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Welcome to RBR's Daily Epaper
Volume 23, Issue 176, Jim Carnegie, Editor & Publisher
Monday Morning September 11th, 2006

Radio News ®

The gripes of wrath: Q2 2006
For what it's worth, indecency complaints received by the FCC were way down in Q2 2006 compared to the first quarter, dropping from about 142K to 52K. Most of the action was in the month of May, when 40K complaints came in, with about 11K in April and less than 1K in June. If you're looking for dog-and-pony show-style year-to-year comps, the month's complaint total was fairly horrific, jumping up from only 6.2K complaints in Q2 of 2005.

RBR observation: It's almost impossible to figure out if there is any meaning to the numbers reported here. Perhaps you remember back when one complaint was lodged, acted upon, and later canceled, concerning an airing of the radio cut of Eminem's "The Real Slim Shady," after it had aired over 100K times before from coast to coast without incident. On the other end of the spectrum are massive click and send complaints fired off at the behest of anti-indecency watchdogs where citizens obliging impugn the contents of programming they did not see or hear. And the question remains: Who will be the lucky winner of the first new and improved 325K indecency NAL? If may be just one four-letter word away.

Talk host charged with murder
Vince Marinello's alibi unraveled as police in suburban New Orleans investigated the shooting death of his estranged wife earlier this month (9/5/06 RBR #172). The WWL-AM talk host and long-time New Orleans TV sportscaster has now been charged with second degree murder. Jefferson Parish Sheriff Harry Lee told a news conference that detectives now believe Marinello put on a fake beard and mustache, drove to Old Metarie, pulled a bike out of his car, peddled up to where he knew his wife would be and shot her in the face. Authorities also say they found a checklist for carrying out the crime when they searched the FEMA trailer where Marinello has been living since his home was destroyed in Hurricane Katrina. Marinello, who is being held on 250K bond, has maintained his innocence and said he was in Jackson, MS at the time of the shooting, watching a football game on TV with friends. According to the New Orleans Times-Picayune, the friends in Jackson at first corroborated Marinello's claim that he arrived at 6:30 pm, which would have made it impossible for him to be the shooter, but changed their story under police questioning and now say he didn't arrive until sometime after the 7:30 kick-off. Liz Marinello, who was 45, had sued her 69-year-old husband for an annulment in July after learning that the divorce from his previous wife had not been final at the time of their 2004 marriage. Vince Marinello has maintained that he had no involvement in the shooting. One local newspaper praised WWL for its coverage of the case, noting that its news department covered the story in depth, despite the fact that it involved the arrest of one of the station's own employees. The station issued this statement: "The Entercom/WWL family is shocked and saddened by the events of the past week, and by the arrest of Vince Marinello. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of Mary Elizabeth Marinello."


Murdoch eyeing radio investment
...but not in the United States. We're talking Australia, where media ownership restrictions have long kept News Corporation from expanding beyond its original newspaper base, although it does have a 25% stake in a pay TV service. But now Australia is preparing to reform its media ownership rules. John Hartigan, CEO of News Ltd., the Australian subsidiary of News Corporation, told The Age newspaper, which is not owned by his company, that radio is one of the areas that he is looking at for expansion down under. It's not that News Corporation isn't interested in TV, but the company was disappointed that Australian lawmakers didn't include licenses for a 4th national TV network in the current bill. Hartigan said buying an existing radio group would be cheaper than buying one of the three existing TV networks, which are valued at 1.1-3.2 billion Australian bucks. By contrast, the biggest radio group in Australia is valued at around 700 million.

Senators enter battle over
"The Path to 9/11"

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), pictured,
headlines a list of senators who fired off a letter to Disney President/CEO Robert Iger concerning the 9/10-11/06 airing of "The Path to 9/11." The senators aren't looking for revisions. They want the program dropped in its entirety. But while the network made some modifications, the two-parter was on schedule to air last night and tonight despite the objections. Reid was joined by Dick Durbin (D-IL), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Byron Dorgan (D-ND). Noting widespread reports in inaccurate and fictional content, they wrote, "Presenting such deeply flawed and factually inaccurate misinformation to the American public and to children would be a gross miscarriage of your corporate and civic responsibility to the law, to your shareholders, and to the nation." They continued, "The Communications Act of 1934 provides your network with a free broadcast license predicated on the fundamental understanding of your principle obligation to act as a trustee of the public airwaves in serving the public interest. Nowhere is this public interest obligation more apparent than in the duty of broadcasters to serve the civic needs of a democracy by promoting an open and accurate discussion of political ideas and events." Disney said that final edits of the piece were incomplete as of the end of last week, making any advance criticism premature.

