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Volume 22, Issue 229, Jim Carnegie, Editor & Publisher

Tuesday Morning November 22nd, 2005

Radio News®

Grin and Bear Stearns it? Not likely
Wall Street watchdog Bear Stearns is still seeing choppy to stagnant waters ahead for the radio business. For starters, it expects that relatively robust December results will be needed to salvage Q4 comps to 2004, and in the end, it doesn't believe see any signs of a particularly robust holiday month. This comes on the heels of an anticipated red October with minus 5%-6% results, somewhat mitigated by an anticipated 4% gain in November. Bear Stearns is looking for a 1.2% decrease in Q4 2005 relative to the previous year, and if anything, it may be worse, dropping by a factor of 2%. The effect will be to flatten out the scant gains made thus far, bringing 2005 home roughly at par with 2004. Bear Stearns does anticipate a somewhat brighter picture for 2006. It is predicting that three factors will inch total revenues upward. * The return of the political category should be good for a 1% gain. * Clear Channel, having weathered the initiation of LIM, should be good for 1% all by itself. * Any improvement at all in national business should bump the total up another 1%. That added up to a prediction of 3% in total gains for 2006, for those of you forgot your calculator.

RBR observation: It seems the key in comparing 2005 to anticipated results in 2006 is the fact that radio will have gotten itself through the tough first year of LIM. If a grocery store was able to reduce its inventory from one year to the next and still break even, it would probably be very happy with that result and looking forward to more favorable comps in the year ahead. 2005 to 2006 comps will be comparing apples to apples, or LIMs to LIMs, if you will. Political funds should be the icing on that cake.

At least one demo
doesn't zap commercials
Mediamark Research Inc. has produced a study of the kids aged between six and 11 years, and the news is encouraging for advertising agencies and radio groups. Mediamark found that kids actually watch TV commercials, to the tune of 57.8%. According to MRI's "2005 American Kids Study," which is based on the responses of 5.4K children, almost as many - - 56.3%, have a television set in their bedroom. There was also encouraging news for radio programmers - - although 59.8% have a CD player in their bedroom (28.6% have a stereo), and 62.8% listen to music via CD player, the top music portal for children is the car radio, cited by 74%. Almost 60% of the survey group had been on line within 30 days of the survey, mostly for gaming purposes. About a fourth have a computer in their bedroom. The youngsters are not early adopters of the latest entertainment gadgets - - the number in possession of an MP3 player is 4.1%, with 4.2% saying they have a portable MP3 player.

RBR observation: This has to be great news for TV people. The fact that almost 60% of this group of children are non-commercial zappers comes as no surprise to RBR/TVBR. When it's time to shut down the electronics for one reason or another, one staff household with two in this demo frequently is petitioned to leave the TV on just a few more seconds because "we really like this commercial." A frightening thing, actually, from a parental point of view. There is great news in this survey for radio, as well. We constantly hear about how radio is losing the young generation, how its failing to create the radio habit in the 25-54 demo of the future. Now we know that three out of four of them listening when they're 6-11. Just as smart children's television programmers throw a few tidbits for the adults in the audience when the kids have control of the remote (such as the Powerpuff Girls' brilliant Beat-Alls episode on Cartoon Net), smart radio programmers will throw a few tidbits out for the kids. And make no mistake: This can be done in any format. The children in this household are often the captive audience of All News WTOP Washington - - and they listen, and comment when something catches their interest. Every time WTOP does that, it increases the chance that the kids will grow up to be radio users themselves.

Pedigreed group gets its first stick
The name is a little misleading - - Riviera Broadcast Group (RBG) is not actually a group - - although it promises it will be and has the irons in the fire to prove it. Until yesterday, it wasn't even a radio station owner, but now that it has closed on its 30M acquisition of KEDJ-FM Phoenix AZ from Scott Fey's NPR Phoenix, that particular hurdle has officially been cleared. It also has a deal to get a pair of Las Vegas stations - - KVGS-FM & KOAS-FM - - from Bruce Buzil's Desert Sky Media LLC. Brokers at Kalil & Co., who handled the Phoenix deal, reminded us that the ownership duo at RBG do not exactly come into the situation with empty resumes. Chris McGuire's career can be traced back through associations with Steve Dodge, ARS and EZ Communications, and Tim Pohlman was a top west coast operative for Infinity Radio. Look for further acquisitions.

