|
|
|
|
|
Volume 24, Issue 29, Jim Carnegie, Editor & Publisher
|
Monday Morning February 12th, 2007
|
|
|
Radio News ®
|
 Radio groups to back TMA/Ipsos test
The Media Audit/Ipsos announced at RAB2007 that five radio companies - Clear Channel, Cox, Cumulus, Entercom and Radio One - have agreed to put up millions in cash for a test in Houston of the TMA/Ipsos competitor to Arbitron's PPM. "We anticipate, with good reason, that a lot of other broadcasters are going to be joining as well," said The Media Audit EVP Phil Beswick. Beswick told RBR that recruiting will begin in late May or June for 2,500 participants. Once data collection is up and running, TMA/Ipsos expects to have the first data released by October 2007 and run the test through January 2008. TMA/Ipsos is also seeking accreditation from the Media Ratings Council (MRC) for its passive radio ratings system, based on Smart Cell Phones. Beswick said that all radio stations in Houston have agreed to encode for the test, although the TMA/Ipsos system also tracks listening to non-encoding stations with sound matching. While no ad agencies have committed to any funding, Beswick said the Houston test will be transparent, with the data open to evaluation to the advertising side as well as the radio industry. Once the Houston test results are known, TMA/Ipsos will be looking to the radio industry for a nod to go ahead and deploy, or to abandon the project. If it is a go, Beswick said TMA/Ipsos can be in all of the top 10 markets by the end of 2008, "which would put us ahead of Arbitron." Pricing, of course, has been a big issue in the move to passive audience measurement. Beswick said TMA/Ipsos is sticking with its commitment to delivering its ratings system for 15% more than the cost of diary measurement - a price considerably below PPM. Arbitron's stock fell 1.24, or 2.6%, on Friday after the competitor's test was announced.
RBR observation: It will still come down to money and the need for more money. All good intensions but it seems radio keeps going in one direction as the other side of the media world is heading in another. The guys from Media Audit should be given credit for trying but the real world will be much further advanced by the time the results are released in 2008. Re-read the information above, again: Results in January 2008 and by the time the results are in all media will be in heated battle for as much political money as they can take on their stations as they world revolves around money. 2007 may be the year that is dubbed 'Taking the Wrong Fork in the Road.' See Ad Business Report below.
 Radio groups open
their checkbooks
With five radio groups agreeing to contribute millions to fund a field test of the Smart Cell Phone-based competitor to Arbitron's PPM by The Media Audio/Ipsos, RBR sought comments from each of the companies as to why they are willing to put up their own cash. "We just feel the Media Audit smart phone system has some advantages and would like to see how that plays out in 'the real world.' The industry helped fund Arbitron's PPM tests over the years with higher than inflation cost increases - so this makes some sense," said Cox Radio CEO Bob Neil in an email reply. We also received an email response from Lisa Dollinger, Chief Communications Officer for Clear Channel Communications: "Clear Channel Radio has fully supported all companies pursuing electronic audience measurement for radio -- and will continue to do so moving forward. The company continues to believe that radio deserves the best technology and process to determine audience levels." The other three didn't immediately reply.
RBR observation: We were surprised to learn that CBS Radio has apparently agreed to encode for the TMA/Ipsos test in Houston, since Beswick told us that all of the radio stations in Houston have agreed to encode. CBS Radio CEO Joel Hollander has already signed a contract for Arbitron's PPM and has criticized other radio groups for dragging their feet. We sent him an email asking why CBS Radio had agreed to encode for the TMA/Ipsos test, but didn't get a reply by deadline.
Publisher note: Last is the word millions of dollars. Well nobody is saying how many millions just millions. Are these groups spending and investing properly? Should these radio group heads be investing in the internet? RBR does not have the answer but welcome your professional feedback. RBR welcomes all participation. Send your comments with photo to [email protected].
|
|
|
Chandlers back down
According to the Wall Street Journal, the Chandler family has decided not to wage a proxy battle for two more board seats at Tribune Company. The Chandlers, who are Tribune's largest shareholder, are said to be expecting dramatic action from the ongoing strategic review at Tribune. The Chandlers themselves are one of the bidders in the ongoing process, having offered to take most of Tribune private and spin off the TV group to other shareholders. Their bid and two others, neither of which was a cash buyout offer for the entire company, were said to be disappointing to the committee of independent directors leading the strategic review. But last week came word that Chicago real estate mogul Sam Zell had entered the bidding as well (2/8/07 RBR #27), also with something less than an all-cash bid. Tribune CEO Dennis FitzSimons told analysts and investors that the strategic review will be wrapped up this quarter, so we all await the outcome.