RBR observation: If you're not convinced that handling politically-charged material is a tricky business for media companies, consider this statement: "[Disney] did not want a film in the middle of the political process where we're such a nonpartisan company and our guests, that participate in all of our attractions, do not look for us to take sides." That's what former Disney head Michael Eisner said back in 2004 when explaining why the company was not going to release its own production of Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11." If political material was to be avoided then, what changed to make it hunky-dory now? Disney could have released the Moore 9/11, or avoided this one, but by giving its blessings to one and not the other, it has opened itself up to legitimate criticism.


Make way for WIPO
National Association of Broadcasters President/CEO David K. Rehr is making the case for the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) treaty, an international agreement-to-be which would provide a mechanism to protect copyrights and fight program and signal piracy. It's been in negotiation since 1998 and NAB thinks it's time to dot the i's, cross the t's and sign on the dotted line. In a letter to Jon W. Dudas, Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, Rehr refuted alarmist statements from other sources, noting that the treaty's "...limitations and exceptions provision would allow the U.S. to adopt fair use, private home copying, use by libraries and schools, safe harbor provisions, home and personal networking provisions and all other limitations on and exceptions to the rights of copyright and related rights holders." However, it would also provide broadcasters with the tools they need to prevent signal theft which has occurred in the recent past across international borders, in which cable systems in both Canada and the Caribbean were rebroadcasting US stations without permission or fair compensation. Noting that the last such agreement was reached 45 years ago, Rehr concluded, "The time to move to a diplomatic conference to adopt a treaty updating the rights of broadcasters is long overdue. I urge you strongly to support efforts at the upcoming WIPO sessions to schedule such a conference in 2007."

Clear Channel finds shelter in Milwaukee
Bus shelters and bus advertising in Milwaukee are back in the Clear Channel Outdoor fold after Lamar held the contract with the Milwaukee Country Transport System (MCTS) for the past few years. Under the new deal, CC Outdoor, which is still 80% owned by Clear Channel Communications, will provide no fewer than 125 bus shelters with 250 advertising displays and sell ad space on 425 buses which operate in Milwaukee and its suburbs. Clear Channel also owns six radio stations in Milwaukee and CC Outdoor operates a wide array of billboards in the market.


Ad Business Report TM

WOR launches "WOR Interactive"; upgrades website
A wealth of new ad options are available, including on-air/online packages. WOR-AM NY has undertaken a web redesign of WOR710.com for the addition of its new unit, WOR Interactive. WOR710.COM now features a new look and contains new enhancements, including advanced streaming and podcasting, direct studio messaging, the new WOR Listener Club and an array of interactive ad units.
| See the new ad options here-two tabs |

Show content is updated online in real time by each show's producer, and the site's search feature allows visitors to find this content instantaneously. MP3 users will be able to podcast the station's shows from WOR710.COM, iTunes and other podcast aggregators. WOR Listeners can now message the show in real time via the "Message The Show" box on the homepage. Messages are sent directly to the studio for immediate interaction with the show's host and producer. The new WOR Listeners Club allows listeners to create their own personal profile and regularly receive emails with info on their favorite talk shows, station events, contests and promotions. Club members can sign-in to participate in real time contests and promotions all while listening to WOR. WOR-branded products are available for purchase at the WOR Store. The upgrade is powered by InterTech Media. WOR Radio has also partnered with MediaSpan to sell a portion of their banner space and with Ando Media to provide advertisers with the streaming audience measurement.


