RBR's Daily Morning Epaper

Share "Ideas Working Now" with your colleagues and introduce them to RBR and SMARTMEDIA, a partnership in radio.
Ideas Working Now Membership

Volume 24, Issue 28, Jim Carnegie, Editor & Publisher

Friday Morning February 9th, 2007

Radio News ®

Kennedy tapped to head Interep
Former Susquehanna Media CEO David Kennedy is now CEO and Vice Chairman of Interep, overseeing all of Interep's divisions, including the radio representation firms, the Hispanic television rep firm, Interep Interactive and related sales consultancies. When RBR spoke with Kennedy yesterday afternoon, we asked what attracted him to the post, following the sale last year of Susquehanna's radio and cable properties. "I have had a very fortunate career in broadcasting. I just kind of grew up loving it, and was fortunate to work in it and enjoy it - and prosper in it for many, many years. When you have that kind of a passion for an industry it is tough to simply walk away and I had no intention of doing that. I had a chance to look at the industry and step back and see what its challenges were and what the opportunities were. It occurred to me that the industry is going through a very unique period here and Interep, as a company, is in a very unique position to play a very significant role in advancing the interests of not only our clients, which is foremost of course, but also the industry in general. Interep has always had a reputation for innovation and creativity and forward thinking, and that dovetailed so beautifully with the way that we tried to build Susquehanna over the years - and that's why we were a client of Interep for over a decade. The relationship was very strong from the start and continued. Now there is an opportunity to continue on that same path and move Interep further down some of the paths that it has blazed already. That is the kind of challenge and the kind of fun that I was looking for," Kennedy said. The new CEO said one of his first priorities is going to be to see that the company is structured to meet the challenges facing the industry today. Asked whether new players seeking to connect ad buyers to stations, including Google, are friend or foe, Kennedy said he learned long ago to look at new ventures as having the potential to be either a competitor or a partner. "I believe there is a place for those kinds of organizations," he said. Interep founder and now former CEO Ralph Guild is still far from retired. He remains Chairman of the board of directors. Both he and Kennedy will be focused on refinancing the company. Guild said he is optimistic they will have that resolved in the first half of this year. Want to know more about David Kennedy? Read our interview from last September (pages 18-22) in the predecessor to SmartMedia magazine.

RBR observation: The announcement hit as many in were on route to the annual RAB convention in Dallas. Upon many executives arrival the word spread and many their first thought was disbelief. Some in the business and this includes RBR thought finding a CEO was a smoke screen after the departure of George Pine late last year (10/11/06 RBR #198). So the record is now official with Ralph Guild as non-executive Chairman, means he is now in the semi-retirement seat. The day-to-day running and decisions will be decided by David Kennedy. First thing Kennedy brings to Interep is creditability as a radio top executive. He is very well respected by his colleagues and also brings the necessary working knowledge of the station operator level with the inner works of the financial world. Interep needs help in many areas but first order of business is getting their financial house in order as Oak Tree is not going away. Kennedy is the right man for the job at the right time and the hallway talk at the RAB from some groups is maybe it could be time to sit down at the table with Kennedy to see where his direction is with Interep as a media company. RBR's recommendation to Mr. Kennedy, get to know the higher ups at the ad agency level. Reminder to all in Radio, 4A's convention is at the end of this month. Do yourself and the radio business a big shot in the business arm, Attend the 4As.

Analyst hails Entercom and Entravision
...For ratings success in the Fall Arbitron book. Wachovia analyst Marci Ryvicker has been crunching the numbers and says Entercom had the biggest year-over-year ratings gain of any non-Hispanic group. Entravision was even stronger, leading the Spanish marketplace. "Despite weakness in L.A. (which comprised 39% of EVC's'05 radio rev), Entravision's share of Adults 18-34 increased 4% year-over-year during the Fall ratings period. We attribute some of this performance to Arbitron's change in methodology but overall believe that i) the Piolin morning show has helped to boost ratings and ii) new Spanish hip hop formats (i.e. reggaeton and hurban) continue to take listeners from younger-skewing English-language stations," Ryvicker told clients. As for Entercom, she noted that it "experienced a 2% year-over-year and a 6% sequential revenue-weighted share gain (excl. New Orleans and WEEI-AM Boston) among Adults 25-54 during the Fall ratings period. This is the best performance of the non-Hispanic radio groups under our coverage. We believe Entercom will monetize these share gains in 2007 and reiterate our outperform rating." On the downside, she noted that Emmis and Radio One were the "biggest disappointments." Also, she noted that ratings for ABC Radio continued to decline, which creates an overhand for Citadel, which is due to acquire the stations.

