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Volume 24, Issue 204, Jim Carnegie, Editor & Publisher
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Thursday Morning October 18th, 2007
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Radio News ®
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 Don Imus, down on the farm?
The NY Times website is reporting that Don Imus, who will begin broadcasting on WABC-AM NYC in December, is in "serious" discussions with Omaha-based RFD TV, a satellite and cable channel aimed primarily at rural demos and seen in 30 million homes (www.rfdtv.com). MSNBC simulcasted "Imus in the Morning" for 10 years. He was fired in April after making racially charged remarks. No deal has been signed yet, according to the story. Over Labor Day weekend, RFD broadcast a one-hour documentary about Imus' ranch in New Mexico, where he helps children with cancer and other life-threatening illnesses. As well, the special is being sold on DVD at Imus Ranch Foods' website.
RBR observation: If Imus were to sign with RFD, he'd only be seen in big cities by viewers who had satellite service - not cable viewers, as there are no carriage deals in major DMAs. RFD may be a great fit for Imus right now - they could be the only network that'll touch him at this stage; he has a good fit with rural America; and big cities may not be the best place for carriage now anyway. Needless to say, a deal with Imus would likely boost RFD's carriage and be an entrée into more popular programming. Typically, smaller cable networks like HDTV and the old TNN have grown carriage and become mainstream beginning with one or two "anchor" shows getting signed.
 Pence still pushing
Broadcaster Freedom Act
Mike Pence (R-IN) was able to get a bill through Congress earlier keeping reinstatement of the Fairness Doctrine off the table for a year, but his efforts for a more permanent piece of legislation have been stalled. He's now looking to force a vote by petition. According to the Washington Times, he needs 218 signatures from his peers in the House of Representatives to do this, which would require every Republican as a base, along with 18 members from across the aisle. Pence and Greg Walden (R-OR) have expressed concern that Democrats will bring the Fairness Doctrine back as an equalizer for conservative dominance of the radio Talk arena. Although some Democrats have mentioned the idea from time to time of late, there has been no concrete effort to restore the Doctrine. Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) tried to use the petition maneuver to force House consideration of Sen. Byron Dorgan's (D-ND) Resolution of Disapproval, an attack on the 2003 FCC media ownership rulemaking. Floor consideration of that measure, which passed in the Senate, was blocked by Republican leadership, and Hinchey was unable to get enough signatures from what across the aisle to force a vote. The Resolution was rendered moot when the Third Circuit Court remanded most of the rulemaking back to the FCC for reconsideration.
RBR observation: We suspect that Pence's petition effort will fail, but it won't really matter, since there does not seem to be any major effort to get a Fairness Doctrine restoration movement up and running. And while we're on the topic, the next time somebody goes on the radio, television or a newspaper OpEd page and says something, praise it or condemn it, but don't take a vote on it. Instead, celebrate the fact that we live in a nation where the person was completely free to say whatever it was they said.
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Boot and reboot
An attempt to kick a broadcaster off the air via denial of license renewal and replace him with another designated party has been rebuffed by the FCC. Roy E. Henderson's KNUZ-AM Bellville TX was the target of informal objections filed by Elizabeth P. Conway, Jeff Pullin and Nathan Simecek. The trio made a number of charges, such as failure to maintain a public file since 2002, broadcasting only two weeks annually, and others. They failed, however, to make any attempt to prove their allegations and Henderson refuted them via signed affidavit. The objectors had gone further, suggesting that once Henderson is removed, the station should go to Tony Johnson, who runs an unlicensed microstation called CAT-AM out of Monaville TX (a Part 15 0.05 watt AM station). Johnson's station was proposed for the KNUZ license because "they prefer its programming." This was a non-starter. "There is no statutory provision that would authorize the Commission to take such an action," the FCC explained. "In fact, the Commission is prohibited from accepting competing applications filed against applications for renewal of a broadcast radio station license."
RBR observation: Wow. A hostile takeover masquerading as a license renewal challenge. This is one FCC rule we're happy to stand behind.
