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Volume 21, Issue 213, Jim Carnegie, Editor & Publisher
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Monday Morning November 1st, 2004
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Radio News®
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 "Less is More" is on a fast track
Clear Channel Radio CEO John Hogan says implementation of the company's "Less is More" (LIM) initiative is being speeded up. Rather than waiting until January, Clear Channel managers are now expected to have LIM in place in their markets by mid-December. The move to reduce inventory and clutter was first implemented at WSNI-FM Philadelphia and Hogan says the initial read is that it is working. He says the station is pacing up for Q4, with a higher percentage sellout and higher rates. Clear Channel officials say advertisers are showing interest in the company's attempt to sell 30-second spots, priced at 75% of the rate for 60s.  Under questioning from analysts, Hogan said Clear Channel is not trying to get premium rates for 30s, but rather is offering advertisers premium positions at premium rates. He said the company is already "getting availed" on 30s, so "the impact is being felt already." Hogan said many salespeople were skeptical of LIM at first, but now understand the program and are enthusiastic. He noted that Clear Channel is revising its compensation system so that sales reps are paid based on the value of the business they bring in, not just total dollars, to improve the company's profitability.
RBR observation: Listen to Hogan's audio clip and you will hear where the premium is heading. One stop set is called the 'Island Position' where one advertiser owns that set. Unclear the length of the set but in respect it breathes similar to television getting content into the programming. Content already with NBC's American Dreams with Campbell's soup. Fort Lauderdale-based auto retailer AutoNation, which spends around $25M only on local advertising, should take kindly to this Island Position especially if any content is involved.
Coppola sees gains from "Less is More"
Westwood One isn't part of Clear Channel. In fact, its managing shareholder is Viacom's Infinity Radio. But WW1 President and CEO Shane Coppola is enthusiastic about Clear Channel's "Less is More" initiative. He told Wall Street analysts that "Less is More" will benefit the entire radio industry, and in network radio its already sparking advertiser demand because Clear Channel's Premiere Radio Networks has less inventory to pitch in the current upfront. Coppola said he expects the network radio upfront to be finished by the end of this year, and not stretch into the New Year as it did a year ago. "There is more of a sense of urgency," he said of buyer demand in the face of Premiere's reduced inventory. Coppola declined to give any projections about rates for the upfront, but he said WW1 expects to sell 45-50% of its inventory for the coming year in the upfront - - about the same as in past years.
RBR observation: Ditto, ah sorry on that word, but again listen to what Coppola said on inventory and product. What will be interesting to see if Westwood One will market the products they have according to what was said last week by big boss Redstone. See Radar left column on Redstone says Viacom investing in radio.
 Pappas GOP air gift
shot down by FCC MB
The FCC has ruled that Pappas Telecasting may not donate 325K worth of free television airtime to Republican candidates unless it provides a similar gift to rival Democrats. William Johnson, Deputy Chief of the FCC's Media Bureau, said "When a candidate is furnished time at no cost, competing candidates are entitled to receive the same amount of free time in comparable time periods," according to the Associated Press.
RBR observation: The Pappas and Sinclair uproars come at a time when television broadcasters are close to gaining meaningful deregulation in Washington. That process is bemired, thanks to stiff opposition from many different quarters, and the 3rd Circuit ruling which sent the FCC's dereg attempt back for reconsideration. Sinclair and Pappas have beyond any doubt stiffened the opposition even further. Although it appears that the Pappas airtime donation is indeed perfectly legal, broadcasters seeking regulatory relief would be much better off had the Smith and Pappas families contented themselves with cash donations to their favorite candidates, rather than dragging the entire broadcasting industry into this unwanted spotlight. | More... |
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 Meredith fires broadcast chief O'Brien
In a stunning announcement, Meredith Corporation said its board of directors had terminated Meredith Broadcasting Group President Kevin O'Brien "for violations of Meredith's Equal Employment Opportunity policies." O'Brien had been hired to head the company's broadcast division in 2001 after a long TV management career with Cox Television (15 years) and Metromedia (18 years). For now, Meredith's 13 TV stations and one radio station are being overseen by corporate President and COO Steve Lacy while the company conducts an external executive search for a successor to O'Brien.
