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Powell joins
Clear Channel
No, not the FCC boss - - Kashon Powell has been named Assistant PD and Music Director at Clear Channel's WUSL-FM Philadelphia, with duties to include producing "The Wendy Williams Experience." Powell was previously R&B editor at Radio & Records.

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]

Mullen sings praises
of consolidation
Media consolidation is being assailed everywhere you look, but Tribune Broadcasting President Pat Mullen isn't buying the claims of critics. "We don't think it stands up to scrutiny. Today's media environment is more robust and competitive than ever," Mullen said last week in the 2004 Quello Center Lecture at Michigan State University in East Lansing. Tribune has been one of the leading advocates for deregulation and now has the most of any company to lose with no final decision on whether the crossownership rule will be scrapped - - and several of its TV stations coming up for renewal in markets where it has daily newspapers (with either temporary waivers or no waiver at all because the newspapers were acquired during the current TV license period). "Scale has become absolutely essential to maintaining competitiveness," Mullen insisted. "It's a tough environment for media companies." The Tribune Broadcasting chief scoffed at the idea that a few giant companies are tightening their grip on the media landscape. Rather, he noted, the Big Three TV networks have seen their market share go from 92% in 1978 to about a third of that, with cable networks now claiming almost 50% of primetime viewing. "The risk of one voice dominating the world of ideas is virtually non-existent," Mullen said. At the local level, Mullen said fragmentation is making it more and more difficult to produce local news at a profit. He noted that WXMI-TV (Ch. 17, Fox) has the highest local news ratings of any of Tribune's stations (a six rating), but is only breaking even financially. "How long can we operate at a deficit?" he asked. In his view, local news is endangered in markets 100+ unless there is more deregulation, including allowing TV crossownership with newspapers. "Deregulation is absolutely necessary for the survival of some stations," Mullen told the university audience.

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.


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Competitors expect gains
from "Less is More"
Clear Channel's "Less is More" initiative is emerging as a hot topic on the quarterly conference calls of every radio group - - and they're all telling Wall Street that the move is going to give a boost to the entire industry, not just Clear Channel. RBR observation: For a company that used to be vilified by its competitors for being the rate whore that was dragging everyone else down, the "Less is More" initiative has really turned around Clear Channel's image in the radio industry. Now the key is to really make the inventory limits stick and put some rate integrity back into radio. The whole radio industry is watching to see if the notorious sinner has really gotten religion. Although the impact will be less direct, radio's attempt to cut clutter and boost rates should be good news for TV as well, helping to put some upward pressure on rates across the media landscape as TV stations again have more open inventory following the election cycle. Industry leaders are trying every way to make and push the positive of 'Less is More' and for the radio business future we trust it works or these words may be true spoken by WWII! Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient, Major Gregory 'Pappy' Boyington once said, "Just name a hero and I'll prove he's a bum." Take heed as we all have to make this work. 11/05/04 RBR #217

Murdoch eyes new business cable channel and could it mean a format spin into Radio
CNNfn is about to become history, but that doesn't mean that NBC Universal's CNBC is going to have the business news network business all to itself for long. Rupert Murdoch confirmed that he is looking at starting a financial news channel under the Fox brand.
TVBR observation: Hello world hit me over the head and say you did not see this coming. Rupert will push the button and go after that financial opening and will probably be the consistent line up of talent now on Fox News Channel (FNC) that will pull it off. TVBR outlook - Don't stretch the Content or the talent like the Neil Cavuto's too far off of FNC or what you built could crumble. Remember what has happened to radio with various spins on Formats and Voice Tracking. And we put money that there will be a Fox Financial News Radio format form this spin. Called Cross Platforming and Marketing. TV's goal in 2005- Time for Local to Muscle Up. See our January Solutions Magazine - Make sure you receive your copy - get it - Solutions Magazine.
11/05/04 TVBR #217

Rep settlement cost
Citadel 16.4 million in Q3
We now have at least partial price tag for Citadel's contentious jump from Interep to Katz as its national rep 13 months ago, which was finally settled in August. Although it's far short of the 65 million that Interep claimed it was owed, Citadel took a 16.4 million non-cash charge against its Q3 financials because of the settlement. Citadel isn't paying Interep any cash directly - - rather, Katz, which is owned by Clear Channel, has settled Citadel's obligations to Interep and Citadel has entered into a long-term contract with Katz which includes some provision to cover the settlement. Our sources indicate, though, that the 16.4 million is only part of the total settlement, so there's more yet to be learned from SEC filings by the companies involved.
11/05/04 RBR #217

RBR observation: Is there an election indecency factor?
There has been speculation in the press, notably up to and including the Wall Street Journal, that the tenor and enforcement of indecency regulations may hang in the balance, depending on who won the presidency. We now know who won, but we don't know the fallout. But we don't think anything was hanging in the balance at all. Truth told, FCC Commissioner Copps wants a license revocation in his scalp belt. The legislative process has continually saddled anti-indecency measures with excess baggage throughout 2004. That is the only thing which has kept a fine increase up to 500K per egregious offense from becoming the law of the land. Look for Congress to make it the law in 2005, if not sooner in its upcoming lame duck session. 11/05/04 RBR #217

Adieu, adios, Adelstein...
Is the name Adelstein going to be synonymous with good-bye? It sure looks like it. His renomination to the FCC has been held up by the White House despite the fact that he enjoys widespread bipartisan support. To top of the reluctance of the White House, he has now lost his sponsor, the defeated Tom Daschle (D-SD), removing what value he may have had as a bargaining chip. The makeup of the FCC in the near future is very much in question. RBR observation: Chairman Powell always answered the question about his job at the FCC with the answer on what the polls showed the President at the time. Now the Mr. Bush is 100% sure and now so is Michael's future either at the FCC or at a higher position. So the next spin is what throne will Michael Powell be sitting on come next year? For sure the throne is turning from porcelain to gold. 11/04/04 RBR #216

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