Gee, GE: NextMedia does a refi
Actually, radio/out-of-home group NextMedia will do more than refinance its existing credit facility. It'll use a new 335M facility to redeem senior subordinated notes and to "support future acquisitions." GE Commercial Finance - Global Media & Communications is acting as administrative agent and co-lender in the transaction. 125M of the total is going to refinance 125M in senior secured revolving credit and up to 200M will be used to redeem senior subordinated notes. Anything used on acquisitions will be building on the group's 51-station/11 market radio platform, or add to its inventory of over 5.3K bulletin and poster displays.

DC-101's "Elliott In The Morning"
faces 13 Million libel suit
Elliott Segal, morning man on CC Radio's WWDC-FM (DC-101), has been sued for 13 million on claims of slander, privacy invasion and other charges, reports Courthouse News Service. Excerpts: Plaintiff Walter Edwards, manager of Clear Channel's Nissan Pavilion concert venue, says he acceded to Segal's request to use the Pavilion to host WWDC's "Shantytown," all-night rock concert - provided that concertgoers and promoters abide by state liquor laws. When Segal promoted the event on the air by mentioning it would provide cheap beer, and on the station website with photos of scantily clad women, Segal said the Virginia ABC warned him against the practice, and he asked Segal to stop it. Segal then slandered him on the air, Edwards says. Edwards says both the Virginia ABC and Aramark, which owns concession rights at the Nissan Pavilion, warned him the concert could be canceled unless the offensive ads stopped. When he passed on those concerns to Segal, Edwards claims, Elliott slandered him on the air by calling him "a pu--y," "a spineless ass," by claiming falsely that Edwards had canceled the event, by saying he would hold the event on Edwards' "dead corpse," by saying, "Edwards sucks donkey di--s," and that Edwards is "the best reason for a very late, late, late-term abortion." During this campaign of broadcast defamation, Edwards claims, an executive with both parties' employer, Clear Channel, flew into town and fired the plaintiff from his 120,000-a-year job. The exec said the firing was a "simple downsizing," but Segal used it to further vilify and slander the plaintiff, Edwards says.

Adbiz©

Christmas wishes abound
For our December RBR/TVBR Solutions magazine, we took a quick survey across the industry on what some execs would wish for from the Media Claus this year. We invited serious answers, humorous answers and a combination of both. Said Julie Roehm, Chrysler Group Marketing Director of Marketing Communications:

My Christmas Wish: On the 12th day of Christmas my true love gave to me:
12 Multi-media marketing programs
11 Measurable mediums
10 Dancing podcasts
9 Maidens blogging
8 Wireless winners
7 Pay for Performance deals
6 Digital downloads
5 Golden Games
4 VOD integrations
3 HD hero's
2 Search savants
and
1 IPTV

Bear Sterns blames "Crocktober"
partly on Home Depot
In Bear Sterns Q4 outlook for radio & television (radio specifically), October was specifically dubbed "Crocktober!," with 5-6% down revenues partly blamed on Home Depot's move out of spot to network: "Crocktober! We believe that October 2005 radio revenues will be reported down 5% to 6% as the industry struggled mightily against tough political comps, which may have represented 7% to 9% of October 2004's revenue. In addition, auto is still far from robust and the impact of Home Depot's (was radio's largest advertiser) decision to place dollars in network radio instead of in spot radio has hurt." This August, Cumulus CEO Lew Dickey said his Q2 numbers were particularly hard hit by the decision by Home Depot (8/5/05 RBR #153). So the beat goes on into Q4. Indeed, this loss to network radio has been dubbed the largest loss of spot radio advertising ever. When stations clear these less expensive networks' spots, they lose out on bigger dollars a spot ad would have brought. Some stations off the record are now getting concerned at how much revenue they give up to the networks for programming product.

