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Radio News ®
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 RBC warns investors
of soft radio revenues
RBC Capital Markets analyst David Bank is warning investors that radio revenues are pacing behind his previous expectations for Q3 - - and that Q4 is worrisome as well. In a note which headlined that Q3 for radio came in "like a lamb" and appears to be going out the same way, Bank said his checks across the country found "continuing lackluster radio performance" despite the November election now being less than 60 days away. RBR observation: Heads up people because the fourth Q is at risk. Now you can not point any finger at Naples, FL or Barron's or Forbes. Best read further on. | More... |
Beasley directors endorse Shaw's dual roles
Allen Shaw can keep his day job. After announcing a new sideline last week as CEO of the reborn Centennial Broadcasting, which is buying two stations in Roanoke-Lynchburg, VA (9/8/04 RBR Daily Epaper #175), Shaw has gotten a formal thumbs up from the directors of Beasley Broadcast Group to continue as its Vice Chairman and Co-COO while building the new Centennial group. "The Board of Directors of The Beasley Broadcast Group, Inc. (BBGI), unanimously voted to allow Allen Shaw to acquire outside radio properties and continue his position as Vice Chairman and Co-COO of BBGI. Shaw, whose primary duties at BBGI are to supervise the Las Vegas cluster of stations owned by BBGI (KKLZ-FM, KSTJ-FM, and KJUL-FM). Shaw will be permitted to act as President and CEO of Centennial Broadcasting LLC as long as Centennial does not purchase radio properties within 75 miles of any Arbitron Market in which BBGI owns a radio station," Beasley's board said in an announcement distributed by Shaw. RBR observation: We can just see the brokers getting out their maps to draw 75-mile lines around Beasley's markets and see what inventory they might be able to pitch to Shaw...
 CBS hunkers down to defend
anti-Bush memos
Amid growing questions about the authenticity of memos shown on "60 Minutes" about President George Bush's military record - - first from conservative bloggers, but then from such publications as the Washington Post, New York Times and Los Angeles Times - - CBS News has gone into the bunkers and is fiercely defending the documents as genuine. Anchorman Dan Rather, who reported the original story, defended it on Friday's CBS Evening News, saying that the memos, in which a now-deceased Texas Air National Guard Lieutenant Colonel indicated that he was under political pressure to overlook dereliction of duty by Bush, were received from "un-impeachable sources," whom CBS has refused to identify. While experts contacted by other news outlets have indicated that the memos appear to have been produced with a modern computer using Microsoft Word, CBS has insisted that IBM produced a Selectric model in the 1970s which, if ordered with special features, could have produced the documents in question.
RBR observation: This dispute should be pretty easy to put to rest. If the Texas Air National Guard did have such a state-of-the-art electric typewriter back in the '70s, there ought to be lots of documents in the Guard's files, unrelated to George Bush, which were produced on this machine. It seems to us that CBS would do well to get some researchers busy trying to find a few examples of such documents, whose authenticity could not be questioned.
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One less broadcaster running for Congress
Last week's Arizona primary ended this year's congressional hopes of radio group owner Rick Murphy, who fell well short in his bid to unseat incumbent Rep. Trent Franks in the state's Republican primary. Two other broadcasters face primary voters today - - Talk host Dave Ross, a Democrat, in Washington State and radio group owner Dave Magnum, a Republican, in Wisconsin. Also hoping to win election to the US House of Representatives in November are Nick Clooney, a former Cincinnati radio and TV personality who won the Democratic nomination in his Kentucky district without opposition, and the only broadcaster currently in the lower house, Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR), an Oregon radio group owner who is running for re-election.
 Who needs a candidate to advertise?
It's a safe bet that a National Republican Congressional Committee ad flight in the Spokane WA area is negative - - the party hasn't even figured out who its candidate is yet. However, that's not stopping NRCC from attacking Democratic candidate Don Barbieri, pictured, who is trying to move a seat being vacated by Senate candidate Rep. George Nethercutt from the Republican to the Democratic side of the aisle. The Republicans will pick a candidate in a primary today - - but with control of the House in play, the RNCC obviously felt it wouldn't hurt to try and rough up Barbieri to the benefit of whomever emerges victorious. According to the Associated Press, the RNCC and its Democratic counterpart are expected to drop a cool 30M dollars on selected House races. Only about 40 seats are considered to be in play.
Black vote is a 2004 battleground
An advertising battle is being waged by surrogates for the Democrats and Republicans aimed squarely at Black voters. Despite the fact that Republicans have traditionally had a hard time attracting a significant portion of Black ballots, a group called People of Color United is buying time trying to paint Democratic candidate John Kerry as a "wishy-washy, rich, white politician," not worthy of the bother of a trip to the polls. A Democratic group called the Media Fund is countering this campaign,, charging that "Bush has a plan for America. But you're not part of it." As has been the case for political advertising all year, Media Fund is focusing on battleground states. AP mentions Florida, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin as locations being targeted by Media Fund. MF is running a multimedia effort with buys in TV, radio and print.