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Poll supports broadcaster election efforts
Wirthlin Worldwide, which polled 1K US citizens, is saying that nine out of ten think broadcasters are supplying either the right amount or too much coverage of the 2004 elections. 48% said that local broadcast coverage was the most helpful spotlight on the campaign in terms of picking a candidate to support, against 24% who picked cable news and 9% who picked newspapers. The poll was commissioned by the National Association of Broadcasters. Wirthlin says Americans are against free airtime for politicians by a margin of 69%-28%. Further, they do not think free air would lessen political fund-raising, but would simply redirect it - - 71% believe that to be the case. NAB President/CEO Eddie Fritts said, "This confirms earlier polls showing that Americans turn to local broadcasters for critical news and information they need to make informed decisions in the voting booth. We encourage local stations to freely provide comprehensive campaign coverage, and this poll demonstrates that Americans believe broadcasters are doing just that." Also weighing in was Barbara Cochran, President of the Radio-Television News Directors Association, who said, "Local stations take seriously their responsibility to provide fair and comprehensive election coverage. That's why they voluntarily offer time to candidates, arrange debates, cover the issues and provide additional information on station web sites."
No matter who gets elected,
broadcasters win big bucks, Part 4
Despite the McCain-Feingold Campaign Finance Reform Act, 2004 is on track to break all campaign spending records. Harris Nesbitt Gerard analyst Lee Westerfield is now projecting that political ad spending this year will total 1.5-1.8 billion dollars. But he tells us that some investors want to know how that can be, since they aren't seeing much political advertising at all. | More... |
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| Conference Calls Q3 2004 |
New CCU CEO confident he can grow free cash flow
In his first Wall Street conference call since being named permanent CEO of Clear Channel (10/21/04 RBR Daily Epaper #206), Mark Mays complained that investors are pricing the company's stock as if it won't be able to grow its free cash flow. But he insisted that is not the case, and that Clear Channel will grow in 2005. Focusing on radio, the company's largest division, Mays said Q4 is currently pacing flat for ad sales, but "we may be able to improve that." Indeed, Q3 was flat (down 3M), with radio revenues at 960 million dollars. Mays said local business was up, but national was a drag on results. In answer to a question from Bear Stearns analyst Victor Miller, Clear Channel CFO Randall Mays said business had improved in the last 30 days and brother Mark chimed in that national is the most volatile area, which has a bigger impact on the company's large markets than smaller ones. Outdoor was the star performer for Clear Channel in Q3, with revenues up 11% to 600 million. Revenues for the "other" category rose 6% to 147 million, which Mark Mays says was led by gains at Clear Channel's TV stations. Overall, revenues for the company rose 4% to 2.6 billion for the quarter. Net income fell 59% to 261 million, but that was because the company had a big one-time gain a year ago from selling its Univision stake. Absent that one-time gain, earnings per share were up six cents to 44 cents - - beating the Thomson First Call consensus by a penny.
 Westwood says market
improved in October
Westwood One fell short of expectations for Q3, but its stock still rose Friday as investors apparently found a ray of hope in management's report that business trends improved in October, after slumping in August and September. Q3 revenues were up 5% to 141.4 million dollars, but operating income was down 13.6% to 40.4 million. President and CEO Shane Coppola said Q3 results were encouraging for the local segment of WW1's ad sales, its Metro Networks operation which accounts for 53% of total revenues, with revenues up 5% for the quarter. "Our national networks business, which accounts for 47% of the company's revenues, was disappointing in the third quarter. National revenues increased approximately 5% during the quarter, including approximately six million dollars of revenues associated with advertising in the Summer Olympics. Excluding Olympics-related ad revenues, our national business declined approximately 4.5% during the quarter," Coppola told analysts. During the call's Q&A session, WW1 officials said the Olympics were barely profitable, with ad sales just slightly ahead of the costs associated with the Summer Games. For the full year 2004, WW1 reiterated its guidance that revenues will be up in the mid single digits (they were up 4.4% through nine months) and added that operating income is expected to be up in the mid to high single digits for the year.
