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Welcome to RBR's Daily Epaper
Volume 24, Issue 203, Jim Carnegie, Editor & Publisher
Wednesday Morning October 17th, 2007

Radio News ®

"Game over" in
electronic ratings race?

The folks at The Media Audit/Ipsos would no doubt disagree, but CL King analyst Jim Boyle says "it is game over, we think" now that Arbitron now has PPM contracts covering about 90% of the radio revenues in the top 50 markets. With this week's addition of Radio One, Boyle notes that Arbitron has signed PPM deals with nine of the top 10 groups and 13 of the top 15. Arbitron reports its Q3 financial results tomorrow and will provide guidance to The Street. Boyle has a "Neutral" rating on the stock and notes that his estimate of 1.37 in earnings per share for all of 2007 is five cents below the consensus. He thinks that will take into account the extra spending Arbitron is doing on PPM to hit in-tab delivery guarantees and avoid have to make rebate payments to stations. "Even if no PPM rebate is ever paid, the higher-than expected-costs to avoid crossing the guarantee level should be an investor concern, in our view. If the rebound has largely occurred and minimal added costs are needed, that's a plus for ARB's margins improving as expected next year. However, a new cry has arisen from radio clients that want the rebate extended to shortfalls in select demographics, where the participation shortfall is often 40%-50% below goal and might require longer, higher incentives to fix," Boyle told clients in a research note.

RBR observation: Several large radio groups, led by Clear Channel, are still committed to finance testing of the TMA/Ipsos system as a cheaper and, they hope, even better alternative to PPM. It may be premature to call "game over" until that funding dries up. Arbitron contracts do not run forever. For example, the Radio One contract is for five years. So, how would a potential transition work? Radio groups could continue to honor their contracts for PPM and pay for the rollout of TMA/Ipsos, but then not renew for PPM as their contracts expire. This, however, would assume success on two fronts: 1) That the TMA/Ipsos system is proven to work as well as or better than PPM; and 2) The cost savings are big enough to justify the radio groups taking a short-term hit from paying for two ratings services. Those are two big "ifs" and Arbitron clearly has a market advantage by having PPM already up and running and rapidly expanding to additional markets.

Bear Stearns analyst
still a bear on radio

Bear Stearns analyst Vic Miller is out with new projections for 2008 - and he is not optimistic about radio, ranking the sector "Underweight" for investors. Miller sees potential positives for revenues, including election spending, but also negatives, such as share loss to the Internet, so he is betting on another flat year for radio. As our readers no doubt know, 2007 has not been a good year for radio stocks. Miller notes that the average radio stock has lost 30% this year, while the average TV stock rose 35% (excluding companies involved in buyouts and such). The analyst notes that TV valuations now exceed radio for the first time since the 1996-97 timeframe. TV has benefited from a second revenue stream from retransmission consent, opportunities in the increasingly video-focused broadband Internet world and, of course, the growth of political ad spending.

"2008 industry revenues look flattish; while political dollars, the Internet, 'fewer industry negatives,' interest rate cuts and a potential 'reach/CUME' story could aid radio in 2008, economic forces (oil and higher interest rates are weakening households' disposable income), continued share loss to the Internet, expense growth and lack of industry consensus may take a toll on 2008 industry revenues/EBITDA," Miller said in his note to clients. And he notes that there are unknowns as well - potential disruption from the PPM rollout and whether operators will hold the line on rates or "play for share" if the economy worsens. Despite his bearish view on the sector, Miller does have some radio stock favorites: Cox Radio for its takeout value, Citadel for its "multi-pronged opportunities" and Radio One for its valuation.

September radio worse than expected?
CL King analyst Jim Boyle has warned investors that September radio revenues appear to have been weaker than expected. He thinks the tally eventually released by RAB could show a revenue decline of 3%, not the 1% gain that is the current consensus of his fellow Wall Street analysts. Based on his contacts in a range of markets, Boyle says small- to mid-markets again outperformed the big markets in September, but not by much. "Slow to no growth persists," Boyle told clients. "Our expectation is for Q3 radio industry revenue to be down 2%; the Street is looking for a flat Q3," he concluded.