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Adbiz ©
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WPP to acquire Grey Global Group for 1.52 billion
The U.K.'s WPP Group announced it has reached an agreement to purchase Grey Global Group for an estimated 1.52 billion in cash and stock. The agreement, reached Saturday in NYC, marks the end of the auction process that had lasted all summer for Grey. WPP beat out two other bidders-France's Havas SA and a joint offer by private-equity firms Hellman & Friedman LLC and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts. The agreement calls for Grey's Chairman Edward Meyer to receive a two-year contract under which he will remain Chairman and CEO of Grey Global, according to the Wall Street Journal. Meyer will name a CEO for Grey Global's ad agency, Grey Worldwide, in six months. He's then expected to get a seat on WPP's board. Likely contenders for the CEO post include Steven Blamer, CEO of Grey Worldwide NA, and Carolyn Carter, president of Grey Global Europe, Middle East and Africa. WPP agreed to pay about 1,005 a share, or about 1.4 billion, half in cash and half in shares, plus additional payment for other types of Grey securities. After the deal closes, WPP will gain access to Grey's long relationship with Procter & Gamble. Analysts had worried that WPP's work for Unilever Group, P&G's rival, would be a hurdle to WPP buying Grey. But WPP is expected to aim to avoid this conflict by keeping Grey's ad agency as a separate unit, rather than merging it with another WPP agency. WPP is expected to keep MediaCom, Grey's buying agency, as a separate brand as well.
 Administaff taps Arnold Palmer
as spokesperson
Administaff announced it has entered into a three-year endorsement contract with golf legend Arnold Palmer. He'll serve as the company's national spokesperson beginning with the release of two TV spots that will begin airing 10/4 on Fox News Channel, CNN, CNBC, MSNBC and The Golf Channel. These 15- and 30-second spots will appear in prime time during high-profile shows, including "Lou Dobbs Tonight," "Larry King Live," "Wolf Blitzer Reports" and "Hannity & Colmes." The launch of the campaign is planned to coincide with the Administaff Small Business Classic, a PGA Champions Tour event in which Arnold Palmer will participate as one of an elite field of champion golfers. The commercials, which highlight the similarities between playing golf and operating a small business, help to demonstrate how Administaff provides support and guidance for small businesses-much like a caddie does for the golfer. Palmer is positioned with his caddie in the background, symbolizing the Administaff team behind the scenes and the client in the forefront focusing on the core competencies of running a business. In addition to TV commercials, Palmer will be featured in national radio and print. Alan Dodd, Administaff spokesperson, tells RBR the radio buy begins next Spring and is aimed at successful business owners, typically in the 35-64 age bracket. The campaign was created and developed by Administaff's marketing department, and filming services were provided by VT2 Media Design & Communications, Houston.
GM European planning, buying in review
General Motors has placed its 700 million European media planning and buying account in review. Universal McCann and Initiative Media are the incumbents.
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Media, Markets & Money tm
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Brokers get a plug at NABOB confab
The National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters concluded their 2004 management conference with an informative and thought-provoking session on breaking into the ranks of broadcast ownership. The session went far beyond advising minorities on breaking in - - the advice we heard would be well-taken by anyone looking into broadcast ownership. Minority Media & Telecommunications Council honcho David Honig was at the session, and told the gathering that regulatory and business conditions pointed to the development of a much more robust station trading market than we've seen of late. To take advantage of this, his organization is looking at the formation of an incubator program to assist first-time owners into the business. He expects to make a more concrete announcement in the coming months. NABOB's Jim Winston asked the panel how to answer a question he is frequently asked: What stations are for sale? (We at RBR/TVBR occasionally field that same question.) The answer was a ringing endorsement for our friends in the brokerage community. Panelist Joel Hartstone said that most of the properties which are on the block are known to someone in the brokerage community. Hartstone went further, saying that the most active brokers have a demonstrated history of promoting minority ownership. There are numerous factors which go into a successful buy. If a prospective station owner has the other necessary elements lined up, brokers were cited as an excellent source to identify properties to acquire. We'll continue to provide details of the session as the week progresses.
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Washington Beat
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 Double pirate's halfway defense falls short
You would need the radio station equivalent of a snorkel to operate on 87.9 mHz, which is one channel below the very bottom of the standard FM dial. Nevertheless, that is where Fritzner Simon is alleged to have been operating, without an FCC license, in the Tampa area. He was also found to be operating on 102.1 mHz on a prior occasion. Some might say that the FCC graciously took to two incidents as one and fined Simon 10K dollars - - the going rate for a single offense. Simon admitted to the 102.1 pirate station. However, he said that he had no knowledge of the 87.9 facility. The fact that FCC agents found his car in front of the unlicensed broadcast site was a mystery, since his wife and her friend had borrowed his car on the day in question. The FCC did not bother to investigate the veracity of this claim, noting that the admission to the 102.1 offense was sufficient to warrant the 10K fine.
