am safe harbor for indecent programming. WGME-TV Portland, ME will air the program at 11:30 pm and KGAN-TV Cedar Rapids, IA at 10:30 pm local time. "It is unfortunate that the current rules, which promote censorship and impose excessive fines, coupled with the lack of clear or advance guidance from the FCC, impede broadcasters from airing programs that honor our heroes and memorialize significant events, such as 9/11, that have unified us as a nation. The application of such restrictions to broadcast television is especially troubling given the lack of restrictions imposed on content distributed via the Internet, as well as content on cable and satellite television, which are received by the vast majority of the public in the same manner as is broadcast television. Moreover, the rules and fines do not differentiate between broadcasters based upon market size, as a result of which the potential fines are such that if imposed, they could effectively put out of business television stations located in markets similar in size to the locations of Sinclair's CBS affiliates," Sinclair said in announcing the delay decision.
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Ad Business Report TM
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 CC station sells naming rights to car dealer-temporarily
Clear Channel Radio's Alternative WNVE-FM Rochester, NY ("The Nerve") mid last week became Fuccillo Hyundai's "Huge 107.3 FM" in a stunting move before its impending format change. Billy Fucillo, who opened the Hyundai dealership in July, can often be seen on television ads touting his "huge" dealership as well. From the station's website: "Fuccillo Hyundai says WELCOME to HUUUUGE 107.3, where you get a different music format EVERY HOUR! Now THAT'S variety, huh? But we can't do this forever, so we're asking for your help. Please answer the questions below to help us choose a permanent format, and thanks for listening to HUUUUUGE 107.3. It's huuuuuuuuge Rochester, huuuuuuuuuuuge!" Fucillo owns 20 car dealerships, mostly in New York state. The stunting station played everything from Classic Country to All Neil Diamond All The Time to Songs That Start With The Letter "G," Disco and Canadians Who Can Sing. Of course, only Fuccillo ads aired. The format officially changed last week, in all likelihood the new format, and sole sponsorship of Fucillo will end today, however, let's remember last Summer's brandcasting of Snapple solely on WFNX-FM Boston (5/26/06 RBR #104). The move may last longer. Fuccillo reportedly said the move was a seven-digit transaction. Not a bad idea at all. If a station is stunting, why not sell out the transition time? As EMCI President Jay Coleman told us regarding WFNX, if you have a new look and a new sound, it's a great time to debut a brandcasting platform. "It also works well if you're taking a station to a whole new format-say an urban station and you're taking it to a Latino format. All of a sudden you're kind of changing its total personality. That's another good time where you're kind of like starting from scratch," Coleman said.
CBS Radio launches O&A TV effort in 11 markets
CBS Radio launched a new TV campaign hyping the return of Opie & Anthony to terrestrial radio to an ever-increasing roster of markets. The spots, created by The VIA Group, are airing on CBS-TV affiliates in NYC, Chigago, Boston, San Francisco, DC, Detroit, Dallas, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Cleveland and West Palm Beach. The :30 second spot uses the tag, "They Belong on the Radio," are also appearing on You Tube. The spots are airing for 13 weeks and began last month.
| See one of the spots here |
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| NAB Day Time Planner |
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The following will be attending the NAB. Call or email to make your
appointment in advance.
