RBR's Daily Morning Epaper

Have a colleague try us, forward them todays epaper, they'll thank you for it.
Trial Subscription Sign Up

Volume 23, Issue 175, Jim Carnegie, Editor & Publisher

Friday Morning September 8th, 2006

Radio News ®

Minority advocates back
AM on FM proposal
The National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters (NABOB) and the Minority Media and Telecommunications Council (MMTC) have weighed in with the FCC in support of the National Association of Broadcasters proposal to allow signal-challenged AM stations to use FM translators to improve coverage of their licensed service areas. The petitioners argue that due to societal conditions, minority broadcasters were forced to enter the broadcasting business 50 years later than the mainstream, and as such had extremely limited access to FM or low-dial AM stations. In fact, they argue that "...a minority owned station was 43% more likely to be an AM station than was a non-minority owned station." Further, the AM stations tend to be on a generally less-desirable high-on-the-dial frequency. The petitioners argue, "By allowing use of FM translators with AM stations to improve the integrity of the AM band, the Commission would enhance the ability of AM stations to compete with other media sources. Such competition, in turn, drives creativity, ingenuity and attentiveness to the needs of the public in the marketplace as a whole." By enhancing the facilities of minority and female owners, the petitioners argue the FCC will be furthering its own efforts to increase diversity of ownership. The petition is at odds with one filed last week by Prometheus Project (9/5/06 RBR #172), which has its own agenda of promoting LPFM and sees the AM on FM translator idea as an impediment to that service.

Different views of CCU buyback
Some Wall Street analysts are bullish on the move by Clear Channel Communications to buy back another one billion bucks of its stock. One analyst, however, is taking a different view and complains that stock buybacks haven't done anything to support the company's stock price. Anthony DiClemente at Lehman Brothers wasn't surprised by the Clear Channel move, but he wasn't impressed either. "We note that while CCU has returned approximately 1.6 billion to shareholders as part of its strategic realighment plan announced last year, its stock has declined 15.1% over the period (3/30/05-9/6/06) versus the S&P 500's 10.1% gain, suggesting the buybacks have done little to support the stock," Diclemente said in a note to clients. In his view, a better use of the cash would be to increase the dividend at Clear Channel to something in the 4-5% range from the current yield of 2.6%. The more conventional view came from Victor Miller at Bear Stearns, who applauded the share buyback announcement. In fact, he said some investors had been worried that Clear Channel would halt its stock buybacks when it reached the end of the previous authorization because no mention of a new buyback program was made in the Q2 conference call. "We argued the company would continue to emphasize buybacks as a primary 'return of capital' tool. Today's announcement confirms this," Miller said. He noted that the billion bucks should retire about 7% of CCU's public stock float.

Indecency football
kicked back to the FCC
The indecency battle between the FCC and the big four networks has moved down the I-95 corridor from the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York to its original venue at FCC headquarters in Washington. The dispute is over an FCC finding that certain programs contained indecency. Although there were no financial penalties attached, the networks sued, claiming the FCC's rulings were incorrect anyway. The decision from the Second Circuit gives the FCC 60 days to revisit the case, offering an opportunity for it to seek comment from the networks. According to the Wall Street Journal, it is also seen as opening a temporary window on the broadcast of "fleeting expletive[s]," which may allow CBS Television Network to air content from 9/10/06 from its documentary "9/11" without fear of penalty, despite the presence of generally impermissible language. FCC spokeswoman Tamara Lipper said, "We are pleased by the Court's decision. It ensures that the Commission will have the opportunity to hear all of the broadcasters' arguments first. The Court stayed only a limited portion of the order which the Commission had requested to reconsider. Hollywood argues that they should be able to say the f-word on television whenever they want. The Commission continues to believe they are wrong, and there should be some limits on what can be shown on television."