Presidential campaigns
pull in over 400M

20 candidates for president have been collecting funds, and their collective total has now grown to 416.1M. The bulk of the cash has been going to Democrats, who enjoy a 241.0M to 175.1M advantage. Eight Democrats and 12 Republicans are on the Federal Election Commission report. However, two of the Republicans, Tommy Thompson (R-WI) and Jim Gilmore (R-VA) have formally exited the race, and one newcomer, Fred Thompson (R-TN) has been added to the list. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) leads all comers and had the best quarter, bringing in 26.5M to Barack Obama's (D-IL) 20.8M in receipts. No other Democrats were able to add cash at a double-digit pace.

On the Republican side, Mitt Romney (R-MA) has amassed the most cash and picked up 18.1M during Q3, but he also chipped in nearly 9M out of his own pocket, more by far than the other 19 candidates combined -- only six have donated to themselves, and the only significant amount is the 935K John Cox (R-IL) has used to seed his own longshot campaign. Rudy Giuliani (R-NY) added 11.3M to his coffers and Fred Thompson (R-TN) went from zero to 12.7M during the quarter. The fastest pace has been set by Ron Paul (R-TX), whose outsider Libertarian stances have generated a lot of internet buzz along with a healthy dose of free media coverage. But even though he doubled his take and then some, he is still far down the list with only 8.2M in total receipts so far.
| View the Chart |

TNS finds the political hot spots
The crystal ball gazers over at TNS Media Intelligence see between 2.5B-3B in political spending in 2008, on top of 700M spent this year in the run-up to actual voting. It also took a look at where it thinks a lot of the cash will be directed. Holding the early primaries catapult Iowa and New Hampshire to the top of the list. Both will likely be battlegrounds in the general election, and both have competitive House races, plus Democrats have painted a big target on Sen. John Sununu (R-NH). Battleground states Florida, Ohio, Colorado, Maine, Minnesota, Missouri, Pennsylvania and Louisiana all figure to attract national cash during the general election, and CO, ME, MN and LA also have hot Senate races. California also made the list because of its propensity for hard-fought ballot initiative battles.

Other states predicted to generate political dollars include Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin. High demand is predicted to spread the wealth. Although television will benefit from the bulk of campaign advertising budgets, TNS expects "the need for more ad inventory in several battleground states." Because of this, "radio and newspapers should also see significant increases in political ad dollars in a number of states."

Fred Thompson puts the
focus on the campaign

One-time events crowded out a lot of the ongoing coverage type stories during the week of 10/7/07-10/12/07, according to the latest news coverage study from the Project for Excellence in Journalism. Shootings in Cleveland and Wisconsin received play in the media. But no single story was able to eclipse the ongoing coverage of the presidential race. The first debate for latecomer Fred Thompson (R-TN) was the cause for much of the attention. In an otherwise fairly diffuse coverage week, it was the one and only story that made all five individual top ten lists. The flip side is that there were ten stories that only made it on one list. Scandals involving athlete Marion Jones and Senator Larry Craig (R-ID) were the biggest stories to completely disappear.
| Top ten lists here |


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Wall Street Business Report TM
DG prepares to raise cash
DG FastChannel has filed a shelf registration with the SEC to sell up to 3.5 million new common shares and up to 25 million bucks worth of preferred stock. The company says the proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes. DG FastChannel business focuses on digital delivery of commercials and other content to radio and television stations.


Ad Business Report TM

Baja Fresh signs with KIIS-FM LA and Ryan Seacrest
California-based Baja Fresh Mexican Grill announced it has begun a local radio campaign on KIIS-FM Los Angeles. The host of the KIIS-FM morning show, Ryan Seacrest, will voice the commercials during a 26 week radio campaign that features daily live announcements about the best that Baja Fresh has to offer. "KIIS FM and Ryan were a perfect fit for Baja Fresh," said James Walker, President of Baja Fresh. "The popularity of KIIS FM and Ryan's morning show touches so many different audiences making them the perfect fit to help spread the word about the wonderful products we serve at all of our locations."

D&R Radio signs Dittman Broadcasting in Mobile
Interep announced its D&R Radio Sales national representation firm has signed an agreement with privately-held Dittman Broadcasting to represent WABB-AM (news/talk) and WABB-FM (CHR) in Mobile, AL. Kevin Cassidy, President, D&R Radio Sales, said, "Dittman Broadcasting's locally owned heritage stations in Mobile are a vibrant part of the community. We look forward to conveying this strong bond to national advertisers interested in reaching consumers in that market."