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BROKERS
Todd Fowler/David Reeder/Gene Ferry/Bruce Pollock, American Media Services, Hilton Anatole, 843-972-2200, [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]
Jack Higgins/Dan Graves/Joel Day/Denis LeClair, Cobb Corp, Hilton Anatole, office 239-478-3737, [email protected]
Andrew P. McClure, The Exline Company, Hilton Anatole, office 415-479-3484, cell 415-497-3855, [email protected]
Frank Boyle, Frank Boyle & Co., Sheraton Suites Market Center, 203-969-2020, [email protected]
Cliff Gardiner, Clifton Gardiner & Co., Hilton Anatole, 303-758-6900, [email protected]
Gordon Rice, Gordon Rice Associates,
843-884-3590, Hilton Anatole, [email protected]
Ed Henson, Henson Media, Inc., Louisville, KY, 502-589-0060, Hilton Anatole, [email protected]
John L. Pierce,
John Pierce & Company LLC,
859-647-0101, cell 859-512-3015, Hilton Anatole, [email protected]
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Jamie Rasnick,
John Pierce & Company LLC,
859-647-0101, cell 513-252-1186, Hilton Anatole, [email protected]
Dick Kozacko/George Kimble,
Kozacko Media Services, office 607-733-7138, cell 607-738-1219, Hilton Anatole,
[email protected]
Larry Patrick/Greg Guy/Susan Patrick/Summer Foust,
Patrick Communications, Hilton Anatole
Suite #1034, 410-740-0250, [email protected]
Glenn Serafin, Serafin Bros., Inc.,
office 813-885-6060, cell 813-494-6875, [email protected]
Terry A. Greenwood,
TAG Media Consulting,
Hilton Anatole, office 410-931-3362, [email protected]
LAWYERS
Gregg P. Skall,
Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, PLLC 202-857-4441, Hilton Anatole, [email protected]
TRAFFIC SOFTWARE
Eric Mathewson, Founder and CEO; Wide Orbit; 415-675-6751; Booth 617 and Hilton Anatole Presidential Suite;
[email protected] |
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| Media Markets & Money TM |
Atlanta AM brings 1.75M
Just days after selling a Pittsburgh AM (8/31/06 RBR #170), Ron Davenport's MCL/MCM is buying an AM further south, in Atlanta. It will pay 1.75 million to acquire Gospel WSSA from South Atlanta Broadcasting, headed by Anthony St. Cyr. Davenport's company acquired an LMA and option to buy the station in January 2005 from Ritmo Latino Atlanta.
SSI acquires CRG Radio Networks
Syndicated Solutions Inc. (SSI) announced a deal to acquire CRG Radio Networks, with CRG President John Clark joining SSI as VP/Merging Media, where he will have duties associated with SSI's subscription-based podcasting and NTR Expos/Events. All CRG radio programs, including "Duke and The Doctor," "Culture Shocks with Barry Lynn," "Celebrity Crime Club" and "Listen to Life with Dr. Joey Faucet," will merge into SSI and the CRG brand will be retired. "CRG has developed a solid record of national syndication success and those results unquestionably attracted me to the company. Additionally, anyone who has ever interacted with John Clark knows that he's a top-rate person who's well respected, in addition to being a knowledgeable and experienced radio veteran," said SSI President Bob Carey.
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| Washington Media Business Report TM |
The check is not in the mail
That's because you already cashed it, was essentially Gilmore Broadcasting's reply to an FCC order earlier this month dunning the TV station operator for failing to respond to a notice of apparent liability for failing to file a timely license renewal application and continuing to operate a satellite earth station for WEHT-TV (Ch. 25, ABC) Evansville, IN. It turns out that Gilmore had already paid the 4K fine and had the bank documentation to prove it. The FCC has now rescinded its order that Gilmore pay up.
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| Entertainment Media Business Report TM |
 Joey Medina joins "The Morning Invasion" on Latino 96.3
SBS's KXOL-FM "Latino 96.3" Los Angeles last week added the "Latin King of Comedy," Joey Medina to "The Morning Invasion" with Nico Jones. The show airs Monday through Friday, 5:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. Medina is one of the top Latino comedians in the country and a vet of television shows and feature films, including "The Original Latin Kings of Comedy" and "Latin Palooza".
T-Man heads south
KUBE-FM Seattle morning driver T-Man is going to simulcast his show on fellow Clear Channel outlet KYLD-FM "Wild 94.9" San Francisco, beginning September 18th. "The T-Man Morning Show" will air 6-10 am weekdays in the Bay Area.
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| Internet Media Business Report TM |
Vivendi's Universal to back new rival to iTunes
Vivendi's Universal Music is backing a start-up that will allow customers to download songs free of charge, according to a report in the Financial Times. The report said the new service, SpiralFrog, will rely on advertising for its revenues, rather than download fees iTunes charges via its online music store. The paper said SpiralFrog is due to start up in December.
 Texas Farm Bureau Network licenses
The Radio Spider for affiliates
Digital Juke Box Software announced Texas Farm Bureau Network has purchased a license of its new Radio Spider software for its network affiliates to simplify the downloading of programming. The software (www.RadioSpiders.com) allows stations to automate program downloads from just about any radio program supplier that places its audio online for downloading. TFB Network will be providing affiliates with a download link to the special version of the Radio Spider that contains all of its programming already loaded.