RBR observation: As we noted previously, this remand is a waste of everyone's time. The FCC's indecency enforcement is such a jumbled mess of contradictory rulings that it cannot be fixed by the Commission. Only the courts can straighten this out - and they must do so eventually.

McGavren Guild unveils new RVP structure
Lisa Sirotka-Sonnenklar, President of McGavren Guild Radio, announced a new Regional Vice President structure that she says will enhance the service client radio stations and bridge the gap between sales and management: "These individuals will interact at all levels of the sales process to deliver value to our clients; collaborating with client stations to formulate creative strategies, translating these plans to the McGavren Guild sales team, and seeking out new revenue opportunities at every level, agency and client direct." Effective immediately, Barry Fischer will assume the RVP/Eastern Region position, responsible for the Northeast. He'll also serve as GM for the Spanish Broadcasting System client group. Fischer joined Interep in 1992 as a Sales Assistant and a year later was named an Account Executive. He was named Regional Market Director of McGavren Guild in 1996 and later rose to Director of Sales before being named to his new post. Evan Jaffe will take over management for the entire NYC office as VP/Director of NY Sales & Operations. Jaffe joined Interep in 1995 as a Sales Assistant. In 1997, he was named an Account Executive and was elevated to VP/DOS in 2003. Larry Muller will continue as RVP/Western Region. He joined Interep in 1989 as an Account Executive and was promoted to DOS in 1992. Five years later, he was named VP/Division Partner for Allied Radio Partners, before moving to McGavren Guild in 2003 as VP/DOS. He was named to his current position in 2005. Brian Thomas will add the upper Midwest Division markets to his existing Southern Region as Regional Vice President/Southern-Midwest Regions. Thomas joined Interep in 1985 as Regional Manager for Durpetti & Associates. After being away from Interep from 1992-1996, he rejoined the company as GSM for Allied Radio Partners, and in 2003 was named RVP for McGavren Guild.

ABC TV under fire
from Clinton Administration
They may be out of office, but some officials from the administration of President Bill Clinton are livid over how they are going to be portrayed in an ABC Television docu-drama "The Path to 9/11" due to air Sunday and Monday. Former Secretary of State Madeline Albright, former National Security Advisor Sandy Berger and Clinton himself have written to Disney CEO Bob Iger demanding changes. The Los Angeles Times reports that ABC and the series producers have toned down, but not eliminated, the scene that drew the most fire - Berger declining to give an order to kill Osama Bin Laden. According to the New York Times, Albright had complained that a scene in which she alerted the Pakistani military to an imminent strike, giving Bin Laden an opportunity to flee, was "false and defamatory." ABC has defended the series as a dramatization, not a documentary, and the producers freely admit that they created some of the scenes. However, it is based primarily on the report of the bipartisan 9/11 Commission, along with a couple of books written about the events. The Commission's Republican co-chair, former New Jersey Governor Tom Kean, served as an advisor to the project. His Democratic counterpart, former Indiana Congressman Lee Hamilton, did not.

Martin redux
The Senate Commerce Committee will consider re-upping FCC Chairman Kevin Martin for another tour of duty next week. NTIA's John Kneuer will also be on hand for consideration. In Kneuer's case, he is up for the job of Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information and Administrator of the NTIA following his nomination by President Bush on 5/1/06. Martin, on the other hand, will be getting an extension. He came on board the FCC 7/3/01, and replaced Michael Powell as chairman 3/18/05. His first year as chairman was a bit of a wash, however, since Powell wasn't replaced with a third Republican until this summer, leaving Martin with a ideologically and politically balanced 2-2 Commission. He spent that year and change clearing as many issues as possible that could be passed in such an environment, and is now working on the politically charged items, in particular the Third Circuit's remand of the 6/2/03 media ownership proceeding. President Bush nominated him for a second term 4/25/06.

RBR observation: We suspect that Martin may undergo some close questioning from some of the Democrats on the Commerce Committee, particularly Byron Dorgan (D-ND), but that his proposed second term will easily sail through. However, you just never know if someone will put a hold on the nomination before it gets to the floor of the full Senate...