Media Business Report TM
MangoMOBILE fuels Nissan's shift into mobile marketing
MangoMOBILE, an Omnicom company and mobile marketing solutions provider, announces the launch of a mobile marketing campaign to support the launch of the Nissan Rogue crossover vehicle. MangoMOBILE worked with TEQUILA\, a division of TBWA Worldwide, to create a series of online ad units that empower consumers to download Rogue-themed content, including a fully-branded advergame. Flash-based "Online2Mobile" ad units streamline the process for acquiring of mobile content by eliminating the need for consumers to enter their mobile carrier, device make and model, or having to click through to a microsite. Consumers simply enter their mobile number directly into the ad unit and click "submit." All Nissan Rogue mobile content is offered free to the consumer, less standard carrier messaging and data fees.

Courvoisier launches campaign
to "Find Greatness Within"

Beam Global Spirits & Wine and Courvoisier Cognacannounced the launch of "Find Greatness Within," the brand's first advertising and positioning campaign since 2005. The newly launched Courvoisier Exclusif and Courvoisier VSOP are featured in various publications in October and November. In addition to the marques, the campaign features Jermaine "JD" Dupri, renowned producer and founder of So-So Def Records. The ads feature Dupri posing with a snifter of Courvoisier VSOP. All the "layers" critical to his success are featured around him as a crest and are depicted in the ad including records, his drum set, music clefs, the skyline of Atlanta-Dupri's hometown, and basketballs, as he is a passionate basketball fan. The sidebar reads, "Jermaine Dupri. Artist, Music Mogul, Basketball Fanatic."


Media Markets & Money TM
Birach takes Forever to buy station
Actually, Sima Birach and his Birach Broadcasting Corporation is buying a station from Forever. He'll be paying 230K for WNTJ-AM in Johnstown PA. A 30K escrow payment will be held by broker John Piece, who handled the deal. Birach specializes in niche AM stations. This will be its only station in the Johnstown area. It has an operation not too far away, however, in Pittsburgh.


Washington Business Report TM
Senate Commerce Committee teeing up radio
The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation has a date with the radio business on 10/24/07. A hearing called the Future of Radio will be held to "assess the state of innovation and competition" in the biz. The session will kick off at 10AM. No other details are yet available.

RBR observation: This would be a good time to discuss tax credits. But watch out -- if John McCain (R-AZ) can drag himself away from the campaign trail long enough to attend this session, it could turn into a discussion of LPFM.

Hutchison weighing early exit from Senate
Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) has announced that this will be her final term as a US senator, and she may even exit early, if she decides to run for governor of her state in 2010. If she were to win that race, she would be able as governor to appoint a successor to finish off her term, which will be voted on by citizens in November 2012. Hutchison is a member of the influential Senate Commerce Committee. On broadcast issues, she is one of the group of Republicans who have occasionally cast their support for anti-consolidation measures such as the Byron Dorgan (D-ND)/Trent Lott (R-MS) repudiation of the FCC's 2003 ownership rulemaking.


Entertainment Business Report TM
Dodgers return
to KABC-AM

Citadel's KABC-AM Los Angeles has reclaimed the role of radio home of the LA Dodgers, which have been on CBS' KFWB-AM since 2003 and last on KABC in 1997. Under the new deal taking effect next month, KABC will carry play-by-play, pre- and post-game shows and a new weekly talk show for baseball fans. "This is a grand-slam homerun for KABC listeners and advertisers," said John Davison, President and General Manager of KABC-AM & KLOS-FM. In addition to having the English-language rights to broadcast all 162 regular-season games and 15 Spring Training games, the KABC station will partner with the Dodgers on a fully-integrated marketing campaign, promoting the team on sister station KLOS-FM and in an outdoor advertising campaign. Pictured at the announcement in LA are Dodgers owner Frank H. McCourt Jr.; Davison; Jamie McCourt, Vice Chairman and President/LA Dodgers; Vin Scully, Broadcaster and Voice of the LA Dodgers; and Matt Mallon, KABC General Sales Manager.


Internet Business Report TM
Inergize Digital Media to Google email
through station websites

Inergize Digital Media, the interactive Web services arm of Clear Channel Television, announced it is deploying a new free e-mail service through Google Apps-Google's web-based platform for communication and collaboration. The service will be launched in Tulsa, where Inergize manages the website of KOKI-TV Fox23. Tulsa viewers can receive a personalized homepage and a vanity e-mail address linked to local domain names including sports fan affiliations and the Tulsa market. Google Apps' tools include Gmail webmail services, Google Docs, Google Calendar shared calendaring, Google Talk IM and VoIP, and the Start Page feature for creating a customizable home page on a specific domain. This partnership makes Inergize the first media company in the U.S. to offer the Google Apps service.