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| Ratings & Research |
Cell phone system demoed this week
The Next-Generation Electronics Ratings Evaluation Team will get its first live demonstration of the Smart Cell Phone electronics ratings system at its meeting this Thursday in New York. The Media Audit/Ipsos (TMA/I) says the committee representing some 20 radio companies and ad agencies will get a demonstration of encoded radio signals being monitores, the data being stored in the cell phone buffer for a couple of minutes, and then the data being transferred to the data center in Houston, where it will be processed in five minutes. The monitored results will then be viewed back in New York via the Internet. All this will take less than 10 minutes, TMA/I promises.
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| Digital Media |
 Beth Comstock, President,
Digital Media and Market Development, NBC Universal
Beth was named president of Digital Media and Market Development in December 2005. She's accountable for driving NBC Universal's digital strategy and leading the company's content and distribution efforts to capitalize on new and emerging digital platforms. Her responsibilities also include strategic marketing, research, communications, and advertising and promotion. She reports directly to Bob Wright, vice chairman of GE and chairman and CEO of NBC Universal. Comstock had served since 2003 as corporate VP and chief marketing officer of General Electric. Comstock has been a GE company officer since 1998, at which time she was named GE's VP/Corporate Communications. Previously, Comstock served as senior vice president of Communications at NBC (1996-98), and as VP/NBC News Communications (1993-96). Before that, she held a succession of communications and publicity positions at NBC, Turner Broadcasting and CBS Entertainment, beginning in 1986. She started her career for a television news service and in local cable programming in Virginia.
| Read More... |
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| Tuesday Morning Makers & Shakers |
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Transactions: 7/17/06-7/21/06
The sale of a gigantic group is just the tonic you need for a big trading week, and that's what the transfer of Univision provided this time, inflating numbers on both the radio and the television side. That is the sum and total of the 13.7B we list in the box below due to format considerations. Other transactions added another 25.49M to the total.
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Total
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Total Deals
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12
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AMs
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27
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FMs
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70
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TVs
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42
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| Value |
13.7B
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| Complete Charts |
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Radio Transactions of the Week
Univision is both top transactions
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TV Transactions of the Week
We estimate the television side of this transaction at 10.4B.
| More... |
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| Transactions |
22M WDEF-TV Chattanooga TN from MG Broadcasting LLC, a subsidiary of Media General Inc. (James Zimmerman) to WDEF-TV Inc., a subsidiary of Morris Multimedia Inc. (Charles H. Morris et al). 1.1M escrow, balance in cash at closing. WDEF is a CBS affiliate on Channel 12. [File date 8/22/06.]
850K WFBZ-FM Trempealeau WI from S&S Broadcasting LLC (Michael Schmitz) to Sparta-Tomah Broadcasting Co. Inc. (David Z. Rice, Barbara Rice, Patricia Hoffman, Elizabeth Ecker, Sarah R. Cooper). 85K escrow, balance in cash at closing. Duopoly with WKLJ-AM/WCOW-FM Sparta WI, both of which are considered part of La Crosse Arbitron market. WFBZ-FM overlaps these stations but is outside the La Crosse market. [File date 8/23/06.]
430K WNVY-AM Pensacola FL (Cantonment FL) from 1090 AM Inc. (MIcharl B. Glinter) to Pensacola Radio Corp., a subsidiary of Wilkins Communications Network Inc. (Robert Wilkins, Michael Mathis). Cash. 1K allocated to non-compete. LMA until closing. [File date 8/21/06.]
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| Stock Talk |
Job growth boosts stock market
How appropriate. Just before the Labor Day weekend, Wall Street traders pushed stock prices higher as the government reported slightly better than expected job numbers for August. The Dow Industrials rose 83 points, or 0.7%, to 11,464. US markets were closed Monday for the holiday.
Most radio stocks were slightly higher on Friday. However, a 4.3% drop by Salem, which has been volatile of late, dragged the Radio Index down 0.075, or 0.05%, to 141.945. Please note that Spanish Broadcasting System has been removed from the RBR Radio Index after trading in penny stock territory (below five bucks) for over a month. The Index now has 13 component stocks: Arbitron, Beasley, Citadel, Clear Channel, Cumulus Media, Cox Radio, Emmis, Entercom, Entravision, Radio One, Salem, Saga and Westwood One.