Matthews unloads F-bomb on Imus
Amazing. The entire broadcast community is walking on eggshells since the enactment of the Broadcast Decency Act, with its pricy 325K maximum fine. The media is afraid to let edgy rock star-types anywhere near a live mic. And who drops the bomb? Well, there was journalist Bob Novak, President George W. Bush, and now TV pundit Chris Matthews. Matthews was a guest on Imus in the Morning on Westwood One and MSNBC discussing the potential presidential candidacy of Rudy Giuliani. He said, "We love good mayors because we love our cities and Giuliani's the city guy. I'm so sick of Southern guys with ranches running this country. I want a guy to run for president who doesn't have a [expletive deleted] - I'm sorry - a ranch." He immediately apologized, and an MSNBC spokesperson said, "Chris immediately said he was sorry on the air, and we apologize to anyone who was offended. Chris is a professional, but sometimes when he's talking to Imus he gets so comfortable that he feels like he's back on a street corner, chatting with a bunch of pals." The bottom line is that they were able to delete the offending word from the radio version of the program, but it made it through to American homes on the basic cable MSNBC version - and since it was on cable and not over the air, if likely is not actionable by the FCC. The Parents Television Council was quick to register its disapproval. PTC President Tim Winter said, "This is another low for NBC, MSNBC's parent company. NBC clearly intends to be indecent and profane wherever and whenever it can. While NBC attacks the decades-old and Supreme Court-affirmed broadcast indecency law in its lawsuit against the FCC, it airs obscene and indecent material on its cable properties and on its web site."

RBR observation: Yeah, yeah, all NBC wants to do is curse. That's why it exploits the cable indecency loophole to give us endless filth on MSNBC 24/7. It's wall to wall depravity over there. C'mon. This is exactly the sort of inadvertent slip-up that used to call for a simple FCC admonition. It was not repeated, nor was it intended to titillate or pander. It was an adult speaking as adults speak, who simply forgot where he was for a moment. But go outside and check around. No doubt the streets are now filled with deranged, spittle-drooling children with curved spines and foul mouths, brought to this sorry state by Chris Matthews' loose lips.

Martin and the raising of the eyebrows
Is it time to head for the back room, close the doors and break out the cigars to get the appropriate level of smokiness? It appears there will be two meetings between FCC Chairman Kevin Martin and members of the House or Representatives next week. One will feature Democratic and Republican members of the Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, with the public invited. That is on the schedule for Thursday, 2/15/07 at 10AM. Two days before that takes place however, according to Multichannel News, Martin will powwow in private with subcommittee Ranking Member Fred Upton (R-MI) in a meeting open only to the panel's Republican members. The session is said to have been arranged at Upton's request.

RBR observation: Shocking, isn't it? There's going to be a meeting in Washington. When historians of the future record the moment when huge conglomerate Media-Mart buys up the last radio station, television station, cable system, newspaper, magazine and satellite, they will trace the event's roots back to a smoke-filled room on Capitol Hill, 2/13/07.

Bell tolls for Stevens' telecom package
There have been numerous casualties tied to the Democratic sweep in the midterm elections, and one of them is the massive and failed telecommunications update that Ted Stevens (R-AK) tried unsuccessfully to push through the Senate. With the Commerce Committee now in the hands of Daniel Inouye (D-HI), it appears that the time has come to say a few words over the bill and give it a decent burial. Many of the issues tackled in the bill will be back, however, according to the National Journal. But they'll be coming in bite-size chunks. Inouye's strategy will be to take elements of the bill one at a time. National Journal notes that the big telecom companies that were spending boatloads of cash in an attempt to drive the bill last year (in the form of both issue advertising and campaign contributions) are feeling a little light in the wallet, and also feeling less urgency following a favorable rulemaking at the FCC and numerous victories at the state level.

