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Radio News ®
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 One less broadcast analyst
Yet another radio and TV stock analyst has gotten his pink slip. Bank of America is the latest Wall Street firm to decide it can do without anyone covering broadcasting stocks and has bid adieu to Jonathan Jacoby, as well as folks covering a couple of other media sectors. Jacoby had been with BofA since May 2003 and was covering broadcasting stocks for a couple of years before that at Suntrust Robertson Humphrey. There was no immediate word on whether other analysts at BofA might pick up some of the broadcast companies that Jacoby had been following, including such names as CBS, Clear Channel, Citadel, Cox Radio, Disney, Emmis, Entercom, Entravision, News Corporation, Radio One, SBS, Sirius, Viacom and XM. His layoff comes just a few days after Deutsche Bank decided that it, too, could do without a pure-play broadcast analyst and cut loose James Dix.
RBR observation: RBR readers know that we had quoted Jacoby's research pieces frequently, so we will miss sharing his views with you. His email notifying us of his departure from BofA expressed the hope that this will be a short "respite" before he resumes his dialogue with us about stocks. We hope that's the case, but it certainly looks like a tough time to be finding anyone hiring media analysts on Wall Street.
Eastlan adds Newburgh-Middletown, NY
Eastlan Ratings has added a third market in the Empire State. In addition to Syracuse and Utica-Rome, the nation's second largest radio ratings firm is moving into Newburgh-Middletown, NY. "Eastlan Ratings provides the product that is just right for condensed markets such as the Newburgh-Middletown market that have consistently been undersampled and overcharged," explains Joerg Klebe, President of Sunrise Broadcasting. "I can't stress enough how many operators we hear from that echo Joerg's sentiment," said Eastlan CEO Mike Gould. "In today's financial environment, broadcasters must give careful consideration to the negative impact the leading audience measurement provider has on their bottom line. In many situations, they represent one of the three largest expense line items. As a former jock and PD, I don't think it makes sense to cut airshifts to pay for ratings data." Spring 2008 will be the first Eastlan Ratings measurement of the market.
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FCC tells ABC: No ifs, ands or butts
An episode of NYPD Blue first aired in February 2003 has resulted in an FCC fine meted out to 52 ABC-affiliated television stations. Language was not a problem, but footage of a woman about to enter a shower was. Each station was hit for 27.5K, for a total addition to the US Treasury of 1.43M, assuming the Notice of Apparent Liability moves forward to a full-flegeded forfeiture. The stations participating in the hit are all in the Central and Mountain time zones. The program aired in the safe harbor 10PM time slot in the Eastern and Pacific zones. Only two ABC/Disney O&Os turned up in the FCC's net, WLS-TV Chicago and KTRK-TV Houston. The offending footage showed a rear-view of a naked woman, with brief side views of her breasts (the FCC's full description is available under the click below). ABC contended that buttocks are "not a sexual organ," but the FCC countered that its position was supported by case law and common sense. ABC also argued that there were relatively few complaints about the program, but the FCC countered that while ABC itself may not have been inundated, the FCC received "thousands of letters from members of various citizen advocacy groups."
 One of those groups was certainly the Parents Television Council. "We are thankful that the FCC has finally taken a stand for children and families with this unanimous order," said PTC's Tim Winter. "The delay in getting here has been frustrating, but we are delighted by the decision. PTC members and concerned citizens across the country spoke out against the nudity in the 2003 episode of NYPD Blue and today their pleas have been answered." FCC Commissioner Deborah Taylor Tate, pictured, weighed in on the NAL. "Our action today should serve as a reminder to all broadcasters that Congress and American families continue to be concerned about protecting children from harmful material and that the FCC will enforce the laws of the land vigilantly," she said. "In fact, pursuant to the Broadcast Decency Act of 2005, Congress increased the maximum authorized fines ten-fold. The law is simple. If a broadcaster makes the decision to show indecent programming, it must air between the hours of 10 PM and 6 AM. This is neither difficult to understand nor burdensome to implement."
