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Volume 22, Issue 250, Jim Carnegie, Editor & Publisher
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Tuesday Morning December 27th, 2005
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Radio News®
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 Back to the future for Clear Channel
It took most of 2005 to complete the process, but the big restructuring that Clear Channel Communications (CCU) announced back in the spring (5/2/05 RBR #86) has been completed. A few weeks after the IPO of Clear Channel Outdoor as a 90% owned subsidiary of CCU with its own stock (CCO), CCU divorced itself from Clear Channel Entertainment last week by passing out shares of a new company, Live Nation (LYV), to shareholders - - one share of LYV for each eight shares of CCU owned. As predicted (and feared) by Bear Stearns analyst Victor Miller (12/14/05 RBR #243), Wall Street initially reacted to the spin-off by dropping CCU's stock price by 1.36, subtracting one-eighth of the share price of LYV. Miller insists that the real financial impact on CCU is much less, more like 20 cents a share, because of the future tax write-offs from its ill-fated venture into the concert business. By the end of trading Thursday (12/22) the CCU decline had been cut to 57 cents. If you're a new LYV shareholder looking to sell your stock, you may not have to look far for a buyer. The new company immediately announced that its board had authorized a 150 million bucks stock buyback.
RBR observation: Don't look for any more spin-offs from Clear Channel. The TV group and Katz Media Group are too small to be viable as stand-alone public companies (as Katz already proved once). And it would make no sense to create a separate stock for Clear Channel Radio (although the ticker LIM, Less is More, comes to mind), since radio is CCU's main business. Rather, it's time to hunker down and improve operating performance. With the easy comps from 2005 resulting from LIM, there can be no excuses for not delivering growth in 2006.
Publisher observation: We are not just singling out Clear Channel as this liner is worth repeating to all in the public eye and you must remember to whom you report and not your individual whims. It is time to hunker down, improve operating performance and not by firing top experienced people. Reinvest in the business and deliver the tools needed with budgets for fierce media competition. This New Year there can be no excuses for not delivering growth and 2005 was the year for a do over. Radio in 2006 will be in hand-to-hand combat with the total media for audience, ad dollars, and just a piece of the pie.
 FCC: Copps officially re-upped, Tate in
By unanimous acclimation on the evening of 12/21/05 (for those of you keeping score at home), the Senate approved a second term of the FCC for Democrat Michael Copps and a first term for Republican Debi Tate. The nominations had been pending since Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-AK) succeeded in discharging them directly from the Committee to the Senate calendar 12/13/05. The new Copps term runs until 6/30/10. Tate, who is actually finishing off the term of departed Chairman Michael Powell, is booked until 6/30/07. A fifth seat remains to be filled. Stevens has volunteered publicly to take that matter into his own hands, but to date has not received the necessary White House cooperation to bring any of his suggestions before his committee for questioning.
RBR observation: The renomination of Copps comes despite his fierce opposition to media ownership consolidation, and despite his effective campaign to get numerous public interest groups and citizens involved in a bureaucratic battle that typically is restricted to inside-the-Beltway players. Conventional wisdom holds that a big reason is his very conservative position on broadcast indecency, an issue in which he as been ahead of the parade, calling for massive fines and license revocation hearings. Although the fight against broadcast indecency has generally been bipartisan, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin must be pleased to have such a reliable ally on the issue. As for the consolidation issue, all the Republicans need do is fill that fifth seat to neutralize Copps and his Democratic colleague Jonathan Adelstein. Then it will be a matter of finding something they can slip past the judiciary. Tate, like Abernathy before, generally comes from the telco side of the communications business. Before Commerce earlier this month she seemed content to take in information before staking out any hard and fast positions. On broadcasting issues, we would expect her to take her cues from Martin, especially in the early going.
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Agree to decree: File this one under contribution
Kevin and Alana Beamish, receivers of WJSZ-FM in Ashley MI, may well have been surprised to find themselves vulnerable to an FCC fine. They've been trustees of the station since the FCC approved that it be signed over to them by Curwood Broadcasting Company on 3/10/05. Apparently, the station was handed over without a properly maintained public file. In this case, the FCC has allowed the Beamishes to make a voluntary 6K contribution to the US Treasury, along with an agreement to certain terms and conditions designed to rectify the problem in the future, rather than hit them with a fine. It's sort of like getting in trouble with the principal at school, and getting punished, but it doesn't go into your permanent record file. Besides the contribution, they will make sure quarterly issues/program lists make it into the file, late-filed documents will be signed by the station manager and filed, and the staff will be thoroughly trained in the art of file management. The Beamishes or their successors, should they sell the station, will further be subject to audit for three years, with the aid of the Michigan Association of Broadcasters.