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| Radio Stocks |
Here's how stocks fared on Friday
| Company |
Symbol |
Close |
Change |
Company |
Symbol |
Close |
Change |
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Arbitron
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ARB
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37.42
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-0.10
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Hearst-Argyle
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HTV
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23.20
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+0.34
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Beasley
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BBGI
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7.27
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-0.03
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Journal Comm.
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JRN
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11.01
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+0.04
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| CBS CI. B |
CBS |
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28.86
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+0.31
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Lincoln Natl.
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LNC
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60.92
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+0.22
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| CBS CI. A |
CBSa |
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28.87
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+0.31
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Radio One, Cl. A
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ROIA
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6.16
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-0.02
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| Citadel |
CDL |
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9.29 |
+0.10 |
Radio One, Cl. D
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ROIAK
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6.14
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unch
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Clear Channel
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CCU
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29.24
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+0.20
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Regent
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RGCI
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4.15
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-0.03
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Cox Radio
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CXR
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15.92
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+0.06
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Saga Commun.
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SGA
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7.99
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+0.03
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Cumulus
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CMLS
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10.13
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+0.09
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Salem Comm.
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SALM
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11.67
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-0.52
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Disney
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DIS
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29.89
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+0.24
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Sirius Sat. Radio
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SIRI
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4.10
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+0.02
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Emmis
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EMMS
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12.14
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-0.09
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Spanish Bcg.
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SBSA
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4.35
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unch
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| Entercom |
ETM
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25.58
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+0.17
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Univision
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UVN
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34.82
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+0.26
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Entravision
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EVC
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7.49
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+0.06
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Westwood One
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WON
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7.36
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+0.03
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Fisher
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FSCI
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43.09
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+0.19
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XM Sat. Radio
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XMSR
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12.72
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-0.23
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Gaylord
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GET
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43.42
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-0.30
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-
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-
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-
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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]
On indecency...
1) My mother had a superior strategy of keeping us (myself, my sister and brother) from gaining access to "indecent" programming while growing up - I believe it is still called the "on" "off" button on the remote. Amazingly effective, especially when backed up with the all impressive "You're grounded for a month" tactic. My sister uses it to considerable effectiveness with her own children. Can't understand why parents these days don't do the same.
2) While not a proponent of profanity, indecency and blue material on prime time, seems to me that there is a lack on the FCC's part to realize that they can not regulate a person's self-determination. Again, my suggestion would be the same response as my point in 1) above.
Love this newsletter!
Well done folks, well done.
Best regards,
Stacy Jo McDermott
Marketing Specialist
KKSF 103.7 FM
San Francisco
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Below the Fold
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Ad Business Report
CC station sells naming rights
Clear Channel Radio's Alternative WNVE-FM Rochester, NY has become Fuccillo Hyundai's "Huge 107.3 FM"...
Media, Markets & Money
Atlanta AM brings 1.75M
Just days after selling a Pittsburgh AM, Ron Davenport's MCL/MCM is buying an AM further south...
Entertainment Business Report
Joey Medina joins Latino 96.3
SBS's KXOL-FM "Latino 96.3" Los Angeles has added the "Latin King of Comedy, " Joey Medina...
Ratings & Research
Cell phone system demoed
The Next-Generation Electronics Ratings Evaluation Team will get its first live demonstration of the Smart Cell Phone electronics ratings system this week...
Digital Media
Beth Comstock, President, Digital Media and Market Development, NBC Universal,
says digital media is moving from experiments to generating cash...
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Stations for Sale
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AUCTION: Small market AM/FM in the mid-west.
Cash flow 200K. FM CP for 100KW which will provide city grade into rapidly growing top 200 market. For more information, photos and auction detail e-mail Jim Lakoduk, agent,
[email protected].
Pifer's Auction and Realty.
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More News Headlines
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Double O on a roll
It turns out Double O Radio has been growing even faster than we reported (9/1/06 RBR #171). The station count for the company is now up to 31.
