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Volume 24, Issue 60, Jim Carnegie, Editor & Publisher
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Tuesday Morning March 27th, 2007
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Radio News ®
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 Hollander out, Mason in at CBS Radio
Just days after rumors began to circulate that Joel Hollander was soon to depart as CEO of CBS Radio, that is fait accompli and Dan Mason is back at CBS Radio as President and CEO. It is a return engagement. Mason was President of CBS Radio from 1995 to 2002, during which time he merged together the operations of Group W Radio, which he had previously headed, CBS, Infinity and American Radio Systems. In his new job, Mason, who had already been consulting CBS Radio, will answer directly to CBS Corporation CEO Les Moonves. "Dan has a key understanding of the huge potential of our radio operations, and we are very pleased indeed to welcome him back to CBS," said Moonves in announcing the shakeup. As for the departing Hollander: "We want to thank Joel for all his years of service to our company, and wish him the best in his future endeavors," Moonves said in his statement. Hollander had run CBS Radio since 2003, when he returned to CBS from serving as CEO of Westwood One. Mason begins CEO duties on April 16th and he told RBR that his priorities are easy. First goal is to get into the field and meet all managers. “I want to get inside all clusters and make sure our products are effective but more important managers needed to know I will give them control to run their operations with accountability.” Mason emphasized to RBR that radio is a local business and feels strongly not taking control out of local managers and programmers hands. The second goal said Mason is “I will concentrate on technology and the use of the FM spectrum, namely digital radio.” Mason will be based in NYC.
RBR observation: For those of you who do not know Mason his roots are deep as a PD and a damn good one. He is not your typical CEO in other words not a numbers cruncher. Also this is not a job that he needs to feed himself but more importantly a position that he desires as his goal is to make a strong difference for the radio medium especially in the world of HD. Mason is a stand up pro.
Last-minute bidding battle brewing
Don't rule out Ron Burkle and Eli Broad just yet. The Wall Street Journal and Chicago Tribune report that the two LA billionaires have requested more information from Tribune Company about the structure of Sam Zell's reported 33 bucks a share offer so they can decide whether to top it. According to the reports, Burkle and Broad are miffed that Zell was given access to non-public financial information that they didn't get to see. Now they want to see what sort of buyout plan Zell has in mind, using an ESOP for tax advantages, and see if they can make a higher bid. The original Burkle and Broad bid was said to have involved them putting up 500 million in new cash, more than Zell's reported 300 million, but it didn't get far with the special committee of the Tribune board because members weren't convinced that the complicated deal really added up to 34 bucks per share. The main point of contention was over the value of the stake that current Tribune shareholders would hold after Burkle and Broad take control. The Zell deal would apparently cash out current shareholders completely. Tribune's board has set the end of this month - this Saturday - as the deadline for a decision, but that date could easily be moved in order to see which of the billionaires has the most to offer.
RBR observation: The biggest hurdle we see is in Zell's indication that he doesn't intend to break up Tribune, but keep operating all of the existing units. Most of the other bids involved selling or spinning off to shareholders the Tribune Television group. Tribune has already tried and, thus far, failed to get its temporary waivers for TV/newspaper combinations in several markets turned into permanent situations. The expected elimination, or at least relaxation, of the FCC's crossownership rule has not happened - and no longer appears to be under active consideration by either the Commission or the US Congress. Getting new waivers for a new ownership structure would be iffy at best - and certainly keep any deal tied up for additional months and months, if not years, in Washington. Even the grandfathered situation for the Chicago Tribune being in common ownership with WGN-AM & TV would be lost and yet another waiver required. The trend, though, has been in the other direction. The owners-to-be of Univision sought only six-month waivers to divest holdings that do not comply with current FCC ownership rules. Both Citadel/ABC Radio and Clear Channel are going the trusteeship route, not even asking for temporary waivers for no-longer-grandfathered situations. We would not rate the chances very high for Zell, or anyone else, to be able to buy Tribune and keep its broadcast/newspaper combinations intact.
