Welcome to RBR's Daily Epaper
Volume 21, Issue 239, Jim Carnegie, Editor & Publisher
Thursday Morning December 9th, 2004

Radio News®

Arbitron claims PPM recruiting success in Houston
The first data is in and Arbitron is claiming success for PPM in Houston - - at least in recruiting test participants. Over 52% of the households targeted for the first wave of PPM recruitment agreed to participate. The company says fault rates are also low. Response levels had been a big concern during the initial PPM test in Philadelphia, but Arbitron thinks it's got the problem licked. Look for the test to start churning out data come July.

RBR observation: This is why you test. Response rates were initially a problem for PPM in Philadelphia, so a solution had to be found. If the initial stats hold up, it looks like Arbitron has made real progress. Another improvement in the Houston test will be a modification to the PPM device that will differentiate in-home and out-of-home media use, based on proximity to the docking/recharging unit. TV guys, who've never had out-of-home viewing measured by Nielsen, are salivating over that. But cost remains a big concern for many radio companies, along with how PPM affects morning drive ratings. You must read and print out these charts inside. | More... |

Univision shocker: Mac takes a hike
After a quarter-century in the family business - - Spanish radio - - the stunning announcement came late yesterday that Mac Tichenor is leaving Univision Radio, effective the end of this month, "to pursue other interests outside of the Spanish-language broadcast business." Tichenor will continue to serve on Univision's board and be a consultant to the company. COO Gary Stone will continue running the day to day operations of Univision Radio and Univision said, "An internal and external search for Mr. Tichenor's successor will commence immediately." Tichenor has been President of Univision Radio since the former Hispanic Broadcasting Company, which he also headed, was merged into Univision in September 2003. "My 25-year career in broadcasting has proved very gratifying, starting with my father and grandfather in a family business, through our decision to specialize in Spanish radio, the merger of Tichenor Media System and Heftel Broadcasting, and, most recently, the acquisition of HBC by Univision. In that time, it has been my privilege to work with many of the most talented and dedicated people in our industry, including my colleagues at Univision. I am bullish on the company's prospects and look forward to continuing to contribute to its success as a consultant and a member of its Board of Directors," Tichenor said in a company statement.

Air America gets bucks, new Chairman
After a rocky start last March, it looks like Air America has found solid footing to compete in network radio for the long-haul. The company says it has completed a new round of investment totaling 13 million bucks, has signed new contracts with its top talent and it has a new Chairman of the Board of Directors - - Rob Glaser, who's Chairman and CEO of RealNetworks. "I have re-signed with Air America in order to spend less time with my family," said Al Franken, after signing what's described as a multi-year extension to his contract. It was just a few months ago that the network's finances were in such disarray that Franken, it's marquee star, was working without pay to keep the liberal talk start-up going. Randi Rhodes, whose show follows Franken's each day, has signed a three-year contract. Air America now airs on 40 stations across the nation, with WLIB-AM New York as its flagship, along with streaming on the Internet and airing on both Sirius and XM Satellite Radio. According to reports in the Cincinnati Enquirer, the liberal net is about to get a major new 50kw powerhouse affiliate next month - - Clear Channel's WSAI-AM Cincinnati.


PTC says FCC warrants a congressional investigation
"We are calling for a Congressional investigation of the FCC over its accounting practices. While we're pleased that the FCC has calculated that PTC members have filed an overwhelming majority of indecency complaints in the last two years, the FCC's count is utterly deceptive." These are the words of Parents Television Council President Brent Bozell. | More... |

FCC is spot remover for straying noncom
"Want the look you've always dreamed of? Salon Priorities is a full service salon specializing in innovative hairstyles. Salon Priorities has distinctive new styles to extenuate your features." Does that sound like an ad to you? It does to us, even though we're not exactly sure how you'd go about extenuating your features. Or how about this: "Snouffer Funeral Home with all the warmth of home. This is Josh Snouffer, owner and funeral director of Snouffer Funeral Home, Zanesville's nicest, largest, and most affordable funeral home." It goes on. The FCC thought they sounded like advertisements, and that's a no-no for a noncommercial (at the time) station such as WCVZ-FM in South Zanesville OH. The station, owned by Christian Voice of Central Ohio, has been hit with a 20K FCC fine for running such material for 11 different underwriters. The total number of spot airings for 10 of them was about 3,150. The station has since had its license modified to operate on a commercial basis. However, that doesn't get it off the hook for its actions before that occurred. Explaining the decision to levy the fine, the FCC said, "We so conclude because the announcements seek impermissibly to distinguish favorably their underwriters from competitors by directly stating or implying tat they offer superior service or products, and the announcements, in many instances, also invite or urge business patronage. Moreover, the announcements were aired over a substantial period of time - - 15 months."

