Radio News ®

Viacom and SBS pact for cross-platform
assault on Univision
Viacom and Spanish Broadcasting System announced a strategic alliance targeting Hispanic consumers through a multimedia platform that would include radio, TV and outdoor throughout the US. The announcement was made by Les Moonves, Co-President/Co-COO of Viacom and Raul Alarcon, Chairman/CEO of SBS.

RBR observation: Forget about this move going against Clear Channel's recent announcement to convert 20-25 stations to Spanish-language, this is head-to head with Univision. | More... |

Welcome to San Diego!
If you are, indeed, reading this Epaper just north of Tijuana, you're likely getting ready to attend the annual Dickstein Shapiro Morin & Oshinsky financial confab kicking off the 2004 NAB Radio Show. This year's keynote speaker is Bear, Stearns & Co. broadcasting analyst Victor Miller. He's been one of the closest observers of the machinations of the Philadelphia Federal Appeals Court and its convoluted ruling remanding most of the FCC's media ownership rulemaking for yet another round of hand-wringing in Washington. But we expect he'll also have plenty to say about a more pressing topic - - how poorly radio stocks are doing on Wall Street, due, of course, to this year's dismal performance in radio ad sales. Based on what we've been hearing lately from various analysts, we doubt that he's going to have much encouragement to offer. The recent trend has been to cut radio revenue growth projections - - both for the current year and 2005. Other panelists include lenders, brokers and a few group heads - - Lew Dickey from Cumulus, David Field from Entercom, Doug Kiel from Journal Broadcast, Frank Osborn from Qantum and Jeff Smulyan from Emmis. Although they may not like where their stock prices stand on Wall Street, we expect them to affirm that station prices remain as high as ever - - as detailed in the new issue of RBR Solutions magazine being distributed at the Radio Show - - with demand from would-be buyers still far outstripping available inventory. Exhibit one: The deal Emmis just announced to buy WLUP-FM Chicago. RBR is in San Diego to report on the financing seminar and the rest of this week's action.

Ensign tries to get indecency out of DoD bill
Sen. John Ensign (R-NV) has written a letter to the leaders of the Armed Services Committee, John Warner (R-VA) and Carl Levin (D-MI), requesting that they take an extraneous amendments regarding the FCC out of a reauthorization bill for the Department of Defense. The main thrust of the amendment is to increase the FCC's capacity for fining those found to have broadcast indecent material by a factor of at least 10. Ensign supported Sen. Sam Brownback's (R-KS) original indecency bill, but feels it is out of place on the defense bill for a number of reasons, paramount among them the importance of the defense measure. He argued that extraneous items added to the indecency bills put forth by both the Senate and the House are controversial and could slow down work on the DoD measure. Hence, they should be considered on their own. The Parents Television Council has reacted swiftly, organizing a letter-writing campaign of its own directed at Warner, asking him to make sure that some form of fine increase is included when the bill is prepared for its trip to the desk in the Oval Office.

AFTRA-thought? Others trying to scrub DoD bill
Broadcast talent union American Federation of Television & Radio Artists (AFTRA) has major problems with the move to increase indecency fines. It's not the fines themselves so much as it's the threat to broaden the scope of the fines, currently for the most part limited to station licensees, to include the artists who actually utter the indecency language or perform the indecent acts. AFTRA contends that management knows full well what it is doing when it encourages air talent to play close to the edge. If they stand to reap the benefits when such programming attracts huge audiences, they must also take the risk when it strays over the line. "This last-minute push to hold individual performers, announcers and broadcast journalists accountable for the programming decisions of corporate licensees represents a clear threat to the First Amendment and will have an immediate and significant chilling effect on artistic freedom," wrote AFTRA in a message to its membership. "When you take into account that the definition of indecency is an amorphous, moving target and that the Federal Communications Commission has never fined an individual performer, announcer or broadcast journalist, this legislation represe4nts a striking shift away from the FCC's long-standing policy that holed that the broadcast licensee is responsible for programming decisions."