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
, CobbCorp, 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 Business Report TM
The stall is on for telecom
Passage of Ted Stevens' (R-AK) telecom update bill does not seem to be in the cards. He was able to push it through the Commerce Committee before the August recess, but it was immediately held hostage by Ron Wyden (D-OR), pictured, who put a hold on it which requires a supermajority of 60 votes to override. The main thrust of the bill is to expedite the entry of telcos into the MVPD business, providing an alternative to cable and satellite services which are currently the dominant providers. That much of the bill has wide bipartisan support. However, language protecting the concept of network neutrality in the provision of Internet access was kept out of the bill by the barest of margins, and led to Wyden's hold. It was said that even if they could, many Republican senators were not overly anxious to hurdle Wyden since the lack of resolution of the issue tended to keep telco campaign cash flowing into their warchests, spurring some to suggest tabling the matter until after Election Day. According to the National Journal, there has been talk of taking a Senate bill to require provision of E911 service to providers of Internet phone services into conference with the House, which has already passed a version of the telco bill which provides for telco MVPD entry and has no net neutrality provision, but anonymous Democrats have apparently blocked the E911 bill as well.

RBR observation: An article in the San Francisco Chronicle quotes a telco executive who suggests that perhaps the MVPD and net neutrality issues should be granted a legislative divorce and considered separately, and goes further to suggest that net neutrality proponents are saying the same thing off the record. It makes perfect sense to us. Cable companies cannot be looking forward to competition with telcos but seem resigned to it, and just about everybody else, their brother, their sister and their pet ferret seem believe telco entry into video distribution is a good thing. So get it done and let the net neutrality battle proceed without any distractions. Will Congress decide to pursue such a sensible path to accomplishing the nation's business? Don't bet on it.


Media Markets & Money TM
EMF picks up a baker's half-dozen CPs
...which we interpret to be seven FM stations. Educational Media Foundation is getting three in Louisiana, two in Tennessee, and one each in California and Texas. Seller is Broadcasting for the Challenged. All of the stations are safely in the portion of the FM dial reserved for non-profit broadcasters. The price tag is a 575K. The stations include WPDD-FM Norco LA (near New Orleans); KAHJ-FM Bunkie LA (near Alexandria); KHBQ-FM Sulphur LA (near Lake Charles); WSMM-FM Selmer TN (SW of Jackson); WQNN-FM Brownsville TN (W of Jackson); KFLL-FM Susanville CA (in the unrated NE portion of the state); and KCWV-FM Brownfield TX (SW of Lubbock). All are Class As except the Bunkie station, which is one step up at Class C3.


Washington Media Business Report TM
FCC hitting the road
FCC Chairman Kevin Martin has announced the first public hearing outside DC to take public comments on the Commission's ongoing review of its ownership rules. The Commissioners will be heading to the West Coast to hear from folks in Los Angeles on Tuesday, October 3rd. "I look forward to hearing from the American people on a variety of subjects at these hearings, such as the impact of the Commission's rules on localism, minority ownership, and various types of programming like independent and religious programming and children's and family-friendly programming," said Martin as he announced plans to hold several such hearings in diverse locations. Of course, the two Democrats on the FCC have already been holding such hearings on their own and Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein quickly issued a statement saying he was "thrilled" that the FCC is now conducting an official hearing in LA.

Decency remand goes on the fast track
The big four broadcast networks have until 9/21/06 to get a response in to the FCC concerning the matter known officially as "Complaints Regarding Various Television Broadcasts Between February 2, 2002 and March 8, 2005, Notices of Apparent Liability and Memorandum Opinion and Order, FCC 06-17." The broadcasters took the FCC to court over findings of indecency despite the lack of punitive fines or license proceedings. The FCC was granted the belated opportunity by the Second Circuit court to provide the broadcasters with a chance to plead their case at the Commission rather than before a judge. On 9/7/06, the court gave the FCC 60 days for a do-over attempt.

RBR observation: Normally, we'd guess that two weeks notice isn't much time to provide a defense on such a weighty and complex matter, and most FCC proceedings seem to allow 30 days at a bare minimum. However, in this case, the network legal representatives should be well up to speed since they were preparing to argue the same case before a judge. Nonetheless, although we are not lawyers, it would seem a very lawyerly thing to say, "Two weeks? Surely you jest!" and take the frequently used path of requesting an extension of the response deadline. That course, if it's even allowable in this case, would squeeze the court-allowed 60 days from the front end. The bottom line, though, is that the networks went to court over a regulatory slap on the wrist. That would seem to indicate that the court is where they want to try the case. The odds are slim that the FCC will somehow satisfy them with any finding other than no actionable indecency at all. The FCC does not seem inclined to do that, so this case will probably head straight back to court.