Old timers' day
in New York
New York Market Radio (NYMRAD) kicked off the holiday season with the return of "Radio Legends" for its 21st annual gala at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square. From top left: NYMRAD's Deborah Beagan with honorees Kernie Anderson, Carl Butrum, Peter Doyle, Jim Thompson, Bill Hogan, John Fullam, Mike Craven, John Waugaman, and Sandy Josephson. From bottom left: Lee Simonson, Don Bouloukos, Ed McLaughlin, Rona Landy, Dan Griffin and Warren Waurer. Click on the picture for larger view


Adbiz©

RAEL releases second study:
"The Benefits of Synergy: Moving Money Into Radio"

The Radio Ad Effectiveness Lab (RAEL) has released its second study revealing the impact on various measurement criteria when radio is added to the media mix. "The Benefits of Synergy: Moving Money Into Radio" was conducted by The PreTesting Company and released at a press conference in NYC yesterday morning. Findings are geared to help advertisers and agencies develop multi-media campaigns that reflect the way consumers absorb media. Specifically, the study charts what happens to several effectiveness measures when radio is used to replace a balanced portion of the investment in television or newspapers. The results demonstrate that a media mix that includes radio can be more powerful than television-only or newspaper-only campaigns.

RBR observation: Matt Feinberg, SVP/Network Radio, Zenith Media sums it up the best, "The studies from RAEL reveal how to use Radio for consumer touch points. The first RAEL Study by Wirthlin demonstrates how radio connects and interacts with consumers. The Synergy Study identifies the impact on consumers when Radio is factored into the overall media mix." | More... |

Conrad's names Brokaw Advertising AOR
Brokaw Advertising announced that it has been named new AOR for Conrad's -- Northeast Ohio's largest family-owned tire center and total car care chain. Brokaw will provide support to the retailer through creative development, branding and promotion. "Brokaw's proven experience in the car care and tire categories makes them the ideal agency to handle this account," said John Turk, Conrad's president and CEO. "Brokaw understands our business challenges, and they will help us further differentiate the Conrad's brand from the large national tire store chains." Brokaw is developing a comprehensive program that highlights Conrad's expertise and commitment to customers. The new retail advertising campaign, which will include radio, outdoor and direct mail, is scheduled to launch in early 2005. Family owned since 1969, Conrad's has more than 25 Northeast Ohio locations and ranks among the 35 largest tire dealerships in the country.


Media Markets & MoneyTM
Shapiro Forces his way into Virginia
New England-based radio veteran Jeffrey Shapiro is making inroads into small-market Virginia with a 3.1 million bucks deal for a pair of FMs in Harrisonburg. His Force 5 Communications is acquiring the pair from Shenandoah Valley Television. According to Mitts Younts of EnVest Media, who handled the sale for Shenandoah, the stations are Classic Rock WBOP-FM and Classic Country/Bluegrass WSIG-FM.

Close encounter in Wichita
Educational Media Foundation has concluded yet another acquisition. This time, according to broker John Pierce, the new portfolio member is KTLI-FM Wichita, which was acquired from Adonia Radio Group for 2.95K greenbacks. Folks on the ground in Wichita won't notice any difference, however. EMF has already introduced its K-Love Contemporary Christian format on the station via an LMA.