RBR observation: Interesting timing here. This incident occurred almost exactly a year before Janet Jackson introduced a whole new level of toxicity into the indecency debate during the Super Bowl halftime show. Why did it take four years for the FCC to get around to it, when it could've been dealt in the relative quiet of 2003? And why do the opinions of even a million advocacy group members outweigh the opinions of many millions more who didn't seem to find any problem with the footage in question, as ill-advised as it seems in the post Jackson-Timerlake world? It NAL also is released after the FCC made it through all of 2007 without issuing a single penny in indecency NALs, and while the Supreme Court mulls giving a listen to the FCC's struck-down fleeting expletive case.
| FCC description of offending scene here |
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ICBC hangs out a new shingle
ICBC, better known as Inner City Broadcasting Corporation, has been running broadcast facilities for a long time, and must be hugely popular in regulatory circles these days since their licenses can be added to the undersized minority-owned category. However, its 17 stations are primarily concentrated in four markets, meaning it can offer management advice in hundreds of other markets without a conflict of interest. A message from ICBC's Skip Finley notes that the company has three execs with more than 100 years experience between them on matters such as M&A, due diligence, operating multiple format platforms in large or mid-sized markets, management training and retention, market analysis, financial services and strategic direction. It is looking to lend a hand in distress situations, and says its willing to offer full trustee operational services for stations with "an uncertain timeframe for asset sales."
RBR observation: Finley makes no mention of any kind of ownership focus, nor should he - distress is distress. But if the company can help stressed minority owners keep their heads above water, that will be great news for the owners, and concerned individuals on Capitol Hill and at the FCC.
 First ruling of a hamstrung FEC
Staff at the Federal Election Commission has issued an advisory opinion based on requests from SpeechNow.org and FreeCause Inc. The SpeechNow question asked for opinion of the subject matter of four proposed advertisements and on whether they were subject to donation caps. The draft of the advisory opinion (AO) stated that the ad material did indeed "constitute express advocacy," and that the organization would be considered a political committee upon receiving or spending in excess of 1K. The AO must be ratified by the commissioners, but an acute failure of the administration and Congress to see eye-to-eye has resulted in the existence of only two of six commissioners actually on the job. Four are needed to approve an AO. In this case, Chairman David Mason (R) believes that the staff got most of the AO right, but that there is no need to cap the organization's contributions. Democrat Ellen Weintraub said there was nothing ambiguous about staff's interpretation and that they were perfectly correct and donation restrictions apply. SpeechNow will receive a copy of the draft, notification of the vote, and an explanation that the whole this doesn't count.
RBR observation: The AO may or may not have been ambiguous, but the end result certainly is. This should be a matter of some concern to SpeechNow.org, since organizations on both sides operating as 527s back in 2004 were eventually fined for behaving like PACs, even though the FEC dragged its feet into issuing an opinion on that matter when it would have actually been instructive and helpful. Continued refusal to agree on FEC nominees, which may be deliberate, could contribute to an anything-goes melee in 2008, even if it results in fines not levied until all the votes have been counted.
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| Wall Street Business Report TM |
Hedge fund names nominees
We now know who the Harbinger hedge fund wants to place on the board of directors at the New York Times Company. It has joined forces with Firebrand Partners to nominate Firebrand founder Scott Galloway, Allen Morgan of the Mayfield venture capital fund, former AOL exec Gregory Shove and Kohlberg & Co. co-founder James Kohlberg. Together, Harbinger and Firebrand say they control 4.9% of the stock of the New York Times Company. In a letter addressed to Chairman Arthur Sulzberger Jr. and CEO Jane Robinson, Galloway insists that his intention is to be an "honest broker" between the company and its shareholders.
"It has been, and remains, our intention to pursue this effort in a spirit of cooperation with the Board and management that moves beyond the old dichotomy of 'hostile' and 'friendly' and focuses instead upon our shared interest in building shareholder value. To that end, I am writing on behalf of Firebrand/Harbinger, LLC, a company formed by Firebrand Partners and Harbinger Capital Partners, who together own approximately 4.9% of the outstanding common equity of the Company, to request a meeting with you and your Board. I want to assure you that we are not pursuing a change in the dual class shareholder structure. The New York Times is a great institution controlled by the Sulzberger family and we have no illusion about, or desire to change, that fact. Our efforts are focused on how we can work with management and the Board for the benefit of all stakeholders," Galloway said.