YouTube unveils copyright controls technology
YouTube has rolled out its long-awaited technology to automatically remove copyrighted clips, hoping to satisfy movie and television studios fed up with the site's piracy issues-and alleviate further lawsuits like the one from Viacom, which sued it for 1 billion. The filtering tools are designed so video copyright owners can block their material from appearing, but also gives them the option to sell ads around their content if they want the clips to remain available. YouTube needs cooperation of the copyright owners for its filtering system to work. Movie and TV studios will have to provide decades of copyrighted material and data if they don't want it to appear on the site. To find and remove copyrighted music, YouTube already uses separate filtering tools developed by Audible Magic.


Ratings & Research
Consumers to take cautious approach to Holiday shopping
Though shoppers still plan to spend more on the holidays this year than last, consumers say their spending will be a bit restrained this holiday season. According to NRF's 2007 Holiday Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey, conducted by BIGresearch, U.S. consumers plan to spend an average of 816.69 on holiday-related shopping. In addition, these shoppers will spend an additional 106.67 on special "non-gift" purchases by taking advantage of special promotions and discounts to treat themselves. This brings total planned holiday-related spending to 923.36, an increase of 3.7% from 2006 and in line with NRF's economic forecast of 4%. Discounters can expect the most traffic as 68.4% of consumers plan to shop there (compared to 70.3% in 2006). Department Stores will also see a lion's share of traffic as 58.2% will choose this format (vs. 61.6% last year). Other popular destinations include grocery stores (44.6% in 2007 vs. 49.3% in 2006) and online (44.3% in 2007 vs. 47.1% in 2006). The Internet will once again play a crucial role for retailers this holiday season as consumers, on average, plan to do 30.2% of their shopping online compared to 28.9% in 2006.


Music Business Report
Madonna's deal is done
Live Nation and Madonna finally confirmed yesterday that they have struck an exclusive deal covering concerts, albums and just about everything else that Madonna has to sell. They did not, however, disclose the financial terms, although the package had been rumored to guarantee Madonna 120 million over 10 years (10/12/07 RBR #200). "The paradigm in the music business has shifted and as an artist and a business woman, I have to move with that shift. For the first time in my career, the way that my music can reach my fans is unlimited. I've never wanted to think in a limited way and with this new partnership, the possibilities are endless. Who knows how my albums will be distributed in the future? That's what's exciting about this deal -- everything is possible. Live Nation has offered me a true partnership and after 25 years in the business, I feel that I deserve that," said Madonna in announcing the move away from a singer's traditional link with a record label. The first-of-its-kind partnership between Madonna and Live Nation encompasses all of Madonna's future music and music-related businesses, including the exploitation of the Madonna brand, new studio albums, touring, merchandising, fan club/web site, DVD's, music-related television and film projects and associated sponsorship agreements.


HD RADIO 2007
iBiquity re-launches retail training website
iBiquity Digital has re-launched its retail sales training website, www.hdradiouniversity.com. It offers a new, cleaner interface, more content, more interoperability, more user friendly, etc. One big difference is that the new HD Radio University site opens with an informative rich-media video, featuring leading consumer electronics product educator David Chalk. Developed in collaboration with Chalk Media Corp. utilizing the state-of-the-art chalkboard learning platform, HD Radio University is designed to educate the tens of thousands of retail sales people currently selling HD Radio products in an informative and fun way. The first training program is titled "The HD Radio Story," the learning site covers the basics of HD Radio Technology as well as new advanced features such as the recently announced iPod iTunes Tagging for HD Radio Technology. HD Radio University is an interactive learning website designed to give retailers the tools they need to increase their knowledge of HD Radio Technology and products. It includes tips for bringing the features and benefits of the category to the consumers' attention.


Transactions
3.6M WAVH-FM Mobile AL (Daphne AL) from Barry Wood dba Baldwin Broadcasting Co. Reorganized (Barry D. Wood) to Bigler Broadcasting LLC (Donald G. Bigler). 500K loan agreement, cash. Sale pending failure to find higher bidder for the station, in which case Bigler will receive 3% of the highest bid as a breakup fee plus up to 30K in expenses. Earlier offers to acquire station have come from both Cumulus Media and Styles Media. [File date 10/4/07.]

100K WLSC-AM Myrtle Beach SC (Loris SC) from J.A.R.C Broadcasting Inc. (Chris Poulos) to Banana Jack Murphy Productions LLC (Barbara Krumm Blackmon, James M. Blackmon). 5K down payment, balance in cash at closing. [File date 10/4/07.]