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| Engineering |
WMET-AM DC gets meeting of 60 on power hike
The Montgomery Gazette reports a meeting intended to work out RF interference problems between area residents and IDT Corp.'s WMET-AM DC officials brought nearly 60 people eager to find answers to North Creek Community Center in Montgomery County, MD last week.
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Programming
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 Univision Radio and Wal-Mart launch
"Pensando en su Salud"
Univision Radio is collaborating with Wal-Mart to host community-focused health fairs across the country. The effort is entitled "Pensando en su Salud", and is part of Univision's corporate health initiative, "Salud es Vida, Enterate!" Each health fair event will offer attendees the opportunity to receive free health screenings, and provide information/materials in a fun and family-oriented atmosphere on a variety of health topics affecting US Hispanics. The fairs will be held at select Wal-Mart locations in eleven cities throughout the US from 9/04 through 11/04, including Chicago 9/12, El Paso 9/19, Los Angeles 9/25 & 9/26, Dallas 10/3, Houston 10/10, San Antonio 10/17, McAllen 10/24, Santa Ana 10/31, La Quinta/Palm Springs 11/7 and Miami 11/21. Working in conjunction with Univision Radio and Wal-Mart on this effort are many government, national and local non-profit organizations including, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Ninos Activos Familias Sanas, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, American Heart Association, American Diabetes Association, and the American Cancer Sociwety. GlaxoSmithKline, a leading research-based pharmaceutical company, will lend its support by conducting free health screenings in the GSK Healthy Communities Winnebago in Dallas, San Antonio and Houston.
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Transactions
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KXKS-AM Albuquerque NM from Mortenson Broadcasting Company to Wild West Radio Corporation.
WRRZ-AM Fayetteville NC (Clinton NC) from WRRZ Radio Company Inc. to Sanchez Broadcasting Corporation.
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Stock Talk
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Stocks rise on tech optimism
A growing belief that the tech sector is due for a rebound gave the stock market a bit of a boost on Monday, although broadcasters and blue chips didn't get much help. The Dow Industrials were up only two points to 10,315, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite were up a bit more.
The Radio Index fell 0.387, or 0.2%, to 218.562. Regent fell 2.3% as the poorest performer, while Entravision rose 2.9% as the best.
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Radio Stocks
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Here's how stocks fared on Monday
| Company |
Symbol |
Close |
Change |
Company |
Symbol |
Close |
Change |
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Arbitron
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ARB
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39.05
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+0.41
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Jeff-Pilot
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JP
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49.98
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+0.48
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Beasley
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BBGI
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15.98
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+0.21
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Journal Comm.
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JRN
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17.68
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-0.09
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| Citadel |
CDL |
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13.25 |
-0.13 |
Radio One, Cl. A
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ROIA
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14.66
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-0.05
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Clear Channel
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CCU
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33.19
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-0.58
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Radio One, Cl. D
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ROIAK
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14.60
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-0.06
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Cox Radio
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CXR
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15.96
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-0.16
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Regent
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RGCI
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6.02
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-0.14
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Cumulus
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CMLS
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14.17
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-0.24
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Saga Commun.
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SGA
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17.74
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+0.22
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Disney
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DIS
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23.32
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+0.16
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Salem Comm.
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SALM
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25.50
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-0.01
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Emmis
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EMMS
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18.70
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-0.01
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Sirius Sat. Radio
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SIRI
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2.82
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+0.10
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| Entercom |
ETM
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36.04
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-0.16
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Spanish Bcg.
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SBSA
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8.58
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-0.03
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Entravision
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EVC
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8.13
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+0.23
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Univision
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UVN
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32.34
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+0.06
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Fisher
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FSCI
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48.99
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+0.50
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Viacom, Cl. A
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VIA
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35.25
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-0.28
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Gaylord
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GET
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30.97
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-0.09
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Viacom, Cl. B
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VIAb
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34.79
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-0.46
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Hearst-Argyle
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HTV
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25.15
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+0.18
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Westwood One
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WON
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21.79
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-0.08
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Interep
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IREP
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0.85
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-0.01
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XM Sat. Radio
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XMSR
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29.43
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+0.36
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International Bcg.
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IBCS
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0.02
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unch
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-
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-
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- |
-
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-
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Have a news story you'd like to share? [email protected]
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Bounceback
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 We want to
hear from you.
This is your column, so send your comments to [email protected]
This radio broadcaster isn't sitting still for our observation that TV is currently better positioned than radio to help car dealers move product (9/13/04 RBR Daily Epaper #178).