RBR observation: Somehow, we doubt that the management at New York Times Company is going to be impressed by this sweet talk. "There is nothing wrong with The New York Times Company that cannot be fixed with what is right with The New York Times. We believe a renewed focus on the core assets and the redeployment of capital to expedite the acquisition of digital assets affords the greatest shareholder appreciation and creates the appropriate platform to compete in today's media landscape," Galloway said in his letter. Why "Arthur and Janet," as he addresses them, need his assistance isn't explained.
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Ad Business Report TM
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Arbitron and Philadelphia Phillies for PPM
Arbitron announced the Philadelphia Phillies Baseball team has signed a multi-year contract for Portable People Meter ratings services. Using the existing PPM panel installed in Philadelphia for syndicated radio ratings, Arbitron will generate custom reports of pre-, post-, in-game and total broadcast listening estimates for the Phillies 2007, 2008 and 2009 baseball seasons. The survey will include a report of exclusive game AQH and cume audience estimates to Phillies broadcasts on WPHT-AM, the flagship station of the Phillies Radio Network. The Philadelphia Phillies will broadcast all 162 regular season games during the 2008 baseball season on the Big Talker 1210 WPHT-AM. In addition, WPHT-AM will air 15 Spring Training games and all Phillies post-season games for which the Phillies might qualify.
Piccadilly Restaurants names
Peter A. Mayer Advertising AOR
Peter A. Mayer Advertising has been named AOR by Baton Rouge-based Piccadilly Restaurants, one of the largest cafeteria chains in the nation, after a review that included a number of top agencies from the Southeast. Piccadilly operates 130 cafeterias and over 5,000 team members in 15 states, primarily in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic regions.
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| RBR News Analysis |
 Main studio, schmain studio
As part of the FCC's large-scale look into improving the localism of broadcast stations, it says it shares the concern of commenters "that licensees locate their main studios within the local communities so that they are 'part of the neighborhood.'" This goes right along with the age old conceit that broadcast contours are aware of and correspond to political boundaries. It's made apparent whenever a city of license proposal is before the Commission.
Let's look at the case of WPGC-AM in the Washington market. Back in the days before FM took over, the station was one of the market's two Top 40 screamers. But we'd bet that hardly any of the station's listeners had even the slightest idea where Morningside MD was, its city of license. Basically, the town was little more than a bunch of single-family dwellings outside a secondary entrance to Andrews Air Force Base. If, for the sake of convenience, or as a nod to the reality that it was a top Washington station, the station's owners tried to change the COL to Washington, just a handful of miles away, and a move that could be accomplished on paper with no tower move of any kind, it would have been dismissed because it would deprive the community of Morningside of its only primary broadcast service. Now Morningside was served exactly as were the residents of other communities in the AAFB area, like Camp Springs and Clinton MD. Neither had a station, nor a complaint. Yet the farce that Morningside needed this "local" service would be operative today, even though it would be almost impossible for most people wanting a gander at its public file to even find the town unless they already happened to live in that part of the metro. The notion of main studios in the COL is not applicable to the current legal situation, where a legal eight-station cluster may have eight different COLs.
Do you remember back before digital cameras, when somebody had the brilliant idea that there was no reason for drug stores to have the lion's share of the photo development business? The next thing we knew, little buildings were popping up in parking lots all over the place, ready to take your film and turn it into art overnight. We predict this will be the architectural model of a broadcast "main studio" should such a measure be put on the books. Place the bare minimum software, hardware and staff you can in the smallest space possible and let it go at that. It will still cost broadcasters money, and serve little or no purpose.
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| Media Markets & Money TM |
Salem spins out of Milwaukee
Caron Broadcasting Inc., one of the license names favored by Salem Communications Corporation, has indeed cut a second deal in Milwaukee, effectively exiting the market. WFZH-FM will remain in a Contemporary Religion format, but will be doing so as a member of the non-commercial realm. Educational Media Foundation is the buyer, for 8.05M cash. EMF's version of an LMA will be featured in this transaction -- they refer to it as a Network Affiliation Agreement, meaning the station will adopt EMF's K-LOVE format. It's scheduled to kick off 2/15/08, and essentially allows EMF to program the station exactly as a typical LMA might. The station is a Class A on 105.3 MHz, well north of the commercial/noncommerical divide.