RBR observation: The receivers may have been subject to culture shock, if they went into this situation without prior broadcast experience. As a federally-regulated business, there are all kinds of rules to comply with over and above those which are common to most businesses. Still, the rules are the rules. It is good to see that the FCC has enough flexibility to take into account special circumstances in a fair and even-handed manner.
 EEOooowwwwww
One good fine deserves another
KRMS AM & FM Osage Beach MO owner Viper Communications hit the daily double at the FCC last week, drawing two fines for two completely unrelated violations. In the first, the company held off filing a license renewal application because it had a pending application on file to modify the parameters of the FM. Viper argued that the situation was analogous to having a CP for a new station that was operating under test authority. The FCC said that was nonsense, and all filings must be submitted on time regardless of what has or has not been applied for. The pricetag: 3K - - but since Viper did get the renewal application in late but before the license expired, the Commission reduced the penalty to 1.5K. Then there was an 18-month period from 3/10/03 though 10/1/04 during which the FCC said Viper fell short of its responsibilities on the EEO front. During that period, Viper failed to use its outreach venues of choice - - job banks and newsletters of trade groups with substantial minority and female membership. It said the reason was that it had no upper-level job openings during that period. Not good enough, said the FCC, noting that there are many other acceptable outreach methods available to broadcasters. Given the limited scope of the violation, it held the fine down to 8K, for a 9.5K total. The licenses for both stations, located in unrated territory roughly between Jefferson City and Springfield, were renewed.
Scientists find boon for broadcasters
Time is money in the broadcasting business, and scientists the world over have come together to provide more time for everybody. For broadcasters, time translates into inventory - - but they will have to act fast. The extra time comes at the end of this week, at 7:00 PM Eastern time. And they'll have to BE fast - - the extra inventory, according to the US Naval Observatory, will amount to one second, needed by super-accurate atomic clocks to account for a slight slow-down in the rotation of the planet.
RBR observation: Although many have reported client resistance to the concept of 15-second spots, we are sure that many of you have made the quarter-minute unit a viable portion of your rate card. And for those of you who have successfully plunged into even briefer units, all the way down to the lucrative but tough-sell 0:01 spot, the scientific community has granted you an entire unit of inventory with which to enrich your company and further blacken you bottom line before we close the curtain on 2005. Enjoy!
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| Publishers Perspective |
 Where's the media going,
television, the blogs,
Internet, cable?
This is not my question but one that was asked this past Christmas morning by NBC's Washington Bureau Chief Tim Russert to former NBC 'Nightly News' anchor Tom Brokaw and former ABC 'Nightline' host Ted Koppel. This interview by Russert was one for all of us in the media to view and learn from three excellent media professionals. Their level of creditability and integrity is beyond reproach but their forecast of how we all in the media business should conduct ourselves made this exclusive by Russert a must-view to remember our place in this media world. Brokaw summed it up by stating it is a new universe in the media or a new frontier like the Oklahoma land rush as it is a new landscape where they (we all in the changing media) are hoping to find land with a pot of oil somewhere. Brokaw's view is the internet was unknown five years ago and today it is a powerful tool to deliver news or propaganda and as I see it there is a very thin line between the two. There is a new universe of media and media business like planets but only the brightest are gonna survive or support life. Viewing Brokaw and Koppel was seeing what has been and where we are going so if you missed this one time insight exclusive best review it before you jump into 2006 and the new year will be unforgiving if you make mistakes as 2005 was your year to fix what was broken. Close to 40 years in this business and the past 23 years with RBR and now TVBR I can only say for the record that if you do not have a strong stomach for combat then it is time for a career change as 2006 is gonna be a wild ride. Learn from Brokaw, Koppel and Russert.
| Dec. 25, 05 Meet the Press |
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Adbiz©
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77-WABC-AM and other
 50kw's Branding Irons
In an attempt grab some of the confused and disoriented NYC audience after Howard Stern's disappearance from the terrestrial airwaves, ABC Radio's News/Talk WABC-AM NY is going commercial free weekdays from 5-7AM, beginning 1/3. The move hopes to bring listeners to WABC's "Curtis and Kuby" morning show. The two-hour commercial free window may reportedly last as long as the Arbitron winter ratings period, which ends in March.