 Push-back against private equity
As talk continues of large shareholders threatening to vote against the buyout of Clear Channel Communications by two private equity firms, a high-profile private equity buyout announced last year has been voted down by public shareholders. At a special meeting of Eddie Bauer Holdings shareholders last week, only 44% of the shares were voted in favor of a 285 million bucks buyout, well short of the required majority vote. 37% voted no and the remaining shares were not voted. In the end, shareholders decided that the offer of 9.25 per share was too low, a mere 5% premium to the pre-offer trading price, and that after the stock had fallen more than 40% last year. After the buyout rejection, shares of the catalog company fell more than a buck to below 8.00, but soon recovered to above 8.60.
RBR observation: Clear Channel faces an even higher hurdle. As a Texas corporation, it has to have two-thirds approval for the 26.7 billion (including debt assumption) buyout by Thomas H. Lee Partners and Bain Capital to go to closing - and unvoted shares count as no votes. It appears that some big money managers have decided they shouldn't always accept a buyout bid for a beaten-up stock, just because it is higher than the public trading price. With a little patience - a virtue not common on Wall Street - they can hang in for the eventual rebound and collect the payoff, rather than let the private equity guys have it. The Clear Channel vote on March 21st will be interesting to watch.
|
|
|
FCC headed for Harrisburg
The third of six forums on media ownership will be held in Pennsylvania capital Harrisburg on Friday 2/23/07. That leaves three ownership and two localism forums yet to be scheduled. Earlier this month, FCC Chairman told members of the Senate Commerce Committee that he would try to book one forum every two months or so to complete the series by the end of the year. Other than to note that the local citizens will have an opportunity to "discuss media ownership, including specific issues facing that local market," the Commission didn't have any details ready for public disclosure.
RBR observation: But we'll throw in a few: On the radio side, you could call this a vitamin C market: it has clusters owned by Clear Channel, Cumulus and Citadel. Arbitron calls it Harrisburg-Lebanon-Carlisle and ranked it #79 for its Fall 2006 survey. Nielsen has it pegged at #41 however. The discrepancy is readily explained by Nielsen's name for the DMA: Harrisburg-Lancaster-Lebanon-York. Lancaster and York are considered to be entirely separate markets for Arbitron's purposes, although there is some below-the-line overlap among the stronger stations. On the TV side, Clear Channel has a de facto duopoly with CBS WHP-TV and LMA'd CW WLYH-TV. Hearst Argyle has NBC WGAL-TV, Allbritton has ABC WHTM-TV and Tribune has Fox Fox WPMT-TV. A very small percentage of the ratings, therefore, go to locally owned broadcasters in TV and radio. It is not an entertainment center as were the sites of the previous two forums in Los Angeles and Memphis. However, despite the relative lack of disgruntled media workers, only disgruntled citizens tend to show up at these affairs, we expect this will follow all prior forums and turn into a media-bashing session.
 Knoblauch blocked
from full bidding credit
Cumulus Media trusts in radio veteran Scott Knoblauch. Literally. It has placed KCHZ-FM and KMAG-FM under his care and feeding pending either a spin-off or a change in market conditions which will allow Cumulus to add them to its Kansas City cluster. Knoblauch has other plans, however - he's set to bid on licenses in upcoming FM Auction No. 70 and requested the 35% new-entrant bidding discount when the auctioneer's gavel starts to bang. The FCC has denied a waiver. "According to your application," wrote the Commission, "you are the sole member and manger of KCT [Kansas City Trust LLC], the licensee of record of KCHZ(FM) and KMAJ-FM." Knoblauch argued that a waiver was appropriate since his role as sole member was temporary, but the FCC said that it can't be both ways. It said Knoblauch's current "absolute and complete control" allows Cumulus to have beneficial yet non-attributable interest in the stations. "The end result would be two radio stations in which no party, including the licensee and operator, holds an attributable interest. The result would serve no public interest." The FCC said he would have had to divest himself of all interest in the stations by 12/19/06 to qualify for bidding credit this time.
