RBR's Daily Morning Epaper

Volume 23, Issue 43, Jim Carnegie, Editor & Publisher

Thursday Morning March 2nd, 2006

Radio News ®

Nielsen walks; PPM to be radio only
Arbitron's Portable People Meter (PPM) is going to be a radio only ratings system. Nielsen Media Research has decided not to exercise its option for a joint venture with Arbitron to deploy PPM commercially across the US. Nielsen says it may license PPM for use in measuring out-of-home viewing, but is evaluating other options for measuring in-home viewing. Also, Nielsen owner VNU will continue Project Apollo with Arbitron, which is using PPM for a national research panel. In nixing a joint venture, Nielsen said it had concerns about both the PPM methodology and its cost. "We recognize the appeal of a portable, single source measurement tool. While it may offer considerable benefits for radio research, we believe that a one-size-fits-all measurement system is not the approach for a currency in today's complex television markets," said Nielsen Media Research CEO Susan Whiting. Nielsen said yesterday it had concerns about sample quality, including fault rates, said PPM's definition of "audience" resulted in "large and still unexplained increases in television viewership," which it attributed to PPM being designed to measure radio rather than TV, said that costs would be high and it appeared that TV would be subsidizing radio measurement, and questioned how many TV companies really support moving to PPM measurement. At Arbitron, CEO Steve Morris said his company will focus on its "radio only" option for rolling out PPM. Without having Nielsen as a partner, he noted that Arbitron will have "complete flexibility" for where and how to roll out PPM - - not mentioning that it will mean that the cost will be higher for radio broadcasters. Morris will hold a conference call with Wall Street analysts this morning to discuss the financial ramifications of the Nielsen decision to walk away. With no joint venture, Arbitron said it expects 2006 earnings per share to be 1.65-170. Just two days from now (3/3), Clear Channel is due to announce whether it and the radio groups which have joined in evaluating proposals submitted under its RFP on passive electronic radio audience measurement have selected PPM or one of its competitors as the best system to serve the US radio industry.

RBR observation: While Arbitron is disappointed that Nielsen is passing on PPM, another group that's sure to be upset are the advertising agencies who have been pushing for Nielsen and Arbitron to both deploy PPM - - and the sooner the better. Look for Susan Whiting to get an earful today at the 4As convention in Orlando, where the room will be full of folks who want nothing more than a single currency for radio, TV and cable - - and she will be the one who has burst their balloon.

RBR Exclusive
Whiting explains; others react to PPM decision at 4As
In an exclusive interview with RBR/TVBR shortly after she arrived in Orland for the AAAAs gathering last night, Nielsen Media Research CEO Susan Whiting explained her decision to pass on doing a PPM joint venture with Arbitron. She said in talks with clients, Nielsen was told that it needed to be able to measure video viewing from new sources, such as the Internet and iPods, with the same quality by which it measures television. "Basically, follow the video," she said. After looking at Arbitron's PPM testing and the financial requirements of a joint venture, which she said would have amounted to television subsidizing radio measurement, Nielsen decided that the joint venture was not the way to go. "We just decided that it was better for us to continue on our path with a portfolio of new tools for television, and radio to have its own path, and that the place we would work together using the PPM was really in the out-of-home measurement and also in Project Apollo. So this decision is only really about the decision we had to make on the option we had to join a joint venture for currency, but it doesn't stop us from - - and we are, in fact going to be talking to Arbitron about using that technology for measuring outside the home and also continue to use it for the Project Apollo joint venture. It's very specifically about television in the home and we had to make that decision yesterday," Whiting said. As the advertising industry assembled in Orlando for the AAAAs conference, there was plenty of reaction to the Nielsen decision to pass on a PPM joint venture.
| Read More... |

Radio noses up, slightly
Remember that old ultra-pessimistic phrase from the Cold War, better red than dead? Well, we say better black than red - - so all in all, you'd have to say January was an OK month. Momentum in national radio advertising eclipsed a minor slump in the local category, bringing advertising for the month of January 2006 a percentage point ahead of the same month a year earlier. Gains in non-spot, which edged into double digits, also contributed. Local was down 1%, but was able to ride the coattails of 6%-gaining national into the black ink. We said that non-spot edged into double-digit territory, and we did not exaggerate - - it gained 10%.