NASCAR nails driver for s-word
Dale Earnhardt Jr. was knocked out of first place in the NASCAR 2004 driver standings by letting the "s-word" slip out during a post-race TV interview on Sunday 10/3/04, according to the Associated Press. He received a 10K dollar fine from the racing organization, and lost 25 points in the standings, turning a 13-point lead into a 12-point deficit. NASCAR decided to get tough with its drivers, docking them points as well as cash, back in February, when the FCC was getting tough with any sort of broadcast indecency. NASCAR has issued fines and docked points twice up until now, for slip-ups during live radio interviews in March and June.

Ross under attack
Republicans in Washington state are claiming that Democratic House candidate Dave Ross violated the law by continuing his daily radio show after announcing his candidacy. According to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, they've filed a complaint with the FEC. Ross is running in the 8th District against Dave Reichert in an attempt to claim the seat of retiring Republican Jennifer Dunn. Ross and his old station, KIRO-AM (Entercom) contend that they were well aware of the rules and did nothing wrong. They say it didn't matter when he announced his candidacy - - he left the show upon filing formally for the race.

Adbiz ©

Mandel talks to RBR/TVBR re:
ROI shortfalls on creative
Speaking at the International Radio & Television Society Foundation "Newsmaker Breakfast" yesterday, Jon Mandel, Chairman/MediaCom US and Chief Global Buying Officer at MediaCom Worldwide, said at a panel he's tired of media-side blame for lackluster ROI, and that if marketers are not getting the ROI they expect from their TV advertising, they should take a closer look at the creative. Mandel also blamed Wall Street analysts for advertisers' shift in thinking from brand building to immediate ROI: "Wall Street has screwed up the media business." | More... |

RegionalHelpWanted.com and Cupid.com
to utilize 30-second spots
RegionalHelpWanted.com announced the company will introduce 30-second commercials beginning with its Q4 creative release. "We applaud Clear Channel's initiative in acting to reduce clutter on the radio" said Eric P. Straus, President and CEO of RHW. "In keeping with our company's tradition of focusing on the needs of our media partners, we will be one of the first major radio advertisers to provide 30 second commercials as well as 60 second versions in all of our 250+ radio markets." Straus added, "We believe this industry shift is long overdue. As such, we are taking an early leadership position in demonstrating that 30 second spots are as good as sixties -- if they are done well". Bill Cloutier, EVP, echoed Straus's sentiments, "We believe we have the best creative talent in the business. (RegionalHelpWanted.com employs Dick Orkin's Radio Ranch and Cupid.com employs Roy Williams Advertising.) These are two of the greatest creative agencies doing radio today, and they have agreed to help us help radio by creating winning 30 second production." RegionalHelpWanted O&Os in strategic alliances with local media throughout North America--the world's largest network of local job boards in over 250 markets across the USA, Canada, and Mexico. Cupid.com is a subsidiary of RHW, which owns and operates websites in the singles/dating space.

Intel launches review
Intel has placed its 300 million global advertising account in review, tapping Select Resources International Santa Monica, CA to handle. The review is expected to take six to nine months. Incumbent Euro RSCG Worldwide NY will reportedly be invited to defend.

Media, Markets & Money tm

Washington Beat

Programming

Beasley shakes up Augusta
Beasley Broadcast Group announced it has introduced Augusta radio listeners to Today's Country and the Legends with 93.9 The Bulldog. 93.9 The Bulldog, replacing Oldies 93.9, will complement Beasley's existing Augusta country station, WKXC-FM KICKS 99, home of Augusta's continuous country favorites. Oldies 93.9 is moving to its new position at 102.7-FM. Additionally, WGUS 1480-AM will adopt the Christian format previously airing on 102.7 FM. In addition to 93.9 The Bulldog, KICKS 99, 102.7 FM and WGUS 1480-AM in Augusta, Beasley also owns WGAC 93.1-FM, WCHZ 95.1-FM, WSLT 98.3-FM, WGAC 580-AM, and WRDW 1630-AM.

Transactions

KFMR-FM Phoenix (Sun City West AZ) from Desert West Air Ranchers Corporation to Sun City Communications LLC.

WRBZ-AM Raleigh NC from Alchemy Communications LP #1 to Curtis Media Group Inc.

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Stock Talk

Radio Stocks