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Moody's looking at Radio One ratings
Moody's Investors Service has placed Radio One on review for a possible downgrade of its ratings, following the company's announcement that it would be delayed in filing its annual report with the SEC while it straightens out an accounting problem with dating of options grants. Radio One also announced last week that the SEC has opened an informal investigation (3/19/07 RBR #54). "The ratings action reflects Moody's concerns regarding the potential for technical default under the company's bank-credit facilities and bond indentures should the financial statements for the period ending Dec. 31, 2006 not be filed within the specified time periods," Moody's said in announcing the ratings review. It also cited the SEC investigation.
 DARS wars:
XM and Sirius return fire
The two satellite audio services are trying to merge over the objections of the much of the broadcasting community. They have now trotted out the argument that the advent of HD Radio makes broadcasters competitive with the multi-channel satellite platform, rendering their complaint about lack of a level playing field disingenuous. In a joint statement, XM and Sirius said, "The FCC decision underlines that HD radio on the AM/FM bands provide a real alternative to satellite, and that the current audio entertainment market is broad, robust and competitive. The decision will raise competition to a new level by stimulating the growth in HD radio stations (now 1,200), enhancing its offerings to consumers and establishing a process for free radio to offer a paid subscription service for the first time."
RBR observation: This argument is nonsense. We have heard many broadcasters extolling the virtues of HD, but what else are they going to do? Adopting the practice of local multicasting carries inherent risk, and still would not provide a level playing field with national platforms. The fact is, local broadcasting is a means of aggregating a significant slice of a local population. Does it not seem obvious that taking one station on a given frequency and splitting it six ways may prove harmful to that business model? There are tons of questions of this sort nowhere close to resolution. And even if multicasting works, the playing field still would not be level. Say a station is toying with a format called "Pot of Gold." It's not Oldies, it's aimed at leprechauns. But a local station may only have access to a handful of leprechauns, rendering the format unsustainable, while the national DARS services have access to all the leprechauns the USA has to offer. Bottom line, one could argue that the merger will strengthen satellite audio exactly while technology may weaken local, and will certainly require enlightened adjustments to how business is conducted at the local level. The latest XM/Sirius argument fails to hold water.
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 Will Breaux go for LA top spot?
Former Senator John Breaux (D-LA) is thinking about making a run for the governorship of Louisiana, now that incumbent Kathleen Blanco (D) has declined to run for re-election. One big obstacle? Residency. According to the Associated Press, a candidate is supposed to be "citizen" of Louisiana for five years prior to such a run, and Breaux has been living in Maryland lately as an employee of lobbying business Patton Boggs. The State Attorney General, Charles Foti, is being petitioned on the residency requirement by a leading state democrat, and Breaux said he is hoping for a quick decision. Other potential Democrats are said to be waiting in the wings until the possibility of a Breaux candidacy gets thumbs up or down. The state Republican Party isn't waiting around, however. It's already running advertisements characterizing Breaux as a non-resident lacking qualifications to run.
RBR observation: As a Senator, Breaux's picture was in the dictionary next to the definition of the phrase "swing vote." He played the game right down the middle and had no qualms about voting with either party, and as such was frequently interviewed when a close vote was in the offing. He was a particular friend to broadcasters, and was one of the few Democrats on the Commerce Committee who was not philosophically opposed to former FCC Chairman Michael Powell's ill-fated media ownership rulemaking of 6/2/03. Breaux often used his mic time in the Committee to point out the folly of the national TV ownership cap as written, attempting to educate his fellow legislators that the 35% national TV cap measured only potential audience, as if every single person within reach of the signal tuned in as one, and did not even remotely resemble reality. His attempts to at a minimum come up with a better metric failed. Nevertheless, he demonstrated that his knowledge of broadcast issues is several cuts above that of the average lawmaker.