Stock Talk
Big Ben sends stocks lower
Stock prices fell Tuesday after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said in a Monday night speech that the housing market remains a "significant drag" on the economy. The Dow Industrials were down 72 points, or 0.5%, to 13,913.

Radio stocks were lower. The Radio Index declined 0.224, or 0.2%, to 122.219. Citadel slumped 4.1% as the worst performer. Salem was one of the few gainers, up 3.3%.


Radio Stocks

Here's how stocks fared on Tuesday

Company Symbol Close Change Company Symbol Close Change

Arbitron

ARB

44.63

+0.69

Google

GOOG

616.00

-4.11

Beasley

BBGI

7.78

+0.07

Hearst-Argyle

HTV

23.41

-0.12

CBS CI. B CBS

29.36

+0.07

Journal Comm.

JRN

9.48

-0.24

CBS CI. A CBSa

29.39

+0.06

Lincoln Natl.

LNC

66.09

-1.68

Citadel CDL
4.23 -0.18

Radio One, Cl. A

ROIA

3.62

-0.03

Clear Channel

CCU

37.65

-0.15

Radio One, Cl. D

ROIAK

3.61

-0.03

Cox Radio

CXR

12.83

-0.12

Regent

RGCI

2.42

-0.17

Cumulus

CMLS

10.46

+0.01

Saga Commun.

SGA

7.96

+0.18

Debut Bcg.

DBTB

0.80

unch

Salem Comm.

SALM

8.34

+0.26

Disney

DIS

35.01

-0.13

Sirius Sat. Radio

SIRI

3.60

-0.03

Emmis

EMMS

5.48

-0.04

Spanish Bcg.

SBSA

2.76

-0.07

Entercom

ETM

19.18

+0.01

SWMX

SMWX

0.03

-0.01

Entravision

EVC

9.77

-0.04

Westwood One

WON

2.44

-0.08

Fisher

FSCI

49.67

+0.55

XM Sat. Radio

XMSR

15.38

-0.06


Bounceback

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Below the Fold
Ad Business Report
Baja Fresh signs
With KIIS-FM LA & Ryan Seacrest will voice the commercials...

Washington Business Report
Senate Commerce Committee
Teeing up radio but word to the wise, this would be a good time to discuss tax credits...

Media Markets & Money
Birach takes Forever
To buy station. Actually, Birach is buying a station from Forever...

HD Radio 2007
iBiquity re-launches
Retail training website, offering cleaner interface more user friendly content...




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Radio Media Moves

Van Dyke
to ABCRN

ABC Radio Networks announced the appointment of Dave Van Dyke to Vice President, Affiliate Relations, overseeing News/Talk affiliate relations for all products which include ABC News Radio. Van Dyke will be based in ABC Radio Networks Dallas headquarters reporting to TJ Lambert, SVP/Affiliate Relations. Van Dyke is the former VP/GM of KCBS-FM Los Angeles.

VCI selects Caird
VCI Solutions, supplier of media revenue solutions for the broadcast and cable industry, has selected Ron Caird as Director of Sales for its Automation Division. Caird will be responsible for managing the expanding sales of the autoXe automation product line, including the new autoXe MC product. Prior to joining VCI, Caird was DOS for Broadcast Stations and Groups at Pathfire, Inc.

Moonves
staying a while

CBS Corporation announced that Les Moonves has signed a new contract extending his employment as CEO through September 30, 2011. In announcing the new contract, CBS Executive Chairman praised Moonves. "What he has accomplished since we unleashed the new CBS Corporation has exceeded all my expectations. There is no better CEO in America, and I have no doubt that his success will only continue as he leads CBS into the next decade," said Redstone. Under the new contract, Moonves will actually receive a smaller salary - 3.5 million per year, down from 5.9 million, although that included 2.9 million in deferred compensation. But Moonves will heavy up on CBS stock. He gets a one time option to purchase five million shares and he gets restricted stock units valued at 7.6 million per year.




More News Headlines

Howie Carr
still off the air

A Massachusetts judge yesterday reaffirmed his earlier decision blocking Howie Carr from becoming morning Talk host for Greater Media's WTKK-FM Boston, since Entercom's WRKO-AM had matched the offer under terms of his contract before it had expired. Carr plans to appeal. Meanwhile, Entercom still wants him back. "Everyone at Entercom is looking forward to getting back to work with Mr. Carr and hopes that he will honor his contractual obligation and resume broadcasting on WRKO as soon as possible," said a statement released by Entercom's lawyers.