RBR observation: The telecoms may get some of their wishes fulfilled at the federal level anyway. We noted during the debate on telecom that smoothing the path for telcos to provide new competition in the MVPD business had widespread bipartisan support. We recommended time and time again that Congress deal with that issue separately from the issue that ultimately doomed Stevens' bill: net neutrality. Democrats who otherwise enthusiastically supported aspects of the Stevens bill and/or could at the very least stomach aspects of it were adamant that net neutrality protections be included. A net neutrality plank died in committee by the absolute narrowest of margins, a tie which went to Stevens, and Ron Wyden (D-OR) was said to have been the one who immediately put a hold in the bill, forcing a supermajority of 60 votes to bring it to the Senate floor, a number Stevens could not muster. (He was not helped by reports that some of his colleagues were happy with a go-slow approach in hopes of wringing a few more campaign donations from anxious telcos.) Although little in the Stevens bill had direct impact on broadcasters, the entry of the telcos into MVPD could provide useful leverage on other issues, such as multicast must-carry and retransmission consent.

Bomb threat in Oregon
A suspect is in police custody after a bomb scare Thursday forced the evacuation of the studios of Freedom Communications' KTVL-TV (Ch. 10, CBS) Medford, OR and the building next door that houses the six local radio stations of Mapleton Communications. The man set off flares from his parked van, but apparently did not have any explosives. Both buildings were evacuated for several hours as police surrounded the agitated man, who eventually surrendered without a struggle. With no way to quickly switch to operating from the transmitter site, KTVL ran the CBS feed uninterrupted, including station promo feeds for other markets during the time when there was no regularly scheduled network programming. Five of the six radio stations stayed on the air with automation, while the live morning show at News/Talk KCMX-AM had to evacuate.

Wall Street Media Business Report TM

Goldman shifts radio holdings
Goldman Sachs Asset Management has made filings with the SEC to report that it no longer owns 5% or more of the public stock of two companies in radio and related businesses - Westwood One and Arbitron. As of December 31st, 2006, the investment manager owned 923,817 shares of WW1, or 1.1% f the publicly traded stock, down from 4,493,320, or 5.1%, a year earlier. For Arbitron, Goldman now owns 930,545 shares, or 3.2%, down from 2,685,909, or 8.7%, a year earlier. Meanwhile, though, Goldman has also filed that it has acquired a 5.8% stake in Spanish Broadcasting System. Including both the investment management operation and Goldman Sachs & Co. as a broker dealer, the firm has eight million shares of SBS. Goldman Sachs Asset Management also owns 17.6% of Entravision, but that isn't an FCC attribution problem because SBS CEO Raul Alarcon has voting control of his company.

Q4 complicated for Radio/Entertainment at Tribune
As usual, there is little to be discerned about the lone radio stations, WGN-AM Chicago, in the Q4 report from Tribune Company. Revenues for the Radio/Entertainment operation were up 28.2% to 30.4 million, which was credited to higher revenues for the Chicago cubs and WGN, offset by reduced revenues for Tribune Entertainment. Operating expenses jumped, though, blamed on higher expenses for the Cubs and the comparison against a favorable litigation settlement for Tribune Entertainment a year earlier. So it may not mean much that operating cash flow plunged 95.3% to 265K. If you subtract the 5.4M settlement from 5.6M of cash flow a year earlier, it looks like CF was really up a bit.

Ad Business Report TM

eMediaTRADE, Wicks, Arbitron demo
new electronic ordering system
At RAB2007, eMediaTRADE, Wicks Broadcast Solutions and Arbitron demo'd a new electronic ordering system for buyers and sellers of national and local radio advertising, allowing them to connect directly with electronic orders, as-booked confirmations, and electronic invoices. The system is integrated into existing software. AgencyMinder.com, the interface for stations, is available through DeltaFlex and Visual Traffic from Wicks. eBiz@Arbitron, the interface for agencies, is available through Arbitron's SmartPlus and Tapscan. Agencies can send radio orders directly from their desktop and stations can import those orders directly into their traffic systems. Once booked, stations can then electronically send an as-booked confirmation back to the agency. This streamlines the buying process for agencies and the order entry process for stations with a completely paperless exchange. The system is designed in accordance with the eBiz for media standards set in place by the AAAAs. While the system is designed to provide seamless transactions between users of AgencyMinder.com and eBiz@Arbitron, each application can be used independently to conduct business with those who are not currently set-up with the counterpart software. eMediaTRADE says it has "translations that permit a wide range of agency, TV, radio and cable systems to transact their business electronically using a blend of both industry-accepted formats as well as custom formats for each trading partner system."