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Adbiz©
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 Telemundo's "La Prisonera" debuts
product placement with Verizon Wireless
AdAge reports product placement has come to scripted drama on NBC's Telemundo with its hour-long nightly "La Prisionera" novela. The popular Spanish-language soap is the usual dramatic mix of star-crossed lovers, betrayal and wrongful imprisonmwf call waiting and picture taking using Verizon Wireless cell phones. Two of three product placements for Verizon Wireless have already aired. And during the last four weeks of La Prisionera in November, six more marketers will appear in the novela in some form of product placement, said Steve Mandala, Telemundo's EVP/Sales. "We're still in a very developmental stage of understanding how to use it best," he said. Verizon Wireless was integrated into the novela in two scenes that aired in August and September. In one, a character uses caller ID as she waits for a call about her kidnapped father. In another, a woman gives an impromptu English lesson to a young man she has a crush on by showing him how to photograph a flower with her phone. For Verizon Wireless, it was a chance to show how the products are used. Telemundo was first introduced to produce placement in novelas during a short-lived arrangement with Brazil's TV giant Globo several years ago. The deal involved the production of Spanish-language versions of Globo's Portuguese-language Brazilian novelas, which are usually packed with product placements. A product placement for Procter & Gamble's Crest toothpaste appeared in Vale Todo, Telemundo's version of TV Globo's Vale Tudo, Mandala said. And Telemundo's Amor Descarado, which ended earlier this year, included other P&G brands and Nissan Motor America Corp., he said.
TI puts account in review
Texas Instruments announced it put its account in review. The tech company issued RFPs a few weeks ago to a half dozen shops. The incumbent, TM Advertising Dallas, is participating. In its 2003 annual report, the company said its worldwide advertising expenditures were 79 million. Jones Lundin Beals, Chicago handling the review that is expected to last until December.
Despite record ad spend, cigarette sales fall
Tobacco companies are spending more than ever to market cigarettes but sales still are falling, according to a recent FTC study. The six largest cigarette makers spent a record 12.5 billion on advertising and promotions in 2002, the last year for which data is available. That was an 11% increase from 2001, but U.S. sales fell about 5.5% to 376 billion cigarettes. The largest chunk of the companies' marketing budgets were for discounts passed on to retailers and wholesalers, who then were expected to reduce cigarette prices for consumers. The companies spent nearly 8 billion on such discounts, or about 63% of their total advertising and marketing expenditures. The second-largest category was for promotional allowances that included paying retailers for prime shelf space. That cost the companies about 1.3 billion, according to the report.
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January 2005 Debut!
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Radio & Television
Business Report
Look for RBR/TVBR in-depth RAB & TVB ad chiefs forecasts revisited: What they said in 2004. Were they were Right or Wrong?
What Radio & TV need to overcome in 2005
Where do they stand on People Meter?
GM Talkback
Examining the Sarbanes-Oxley Act with
Bill Moll, President/CEO,
CC Television
Joe Barlek, SVP\Controller,
Susquehanna Radio
Ed Piette, CBS's KCCO-TV Minneapolis
AdBiz
Marc Goldstein Mindshare CEO explains his clients' biggest concerns. Answering the biggie: Has the network television upfront peaked?
And Much More...
Close-up analysis of Arbitron's PPM and Nielsen's LPM
| Get your FREE debut issue! |
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Added point of distribution
43rd annual NATPE convention
January 25-27, Mandalay Bay Hotel & Convention Center, Las Vegas.