Groundbreaking slowdown affects space activity
The entire economy needs to tighten its belt on news that there may be trouble on the horizon for the housing sector. It affects so many areas directly that the list of potential collateral victims is extensive, and perhaps universal. But if the sector does blow up, some will absorb more of the shock than others, and according to Reuters, in the area of communications, the sector at most risk is DBS services like DirecTV and EchoStar. The reason is simple. New homes can only be built where there are no homes, and much of the time, this means they are built in places where cable has yet to string up some wire. That makes the new home market ultra-prime territory for the satellite services. Not only are home starts down, but the outlying areas figure to be the hardest hit. According to analysts, the two services managed to ink 1.88M new subs in 2006, to a total base of 28.95M, but that was down from 2.3M newbies the previous year. The top 10 cable companies, meanwhile, were pegged at 65.6M subscribers, but with only 200K new sign-ups.
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Leverage Your Station's Brand
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Advertisement
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 The Fast Track to HD at NAB
Free seminars on how to meet and defeat the competition with ready-today strategies for HD Radio, Multicasting, Messagecasting and Internet Broadcasting.
| More info on www.bdcast.com |
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| Wall Street Media Business Report TM |
Growth quarter for DG FastChannel
Digital media delivery company DG FastChannel reported that Q4 revenues from continuing operations jumped 12% to 21.7 million bucks. Adjusted EBITDA jumped to 7.1 million from only 2.3 million a year earlier. CEO Scott Ginsburg reported strong growth in the core advertising delivery business, with gains in political, telecom, filmed entertainment and automotive. DG FastChannel closed out the quarter with an add-on public sale of just under three million shares in new stock, which raised 31.4 million for the company after offering expenses.
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| Executive Comment |
 Taking Responsibility
By Steve Young, Director of Pop and Rock Programming and Consulting, Jones Radio Networks/Seattle
The recent tragedy that took the life of a listener to a Sacramento radio station has jarred stations from coast to coast. Over the years, radio stations have relied on stunts to publicize themselves and to raise awareness of their existence. "Hold your wee for a Wii" was a contest dreamt up by the morning show of radio station KZND. We don't currently know just who knew all the details or what exactly management knew, but one thing is for sure: Somehow, a contest got on the air that placed the health and safety of listeners in jeopardy. At time of publication, all the ramifications of this tragedy have yet to play themselves out. It is now a matter for the courts and the FCC to decide. However, this case clearly underscores the need for radio stations to take responsibility for what we ask listeners to do...
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Ad Business Report TM
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Arbitron releases RADAR 92 ratings
Arbitron announced the release of its March 2007 RADAR radio network audience reports (RADAR 92) covering January 5, 2006 - December 13, 2006. RADAR 92 marks an increase in sample size to over 143,500 diarykeepers. This is part of a new sample increase initiative, with a goal of 200,000 diarykeepers by December 2007. This increase is in line with Arbitron's commitment to enhance the quality of its RADAR service, and ensures more granular information is available to clients by demographics, dayparts and by market. Highlights: There were a total of 55 networks; 46 trendable due to moves and reconfigurations. Gross impressions were down 4%. Five networks had double-digit positive changes and only three double-digit negative changes. Over 80% of the networks experienced single-digit percent changes, so RADAR 92 was fairly stable.
| See the 12 + chart here | See highlights by the networks |
A look at Louisville, KY and
wireless telephone spots on the radio
Media Monitors took a close-up look at the spot market last week for Louisville, KY and wireless telephone spots aired nationwide. The Kia Store tops the Spot Ten from the monitors of what was aired last week on Louisville radio. This car manufacturer ran 1097 spot announcements. Kia is one of the many Asian-owned automakers interested in opening plants in the US. Coming in #2 with 591 units was the Shane Co. one of the biggest radio advertisers in every market where they have locations. Kentucky Car Credit was third with 436 commercials last week. The Meijer discount store was fourth with 411 spots, while Verizon was fifth with 335 announcements. Caesar's Indiana was 4th with 316 spots and the Kentucky Toyota Dealers came in 7th with 308 commercials. Burger King was 8th running 293 spots, while the HD Digital Radio Alliance was 9th airing 269 times. And the big 70's Soul Jam at the Louisville gardens was the 10th biggest advertiser on the radio with 259 spots. Verizon comes in #1 with 12,299 spots run in the US last week. Sprint, in at #2, ran 10,492 commercials. Cingular Wireless (#3) aired 6,142 times, while Cricket Wireless (#4) ran 2,228 spots. MetroPCS hit the radio 2069 times making them the 5th biggest wireless company on the radio. T-Mobile was 6th running 1529 units. U.S.Cellular was 7th with 1120 commercials and at #8, Suncom Wireless ran 766 spots. Telus Mobility was 9th with 756 and Nextel (part of the Sprint Network) came in 10th with 440 units. To put this in perspective, Verizon's top spot in Wireless Ads, also netted them the 4th position in the national MediaMonitors Spot Ten with the HD Digital Radio Alliance coming in #1 with 27,171 announcements.