Entertainment Media Business Report TM
NPR offering special 9/11 content across all programming
NPR News will mark the five year anniversary of the 9/11 attacks today with in-depth coverage beginning on Morning Edition and through the day on NPR News programming. The centerpiece of the coverage, produced in collaboration with WNYC New York Public Radio, will be a series of profiles of people from around the country who chose to radically change their lives since the terrorist attacks. The profiles include a young New Jersey woman who joined the National Guard and moved to Illinois, a Pakistani businessman who turned his Brooklyn storefront into a community center and a business executive who left his job to start a foundation in honor of his son. These will be featured on the NPR newsmagazines Morning Edition, Day to Day and All Things Considered, Weekend Edition Sunday and All Things Considered Weekend. In addition, the NPR daily talk show Talk of the Nation will focus its 9/11 edition on how the attacks have affected military men and women; caller participants will include military personnel and their families. The daily news information program News & Notes will hear from a Professor of Exposure Science on the environmental impact of the Trade Center disaster, lessons learned and what is still needed to be better prepared for another public health crisis.


Internet Media Business Report TM
Fox Interactive Media offers
first look Simpsons premiere

In advance of the fall season premiere of "The Simpsons," Fox Interactive Media and Fox offered fans on the web an exclusive glimpse at the new season. Through a campaign sponsored by Burger King, FIM sites offered a promotional first look at the first episode Friday. In a "Simpsons" first, online fans on three FIM sites including MySpace.com (www.myspace.com/thesimpsons), Fox.com (www.fox.com) and IGN.com's new site IGN TV (www.igntv.com) had the exclusive opportunity to see the first seven minutes of the first episode before it airs on television. In addition, viewers got to see exclusive footage of an episode in the making including an animatic and the finished scene. Across the FIM network, a massive marketing campaign drove fans to the video debut and promote tune in for the broadcast. Promotional initiatives specific to each property include: AskMen.com becoming "AskHomer" for the day and profiling Homer as the site's Man of the Week; FoxSports.com on MSN presenting Homer's week one NFL picks; a "Simpsons"-style graphic takeover of the homepage on Rotten Tomatoes and much more. The promotion culminated with "The Simpsons" season premiere yesterday.


Ratings & Research
Election process begins
The campaign is on to fill three seats on the Arbitron Radio Advisory Council. Stations eligible to nominate a representative, who must hold the title of GM or higher in their company, have been sent forms. The seats open this year are one representative from markets 1-50, one from continuously measured markets 51-100 and one from markets that receive two reports per year. Executives from the five largest radio groups, who have appointed delegates, are not eligible to run. Nominations are due by September 20 and ballots for the actual election will be mailed in October.


Monday Morning Makers & Shakers

Transactions: 7/24/06-7/28/06
It was another busy week of trading on the television side, almost as if one-time would-be dealers waiting for regulatory certainty have decided to simply stop waiting. At least one of this week's crop is heading into a local duopoly not through direct ownership but via a shared services agreement. Radio trading was spurred by two FM trades in the top fifty markets, one a move-in and the other a bankruptcy case.

7/24/06-7/28/06

Total

Total Deals

12

AMs

5

FMs

4

TVs

11
Value
166.996M
| Complete Charts |
Radio Transactions of the Week
Clear Channel moves for move-in
| More...
|
TV Transactions of the Week
Upper Midwest is no joke for Hoak
| More...
|


Transactions
1.35M WXTW-FM Fort Wayne IN (Auburn IN) from Summit City License Sub LLC, a subsidiary of Summit City Radio Group LLC (John Jacobs) to Three Amigos Broadcasting Inc. (Christine M. Kostopoulos). 135K escrow, balance in cash at closing. Includes non-compete. LMA until closing. [File date 8/24/06.]

500K KLVT-FM Levelland TX from Paul R. Beane to Amerimedia Texas LP (Paul Reynolds, Greg Mixon et al). 25K escrow, balance in cash at closing. [File date 8/24/06.]


Stock Talk
Market up, radio down on Friday
Stock prices were mostly higher on Friday, although not for the radio sector, as traders took in stride further evidence of weakness in the home building sector. The Dow Industrials rose 61 points, or 0.5%, to 11,392.

Radio stocks were mixed. The Radio Index fell 0.561, or 0.4%, to 139.657. Two index component stocks led the decliners, with Citadel down 2.5% and Cumulus down 2.4%. Westwood One had a good day, up 1.4%.