RBR observation: Not a bad idea if it has focus with marketing to let New Yorkers know it is happening but we also see a tremendous opportunity for 77 WABC with their 50kw clear at night. What a way to talk to a large audience if ABC would only market to them. And that goes for all 50kw's at night. Radio has something in those cities where those unique signals are placed - it is called local and people from around the world can identify with them. Plus, from an advertiser point of view it is not All Nights you are buying - Wake up you are buying the world and this is why we printed this little bite size of info. Advertisers, clients use those 50kw signals and you will be surprised on your results with national spot to brand your products as a 50kw signal is one hell of a big branding iron.
 Mandel on NY media coverage
of transit strike
Jon Mandel, Chairman/MediaCom US and Chief Global Buying Officer MediaCom Worldwide first called to respond to a reader's criticism last week (12/22/05 RBR #249) And then, as an obsessive consumer of media, gave us a run-down of the quality of coverage of the city-wide transit strike in NYC.
First, on the RBR/TVBR reader: "Obviously, I know that the transit strike is a problem-I do have 178 co-workers who live in New York City who are having a bitch of a time getting here. That being said, as marketers, we have to be anthropologists. And the question is, what does this teach us? If you look at the incredible cutback in cars in the city and the massive amount of people taking the Long Island Railroad and Metro North, you see a massive humanity shift which shows that there are people coming from outside to a very large degree. That says we should do something about those people I'm referring to. We should do something about the both the traffic and paying for the services of the city-meaning people from outside the city. All you have to do is walk up to Harlem and see all the cars with Connecticut plates parked up there with people who then walked over and took the train from 125th Street. The question is, how selfish are they that they drive into the city and gum up the city and then get on a train that they could have gotten on in Greenwich [CT]?"
And on media coverage: "I am (a) a media junkie and (b) probably the most senior major fan of local radio. That being said, here's the Mandel quick take: Pre-strike-what was going on with negotiations: WCBS-AM, WINS-AM were far and away the leaders. Followed closely by the NY Daily News. Everybody else was a non-starter. However, during the strike, the clear winner in how to deal with it was a tie between the local television stations' websites, particularly WNBC.com, and XM Channel 211, which has stupendous traffic coverage. CBS and WINS did their usual mediocre traffic reporting, and the other local radio stations in the market don't know how to spell News, Traffic or Community. Not only that (for those of us walking anywhere), it should give everybody in the terrestrial broadcast world pause to look at the percentage of people walking with their ears plugged into MP3 players. And it dawned on me this morning, does Radio Shack even sell transistor radios anymore?!"
Kellogg's keeps buying with Starcom
Kellogg's has decided to re-up with Starcom for US buying after a review. MindShare and Carat were the other contenders. Billings are 500+ million on the account.
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| Media Business Report |
 Unions want to bid for
Knight Ridder papers
In an effort to protect their paychecks, union members want to enter the bidding for part of the Knight Ridder newspaper chain. The Newspaper Guild says it wants to submit a buyout offer - - but not for the whole shebang, just eight of the larger papers where workers are represented by the union. The specific newspapers that the union is hoping to buy, in league with some "worker friendly" private equity firms, are the San Jose Mercury News, the Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News, the St. Paul Pioneer Press, the Akron Beacon Journal, the Duluth News Tribune, the Lexington Herald-Leader, the Monterey Herald and the Grand Forks Herald. "Standing still is not an option. Each of the 8 properties our advisory team has identified is profitable. We think there are solid business opportunities out there. We are going to go after those properties and we are going to attempt to persuade others in labor, management and the investment community to join us. We have formally requested that Knight Ridder open the process to include our bid," said Guild President Linda Foley. As Knight Ridder and its financial advisers consider buy-out bids, the company reported that November ad revenues were up 3.6% to 218.6 million, with retail up 5.9%, classified up 10.3% and national down 13.8%. Total revenues were also up 3.6% to 268.4 million. Year-to-date, ad revenues were up 2.9% at Knight Ridder to 2.2 billion, again with national as the only laggard, and total revenues were up 2.1% to 2.8 billion.