Be sure that other advertisers are paying attention to Home Depot's more. One reader said it well: "I think there are some very important lessons to be learned from what transpired here. The Home Depot will not be the last big advertiser to be faced with this type of decision, and like it or not, the decision for the advertiser is a "no brainer" under the current model. We may be a merger away from this happening within other retail sectors, fast food, grocery or even automotive. Plus or minus a few dollars I've heard that The Home Depot will deliver the same overall nat'l media goals (TRP's by Market) as last year and that on an annualized basis they are delivering it for 1/3 of the cost. If they spent 100 Million in 2004 (est) they will now spend less than 35 Million. The only difference being 30 second messaging instead of 60 and placement through the network sales channel as opposed to nat'l spot. I've heard this whole situation get blamed on Clear Channel and LIM, I've heard it blamed on the networks for "poaching" spot accounts, I've heard it blamed on the rep firms for not having a strong enough relationship with the agency and client as well as some other obscure conspiracy theories. Put yourself in Home Depot's shoes. If you could save 65 Million from your radio advertising budget and believe you won't lose impact wouldn't you do it? Put yourself in the networks shoes. If new technologies allow you to do things like ad-splits and you have the means to offer localized promotions or added value wouldn't you utilize these tools to add a 35 Million account?"

Mediaedge:cia looks at in-game ad effectiveness-Part III
Mediaedge:cia examines how in-game advertising can best be used to create meaningful relationships between brands and consumers in "Playing with Brands," a new study commissioned from Telenation and designed to help advertisers better understand the optimum role for their brands within computer and video games. On average, U.S. gamers play for between 3 and 4 hours, over a week's period. To put this into perspective: for heavy U.S. gamers, who spent 11 hours a week playing games, gaming is the fourth-most-popular use of media entertainment in the last week, after watching TV (48 hours), surfing the Internet (29 hours) and listening to radio (18 hours). (Source: Knowledge Networks, Media Scan, Spring 2004). The potential for in-game communication is further highlighted when video game reach is compared to that of more traditional media:
| Read More... |

Media Business Report

CC Outdoor teams with Yahoo! for mall screens
Clear Channel Outdoor and Yahoo! unveiled plans for a new national digital video outdoor media network in the food courts of U.S. shopping malls. Specifically, shoppers in major malls' food courts throughout metro New York and Los Angeles will view large-format, full-motion, multi-format video screens featuring content from Yahoo! and 30 second spots. The Yahoo! content will include news headlines, sports, entertainment, financial information and the Yahoo! Buzz Index. The screens, suspended from the ceiling, go live 11/25-the first in a planned network involving 200 malls in the top 20 markets over the next 2.5 years. The network is being installed by the Clear Channel Digital Mall Network, a joint venture of Clear Channel Malls (a division of Clear Channel Outdoor) and Digital Advertising Network (DAN), a Montreal -based provider of large-format, digital screen networks. The 30-second spots, which can be changed remotely, include promotional campaigns and programming tied to a specific day, week, month or season. Creative for the ads is coming from non-traditional media as well as television and other video campaigns. Utilizing shopping mall food courts provides the longest exposure to a selling message -- 32 minutes - vs. other shopping mall locales, according to Starch Research Services. "DAN has established a broad footprint across Canada, with a presence in 66 shopping malls, reaching more than 8 million consumers weekly. Entering the U.S. market is a natural next-step for our company and as the leader in the out-of-home industry, Clear Channel Outdoor is the ideal partner," said Warren Stelman, President and Chief Executive Officer, DAN Media. Under the joint venture, Clear Channel Malls will own a 51% stake in Clear Channel Digital Mall Network, with DAN Media controlling the remaining 49%. Donna Baker, the President of Clear Channel Malls, will also take on the role of President of Clear Channel Digital Mall Network, which will be based in NYC.

RBR observation: More ad clutter in our daily lives? Yes. These monitors are in retail stores, 7-11's, transportation hubs and even in waiting lines for amusement park rides. While they're certainly effective and often entertaining, the key to success seems may be in the volume setting. Folks can always look away from a video screen, but can't avoid sound intrusion much. Last summer while one editor waited in line with his family for an amusement park ride, the volume on these multiple ad/promotional monitors was set way too high. Most everyone in line was extremely annoyed and voiced their annoyance. Bottom line-there is a fine line between acceptable media intrusion and just plain annoyance. We hope for the clients' sake the volume settings on the mall monitors aren't left to just anyone!