Limited marketing/ad space available, Contact: Publisher--Jim Carnegie [email protected] 813 909 2986
or Director of Sales--June Barnes [email protected] 803 731-5951
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| Media Markets & MoneyTM |
Clear Channel sacrifices some Muscle
Radio giant Clear Channel is going to be a slightly less muscular group after it pares off its Florence-Muscle Shoals AL superduopoly. Kevin Wagner's Urban Radio Licenses will be the beneficiary of the move, adding a third market and possibly tripling the number of stations in his growing southern group. | More... |
Sticky situation: Handicapping a dollarless deal
Salem gets four stations: WIND-AM Chicago, KHCK-AM Dallas, KOBT-FM Houston and KOSL-FM Sacramento. Univision gets two: WZFS-FM Chicago and KSFB-FM San Francisco. So what's it all worth? RBR and some anonymous friends got out their pricing guns and took a stab at it. Basically, you can throw out normal cashflow multiples - - all of these puppies will be doing formatic about-faces, putting them in the stick category. We know we're probably on a little on the high side when we say the whole shebang is worth about 110M each way, but that's our guess and we're sticking to it (until we get better information or an insider tells us different). The lion's share of the value Univision gets is hung on WZFS-FM. We price it at more than four times that which can be hung on KSFB-FM. The properties going to Salem are not so radically differentiated. The lion's share of value, we think, is commanded by WIND-AM, followed by KOBT-FM, KOSL-FM and KHCK-AM.
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| Washington Beat |
  Copps, Adelstein
go back on tour
There will no doubt be lots of new things to talk about when FCC Commissioners Michael Copps and Jonathan Adelstein resume their road show on media concentration in December. Hamline University in St. Paul MN will be the venue, and 12/9/04 is the date. They'll probably be able to discuss whether they'll be getting a new Democratic colleague - - or it may be the last hurrah for the as-yet-in-limbo Adelstein. The two Democrats, in a joint statement, said, "We have now heard from the court, the Congress and the American people that the Commission got it wrong when it tried to unleash further consolidation of our local media. The Commission now has a second chance to do the right thing. Field hearings will serve as a critical first step in laying the foundation for media ownership rules that serve the public interest. There is no substitute for the perspective and information that could be obtained by getting outside the Beltway and going to varied local media markets."
RBR observation: The victor in the race for the White House will have a critical role in shaping the next FCC. If Kerry wins, two or possibly all three of the Republicans currently sitting on the Commission may be gone in short order, almost certainly including Chairman Michael Powell. If Bush wins, Copps seems likely to stick it out, but Adelstein's fate would be very much in doubt, although that could change, particularly if Sen. Tom Daschle (D-SD) fails in his bid for re-election. Adelstein is an ex-employee of minority leader Daschle, which many believe has thrust him into the role of political football despite widespread bipartisan support for him in the Senate.
FCC sits for rare Tuesday open meeting
FCC open meetings, which give the commissioners a chance to make public statements on a wide variety of topics, are generally held on Thursdays, and occasionally on Wednesdays. This month, however, it'll come on a Tuesday, thanks at least in part to the fact that the FCC will be closed Thursday 11/11/04 in observance of Veteran's Day. The November meeting will be Tuesday, 11/9/04, starting at 9:30AM. The agenda has not yet been made public.
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| Programming |
 Infinity's "Street Date"
helping labels, stations, artists
Infinity launched Street Date a couple weeks ago with appearances by Duran Duran on 18 Infinity Hot AC stations (10/12) and John Mellencamp on 18 Infinity Rock/Hot AC/AC stations (10/19). The project helps labels generate awareness and demand for new releases. The stations broadcast extensive programming including live interviews with the artists and the hour-long documentary "The Naked Truth," as well as exclusive listener promotions (fly-aways, private concerts, extended meet & greets). | More... |
"Al Franken Show" to air live on election night
Sundance Channel will air a special election night edition of Air America Radio's "The Al Franken Show," on 11/2 at 11:30pm. The political humorist will be broadcasting live from the Kerry campaign's election-night headquarters in Copley Swquare in Boston. The show will contain breaking news as well as segments taped earlier that day. "My pledge to Sundance Channel viewers is this: We will be monitoring actual real news sources and, if anything happens while we are on the air, you will hear about it literally seconds after you would hear about it elsewhere," quipped Franken. Sundance Channel has been airing a one hour version of "The Al Franken Show" since September 11:30pm every weeknight.