RBR observation: So what have we learned from this? First, the FCC frowns on any trusteeships which produce regulatory broadcast orphans. And it word interim holds no meaning for the FCC - either you are the licensee or you are not. But hey, it's not all bad. As a licensee with attributable interest in only two stations, Knoblauch is still entitled to a 25% credit.
|
|
|
|
| Wall Street Media Business Report TM |
Strong Q4 growth for Univision
With its 13.7 billion buyout by Haim Saban and a group of equity firms pending, Univision has stopped conducting quarterly conference calls. However, the company reported its Q4 results on Friday - and they could only have been pleasing to Saban. Univision Radio had a particularly strong quarter, with revenues up 11% to 101.6 million, while the radio industry overall grew only 3%. The company release cited "outstanding programming and effective cross-promotion with Univision's local television stations" as accounting for ratings growth in radio. Television was the big growth driver for the year, with revenues up 18% for 2006, although Q4 cooled off to growth of 8.4% to 399.4 million. "The Univision Network was the #5 network in the country in any language for the entire year and outranked at least one of the major English-language networks on nearly two out of every three nights among Adults 18-34. TeleFutura saw another quarter of impressive audience increases, ranking as the #2 Spanish-language network in the competitive total day time period among Hispanic Adults 18-34. Univision Radio achieved exceptional revenue growth in the quarter, while Univision Online continued to grow in every notable metric," said Univision President and COO Ray Rodriguez. Internet revenues rose 29.7% to 11.8 million. The only downer was Univision Music Group, where revenues dropped 23.4% to 34.1 million.
|
|
|
|
|
Ad Business Report TM
|
 dMarc founders leave Google
Chad and Ryan Steelberg, founders of automated remnant ad inventory monetizer dMarc Broadcasting that Google bought last year, have left the company. Chad was CEO and Ryan was President. The brothers resigned over issues between dMarc and Google, likely created over not getting Google Audio top inventory to sell as quickly as anticipated-the blame game ensued. Google Audio/Radio currently has some 700 affiliates mainly in 200 medium and small markets, offering mostly remnant inventory. Said a Google spokesperson: "Google is committed to the audio business. We will continue to gather feedback during the Audio Ads beta test and are happy with the progress to date. We remain focused on delivering value to the radio industry as we continue to expand radio station inventory and enhance the product so that it's ready for all advertisers." dMarc was formed in 2004 when software developer Scott Studios and dMarc Networks were combined. Google agreed to buy dMarc for 102 million cash in January 2006 with earnings targets up to 1.14 billion if met.
RBR observation: Every industry has its culture, relationships, nuances and subtleties. For radio, there is local spot, national spot, network radio and satellite radio. Even within those subsets, there are differences within the businesses and how business is conducted. It's the same with broadcast TV and cable. Here these folks came in from the internet without much radio experience and maybe tried to impose their will and vision a bit too early on the radio owners. Maybe they didn't understand the terrain. The Wall Street Journal article mentioning premature deals with Emmis and Greater Media really hurt them as well. Here's the incoming RAB Board Chairman Peter Smyth being accused of doing a big inventory deal with Google? That sure fell through, if there was any deal to begin with. Yes, Internet advertising is quite successful, but Internet folks have to be careful not to be arrogant in their ventures into other media. Hiring all of the radio folks to sell the idea was good, but maybe the message they were bringing wasn't right. The move from remnant to prime inventory will be a tough one for Google, as many operators have a sour taste in their mouths right now. Putting the right folks in place to run the venture and taking small steps toward the goal may be the only good option right now, because these rumors of huge inventory deals with CBS Radio and/or Clear Channel are just not coming to fruition, it seems.
 Haley delivers first
State of The Industry speech
Jeff Haley, the new Radio Advertising Bureau CEO, delivered his first state of the industry speech Friday in Dallas at RAB2007. Haley defined radio as sponsored audio content and cited current misperceptions as the only obstacle to the medium's growth: "The only way to change perceptions about radio is to change experiences with radio," he said. Laying the groundwork for what he called a key advertiser focus, Haley outlined a plan to engage leading national advertisers. The RAB will launch a focused effort that establishes transformational relationships through client-centric interaction. The Radio Advertising Bureau's role, he said, is to share knowledge, facilitate industry consensus, and drive revenue. Confirming RAB's commitment to providing training and information that can boost sales for radio, Haley highlighted the Auto Owners Profile, a new product from Scarborough and RAB that was debuted at the conference and is designed to help automotive clients maintain or grow market share with radio. He assured attendees that radio would speak with one voice and announced RAB would collaborate with the NAB and the HD Radio Alliance to establish a consistent and positive message about radio. He concluded his speech by playing a moving PSA from the Ad Council's Generous Nation Campaign, which radio heavily supported with phenomenal results. "Radio impacted this campaign at the local level, empowering our audiences, igniting community spirit, and firmly establishing radio's power to engage," he said.