RBR observation: Sounds like a good solution. What many buyers have been asking for in an end-to-end EDI system is one that's compatible or will plug into Donovan Data Systems (the most used buying software system). Is there a decent API (application interface) to make this happen? We've heard ebiz@Arbitron won't as of yet. The same can be said for interfacing with other brands' traffic systems. If these translations are workable across multiple systems already installed at stations, this may be a bit of a breakthrough. More on this coming.

The Good Feet Store signs Emmitt Smith; TV, radio campaign to follow
The Good Feet Store, an international manufacturer and retailer of custom-fitted arch supports and natural sponge rubber cushions, announced Emmitt Smith has been signed to a four-year endorsement deal. Beginning this spring, Smith will star in Good Feet's campaign tagged "Good Feet - Insert Comfort Here," which will include a new infomercial, television and radio commercials and in-store marketing materials and signage. Smith is the NFL's All-Time leading rusher, a three-time Super Bowl Champion and earned both NFL and Super Bowl MVP honors during his 15-year career. He also won "Dancing With the Stars" on ABC.

Media Business Report TM

Muzak goes cash flow positive
Muzak LLC reported that it turned cash flow positive for 2006, with 1.1 million of FCF in Q4 and 3 million for the full year. That compared to a cash flow deficit of 20 million for 2005. Company CEO Stephen villa credited lower subscriber acquisition costs and standardized pricing, along with reduced costs and stringent expense management. Muzak said it also made sweeping changes to its core music product in Q4, signing a deal with The Orchard, the world's largest distributor of independent music, which added over 450K tracks to the Muzak catalog. It also signed a deal with Rumblefish to provide Web site audio and other custom audio products and services.

Media Markets & Money TM

Cochise cuts a deal for AZ pair
Newspaper publisher Wick Communications has announced plans to sell a pair of radio stations in the southeast corner of Arizona. According to brokers at Kalil & Co., the buyer is Ted Tucker's Cochise Broadcasting, which is expanding its holdings in Arizona. It's also active in Wyoming. The stations are KCUZ-AM Clifton AZ and KFMM-FM Thatcher AZ. The value of the transaction was not disclosed.

Religious groups transfer a brand
Christian Music Planet is going from a noncom to a commercial radio broadcaster. Salem Communications is buying the brand name and Internet assets of the magazine/web destination from Educational Media Foundation, operator of the K-LOVE Network, which features Contemporary Christian music. That's the focus of CMP as well. EMF said the final edition of the magazine will be the April/May issue. Salem plans to make CMP part of its expansive Internet plans and merge elements into its own publication, CCM Magazine.

Washington Media Business Report TM

EEO no: Georgia group fined
A trio of Georgia radio stations along the I-75 corridor north of Valdosta has been hit with a hefty fine for failure to comply with FCC Equal Employment Opportunity regulations. The FCC says the stations "failed to engage in any EEO initiatives" during two months-long periods in 2004 and 2005. The stations are WTIF-AM Tifton GA, WTIF-FM Omega GA and WJYF-FM Nashville GA, owned by Three Trees Communications. The FCC said the reporting periods in question ran from 6/28/04 through 11/30/04, and from 12/1/04 through 11/30/05. Beyond the lack of EEO effort, the FCC said the licensee failed to maintain its documentation, preventing it from doing the required evaluation of its EEO practices. 24 hires are said to have taken place during this time. The situation opened the licensee up to five separate violations, including the good old reliable public file violation, since the records that weren't kept obviously could not go in there. That one by itself can be as high as 10K. In the end, the FCC charged 5K for lack of EEO initiatives, and 2K each for the other four, pertaining to lack of self-assessment and various record-keeping and filing.

RBR observation: Ignorance is no excuse, but Three Trees hadn't been in the saddle very long in the time in question. It bought the trio of stations for 2.1M in a deal filed 1/29/04. Even if the deal closed the day it was filed, they would have been there only about six months. In a totally unrelated matter, WJFY-FM was in the news last month. Three Trees has agreed to sell it to noncom Religious group Educational Media Foundation for 1.3M.

