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Volume 23, Issue 45, Jim Carnegie, Editor & Publisher
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Monday Morning March 6th, 2006
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Radio News ®
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 Like it or not,
the times they are a changing
At the AAAAs Media Conference last week, speaker and Yahoo! COO Daniel Rosensweig said agencies and content providers need to rethink the rules of the business in order to be successful. He said he has never seen, in his professional career, so many industries changing at once. For instance, "The telecommunications industry - - are they phone companies, cable companies, are they landline companies, are they VoIP companies, are they mobile companies? Cable companies - - are they television companies, broadcast companies, cable companies, phone companies?" The challenge is to connect consumer and messages in environments that they want to be connected in - - in the right time, in the right place in the right way." Yahoo! sees a massive shift - - the consumer is now in charge. Says Rosensweig: "Today, the consumer is also the publisher. Even as you send a picture over the Internet, you are a publisher. If you have written a rating or review, you are a publisher. Authority is being transferred from traditional environments to new environments like blogs, websites." In today's world, there are already 15-20 million bloggers. The blogosphere may be a great place to advertise.
RBR observation: Rosensweig's forecast caught our ear that the internet is going to be the center of all advertising. It's going to be connected to television, radio, and all devices. "We have the best chance we've ever had to actually create compelling environments, compelling messages and compelling marketing opportunities for these consumers." The key word is electronic as RBR editors viewed more execs with blackberry's sending and receiving content. Lots of thumbs got a workout.
Univision: "A perfect time to sell the company"
That is the headline from analyst Victor Miller of Bear Stearns report to investors after looking at the even better than expected results that the Spanish media giant posted for Q4 (3/3/06 RBR #44). TV revenues were up 13.4%, while the industry was down 7%. Radio revenues rose 8.8%, while the industry was down 3%. With the company's growth engine hitting on all cylinders (except the relatively small music division) Miller quoted management's statement that Univision is in "a uniquely strong position" to evaluate strategic opportunities, which will likely mean a sale of the company (2/9/06 RBR #28). Given the strong performance in Q4 and management's guidance for this year, Miller has raised his 2006 estimates for Univision. For Q1 he's now expecting revenues to be up 5% to 455.5 million, with EBITDA surging 12% to 127.4 million.
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 McDowell gets his day in Congress
Robert M. McDowell's bid to become the fifth FCC commissioner moves on to its next crucial step this week when on Thursday he appears before the Senate Commerce Committee. He was nominated for the slot by President George W. Bush last month (2/6/06 RBR #25). In addition to being the fifth commissioner, if confirmed, he'll be the all important third Republican, giving Chairman Kevin Martin his first majority to work with since he took over the helm from Michael Powell. Given the date of nomination and the general work habits of the Commerce Committee, his nomination hearing is coming perfectly within the normal scheduling window. McDowell's communications experience comes from telco side of the Commission's many areas of oversight. He is currently working for Comptel, a lobbying firm for smaller telecom companies engaged in competition with the big telecoms.
RBR observation: As we have noted in the past, Martin appears to have done his best to clear the FCC dockets of most issues which were no-brainer unanimous consent type items. The big bone of contention, the Third Circuit's remand of the infamous 6/2/03 ownership ruling, has been left untouched. Most of the unresolved issues would likely have produced a two-two party-line vote without the fifth voice. The fact that the issues have gone untouched would appear to signal Martin's intention to go for the dereg - - otherwise, he could have backed off any or all of the items being reconsidered and let the Copps/Adelstein anti-consolidation plank carry the day. Get your essay-writing crews and opinion-writing attorneys cranked up - - we expect comment windows to start opening up in the not-too-distant future.
 PTC extends the war to kidvid violence
Parents Television Council, the country's leading anti-indecency watchdog, is adding a new topic to its roster of complaints. TV violence is now on the list of grievance, particularly in programming aimed at the 5-10 pre-tween set. It's produced a study which tallied an average of almost eight violent incidents an hour in such programming, and still tops six per hour if "cartoony" violence is excluded. Entitled "Wolves in Sheep's Clothing: A Content Analysis of Children's Television," the study covers three weeks of programming on ABC, Fox, NBC, WB, ABC Family, Cartoon Network, Disney Channel and Nickelodeon. In its executive summary, PTC wrote, "The results were staggering. In the 443.5 hours of children's programming analyzed by the PTC there were 3488 instances of violence - - an average of 7.86 violent incidents per hour. Even when the innocent, 'cartoony' violence most of us grew-up with (e.g. an anvil falling on Wile E. Coyote's head) is extracted, there were still 2794 instances of violence for an average of 6.30 violent incidents per hour."