RBR observation: HD-RAB-NAB alliance nice but again radio groups are putting the emphasis on HD when they should be investing their money in the internet and streaming. Smaller market broadcasters RBR spoke with at the RAB came to learn more about the internet and a few in their words, 'Disappointment.' One key phrase that a broadcaster from Iowa stated that rings true as she quoted Yogi Berra - "When you come to a fork in the road, take it" but why is it Radio always is taking the Wrong Fork?" To prove this point RBR suggests you read below Internet Media Business Report, RAEL: Ad recall increases Significantly when Radio and Internet used together.
|
|
|
|
| Media Business Report TM |
Christian group files complaint against KDKA
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports Christian Associates of Southwest Pennsylvania, a group representing Christian denominations, has filed a complaint with the FCC against KDKA-TV and KDKA-AM for news promotions that allegedly led to the suicide of a targeted pastor, and has set up a meeting with station execs. The Rev. Brent Dugan, pastor of the Community Presbyterian Church of Ben Avon, committed suicide in November when the station aired promos showing his face and promising to reveal illicit behavior, the story said. Advised that the pastor was missing and suicidal, KDKA-TV never aired the story, but word apparently didn't reach Dugan in time before killing himself. In a last letter to Pittsburgh Presbytery, he apologized for bringing shame on the church and confessed to a sexual relationship with a man who he said had betrayed him and set up his visit to an adult bookstore where the KDKA news crew filmed him. The letter asks KDKA to apologize to the Ben Avon church and to the presbytery "for the misleading promos and unfortunate lapse in journalistic reporting that led to the Rev. Brent Dugan's unfortunate death." It says the promos sentenced the Rev. Dugan before the presbytery had time to look into the situation and addressed it internally. It says that the promos violated the Code of Broadcast News Ethics, and that the group "deplores the exploitation of religious leaders and issues for increased ratings at the expense of journalistic integrity and the truth." The story says KDKA execs agreed to a meeting 2/20.
eMedia TRADE aiming to include
Donovan Data Systems
 Following up on our Friday story on eMediaTRADE, Wicks Broadcast Solutions and Arbitron debuting 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 (2/9/07 RBR #28). 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.We wanted to know what many buyers have been asking for in an end-to-end EDI system--is this compatible or will plug into Donovan Data Systems (the most used buying software system)? Said eMediaTRADE's Kurt Myers: "We and Wicks have been working closely with Donovan and they will be able to send e-orders as well but anticipate deploying with us a little later. It has been a collective design effort with all of us." Donovan Data Systems' Director of e-business Harvey Kent concurs: "We went live with a full transaction radio e-business system solution a few months ago with Katz. We've been rolling this out since. Probably a few thousand orders have been placed so far. So obviously, DDS is capable of doing radio EDI. The Wicks-Arbitron-eMediaTRADE solution, we have been meeting with them for some 15 months on what the format of the messages should look like. What they did with Donovan's support was figure out how to get the directories hooked up between the eMediaTRADE world, the two Arbitron agency systems and the Wicks stations. So they've got the directory puzzle solved among those three parties. Now we have to merge that with the station rep directory structure that we have. My technical team has been working with eMediaTRADE for months to do our directory piece-to come up with the right solution. But since Wicks had a pending group of stations ready to go and Arbitron has a tremendous need to get something going on their agency systems--that should come first. So we are going to continue our meetings and figure out to get this directory thing solved. For our agencies, we have to supply them with a way to merge in the directory of all the stations they buy-especially the non-repped groups that they want to go direct with. We also have to work on the order management program on the agency side, but we know exactly what needs to be done. We think we will be ready in months, not years."