iBiquity gets funding from Intel Capital
iBiquity Digital announced that Intel Capital, Intel's strategic investment program, has invested in the company. Financial terms were not disclosed. "Intel Capital's investment further reinforces today's significant HD Radio momentum," said Bob Struble, iBiquity CEO. "We look forward to working with Intel Capital to accelerate the commercialization of HD Radio particularly in the area of portable HD Radio devices. Future HD Radio products will include not only millions of traditional radio products but new portable digital media devices such as mobile phones and digital media players." "This investment signals Intel Capital's support for HD Radio," said Sriram Viswanathan, Managing Director for Intel Capital's Mobility investments. "We view HD Radio as an exciting new addition to the digital media landscape and look forward to evaluating a host of exciting opportunities to enable affordable, portable and low-power digital media devices that include HD Radio."

Media Markets & MoneyTM

Withers expands with FM buy
Withers Broadcasting will increase its coverage of both Ohio and Mississippi with the acquisition of a single FM. How is this possible? Easy, if you think of the rivers, not the states. The station, WGKY-FM in Wickliffe KY, is perfectly positioned to reach both, situated just below the point where the Ohio empties into America's mightiest river. Russ Withers is getting the station from Wickliffe Rental Properties for 400K, with three/quarters of that amount being paid over time pursuant to a promissory note. Although the application claims that the station has no common coverage with any stations already in the Withers portfolio, the group has extensive holdings in the immediate area, including stations in Illinois, Kentucky and Missouri - - Arbitron is nowhere to be found, but Nielsn calls the area Paducah KY-Cape Girardea MO-Harrisburg-Mt. Vernon IL, and Eastlan has provided radio ratings for markets called Paducah-Metropolis and Paducah-Murray KY.

Washington Beat

Moving forward at the FCC
The FCC is accelerating its schedule - - modestly. It has moved the date of its December Open Meeting from Thursday, 12/15/05 to Friday, 12/9/05. The start time remains 9:30 AM eastern.

RBR observation: So, if exiting Commissioner Kathleen Abernathy picked a 12/9/05 exit date with an eye toward getting out of this meeting, Chairman Kevin Martin has foiled her little plot. No reason was given for the date change, but we suspect that providing Abernathy's colleagues with an opportunity to get their farewells on the oral record may have a lot to do with it.

Programming

USRN adds Jean Chatzky's
"Talking Money"
United Stations Radio Networks announced beginning 1/2/06, personal finance guru Jean Chatzky adds the medium of radio to her daily personal finance advice with a new interactive short feature called Jean Chatzky's Talking Money. Fielding questions from the web, her toll free phone number and listener email, Chatzky will lend practical, accessible strategies fives times a week to help individuals save money. Jean Chatzky's Talking Money will be available to radio stations in all formats on a market exclusive basis through USRN. Answering listener's money questions and sharing tips on how to make the most of their hard earned cash, Chatzky will provide valuable advice about everything from common consumer problems and saving for college to issues surrounding real estate and identity theft. Chatzky is the Financial Editor for NBC's Today Show as well as editor-at-large for Money Magazine, a columnist for LIFE magazine and forthe New York Daily News.

Leslie Gold returns to NYC
Leslie Gold, a.k.a. "The RadioChick," has been named as New York's FREE FM afternoon drive host (WXRK-FM). The appointment is effective on 1/3. Gold returns to Infinity following a brief stint on satellite radio. She will be joined on her weekday program by her long-time collaborators, Butchy Brennan, the show's producer, and sidekick comedian Chuck Nice. Additionally, the four hour program will be streamed online. Gold previously aired on Infinity talker WNEW-FM and CC Radio Classic Rocker WAXQ-FM.

Emmis' KPNT-FM announces Stern replacement
The Point (KPNT-FM) St. Louis announced "Rover's Morning Glory" will be replacing the departing Howard Stern show starting 1/3. Stern's last broadcast on KPNT will be 12/16. The station will be music-intensive in the morning from the time Howard leaves up until the debut of Rover. Infinity is adding Rover to some of its new lineup of Free-FM stations, as well as offering him up for syndication to previous Stern affiliates.