Ad Business Report TM

Macy's national campaign
includes spot radio
Federated Department Stores announced its largest nationwide advertising and marketing campaign as it prepares to re-launch its Macy's brand. On 9/9, more than 400 stores across America will convert to the Macy's nameplate, creating a national presence of more than 800 Macy's stores. Advertising will include national broadcast and cable television, local newspapers, local and national magazines, targeted radio spots, outdoor boards and an extensive online advertising approach - all centered on a new spin to Macy's familiar theme line, "Way To Shop." Direct mail includes a glossy 54-page Macy's "magalog" being sent to the homes of 3.8 million best customers in markets that are new to Macy's. Theme-setting spots began running yesterday in an extensive schedule of leading programs. The spots feature a new Macy's re-recording of "Dancing in the Streets," the classic Motown hit made famous by Martha Reeves and The Vandellas. A Spanish-language adaptation was produced by Grammy-nominated producer Andres Levin. JWT Chicago and Latinvox, a NY agency specializing in Hispanic consumers, created the ads in partnership with Macy's Corporate Marketing and Macy's division marketing teams across the country. Starcom Chicago is Macy's planning and buying agency. In addition, the Macy's brand re-launch will be supported with hundreds of special events, personal appearances and promotions at stores across the country. Macy's spokesperson Jim Sluzewski tells RBR/TVBR the network buy includes GMA, The Early Show, Today, Letterman, The Tonight Show, Gray's Anatomy, Lost, 60 Minutes, E! News, The Food Network, FX, ABC Family, CNN, Univision, Telemundo, Telefutura. Spot radio includes traffic reports in major name change cities across the country-including Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Houston and Denver.

NAB Day Time Planner

The following will be attending the NAB. Call or email to make your
appointment in advance.

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, LLC., Hilton Anatole, office 202-478-3737, [email protected]

Andrew P. McClure, The Exline Company, Hilton Anatole, Suite 353 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]

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]

Media Markets & Money TM

Schmoldts, Gearhearts expand in East Kentucky
Any further east and WIFX-FM would be in Virginia. Its signal will certainly get into the Old Dominion. However, it will form a daisy-chain duopoly with two other Kentucky stations, WXKZ-FM Prestonburg and WXKR-FM Harold, when AJSPD LLC closes on its 1.5M acquisition from G.C. and Ernestine Kincer's Letcher County Broadcasting. ASJSD is owned by Paul & Susan Schmoldt and Adam & Paul Gearheart. They will rent WIFX-FM for 18K/month until closing. The trio of stations far away from any rated portions of Kentucky, Virginia, or anywhere else (Tennessee and West Virginia aren't too far away).

Washington Media Business Report TM

Stevens finds fellow
net neutrality foes
Like the media ownership rulemaking before it, the net neutrality controversy has managed to create strange bedfellows, uniting interest groups of all stripes and political persuasions, excluding those which generally advocate a hands-off approach to the government regulation of any business issue. However, Ted Stevens (R-AK) has managed to find a group of mostly religious groups which see the matter his way. The coalition sent him a letter in which they stated, "Communicating with our constituencies is of the utmost importance to us and is an invaluable tool as we seek to broaden our message on issues that are important to our nation's culture. Any legislative action that could prevent or impede our use of the Internet would certainly be damaging to our efforts. Fortunately, the Senate Commerce Committee recently resisted attempts by Senators who wanted to regulate the Internet, but rather, included language that would specifically protect our ability to communicate our message." Signing the letter are Religious Freedom Coalition; Institute on Religion and Democracy; Faith 2 Action; Center for Moral Clarity; Morality in Media; Traditional Values Coalition; Tradition, Family, Property, Inc.; Massachusetts Family Institute; Discovery Institute; Fidelis; Americans For Tax Reform; Abstinence Clearing House; AdvanceUSA; and American Coalition for Fathers and Children.