RBR observation: These results confirm what we've been hearing in conference call after conference call - - the year is starting out sluggishly. February may be depressed as well, since the Olympics have a tendency to draw cash away from radio. However, upcoming comps comparing LIM stats to year-old LIM stats should, if nothing else, supply favorable cosmetic results, and the end of the Olympics should return real dollars to radio. And political buying, which seems more and more to be a key category for radio, will continue to gather steam through November.

SBS launches Mega TV
No longer just the nation's second-largest Hispanic radio group (SBS likes to call itself the largest Hispanic-controlled group), Spanish Broadcasting System is now in the TV business, launching "Mega TV" yesterday on Channel 22 in the Miami market as WSBS-TV. Programming features TV versions of some of its radio shows, a debate program, dance and music contests, reality and entertainment shows, and an interactive spy game show. "The launch of Mega TV reflects our long term vision of creating multiple branded entertainment channels that will further unlock the substantial value of our proprietary content. This content consistently generates substantial audience shares in the nation's largest Hispanic markets. When combined with several fresh and engaging new shows, we are certain Mega TV is an ideal platform in which to extend our winning brands," said SBS CEO Raúl Alarcón. SBS completed its purchase of what had been WDLP-TV Key West and its Miami LPTV on Tuesday (2/28) after paying 550K for two contract extensions to raise the total price to 37.55 million.
| Here's a look at the programming for the new station |

Internet, cable are hot, says TNS
TNS Media Intelligence says that advertising growth in the US as a relatively stagnant 3% in 2005. It blames caution on both sides of the commercial divide, both among businesses and consumers, for a Q4 tap on the brakes. TNS SVP Jon Swallen went further, saying, "Large blue chip advertisers, as a group, have recently cut back their ad budgets. The growth is currently coming from outside the top 100 marketers." The total spent on advertising in 2005, as measured by TNS, was 143.3B. The greatest growth came from the smallest category - - local magazines - - up 21.3% to 385.5M (it's also the only one of 17 categories under 1B in total revenue). Of the major categories, Internet was up 13.3% and CATV was up 11.4%. The biggest loser was spot TV (minus Hispanic spot), which dropped 9.5%. In fact, it was generally a rough year for television, a fact which is now becoming a standard feature of odd years, with their dearth of election activity and complete absence of Olympic action.
| See charts here |

Watchdog under counterattack
TV Watch, essentially a watchdog of watchdogs formed by a coalition of television and free speech interests, is getting ahead of the curve by protesting the rumors of upcoming government action on the indecency front. It is asking why there is so much fuss when the general public is generally silent on the matter. The reason, it claims, is the Parents Television Council, which in many cases is single-handedly flooding the FCC with complaints about specific programs which seem to generate little if any seconding complaints from the public, despite the fact that the viewers of these programs often number in the tens of millions. The charge: "The Parents Television Council (PTC) is an activist group that pushes the government to enforce their personal television preferences on all Americans." TV Watch explains, "These special interest groups abuse the complaint process, knowing that by filing one single complaint they can force the federal government to begin investigating a moment of broadcast television. If they are successful, fewer people than it takes to field a baseball team can change what we all see on TV."

RBR observation: Polls have shown that a majority realize there is racy material on TV and the radio. They also show that a similar-sized majority want the government to refrain from regulating program content. TV Watch is pushing the video content safeguards already built into television receivers and provided by cable systems. And although there are know technological magic bullets that work the same way for radio, parents at this Epaper have not had any problem with our children being subjected to improper radio programming. We don't want anybody, from PTC or anywhere else, "protecting" us from the media, thank you very much.