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| Washington Business Report TM |
House panel pegs PEG witnesses
 The Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet has announced the lineup of witnesses for its hearing on "Public, Educational and Government (PEG) Services in the Digital TV Age." It will no doubt come as a relief, and probably not much of a surprise, that broadcasters can generally give this event a wide berth. David L. Cohen of Comcast figures to be in the hot seat, along with Gail Torreano of AT&T Michigan. The witnesses effectively playing the role of plaintiffs figure to be Mayor John B. O'Reilly Jr. of Dearborn MI and Annie Folger of Midpenisula Community Media Center in Palo Alto CA.
RBR observation: The DTV transition is on the agenda this same House subcommittee and the Senate Commerce Committee, on 2/13/08 and 2/14/08 respectively. There is nothing on the immediate horizon aimed directly at radio. And 99.9% of the time, the lack of a congressional hearing on the agenda is good news, so that is exactly how we suggest you radio people take this.
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| Media Business Report TM |
Denny's launches new multimedia effort
Denny's is reinforcing its "real" breakfast dominance by challenging fast food (quick service) restaurants for the first time. Denny's is out to bust so-called "fake" breakfast. Denny's AOR Publicis Mid America in Dallas developed the integrated campaign entitled "Don't Fall for Fake." From national broadcast, diverse digital, PR, in-store merchandise, and guerrilla marketing efforts, the scrappy campaign targets men and women 25-40 and reinforces the overwhelming appeal of real, as consumers are faced with real versus fake. Components include two new TV spots Tony Sirico, formerly of "The Sopranos." In "Phony Money" (:30 & :15) Tony tosses down fake money at a fast food joint to pay for breakfast -- his rationale: fake money for a fake breakfast. In "Line Up" (:30) Tony and an upset man are featured behind a two-way mirror, along with a police officer, and they're viewing a lineup of fast food workers in various crazy themed costumes. The man picks out the offender that sold him a fake breakfast.
The national broadcast buy via Optimedia catches consumers during "American Idol" and "Grey's Anatomy" and spans primetime/premium syndication, early morning, late night/overnight, general syndication, African American syndication, late night cable and general cable. Denny's is also introducing a new Spanish-language TV campaign titled De verdad verdad (Really Real) via :30 and :15 television spots. Real versus fake also employs a digital strategy developed by Optimedia. The engaging campaign ranges from humorous banner ads, mobile alerts, offer-based online games, video ads, to paid searches and music polling/custom playlists such as your top fave breakfast songs.
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| Internet Business Report TM |
875 million consumers have shopped online
More than 85% of the world's online population has used the Internet to make a purchase-increasing the market for online shopping by 40% in the past two years-according to the latest Nielsen Global Online Survey on Internet shopping habits. Globally, more than half of Internet users have made at least one purchase online in the past month, according to Nielsen. Among Internet users, the highest percentage shopping online is found in South Korea, where 99% of those with Internet access have used it to shop, followed by the UK (97%), Germany (97%), Japan (97%) with the U.S. eighth, at 94%. Additionally, in South Korea, 79% of these Internet users have shopped in the past month, followed by the UK (76%) and Switzerland (67%) with the U.S. at 57%.
 Globally, the most popular and purchased items over the Internet are Books (41% purchased in the past three months), Clothing/Accessories/Shoes (36%), Videos / DVDs / Games (24%), Airline Tickets (24%) and Electronic Equipment (23%). Among Germany's Internet users, 55% said they bought books, 42% had bought Clothes/Accessories/Shoes and one in four had purchased Music/Videos/DVD's in the past three months. During the same period, among Internet users in the UK, 45% bought books online, followed by Videos/DVDs/Games (44%), Clothing/Accessories/Shoes (38%), Music (37%) and one in four Internet shoppers also purchased and Airline tickets/Reservations online. Among U.S. Internet users in the past month, 41% bought Clothing/Shoes/Accessories, 38% bought books and one in three Internet shoppers bought Videos/DVDs/Games.
