RBR's Daily Morning Epaper

Volume 23, Issue 53, Jim Carnegie, Editor & Publisher

Thursday Morning March 16th, 2006

Radio News ®

Ford has a better idea: PPM now
"What are you waiting for?" asked Mark Kaline, Global Media Manager of Ford Motor Company as he made a pitch for radio to implement Arbitron's Portable People Meter (PPM) as keynote speaker for yesterday's Radio Forum in New York sponsored by the RAB, the Advertising Club of New York and Adweek. Arguing that "radio cannot afford to wait for the perfect solution," Kaline insisted that PPM is a big step forward from paper diaries and will increase radio credibility with advertisers. The automaker's call for PPM implementation came just a day after Arbitron announced plans to go ahead with a roll-out of PPM, beginning this summer in Houston (3/15/06 RBR #52). Kaline is the only advertiser known to be participating in the Next-Generation Electronics Ratings Evaluation Team evaluating responses to Clear Channel's RFP for a new radio ratings system. It has narrowed the field to three (3/10/06 RBR #49), but it appears Kaline has already decided which one he wants to see implemented. He said the right device is only part of the challenge, with good research also important and MRC accreditation "a must." PPM is already in the midst of an MRC audit in Houston, while the other two have yet to conduct their first US field test.

RBR observation: Kaline is correct in his observation of 'good research also important and MRC accreditation "a must." Radio has a consistent way of always trying to reinvent the wheel. It does not take away the Next-Generation Electronics Ratings Evaluation wanting to view all alternatives as it is equally important to have a second audience measurement service. The two issues today: 1. Radio needs to get away from the diary now not in eight years. 2. Money - it comes down to money and how much broadcasters can afford. People now listen to Kaline as he is not the ad agency he is the client - Ford.

Cox will encode in Houston
No, not for Arbitron's PPM test. Cox Radio is still one of two holdouts there. But, like fellow PPM holdout Radio One (3/14/06 RBR #51), Cox Radio has agreed to encode for the first US field test of The Media Audit/Ipsos audience measurement system based on Smart Cell Phones. That test, expected this spring, will also be in Houston, where The Media Audit is based. Cox Radio CEO Bob Neil told RBR last night that he agreed to encode because it's an early stage test, while Arbitron is pressing to implement PPM without addressing his objections. "If we had been in Philly very early on - - in the initial PPM testing - - where they were simply testing to see if the device would pick up the signals - - we would have encoded. The Media Audit initial test is a very simple test of the engineering aspects of their device. We feel The Media Audit device has some promise, so we agreed to encode," Neil said. "We chose not to encode in the Houston PPM test because we felt, and still do feel, that Arbitron has not addressed some key issues, and this was not some 'early test' - - this was the last step in their deployment of something we felt was 'not ready for prime time.' Two VERY different situations, at two very different points on their lifecycle," Neil told RBR.

RBR observation: Lots of bulletins hit emails yesterday except from RBR as we remind all - This is a Test and scheduled for spring. Re-read what Mark Kaline at Ford just said in the above story - group heads should take a road trip to Detroit and find out what the auto needs are. Remember the auto guys are installing satellite radio in the dash.