RBR observation: CEO Tony Ridder spoke in recent years of buying radio stations to operate as News/Talk extensions of Knight Ridder's local newspaper brands, but that idea is off the table now that certain big investors have forced him to put the entire company up for sale. In fact, that would have been too little, too late. Knight Ridder missed the boat long ago by not expanding into broadcasting, particularly television, as so many other newspaper groups did. Now it has to make the transition to an ever-increasing reliance on online delivery, without having the benefit of an additional cash flow stream from broadcast. Despite shareholder discontent, Knight Ridder has actually been holding its own against its newspaper peer group. Just how would a new owner make it any more profitable without gutting the operations and jeopardizing their long-term survival? It remains to be seen whether any private equity group can come up with a business plan that would boost profits enough to justify paying a premium price to buy out public shareholders. Supercharging a newspaper group is not going to be an easy task.
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| Media Markets & MoneyTM |
Hoak goes for broke in small western markets
From Kalil & Co. we learn that the Hoak Media's 9.5M acquisition of a trio of Nebraska television stations - - two full-power, one low - - has closed. The seller was Greater Nebraska Television Inc. Hoak gets KHAS-TV (NBC 5) in Hastings, along with KNOP-TV (NBC 2) and KK11TW (Fox 11) in North Platte. Hoak cut two deals in 2003 to get into the business - - getting a Wichita TX station for 8.2M and a four full-power, one low-power TV group based in Colorado Springs for 10M.
NY Times sees tough Q4
As recently as early this month (12/9/05 TVBR #240), the New York Times Co. said it couldn't give Wall Street guidance on its Q4 financial expectations. Now, with the quarter almost over, the company has released some numbers - - and they're not upbeat. The Times Co. says earnings per share will be in the range of 45-47 cents, down sharply from 75 cents a year ago. That includes one-time charges of 23-24 cents for stock-based compensation expenses and staff reduction costs, vs. a two-cent charge a year ago, so the pro forma range of 66-69 cents is actually a bit ahead of the Thomson/First Call estimate of 60 cents.
Closings from all over
A pair of deals in the San Francisco/San Jose area have closed recently. Media Venture Partners was an advisor in SF and a station operator/trustee in SJ. In SF, Infinity/CBS/Viacom closed on its 95M acquisition of KIFR-FM (the former KEAR-FM) from Family Stations, a follow-up to the 35M deal selling KFRC-AM the other way. Concurrently, Infinity's 80M sale of KEZR-FM/KBAY-FM in San Jose has closed. Meanwhile, Salem has closed in KHLP-AM in the Omaha market, which it got from Journal for 900K in a Dick Chapin brokered deal.
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| Washington Beat |
TV stations slip off the hook
Sometimes the FCC is content to simply note a small infraction for the record, and let it go at that. Such is the case for a quartet of television licensees that joined the public file parade, composed of the ever-lengthening list of stations that have exposed irregularities or omissions in their public file while applying for a license renewal. However, in three of the cases, the FCC considered the offenses so minor that it just mentioned them in passing on the way to renewing the license. In that group were Univision's WUVG-TV Athens GA (market: Atlanta), LeSea's WHNO-TV New Orleans (market: uhhh, New Orleans), and Time Warner's Superstation WTBS-FM Atlanta (market: uhhh, everywhere). All three had minor commercial overages during children's programming. The fourth, Televicentro's WIRS-TV in Puerto Rico, was accused of failure to publicize the existence and location of its Children's Television Programming Reports. However, the bulk of the infraction was laid at the doorstep of prior owner Maranatha Christian Network. Televicentro evidently continued the failure, for which it received the wrist slap of an FCC admonition, along with its license renewal.
RBR observation: Radio stations need not worry about any children's programming requirements, but they do need to maintain a public file. It's odd to know that the FCC is not unreasonable when in comes to inspecting the public inspection file. However, it is best to simply comply with the letter of the law - - and it's further a good idea to make a public file inspection a part of your due diligence when your company is in acquisition mode, and certainly it should be high on the list when you're moving in.