Entertainment Media Business Report TM

Jean Chatzky to host show on XM's "Oprah & Friends"
Harpo Radio and XM Satellite Radio announced the addition of financial expert Jean Chatzky as host of a daily show for the "Oprah & Friends" channel, debuting 9/25 exclusively on XM. Chatzky joins Oprah and other personalities Bob Greene, Dr. Mehmet Oz, Dr. Robin Smith, Marianne Williamson, Nate Berkus and Gayle King as on-air hosts for "Oprah & Friends."

WAAF & WRKO to air live from
Baghdad, Ground Zero on 9/11
Entercom Boston's rocker WAAF-FM and talker WRKO-AM will present special broadcasts commemorating the 5th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, live from Baghdad and Ground Zero, respectively. WAAF's Mistress Carrie kicks off a grueling 11-day trip to Iraq this week, where she will travel with the Massachusetts Army National Guard as an embedded reporter. She will broadcast live from the battlefield beginning September 11th, providing an insider's perspective on the war and live interviews with American soldiers. WRKO's Howie Carr will broadcast his syndicated afternoon talk show from Ground Zero on Monday. This special broadcast will include guests from the media and political worlds, as well as phone-ins from Mistress Carrie in Baghdad. The show airs from 3-7 PM.

Internet Media Business Report TM

CBS's "The Class" partners with Classmates.com
CBS and Classmates.com announced an exclusive partnership which offers the opportunity to join its new comedy "The Class" at Classmates.com (http://www.Classmates.com/TheClass), learn about the show, interact with the characters and win a trip to Hollywood to attend a show taping and meet the cast. "The Class," created by David Crane ("Friends'') and writer-producer Jeffrey Klarik ("Mad About You''), explores the lives of a group of 20-somethings from the same third-grade class who reconnect after 20 years. "Introducing over 40 million Classmates.com members to 'The Class' and its colorful characters gives CBS a terrific opportunity to engage consumers with the show,'' said George Schweitzer, President of the CBS Marketing Group. "Our partnership with Classmates.com is the perfect fit, since the series is all about reconnecting.'' Classmates.com members can also win a laptop, digital camera or television; Invite characters to join their My Network and accept invitations from characters to join their networks; receive announcements from characters about show updates, behind the scenes scoop, episodes and real life experiences; See exclusive character profiles and photos; view message boards; watch "The Class" videos from CBS.com; sign character and member guest books to let them know they visited their profile. Classmates.com Gold members can also initiate sending emails and voicemails to The Class characters and Classmates.com members, view character photo albums, post to message boards, create Private Groups and more.

TiVo teams with CBS SportsLine Fantasy Football
TiVo and CBS SportsLine announced CBS SportsLine Fantasy Football Companion now can be accessed from any television connected to a broadband-enabled TiVo Series2 DVR. Registered users of CBS SportsLine Fantasy Football can manage their leagues, check stats and scores, and watch highlights from the comfort of their living rooms with their TiVo remote control. Sponsors will have branding on the application and has invested in TiVo Gold Star Sponsorships, Interactive Tags embedded in their TV spots and Showcases for the entire season to promote usage of the interactive service to TiVo subscribers. The sponsor will also have pre-roll included in the specialized video content created by CBS SportsLine to enhance the fantasy football experience.

Ratings & Research

Scarborough achieves full MRC accreditation
Scarborough Research announced the Media Rating Council (MRC) has fully accredited its core syndicated services: the 75 Top-Tier Local Market Studies and the Multi-Market Study, beginning with the 2006 product year. The full accreditation status covers Scarborough's syndicated data collected via telephone, consumer booklet and television diary. Additionally, PRIME NExT, Scarborough's proprietary data analysis software, has been fully accredited for the core syndicated services. "It is with tremendous pride that we announce to the marketplace our recent achievement - we are now a fully MRC accredited local market syndicated media research service," said Gregg Lindner, EVP/Research and Operations, Scarborough Research. "Quality data collection is paramount at Scarborough and we are pleased to have a prestigious and preeminent industry organization such as the MRC provide us with its double-checkmarks."