Iger gets a thumbs-up from Moody's
Moody's Investors Service has upgraded Disney's ratings, rewarding the company for improving its performance and its balance sheet. The ratings service also praised new CEO Bob Iger and his Pixar deal which added Steve Jobs to the Disney board. "The upgrade and stable outlook reflect Disney's sustained improvement in operating performance over the last two years and the stronger resulting financial position, coupled with Moody's confidence in the company's ability to maintain this improved credit profile despite high pressure in the media industry to increase leverage to address shareholder demands," Moody's said. The ratings firm said it expected Disney to stay within its credit metric targets while continuing to buyback shares, make acquisitions, and invest in its diverse lines of business. "Disney's ratings and outlook also reflect Moody's comfort with the strategic plans of the company, particularly in light of Bob Iger's successful transition to CEO and Stephen Jobs' joining the board through the pending Pixar acquisition. Moody's views as strong Disney's long term organic growth prospects in overseas markets; the company's ability to navigate the use of technology to distribute its content on new and existing technology platforms; and the company's ability to create the right content for these platforms. In addition, Disney maintains the ability to leverage its intellectual property through the use of licensing agreements and outside investors in overseas markets, while conserving capital," Moody's said. Here are the ratings changes, covering 11 billion of Disney's debt. Moody's Investors Service upgraded the senior unsecured ratings of The Walt Disney Company (Disney) to A3 from Baa1 and upgraded the senior unsecured ratings of Disney Enterprises, Inc. and ABC, Inc. to A2 from A3 as well as the preferred stock shelf ratings of Disney Capital Trust I, II, and III to (P)Baa1 from (P)Baa2. The outlook is stable. This concludes the review for upgrade initiated on January 23, 2006. Disney's P-2 short term commercial paper rating was not part of the review.

RBR observation: RBR agrees with the thumbs-up on Iger as we too were skeptical but seeing his moves with ABC Radio and the best one is getting to iPod first. Iger is following the video.

Analyst calls for level MVPD playing field
Telecoms would like an easier row to hoe as they get set to go into competition with cable companies already locked in a struggle with the DBS industry. A Wall Street analyst told the Senate Commerce Committee that competition is great, but investors need to know that it's being conducted on a level playing field. UBS analyst Aryeh B. Bourkoff said that the cable industry had to implement its upgrades in preparation for the digital conversion while operating under the current local franchising system, and is still being forced to upgrade in the face of sure competition from telcos in the very near future. Bourkoff noted that cable has traditionally had access to capital because of the stability of its business model, but that said, the bite taken out of the model by DBS and the prospect of more competition are depressing cable stock valuations, which "...are at or near historical lows." He said noted that in Great Britain, new competitors entered the MVPD wars back in the early 90s successfully without any regulatory help. "Uncertainty among investors will persist if the rules surrounding obtaining a video franchise fluctuate based on the nature of the new entrants. In my analysis of the sector, I assume that there will be a fully competitive state between cable, satellite, telecommunications and other providers with all operators given an equitable opportunity to service the customer base."

RBR observation: Ever notice how companies are for competition when they're the interlopers and against it when the entrenched?

RBR Special Report: Indecency Battle Renewed

FCC lowers the indecency boom
Here it is in a nutshell. As expected, the FCC upheld its 550K fine against CBS Corp. (then part of Viacom) for the 2/1/04 Super Bowl halftime incident featuring Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake. The FCC said that only CBS and its O&Os were being fined since mere affiliates could not be expected to have had foreknowledge of what was coming. Even if CBS didn't know the specifics of the "wardrobe malfunction," there was plenty of sexual content in the halftime show that they did know about and that the network at a minimum should have been on guard for the unexpected. CBS Television Network and, this time, its affiliates as well were all hit to the tune of 32.5K per license for the 12/31/04 airing of the Our Sons and Daughters episode of "Without a Trace," which included "...material graphically depicting teenage boys and girls participating in a sexual orgy." The FCC said, "While no nudity is shown, it is clear, as detailed above, that the scene depicts numerous sexual activities." A quick math calculation shows the total of all fines to be just under 3.3M. Of note here is the fact that the stations hit were all in the Central and Mountain time zones - - the program in question fell into safe harbor in the Eastern and Pacific zones.