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| Engineering |
 Kenyon on HD Radio focus groups
Al Kenyon, head of Broadcast Technical Services Division at Denny & Associates and former Clear Channel SVP/Technology, had a few observations of Harper Research's HD Radio focus group project for Cox Radio: "Among the comments from the members of the DC panel was: 'If they could put all the rock stations together starting at, say, 101, that would be good.' This is somewhere between pretty funny and very scary. You will also note that the moderator continually uses the term 'high definition radio' instead of the correct term "HD radio'. The additional program options are consistently referred to as new radio stations. Could this have subtly influenced the group? You will note that the DC group seems to exclusively consist of young males, many of whom are apparently DC101 listeners." He adds, "By the way, at home when I want to watch CSI in high definition, I punch in 009-01. If I want weather, it's 004-02 or 009-02, even though the actual HD channel assignments are 34 for CBS and 48 for NBC. The consumer electronics industry seems to already moved on in television. Although the parallel to HD radio only holds up as long has my car stays in one radio market and it doesn't have to learn a new set of translations on the fly. Humming to oneself while the vehicle radio is scanning to update its memory of HD radio program channels would be a less than gratifying experience."
In addition, Kenyon tells us some HD-2 equipped tuners like the Kenwood receiver, when tuning from left to right acquire analog first, then main signal HD, then HD-1, then HD-2-a somewhat slow process. But tuning from right to left takes much more time and tunes in the opposite order-beginning with HD-2 first. Not sure if that makes sense. Said Kenyon: "Apparently, the consumer electronics guys are struggling with how to handle stuff. Because the mechanics of it-it has to grab the RF carrier, lock into the carrier, decode the digital stream. They're trying to give the tuning process to the consumer in a logical order, in spite of the fact it could play the analog immediately and then decode the other stuff. So I guess they're trying to avoid confusion, but the engineer in me wonders why you would want a radio dial that indicated frequencies that aren't there?"
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| Monday Morning Makers & Shakers |
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Transactions: 11/14/05-11/18/05
As Elmer Fudd might say, it's vewwwwwwwy, vewwwwwwwy qwiet just about now. There were actually quite a few transactions, but they were generally of little consequence insofar as the upper echelons of the business are concerned. Suffice it to say, we feel sure that no ripples had the moxie to make it all the way to Wall Street.
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Total
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Total Deals
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18
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AMs
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10
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FMs
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11
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TVs
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0
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| Value |
7.493M
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| Complete Charts |
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Radio Transactions of the Week
Acker attack in Pueblo
| More... |
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TV Transactions of the Week
Has a winter hibernation begun? |
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| Transactions |
3.5M WHTS-FM Quad Cities IA-IL (Rock Island IL) from Mercury Broadcasting Company Inc. (Van H. Archer III) to Educational Media Foundation (Richard Jenkins). 175K escrow, balance in cash at closing. [File date 12/2/05.]
2M WBBM-TV Montgomery AL (Tuskegee AL) from Montgomery 22 Inc., a subsidiary of Equity Broadcasting Corp. (Gregory W. Fess) to Sagamorehill Broadcasting of Alabama LLC, a subsidiary of Sagamorehill Broadcasting LLC (Louis Wall). 200K escrow, balance in cash at closing. Duopoly with WNCF-TV. WBBM is an Indy on Channel 22; WNCF is an ABC affiliate on Channel 32. [File date 12/8/05.]
200K WHAP-AM Richmond VA (Hopewell VA) from Mainquad Communications Inc. (Daniel Berman, William McCutcheon) to Benjamin-Dane of Virginia LLC (Ronald Reeves). 10K escrow, balance in cash at closing. [File date 12/2/05.]
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| Stock Talk |
A bit of Christmas cheer for Wall Street
US stock markets were closed yesterday to observe the Christmas holiday. Stocks mostly posted modest gains in light trading on Friday. The Dow Industrials, however, fell six points, to 10,883, while most other indices were up slightly.
The Radio Index rose 2.712, or 1.5%, to 184.137. Saga rebounded 6.5% after falling earlier in the week. Regent rose 2.6%.
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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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38.90
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+0.05
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Jeff-Pilot
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JP
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57.46
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+0.26
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Beasley
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BBGI
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13.74
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-0.11
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Journal Comm.
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JRN
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13.89
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+0.02
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| Citadel |
CDL |
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13.17 |
+0.24 |
Radio One, Cl. A
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ROIA
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10.84
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+0.06
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Clear Channel
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CCU
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31.96
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+0.24
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Radio One, Cl. D
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ROIAK
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10.87
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+0.06
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Cox Radio
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CXR
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14.48
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+0.23
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Regent
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RGCI
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4.70
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+0.12
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Cumulus
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CMLS
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12.88
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+0.08
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Saga Commun.