Diageo moves Smirnoff business to JWT
Diageo has moved creative for Smirnoff from Bartle Bogle Hegarty, over a conflict with brewer InBev, to JWT. BBH handles InBev's Boddington's and Murphy's brands. Diageo said it is consolidating business with JWT with brands including Smirnoff Ice, Ice Triple Black, Twisted V and Raw Tea. JWT already handled creative for Smirnoff vodka. Diageo spent 36 million in media for its Smirnoff brands last year.
WWL host's wife killed
Mary Elizabeth Marinello, the 45-year-old wife of WWL-AM New Orleans Talk host Vince Marinello, was shot in the face Thursday afternoon in an upscale suburb of New Orleans and died early Friday at a hospital. According to local news reports, authorities believe she was killed in a botched robbery. However, police also questioned Vince Marinello for two hours on Friday, since the couple had been going through a divorce. The radio host was reportedly in Jackson, MS at the time of the shooting.
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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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Arbitron a "sustainable monopoly"
That's the view of CL King analyst Jim Boyle as he initiates coverage of Arbitron. He gives the stock an "accumulate" rating, a step below "strong buy," and thinks uncertainty that is weighing on the stock price will evaporate once the Portable People Meter (PPM) gets MRC accreditation, perhaps as soon as Q4. Once that happens, he says, radio groups will resume signing up for the PPM rollout. "We expect new product costs to cloud earnings per share growth into 2007. However, Arbitron's 20-plus year monopoly in radio research should continue with pricing power and accelerating growth, we believe. Ironically it's because Arbitron's clients are struggling with revenue growth that its stranglehold is stronger. When radio growth was robust it would not fund a competitor to Arbitron, and radio won't fund one now when it's ailing," Boyle told clients in his summary.
9/1/06 RBR #171
It didn't get any better in July
The RAB revenue numbers for July are in - and they aren't any improvement over the earlier months of 2006. In fact, July was dead on track with the overall results for the first seven months of the year: spot revenues (local and national combined) down 1% and the grand total (including NTR) flat with a year to go. The differences were in the details. Local was down 2% in July, but only down 1% for the year-to-date. National was up 5% in July and up 1% YTD. Non-spot revenue was up 12% in July and 9% YTD.
9/1/06 RBR #171
Arbitron ramps up PPM in Philly
Arbitron says it has begun installing its Portable People Meter (PPM) system in Philadelphia, which is slated to become the 2nd market for commercial PPM deployment in early 2007, following the switch from test mode to real world in Houston, which is awaiting accreditation by the Media Rating Council. Arbitron is recruiting a panel of 2,040 consumers, age six and older, to carry the PPM devices in Philly. Far more stations have signed contracts for PPM service in Philadelphia, than in Houston, with Beasley, WBEB-FM, CBS Radio and Greater Media all onboard in the City of Brotherly Love. It is, of course, a return of PPM to Philly, which was the site of the first US test.
RBR observation: Technology waits for No One. Get on board and move Radio Forward. Radio has no time to waste except losing its share of the ad biz pie if we stay the same with diaries. Radio does not move forward you will be seeing more Red next year and nothing else will matter to ad clients and agencies. HD2, Less Is More, nothing will matter unless Radio engages in Technology.
08/31/06 RBR #170
Record 2 billion political ad spend
The RAB reports the potential for a media-buying spike is on the horizon for 2006, and broadcast media (including Radio) can profit from it. Numerous reports are predicting that political ad spending in total could reach a record 2 billion. Despite the fact that 2006 is considered an "off-year" election - a non-Presidential campaign year - most forecasters are expecting significantly more spending this year than during the Presidential election in 2004. There are many more elections taking place this year nationwide
RBR observation: Politics is a business and it will become an ad category. Get your marketing teams in place because the people in charge of this advertising spending are young and did not grow up with Radio. They were raised on the Internet.
08/30/06 RBR #169
XM receivers rolling off
assembly lines again
Audiovox reports that it has already resumed production of Audiovox Xpress receivers for XM Satellite Radio after the FCC certified that problems with excessive FM band emissions have been resolved. The certification also cleared the way for production of the RoadyXT and XM Sportscaster models by Delphi in time to be on store shelves for the holiday selling season.
RBR observation: Key is the Christmas Holiday spending. It has already Started. More details in
08/30/06 RBR #169
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.
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. Lot more to read on this in
08/29/06 RBR #168
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.
08/29/06 RBR #168
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