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| Media Business Report TM |
 Macy's leverages peer-to-peer marketing
RepNation announced its Consumer Powered Media (CPM) channel is powering Macy's recently launched peer-to-peer marketing campaign. The "American Rag Campus Squads" effort is designed to leverage the personal interactions of college students on eight campuses across the country to promote the retailer's American Rag Brand for girls. By tapping into RepNation's CPM network, Macy's was able to identify a network of college students that were American Rag enthusiasts and has hired them as brand ambassadors. The ambassadors are carrying out the tactical execution of the campaign, ensuring that college students were learning about American Rag in the most powerful way possible: directly from their peers. The goal of the campaign is to boost sales of the American Rag brand at Macy's department stores located in the vicinity of the eight college campuses. One of the central aspects of the American Rag campaign will be the "Design an American Rag Print" contest. Brand ambassadors will promote the contest around campus, encouraging their peers to design a print they feel suits the American Rag brand. The user-created prints will then be uploaded to www.americanragcampus.com, where students will be able to vote for their favorite print. Once voting concludes, the winning print will be reviewed to be placed into production as part of the official American Rag line. As a part of the campaign, RepNation and Macy's also created the "Be.Your.Self: Campus Looks" marketing initiative. This program will start with an open casting call on campus for students interested in being photographed for an American Rag catalog. Macy's will then bring in a professional photographer to each campus to photograph students in American Rag gear. The end result will be a custom campus looks catalog featuring only on-campus students.
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| Media Markets & Money TM |
New light on Davidson deal
Davidson Media Group is selling four stations to three buyers for 7.1M in a deal brokered by John Pierce. First, let us correct our report from 3/26/07, in which we noted only two buyers. Sima Birach is not buying Inskster MI-based WDJR-AM in the Detroit market. That station is headed for Richard Kylberg's Communicom Broadcasting. Birach picks up new territory with WCXN-AM Charlotte (Hickory NC) and KXLQ-AM Des Moines IA. The fourth station, WAKX-FM Providence (Narragansett Pier RI) goes to noncommercial Rhode Island Public Radio with broker Michael Bergner assisting on the transaction. Now, according to documents filed at the FCC, we can also break out the individual prices. Communicom will pay 3.8M for the WDJR-AM Detroit. Rhode Island Public Radio will pay 2.56M for WAKX-FM Providence. That leaves Birach with 740K for the AMs in Charlotte and Des Moines.
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| Washington Media Business Report TM |
 NAB PACs in a Hill Democrat
The National Association Broadcasters has fortified its bipartisan Government Relations department, tapping Anne W. Brady as VP of the organization's political action committee. She is fresh from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, where she handled western division finance. She'll report to EVP/Government Relations Doug Wiley. She also served with DCCC's midwest region, where she developed ties to key House Democrats Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Rahm Emanuel (D-IL). In her more recent stint, she had specific responsibility for Pelosi's district in addition to her regional duties.
RBR observation: Broadcast issues often cut across party lines. Indeed, many issues are industry v. industry, and often render party affiliation completely irrelevant. NAB has wisely been making sure that both parties are well represented on its government relations staff, making sure that the Association can find some friendly ears no matter who is setting the agenda on the Hill.
