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Volume 21, Issue 242, Jim Carnegie, Editor & Publisher
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Tuesday Morning December 14th, 2004
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Radio News®
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 Boyle: Wal-Mart a win for radio;
Auto not so hot
Two investor notes from Wachovia Securities analyst Jim Boyle offer both good news and bad for radio. Long hold-out Wal-Mart finally used radio advertising - - and it worked. But the important auto sector is still soft, which is depressing radio ad sales figures. After admitting that it had miscalculated and was losing market share, retail giant Wal-Mart accelerated ad spending and added radio to its usual TV-newspaper mix. That followed an experiment in radio advertising by Wal-Mart a few months ago, which had long been sought by the RAB. "It must have worked," Boyle notes, since Wal-Mart looked to radio when it needed to goose sales in Q4. Based on Media Monitors' AirCheck, which found Wal-Mart buying most heavily in News/Talk/Sports and Country, Boyle figures the groups who should benefit most are Regent, Citadel and Entercom, who each derive large shares of their corporate revenues from those formats. On the down side, Boyle notes continuing softness in radio spending by the auto sector, which he says usually accounts for 12-19% of revenues for many groups. "We believe the domestic auto flight from the airwaves has been a major cause of radio second half sluggishness, which persists in spite of the very easy Q4 comps," he told clients. Although the imports have continued to advertise strongly on radio, that hasn't made up for the pullback by the domestics. "As domestic car inventory to well above average levels on the dealers' lots, it is speculated that more advertising will be rolled out to sell down the buildup. Perhaps radio might see some of it? Too early to say," Boyle noted.
 Stevens/Inouye to compete with Copps/Adelstein?
The Senate Commerce Committee may have lost one born-again regulator with the exit of Ranking Member Ernest Hollings (D-SC), but the rereg flag appears to have been picked up before it ever hit the ground by his likely successor, Daniel Inouye (D-HI), pictured. In fact, a highly unusual cross-party alliance is being assembled in Commerce, which is already one of the more bipartisan groups in Congress. The state Inouye represents shares new-kid-on-the-block, noncontiguous status with Alaska, the home of likely committee chair Ted Stevens (R-AK). An article in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin goes so far as to call the pair allies. Inouye told the Star-Bulletin that he thinks Telecom 1996 is sorely in need of review, and media ownership is a prime area to be considered in that review. Inouye supported the Byron Dorgan (D-ND)/Trent Lott (R-MS) repudiation of the FCC 6/2/03 media ownership rulemaking. In fact, Inouye and Stevens are said to be planning a telecom roadshow of their own, with six stops at as-yet-undisclosed locations during the months of January and February.
RBR observation: A Stevens/Inouye road show would probably have a broader playlist than has been the case with the Michael Copps/Jonathan Adelstein FCC road shows, which pretty much have focused on ownership consolidation to the exclusion of even other broadcast concerns, such as the DTV conversion. Look for DTV to be a big topic, as well as telephony, broadband and homeland security issues.
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Did FCC set 'em up to knock 'em down?
That's what Peggy Charren of Mediachannels.org and Action for Children's Television is saying. Her argument is that media ownership consolidation is the cause of indecency programming. So when FCC Chairman Michael Powell resorts to extreme punishments for purveyors of indecency, he's going after the very same people he empowered in the first place.
RBR observation: Charren says Powell is inflating the complaint total. At the same time, PTC's Brent Bozell says he's under-reporting complaints. If we can't even agree on the basic 1st grade arithmetic of indecency, how close do you think we are to an overall solution? | More... |
 Grading the guru: How'd Bob Coen do?