|
|
|
|
| Media Markets & Money TM |
Price revealed in Arizona
That didn't take long. The contract for a deal with an undisclosed price tag showed up at the FCC just a day later, so we now know that Cochise Broadcasting is paying 330K cash for KCUZ-AM Clifton AZ and KFMM-FM Thatcher AZ. The deal provides for an LMA prior to closing. The seller is Wick Communications Company. Cochise has stations in the area, but only one would trigger the duopoly rules, and that is pending approval for a CP. Unbuilt KPSA-FM across the state line in Lordsburg NM is licensed for a C1 facility with 51 kW at 200'. If it gets an upgrade proposal approved, it'll go to full Class C status, dropping to 27.5 kW but with the antenna's HAAT skyrocketing to 2,952'. Even if that is approved, however, it will only share minimal overlap with KFMM-FM.
|
|
|
|
| Washington Media Business Report TM |
Here's one you don't see every day
Do you think that Equal Employment Opportunity regulations do not apply to minority-owned operations? Think again, and for verification, check with Hispanic-owned Liberman Television, licensee of KMPX-TV in Dallas. The Spanish-language indy has been hit with a 20K FCC fine for the EEO laundry list, with failures and inadequacies including "...recruitment, notification, self-assessment, record-keeping, public file, data, and information requirements." There were 54 hires during three reporting periods running consecutively from 1/21/04 through 3/31/06, and 30 of them were said to have been conducted improperly. The FCC said 11 of those were walk-ins and the other 19 were referrals from existing employees and other individuals. Six others were considered inadequate because the only posting was on a single website. EEO violations are the kind that simply keep on giving - to the US Treasury. Liberman was hit with one 10K fine, one 4K fine and six 1K fines in amassing its 20K total liability.
|
|
|
|
| Internet Media Business Report TM |
 RAEL: ad recall increases significantly when radio and Internet used together
According to research released Friday from the Radio Ad Effectiveness Lab (RAEL), recall of advertising is dramatically enhanced when a mix of radio and Internet ads is used together compared to website ads alone. Conducted by Harris Interactive, the new study was released at RAB'07 in Dallas. Radio and the Internet: Powerful Complements for Advertisers demonstrated that unaided recall was four-and-a-half times higher, and aided recall was more than twice as high with consumer exposure to one radio and one Internet ad compared to two Internet ads alone. Furthermore, a mix of radio and Internet exposures also revealed a clear potential to elevate other kinds of consumer impact, ranging from website visitation to emotional bonds. Radio and the Internet closely examined two test cells - one with two exposures to an Internet ad and one with exposure to one Internet ad and one corresponding radio ad. The ads used in the test came from eight actual campaigns in a wide variety of product categories. Before delving into the test, the study examined existing data about radio and Internet advertising to determine how the two media are likely to intersect. Several points on how radio and the Internet might work well together in a media mix emerged:
* Both radio and the Internet reach light users of other media.
* Radio and the Internet connect with consumers differently and in potentially complementary ways.
* Radio can drive traffic to websites.
* Radio and the Internet have unique reach patterns, and that can make them work powerfully in combination. On a daily basis, radio and the Internet together reach 83% of the 18-54-year-old population.
* Consumers often use radio and the Internet simultaneously, with up to a third of Internet usage being accompanied by radio listening during some times of the day.
The full study, plus previously released research from RAEL, and additional information are available at www.RadioAdLab.org.
|
|
|
|
| Ratings & Research |
Rusty Humphries' ratings up in Fall book
Rusty Humphries' ratings were up in many markets for the Fall Book. He's now on over 200 affiliates including 28 FM stations. CC Radio's KNEW-AM San Francisco showed gains of 22% in Persons 12+, 8% in Persons 25/54 and a healthy 36% in Persons 35/64. Citadel's KARN-AM Little Rock reported Humphries was up 132% to a 13.0 Share in Persons 12+, up 115% to a 7.3 Share in Persons 25/54, a huge gain of 172% to a 12.5 Share in Persons 35/64, + 135% to a 17.4 Share in Men 12+, a jump of 123% in Men 25/54 with a Share of 14.3 and steady growth to a 16.2 Share in Men 35-64 (up 71%). In Orlando on Cox Radio's WDBO, Humphries was up 100% with a 9.8 Share in Persons 12+ (#1), a 102% jump in Men 12+ to an 8.9 Share (#1), an incredible 224% increase, up from a 4.1 to a 13.3 Share in Persons 35/64 (#1) and a phenomenal 613% gain in Men 35/64 with a 17.1 Share, up from 2.4 in the last book. Oklahoma City's Talk Radio 1520 KOKC enjoyed healthy growth across the board in all demos, with a 100% increase in Persons 25/54, up 220% from a 1.0 to a 3.2 Share in Persons 35/64, a 125% gain in Men 12+, an increase from an 8.9 to a 9.8 Share in Men 25/54 and a jump to an 8.8 Share in Men 35/64. In Dallas/Ft. Worth on KLIF, the show saw gains this book in all demos, up 83% in Persons 12+, up 133% with a 4.2 Share in Persons 35/64 and up 123% with a 5.8 Share in Men 35/64.