CBS was not alone
Six other shows resulted in fines. A 2/2/04 airing of WB's reality show "The Surreal Life" featured a pool party with several nude participants, whose nudity was blurred. Not good enough, said the FCC - - the sexual nature of the party was still obvious, an hour before safe harbor kicked in for the East. Only one station was specifically mentioned in this case - - Tribune's WBDC-TV (licensed to WBDC Broadcasting) in Washington, and it is the only one fined. The FCC explained (sort of), "We recognize that this approach differs from that taken in previous Commission decisions involving the broadcast of apparently indecent programming. Our commitment to an appropriately restrained enforcement policy, however, justifies this more limited approach towards the imposition of forfeiture penalties. Accordingly, we propose a forfeiture of 27.5K against WBDC Broadcasting, Inc." Also named: Telemundo/NBC's KWHY-TV, Los Angeles took a 32.5K hit for a sex scene in a movie. A Miami Class A Hispanic station, WJAN-CA, was hit for 32.5K for partial nudity during a talk show. Aerco Broadcasting Corp.'s WSJU-TV, San Juan PR ran up a 220K tab for numerous airings of over-the-line music videos. San Mateo County Community College District, licensee of noncom KCSM-TV let a documentary slip through with repeated use of the "f" and "s" words, at a cost of 15K. Finally, an afternoon showing of movie "The Pursuit of D.B. Cooper" on Fox's KTVI-TV St. Louis, with numerous unbleeped versions of the "s" word, was hit for 27.5K. Many of the fines reflect the change from a max of 27.5K to 32.5K during the course of 2004, and the date a program aired determined which standard was applied to the final tab. Numerous other incidents which drew public complaints were found to be unactionable. More to come.

RBR observation: For the longest time it seemed like the FCC indecency cops didn't even know there was such a thing as television. The daily parade of deviants and wackos on the daytime TV talk circuit went on unabated while radio drew all the heat. Radio companies can only be pleased that at long last television is beginning to catch up in the indecency fine department.

Chairman weighs in
FCC Chairman Kevin Martin issued the following statement regarding the FCC's indecency actions. We'll keep the comments coming in upcoming issues. Said Martin, "Congress has long prohibited the broadcasting of indecent and profane material and the courts have upheld challenges to these standards. But the number of complaints received by the Commission has risen year after year. They have grown from hundreds, to hundreds of thousands. And the number of programs that trigger these complaints continues to increase as well. I share the concerns of the public - and of parents, in particular - that are voiced in these complaints. I believe the Commission has a legal responsibility to respond to them and resolve them in a consistent and effective manner. So I am pleased that with the decisions released today the Commission is resolving hundreds of thousands of complaints against various broadcast licensees related to their televising of 49 different programs. These decisions, taken both individually and as a whole, demonstrate the Commission's continued commitment to enforcing the law prohibiting the airing of obscene, indecent and profane material. Additionally, the Commission today affirms its initial finding that the broadcast of the Super Bowl XXXVIII Halftime Show was actionably indecent. We appropriately reject the argument that CBS continues to make that this material is not indecent. That argument runs counter to Commission precedent and common sense."

Ad Business Report TM

How many ways are there to consume media?
An analysis of BIGresearch's Simultaneous Media Survey (SIMM VII) by Martin Block and Don Schultz of the Medill School at Northwestern University has lead to the discovery of eight unique media consumption clusters. The clusters will enable advertisers to better allocate dollars in the planning process for increased returns in the marketing campaigns. "Since SIMM measures the consumption of 31 different medias, which are linked to marketplace consumption, we were able to develop a new triangulated communications allocation process which increases the probabilities of success for greater advertising ROI," said Martin Block, Ph.D.
| Read More... |