Much attention was paid last week to the annual forecast of next year's advertising spending by Universal McCann forecasting guru Bob Coen (12/7/04 TVBR #237). But before we embrace his 2005 projections, shouldn't we take a look at his track record for 2004? As Coen noted, he did pretty well - - underestimating overall national ad spending a bit, while being a bit too bullish on local. The total increase in ad spending now projected for 2005 is now 7.4%, outpacing his forecast of 6.9% a year ago, but up only one tenths of a point from his June revision. His worst call, though, was radio, where he held onto his bullish belief that the impact of political spending would be much greater than what materialized. Instead of 7%, national rose only 2%. Local gained 4% instead of 6%. He was much closer to the mark on TV, with national spot, syndication and local all coming in even a bit better than Coen's forecast. Our chart gives you all of the numbers to compare. | More... |
Satellite stocks added to Nasdaq 100
As if their high-flying stocks needed any further lift, both XM and Sirius Satellite Radio are being added to the Nasdaq 100 stock index, which is likely to give both stocks a boost as mutual funds linked to the index (and the QQQQ exchange-traded shares) rebalance to reflect changes in the makeup of the index. Both satellite radio companies are being added to the index next Monday, December 20th. The Nasdaq 100 is comprised of the 100 largest non-financial companies by market capitalization. Most of the index components are tech companies, although EchoStar (satellite TV) and Lamar Advertising (outdoor) are included.
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Adbiz©
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 Ian Rowden named
Wendy's new EVP/CMO
Ian Rowden has been named Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for the Wendy's brand starting yesterday. He'll oversee all of Wendy's brand marketing strategies and initiatives, and will manage advertising, research, product marketing and field marketing functions. Rowden formerly led global marketing and advertising at Callaway Golf Company and The Coca Cola Company.
Pfizer shifts 75 million to Wunderman from Carat
Pfizer has quietly shifted an estimated 75 million in direct response TV buying duties from Carat USA unit to WPP's Wunderman Media, according a story from MediaPost. Other than the direct response assignment, the relationship between Carat and Pfizer--the media shop's largest media buying client, with roughly 1 billion in U.S. billings--is relatively unchanged. "This is a small piece of business relative to what Carat handles," said one exec, noting that Carat handles media buying and planning, interactive, and corporate brand experience for the drug company. Nevertheless, other sources noted to MediaPost that Pfizer could be using the Wunderman assignment as a test to determine whether to diversify the handling of other media duties in the future.
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| Media Markets & MoneyTM |
Colorado group bulks up around Denver
A Strasburg CO FM station is going into what will be a double duopoly in a 16M transaction between an ownership consortium and a regional operator. The buyer is the radio wing of multimedia Anshcutz Company. The station is KAGM-FM, on the fringe of the Denver-Boulder market. It is being sold by KAGM LLC, made up of Ed Seeger's Trans-Rockies Radio LLC and Anthony Brandon's TRC-Colorado LLC. They originally purchased the station in 2003 with a loan from the current buyer. The buyer is Timothy Brown's NRC Broadcasting - - NRC in this case stands for Newspaper Radio Corp., not Nuclear Regulatory Commission - - which is part of Anschutz, Philip F. Anschutz, Chairman/CEO. The station will team up with KJAC-FM Timnath, which recently moved into the Denver market all the way from Laramie WY, along with KCUV-AM Littleton and KNRC-AM Englewood. NRC also purchased numerous small-town Colorado stations since the turn of the millennium, with most of them coming from an ownership group which also included Brandon. KAGM is a class A, with 6 kw @ 328'. The station has applied to go to Class C3, with 16.5 kw @ 407'.
A vulture's eye view of Citadel, reviewed
In our listing of Citadel markets Monday (12/13/04 RBR #241) we noted a 2-FM, 3-AM cluster in Tri-Cities, which, succumbing to the Pavlov effect, we attributed to Washington state, since that's the market Arbitron refers to as Tri-Cities. However, Nielsen and locals refer to Johnson City-Bristol-Kingsport TN-VA as Tri-Cities as well, and that's where the Citadel cluster is in fact located. Thanks to alert reader Greg Rice for the catch. Rice should know - - he's the cluster's Sales Manager. He notes that the group has Tennessee's five biggest markets covered.