|
|
|
|
| Engineering Business Report TM |
 Crutchfield offering new
"HD Car Connect Radio"
The HD Digital Radio Alliance and Crutchfield announced the availability of a car radio add-on that transforms virtually any existing car radio into an HD radio. The new HD Car Connect Radio from Directed Electronics is the first device to allow consumers to keep their existing car stereos while gaining access to the variety of additional free content HD radio offers. This device is also available on Amazon.com The Directed Electronics DMHD-1000 (199.99) is a universal add-on HD Radio tuner that connects to the car's audio system. The converter hooks up in two ways-it modulates with FM RF and uses a direct connect through the head unit (auxiliary buss). The unit's large, backlit multi-line display shows station information, as well as artist and song title, with previews for additional digital-only HD Radio channels.
RBR observation: This is pretty significant, getting this on Crutchfield. It's a little more complicated install than adding satellite radio to an existing car radio, but with widespread adoption it could help drive OEM HD Radios in cars. For many newer vehicles, swapping out the car stereo means losing GPS functionality, mileage and temperature data, etc., so after market HD Radio receivers are sometimes a tough sell. These Directed Electronics units should be handed out to listeners at promotions and via on-air call-in contesting-along with free installation coupons at local car stereo installers. The faster consumers realize they don't have to pay for all these extra formats as with satellite (assuming each market can start offering a great lineup), the faster the switch will be on.
|
|
|
|
| Monday Morning Makers & Shakers |
|
Transactions: 12/25/06-12/29/06
For a holiday week, the action wasn't that bad at the FCC's transaction room. There were only nine applicable documents filed, and they all involved radio, but they made it three quarters of the way to the 100M mark all told. The top three on the list all involved Clear Channel, as it picked up a station in Canton OH, swapped out of two Michigan markets and sold out of Cheyenne, accounting for 68.5M of the total.
|
|
Total
|
|
Total Deals
|
9
|
|
AMs
|
8
|
|
FMs
|
16
|
|
TVs
|
0
|
| Value |
76.1M
|
| Complete Charts |
|
Radio Transactions of the Week
Swap shop in the eastern Midwest
| More... |
|
TV Transactions of the Week
Zippy
|
|
|
|
|
| Transactions |
5.25M WQCW-TV Charleston-Huntington WV (Portsmouth OH) from Commonwealth Broadcsting Group Inc. (Charles Harker) to Mountain TV LLC, a subsidiary of Lockwood Broadcasting Inc. (James L. Lockwood Jr., James A. Stern). 250K escrow, balance in cash at closing. Seller receives extra 600K if it gets CP to more digital transmitter site. WQCW-TV is CW affiliate on Ch. 30 (DTV 17). Deal includes WVCW-LP Huntington WV Ch. 45 & WOCW-LP Charleston WV Ch. 21. [File date 1/12/07.]
17.3M KIST AM & FM/KTMS-AM/KBKO-AM/KTYD-FM, KSBL-FM & KSPE-FM Santa Barbara CA (Santa Barbara, Carpenteria, Ellwood CA) from Subsidiaries of Clear Channel Broadcasting Inc. (Mark Mays et al) to Rincon Broadcasting LLC, related to Point Broadcasting Company (John Q. Hearne, Roy Laughlin). 1.703M escrow, balance in cash at closing. Includes non-compete. LMA prior to closing optional. Existing grandfathered superduopy. Buyer has indicated it will spin off either KIST-AM or KTMS-AM to Santa Barbara Community Broadcasting Company to come into compliance with local ownership cap. [File date 1/10/07.]