Dollar for dollar, that is for each dollar invested vs. dollars received in goods sold Radio will outperform TV for auto dealers. Your statement that TV will sell for the dealers better than Radio has no fact basis. You bring up the thirty second commercial, and as I have said before, this idea is one conceived by people who have never sold advertising, who do not talk with clients and who are not involved in the process. Radio must continue to sell sixties because that is how Radio works for the advertiser.
Barry Drake
Backyard Broadcasting
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Upped & Tapped
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Rick Joyner to GMC
Veteran Gospel radio programmer Rick Joyner has joined cable's Gospel Music Channel as Senior Manager of Acquisitions and Programming, working with the network's programming of both Urban and traditional Gospel.
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NAB Day Time Planner
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The following brokers will be attending the NAB. Call or email to make your appointment in advance.
American Media Services,
Todd Fowler, Office 843-972-2200, Manchester Grand Hyatt, [email protected]
Cobb Corp.,
Denis LeClair [email protected]
Joel B. Day
[email protected]
Office 202-478-3737,
Manchester Grand Hyatt
Gordon Rice Associates,
Gordon Rice,
Office 843-884-3590,
Manchester Grand Hyatt,
[email protected]
John Pierce & Company LLC,
John Pierce, cell 859-512-3015,
Jamie Rasnick, cell 513-252-1186, Office 859-647-0101,
Manchester Grand Hyatt,
[email protected]
Kozacko Media Services,
Dick Kozacko,
Office 607-733-7138,
Cell 607-738-1219,
Manchester Grand Hyatt, [email protected]
Patrick Communications,
Larry Patrick, Office 410-740-0250, Manchester Grand Hyatt, [email protected]
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August Digital Magazine
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Complimentary Report
No more Forward Pacing Reports.
We have the economic, political, and close up look at your 4th quarter of business and what must be done to hit budget by year's end.
GM of Cadillac, Mark LaNeve
tells it like it is on where he
spends ad dollars.
Read RBR in 2 simple steps:
1.Create a simple account with Zinio and download the free Zinio Reader.
2. You can then download the free August Issue of RBR
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RBR Radar 2004
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Click on these issues for Radio News you won't read any where else. RBR--First, Accurate, and Independently Owned.
Auto analyst: Big three have a marketing problem
Detroit is facing a new problem - - how to keep moving cars now, since there's no pent-up demand and rising rates will soon put an end to 0% financing. Morgan Stanley auto analyst Steve Girsky said the US car makers face a marketing problem. "..you look at who is increasing incentives at a faster rate, you have Nissan at 50% and Audi at almost 60%, Land Rover 45% - - a lot of the foreign are increasing incentives at a much greater clip than the domestic brands." RBR observation: Girsky sees local dealers struggling to hit a profit this year. TVB's Rohrs sees this as an opportunity for local TV to move local inventory. TVBR agrees with Rohrs as TV doesn't have the 'Less is More' issue and can sell new or used autos better than radio. The question for radio is can it move local inventory with a 30 second spot? The Big Three "Implied" Retail Inventory Days of Supply chart is worth printing for your local sales staff. 09/13/04 RBR #178
Arbitron study shows radio is a political player
Looked at the relationship between radio and politics in the hotly-contested battleground state of Pennsylvania, and found some surprising results. In short, although the preponderance of right-wing voices on Talk radio have led many to view the much of the medium as an outlet for Republican thought - Arbitron also pulled favorite formats for the three voter groups. Here are the results - Independents: AOR, CHR, News-Talk, Oldies - Republicans: AC, News-Talk, Country - Democrats: AC, CHR, AOR. 09/13/04 RBR #178
American Airlines launches
new branding effort
"Back to the future" may be one way to describe the new American Airlines branding campaign. The program, leverages the core strengths of the company and focuses on the attributes that for decades have helped define American's success. The new brand positioning is executed through series of gently emotional ads seek to make flying adventurous instead of just a hunt for the cheapest seat. American's advertising consultants have jettisoned the old jingle, "Something special in the air," and replaced it with, "We know why you fly."
RBR observation: Question is how many of the biggies will be around to fly. US Airways just declared Chapter 11 for the second time.
09/13/04 RBR #178
Scandal nixes Belo bonuses
Belo Corporation Chairman and CEO Robert Decherd has sent employees a letter stating that he and other top Belo executives won't be getting any bonuses this year because of the scandal over inflated circulation figures at the Dallas Morning News - - and no increase in their base salaries next year. Check it out the personal letter. 09/13/04 TVBR #178
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TV editor
Do you know the business of television? While other trade publications are cutting back, we're growing. Television Business Report (TVBR) is the hottest new electronic daily, backed by over 21 years of success at Radio Business Report. If you know who's who and what's what in TV & Cable, send resumes to [email protected] |
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