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| Washington Beat |
Taking the TX out of Commerce
According to pollster Jeff Montgomery of Montgomery and Associates, the door is wide open for Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison to take a political job a little closer to home than is currently the case. Despite the fact that there is an incumbent Republican governor in the state - - Rick Perry - - Montgomery says Hutchison would be a shoo-in for the 2006 nomination in a two-candidate Republican primary, defeating Perry 59.5%-31.6%. Perry handily defeats all other comers. Hutchison is a prominent member of the Senate Commerce Committee. She has joined with outgoing Committee chair John McCain (R-AZ) in opposing much of the FCC 6/2/03 media ownership ruling.
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| Programming |
 Regis rockin' on New Year's Eve
With perennial TV/radio host Dick Clark still hospitalized from the mild stroke he suffered last week, ABC has tapped Regis Philbin to be fill-in host for "New Year's Rockin' Eve 2005." Singer Ashlee Simpson will co-host from the West Coast. "I'm so glad that Regis hadn't yet made any New Year's plans," Clark said in a statement released by his publicist. "It'll feel strange watching it on TV, but my doctors felt it was too soon. I'm sure Regis will do a great job, and I'm thankful that he was able to step in on such short notice." Clark had hosted the annual New Years Eve bash for 32 years straight and had intended to be back on his feet for #33 until his doctors said otherwise. "It's the greatest 'temp job' in the world. I just hope I can uphold the standards Dick Clark has set for this annual event, and I look forward to his return next year," said Philbin.
CC Entertainment TV to co-produce
"Def On Demand Live!"
Def On Demand, a subsidiary of Simmons Lathan Media Group (SLMG), a leading producer and distributor of urban/hip-hop themed media content, and Clear Channel Entertainment Television, a division of Clear Channel Entertainment announced a deal to co-produce twelve music and fashion related events per year under the new banner, "Def On Demand Live!" These productions will be distributed via television, VOD, and DVD. The companies are developing entertainment events and properties to produce over the two-year agreement. "We are extremely pleased to be partnering with Clear Channel, a world leader in the production of live entertainment events," said Will Griffin, president/CEO of Def On Demand. "With our focus in urban entertainment, and our ability within Def On Demand Live! to draw on the creative experience of our co-founders Russell Simmons and Stan Lathan, we look forward to our partnership with Clear Channel and believe that together we can continue to develop and produce the compelling live events for which we are known." "Def On Demand comes from a long tradition of developing intelligent, timely, and award winning entertainment for the urban/hip-hop focused consumer market," said Joe Townley, President of CC Entertainment Television. "Through this partnership, we seek to combine knowledge of the urban market with Clear Channel Entertainment's capability for producing and delivering quality live entertainment events to diverse consumer groups, by driving existing and new audiences toward these VOD and DVD events."
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| Engineering |
NRSC announces program for improving RBDS
The National Radio Systems Committee (NRSC), a standard setting forum jointly sponsored by the Consumer Electronics Association and the NAB, announced a standards program designed to improve the display of broadcast information for FM radio. The NRSC's Radio Broadcast Data System (RBDS) Subcommittee has begun development of an Open Data Application (ODA) to improve the ability of broadcasters and receiver manufacturers to display song title, artist and other program information associated with FM broadcasts. This ODA is expected to be incorporated into the US RBDS Standard, and the features that it provides also will be considered for incorporation into the HD Radio broadcasting standard currently being developed by the NRSC's DAB Subcommittee. The Subcommittee is considering two proposals detailing how the ODA would be structured. Interested parties may submit specific proposals for accomplishing this to the NRSC by sending them to:
Megan Hays
Manager, Technology & Standards
Consumer Electronics Association
2500 Wilson Boulevard
Arlington, VA 22201-3824
Tel: (703) 907-7660
Email: [email protected]
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David Layer
Director, Advanced Engineering
NAB
1771 N Street, NW
Washington, DC 20036
Tel: (202) 429-5339
Email: [email protected]
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The deadline for submission is January 15, 2005.
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| GM Talkback |
How has the Sarbanes-Oxley Act affected the accounting routine at your station(s)? By the end of the year, publicly held companies have to be in compliance (billing systems). When they file reports at end of Q4, they have to tell them exactly what they've got. No fudging.
RADIO:
Dave Pugh, CC Radio RVP/Michigan:
We have always had strong financial checks and balances in place, locally and corporate-wide, and we are all working together to comply with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley. The current policies that we have in place at the local level have made this a very easy transition for us.