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| Ratings & Research |
CBS Radio scores big in latest Arbitron book
CBS Radio had one of its best Fall Ratings Survey's increasing its total cumulative 12+ audience for its current 140 stations by more than 6% year to year. Additionally, comparing 12+ Arbitron shares for Fall 2006 versus Fall 2007, CBS Radio's 14 stations that have either changed formats or seen a major shift in their on-air programming since January 2007, have increased their performance by a combined 29%, including increases of 80%, 76% and 25% at New York's WWFS-FM, WCBS-FM, and WXRK-FM, respectively, 50% at KFRC-FM in San Francisco and 55% at KZON-FM in Phoenix. Overall performance at several of the division's clusters also showed noticeable improvement with New York's six stations increasing their total 12+ share by 23%, Seattle's five stations up by 8% and the six stations in San Francisco up by 5%. In 10 different markets, including New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Seattle, and Baltimore, among others, CBS Radio is the No. 1 most listened to cluster of stations.
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| Programming Business Report |
WROR's Tom Doyle's Patriots song goes national
In honor of New England's perfect football season, The Loren & Wally Morning Show's Tom Doyle has written a song, entitled "Patriots are 16 & 0." Hear the song at http://www.wror.com. Now that the team is heading to the Big Game, the song has exploded. As of January 24th, it has been viewed over 700,000 times on YouTube.
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| Transactions |
2.75M KJDX-FM Sacramento CA (Pollock Pines CA) from Sierra Broadcasting Corporation (Rodney P. Chambers) to CC Licenses LLC, a subsidiary of Clear Channel Broadcasting Inc. (Mark Mays). 5K option fee, 137K escrow, balance in cash at closing. Superduopoly with KFBK-AM, KSTE-AM, KHYL-FM & KGBY-FM. [File date 12/31/07.]
225K WTLG-FM Starke FL from Starke Christian Education Radio & T.V. (Rodney G. Coe) to American Family Association (Donald E. Wildmon). Cash. [File date 12/28/07.]
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| Stock Talk |
Buyers bet on Ben
Wall Streeters have high hopes that Ben Bernanke and his fellow Fed folk will cut rates again at this week's meeting. The Dow Industrials rose 177 points on Monday, or 1.5%, to 12,384.
Radio stocks went along for the ride. The RBR Radio Index rose 1.878, or 2.3%, to 84.032. Debut Broadcasting, which is not yet a component of our index, shot above the buck mark for the first time, rising 7.4%. Cumulus gained 6.6% and SBS was up 6.4%. Clear Channel was one of the few losers, down 7%.
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| Radio Stocks |
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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41.06
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+0.80
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Google
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GOOG
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555.98
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-10.42
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Beasley*
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BBGI
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5.43
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+0.08
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Hearst-Argyle
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HTV
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21.12
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+0.35
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| CBS CI. B |
CBS |
 |
24.72
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+0.84
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Journal Comm.
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JRN
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8.09
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+0.36
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| CBS CI. A |
CBSa |
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24.70
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+0.84
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Lincoln Natl.
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LNC
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52.71
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+1.74
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| Citadel* |
CDL |
|
1.73 |
+0.08 |
Radio One, Cl. A
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ROIA
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1.70
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+0.06
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Clear Channel*
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CCU
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31.42
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-2.38
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Radio One, Cl. D*
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ROIAK
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1.70
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+0.03
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Cox Radio*
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CXR
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11.35
|
+0.36
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Regent*
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RGCI
|
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1.45
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+0.04
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Cumulus*
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CMLS
|
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6.28
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+0.39
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Saga Commun.*
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SGA
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5.78
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-0.02
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Debut Bcg.
|
DBTB
|
|
1.02
|
+0.07
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Salem Comm.*
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SALM
|
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3.74
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-0.12
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Disney
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DIS
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29.37
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+0.69
|
Sirius Sat. Radio
|
SIRI
|
|
3.08
|
+0.19
|
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Emmis*
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EMMS
|
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2.86
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+0.06
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Spanish Bcg.*
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SBSA
|
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1.84
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+0.11
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Entercom*
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ETM
|
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12.07
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+0.34
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Westwood One*
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WON
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1.84
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+0.14
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Entravision
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EVC
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6.93
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+0.36
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XM Sat. Radio
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XMSR
|
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11.15
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+0.16
|
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Fisher
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FSCI
|
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32.93
|
+0.29
|
-
|
-
|
-
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-
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-
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*Component of the RBR Radio Index
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Bounceback
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 We want to
hear from you.