Ratings & Research

Nielsen Entertainment studies mobile
and video game entertainment
Following Nielsen Entertainment's first Video Game Benchmark Report, the first Benchmarking the Active Gamer study and the first Benchmarking Mobile Entertainment report highlight consumer-level data on Video Game and Mobile Entertainment behavior and purchasing. The two separate reports, each surveying over 2,000 consumers engaged actively in either video games or in their use of mobile services were surveyed online in September. Subjects such as the impact of expanding demographics, average and competitive entertainment spending amidst the total landscape of entertainment spending, awareness, attitudes and purchase interest in new consoles, platforms, and devices, service and genre preferences, influential sources of information and psychodemographic segmentation is revealed in each report. Highlights from the Mobile Benchmark Report include:
| Read More... |

RBR Stats

"Cyber Monday" becoming one of
Online's biggest shopping days
While traditional retailers will be monitoring store traffic and sales on Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving), online retailers have set their sights on something different: Cyber Monday, the Monday after Thanksgiving, which is quickly becoming one of the biggest online shopping days of the year. For the past few years, online retailers have found that sales on the Monday after Thanksgiving have been creeping higher.
| Read More... |

Engineering

CC Radio offering HD Radio on 200 stations
Clear Channel Radio announced that 200 of its stations will be airing HD digital radio broadcasts by the end of the month. CC says it is on track to air HD digital radio broadcasts on 95% of its stations in the top 100 markets by the end of 2007. "Clear Channel Radio's accelerated roll-out of HD digital radio is helping create a market for superior services for both radio listeners and advertisers," said Jeff Littlejohn, EVP/Distribution Development, Clear Channel Radio. "Our momentum in rolling out HD digital radio, which is ahead of schedule, is an indicator of the company's enthusiasm about the higher-quality listening experience, strengthened by the data services and multicasted programming available only through HD digital radio."

Transactions

5.8M KSUB-AM/KNNZ-AM/KXBN-FM/KXFF-FM & KMXM-FM St. George-Cedar City UT (Cedar City UT, Colorado City AZ) from MB Media Group Inc. (Jerrold W. Johnson) to CCR-St. George IV LLC, a subsidiary of Cherry Creek Radio LLC (Joseph Schwartz). 290K escrow, balance in cash at closing. Includes non-compete. Existing daisy-chain superduopoly. Deal includes seven low power TVs. Radio ratings provided by Eastlan. [File date 10/28/05.]

900K WYVY-FM/WQKA-FM Union City TN from Twin States Broadcasting Inc. (Rodney Taylor) to Thunderbolt Broadcasting Company (Paul Freeman Tinkle, Jimmy C. Smith, Thomas L. Moore, Fred C. Stoker). 50K escrow, balance in cash at closing. Superduopoly with WCMT AM & FM Martin TN & WCDZ-FM Dresden TN. [File date 10/28/05.]

Stock Talk

Mixed news produces mixed bag
Anticipation of a happy holiday season in terms of retail sales helped to overcome renewed concerns about increased petroleum prices in the face of a possible early northeast snowstorm and belt-tightening moves from GM. Broadcast issues were fairly evenly divided between gainers and losers.

Radio Stocks

**Here's how stocks fared on Monday**
Company	Symbol	Close		Change	Company	Symbol	Close		Change
Arbitron	ARB		39.03	-0.08	Jeff-Pilot	JP		55.04	-0.19
Beasley	BBGI		14.19	-0.03	Journal Comm.	JRN		13.77	-0.03
Citadel	CDL		13.57	+0.02	Radio One, Cl. A	ROIA		10.80	+0.04
Clear Channel	CCU		32.33	-0.17	Radio One, Cl. D	ROIAK		10.81	+0.03
Cox Radio	CXR		15.00	+0.03	Regent	RGCI		5.04	+0.02
Cumulus	CMLS		11.97	+0.39	Saga Commun.	SGA		11.77	+0.08
Disney	DIS		25.05	-0.15	Salem Comm.	SALM		19.02	-0.27
Emmis	EMMS		19.78	+0.11	Sirius Sat. Radio	SIRI		7.13	-0.15
Entercom	ETM		31.75	+0.04	Spanish Bcg.	SBSA		5.35	-0.03
Entravision	EVC		7.75	+0.10	Univision	UVN		28.41	-0.31
Fisher	FSCI		47.29	+1.86	Viacom, Cl. A	VIA		33.70	-0.14
Gaylord	GET		43.30	unch	Viacom, Cl. B	VIAb		33.64	-0.14
Hearst-Argyle	HTV		23.68	-0.06	Westwood One	WON		18.07	+0.27
Interep	IREP		0.37	-0.02	XM Sat. Radio	XMSR		31.12	+0.37
International Bcg.	IBCS		0.01	unch	-	-	-	-	-