Tony Bonnici, VP/GM, Lotus Broadcasting:
My understanding of Sarbanes-Oxley is, it applies to public held companies and we are not a publicly held company. However, we do follow the spirit of Oxley, even though we aren't required to. We are also in the process of instituting internal audit procedures.
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| Transactions |
WGEZ-AM Beloit WI from Rego Ltd. to Alliance Communications Inc.
WNOO-AM Chattanooga TN from Pye Broadcasting Inc. to East Tennessee Radio Group III LLP.
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| Stock Talk |
Big merger boosts stocks
Stock prices edged upward on Monday, boosted by an agreed merger of People Soft into Oracle, following a long and stormy courtship. The Dow Industrials rose 95 points, or 0.9%, to 10,638.
Radio stocks joined the up trend, boosted by a government report of a slight November rise in retail sales. The Radio Index rose 0.597, or 0.3%, to 221.783. Regent led the way, up 1.6%, with Clear Channel up 1.4%. Both satellite radio stocks got a boost from word they were being added to the Nasdaq 100. Sirius shot up 5.9% and XM gained 0.3%.
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| Radio Stocks |
Here's how stocks fared on Monday
| Company |
Symbol |
Close |
Change |
Company |
Symbol |
Close |
Change |
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Arbitron
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ARB
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37.83
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+0.11
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Jeff-Pilot
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JP
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51.77
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+0.16
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Beasley
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BBGI
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16.20
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+0.09
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Journal Comm.
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JRN
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17.44
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+0.01
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| Citadel |
CDL |
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15.44 |
+0.03 |
Radio One, Cl. A
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ROIA
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14.32
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-0.40
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Clear Channel
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CCU
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33.76
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+0.46
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Radio One, Cl. D
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ROIAK
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14.31
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+0.09
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Cox Radio
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CXR
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15.40
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+0.04
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Regent
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RGCI
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5.58
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+0.09
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Cumulus
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CMLS
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15.10
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+0.12
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Saga Commun.
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SGA
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17.07
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+0.07
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Disney
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DIS
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27.73
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+0.10
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Salem Comm.
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SALM
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24.77
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-0.43
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Emmis
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EMMS
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18.07
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-0.03
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Sirius Sat. Radio
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SIRI
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8.04
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+0.45
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| Entercom |
ETM
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35.27
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+0.08
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Spanish Bcg.
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SBSA
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10.25
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+0.04
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Entravision
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EVC
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7.80
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-0.05
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Univision
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UVN
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28.00
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+0.10
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Fisher
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FSCI
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47.25
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-0.01
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Viacom, Cl. A
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VIA
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35.03
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-0.44
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Gaylord
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GET
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38.40
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+0.01
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Viacom, Cl. B
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VIAb
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34.30
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-0.42
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Hearst-Argyle
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HTV
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25.77
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+0.01
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Westwood One
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WON
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25.23
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-0.15
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Interep
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IREP
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0.75
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-0.01
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XM Sat. Radio
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XMSR
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38.77
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+0.13
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International Bcg.
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IBCS
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0.02
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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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Urgent Request
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 Now many that know Cathy and me personally, know we go the distance. This request for your assistance is from two people who have a vehicle of RBR & TVBR and are trying to help and bring a Merry Christmas to 40 lonely soldiers in a far away place and seeing the worst of war. Will you help us to help the medics & soldiers during this Holiday Season?
Ship to:
SFC Melick.
325th Field Hospital
APO AE 09355
Thank you and Merry Christmas
Jim & Cathy Carnegie
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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]
60s vs 30s
"As a programmer, if I can promise at least 52 minutes of content an hour, and I sell that as a marketing proposition to the listener, I do not think unit count becomes a problem...
Cary Pall
Columbus, Ohio
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Upped & Tapped
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A man of the Times
WQXR-FM New York General Manager Tom Bartunek has been promoted to the new position of President of New York Times Radio. In addition to running the station, he will be responsible for expanding the distribution of Times-branded news and information on radio.