This is your column, so send your comments and
a photo to [email protected]
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Below the Fold
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RBR News Analysis
Main studio, schmain studio
Part of the FCC's large-scale look into improving the localism...
Ad Business Report
Arbitron & Phillies for PPM
Phillies Baseball team has signed a multi-year contract...
Media Markets & Money
Salem spins out of Milwaukee
Caron Broadcasting Inc., one of the license names favored...
Ratings & Research
CBS Radio
Scores big in latest Arbitron book...
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Stations for Sale
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 Market your Stations For Sale
in our daily epapers.
Contact
Jim Carnegie
[email protected]
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Radio Media Moves
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CFO exits Citadel
Robert Freedline has resigned as CFO of Citadel Broadcasting Corporation, effective January 31st. The company has named Randy Taylor as Sr. Vice President and Acting CFO, effective February 1st, in additional to his other duties at Citadel.
Kerry Tucker names VP/Strategic Sales at CBS Radio
CBS Radio named Kerry Tucker VP/Strategic Sales, joining from the RAB where she has been SVP/National Marketing since 10/05. Tucker will be responsible for national sales at the stations and a variety of digital assets as part of a member of the Altitude Group, CBS Radio's integrated marketing department. She reports to Rich Lobel, EVP of the Group.
Promotion promotion
Entercom Boston has promoted Lindsey Anderson to Promotion Coordinator for WAAF-FM. She was previously one of the "Watergirls" for cluster-mate WEEI-AM, handing out promotional items at sports events and elsewhere. Anderson had also been a promotions assistant for Clear Channel in Orlando.
Jones promotes three
Jones Radio Networks announced Eric Wiler has been promoted to Vice President of Technology for JRN. Wiler, in his second stint with JRN, first came to the company in the early '90's as a part-time engineer, eventually working his way to DOE. He left in 1998 to work for Premiere, but returned in 2001. Jones MediaAmerica announced two promotions in their Information Technology department - Janine Picchione to VP, and Eric Coronado to Systems Manager. Picchione has been a member of the JMA family for 14 years, most recently as Senior Director, IT. Coronado joined Jones MediaAmerica's MIS team in 2005, and recently was Network Administrator, End User Support.
New face at
Media Monitors
Most recently with Arbitron as their Client Software Senior Vice President, Scott Musgrave joins Media Monitors. Musgrave brings extensive experience in marketing research for radio broadcasters, cable companies, advertising agencies, and outdoor companies.
LAN International
Bob Brunson has joined Aliso Viejo-based LAN International as Marketing Manager. Brunson, brings two decades of marketing experience to LAN International, will be responsible for the firm's branding, marketing and public relations initiatives.
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TVBR - TV News
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DGA Board unanimously approves WGA deal
The board of the Directors Guild of America voted unanimously Sunday to recommend ratification of a deal with Hollywood studios. The three-year agreement reached 1/17 establishes key provisions involving compensation for programs offered on the Internet that will hopefully be used as a template for the resumed WGA-AMPTO negotiations. "We achieved our three primary goals: jurisdiction in new media, which was absolutely essential; compensation for the use and reuse of our work in new media; and significant gains on issues of real importance for our work in traditional media," DGA President Michael Apted said in a statement. The ballot will now go to the DGA's 13,500 members for ratification.
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RBR Radar 2008
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Radio News you won't read any where else. RBR--First, Accurate, and Independently Owned.
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Clear Channel orders
deep cuts as recession looms
Clear Channel Radio CEO John Hogan sent out an email Friday ordering all VPs, GMs and Business Managers to make immediate cost cuts to curtail Q1 expenses. This follows RBR's recent report on how soft national sales pacings were early in the quarter (1/23/08 RBR #15). Apparently the shortfall is deep and wide for Clear Channel as management struggles to keep profits up in preparation for the going private buyout.