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| Monday Morning Makers & Shakers |
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9/20/04-9/24/04
The freeze on commercial radio trading continued. Two TV stations were sold, however, and two noncom FMs changed hands. One of those was a CP. Here are the totals for the week.
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Total
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Total
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4
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AMs
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0
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FMs
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2
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TVs
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2
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| Value |
 13,600,000
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| Complete Charts |
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Radio Transaction of the Week
EMF gets an easy win
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TV Transaction of the Week
Comcorp adds a Louisiana market
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| Transactions |
KBAA-FM San Francisco from Infinity Broadcasting Corporation of San Francisco to SBS Bay Area LLC.
WTVO-TV Rockford IL from Young Broadcasting Inc. to Mission Broadcasting Inc.
KAST-FM Portland OR (Astoria OR) from New Northwest Broadcasters LLC to Salem Media of Oregon.
| More... |
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| Stock Talk |
Stocks mixed on Friday
Lower than expected Q3 GDP growth kept a lid on stock prices Friday, although most issues were up for the week due to a decline in oil prices. The Dow Industrials were up 23 points on Friday to 10,027. The S&P 500 was also slightly higher, but the Nasdaq Composite was down slightly.
The Radio Index was up 2.920, or 1.34, to 221.343. Westwood One rose 3% as it told The Street to expect growth. Clear Channel was up 0.9% on a Q3 earnings report that was pretty much as expected and tepid guidance for the future. The day's bigger gainers were Beasley, up 4.2%, and Cumulus, up 3.1%.
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| Radio Stocks |
Here's how stocks fared on Friday
| Company |
Symbol |
Close |
Change |
Company |
Symbol |
Close |
Change |
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Arbitron
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ARB
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36.17
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-0.12
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Jeff-Pilot
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JP
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48.29
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+0.01
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Beasley
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BBGI
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16.43
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+0.66
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Journal Comm.
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JRN
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16.12
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+0.12
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| Citadel |
CDL |
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14.55 |
+0.13 |
Radio One, Cl. A
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ROIA
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14.59
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+0.13
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Clear Channel
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CCU
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33.40
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+0.30
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Radio One, Cl. D
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ROIAK
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14.69
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+0.32
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Cox Radio
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CXR
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15.90
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+0.10
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Regent
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RGCI
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5.50
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+0.10
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Cumulus
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CMLS
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16.25
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+0.49
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Saga Commun.
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SGA
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16.82
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+0.25
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Disney
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DIS
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25.22
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+0.10
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Salem Comm.
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SALM
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25.00
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+0.16
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Emmis
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EMMS
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18.70
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-0.31
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Sirius Sat. Radio
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SIRI
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3.90
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-0.03
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| Entercom |
ETM
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33.20
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+0.30
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Spanish Bcg.
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SBSA
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10.12
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+0.26
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Entravision
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EVC
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8.02
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-0.02
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Univision
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UVN
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30.91
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-0.19
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Fisher
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FSCI
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47.05
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-0.70
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Viacom, Cl. A
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VIA
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37.06
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+0.56
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Gaylord
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GET
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33.51
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+0.68
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Viacom, Cl. B
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VIAb
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36.49
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+0.49
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Hearst-Argyle
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HTV
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26.06
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-0.06
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Westwood One
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WON
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23.08
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+0.68
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Interep
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IREP
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0.78
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+0.07
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XM Sat. Radio
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XMSR
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32.32
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-0.28
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International Bcg.
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IBCS
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0.01
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unch
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-
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-
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- |
-
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-
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__UNSUB__ to this email service.
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Bounceback
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 We want to
hear from you.