Drivin' in Philly
Clear Channel Radio's WDAS-FM Philadelphia will bring back legendary Philadelphia radio team of Carter and Sanborn to host morning drive at the station, replacing Tom Joyner's show, which moves to Radio One's new WRNB-FM there in January. Carter & Sanborn previously handled mornings at crosstown WUSL-FM.
AURN ups Wright,
taps Jennings
American Urban Radio Networks (AURN) has promoted Vernon Wright to Executive Vice President, Sales and New Business Development. Wright was most recently Senior Vice President of Sales. AURN also appointed Michelle Jennings as Senior Vice President, Marketing Operations. Prior to joining AURN, Jennings launched a Media Research Company that provided custom and syndicated solutions to political advertisers.
WMBZ-FM
taps Carson
94.1 The Buzz WMBZ-FM Memphis announced the appointment of Brad Carson as PD and Morning Show Host. He was most recently the PD of WIXM-FM and WKOE-FM Atlantic City.
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November Digital
Solutions Magazine
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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
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
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RBR Radar 2004
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Radio News you won't read any where else. RBR--First, Accurate, and Independently Owned.
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What's Citadel worth?
CEO Farid Suleman hung a "for sale" sign on the company at last week's UBS Securities conference, but will there be any takers? For sure Forstmann Little would want to get at least the IPO price of 19 bucks a share. Including debt, that's a price tag of nearly three billion. Frankly, we think Ted Forstmann is going to be a broadcaster for longer than he'd planned. RBR observation: As for Farid we don't believe he ever made the statement he was in this operation to wait and receive a gold watch. 12/13/04 RBR #241
A vulture's eye view of Citadel
When thinking of the many legendary companies that have sizzled the American airwaves with news and entertainment, the name of Citadel Broadcasting owner Forstmann Little is not likely to come up. It doesn't have broadcasting in its blood - - its m.o. is to take a stack of dollar bills and turn it into a bigger stack. RBR observation: There is no room for Citadel in the Clear Channel portfolio, but for three of radio's other mega-groups - - Viacom/Infinity, Disney/ABC and Cumulus - - it would make a very snug fit. This would present an opportunity for any number of TV groups seeking to enter or, for companies like GE/NBC, Sinclair or Gannett, re-enter, the radio business. As for Farid we don't believe he ever made the statement he was in this operation to wait and receive a gold watch.
12/13/04 RBR #241
Caution trumped optimism
at investor conferences
National radio to be up 5.2%, local radio 5%, national spot TV down 1% and local TV up 2.5%. Most broadcasters aren't yet to the point of giving guidance for full-year 2005. They're standing by their Q4 guidance - - and a couple of TV companies have recently increased their guidance because political was even better than they'd expected (Salem alone in radio has increased guidance, but it is a one-of-a-kind company) - - but nobody is going out on a limb about '05.
12/13/04 RBR #241
Saga EVP Steve Goldstein
warns radio to embrace change
at Arbitron fly-in
"My real point was that in the past 10 years that we've had pretty seismic changes in our business, but not just our business-other elements in the media business as well. And I mentioned some of them. For example, the DVD business is now bigger than the movie business. The movie biz is a 9.5 billion business, but DVDs are a 16.3 billion dollar business. Clearly, in the last 10 years a seismic change. And if you recall, the movie companies were frightened to death of video. And now, here it is and it has changed their business... " RBR observation: One more time again from the top - Irwin Gottlieb, CEO of Group M states to all: "If you are afraid of change this might be a good time to leave the business. If you choose to hang on and pursue opportunity buckle up because it's going to be a terrific ride."
12/13/04 RBR #241
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Radio Professionals
Salem Communications seeking experienced candidates in Radio Sales, Programming, and Management for pending acquisitions in Miami and Omaha, EOE.
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
See Radio Careers for more info.
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©2004 Radio Business Report/Television Business Report, Inc. All rights reserved.
Radio Business Report -- 2050 Old Bridge Road, Suite B-01, Lake Ridge, VA 22192 -- Phone: 703-492-8191
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