From the AAAA's in Orlando

New initiative to be announced at AAAAs
RBR/TVBR attended the AAAAs Welcome Reception last night in Orlando amongst a record crowd of attendees. Probably one of the most anticipated disclosures at the show will be what Jon Mandel (pictured), Chairman/MediaCom US and Chief Global Buying Officer MediaCom Worldwide, first alluded to and what Jean Pool, EVP/Director of North American Operations Universal McCann, Chairman of Media Policy at the AAAAs and Ray Warren, Carat Americas President, confirmed: In response to ABC's Mike Shaw's recent ultimatum that ABC will not do business in the 2006-07 upfront with media agencies that insist on using only Nielsen's live ratings as the measurement currency, there will be a new way of doing business unveiled for the upfront.

Pool tells RBR/TVBR: "I will be announcing a new initiative on Thursday."
Mandel adds: "It's going to be in Jean's [keynote] speech [at 8:45 AM]. It's so simple and elegant. It really gets at...I mean everybody is talking about the wrong thing. Jean is making a speech about it, among a number of things."

Will the television side be on the same page as the media agencies when it's unveiled?
"At first, they won't," says Mandel. "But if they calmly think about it, they'll realize it solves all of the problems. And more than that, it gives the television business, and frankly the radio business, a better leg to stand on when they're competing with all of the 'so-called' accountable media." RBR/TVBR will be there to bring you the details.

Media agencies swarm Orlando
Today marks the first day open to everyone for the American Association of Advertising Agencies' annual conference, this time in Orlando at The Royal Pacific Resort. The focus is on the now rapidly changing and fragmenting media landscape and its transition to wireless and online, where the accountability is supreme. The new digital technologies that are fragmenting audiences and forcing advertisers to find new ways to market their products are reflected in the panel session topics. The conference's theme: "Now, Soon and the Future." Among the topics: "How to Sell Non Traditional Media Ideas to Your Clients"; the "Shape of the Modern Media Organization" and "Deconstructing Branded Entertainment." Among the speakers are former VP Al Gore, who runs Current, the youth-oriented current-affairs channel; David Verklin, Carat Americas CEO; Joe Uva, OMD CEO; Irwin Gotlieb, head of GroupM and Jack Klues, who oversees Publicis Groupe Media. We hear this is a record year for advertiser/client attendance. As advertisers pare down TV advertising and look to cellphones, blogs, podcasts and gaming, they are increasingly turning to media agencies-and their conferences-for enlightenment. And, of course, the real search for the Holy Grail will be in finding better measurement of the effectiveness of advertising-the cause-and-effect relationship between a marketing act and some kind of consumer action.

Ad Business Report TM

Media Audit trying
to cell out?
Broadcast data provider Media Audit and partner Ipsos (MA/I) note that Arbitron is thinking about using cell phones to recruit the perennially survey-shy younger men demos in an effort to increase their participation in diary keeping. MA/I thinks that's a start, but is looking to go one step further - - they want to get a phone into the hands of young men - - and other groups - - that will eliminate the diary and actual do the measurement. They figure that it will be a relatively easy matter to get young men and minorities to use a "Smart Phone" which will measure a wide variety of media. MA/I says the roster of measurable media will include "...radio, television, radio and television streaming via the internet, cable, satellite television, and billboards." It notes that the increasing use of cell phone for multiple purposes will entice young men and minorities to carry them; indeed, the groups are already the most likely to purchase a cell in the near future. 20% of the general public are said to be in the market. How many men 18-24? About twice that, at 39%. 30% of Blacks and 27% of Hispanics are also in the market.