RBR observation: For a company that had already long ago cut expenses to the bone, further cuts could very likely create opportunities for competitors to increase audience and/or revenue share. But with the economy sliding into recession, it's not clear that very many will have the resources to grow as the radio industry giant shrinks. It will be hard to ramp up promotions and hire more sales people at a time when, in many cases, flat revenues will be seen as good news. For Hogan and his bosses, Mark and Randall Mays, the top priority right now is getting the Clear Channel buyout across the finish line. The stars appear to be in alignment, but anything that knocks the Q1 financial numbers severely off-course could be disastrous.
Read the email at RBR.com
Clear Channel buyout to close in Q1
Thomas H. Lee Partners dealmaker Scott Sperling was quoted as saying that the company has plenty of financing sources and expects to close the 26.7 billion bucks buyout by March 31st. The FCC gave its formal approval to the license transfers last week and antitrust approval by DOJ is expected to come quickly.
RBR observation: Despite all of the squeamishness in the market, neither Thomas H. Lee Partners, Bain Capital, nor Clear Channel itself ever took any actions to add credence to the fears that this deal would not close. Rather, they have moved steadily ahead with all of the actions required to complete the buyout as advertised. Shareholders have already approved the deal. The FCC has now approved the deal. The DOJ approval has been applied for - and that should be just a formality. It's still all systems go and it appears likely that arbitrageurs who bought in on the market nervousness will get a nice return.
01/28/08 RBR #18
ABC stations fined
1.4M for bare buns
It took the FCC five years to decide that a February 25, 2003 episode of "NYPD Blue" broadcast on ABC Television was indecent, but late Friday the Commission announced plans to fine two ABC O&Os and 50 affiliates a total of 1,430,000 bucks because the program showed the bare buttocks of a woman as a young boy was depicted as entering a bathroom and discovering the woman nude as she was about to enter the shower.
TVBR observation: This is going to be a really tough one for the FCC to defend in court, so here is some free legal advice for the Commission's lawyers. First, make certain the judge has no access to a dictionary. This is absolutely critical to upholding your position that a buttock is a "sexual organ." Secondly, don't let the judge find out how arbitrary, vague and inconsistent your indecency standard has been over the past several decades. And finally, make sure he/she doesn't learn that not a single one of the complainants actually saw the broadcast, as they certified to the FCC. The monitoring sites for these zealot groups are in the Eastern time zone where the broadcast was within the safe harbor. But they ginned up complaints via email blasts that got followers to lie to the FCC and claim that they had viewed the broadcast in the Central and Mountain time zones.
01/28/08 TVBR #18
Who needs HD Radio
Conditional Access?
Information and entertainment is undergoing a revolution. Just as digital video recorders, internet-based video distribution and the proliferation of video-capable mobile devices have changed our expectations concerning television, radio is now undergoing a similar transformation. Terrestrial radio is free and always will be. Although the options of pay-for subscriptions and pay-per-listen scenarios are emerging, they will always be just that - options. Conditional Access (CA), the encryption of programming and entitlement of authorized receivers, is a term normally associated with pay entertainment services like satellite or cable TV. However, as radio continues to evolve, entitlement and encryption are becoming more important. Why would an encryption technology be important to terrestrial digital radio?
01/25/08 RBR #17
Clear Channel approval released
RBR reported over a week ago that the FCC had voted unanimously to approve the sale of Clear Channel Communications to Thomas H. Lee Partners and Bain Capital for 26.7 billion, including debt assumption, but the paperwork finally came out last Thursday. Although they both voted for the license transfers, Commissioners Michael Copps and Jonathan Adelstein, the FCC's two members from the Democratic Party, expressed some misgivings.
RBR observation: Will Commissioner Copps ever wake up and realize that private equity firms have been radio and TV group owners for decades? In fact, Commissioner, these buyers that you refer to as "new entities" are, in fact, "no different than our traditional broadcast licensees" because entities structured and funded exactly the same way have long been among the traditional broadcast licensees.
01/25/08 RBR #17
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RBR Classifieds
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Hard finding that key person
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