Westin Hotels launches global ad campaign
Via Deutsch NY, "This is How It Should Feel" - - Westin Hotels & Resorts' new multi-million dollar experiential advertising campaign - - brings to life the brand's new positioning of personal renewal. In a departure from the genre, Westin's new global television, print and online campaign is devoid of room shots, sunsets or fluffy beds. Instead, the campaign communicates what guests will feel at a Westin -- a relaxing, personal and renewing experience. The new campaign is the first to debut after a yearlong revamp of Starwood's marketing and brand strategy. "We have worked hard to redefine our brands and develop innovative signature services that communicate each brand's unique positioning," said Steven Heyer, CEO Starwood Hotels & Resorts. "Westin's campaign is illustrative of its new positioning centered on personal renewal, well being and restoration of the mind, body and spirit. We are not just in the business of selling beds or guestrooms, but rather experiences and memories. In the months to come, our other brands will introduce new creative executions that likewise tell their unique brand stories." The effort also debuts the new tag, "This is how it should feel" and includes four television spots, a multi-tiered print effort and an online component designed to entice consumers with innovative executions. The global marketing broke yesterday today on CNN, Discovery Channel, Travel Channel, USA, TNT, TBS and Bravo, and in print titles including the New Yorker, Wired, Vanity Fair, Real Simple and Gourmet.

Verklin predicts bright future
for retail advertising
David Verklin, Carat Americas CEO, gave his uniquely stamped vision of the future in his keynote address at the Retail Advertising Conference held in Chicago last month. A highly respected thought-leader among media and advertising professionals, Verklin has always been in the vanguard of the media industry, steering Carat through its ever-shifting waters beyond traditional approaches and towards innovative ways of communicating an advertiser's message. During this recent speech, Verklin offered his predictions and bright forecast for the future of the retail advertising industry.
| See excerpted quotes from Verklin's speech |

Media Markets & Money TM

Classic deal? Rome and Athens unite
The Foundation for Public Broadcasting in Georgia is moving into the nonreserved FM band with a 4.2M deal which will bring it a station in Rome GA. It'll have a connection with a station already in the noncom's portfolio, hailing from Athens. The Rome station is WKCX-FM, coming from Briar Creek Broadcasting in what Media Services Group broker Eddie Esserman describes as a cash for stock deal. The Athens connection is also the deal's TV connection, although it is not a direct link. The station there is PBS WGTV-TV, licensed to the Georgia Public Telecommunications Commission. The Foundation is set up to assist GPTC. This will be the Foundation's first station, compared to GPTC's nine TVs and 14 FMs. The city of Athens is part of the Atlanta DMA and is well to the east of the bigger city; Rome is northeast of Atlanta.

Andrulonis still on the move
Just a day after we reported that Jeff Andrulonis and his Colonial Radio Group is entering the Olean NY market, we find that he's selling an AM down in Camden SC. Broker Zoph Potts of Snowden Associates tells us he's sending WEAF-AM to Alex Snipe's Glory Communications for 220K. The 1130 kHz outlet is ready-made for Snipe, running a Gospel format. Camden is about 20 miles east of the state capital in Columbia.

Washington Media Business Report TM

Congressional leaders
lauded for DTV efforts
At least one trade group is happy with the progress of the DTV transition. The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) handed its Best DTV Leadership Award to Ted Stevens (R-AK), given out during its sixth annual Academy of Digital Television Pioneer Awards. CEA didn't forget the other side of the aisle nor the other side of the Capitol. It also cited Stevens' colleague Dan Inouye (D-HI) and Reps. Joe Barton (R-TX) and Fred Upton (R-MI) for their roles in moving the transition forward. Stevens said, "It is an honor to receive this award. As we addressed the DTV issue, it was a pleasure to work with the electronics industry through listening sessions and Committee hearings. The electronics industry will continue to play an important role by educating and informing consumers about the transition process. Years ago, some people said that the digital transition was a very heavy lift. It looks like working together, we proved them wrong."

Entertainment Media Business Report TM

"The Bar" debuts in Billings
"Bob FM" creator Joel Folger has created a new format, "The Bar," which signed on Yesterday as Jeff Warshaw's Connoisseur Media fired up another new station, KPBR-FM, in Billings, MT. Described as "the best parts of your neighborhood bar," the new format has "everything Country and more" on tap. How's that? Folger says it features familiar faces (the artists), your favorite songs (the jukebox) and a great host (the bartender). The music selection runs from Toby Keith to the Eagles, Brooks & Dunn to Bob Seger and Johnny Cash to John Cougar Mellencamp. The Billings market now has three new FM stations that didn't exist in 2005, due to Connoisseur signing on CPs that it acquired. The new cluster consists of Classic Hits KWMY, Modern Hit Music KPLN and now KPBR.