Global management team announced for Neo@Ogilvy
Neo@Ogilvy announced the appointment of key management to serve its fastest growing regions. In North America, Eric Wheeler, Managing Director of OgilvyInteractive North America, was appointed to the additional post of CEO of Neo@Ogilvy, North America. In Asia Pacific, Ken Mandel, Vice President of Digital, was named to the additional role of CEO of Neo@Ogilvy, Asia Pacific. "Both executives have a deep grasp of the digital space and understand the growing importance of developing and offering integrated marketing platforms to our clients around the world. Both will have dual roles, keeping them involved in all aspects of the agency's diversified digital offering. They will soon be joined by a European CEO whose appointment is imminent," said Nasreen Madhany, Neo@Ogilvy's Global CEO. Neo@Ogilvy manages digital media investment for clients covering digital advertising and direct marketing, digital and direct TV, direct response print and email, email marketing, search marketing and new forms of digital media such as blogs and vlogs.

Transit TV attracts eyes, willing or not
Los Angeles has joined the list of municipalities which have opened up public transportation to a closed system of videocasts. Bus rides in the sprawling metropolis now feature a program complete with "...printed trivia, nature footage, weather and ads, with a spot of news thrown straight in," according to reporter Donnell Alexander of Los Angeles CityBeat, who experienced it firsthand. Everywhere you turn, there's another player with a hungry mouth and a fork poised and ready to carve out a piece of the media pie. Alexander noted the low quality of the broadcast (updated electronically when the bus passes a strategically-located "hot spot") and his own possession of reading material, and seemed almost chagrined that his eyes continually strayed to the video monitors mounted in the front and toward the back of the bus. Other riders, without reading material, gave the system their full attention. The system's owner, based in Orlando FL, is said to have systems up and running in Chicago, Milwaukee and Atlanta. For the cities, it's found money. For broadcasters, it's found competition.

Media Markets & Money TM

Is 3rd time the charm for Seehafer?
Twice before Don Seehafer has tried to sell WXCO-AM & WLRK-FM (formerly WYCO) Wausau, WI - - and each time the deal fell apart without closing. But the price went up - - from 3.4 million to 3.7 million. Now he has a new deal to sell only the FM - - and again the price tag has gone up. New Radio Group (NRG), which has its own cluster in the Wausau-Stevens Point market, has a deal to acquire WLRK - - a 100kw flamethrower - - for 3.7 million cash, plus three smaller stations. The result will be that Seehafer will have four stations in the far-flung Wausau-Stevens Point market, but with very little in the way of signal overlaps. In addition to keeping WXCO (where Seehafer once employed RBR's Executive Editor), NRG will be handing over the keys to WFHR-AM Wisconsin Rapids, WDLB-AM Marshfield and WOSQ-FM Spencer. RBR estimates that the three could be worth about 1.3 million, which would put the total value of the deal at a cool five million.

On the block: 10,000 watt piece in Las Vegas
Unfortunately for those of you who sell commercials for a living, they will not be a feature of this particular Las Vegas FM property - - KCEP. It plies the airwaves from the dial position right next to the steering wheel (assuming the dial doesn't have one of those digital displays) at 88.1 mHz. The Economic Opportunity Board of Clark County has retained the services of Patrick Communications' Greg Guy to peddle the station to interested non-profit entities. It has a 32-year track record of playing Contemporary R&B Hits, Hip-Hop and Gospel.

Close encounter in Phoenix
KXEG 1280 and KXXT 1010 have just been officially added to the rejuvenated portfolio of Communicom. According to broker John Piece, the 10M deal is complete and in the books. It joins New Orleans on the Communicom market roster, and will soon be joined by Miami-Ft. Lauderdale. An AM station there is coming from the same seller as the Phoenix duo - - Jim Hilliard's James Crystal Radio.

Washington Media Business Report TM

Is cable program choice
in play at the FCC?
Kevin Martin is on record as a proponent of a la carte cable channel options for subscribers. He went to the trouble of having a Michael Powell-era study on the topic which found that is would increase consumer expense while damaging niche channels redone, coming to opposite conclusions on both counts, a new result disputed by Booz Allen, the entity which produced the study in first place. In the meantime, cable and satellite companies have been developing and offering family-friendly tiers as options for subs short of a la carte, and Ted Stevens (R-AK), head of the all-important Senate Commerce Committee, seems to see them as a possible way to avoid sticky legislative wars and even stickier court disputes which would likely be the result of any legislation on a la carte. Nevertheless, the FCC may act on its own at the urging of Chairman Martin. The newest member of the FCC, Debi Tate, came aboard just about the time the family tiers were being announced and seemed satisfied to adopt the Stevens approach - - giving them a chance to germinate. Now, however, she appears to have moved closer to Martin's view on the matter. "I've been applauding them," she said of family-tier MVPDs at an NAB function in Washington, "At the same time I've been saying, I don't think you've gone far enough."