How do Americans see the world five years after 9/11?
Just two months before the midterm elections and two years before the next presidential election, a study by JWT shows that the environment and the war in Iraq are the issues of greatest concern to Americans. Last month, JWT surveyed 929 Americans -- a random sample representative of 80,000 Americans -- from its proprietary SONAR panel. The 358 men and 571 women completed a 20-minute online survey on their attitudes toward current events. The median age of respondents was 39.8, with a median household income of 59,900. The goal of the study was to gauge American attitudes and issues of concern in the New Normal, five years after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. "In the New Normal, Americans accept a level of uncertainty unprecedented in their history," says Marian Salzman, EVP/Chief Marketing Officer at JWT. "Today, politics is a popular pastime, and news consumption isn't just an all-day activity, it's modern pop culture. Americans are besieged by national, international and local news via 24-hour news networks, RSS feeds and blogs, and they pay painfully close attention to the events of a world that seems to be spiraling out of their control." As the world gets more menacing, Americans are finding comfort close to home, renewing their faith in community values. They may be tuned in to myriad news sources, for example, but almost half of respondents in the JWTstudy rated regional and local press as the most trustworthy news outlets.
| Five key themes emerged from the study |

GM Talkback

Hispanic media managers:
Tell us about your ratings and audience trends.
Yesterday we spoke with Luis Diaz-Albertini, Vice President/GM/DOS CBS Radio Tampa and Randy Nonberg, Una Vez Mas COO (9/7/06 RBR #174)

Juan Gonzalez, VP of Programming & Promotions,
Bustos Media, LLC:
Our stations ratings in the last two books have been extremely good. Every single market we a have a station in, we have secured the number 1 spot in Spanish radio and in markets where we own multiple stations we have secured the number 1 and 2 spots in Spanish radio. Some of the markets that we have opened up to Spanish radio, almost immediately showed a huge response from the listeners. Our Milwaukee station (WDDW-FM) is getting huge numbers and competing effectively with general market stations. Even our more established Hispanic markets like Sacramento and Modesto have shown an increase in share. Our audience is very loyal to their music, stations and personalities giving us a huge boost in TSL. Where in situations our CUME is not as strong, the TSL gives us the boost we need.

Michael Hughes, SVP/General Manager,
"El Zol" WLZL-FM Washington, D.C.:
Since the debut of El Zol in January of 2005, in the key target demo cell of A18-49, AQH rating is up 100% and AQH share is up 71%. We've increased our A18-34 share 88% and maintained an average rank of 5th since our second book on the air. El Zol has been built on a foundation of three priorities: Music, Personalities, Community. There is a tremendous appetite for contemporary music presented by personalities who know and love the music, but also who make an emotional connection with our audience by relating the issues, challenges, and celebrations of the day. Perhaps most importantly, is a staff wide connection to serving the community. Rarely a day goes by where we are not engaged in some event, program or presentation that addresses the many issues facing the Latino community. Of late, the most significant, were the rallies in support of Immigration reform. Three El Zol personalities were invited to address the crowd in excess of 500,000 people on the National Mall and discussion dominated the airwaves for weeks regarding the necessary reform. In a few weeks, the Latin American Youth Center will be opening a third home for disadvantaged Latin youth so they can work, learn, and live with pride and hope. In recognition of our service to the LAYC, it will be named "Casa Zol." With focused tropical music, personalities that connect and relate to our audience, a commitment to serving the Latino community, and promotions that excite and engage, El Zol is building a growing, loyal audience and we work hard to earn their support every day.