That compares to 4.71 instances of violence per hour of prime time programming on the six broadcast networks. It also counted 858 instances of verbal abuse, 250 of foul language, 662 under the attitudes/actions category, 275 instances that met its criteria for sexual content, 295 under the offensive/excretory heading and 507 institutional references, such as showing school teachers in a bad light. Counter watchdog group TV Watch urged taking the study with a major amount of salt. "This group has a history of making sensational claims in order to push government control of content. Parents relying on ubiquitous and user-friendly technology, ratings information and their own good judgment to manage TV is the best approach, not increased government control, regardless of whether the program is Yosemite Sam, the Road Runner or a scene from a show clearly intended for adults," said TV Watch Executive Director Jim Dyke. The PTC study is available at the group's website.
 RBR observation: One program mentioned in the report was an episode of SpongeBob SquarePants on Nickelodeon which we happen to have seen. The thrust of the episode was to teach children not to use foul language, in a humorous way. We would say that, unsurprisingly, to broach the issue, foul language had to figure into the script. Such words were "bleeped" out with a dolphin sound effect. Our children saw this episode (which very obliquely referenced George Carlin's seven words - - we recognized the reference but the kids did not), and we have to say it did not inspire our children to suddenly run around making dolphin talk. Anyway, everyone is different, and the study does make some valid points. We'd say read it, but follow TV Watch's advice and make sure the salt shaker is handy.
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| RBR News Analysis |
More fun stuff on Capitol Hill
A lot of serious communications issues are percolating in Washington right now. The upcoming DTV hard deadline, the entry of telco companies into competition with cable, the steady drumbeat on indecency. One thing that hasn't been on the docket, really, is further deregulation of local radio ownership caps. Sure, every now and then a big radio honcho like Clear Channel's Mark Mays waxes philosophical on the topic, and former terrestrial (now up in space) honcho Mel Karmazin has been calling for it for years. But it wasn't on the Capitol Hill radar, to the best of our knowledge, until Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI), Chair of the Energy and Commerce Committee's important Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, suddenly put it there, saying the cap should go from eight to 10 in some markets, and up to 12 in the really big ones. Industry watchdog website was howling about that one. It noted that Upton is a favorite donee of groups like NCTA and NAB then looked a little farther down the donor list. "No. 8 on the Upton 'hit-'em up style' list is Clear Channel, which had the kind heart to donate 5.5K." That stat came from another website, Opensecrets.org. We can open a website too, so we did. Guess who else scored some NCTA, NAB and Clear Channel cash? If you guessed Ed Markey (D-MA), you win a cookie. While Markey got about half what Upton got from the two trade associations (is that the dollar difference between the titles Chairman and Ranking Member?), his Clear Channel take was a mere 500 dollars less than Upton.
RBR observation: MusicBiz argues that Clear Channel basically paid Upton to do its bidding on Capitol Hill. But what's it paying Markey for? The most likely thing they'll get from the man from Massachusetts is a lecture on "Citizen Kane." You can agree with Upton or not - - but it isn't fair to accuse him of selling his soul to Clear Channel, unless you want to rope in the loyal opposition as well.
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Ad Business Report TM
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Part I: Media honchos take a look in the mirror
This week we'll delve into one of the most important panel sessions at the AAAAs last week: "The Shape of the Modern Media Organization." Some of the biggest players in the biz participated: Jack Klues, Publicis Media Chairman and CEO; Joe Uva, OMD Worldwide CEO; Irwin Gotlieb, Group M CEO; Mark Rosenthal, IPG CEO, Charlie Rutman, MPG CEO and David Verklin, Carat Americas CEO. Hone of the most compelling questions was- 'How happy are you with the way your shops are set up?' Most were happy, but a few good points were made:
 Gotlieb - that that they are in a constant state of reinvention, and that they need to be. The media landscape is and will be for years, in constant flux: "We think we have a pretty clear view of where things are going and as a consequence we have a long-term strategy turning us into the kind of organization that's going to be necessary over the course of time. There's no question that as media becomes digitally delivered, the distinction between new and traditional media will be blurred. And our skill sets have to converge just as media converges."