Radio Stocks

Here's how stocks fared on Friday

Company Symbol Close Change Company Symbol Close Change

Arbitron

ARB

36.72

+0.22

Hearst-Argyle

HTV

23.37

+0.06

Beasley

BBGI

7.12

-0.08

Journal Comm.

JRN

11.07

+0.02

CBS CI. B CBS

28.46

+0.33

Lincoln Natl.

LNC

60.93

+0.53

CBS CI. A CBSa

28.46

+0.34

Radio One, Cl. A

ROIA

6.18

-0.12

Citadel CDL
9.07 -0.23

Radio One, Cl. D

ROIAK

6.29

-0.02

Clear Channel

CCU

29.38

+0.27

Regent

RGCI

3.97

-0.03

Cox Radio

CXR

15.50

-0.03

Saga Commun.

SGA

8.11

-0.03

Cumulus

CMLS

9.87

-0.24

Salem Comm.

SALM

11.29

+0.04

Disney

DIS

29.58

+0.09

Sirius Sat. Radio

SIRI

3.93

-0.10

Emmis

EMMS

11.86

+0.01

Spanish Bcg.

SBSA

4.10

-0.04

Entercom

ETM

25.22

-0.08

Univision

UVN

34.63

-0.13

Entravision

EVC

7.42

+0.02

Westwood One

WON

7.06

+0.10

Fisher

FSCI

42.63

+0.10

XM Sat. Radio

XMSR

11.97

+0.02

Gaylord

GET

43.53

+0.75

-

-

-

-

-




Bounceback

Send Us Your OpinionsWe want to
hear from you.

This is your column, so send your comments and
a photo to [email protected]




Below the Fold
Financial Roundtable
Broadcast financing market in 2006
Are market conditions good or bad? Temperature reading with: RBR's Jack Messmer, GE Commercial Finance's Robert Malone, Wells Fargo Foothill's Dave Meier and CapitalSource Finance's Steve Healey

Ad Business Report
"WOR Interactive"
Wealth of new ad options are available with a re-design.

Media Business Report
The stall is on for telecom
Update bill does not seem to be in the cards...

Media Markets & Money
EMF picks up a baker's
Half-dozen CPs, which we interpret to be 7 FM's...

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]

Nevada C1: Asking 900K
Possible Terms. Market Favorite
Good Sales-Motivated-Make Offer
Brett Miller - MCH Enterprises, Inc.
805.237.0952
www.mchentinc.com




Radio Media Moves

NAB raids Capitol Hill to work Capitol Hill
Mildred Webber is taking the role of SVP Government Relations for the National Association of Broadcasters, where she'll serve with EVP Douglas Wiley. Webber is fresh from the staff of House Majority Whip Roy Blount (R-MO), where she served as Deputy Chief of Staff.

Deskins to Atlanta
Clear Channel Radio has named Chuck Deskins President and Market Manager for its Atlanta cluster, succeeding Jerry Del Core. Thus, Atlanta is the 11th CC Radio market to have a manager with the new title of President and Market Manager (8/28/06 RBR #167). Deskins was previously Director of Sales for CC Radio in Tampa.

ENCO looks to Sharp
ENCO Systems, a provider of Digital Audio Delivery Systems, announced the appointment of Brady Sharp as Sales Director for the Western US. Brady comes to ENCO from SADiE Inc. a manufacturer of professional audio workstations. Brady held positions as Technical Product Specialist and Technical Marketing Specialist for eight years.




More News Headlines

Presidential address
set for tonight

The White House announced plans for President George W. Bush to address the nation live tonight at 9:01 pm (ET). The President will speak for 16-18 minutes on the 5th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

Radio One sues ex-host
WDMK-FM Detroit owner Radio One has sued former morning host John Mason, who is trying to launch a syndicated show, according to the Detroit News. The lawsuit seeks to enforce a non-compete agreement running through January 29, 2007, under which Mason is barred from appearing on any competing station or soliciting business from any Radio One advertisers.

Amendment to the name
Vallie Richards Consulting announced a name change to Vallie Richards Donovan. The move recognizes the contributions of partner Mike Donovan, who has been a part of the consultancy with Dan Vallie and Jim Richards for the past 11 years.




RBR Radar 2006
Radio News you won't read any where else. RBR--First, Accurate, and Independently Owned.

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.
09/08/06 RBR #175

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


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