Transactions

1.4M WWCL-AM Fort Myers-Naples FL (Lehigh Acres FL) from Olbota Communications Inc. (Robert Dwyer) to Latino Media Corporation (Angel Ramos, Rosaura Rios, Ciro V. Urquiola). 100K escrow, balance in cash at closing. LMA 10/8/98. [File date 8/24/06.]

500K KOZQ-AM/KFBD-FM Waynesville MO from Viper Communications Inc. (Kenneth Kuenzie) to Ozark Broadcasating Inc., a subsidiary of Shepherd Enterprises Inc. (David L. Shepherd, Daniel N. Shepherd). Cash. Superduopoly with KJPW AM & FM Waynesville MO and KBNN-AM/KJEL-FM Lebanon MO. LMA 8/1/06. [File date 8/24/06.]

Stock Talk

A day of housing and Fed worries
Stocks fell Thursday as home builders warned of a slump and San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President Janet Yellen warned that inflation could be a problem for some time to come. The Dow Industrials fell 75 points, or 0.7%, to 11,331.

Radio stocks were also lower. The Radio Index fell 0.717, or 0.5%, to 140.218. Citadel had a strong day, up 3.6%. The worst performer was Fisher, down 1.8%.

Radio Stocks

**Here's how stocks fared on Thursday**
Company	Symbol	Close		Change	Company	Symbol	Close		Change
Arbitron	ARB		36.50	-0.20	Hearst-Argyle	HTV		23.31	+0.01
Beasley	BBGI		7.20	+0.08	Journal Comm.	JRN		11.05	-0.03
CBS CI. B	CBS		28.13	-0.17	Lincoln Natl.	LNC		60.40	+0.03
CBS CI. A	CBSa		28.12	-0.20	Radio One, Cl. A	ROIA		6.30	+0.01
Citadel	CDL		9.30	+0.32	Radio One, Cl. D	ROIAK		6.31	+0.04
Clear Channel	CCU		29.11	-0.04	Regent	RGCI		4.00	unch
Cox Radio	CXR		15.53	-0.04	Saga Commun.	SGA		8.14	+0.05
Cumulus	CMLS		10.11	+0.17	Salem Comm.	SALM		11.25	+0.10
Disney	DIS		29.49	-0.12	Sirius Sat. Radio	SIRI		4.03	-0.05
Emmis	EMMS		11.85	-0.03	Spanish Bcg.	SBSA		4.14	-0.03
Entercom	ETM		25.30	+0.16	Univision	UVN		34.76	+0.06
Entravision	EVC		7.41	-0.03	Westwood One	WON		6.96	-0.03
Fisher	FSCI		42.53	-0.77	XM Sat. Radio	XMSR		11.95	-0.37
Gaylord	GET		42.78	-0.34	-	-	-	-	-

Bounceback

Send Us Your Opinions We want to
hear from you.
This is your column, so send your comments and
a photo to [email protected]

Below the Fold

Ad Business Report
Macy's national campaign
includes spot radio
Federated Department Stores announced its largest nationwide advertising and marketing campaign as it prepares to re-launch its Macy's brand...

Media, Markets & Money
Schmoldts, Gearhearts
expand in East Kentucky
WIFX-FM will form a daisy-chain duopoly with two other Kentucky stations...

Internet Media Business Report
CBS's "The Class" partners with Classmates.com
CBS and Classmates.com announced an exclusive partnership which offers the opportunity to join its new comedy "The Class" at Classmates.com...

Ratings & Research
Scarborough achieves
full MRC accreditation
Scarborough Research announced the Media Rating Council (MRC) has fully accredited its core syndicated services...

Stations for Sale

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.

WANTED! FM CP's
(commercial or noncommercial)
John W. Saunders, Media Broker
713.789.4222
[email protected]

Radio Media Moves

Votaw to
Univision Radio
Jim Votaw has been named Director of Sales for KLQV-FM & KLNV-FM San Diego, owned by Univision Radio. He was previously VP of Sales for Finest City Broadcasting in San Diego.