RBR observation: The common-sense argument for a la carte is that nobody should be forced to pay for something they don't want and won't use. It gets even thornier when aggrieved MVPD subscribers believe that they are actually subsidizing objectionable material which they have to go to the trouble of blocking so their children won't see it. It is instructive to note, however, that niche and religious programmers alike are extremely worried about the a la carte movement. Why are they so worried if a la carte will actually increase diversity? On the topic of pricing, cable companies note that blocking technology is already factored in. Setting up an entire new billing infrastructure and - - even more to the point - - infrastructure to deliver snowflake program lineups to thousands of subscribers, is not. Can legislators and regulators accurately say that a la carte will not increase subscriber costs? We suggest denizens of the Hill and the across the Mall at the Portals proceed with extreme caution on this matter.

Internet Media Business Report TM

2005 Internet advertising
estimated at 12.5 billion
Spending on Internet advertising in Q4 was 3.6 billion, according to estimates by PricewaterhouseCoopers for the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB). That brought the total for 2005 to 12.5 billion, up 30% from the previous record of 9.6 billion in 2004. "We fully expect Interactive to continue to play an ever increasing role of importance for marketers," said IAB CEO Greg Stuart.

RBR observation: The bad news for broadcasters is that advertisers are looking more and more to the web as a real advertising platform - - with auto makers and dealers leading the charge. The good news for broadcasters is that you can compete with the best of them on the Internet, since you have established brand identity and valuable content.

Transactions

4M KOKF-FM Oklahoma City (Edmond OK) from RDM Broadcasting Enterprises Inc. (Ron Dryden) to Educational Media Foundation (Richard Jenkins). 200K escrow, balance in cash at closing. [File date 2/10/06.]

125K KNNZ-AM St. George-Cedar City UT (Cedar City UT) from CCR-St. George IV LLC, a subsidiary of Cherry Creek Broadcasting LLC (Joseph Schwartz) to PRC St. George I LLC, a subsidiary of Public Radio Capital Inc. (Marc O. Hand et al). Donation appraised at 125K. LMA 1/31/06. [File date 2/10/06.]

Stock Talk

Bloom is off the Google rose
A warning from Google that its rapid growth can't continue unabated (and what sensible person thought it could?) brought tech stocks crashing to earth in Wednesday's trading, with tepid economic news adding to the downward slide. The Dow Industrials fell 60 points, or 0.6%, to 11,054. But the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 1.5%.

Radio stocks had a better day, with the Radio Index gaining 0.368, or 0.2%, to 166.221. Saga was down for a second day after its disappointing Q4 results, falling 3.5%. SBS was up 2.3% as it launched its first TV station.