This is your column, so send your comments to [email protected]
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Stations For Sale
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AM Opportunities
Great AM's in Wyoming,
Tennessee, Alabama, Virginia,
Idaho and New Mexico
Cliff at Clifton Gardiner & Co (303)758-6900
[email protected]
Opportunities in the West for Groups or Owner Operators. Profitable combos. Major market move-ins (FM and LPTV). AM's, both Rated and Unrated. The Exline Team, Andy McClure, Dean LeGras, 415-479-3484, [email protected]
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October Digital
Solutions Magazine
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Complimentary Report
Who Will Sit on the Throne?
The election -What is in it for Broacasters?
One On One
with PHD's Patrick McNew - The man that over sees spot for Chrysler Group.
Engineered For Profit
'05 budgets and capital expenditures, our close up look at who's planning to buy what next year.
Read RBR in 2 simple steps:
1.Create a simple account with Zinio and download the free Zinio Reader.
2. You can then download the free October Issue of RBR
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RBR Radar 2004
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Click on these issues for Radio News you won't read any where else. RBR--First, Accurate, and Independently Owned.
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Viacom begins
"mega-buyback" of stock
Demonstrating just how deeply he's dissatisfied with how Wall Street values his company's stock, Sumner Redstone announced that Viacom's board of directors had authorized an unprecedented eight billion dollar stock buyback plan. Redstone was a happy camper in his conference call as total revenues were up 4% to 5.5 billion, with radio the only real laggard. Redstone vowed that the company would be aggressive in buying back its own stock at current price levels. The buyback started Thursday, 10/28- at 1:30pm.
RBR observation: In Viacom case we can't spout go private. We can say maybe Sumner should loosen up the marketing and promotion dollars and get people excited again about Viacom with Karmazin gone. And, show a vote of confidence to Les Moonves. Karmazin never spent a dime. 10/29/04 RBR #212
Redstone says Viacom
investing in radio stations
Mel Karmazin's name wasn't mentioned in their conference call. It sounds like management is now blaming the company's former President and COO for creating some of the problems now plaguing Infinity Radio by being too cheap. Co-President/COO Les Moonves, who now has all broadcast operations in his portfolio, for his work to consolidate the CBS and Paramount TV production operations, is also working to fix problems with Infinity Radio which has been starved money to do the competitive job.
RBR observation: True with the word cheap and pointing the finger at the Zen Master, he was - period. Ask any sales rep, network affiliate sales, or the bosses themselves . RBR/TVBR heard that word mentioned more than once over the past 24 months from both radio and television. The Joke was Mel said No to MM meaning No Marketing Money. We trust Moonves will put the green MM's back in the bag and soon. Affiliates and ad agencies like to know what all the companies are doing besides lip service. We at RBR/TVBR don't do PR we are from Missouri, show me.
10/29/04 RBR #212
September radio revwenues
beat expectations
RAB delivered a pleasant surprise as its latest monthly radio revenue report showed that revenues were up 4% in September, which a about a percentage point better than Wall Street had been expecting. Local was up 5% for the month and national squeezed out a 1% gain. For the first time, the RAB also added a non-spot revenue line to its monthly report, which is not included in the figures above. Non-spot was up 6% in September, 8% for Q3 and 11% YTD. RBR observation: So why the new data line? Is RAB trying to pump up the sad numbers radio has been posting this year? Fries gave us his response last night from his Blackberry: "This is not a move to make us look good. It is becoming a larger number and radio deserves to get credit for it. It will get bigger as groups cut inventory to keep revenue up. The timing is in line with approval of including it as voted on by the RAB Board at its September meeting. Other media include other revenue. Spot will still be listed separately, but companies report REVENUE - - not spot only. We have been auditing the number for 2 years and have faith in its accuracy by Miller Kaplan." 10/29/04 RBR #212
Mr. Christian is not down on radio
Things may be tough, but Saga Communications CEO Ed Christian told Wall Street analysts that he's not as pessimistic about the radio business. "I'm cautiously optimistic on our business. I'm not as glum as a lot of other people." Saying the radio industry has been "slammed unmercifully by the press," Christian said the industry needs to do more to toot its own horn. RBR observation: We remind people of our middle name of Business in Radio Business Report and Voice of the Radio Broadcasting Industry. Radio is going to have to walk the walk instead of just talk. January RBR/TVBR Solutions Magazine look for - 2005: The Year Local Must Muscle Up. RBR/TVBR will walk the walk. We have No life except for RBR & TwVBR.