Entertainment Media Business Report TM

JRN now offering Jayne-FM
Jones Radio Networks announced a partnership agreement with Marshall Arts Communications, creators of Jayne-FM, a new adult variety format targeting Women 25-49. Developed by President/Creative Director Robin Marshall and VP/Operations Tony Florentino, and consulted by Mike McVay of McVay Media, Jayne uses a mix of familiar hit music and witty, attitude-driven imaging to attract women who want a radio station built for them. With a library of more than 1,000 songs, Jayne will showcase artists like Madonna, Elton John, Matchbox 20, John Mayer, Sheryl Crow, Green Day, Rod Stewart, Mariah Carey, U2, Prince and Alanis Morissette. Beginning immediately, JRN will create and market a fully produced and locally integrated broadcast of Jayne programming in a simple plug-and-play package. Jayne can function as a jockless format or seamlessly integrate with a station's existing on-air lineup.

Internet Media Business Report TM

ESPN signs Verizon
for mobile content
ESPN is now relaunching its cell phone service through Verizon Wireless in a multi-year agreement to deliver an ESPN mobile sports content line-up to Verizon Wireless customers with a V CAST subscription. Content choices include Mobile ESPN, the immersive sports content application which was the heart of the Mobile ESPN MVNO service. The Mobile ESPN application, available only through Verizon Wireless, offers real-time sports news, scores and info; personalization for favorite teams; scoring alerts; video and more. Verizon expects to offer the service over MediaFLO, a wireless network developed by Qualcomm, by the end of March.

Engineering Business Report TM

Global Security Systems details NAB2007 offering
Global Security Systems (GSS), a systems integrator, service provider and manufacturer of The First Alert System of secure transmission of single-point to multipoint messaging on an existing FM stations, has released details of new to be shown at NAB2007: * USB Stick for Emergency Alert: The USB stick plugs into any Windows PC supporting USB connectivity and connects the computer to the GSSNet Public Warning and Alert System. * First Alert System Emergency Warning Receiver: At less than 25 each in quantity, the Emergency Warning Receiver is a wireless, battery-driven receiver designed for mass distribution of alerting messages to the public. The solution utilizes the national FM transmission network to deliver data to the receiver. * Geo-Targeted FM-Based Mobile Advertising: Brands are exploring the potential of using wireless appliances as an advertising channel. GSS has introduced FM-based geo-targeting, delivering location-based identification for advertising purposes. The FM-based data channel, separate from SMS RF channels and protocol, utilizes the display, antenna, battery, and microcontroller of the current appliances and leverages the powerful and far-reaching FM signal to deliver mobile advertising data.

Transactions

900K WWTB-FM Greenville-New Bern-Jacksonville NC (Topsail Beach NC) from Sea-Comm Inc. (N. Eric Jorgensen) to Educational Media Foundation (Richard Jenkins). 45K escrow, 355K cash at closing, 500K note. 103.9 MHz facility has CP to move to Swansboro NC at 104.1 MHZ, taking it from Wilmington to Greenville market. [File date 1/9/07.]

120K FM CP Yuma CO from World Radio Link Inc. (Earl Williamson) to Laramie Mountain Broadcasting LLC (Victor A. Michael Jr.). 20K down payment, balance in cash at closing. Buyer will also reimburse FCC for seller's bidding credit. CP is for Class C3 on 94.5 MHz with 25 kw @ 299'. [File date 1/10/07.]

Stock Talk

Radio beats a down market
Big retailers reported better than expected sales figures for January, but stocks fell anyway. Go figure. The Dow Industrials were down 29 points to 12,638.

Radio did better. The Radio Index rose 0.162, or 0.1%, to 160.382. Entercom had the best day, up 3.1% as Wachovia reiterated an outperform rating.