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SGA
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11.05
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+0.67
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Disney
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DIS
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24.27
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+0.08
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Salem Comm.
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SALM
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17.40
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+0.17
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Emmis
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EMMS
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19.93
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+0.31
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Sirius Sat. Radio
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SIRI
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6.83
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+0.13
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| Entercom |
ETM
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29.77
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+0.59
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Spanish Bcg.
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SBSA
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5.30
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+0.10
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Entravision
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EVC
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7.26
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+0.11
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Univision
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UVN
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30.14
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+0.54
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Fisher
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FSCI
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43.57
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-0.38
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Viacom, Cl. A
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VIA
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33.33
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+0.05
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Gaylord
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GET
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44.26
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+0.12
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Viacom, Cl. B
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VIAb
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33.34
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+0.11
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Hearst-Argyle
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HTV
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23.92
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+0.23
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Westwood One
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WON
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16.22
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+0.09
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Interep
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IREP
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0.36
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unch
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XM Sat. Radio
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XMSR
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29.10
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+0.08
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Bounceback
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 We want to
hear from you.
This is your column, so send your comments and
a photo to [email protected]
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Stations for Sale
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NEast CapCity FM
Suburban FM, strong revenue history-less than 8.5x BCF - 2M.
[email protected] or
781-848-4201
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Below the Fold
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Ad Biz
50kw's Branding Iron
This is the place to use National Spot to brand a national product...
Media Business Report
Who wants the newspaper
Seems the Unions want to be in this business...
Media Markets & Money
Hoak goes for broke
In small western markets...
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TVBR - TV News
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Comcast announces family tier
Time Warner was first out of the box with an announcement about family tier of basic cable channels. Now Comcast is out with a somewhat different approach. It is offering a combination of its variable most basic tier, which includes broadcast networks (including Hispanic Univision and Telemundo) along with religious and local access channels. The lineup varies locally due to network availability and the pricing varies due to variations in local franchising terms, but it averages 20-25 channels for about 12 dollars a month. Added to that will be 16 family-friendly channels for 14.95 per month and a digital box for 4.25 a month, bringing the average cost of the tier to 31.20. Included in the channel lineup are C-SPAN, C-SPAN 2, CNN Headline News, Discovery Kids, Disney Channel, DIY, Food Network, HGTV, National Geographic, Nickelodeon GAS (Games and Sports), Nickelodeon/Nick Too, PBS KIDS Sprout, Science Channel (Discovery), TBN, Toon Disney and The Weather Channel. Comcast COO Steve Burke commented, "Offering a Family Tier to our customers is one more step in Comcast's efforts to provide a broad array of family-friendly programming. The Family Tier will include some of our most popular children's, Hispanic and religious programming, as well as broadcast networks and local access channels."
TVBR observation: This tier is going to get gored just as Time Warner's was - - anti-indecency watchdogs are going to howl about paying extra to get less just to keep objectionable programming out of their homes. We'd guess that cable companies are going to have to do better than this, or face continued pressure for a la carte program selection for subscribers.
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RBR Radar 2005
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Radio News you won't read any where else. RBR--First, Accurate, and Independently Owned.
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Presidential changes at Arbitron
Designed to speed up commercialization of the PPM. Owen Charlebois, President of Operations, Technology, Research and Development, charged with continuing efforts to "enhance the quality of the diary based radio ratings as Arbitron begins the transition to electronic measurement. Pierre Bouvard now President of Sales and Marketing, overseeing sales and marketing efforts for both the PPM and the company's core businesses. Linda Dupree, Sr. VP of PPM, will continue to oversee development of market research services based on PPM and to head up Project Apollo. "In 2006.
RBR observation: Good moves as Arbitron boss Steve Morris is not waiting for a hand up from Clear Channel and their biblical results from a recent call for alternatives to Arbitron's PPM. Radio must move into technology now not at the end of 2006.
12/22/05 RBR #249
SBS Los Angeles hit with EEO fine
A quartet of FMs in Los Angeles owned by Spanish Broadcasting System - - two of which are in an LMA/pending sale with Styles Media Group - - have been hit with a 20K FCC fine for EEO violations.