Internet Media Business Report TM

CBS Sports offering
NCAA content on iTunes
CBS Sports and Apple announced they will bring the 2006 NCAA Division I Basketball Championship distributed by CBS Corporation's College Sports TV (CSTV) (www.cstv.com) to the iTunes Music Store. For the first time ever, college basketball fans can pay 1.99 per game for condensed versions of all the 2006 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship games. Customers can also choose the new "Season Pass" feature on iTunes for 19.99, and receive condensed versions of all 63 games the day after they are played for viewing on a computer or iPod. Full-length versions of this year's semifinals and championship game, as well as compilations of buzzer beaters, upsets and memorable championship games from past NCAA Tournaments will also be available on iTunes. CSTV, in partnership with CBS Sports, will produce the condensed versions of CBS Sports' broadcasts. CSTV also will provide expert analysis and commentary on each game of the package, as well as utilize its collection of 250 college sports web sites to market the service to sports fans.

Ratings & Research

Arbitron's Carol Hanley speaks at RAB forum
At yesterday's first RAB Forum on Radio in NYC, Carol Hanley, SVP/U.S. Media for Arbitron stated that the radio industry is evolving and notes, "The U.S., the largest radio market in the world, is now poised to adopt the technology other countries have been using for years." She said Arbitron's Portable People Meter clearly indicates the evolution of electronic measurement for the radio industry. According to three rules that "are consistently emerging in radio today," the PPM will be instrumental in enabling:

1. Radio to no longer lag behind other media on accountability.
2. Advertisers who never looked at the medium to consider radio.
3. Radio to no longer be thought of as just a frequency medium, but as a branding and reach medium.

She added that "radio is changing, it's alive and ready to acknowledge that a single thought development and shift can and will revolutionize how the media is bought and sold."

Transactions

7.692M KRPQ-FM Santa Rosa CA (Rohnert Park CA) from Results Radio of Sonoma Licensee (Jack W. Fritz II) to Maverick Media of Santa Rosa Licensee LLC, a subsidiary of Maverick Media LLC (Gary S. Rozynek). 4M cash at closing, 1M note, 2.692M seller interest in buyer. Buyer also receives intangible assets of KMHX-FM Windsor CA, the physical assets of which are going to another buyer. Superduopoly with KSRO-AM, KXFX-FM, KVRV-FM & KFGY-FM. LMA 2/20/06. [File date 2/27/06.]

6.85M KMHX-FM & KSRT-FM Santa Rosa CA (Windsor, Cloverdale CA) from Results Radio of Sonoma Licensee (Jack W. Fritz II) to Lazer Broadcsating Corp. (Alfredo Plascencia). 342.5K escrow, balance in cash at closing. Existing duopoly. Intangible assets of KNHX-FM are being sold to another buyer. LMA 3/6/06. [File date 2/27/06.]

Stock Talk

Stocks manage an up day
An upbeat economic report from the New York Federal Reserve Bank spurred some buying on Wall Street. The Dow Industrials rose 58 points, or 0.5%, to 11,210.

Radio stocks also posted modest gains. The Radio Index rose 1.012, or 0.6%, to 161.536. The day's leaders were Clear Channel and Radio One's Class A stock both up 2.4%. Radio One's Class D gained 2.2%.