N/A KIST-AM/KTMS-AM Santa Barbara CA from Rincon Broadcasting LLC, related to Point Broadcasting Company (John Q. Hearne, Roy Laughlin) to Santa Barbara Community Broadcasting Company (Saul L. Rosenzweig, Helen Reale, Roby Scott). Donation to spin off excess stations resulting in Point's acquisition of Clear Channel cluster. Probably will be one or the other of the listed AMs. [File date 1/10/07.]
|
|
|
|
| Stock Talk |
Housing worries sink stocks
Increased foreclosures reported by Countrywide Financial Corp., a major mortgage lender, worried Wall Street traders on Friday. The Dow Industrials fell 57 points, or 0.5%, to 12,581.
Radio stocks were also lower. The Radio Index fell 1.353, or 0.8%, to 159.029. Disney was the worst performer, down 2.6%. The satellite radio stocks also had a down day, with XM off 3% and Sirius 2.7%.
|
|
|
|
| Radio Stocks |
Here's how stocks fared on Friday
| Company |
Symbol |
Close |
Change |
Company |
Symbol |
Close |
Change |
|
Arbitron
|
ARB
|
|
46.00
|
-1.24
|
Journal Comm.
|
JRN
|
|
13.39
|
-0.11
|
|
Beasley
|
BBGI
|
|
9.17
|
-0.07
|
Lincoln Natl.
|
LNC
|
|
69.05
|
-0.95
|
| CBS CI. B |
CBS |
 |
31.68
|
-0.41
|
Radio One, Cl. A
|
ROIA
|
|
7.36
|
-0.08
|
| CBS CI. A |
CBSa |
|
31.63
|
-0.42
|
Radio One, Cl. D
|
ROIAK
|
|
7.37
|
-0.10
|
| Citadel |
CDL |
|
10.72 |
-0.09 |
Regent
|
RGCI
|
|
3.00
|
+0.01
|
|
Clear Channel
|
CCU
|
|
36.46
|
-0.19
|
Saga Commun.
|
SGA
|
|
9.31
|
-0.12
|
|
Cox Radio
|
CXR
|
|
15.70
|
-0.11
|
Salem Comm.
|
SALM
|
|
12.06
|
+0.01
|
|
Cumulus
|
CMLS
|
|
10.35
|
-0.14
|
Sirius Sat. Radio
|
SIRI
|
|
3.63
|
-0.10
|
|
Disney
|
DIS
|
|
34.36
|
-0.93
|
Spanish Bcg.
|
SBSA
|
|
4.02
|
-0.05
|
|
Emmis
|
EMMS
|
|
8.46
|
-0.07
|
SWMX
|
SMWX
|
|
1.25
|
-0.10
|
| Entercom |
ETM
|
|
29.87
|
-0.19
|
Univision
|
UVN
|
|
35.82
|
-0.07
|
|
Entravision
|
EVC
|
|
8.05
|
+0.03
|
Westwood One
|
WON
|
|
6.94
|
-0.06
|
|
Fisher
|
FSCI
|
|
43.20
|
+0.02
|
XM Sat. Radio
|
XMSR
|
|
13.44
|
-0.41
|
|
Hearst-Argyle
|
HTV
|
|
26.06
|
-0.14
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Bounceback
|
 We want to
hear from you.
This is your column, so send your comments and
a photo to [email protected]
|
|
|
Below the Fold
|
|
Ad Business Report
dMarc founders leave Google
Chad and Ryan Steelberg, resigned over issues ...
Haley delivers First
State of The Industry speech and has small market broadcasters asking about the Fork in the Road...
Media Markets & Money
Price revealed in Arizona
Cochise Broadcasting is paying 330K...
Internet Media Business Report
RAEL: ad recall increases
Significantly when radio and Internet used together...
|
|
|
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.
 Market your Stations For Sale
in our daily epapers.
Contact
June Barnes
[email protected]
|
|
|
Radio Media Moves
|
Trio to RadioMilwaukee
RadioMilwaukee, the organization will re-launch WYMS-FM later this month, has named three more top staffers. Jay Hedblade, formerly with WEBX-FM Champaign-Urbana, IL, is Acting PD and Co-Music Director. Scott Mullins, from WFPK-FM Louisville, KY, is co-Music Director and Terry Kegley, from KCPW/KPCW Salt Lake City/Park City, UT, is Operations Manager.
|
|
|
More News Headlines
|
Cronkite bashes
media consolidation
Former CBS news anchor Walter Cronkite told a gathering at the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism that big media is facing more and more pressure to maintain its bottom line, and quality news is one of the casualties. Hew cited the disappearance of competing newspapers in most markets, along with rampant job and budget cutting in broadcast news departments. According to the Associated Press, he said that the complexity of current conditions call out for better news coverage, but instead its going in the opposite direction and putting democracy at risk. He claimed that "...we're left with a sound bite culture that turns political campaigns into political theater." He thinks that short term economic benefits taken by companies now will be unhealthy for the news business long term. It was different when he was working, he said, when management backed up the efforts of journalists to dig into difficult stories, and provided the necessary resources.