Radio Stocks

**Here's how stocks fared on Thursday**
Company	Symbol	Close		Change	Company	Symbol	Close		Change
Arbitron	ARB		47.24	-0.02	Journal Comm.	JRN		13.50	+0.03
Beasley	BBGI		9.24	+0.08	Lincoln Natl.	LNC		70.00	-0.42
CBS CI. B	CBS		32.09	+0.30	Radio One, Cl. A	ROIA		7.44	+0.02
CBS CI. A	CBSa		32.05	+0.29	Radio One, Cl. D	ROIAK		7.47	+0.01
Citadel	CDL		10.81	+0.03	Regent	RGCI		2.99	+0.04
Clear Channel	CCU		36.65	-0.06	Saga Commun.	SGA		9.43	-0.16
Cox Radio	CXR		15.81	-0.04	Salem Comm.	SALM		12.05	-0.28
Cumulus	CMLS		10.49	unch	Sirius Sat. Radio	SIRI		3.73	+0.05
Disney	DIS		35.29	-0.19	Spanish Bcg.	SBSA		4.07	-0.02
Emmis	EMMS		8.53	+0.12	SWMX	SMWX		1.35	unch
Entercom	ETM		30.06	+0.91	Univision	UVN		35.89	+0.03
Entravision	EVC		8.02	+0.11	Westwood One	WON		7.00	unch
Fisher	FSCI		41.00	+0.24	XM Sat. Radio	XMSR		13.85	-0.01
Hearst-Argyle	HTV		26.20	-0.02	-	-	-	-	-

Bounceback

Send Us Your Opinions We want to
hear from you.
This is your column, so send your comments and
a photo to [email protected]

Below the Fold

Media Business Report
Muzak goes cash flow positive
There's gold in them thar elevators...

Washington Media Business Report
EEO no: Georgia group fined
Months on end without any EEO efforts or recordkeeping costs this broadcaster.

Internet Media Business Report
ESPN signs Verizon
for mobile content
ESPN found that it couldn't go it alone in the mobile phone business. Now it has a partner.

Ad Business Report
New electronic ordering
system demoed
eMediaTRADE, Wicks and Arbitron show it off at RAB2007.

Stations for Sale

10 TX, AZ, NC, and GA
FM radio stations at an exceptional value offered for sale. Broker cooperation encouraged. Please visit www.toweritrust.com for complete information including pricing.

Central CA Coast FM: $1.5M
Pacific Northwest FM: $750K
Terms Available
MCH Enterprises: 805.543.3466
www.mchentinc.com

Pacific Northwest
2FM & 1AM
$795K and $650K w/terms
Two markets, discount for all-cash
MCH Enterprises: 805.543.3466
www.mchentinc.com

Market your Stations For Sale
in our daily epapers.
Contact June Barnes
[email protected]

Radio Media Moves

Upped in LA
KSPN-AM "710 ESPN" Los Angeles has promoted Beto Duran to Reporter, covering and reporting on local sports events on air and for podcasts. Duran will also be a regular contributor to the USC, Angels, Dodgers, Clipper and Laker Daily Insider Reports. Duran started with the station in 2001 and has worked his way through the ranks from call screener, board operator and producer to gathering audio and hosting 710 ESPN Podcasts.

Entercom gets Sly
Clint Sly has been named Vice President and Market Manager of the Entercom stations in Memphis, effective February 26th. Sly most recently was COO of Frank Maggio Companies and President of duPont Publishing in St. Petersburg, FL. He had previously managed radio stations in Portland, OR, Detroit and Denver.

Journal names
Carl Gardner
VP/Digital Media
Journal Communications has named Carl Gardner to the newly created position of Vice President, Digital Media. He'll have responsibility for continued development and implementation of the overall corporate digital and online strategy that leverages the company's print and broadcast brands. Gardner assumes this new position while concurrently serving as EVP/Television and Radio Operations and Digital Interactive Media, for Journal Broadcast Group.

New Chairman
at Andrew
Gerald Poch has been elected non-executive Chairman at Andrew Corporation, following the retirement of Charles Nicholas. Poch has been an independent director on the Andrew Board since 2002. Poch is a managing director of Pequot Capital Management. Andrew manufactures equipment for the broadcast and other communications industries.

More News Headlines

Tribune chief mum
on sale process
Tribune Company CEO Dennis FitzSmons was careful to give no hint in his quarterly conference call of where things are going in the company's analysis of strategic alternatives, which could lead to a sale or restructuring. He did, however, say the target is still to have a decision by the end of this quarter. FitzSimons also said all of the divisions of Tribune Company remain focused on operations, rather than being distracted by the strategic review.