Radio Stocks

**Here's how stocks fared on Wednesday**
Company	Symbol	Close		Change	Company	Symbol	Close		Change
Arbitron	ARB		38.88	-0.32	Hearst-Argyle	HTV		23.89	+0.02
Beasley	BBGI		13.44	-0.10	Interep	IREP		0.25	unch
CBS CI. B	CBS		24.65	+0.19	Jeff-Pilot	JP		59.97	-0.28
CBS CI. A	CBSa		24.61	+0.14	Journal Comm.	JRN		12.32	+0.01
Citadel	CDL		11.26	+0.12	Radio One, Cl. A	ROIA		8.34	-0.11
Clear Channel	CCU		28.59	+0.29	Radio One, Cl. D	ROIAK		8.26	-0.08
Cox Radio	CXR		13.83	unch	Regent	RGCI		4.67	+0.10
Cumulus	CMLS		11.73	+0.13	Saga Commun.	SGA		9.14	-0.33
Disney	DIS		28.09	+0.10	Salem Comm.	SALM		14.16	+0.18
Emmis	EMMS		16.37	unch	Sirius Sat. Radio	SIRI		5.04	-0.07
Entercom	ETM		28.57	+0.40	Spanish Bcg.	SBSA		5.74	+0.13
Entravision	EVC		7.50	+0.07	Univision	UVN		33.84	+0.39
Fisher	FSCI		43.13	+0.33	Westwood One	WON		10.96	-0.19
Gaylord	GET		44.75	+0.10	XM Sat. Radio	XMSR		21.95	-0.14

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]

It's not the athletes that dampened NBC's ratings (2/28/06 RBR #41), it was their terrible coverage. Blame the producers and directors who were likely brought out of retirement homes to do the games. Get ESPN to do the next winter games and watch the ratings climb. Imagine the "Best Damn Sports Show" after every night's coverage! Wow...that would be fun.

The Very Best,
John Lund
The Lund Consultants
to Broadcast Management, Inc.,
and Lund Media Research

Below the Fold

Arbitrends

Radio Media Moves

From TV to
the Grammys
Former Paramount Pictures Television Sr. VP David Grossman has been named Exec. VP of the Recording Academy, the organization that, among other things, gives out the Grammy Awards. Grossman will handle business development, artist relations and long-range planning.

Upped at ABC
ABC Radio Networks announced the promotion of Darion Melito to Director of Affiliate Relations for "The Sean Hannity Show." Melito was Manager of Affiliate Relations for ABC Radio Networks.

Greene upped at Harris
With Gary McArthur promoted to CFO (3/1/06 RBR #42), Harris Corporation has now promoted Charles "Chuck" Greene to VP/Tax and Treasurer. He had been Assistant Treasurer when McArthur was Treasurer.

Talk net sets lineup
GreenStone Media has announced the lineup for its new FM talk network for women: Mornings will feature Maureen Langan, Cory Kahaney and Nelsie Spencer; Midday host is Lisa Birnbach; and Afternoons will be anchored by Kathy Najimy and Mo Gaffney.

Stations for Sale

Exclusive Listing
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Alaska Gold Mine!
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More News Headlines

Bidding group for
VNU said to shrink
Reports from both the Financial Times of London and Reuters say Permira, a European equity investment group, has dropped out of the private equity team preparing a bid for VNU, indicating that it was unable to justify upping the price to be offered. That leaves six members: Netherlands-based AlpInvest and five US partners, Blackstone, Carlyle, KKR, Hellman & Friedman and Thomas H. Lee. VNU had previously indicated that it expected to receive a bid by the end of February, but it appears that never-firm deadline has been extended. Some of VNU's largest shareholders are said to be dissatisfied with the indicated bid price of around 8.8 billion bucks and would prefer to sell off the company in pieces themselves (2/15/06 RBR #32).

Four honored
as Pioneers
A quartet of veteran broadcasters will honored with the 2006 Broadcast Pioneer Awards, to be presented at the Broadcasters' Foundation Breakfast during NAB2006 next month in Las Vegas. The honorees are the former president of RKO Radio, Dwight Case, Hearst Corporation Director and former President & CEO of Hearst Argyle Television John Conomikes, Radio Advertising Bureau President Gary Fries, the Tichenor Family and the President and CEO of Barrington Broadcasting, K. James Yager.