 Rutman - after nine months on the job, says he's never satisfied with the way MPG is organized. They're working on it, and have made some changes: "I guess the guiding principle is to be client user-friendly. To kind of take all of the red tape, bureaucracy and barriers to success out of the equation I would say I'm reasonably happy. We still have a way to go."
 Klues - was asked what clients are telling him: "They all know the landscape is changing. They all want to get there first. A competitive edge in any one of our client categories feels more and more like, 'If I get there first, I can stake out the territory, stake out something I can own, vis-à-vis my competitors.' So I think there's a lot of pressure on all of our media networks to get ahead of the changing and evolving digital world. That may be an overstatement, but at least try and keep pace with it and to keep our clients in front of it as best we can."
Uva - clients are asking for more ideas, bigger ideas, and to work across other marketing services resources that they have relationships with. "If it's in or outside the Omnicom family, they don't want to hear about it or care. They want to hear about making it work."
Hear more from the session tomorrow, including how creative can collaborate with media, and the debate about re-bundling and creative control/ownership of media.
RBR observation: Key at the agency level is the hard fought competition and the other C called Consolidation has occurred. Radio and TV are not the only businesses to see it happen but it has also happened at the agency level. Right now agencies face the problem of running these mega companies with One Big Long name with many agencies under one umbrella and many air miles being racked up by the CEO's. They are facing competition between one another as their landscape is also changing fast and quickly realizing that more - Collaboration - is needed between companies than Competition.
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| Media Markets & Money TM |
Telesouth expands in Mississippi
WOEG-AM/WDXO-FM Hazlehurst MS and nearby WRQO-FM Monticello are being sold by The O'Neal Broadcasting Corp. to Telesouth Communications Inc., owned by Stephen C. Davenport and six members of the Henley family. The stations, which operate in an Arbitron-free zone south of state capital Jackson, are coming for 1.1M. They join a group which already boasts three AMs and eight FMs scattered throughout the state.
Radio owner buys TV CP sold out of bankruptcy
The CP for Channel 42 WHMM-DT, on the north side of Lake Pontchartrain, has not taken wing under the ownership of Pegasus Satellite Communications. It has been sold out of bankruptcy to Ernesto Schweikert III's Mayavision Inc. for 950K. The station is licensed to Hammond LA, which is just about equidistant from New Orleans, 30+ miles to its southeast, and Baton Rouge, a similar distance to its west. Schweikert has in interest in KGLA-AM Gretna LA, which is - - without any doubt - - part of the New Orleans market.
RBR observation: If WHMM is going to imitate its audio-only sister, look for its sign-on to be conducted in Spanish.
Connoisseur serves up another
Jeff Warshaw's Connoisseur Media is busy putting CPs on the air. After powering up one station last week in Billings, MT (3/3/06 RBR #44), it's now put a new station on the air in Huntington, WV. WMGA-FM "Magic 97.9" signed on late last week (3/2) with an AC format. B.J. Nielsen in GM of the new station, which is licensed to Kenova, WV, and is now hiring a full staff.
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| Washington Media Business Report TM |
 Brownback ready for
another decency try
Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS) had some comments on the recent PTC study on violence in children's programming (see above), and thinks it may provide impetus to get his Broadcast Decency Act (BDA) back on track. Regarding the PTC study, he said, "I fear too many parents have an unjustified sense of security when they place their children in front of the television. I hope this new study from the PTC will demonstrate that children's programs are not necessarily free of violence, crude language, and coarse humor." Brownback has introduced the Children and Media Research Advancement Act, which would study the effects of media on children. He's better known for BDA, the Senate version of a Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI) measure which has twice been passed by the full House of Representatives. However, it has not gotten similar traction in the Senate. According to Reuters, Brownback thinks the PTC study may help move the BDA forward, but not if it continues to be dragged down by amendments, a process he tried unsuccessfully to halt from its initial consideration in the Senate Commerce Committee.