 No split interest at Gannett
CEO Craig Dubow made it clear in his quarterly conference call that Gannett has looked at various options, such as splitting off the company's TV operations, but that any such move has been rejected. Comparing Gannett's situation to Belo, Dubow noted that Belo's TV operations generate two-thirds of its cash flow, so it makes sense to separate the TV group from the newspaper business. "When you look at our portfolio, we're virtually the opposite," he noted. And Dubow said the splitting of Scripps, which will keep newspaper and TV together, while splitting off cable and interactive, is creating something very much like Gannett in one of the two companies. So, he said, while Gannett's management has discussed possibilities, "our position has not changed." Broadcasting was one of the strong points for Gannett in Q3, with revenues down only 3.4% to 189.5 million, despite the loss of over 19 million in political advertising from a year earlier. TV revenues would have been down 5.1% on a same station basis, since two stations were acquired in 2006. Results from Gannett's newspapers in the UK also helped counter a drop in US newspaper ad sales. Newspaper ad revenues were down 5.6% to 1.19 billion. In all, Gannett's Q3 revenues were down 3.8% to 1.81 billion and net income fell 10.5% to 234 million, or one dollar and a penny per share. That still beat the Thomson/First Call analysts' consensus by one cent.
RBR observation: Gannett's broadcasting operations would be a fairly substantial company on their own, at least by TV sector standards, but broadcasting is only about a tenth of Gannett's total revenues. So, splitting off the TV group would still leave the much larger company weighed down by the valuations that investors ascribe to the struggling newspaper business. We note that Craig Dubow came from the TV side, so he understands the role that video is playing for newspapers in the growing broadband world online and the in-house expertise of 23 television stations is a valuable resource for the 85 daily newspapers to tap into.
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Ad Business Report TM
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Network Radio Upfront update
As the annual network radio upfront negotiating season is just beginning, RBR/SmartMedia is providing a weekly progress update, based on conversations with buyers and sellers in the marketplace for our annual two-part print feature. This week, we look at excerpts from "Digital media spend and network radio." You can't pick up an industry newsletter or paper today without seeing an article about the explosion of dollars going into new media. Clearly, the increasing digital media spending has impacted all traditional media spending. Susan Love, VP/Sales & Marketing, Jones MediaAmerica, has seen the most effect on their youth-oriented advertisers--candy, gum, soft drinks, health & beauty aids used to be huge network radio users. They still use the medium but to a lesser degree. "However, some formats like personality radio and our NFL/NCAA football and NASCAR do not seem to be affected by internet spending at all," she said.
 Recently, we've seen a lot of press about online media spending surpassing traditional radio broadcast as well. "Despite this radio has been able to keep a fairly consistent share of advertising dollars," explains Kim Vasey (pictured), Senior Partner/Director of Radio, mediaedge:cia. "I know the industry is always looking to grow its share. I think that with many of the new digital product offerings that the broadcast groups now offer that the industry can play in the digital spend arena. I have not seen the growth in spending in the digital media space effect my network budgets thus far. But that's not to say it isn't possible to happen in the future. Radio broadcast groups must be very aggressive in making clients aware of their digital platforms."
"That should come as no surprise as marketers struggle to target consumers in a Starbucks society driven by choice and individuality," notes Glenn Felty, Stratus Media CEO. "However, I believe the diversification of advertising budgets to online media can be complimentary to traditional network radio. Studies, such as the Harris study by RAEL, have already shown the powerful compliment of radio and online-that the combination of one internet ad and one radio ad is exponentially more effective than two internet ads in creating brand recall. I think very few advertisers have tapped into the power of 'radio plus online'. One of the hurdles, of course, is bringing network radio and interactive departments together at the agency in order to combine budgets and leverage both mediums. What we have seen lately is a rush to online, especially with the flurry of acquisitions in the vertical integration of technology, ad agencies and media. There is still a tremendous amount of education needed industry-wide on bringing new media and old media together."
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| HD RADIO 2007 |
iBiquity Digital expands HD Radio Seminar in China
iBiquity Digital's recent HD Radio Seminar in Shenzhen, China, held on the eve of the Hong Kong Electronics Fair, had to be expanded this year to accommodate increased demand from Asian component and product manufacturers. More than 300 execs, product planners, design engineers and production managers attended the two-day program which included presentations on product certification, factory setup, product design and planning. Companies attending included test and support services, to module manufacturers, ODMs, and brands from China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan all developing HD Radio products.