Radio Stocks

**Here's how stocks fared on Wednesday**
Company	Symbol	Close		Change	Company	Symbol	Close		Change
Arbitron	ARB		34.45	+0.52	Hearst-Argyle	HTV		23.53	+0.07
Beasley	BBGI		10.40	-0.63	Jeff-Pilot	JP		59.37	+0.40
CBS CI. B	CBS		24.34	+0.38	Journal Comm.	JRN		12.26	+0.01
CBS CI. A	CBSa		24.35	+0.37	Radio One, Cl. A	ROIA		7.97	+0.19
Citadel	CDL		11.45	-0.05	Radio One, Cl. D	ROIAK		7.96	+0.17
Clear Channel	CCU		29.69	+0.69	Regent	RGCI		4.27	unch
Cox Radio	CXR		13.15	-0.01	Saga Commun.	SGA		9.30	+0.07
Cumulus	CMLS		11.71	+0.12	Salem Comm.	SALM		13.51	-0.05
Disney	DIS		28.75	+0.09	Sirius Sat. Radio	SIRI		4.48	+0.03
Emmis	EMMS		17.10	-0.06	Spanish Bcg.	SBSA		4.98	+0.01
Entercom	ETM		29.17	+0.11	Univision	UVN		33.87	-0.41
Entravision	EVC		7.87	+0.10	Westwood One	WON		11.50	+0.09
Fisher	FSCI		43.00	-0.10	XM Sat. Radio	XMSR		20.55	+0.05
Gaylord	GET		45.10	+0.32	-	-	-	-	-

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]

I am currently an owner of several radio stations in the Midwest. I researched and prepared an in-depth study of Arbitron and its statistical reliability sixteen years ago in an econometrics and statistic course in MBA school. The results: Arbitron is 71% inaccurate. The other day a friend of mine who is an advertising agency executive (now on the Internet side) received a diary in the San Francisco Bay area. He said he was going to say he listened to satellite radio all day. When I pointed out that Arbitron was inaccurate, he said yes, but at least it is consistently inaccurate, while the Internet research is inconsistently inaccurate. If any of us had a brain we would leave this industry immediately before we get taken again and again by thieves.

Sincerely,
David W. Winters
CEO; QuickSilver Broadcasting, LLC

Below the Fold

Ad Business Report
Verklin predicts bright future
For retail advertising...

Internet Media Business Report
CBS Sports offering
NCAA content on iTunes...

Media Markets & Money
Classic deal? Rome and Athens
Unite Public Broadcasting moving into the non-reserved FM band...

Washington Media Business Report
Congressional leaders lauded
For DTV efforts...

Radio Media Moves

LaRue
heads west
Kevin LaRue, most recently Program Director of Mel Wheeler's WFIR-AM Roanoke, Va, has been named News and Program Director for Bonneville International's flagship KSL-AM & FM Salt Lake City. He succeeds Russ Hill, who moved to Bonneville's KTAR-AM Phoenix (1/25/06 RBR #17).

Aaron to
program "Lia"
Jones Radio Networks announced that Director of Country Programming Hank Aaron has assumed additional responsibilities and will now serve as Program Director for The Lia Show. Aaron has worked for JRN for nine years and will continue his duties with music scheduling, consulting and The Danny Wright Show.

AWRT 2006 board of directors announced
American Women in Radio and Television (AWRT) Board of Directors were officially installed on 3/10, in conjunction with the 2006 AWRT Leadership Summit & Business Conference. Chickie Bucco, President, Katz Direct Marketing of Katz Media Group in New York, NY, will serve as President. Serving as Vice President of AWRT is Mary Bennett, EVP/National Marketing, Radio Advertising Bureau, Detroit, MI, and New York, NY. Treasurer is Sylvia Strobel, President & GM, Pennsylvania Public Television, Hershey, PA, and Treasurer-Elect is Valerie Blackburn, Director of Business Operations, Susquehanna Radio Corp., San Francisco.

Shively Labs ups & taps
Shively Labs announced the addition of Adam Jones to its staff as Mechanical Engineering Manager. He brings over 10 years of RF mechanical design experience to Shively, having worked most recently at Dielectric Communications and Radio Frequency Systems. Shively also announced the promotion of Angela Gillespie to Sales Manager. Angela joined Shively in 2003 and has been instrumental in the design of a number of HD Radio products and coaxial components. And Shively announced more three promotions: David Allen to Director of Broadcast Sales, Peter Matthews to Director of RF Engineering, and Bob Surette to Director of Sales Engineering.