Sirius skewered in WSJ
It's not the sort of headline that new Sirius CEO Mel Karmazin wants to see in the Wall Street Journal: "Sirius Satellite May Be Headed For Dog Days." The story by columnist Jesse Eisinger ripped Sirius for overspending on its 500-million bucks contract to hire Howard Stern and questioned whether Sirius can ever justify its current stock price. By Eisinger's calculation, the satellite radio company would need to reach 45 million subscribers to justify its stock price - - quite a jump from the current 800,000. The columnist also looked at the churn rate for satellite radio - - a topic frequently addressed over the years by RBR. Eisinger's calculations use an annual churn rate of 24% (higher than the 15% the companies are banking on, but below the 30%+ that RBR anticipates) to come up with his calculation that Sirius will need 45 million subscribers to justify its 16-billion buck market capitalization. That, he notes, is well above the 24 million subscribers today for the entire satellite TV industry.


Washington Beat
Adelstein sworn in
Jonathan Adelstein is now locked into one of the two Democratic seats on the FCC until 6/30/08, beginning a five year term retroactive to 7/1/03. Outgoing Senate minority leader Tom Daschle (D-SD) and former senate leader Trent Lott (R-MS) presided over the swearing in ceremony. "It was particularly touching to be sworn in with the same bipartisan spirit that led to my confirmation by the US Senate," said Adelstein. "It was a special honor to have Senator Daschle swear me in, after all the effort he undertook to make it possible. His leadership and guidance have always been a real inspiration. A full term opens new opportunities to promote the interests of the American public in having access to the best possible communications systems in the world. I also am pleased that I will continue to have the opportunity to work on these important issues with the Chairman, my fellow Commissioners, and the exceptional Federal Communications Commission staff."


Transactions

KGBI-FM Omaha NE from Grace University Salem Communications Corp.

WLRM-AM Memphis (Millington TN) from World Overcomer Outreach Ministry Inc. to F.W. Robbert Broadcasting

| More... |


Stock Talk
Stock rebound bypasses radio
Most stocks got a boost Wednesday from falling oil prices, but the radio sector missed the boat. The Dow Industrials rose 54 points, or 0.5%, to 10,494.

The Radio Index was off 0.727, or 0.3%, to 218.810. Regent was hardest hit of the terrestrial radio stocks, down 4.6%. But one of the high-flying satellite radio stocks took a fall. Sirius plunged 23.5% on a negative article in the Wall Street Journal and downgrades from two analysts.


Radio Stocks

Here's how stocks fared on Wednesday

Company Symbol Close Change Company Symbol Close Change

Arbitron

ARB

37.05

+0.11

Jeff-Pilot

JP

50.45

+0.64

Beasley

BBGI

16.07

-0.13

Journal Comm.

JRN

17.32

+0.22

Citadel CDL
14.90 -0.16

Radio One, Cl. A

ROIA

13.83

-0.13

Clear Channel

CCU

33.39

+0.19

Radio One, Cl. D

ROIAK

13.83

-0.10

Cox Radio

CXR

15.43

-0.17

Regent

RGCI

5.53

-0.27

Cumulus

CMLS

15.31

+0.14

Saga Commun.

SGA

16.94

-0.06

Disney

DIS

27.20

+0.34

Salem Comm.

SALM

24.59

+0.14

Emmis

EMMS

18.23

-0.05

Sirius Sat. Radio

SIRI

6.90

-2.11

Entercom

ETM

35.20

+0.52

Spanish Bcg.

SBSA

9.97

-0.11

Entravision

EVC

7.58

-0.09

Univision

UVN

27.73

-0.82

Fisher

FSCI

46.39

-0.01

Viacom, Cl. A

VIA

35.92

-0.44

Gaylord

GET

37.86

+0.47

Viacom, Cl. B

VIAb

35.29

-0.51

Hearst-Argyle

HTV

25.35

+0.02

Westwood One

WON

24.48

+0.62

Interep

IREP

0.81

+0.01

XM Sat. Radio

XMSR

38.00

-0.41

International Bcg.

IBCS

0.02

-0.01

-

-

-

-

-



__UNSUB__ to this email service.
Bounceback

Send Us Your OpinionsWe want to
hear from you.

This is your column, so send your comments to [email protected]

Just doing our job...

Once again RBR has shown to me that it's the "premier publication" for objective news and opinion in our industry. On Tuesday, Bounceback published my entire review of the FCC's miscues in FM Auction No. 37, in addition to a bogus filing on my company (12/7/04 TVBR #237).