Bounceback

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Arbitrends

Stations for Sale

NYC Prime Radio
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7 days a week available p/t-f/t Business, Foreign language, religious, Health, Infomercials accepted. 212-769-1925 [email protected]
TV & Satellite time also available. Station Inquiries welcome

Below the Fold

Ad Biz
Bear Sterns blames "Crocktober" partly on Home Depot
With 5-6% down revenues partly blamed on Home Depot's move out of spot to network...

Mediaedge:cia looks at in-game ad effectiveness Pt III
U.S. gamers play for between 3 and 4 hours, over a week's period...

Media Business Report
CC Outdoor teams with Yahoo!
for mall screens
Plans for a new national digital video outdoor media network in the food courts...

Media Markets & Money
Russ Withers expands with FM buy
Will increase its coverage of both Ohio and Mississippi...

Rating & Research
Nielsen Entertainment studies mobile and video game entertainment
Report highlight consumer-level data on Video Game and Mobile Entertainment behavior and purchasing...

More News Headlines

Clarification: Webast Metrics measures Net Radio Sales clients
Adding more qualitative depth to the company's server-based listener data measurement, provided by Webcast Metrics (we incorrectly mentioned ComScore yesterday), Net Radio Sales has struck a deal with BIGResearch. Big Research will provide data on measuring the consumer attributes of Net Radio Sales clients' online radio audiences. The company wants to move beyond measuring clicks to help understand the makeup of these online consumers.

GM to eliminate 30,000 manufacturing jobs
GM said it now plans to eliminate 30,000 manufacturing positions from 2005-2008 as part of an effort to reduce its assembly capacity in North America, says MarketWatch. It expects the staff reduction to come mostly through attrition and early retirees. The figure represents an increase of 5,000 jobs from its previous plan to cut 25,000 positions in the three-year period. The company expects to reduce capacity by an additional 1 million units by the end of 2008, bringing its target down to 4.2 million units, a level that would represent a 30% decrease from 2002 levels. GM lifted its target for structural cost reductions to 6 billion by the end of 2006 from a previously indicated level of $5 billion. It also is targeting an additional 1 billion in net material cost savings.

TVBR - TV News

Europe will blaze Internet TV trail
In about three years, it is predicted that nearly 9M Europeans will be getting their television delivered over the Internet, primarily by phone companies, according to Reuters report on a study published by Screen Digest. Currently, over 650K subscribe to IPTV (Internet protocol television), a number expected to increase by a factor of 13 to 8.7M, representing 9.4% of the total European market. European wireline telcos are said to be searching for new revenue streams in the face of increased competition and falling prices. IPTV would allow it to do so by tapping its existing customers at the expense of cable and satellite suppliers. The report's author, Daniel Schmitt, says the cutting edge will be in France, Italy and Spain, where IPTV is expected to command shares between 16%-20% by 2009. He predicts that cable operators will also be looking at IPTV-style features in order to remain competitive. He further predicts that the technology will catch on in other parts of Europe and in Asia much more rapidly than in the USA, noting that telcos here are still in the early stages of entering the business.

TVBR observation: Be that as it may, the FCC is doing what it can to grease the wheels for telcos to get into the video-delivery business. And at least one high-profile broadcaster has been seen cozying up to telcos in an effort to grease the wheels for getting multicast digital television carried fully on MVPDs. Changes are coming fast, ladies and gentlemen. Keep those seat belts fastened.