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| Media Business Report TM |
 Gannett goes to school
Gannett announced an online acquisition that it says will allow its local television stations and newspapers to offer advertisers a way to reach teens and their parents. The company has acquired a controlling interest in Schedule Star LLC, which operates HighSchoolSports.net and the Schedule Star tool for local athletic directors. Terms were not disclosed. "HighSchoolSports.net's network of thousands of high school sites - in communities of all sizes - is an unmatched experience for users as well as a national and hyper-local platform for advertisers. When partnered with Gannett's local newspapers, television stations and Web sites, HighSchoolSports.net will offer national and local advertisers an exciting, best-of-class vehicle to reach teens and parents," said Jack Williams, President of Gannett Digital. The other part of the acquisition, Schedule Star, is the engine that dynamically drives the HighSchoolSports.net network. It accurately generates and updates school's schedules, scores, stats, and game directions, and it can even alert parents and fans to game changes or cancellations.
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| Media Markets & Money TM |
Two more for Birach
Sima Birach is on a buying spree. A day after filing to acquire a station in Johnstown PA, another application for two more AMs hit the FCC transom. This time, the seller is Davidson Media. Birach will be picking up KJMU-AM, serving the Tulsa market from Sand Spring OK, and KTUV-AM in Little Rock AR. John Pierce was the broker for the 1.5M deal.
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| Washington Business Report TM |
Shield gets its second resounding thumbs up
It wasn't even close. The Federal Press Shield Law was passed by the House of Representatives by a 398-21 margin, getting an even higher percentage of yea votes than a similar bill received from the Senate Judiciary Committee, which voted 15-2 to move the bill forward. Rick Boucher (D-VA), John Conyers (D-MI), Mike Pence (R-IN), Howard Coble (R-NC) and John Yarmuth (D-KY) in the House and Sens. Richard Lugar (R-IN) and Christopher Dodd (D-CT) in the Senate have been the driving forces behind the measure. "Thanks to all RTNDA members who took the time to contact their representatives in support of the federal shield law. They sent a message that protecting confidential sources not only safeguards a free press, but also preserves the public's right to know," RTNDA president Barbara Cochran said. "We'll focus on the Senate next to keep the momentum going." There may be overwhelming support for the bill in Congress, but the White House is known to be opposed to the bill, meaning an Oval Office signature may be hard to come by.
 FCC aims 96K in fines at retailers
Another round of fines has been announced, headed for consumer electronics outlets which were caught selling analog-only television gear without the now-requisite consumer alert. A warning must be displayed in the direct vicinity of any such equipment, and it "must be in a size of type large enough to be clear, conspicuous and readily legible with the dimensions of the equipment and the label." It must either be displayed directly on the item or immediately adjacent to it. The fines go for 8K a pop, and were levied for DVD players, DVD/VCR combos and 13" television sets. The geographic range was impressive, ranging from Garden City NY to Beaverton OR, and from Birmingham AL to Anchorage AK. Fred Meyer Store and Ultimate Electronics received three citations each for a 24K total; Boscov's and Radioshack each were hit twice for 16K, and Gregg Appliances d/b/a HHGregg and Trans World Entertainment d/b/a F.Y.E. each took a one-time 8K hit.
RBR observation: If we require labels on all analog radio receivers, would it speed up the adoption of HD?
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| TVBR TV News |
Martin comes out strong for multicast must-carry
At the latest House hearing on the DTV Transition, Kevin Martin said that broadcast multicasting was an excellent way to make consumer acquisition of digital equipment a positive rather than a negative sell, and that it should be emphasized as we move toward the DTV deadline. He advocated a multicast must carry requirements for cable operators. Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA) told Martin at the hearing held by the Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet that he is the quarterback of the DTV transition. If he gets his multicast plan through, he will be a very popular player at NAB, but not so much over at NCTA.