GLR Networks
expands sales team
GLR Networks announced a reinforcement of their national sales team with representatives in Los Angeles and Dallas to compliment HQ in Miami. Charles Hart joins GLR Networks in Dallas. He brings experience as Regional Account Manager for JCDecaux Outdoor Media Company. Prior, he worked as Account Executive for Radio Unica servicing various multi-cultural agencies in Spanish Radio. Livinio Stuyck, from GLR's station in Los Angeles - W Radio 690, also joins in to attract new advertisers. Luis Gutierrez, Director of Ad Sales, continues to oversee business development, sales strategy, sponsorships and advertising sales for GLR's domestic and pan-regional sales efforts headquartered in Miami. Last year GLR Networks reached 70% of the US Hispanics in 18 of the Top 20 Hispanic Markets.

RBR Radar 2006

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

Zell eying Tribune?
Chicago real estate billionaire Sam Zell made a lot of money in his previous media foray at Jacor Communications. Not much is yet known about what Zell is proposing for Tribune, but we do know that Zell, who is already quite rich, will soon be flush with cash from a bidding war that saw his Equity Office Properties Trust agree to be sold to Blackstone Group for 39 billion, including debt assumption.

RBR observation: Unlike some of the other billionaires trying to get into the big city newspaper business, we doubt that Sam Zell is driven by either ego or a political agenda. He sees a way to change the structure of Tribune Company and make money on these "old media" assets, which, despite their retraction, are still producing quite a bit of cash flow. Things worked out quite well when Zell was recruited by Randy Michaels to recapitalize Jacor in 1993, after the company and many of its peers were laid low by the double whammy of a recession and credit crunch. RBR tried to ask, but Randy isn't talking.
02/08/07 RBR #27

The advantage of subscribing
Should we call it the ad-vantage? If you subscribe to a program service, rather than getting it free off-air, the bargain between the programmer and consumer is that the programming will be free of commercial interruption. That is one of the reasons many have chosen to pay for satellite audio programming.

RBR observation: Hurry up with that HD, radio guys. And make sure the content is compelling. And remember: This doesn't mean that HD should avoid commercials. Listeners will no doubt be much more tolerant of them if the programming is free. But nobody wants to pay to be annoyed. If the satellite services are going to shove away their own customers, radio needs to be ready to snap them up before they disappear into iPod-land.
02/08/07 RBR #27

Revenue Forecast,
More of the same
With radio revenues up only 1% last year, CL King analyst Jim Boyle notes that the string is now six years of nearly flat revenues. He doesn't see that string being broken in 2007, and in fact is looking for a 1% decline.

RBR observation: Remember when all the talk in radio was about how to get the industry's share of total ad spending to 8%? Well, it has been losing share lately. Boyle notes that radio's ad share fell from 7.8% at the end of 2000 to 7.1% now. Who has been moving up as radio slipped? You no doubt said the Internet first of all. That is correct, but cable TV and direct mail have also gained substantially, according to Boyle. So what does this decline and others gain tell you about the level of confidence the ad clients and agencies have in today's radio business? What and who has to turn this around? Will there be any new developments at this up coming RAB conference to help the entire radio medium get their act together? One thing for sure More leadership is required with Less bull. If radio is smart, and RBR means smarter than others, they will be the first to develop political sales teams as political is a big money category and it is all local.
02/07/07 RBR #26

General Sales Manager
Independent Aggressive Radio is Great Radio. Like that ring of Independent Aggressive Radio? Then add in a great city like Tampa and you never leave. GSM post is open for that aggressive radio pro that likes independent thinking. Like getting local direct business and working with and for your clients? Thinking out of the box the way radio must be to succeed. View our check list.
See Radio Careers

Hard finding that key person
to fill the important position at your organization? Media HeadHunters is the place that key media firms use to get results. See Media HeadHunters and get results with service--Period.

Other Links

State Associations
Contact Us
Advertising Opportunities
Submit a news story

Help Desk

__EMAIL__ :
Having problems with our epapers?
Please send Questions/Concerns to:
[email protected]

If you wish to remove your name completely from our database use this link __UNSUB__

RBR Epaper -- 108 annual
or just 9 a month