More News Headlines

Hogue expands to SF
Talk host Eric Hogue, who launched the successful effort to recall Gov. Gray Davis from Salem's KTKZ-AM Sacramento, is expanding to the San Francisco market. Beginning Monday, Hogue will also air on KFAX-AM, which is also owned by Salem.

Clear Channel
to provide traffic
data for BMWs
Clear Channel Radio's Total Traffic Network has entered into a multi-year agreement with BMW to provide traffic data to navigation systems offered on select 2007 BMW models, including the X5, M5, M6 and the 3, 5 and 6 Series models. The navigation system, equipped with Clear Channel's traffic service, will become available as early as mid-September making BMW of North America the first U.S. auto manufacturer to offer real time traffic as a standard, lifetime service feature on navigation-equipped vehicles. "BMW has offered traffic information linked to our navigation system in Europe for several years. Thanks to Clear Channel's Total Traffic Network, BMW can now confidently offer its customers in the United States a similar technology," said Alan Harris, Vice President of Aftersales for BMW of North America. Total Traffic Network's real-time traffic data, covering 44 metro areas across the U.S., will be included as part of the cost of the navigation system, so there are no monthly fees.

TVBR - TV News

TVB forecast:
Down, then up
With no elections or Olympics next year, the Television Bureau of Advertising (TVB) is projecting that TV spot revenues will fall 1-3% in 2007. But then the good news: 2008, which will be a presidential election year, is expected to bring an 8-10% increase in spot revenues. TVB has been issuing its annual forecast to cover two-year cycles, rather than one year only, since 2000. "The structure of the business has changed dramatically because of the Olympics switching to a two-year frequency and because of the growth of political advertising in Spot. Odd years will always face tough comparisons to even years, when spending on both the Olympics and political ads show up. Spot TV is a two-year business cycle" said TVBR President and CEO Chris Rohrs as he unveiled the numbers. TVB's estimates are derived from a consensus of Wall Street and financial analysts, station representative firms, and independent TVB research. See the forecasts for 2007 and 2008.
| View the Charts |

RBR Radar 2006

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

Clear Channel buying more stock
If Wall Street keeps radio stocks beaten down, radio companies will just keep buying back more of their own stock - eventually paying off for the shareholders who remain. Clear Channel has announced a new buyback authorization of one billion bucks over the next 12 months. That comes as the company has bought back 582 million under its previous 600 million authorization.
9/7/06 RBR #174

XM facing SEC probe
To no one's surprise, XM Satellite Radio says it has received a staff inquiry from the Securities and Exchange Commission about how it counts subscribers and calculates the costs of achieving its subscriber targets. The company is already facing lawsuits over those very issues by investors who claim they were misled by XM's counting. XM says it is cooperating with the SEC inquiry.
9/7/06 RBR #174

Regent bulls into Buffalo
Another plank in the CBS Radio sell-off has been revealed, as Regent Communications makes off with the Buffalo herd which includes an AM and four FMs. The pricetag is 125M. The stations include WBLK-FM, WBUF-FM, WJYE-FM, WYRK-FM and WECK-AM. The deal follows the 262M sale of stations in Memphis, Rochester, Cincinnati and Austin to Entercom and the 45M sale of San Antonio properties to Border Media, and brings the total CBS take to 432M, with four more markets still on the shelf.
9/6/06 RBR #173

Sporting News sold, radio group next
Nearly two years after putting The Sporting News up for sale, Paul Allen's Vulcan Sports Media has announced a deal to sell the print publication, online operations and Sporting News Radio network to the American City Business Journals division of Advance Publications. Not included are the three O&O stations in New York, LA and Boston, which are also going to be sold soon, but to a different buyer.
9/6/06 RBR #173

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.
9/5/06 RBR #172

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.
9/5/06 RBR #172

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

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.

Other Links

State Associations

Contact Us

Help Desk

__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