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| Internet Media Business Report TM |
 M:Metrics launches mobile audience measurement service
M:Metrics announced the launch of MeterDirect, the first research service to directly and continuously measure consumer mobile media behavior, unlocking mobile as a viable medium for advertisers. For the first time, media companies will be able to understand how, when and how often consumers engage with the mobile medium, including mobile Web audience rankings by site, the demographic composition of mobile Web domains and day of week and time of day behavior that defines mobile Web traffic. The MeterDirect service also collects detailed information about mobile application usage, including messaging, title and channel level music and video consumption. The firm announced the first findings gleaned from MeterDirect in the UK and US, revealing key similarities and differences between the two nations' web users. In both countries, Google ranks as the most popular mobile web site, the 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daypart has the largest audience of mobile web users, and mobile media consumers spend more than eight minutes per session accessing the mobile web, a surprisingly high figure. However, while mobile operator sites are most popular among British consumers, Americans prefer Yahoo! and Microsoft properties. MeterDirect also provides insights into daily audience for more than 5,000 mobile Web domains. Friday is the most active day for mobile Web use among Americans, with more than half of all smartphone owners using their mobile Web browser, while in the UK, Tuesdays account for the highest level of traffic. The data also reflects that contrary to popular belief, usage of mobile Web browsing is higher in the United States which consistently shows a higher level of daily usage than among British smartphone users.
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| Engineering Business Report TM |
Marketron scores Greater Media
Marketron International announced that it has won a contract to provide broadcast management solutions to Greater Media. A Marketron client since 2003, Greater Media Radio Division Controller, Calvin Lyles, Jr. cited the strength of Marketron's company and products as key factors in the decision to extend the relationship. "We at Greater Media are not interested in just finding a software vendor to handle traffic & billing but a partnership to assist with satisfying our customers. We depend on that partner to evaluate the evolving needs within this industry and assist with solutions. We applaud Marketron for taking on that challenge." All Greater Media stations will manage their advertising inventory and billing with the Marketron Radio Traffic software. The Marketron solution will provide integrated Sales, Traffic and Billing applications to general managers, general sales managers, account executives, traffic directors and business managers.
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| Transactions |
200K WCPC-AM Tupelo MS (Houston MS) from WCPC Broadcasting Company Inc. (Robin Mathis) to Cajun Radio Corporation (Robert L. Wilkins, Luann J. Wilkins). 10K letter of credit, balance in cash at closing. [File date 3/5/07.]
145K FM CP Del Norte CO from College Creek Media LLC (Christopher F. Devine) to San Luis Valley Broadcasting Inc. (Marion L. Good, H. Robert Gourley III). 15K earnest money, balance in cash at closing. Buyer owns KSLV AM-FM Monte Vista CO. Del Norte station will overlap only the AM. CP is for Class C3 on 96.5 MHz with 930 w @ 1,591'. [File date 3/5/07.]
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| Stock Talk |
Home sales drop worries Wall Street
A big drop in new home sales for February sent stock prices lower for much of the day Monday. Late in the day the Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 moved back barely into positive territory. The Dow Industrials, however, were off 12 points to 12,469.
Radio stocks edged up a bit. The Radio Index rose 0.390, or 0.3%, to 155.975. Emmis and Beasley had the best day, each up 1%.
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| Radio Stocks |
Here's how stocks fared on Monday
| Company |
Symbol |
Close |
Change |
Company |
Symbol |
Close |
Change |
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Arbitron
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ARB
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47.73
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+0.32
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Journal Comm.
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JRN
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13.07
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-0.03
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Beasley
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BBGI
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9.06
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+0.09
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Lincoln Natl.
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LNC
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68.84
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-0.15
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| CBS CI. B |
CBS |
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30.56
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+0.10
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Radio One, Cl. A
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ROIA
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6.76
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+0.03
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| CBS CI. A |
CBSa |
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30.56
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+0.10
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Radio One, Cl. D
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ROIAK
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6.73
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-0.03
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| Citadel |
CDL |
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9.66 |
-0.07 |
Regent
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RGCI
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3.00
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+0.03
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Clear Channel
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CCU
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35.44
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+0.03
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Saga Commun.
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SGA
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9.77
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-0.06
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Cox Radio
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CXR
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13.73
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+0.05
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Salem Comm.