TV Auction No. 64 ready for kick-off
The FCC is just about ready to tee-up CPs for 11 full power television licenses. The action gets started Wednesday, 3/15/06 at 10 AM Eastern time. The FCC has scheduled four one-hour rounds for the day. There are 25 qualified bidders, including such familiar names as Entravision, Fisher, George S. Flinn (there are two GSF's, a Jr. and a III), Meredith, Pappas and Richard Plessinger. The auction of one of the stations, Channel 51 in Jackson MS, will resolve an allotment that's been pending for quite some time - - it's open only to applicants who filed before 7/1/97, with Edward I. St. Pe, George S. Flinn Jr., KB Prime Media, KM Communications and Marri Broadcasting remaining on a list that once included nine competitors. The other ten sticks are charted a click away.
| View the Chart |
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| Monday Morning Makers & Shakers |
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Transactions: 1/23/06-1/27/06
A deal for a network-affiliated television station in upstate New York and another for a trio of Washington radio stations by the local pro football team established the basis for a foray into triple-digit territory, carrying total trading value just over 100M. 17 other transactions hit the FCC database during a fairly busy week.
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Total
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Total Deals
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19
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AMs
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12
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FMs
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13
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TVs
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2
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| Value |
100.111M
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| Complete Charts |
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Radio Transactions of the Week
Hail to the Red Zebra
| More... |
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TV Transactions of the Week
Rock-solid buy in the upstate
| More... |
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| Transactions |
900K WBIY-FM Fort Myers-Naples FL (La Belle FL) from Airwaves for Jesus Inc. (Art Ramos) to Oscar Aguera Ministry Inc. (Oscar Aguero, Javier Rodriguez, Stella M. Aguero). 45K escrow, 355K cash at closing, 300K 90 days after closing, 200K note. [File date 2/13/06.]
725K WSMU-FM New Bedford-Fall River MA (North Dartmouth MA) from University of Massachusetts (Donald Zekan et al) to Educational Media Foundation (Richard Jenkins). 36,725 escrow, balance in cash at closing. [File date 2/13/06.]
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| Stock Talk |
Stocks fall on Intel guidance
Another tech giant has Wall Street worried. After Intel warned of lower than expected revenues, stocks moved lower as traders turned away from upbeat comments from the #2 person at the Federal Reserve. The Dow Industrials slipped only four points to 11,022, but the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was down more.
Radio stocks were mostly lower. The Radio Index declined 0.350, or 0.2%, to 164.557. Cox Radio fell 2.7% and Beasley dropped 2%. Moving the other way, Saga recovered from losses earlier in the week and gained 4%.
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| Radio Stocks |
Here's how stocks fared on Friday
| Company |
Symbol |
Close |
Change |
Company |
Symbol |
Close |
Change |
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Arbitron
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ARB
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34.86
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-0.29
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Hearst-Argyle
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HTV
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23.74
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-0.12
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Beasley
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BBGI
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12.49
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-0.26
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Interep
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IREP
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0.25
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unch
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| CBS CI. B |
CBS |
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23.98
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-0.08
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Jeff-Pilot
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JP
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59.24
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-0.06
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| CBS CI. A |
CBSa |
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24.02
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-0.05
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Journal Comm.
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JRN
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12.02
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-0.13
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| Citadel |
CDL |
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11.58 |
unch |
Radio One, Cl. A
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ROIA
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8.24
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+0.10
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Clear Channel
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CCU
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29.06
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+0.15
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Radio One, Cl. D
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ROIAK
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8.22
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+0.09
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Cox Radio
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CXR
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13.28
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-0.37
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Regent
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RGCI
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4.44
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-0.01
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Cumulus
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CMLS
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11.62
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-0.18
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Saga Commun.
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SGA
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9.57
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+0.37
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Disney
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DIS
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28.22
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+0.19
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Salem Comm.
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SALM
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14.03
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+0.06
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Emmis
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EMMS
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16.36
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-0.05
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Sirius Sat. Radio
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SIRI
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5.01
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-0.07
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| Entercom |
ETM
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28.87
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+0.12
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Spanish Bcg.