10/29/04 RBR #212
Analyst & Disappointing go together
Wachovia Securities analyst Jim Boyle is telling clients that September radio revenues will likely be up only 1% not the 3% that he and other analysts had been expecting. So, he has also lowered his Q3 estimate slightly to a decline of 1%.
10/28/04 RBR #211
Meredith sees post-election
ad demand
What will happen to advertising after next week's election? In his quarterly conference call, Meredith Corporation Chairman and CEO William Kerr expects to see the release of pent up demand from non-political advertisers, at least, that's what's happened in the past.
10/28/04 RBR #211
Activists mobilizing
to influence FCC
The FCC has been getting an unprecedented earful from the public on both the media consolidation and indecency fronts, a tidal wave of opinion which shows no sign of abating. And the increasingly imminent DTV transition figures to add a third stream of comment. The Public Interest, Public Awirwaves Coalition wants the FCC to make sure that commercial broadcasters up their commitment to serving the public interest when using new digital capabilities, in particular multicasting. 10/26/04 RBR #209
Taxing proposition from
the Bush administration
No less a White House player than Condi Rice is rejecting proposed legislation from John McCain (R-AZ) which would provide up to $1B in subsidies to make sure that owners of unmodified analog TV sets aren't cut off the day analog broadcasts go away. RBR observation: We know what it's like when we threaten to deprive our children of TV. Does the Bush administration really understand what it's advocating here? 10/26/04 RBR #209
More worries about "Less is More"
Credit Suisse First Boston analyst Paul Sweeney is the latest to express concerns that Clear Channel's "Less is More" initiative to reduce commercial clutter on its radio stations could not work out financially as the company hopes. He's removed Clear Channel from CSFB's Focus List.
10/26/04 RBR #209
TVB tracks LPM rollout
The Television Bureau of Advertising (TVB) continues to track the impact of Nielsen's Local People Meters (LPM) on local TV ratings. As Nielsen works on deploying LPM in all top 10 markets, the newest market, San Francisco, has now been added to TVB's broadcast vs. cable comparison, joining Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles and New York. For the week ended Oct. 17.
10/26/04 TVBR #209
New York Attorney General Elliot Spitzer launches payola probe
Keeping his political profile high as a crusader against corporate corruption has turned to the record industry and the independent promoters who work to win radio airplay. EMI, the only standalone publicly traded major label, confirmed Friday that it has been hit with a subpoena - - and says it is "cooperating fully" in the probe. RBR observation: Spitzer's timing is strange, since the independent promotion business has been drying up since major radio groups, led by Clear Channel, decided last year to quit doing business with them to avoid any hint of payola-like practices. If your radio station is still accepting payments from the indies, or allows your employees to do so, this should be a wake-up call. Stop it now. 10/25/04 RBR #208
Forrester Research picked
for PPM economic study
elected to conduct a study into how switching to Arbiton's Portable People Meter (PPM) would impact the radio business economically. The research study is being funded by Arbitron, but Forrester's bid was selected by a special committee of the Radio Advertising Bureau's PPM Task Force. RBR observation: If PPM is implemented for US media ratings, it won't be nearly as big an adjustment for TV and cable as for radio, which is still using paper diaries for ratings - - even in the largest markets. Radio guys are worried about how electronic measurement will change their ratings and how much more it's going to cost. 10/25/04 RBR #208
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Account Manager Arbitron Outdoor
Selling and servicing the Arbitron Outdoor products to outdoor media companies. 3-4 years media sales experience, Outdoor industry sales preferred. Offering medical, dental and vision, stock purchase, tuition assistance, 401(k)
General Sales Manager
Los Angeles need with 5 years radio sales management experience. EEO. Reply to: [email protected]
See Radio Careers for more info.
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