RBR Radar 2005

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

Sen. Feingold goes after
concert promo and payola
"Radio and Concert Disclosure and Competition Act of 2005" which would tighten up regulation over co-owned radio and concert businesses, and would introduce sweeping new reporting requirements aimed at ending payola. It will attempt to make the FCC's job of enforcement easier both by providing the newly-reported radio data and increasing the fines the Commission can levy on violators. On the concert side, the bill would take steps to prevent the use of co-owned radio and concert promotion/venue operations as a club to gain favorable concessions from artists out of fear of losing airplay and/or access to a performance venue.
RBR observation: First, practical matters. Any bill introduced at the very end of a congressional session is really aimed at the next year. Second, it is ironic to most casual observer - - the unprecedented attempt to do this by Clear Channel is going down in flames... Third, NAB will no doubt fight the reporting requirements...
11/21/05 RBR #228

RBR observation:
ABC won't be a record-breaker
To divest ABC Radio, the deal won't come close to being the top radio deal of all time - - or even in the top three. The question is, will it do much better than break the top 10? For the Billion dollar radio list see
11/21/05 RBR #228

What now for VNU? Scuttled IMS merger; CEO hitting the road
Awakened the sleeping giants who own most of its stock, VNU the parent of AC Nielsen now has to prove to the shareholders that it can generate good returns and run its businesses well - - or sell them to someone who can.
RBR observation: It's not that difficult to get listed on the NYSE, so VNU hardly needed a 7B acquisition to do so. The obvious play and one we've heard suggested more times than we can count is to buy Arbitron, already on the NYSE, which would cost only about 1.25-1.5 billion. That becomes especially attractive if Nielsen Media Research decides it does want to use Arbitron's Portable People Meter (PPM) for TV ratings. Not included in that list from VNU is anything about spin-offs - - something else that big VNU shareholders have been urging the company to consider. In a conference call with European analysts yesterday, van den Bergh insisted that VNU is not planning any divestitures. But then, he won't be involved in such decisions for much longer. Clearly, some of those big institutional investors don't think the publishing group at VNU fits with its main data collection and research businesses, so pressure is likely to continue for van den Bergh's successor to sell off the group, known titles include Adweek, Billboard, Mediaweek and The Hollywood Reporter. Don't rule out a sale of all of VNU to a private equity buyer, who would streamline the cumbersome VNU management structure, sell off unwanted assets like the publishing division, and pump up financial performance for an IPO or resale. Waiting for the other shoe to drop.
11/18/05 RBR #227

Abernathy makes a date
with the door
Republican FCC Commissioner Kathleen Abernathy has sent her resignation to President George W. Bush, effective 12/9/05. Exiting with her will be her reliable Republican vote. RBR observation: Sen. Commerce Committee Chair Ted Stevens (R-AK) sent out signals that he wanted to find a candidate an opportunity that remains open to him with Abernathy's announcement. Abernathy's full statement see
11/18/05 RBR #227

Iger Mum on radio
Amazingly, with the final bids now being scrutinized, not a single analyst asked a question in the conference call that might elicit an indication of whether they are currently leaning toward a sale or not.
RBR observation: Only speculation and the usual of Entercom wanting ABC badly and then speculation about Mel Karmazin and Sirius Radio possibly taking a run for the simple reason of people who feel they are in the speculation mood that Karmazin just does not want to see well in excess of 100 million+ ad dollars left on the table with Howard Stern leaving the free radio air waves. Wait until the Fat Lady Sings.
11/18/05 RBR #227

Hate it but More Gloom for Radio
Goldman Sachs analyst Mark Wienkes sees a no growth environment and no sign of change and expecting flat revenues for Q4 and challenges ahead in 2006. The current consensus of his peers for radio companies to deliver 15% growth in earnings per share in 2006, which implies revenue growth of 3-4%, is still too high, so he's recommending "minimal exposure" to radio stocks. RBR observation: Not a good sign and as RBR has stated before - Time to operate these properties or go private.
11/17/05 RBR #226

Nielsen getting down
to the PPM nitty-gritty
Getting closer to making a go or no go decision on whether to enter into a joint venture with Arbitron to use Arbitron's Portable People Meter (PPM) technology to measure TV and cable, as well as radio says it has expanded its internal due diligence team working on PPM to include additional experts in all areas. Pres/CEO Susan Whiting says "We are committed to moving with all deliberate speed..."
11/15/05 RBR #224

Regional Sales Director
WideOrbit, the broadcast television industry's leading traffic, sales, and billing software solution has expanded into Radio. Looking for the right salesperson to join the team with experience working for a radio station or group with a understanding of sales, traffic, and billing systems. Excellent growth opportunity.
See Radio Careers

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