RBR observation: It's interesting that an outfit which should naturally attract a workforce containing a high percentage of minorities of the Hispanic variety is still subject to strict enforcement of the EEO rules. A word to the wise keep up your commitments and your public file. Publisher Observation: Your insurance policy against these fines and know first hand - "What Every Operator Needs to Know in the Public File" - written by FCC Lawyer Gregg Skall for RBR. Cover cost is $189.00 but It is Free in pdf print format - But - 'Only to Paid RBR subscribers'.
| Pay and or Renew here to receive |
12/21/05 RBR #248
Moody's downgrades VNU
There's more financial pressure on the management of Nielsen parent VNU. Moody's Investors Service has downgraded its long-term debt and that of its Nielsen Media Ratings Inc. subsidiary - - and kept them under review for a possible further downgrade. Unless VNU is sold (and the company has acknowledged getting takeover bids), Moody's says VNU is likely to focus on its core assets, particularly! its media ratings and data businesses, while suggesting that divestitures are likely in its B-to-B businesses (trade publications and trade shows). Publisher Courtesy: Any reader to a VNU trade such as Billboard, Ad or Media Week are welcome here at RBR, TVBR, Media Mix and our monthly Solutions Magazine - Independently owned for 23 years and dependable. We are going to grow again in 2006.
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12/21/05 RBR #248
Eight more nabbed in
public file dragnet
FCC veteran Roy Stewart warned those assembled at the NAB Radio Show 2005 in Philadelphia that a lot of the upcoming fining action would be in the public file area. Eight more licensees, all on television side, will be contributing between 3K-10K to Uncle Sam because they inadequately contributed documents to the file for public inspection. Publisher Observation: RBR warned you and now we will help you even more for next year. "What Every Operator Needs to Know in the Public File" - Cover cost is $189.00 but It is Free in pdf print format and emails tomorrow - But - 'Only to Paid RBR subscribers'.
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12/21/05 RBR #248
Cablevision, JWT Detroit pact
Collaborating on Ford Motor Company's first VOD branding, entertainment and direct marketing campaign. The effort, focused in the NYC metro area, premieres later this month, and features two branded entertainment sections on the cable service's Optimum Autos interactive auto channel that highlights Ford's Fusion and Explorer models. Driving consumer traffic to the virtual channels will be a co-branded Ford/Optimum Autos banner on Cablevision's News 12 and Traffic and Weather channels that allow viewers to access the Ford VOD with a click of the remote control. The Ford channels will also be promoted in other strategic locations in the Cablevision landscape.
RBR observation: Technology waits for no one and radio continues to stand still with technology. If you are waiting for someone to lead don't hold your breath. Every operator must take charge of their own businesses now.
12/20/05 RBR #247
Publisher Perspective on
Clear Channel's magnificent 7
For as long as I can remember yesterday has been the middle name of many ad agency executives wanting everything yesterday and not just ratings research. Going back to the mid-'70's when I worked in research at MediaTrend through today and nothing has changed, yet. Here is a question for our ad agency colleagues, 'Are your agency research departments willing to pay to play at the same rates as broadcasters?' Or do you want the radio broadcaster to pick up the total bill? Folks, get real here - good to explore new research but only big money will make this work. The radio business has just about run out of time on this subject as well as HD as the status of radio is fading into 3rd class status position. Last, there is no doubt that Clear Channel has its own agenda as what is good for Clear Channel is good for Clear Channel.
12/19/05 RBR #246
Seven finalists for
radio ratings competition
With only four passive monitoring devices in testing or beyond, the surprise is that Clear Channel got 34 submissions in response to its RFP for a new radio ratings system. Now seven finalists will be put through their paces by a panel.
RBR observation: Clear Channel and its evaluation team have an aggressive timetable. The winner is supposed to be ready to begin deployment for real world radio ratings before the end of 2006. Arbitron has been happily pointing out, repeatedly to anyone who will listen, that PPM is ready to go now - - in fact, it's already being used outside the US - - while everyone else is playing catch-up. But that doesn't make it a slam-dunk for PPM. Advertisers and agencies have been telling radio for some time now that they want electronic audience measurement - - and they want it yesterday.
12/19/05 RBR #246
The Media Audit/Ipsos
challenge PPM
Media Audit has teamed with the UK's Ipsos to propose their own passive measurement challenger to the Portable People Meter. Ipsos is one of four companies which has a passive meter system in operation, although still in the testing phase at this point. Rather than having a proprietary hardware device for panelists to carry, Ipsos loads its software onto Smart Cell Phones to monitor exposure to audio media. And there is more -
12/16/05 RBR #245
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