RBR observation: Left with a sound bite culture, well when Cronkite is right he is right. But let's also add one other with the sound bite which is having a Good Hair day.
Internet services hearing a familiar word
Accountability. That word has been a driving force in radio for several years, as the industry tries to bring its ability to document results up to 21st Century snuff. Now a survey from the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) reveals that over half of the advertisers making use of the Internet believe they're getting an accurate picture of what they're actually buying. According to ABC, "only one-third of advertiser respondents said they were confident that their companies' online ad impressions were measured and reported accurately." And 84% agree that independent auditing is a necessary ingredient, preferably over the next three years.
RBR observation: ABC has its own axe to grind here; this is an area into which they would like to expand, and that's just fine. But the story opens up a line of argument for radio companies who suspect clients of straying to the WWW. Just what are you getting over there? Are the services you are using giving you a straight story? Is it showing up on your bottom line? How much of the budget do you want to gamble with when there are reliable alternatives, like local radio stations serving 95% of the people you do business with every day?
Talkers follow
the top stories
The week of 1/28/07-2/2/07 produced only one story which managed to grab over 10% of the news hole, that being the Iraq policy debate (15%), and only one other that was at least a near miss, the already warm coverage of the 2008 elections, which came in at 9%. The broadcast/cable talk universe took that and ran with it, giving its audience a much more concentrated dose of the same two topics. The debate over Iraq consumed a full 31% of talk show time, followed by the campaign with 17%. The talkers followed suit on two news items tied with 6% of the news hole, Iran and events in Iraq. However, in both cases, it was slightly diluted, at 5%. Global warming and the Super Bowl were the only other topics to appear on both charts. All date is from the Project for Excellence in Journalism.
|
|
|
TVBR - TV News
|
Bye-bye Touchstone
The Walt Disney Company has made it a corporate strategy to focus on three brands: Disney, ABC and ESPN. To that end, Touchstone Television has been renamed ABC Television Studio, aligning the studio with the network brand. Anne Sweeney, Co-Chair, Disney Media Networks and President, Disney-ABC Television Group, announced the renaming at the 2007 Disney Investor Conference. She said the new name reflects the studio's critical role in building a brand that viewers identify with quality television on any platform. The newly named ABC Television Studio will continue to develop and produce premiere programming for network, cable, web, VOD, mobile and broadband platforms for The Walt Disney Company, as well as other outlets. The studio, headed by President Mark Pedowitz, currently has 18 series on broadcast and cable networks, including ABC, NBC, CBS, ABC Family, Lifetime and FX. In a related announcement also made at the conference, the business unit formerly known as Buena Vista Games will now be known as Disney Interactive Studios - again focusing on one of the three core brands.
TVBR observation: No longer is there a need to have a "different" brand name so a TV studio won't appear to be too closely tied to the TV network under its own parent company. Everybody needs content and if someone has what they need, they buy it, regardless of whether they are also helping to build profits for a competitor. No one has a problem taking pitches from the NBC Universal Television Studio or CBS Paramount Television, even if their own network is owned by another media company. If you promise not to tell, we'll let you in on a secret: Twentieth Television and the Fox Network are both owned by News Corporation. Shhhhh!
|
|
|
RBR Radar 2006
|
|
Radio News you won't read any where else. RBR--First, Accurate, and Independently Owned.
|
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.
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.
02/09/07 RBR #28
Kennedy 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. Interep founder and now former CEO Ralph Guild 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.
RBR observation: The record is now official with Ralph Guild as non-executive Chairman, means 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. 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. For more analysis see this issue of RBR
02/09/07 RBR #28
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
|
|
|
|
 |
* New Listing *
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.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
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
|
|
|
|
©2007 Radio Business Report, Inc. All rights reserved.
Radio Business Report -- 2050 Old Bridge Road, Suite B-01, Lake Ridge, VA 22192 -- Phone: 703-492-8191
|
|