Stations for Sale

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)

March RBR/TVBR
Digital Magazine

Where Do We
Go From Here?
In this issue, we take a look at the broadcast financing market in '06; hear from OMD's Natalie Swed Stone how radio is reinventing itself; interview Publicis Groupe Media CEO Jack Klues and Ford's Global Media Manager Mark Kaline; talk with Dial-Global Co-CEO David Landau and find out how radio can "Do what an iPod can't.

Read RBR/TVBR in 2 simple steps:
1.Create a simple account with Zinio and download the Zinio Reader.
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March Issue of RBR/TVBR

RBR Radar 2006

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

'06 as tough year for radio
The quarterly round of radio company conference calls is complete, and Goldman Sachs analyst Mark Wienkes didn't find much that sounded encouraging for 2006. "Subpar fundamentals and uncompelling valuations keep us on radio's sidelines, as stronger pricing power is needed to lift revenue growth, investor perception, and valuations. Of terrestrial radio operators, we rate only Clear Channel outperform, on superior fundamentals and discount valuation," Given radio's "anemic revenue growth," the analyst thinks pricing increases will be ! held to 3% in 2006. On the M&A front, he says to look for only a few private groups to sell.
03/15/06 RBR #52

Arbitron hits the
radio-only accelerator
With a Nielsen joint venture off the table, Arbitron says it will begin commercial deployment of its Portable People Meter (PPM) for radio in Houston this July, converting the current test into a real ratings currency. The plan then is to roll out PPM into all top 10 markets by fall 2008 and all top 50 markets by late 2010.

RBR observation: Which comes first, the chicken or the egg?
03/15/06 RBR #52

Radio One OKs
Smart Cell Phone test
Which has refused to encode for Arbitron's PPM test in Houston, has become the first radio company to agree to encode for a test of the Smart Cell Phone-based ratings system proposed by Media Audit/Ipsos. As it happens, Media Audit is based in Houston.

RBR observation: We wondered, will stations be able to encode for both PPM and Media Audit/Ipsos at the same time? That's not an issue for Radio One, which isn't encoding for PPM, but would be for most other Houston stations. An Arbitron spokesman assures us there's no problem from his company's point of view. Nielsen has already done tests to make sure that TV stations could encode at the some time for both its Active/Passive set-top meters and PPM. Editor's note: Bottom line - Radio better have the top 10 markets rolling by years end as the radio clock is ticking away.
03/14/06 RBR #51

WBAL Baltimore dumps Limbaugh
Hearst's Baltimore News Talker cancelled El Rushbo effective at the end of May. WBAL's commission research project told them the local Baltimore audience likes local. As for El Rushbo he will get another affiliate.

RBR observation: Good for Hearst with their stand alone legend station of WBAL recognizing local is better by listening to your audience and grow with them. FYI, many in radio today may not remember but CEO David Barrett roots are in radio going back to a company called Doubleday Broadcasting.
03/14/06 RBR #51

Corporate payola: Is it even possible?
New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer has accused Entercom and other major radio groups, not yet named, of accepting "corporate payola." The "payola" is explained on the FCC's website.

RBR observation: Gee, maybe Entercom should think about suing Spitzer for slander, since he has publicly accused the company of a specific criminal act, payola, which it could not possibly have committed.
03/13/06 RBR #50

3 advance for CC radio ratings
The Next-Generation Electronics Ratings Evaluation Team - - the new name for the multi-company team evaluating responses to Clear Channel's RFP - - has selected three finalists for a new, electronic radio ratings system....Cumulus Media CEO Lew Dickey was asked about the process said he wants to make sure the industry selects the optimal technology, but he also warned that the diary system isn't broken and is more accurate than the audience measurement systems used by some other major media.
03/10/06 RBR #49

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