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SALM
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13.23
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+0.02
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Cumulus
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CMLS
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9.36
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-0.03
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Sirius Sat. Radio
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SIRI
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3.31
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-0.04
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Disney
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DIS
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35.22
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+0.23
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Spanish Bcg.
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SBSA
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4.12
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+0.02
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Emmis
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EMMS
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8.02
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+0.08
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SWMX
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SMWX
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0.85
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unch
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| Entercom |
ETM
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28.22
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+0.02
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Univision
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UVN
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36.15
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unch
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Entravision
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EVC
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9.24
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+0.06
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Westwood One
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WON
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6.70
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+0.03
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Fisher
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FSCI
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48.29
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+0.34
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XM Sat. Radio
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XMSR
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13.41
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-0.08
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Hearst-Argyle
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HTV
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26.99
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+0.22
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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]
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Below the Fold
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Ad Business Report
RADAR 92 ratings
Marks an increase in sample size to over 143,500 diarykeepers...
Media Business Report
Macy's leveraging
Peer-to-peer marketing...
Washington Media Business Report
NAB PACs in a Hill Democrat
Has fortified its bipartisan Government Relations department has tapped...
Media Markets & Money
New light on Davidson deal
Selling four stations to three buyers for 7.1M...
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Stations for Sale
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Mississippi AM-FM
Recently Merged, Profitable Now
Significant Upside Remains
Gordon Rice Associates
(843) 884-3590
[email protected]
10 TX, AZ, NC, and GA
FM radio stations at an exceptional value offered for sale. Broker cooperation encouraged. Please visit www.toweritrust.com for complete information including pricing.
 Market your Stations For Sale
in our daily epapers.
Contact
June Barnes
[email protected]
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Radio Media Moves
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 Morton
new CMO
That's Chief Marketing Officer. Bob Morton now has the position at GE Commercial Finance for its Global Media & Communications business. He was previously Chief Marketing Leader for GE Healthcare Financial Services.
CBS board expands
Four new members have been added to the board of directors at CBS Corporation, bringing the count to 13. New are Doug Morris, CEO of Universal Music Group; movie producer Arnold Kopelson; restaurant entrepreneur Linda Griego, CEO of Griego Enterprises; and Gary Countryman, Chairman Emeritus of Liberty Mutual Group.
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More News Headlines
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Emmis Sports Marketing joins with Buckeyes Radio Sports Network
Emmis Sports Marketing (ESM) announced today the signing of ESM as the sales partner for the Ohio State Buckeyes Radio Sports Network. RadioOhio holds the exclusive local and national radio broadcast rights to all Ohio State basketball, football, and baseball events. The agreement allows Emmis Sports Marketing the opportunity to create and sell various radio, in-stadium, and internet components, giving sponsors more consumer touch points. "The first priority is to bring in a title sponsor for the Buckeyes radio network. Becoming a title sponsor of the radio broadcasts will result in enormous sales, branding, and customer product interaction," says Elaine Clark, General Manager of Emmis Sports Marketing. Companies will benefit with one-stop shopping. Emmis Sports Marketing can place media buys and execute programs in multiple markets with multiple platforms. Programs include local activation elements that engage consumers and deliver results.
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RBR Radar 2007
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Radio News you won't read any where else. RBR--First, Accurate, and Independently Owned.
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Clear Channel buyout
opponent makes its case
With less than a month to go, the shareholder vote on whether Clear Channel Communications will be taken private is too close to call. The indication that Highfields Capital Management, a hedge fund, was preparing to oppose the buyout (3/19/07 RBR #54) is now a certainty. Although hedge funds seldom speak publicly about anything to do with their investments, Highfields issued a public statement opposing the Clear Channel deal.
RBR observation: It appears quite certain that the 37.60 bid is not going to be raised, although some Wall Street analysts are still holding onto that as at least a slight possibility. (There is more detail in RBR)
03/26/07 RBR #59
Rehr maintains full court press against merger
The National Association of Broadcasters has made no secret of its desire to keep satellite audio services XM and Sirius separate and in competition with one another. NAB President/CEO has followed up a seemingly good week in the Senate with a letter to FCC Chairman Kevin Martin and his colleagues. Full text of Rehr's letter here.