Martin said that the pitch to consumers currently in place -- upgrade of lost service -- is negative. He said that broadcaster's ability to provide extra streams of programming, with no additional spectrum required, at no extra charge, was a positive reason for consumers to upgrade. He said this was the approach used in Germany's successful DTV transition. At least one representative, Nathan Deal (R-GA), will oppose such a requirement, saying that what channels are and are not carried on a cable system is best determined by the free market. He called such a proposal "disturbing" and also asked for a digital/analog dual carriage exemption for small cable operators. Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR) reported that converter box coupons will look just like a gift card, a good thing he said since it will be familiar to most consumers. Fred Upton (R-MI) noted that there will be so many bright lights being focused on the transition, including major efforts by stakeholders, that he expects a relatively easy transition. Upton also said he thought the FCC should look into licensing white space between television stations, rather than opening up the spectrum to unlicensed devices.
TVBR observation: If you look at broadcast must-carry as a station's right to occupy a given slice of bandwidth, then it should not matter to the cable operator how the station uses its slice. If it's broadcasting in high-definition, it might use all of it for one stream. If it isn't in high-def, it can fit more stations into the same slice. It is a settled matter that broadcasters have a right to their slice of a cable system, and it follows that a cable operator must simply pass along what the broadcaster is putting out. Period.
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| Transactions |
350K WRFE-FM Chesterfield SC from Christian Educational Association (Juan Carlos Matos) to Positive Alternative Radio Inc. (Vernon H. Baker, Edward A. Baker, Virginia L. Baker, Vanessa Baker Pavlik). Cash less 50% of LMA payments. Price may rise to 500K if CP to upgrade to Class C2 is granted. Station in noncommercial. [File date 10/4/07.]
173K KDJF-FM CP Fairbanks AK (Delta Junction AK) from Radio Layne LLC (Scott Powell, Amy Meredith) to Tanana Valley Television Company (William St. Pierre, Gene Garderer, Mike Young, Greg Wagner). Two 7.5K escrow deposits, balance in cash at closing. Seller will have to return 25% bidding credit to FCC. Duopoly with KYSC-FM Fairbanks, cross-ownership with KFXF-TV Fairbanks (Fox Ch. 7). Station is moving to Ester AK. CP is for Class C on 93.5 MHz with 100 kw @ 1,549'. [File date 10/4/07.]
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| Stock Talk |
No direction on Wednesday
A mix of good and bad earnings reports and continued worries about the economy left the stock market without direction on Wednesday. The Dow Industrials finished with a decline of 20 points to 13,893, but the Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 were up a bit.
Radio stocks joined the down side. The Radio Index fell 1.439, or 1.2%, to 120.780. Emmis took a fall of 4.6%. Salem was down 2.8% and Entercom 2.5%.
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| Radio Stocks |
Here's how stocks fared on Wednesday
| Company |
Symbol |
Close |
Change |
Company |
Symbol |
Close |
Change |
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Arbitron
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ARB
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44.79
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+0.16
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Google
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GOOG
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633.48
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+17.48
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Beasley
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BBGI
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7.70
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-0.08
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Hearst-Argyle
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HTV
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23.47
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+0.06
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| CBS CI. B |
CBS |
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29.70
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+0.34
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Journal Comm.
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JRN
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9.47
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-0.01
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| CBS CI. A |
CBSa |
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29.65
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+0.26
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Lincoln Natl.
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LNC
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65.94
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-0.15
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| Citadel |
CDL |
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4.23 |
unch |
Radio One, Cl. A
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ROIA
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3.62
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unch
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Clear Channel
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CCU
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37.93
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+0.28
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Radio One, Cl. D
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ROIAK
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3.63
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+0.02
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Cox Radio
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CXR
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12.67
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-0.16
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Regent
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RGCI
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2.45
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+0.03
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Cumulus
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CMLS
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10.51
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+0.05
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Saga Commun.
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SGA
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7.84
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-0.12
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Debut Bcg.
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DBTB
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1.02
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+0.22
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Salem Comm.
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SALM
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8.11
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-0.23
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Disney
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DIS
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35.38
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+0.37
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Sirius Sat. Radio
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SIRI
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3.66
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+0.06
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Emmis
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EMMS
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5.23
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-0.25
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Spanish Bcg.