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SBSA
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5.61
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-0.08
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Entravision
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EVC
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7.71
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+0.01
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Univision
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UVN
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33.73
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+0.23
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Fisher
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FSCI
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42.96
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-0.16
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Westwood One
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WON
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10.95
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-0.10
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Gaylord
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GET
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44.25
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+0.05
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XM Sat. Radio
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XMSR
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21.53
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-0.37
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Bounceback
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 We want to
hear from you.
This is your column, so send your comments and
a photo to [email protected]
 I read with interest the letter from John Lund on NBC's Olympic coverage (3/2/06 RBR #43). He is just plain wrong to blame the "terrible coverage" on producers and directors at NBC. The NBC crew is the best in the business; it is the same group that delivered big numbers in Salt Lake four years ago and Athens just two years ago. Lund ought to check on the number of Television Emmys won by the NBC Olympic team before making such a statement. The American team was hurt by Bode Miller and Michelle Kwan and ABC and Fox's American Idol. My Congratulations to NBC Sports and I look forward to Beijing in 2008.
Robert Hyland
President
Una Vez Mas Television Stations
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Below the Fold
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Ad Business Report
Part I: Media honchos at 4A's
Take a look in the mirror...
Media Markets & Money
Telesouth expands
Buys in Mississippi...
Washington Media Business Report
Brownback ready
For another decency try...
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Radio Media Moves
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 Daniels joins WCMC
Vince Daniels, formerly morning co-host at WYGY-FM Cincinnati, has joined Capitol Broadcasting's WCMC-FM "The New 99.9 Genuine Country" Raleigh as evening air talent.
Thomas heads south
He once ran a radio station in Moscow, so Reggie Thomas will no doubt find life in Gainesville, FL to be like a sunny vacation. The veteran radio pro has been named General Sales Manager of Pamal's WTMN-AM & WTMG-FM.
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Stations for Sale
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Houston 50 kW AM
New transmitter site &
transmitting equipment
John W. Saunders
(713) 789-4222 or e-mail
[email protected]
Exclusive Listing
FM Radio Station in South
Florida. Great start-up opportunity
for a radio entrepreneur or a great addition for a radio group.
Please contact Joel B. Day
202-478-3737 (x3)
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RBR Radar 2006
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Radio News you won't read any where else. RBR--First, Accurate, and Independently Owned.
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Arbitron's stock falls as Morris touts 'radio-only' for PPM
With a potential joint venture on PPM with Nielsen deadCEO Steve Morris was talking up the "radio only" approach to analysts yesterday. But on Wall Street, Arbitron's stock was taking a plunge, falling 9% at the close (after being down more than 10% in trading) to 35.15. Morris insisted that not having Nielsen as a partner won't alter Arbitron's projected return on investment for the Portable People Meter, nor will it change Arbitron's entry of PPM in Clear Channel's RFP for a new, high-tech radio ratings system.
RBR note: By the way, Friday (3/3) was the target date for some action by Clear Channel.
03/03/06 RBR #44
4A'S report - Jean Pool:
We challenge traditional media to provide full research disclosure
As promised, Jean Pool, EVP/Director of North American Operations Universal McCann, unveiled a new initiative at her keynote speech at the 4A's conference/convention in Orlando: "Three major issues are severely curtailing traditional media's growth-fragmentation, clutter and accountability."
RBR observation: While Shaw was at a panel session later in the day in the same room, he said nothing about Pool's challenge. He actually had some nice things to say about the agencies, which you'll read next week. We note it wasn't an ultimatum, but it's obvious agencies are banning together on the matter, and for upfront negotiations this could become an ultimatum. We think Pool was smart in not issuing a full-blown ultimatum-she delivered an excellent speech. We believe one or two networks may cave at the challenge, creating a tipping point for the industry. It may indeed be for this upfront season. Stay tuned
03/03/06 RBR #44
 RBR Exclusive
Whiting explains; Others react to PPM decision at 4As
After she arrived in Orland for the 4A's 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.
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.
03/02/06 RBR #43
Reaction on the
Arbitron and Nielsen
Before many top ad agencies and broadcasters even knew what had happened RBR explain the situation and got this first hand reaction from key radio executives live at the 4A's see details
03/02/06 RBR #43
 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.
03/02/06 RBR #43
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Hard finding that key person to fill the important position at your organization? RBR's – Media HeadHunters is the place that key media firms use to get results. See www.mediaheadhunters.com and get results with service--Period.
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