Inside Radio, M Street Journal, Radio & Records, Radio Ink, and AllAccess....ALL published the November 15th Daily Digest filing against my company, which was dismissed by the FCC and proved false. I wrote ALL of those publications in response, NONE of them, but RBR published the rebuttal! This is a blatant example of what is drastically wrong with our media! They print the headlines, do little investigation of ANY story, and then rarely print corrections or rebuttals, and IF they do, it gets a "backpage" correction, rather than the "front page" headline they had originally printed.

Thanks to RBR for being the one publication that prints "both sides."

Sincerely,
Dale A. Ganske, President
L. Topaz Enterprises, Inc.

RBR/TVBR observation: First, Fast, Factual and Independently Owned.


Upped & Tapped

Mark Turner upped
at ABC Radio
Mark Turner has been promoted to VP/Business Technology and Data Systems, ABC Radio, effective immediately. Based in Dallas, Turner continues his division responsi-bilities overseeing various tech ops at more than 60 ABC Radio locations. Previously, he had been Director of Information Technology since 2002.


More News Headlines

TVBR - TV News

More warnings on 2005
TV groups are setting the bar low for 2005 as they speak to this week's investor conferences in New York. With no Olympics or political revenues to speak of next year, groups are telling Wall Street that revenues sans political will be up, but down compared to this year's election-inflated results. "This will be a challenging year for most newspaper and local television companies, and for Belo. Political revenues for Belo's Television Group exceeded $50 million in 2004, and will likely be in the $5-10 million range in 2005. Belo will have no Olympics revenue in 2005 versus almost $10 million in 2004. The Super Bowl will be on Fox, rather than one of the three networks where Belo's television station affiliations are concentrated. And, a modest reduction in network compensation is expected. But, with mid-single digit revenue growth in spot revenue excluding political, Belo's Television Group revenues should be down only slightly versus 2004," said CFO Dennis Williamson. Nexstar CEO Perry Sook said his company's non-political ad sales should be up 3-5% in 2005. That will produce revenues of 230-240 million, but against this year's revenues, including political, that's a decline of 3-5%.


November Digital
Solutions Magazine

Cutting inventory and the effects--GM Talkback
Larry Wert,
Pres/Gm NBC's - WMAQ-TV,
Tom Bender,
GM Greater Media/Detroit,
Mike Mazursky,
GM 4M Communications
page 6

Laying the Hits down -
Boom Boom Boom
Listen to past great air checks of
George Michael
WFIL-AM
Fred Winston's classic
NewYears Day Hangover Club &
Bob DeCarlo with Tommy Turntable
page 12

November Zinio Solutions Magazine
Read RBR in 2 simple steps:
1.Create a simple account with Zinio and download the Zinio Reader.
2. You can then download the November Issue of RBR




RBR Radar 2004
Radio News you won't read any where else. RBR--First, Accurate, and Independently Owned.

Spending to fix Infinity stations and Thumbs up boosts Houston PPM test
Joel Hollander says that's just one of the problems that radio needs to address. A couple of others are spending on promotion and up-to-date equipment, where he says Infinity was negligent in recent years. While not blaming Mel Karmazin, Hollander says "That was then, this is now." Confirmed RBR's exclusive report at the UBS Securities Media Week conference the green light to encode in Houston leaving Radio One and Cox the only two hold outs RBR observation: Even with most radio groups participating in the test, there are bigger obstacles for Arbitron to deal with when speaking of the PPM test cost is a major factor for other radio groups and they're finding the idea of a 40% price hike for ratings hard to swallow - - and that's IF Nielsen signs onto a joint venture to use PPM for TV and cable as well, which is still a big IF. Otherwise, a 65% hike for radio-only PPM is going to be really hard to sell to the industry. 12/08/04 RBR #238


Visit MediaHeadHunters.com
Radio Professionals
Salem Communications seeking experienced candidates in Radio Sales, Programming, and Management for pending acquisitions in Miami and Omaha, EOE.

Senior Sales Executive
Market leaders in Gainesville-Ocala at two of the leading radio stations in N. Central FL, WOGK-FM (K-Country) and WIND-FM (classic rocker). Two years sales experience a must. Please send resumes. EEO

GM & Equity
New England radio group seeks self-starter to captain turnarounds. Community radio is still alive and well in this Central New England combo. Equity participation available Letter and Resume

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