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SBSA
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2.73
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-0.03
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Entercom
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ETM
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18.70
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-0.48
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SWMX
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SMWX
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0.04
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+0.01
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Entravision
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EVC
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9.61
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-0.16
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Westwood One
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WON
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2.40
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-0.04
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Fisher
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FSCI
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50.00
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+0.33
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XM Sat. Radio
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XMSR
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15.51
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+0.13
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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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Ad Business Report
Radio's Upfront and new media
Yes, new media offerings are impacting radio ad sales, but not all formats are feeling it the same way.
Media, Markets & Money
Two more for Birach
Sima Birach's buying spree has taken him to Oklahoma and Arkansas.
Media Business Report
Gannett goes to school
Gannett announced an online acquisition that it says will allow its local television stations and newspapers to offer advertisers a way to reach teens and their parents.
Washington Business Report
Shield moving on Capitol Hill
The Federal Press Shield Law breezed through a Senate Committee after overwhelming approval by the House.
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Stations for Sale
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 Market your Stations For Sale
in our daily epapers.
Contact
June Barnes
[email protected]
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Radio Media Moves
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Packer to
Radio America
Veteran programmer Michael Packer has joined Radio America as its VP of Programming. Packer will oversee all existing Radio America programs as well as develop new talk talent for daily and weekly offerings.
Upped at NPR
Maria Thomas has been promoted to Senior Vice President, Digital Media, at National Public Radio. She has led NPR's digital media expansion for the past six years. Her previous title was VP/GM.
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More News Headlines
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Carat wins Outback Steakhouse, Carrabba's
OSI Restaurant Partners has awarded its media account for Outback Steakhouse and Carrabba's to Carat. The 110 million assignment will include on and offline media planning and buying, outdoor, digital, direct mail and emerging media. Carat will work with its sister agencies on this account, with outdoor being handled by Posterscope USA. Velocity Sports and Entertainment currently handles the sports marketing account for Outback Steakhouse.
NYT Co. dissident bails
Both the Wall Street Journal and TheStreet.com report that Morgan Stanley Investment Management (MSIM) has sold its entire 7.2% stake in the New York Times Company as the stock hit a 52-week low. MSIM manager Hassan Elmasry had battled for over two years with NYT Co. management, pressing to eliminate the super-voting stock rights that give the Ochs-Sulzberger family majority voting control with a minority ownership stake.
SBS launches
"DirecTV MAS"
Spanish Broadcasting System has launched a new channel on DirecTV-"MEGA TV" (Channel 22 Miami) began nationwide yesterday on DirecTV MAS, Channel 405. The agreement is a landmark deal for SBS as it secures national distribution for its programming only a year and a half after inaugurating operations in Miami. In addition, SBS is adding a morning offering by capitalizing on SBS radio formats with shows from LA and New York.
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RBR Radar 2007
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Radio News you won't read any where else. RBR--First, Accurate, and Independently Owned.
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"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
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.
10/17/07 RBR #203
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.
TVBR observation: Who's next? Wall Street applauded as Belo announced a split - and now investors are cheering this move by Scripps. It seems unlikely that Gannett will follow suit. The TV business is a relatively small portion of the newspaper giant and it is the main business line, print, which is a drag on the stock price. There are hopes on Wall Street, though, that Media General might do a similar split into newspaper and TV companies. Even post-split, E.W. Scripps is going to see its valuation driven more by the struggling newspaper business than the more robust television side. TV accounted for 364 million of 2006 revenues and 121 million of profits, while newspapers owned solely by Scripps brought in 716 million of revenues and 189 million of profits.
10/17/07 TVBR #203
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RBR Classifieds
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New Listing
General Manager
Fisher Radio, 5 stations cluster in Great Falls, MT needs a GM with passion for radio and a proven track record. Getting involved with the community necessary and to lead by example as we at Fisher Radio are committed to our people and local communities, E.O.E.
Additional Positions
Available in RBR Classifieds.
See Radio Careers.
Hard finding that key person
to fill the important position at your organization? RBR Classifieds, Results with Service. Contact April McLynn at [email protected]
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