TVBR - TV News

CBS to help affiliates get retrans cash
Speaking at a Bear Stearns investor conference in Florida, CBS Corp. CEO Les Moonves stood firm on his plan to make cable MSOs pay cash for retransmission consent now that CBS is separate from its former cable cousins at Viacom. And once CBS has gotten some experience under its belt negotiating retransmission deals for its O&O stations, Moonves says the net is going to help its affiliates go after the cable cash. At the Bear Stearns conference, Moonves said the first retrans deal will be announced within six weeks. "I can't comment on how much, but if some cable networks that have half our material get 25 cent [per month], we should be worth more than that," he said. Moonves noted that the retrans ramp-up will be gradual, beginning with a deal for 3-5 million subscribers, since some of the bigger deals currently in place don't come up for renewal until 2008, '09 and '10, covering 60 million households in all. Moonves said CBS is talking with some affiliate groups now about retrans negotiations. "Obviously the first few deals will be done on our own, and then we will incorporate them," he explained. The CBS honcho said he doesn't expect the other major networks to follow the same path, since ABC, NBC and Fox can continue to negotiate package deals with the MSOs including both their cable nets and broadcast stations. But in his view, CBS and Viacom are both better off than before their split, since Viacom can negotiate for payments based on the value of its established cable nets and CBS can go after payments separately for its broadcast signals.

RBR Radar 2005

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

CBS sues Howard Stern
for mega bucks
Howard Stern got more than 600 million bucks by moving from Infinity Radio (now CBS Radio) to Sirius Satellite Radio, but now CBS is claiming that it deserves a big chunk of that cash. It's sued Stern and his agent, Don Buchwald, in a New York state court, claiming multiple breaches of contract, fraud, unjust enrichment and misappropriation of CBS Radio's broadcast time.

RBR observation: Got to print out the legal action but there are two sides to a coin. Stern made no bones he was leaving and CBS higher ups left him on the air. CBS made money from Stern in the process even when Stern asked to be let out of his contract and said so on CBS 60-minutes. So where is the beef? Sirius is still struggling and CBS is out a bunch - No - a 'you know what' pot load of money without Stern. CBS should take a harder look at all their programming and money they are spending for current air talent because it is not working worth Jack, (cough)! Both are getting headlines and it seems that is what they need to drum up ad business. Sometime this year someone at CBS radio is going to walk the plank. Read the lawsuit here
03/01/06 RBR #42

Is radio in trouble?
"No and balderdash," Ed Christian said in response to his own question on Saga Communication's conference call. He says terrestrial radio needs better PR to counter the barrage from satellite radio - - and insists terrestrial stations still have a good story to tell. "We have, as an industry, caught a cold, but it is not the flu and we are certainly not suffering from H5N01 [bird flu]," Christian said.

RBR observation: Great words but seems some radio CEO's did not get their flu shot this year.
03/01/06 RBR #42

Citadel bondholders
claim default over ABC deal
Has notified the SEC that an attorney claiming to represent holders of 31% of one of its bond issues has sent the company a letter claiming that its deal to acquire ABC Radio constitutes a default. Citadel denies that's the case and says it will fight the claim that the ABC deal constitutes a "fundamental change."
02/28/06 RBR #41

Radio news lags
behind other sources
News is an important facet of radio programming, but it is not the source of first choice for most Americans. 54% of Americans have a daily local broadcast TV news habit, and more than three out of four go there for news, if not every day, then several times a week. More details on local news see

RBR observation: Use the stats in your sales and programming departments.
02/28/06 RBR #41

Finding young males where they live
Double Fusion has a job to do - - it's going to be selling ads for video gamemaker Midway Games. The ads will not be permanent - - they'll be built into on-line versions of games mostly in development, and one that's already out, called "Stranglehold." There are all sorts of options, starting with a one that nods to one of the most primal forms advertising still in use - - the billboard.

RBR observation: It's the missing demo - - young males. Manufacturers would love to find them, figuring that this is exactly the time to establish brand habits that may well last a lifetime. Broadcasters often seem to have trouble finding these guys, but they're right there in front of the TV - - it's just that they'd rather hold a controller than a remote; they don't want to watch, they want to do it.
02/27/06 RBR #40

Companies Looking
1. Arbitron Account Manager
2. Sales Rep in Washington, DC
3. Sales Manager for Reno Reps

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