03/26/07 RBR #59
New lender for small media loans
RBR has reported time and time again that it is extremely difficult to find radio and TV financing below the 10 million bucks level, so it is always big news when a new lender enters that end of the market. Three members of the lending team for the former small media lending operation at Wells Fargo Foothill, which shut down a few months ago, have landed at Gladstone Capital to open the media lending unit. Dave Meier and Brian Eick are in Chicago tell RBR that they will be focusing on senior debt placements from three million to the 10-12 million area. Gladstone, a publicly traded company (Nasdaq: GLAD), can also do subordinated debt and that may be incorporated into the media side as well. In addition to radio and television, the media lending unit at Gladstone will also be making loans to publishing, cable TV, outdoor advertising and tower companies.
RBR observation: This is the best news media broadcasters have heard in a long time. The Gladstone team not only becomes a leader in this area but from what RBR sees so far is willing to make a partnership with broadcasters that are the backbone of the media business today.
03/23/07 RBR #58
24 mice welcomed into the Citadel
The deal sending 24 large market radio stations from Walt Disney Co.'s ABC Radio to Citadel Broadcasting Company received a unanimous public blessing from the FCC, in a rare Commission use of the open meeting forum for consideration for transaction approval. None of the stations are in markets where Citadel already has a presence, and since there will be structural changes in Citadel's ownership, 11 stations in its existing portfolio will lose grandfathered status.
RBR observation: If there was a loser, it would appear to be Red Wolf Broadcasting, which has had some local collisions with Citadel in Connecticut and has been scrupulously challenging Citadel license renewals. Nobody from the Media Bureau so much as breathed a word about the issue, nor did a single commissioner, and the FCC announcement of the action taken made no mention of the objections. For complete outlined details review this issue of RBR.
03/23/07 RBR #58
IBOC pushed ahead
Digital, in-channel on-band (IBOC) radio broadcasting received a technical booster shot from the FCC as the commission took steps to speed it further along its developmental path. The key actions included streamlining procedures by allowing FMs to use digital multicasting and make other technical decisions/changes without getting authority; allowing AMs stations to begin using hybrid analog/digital operation at night; and allowing FM translators, boosters and LPFMs to adopt digital broadcast. Local digital must have as-good-or-better quality than analog, but if broadcasters meet that standard, they have flexibility as to bandwidth use, whether it be for HD, multicast or date delivery. (Complete outline in RBR)
03/23/07 RBR #58
XM/Sirius fire back
The NAB has been pushing its opinion on the proposed XM/Sirius merger with a series of ads in the Capitol Hill dailies. Of course, two can play at that game, and XM/Sirius have fired back, making the point that the combined entity would be just one player in a big audio marketplace. In an ad headed "Listen to the Numbers,"
RBR observation: The merger looks like it will have a very tough time getting support in the Senate Judiciary Committee's Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights Subcommittee. At a grilling session on the topic of the merger, Sirius CEO Mel Karmazin was without doubt treated more as the main course than a star witness. The Subcommittee heard these arguments and also heard them countered, and in the case of Herb Kohl (D-WI) and Sam Brownback (R-KS), were clearly unsupportive of the propsed merger (although for very different reasons - concerns about monopolization for the former and about airing pornographic material for the latter). It will be interesting to see what happens when the relevant federal agencies get into the act. At the FCC, Chairman Kevin Martin has already expressed doubts. Stay tuned. To view the XM/Sirius ad see RBR
03/22/07 RBR #57
LA is still problem child
for Radio One
Continuing soft performance by its Los Angeles station, now re-branded "V100" KRBV-FM from "The Beat" KKBT-FM, was blamed for all of the revenue shortfall for Radio One in Q4. Meanwhile, the company reported that Nasdaq has sent it a delisting notice because of its delayed filing of its annual report. Liggins insisted. In his conference call with analysts, Liggins blamed shorter spots for putting downward pressure on pricing. Although originally a fan of Clear Channel's Less is More initiative, Liggins declared that it has failed and is not putting upward pressure on pricing as had been envisioned.
03/22/07 RBR #57
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