"Mama Carlson" actress dead
Actress Carol Bruce, who played the station owner and mother of the "Big Guy," station manager Arthur Carlson (the late Gordon Jump) on CBS' "WKRP in Cincinnati," has died. She was 87. Bruce was actually the second "Mama Carlson," joining the show for its second season in 1979 and continuing until the series ended in 1982. The late Sylvia Sidney was cast in the role for the series pilot. (A bit of trivia: Bruce was actually only 13 years older than Jump.)

AAR's Randi Rhodes not victim of hate crime
Looks like the blogosphere got the better of folks this week. It was all over the net (TalkingRadio blog) that Air America Radio host Randi Rhodes was mugged on Sunday night in NYC while she was walking her dog. According to posts, AAR host Jon Elliott said Rhodes was mugged and beaten, losing several teeth. The blogs claimed Elliott wondered on-air that because Rhodes was wearing a jogging suit and displayed no purse or jewelry that it did not appear to be a "standard grab the money and run mugging...Is this an attempt by the right wing hate machine to silence one of our own? Are we threatening them. Are they afraid that we're winning. Are they trying to silence intimidate us?" However, the claim she was brutally attacked are bogus, her lawyer and a police source told the NY Daily News: "A police source said Rhodes never filed a report and never claimed to be the victim of a mugging. Cops from Manhattan's 17th Precinct called her attorney, who told them Rhodes was not a victim of a crime, the source said." Rhodes' lawyer told the paper she was injured in a fall while walking her dog. He said she's not sure what happened, and only knows that she fell down and is in a lot of pain. The lawyer said Rhodes expects to be back on the air Thursday. He stressed there is no indication she was targeted or that she was the victim of a "hate crime."




TVBR - TV News

Wall Street applauds Scripps split
Scripps shares jumped 8.6% on Tuesday after the company announced plans to split into two companies. The current E.W. Scripps Company will retain the newspapers and TV stations, while the cable networks and online shopping comparison operations will be spun off into a new Scripps Networks Interactive. Current CEO Ken Lowe will go with the newbie, while COO Richard Boehne moves up to the top job at the newspaper/TV company. In a conference call with Wall Street analysts, the two explained the division as a split between national media, cable/online, and local media, newspapers/TV. Now that the decision to divide the company has been made by the board of directors, Lowe says the company is no longer considering the possibility of selling the TV group. Both of the new companies will still be controlled by The Edward W. Scripps Trust, with the right to elect a majority of the board members via its Common Voting Shares, which are not publicly traded, as opposed to the publicly traded Class A shares. That system of two classes of stock will continue for both companies. The makeup of each board of directors will be announced later. Both companies will be headquartered in Cincinnati.

Scripps Networks Interactive will be anchored by the company's two most successful cable channels, HGTV and Food Network. By the way, much as Lowe would like to be able to buy up the one-third of Food Network owned by Tribune Company, he says no talks are currently taking place. Other cable networks will include DIY Network, Fine Living and Great American Country. The spin-off will also own the Shopzilla and uSwitch Internet sites for comparative shopping. It is estimated that the new company will have annual revenues of around 1.4 billion and 2,100 employees. Meanwhile, the stripped-down E.W. Scripps Company will retain daily and community newspapers in 17 markets and 10 TV stations, including six ABC affiliates, three NBC and one independent. It will have revenues of around 1.1 billion and 7,100 employees. Bond analysts on the conference call were happy to hear that the two companies will be refinancing their debt, rather than leaving all of the bond debt with the newspaper/TV company. In fact, it will end up with no more than 100 million in debt, while the new cable/Internet company will have around 465 million. Even so, Moody's immdediately put E.W. Scripps on review for a possible ratings downgrade.




RBR Radar 2007
Radio News you won't read any where else. RBR--First, Accurate, and Independently Owned.

Radio One signs for PPM
Radio One had been encoding for PPM in Houston and Philadelphia, but not buying the data. Now, with PPM on the horizon for Los Angeles, Radio One has signed a group deal. Amid complaints being voiced that Urban and Spanish stations have suffered the biggest ratings drops in the conversion from diaries to PPM, Arbitron was careful to include quotes in its announcement from Radio One CEO Alfred Liggins citing the upside of PPM for Urban stations.
10/16/07 RBR #202


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