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Welcome to RBR's Daily Epaper
Volume 24, Issue 63, Jim Carnegie, Editor & Publisher
Friday Morning March 30th, 2007

Radio News ®

ISS says vote "no"
Dealing a huge blow to the pending buyout bid for Clear Channel Communications, Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) has told its clients they should vote "no." ISS, the biggest and most influential advisory firm for major investors, says it was a close call, but the offer of 37.60 per share is just too low. Two of the largest CCU shareholders, #1 Fidelity mutual funds and #3 Highfields Capital (Lowry Mays himself is #2) have indicated that they will oppose the buyout bid by Thomas H. Lee Partners and Bain Capital Partners. Glass Lewis, another advisory firm, had also advised a "no" vote, while the third big advisory firm, Proxy Governance, had given the 26.7 billion bucks buyout a tepid endorsement. The vote on April 19th requires two-thirds approval by all CCU shares and shares not voted count as "no" votes.

CCU keeping pressure on
Yet another letter has gone out to Clear Channel shareholders urging them to vote for the 26.7 billion bucks private equity buyout. The voting deadline remains April 19th. This time the "Dear Clear Channel Shareholder" letter is signed by Lead Director Alan Feld and independent director Perry Lewis, chair of the Special Advisory Committee that evaluated the bids for the company. "As explained in the accompanying proxy statement, the disinterested directors carefully managed the auction process to maximize the competitive dynamics of the bid process and thereby obtain the highest price. Multiple rounds of robust bidding involving virtually every large private equity firm took place and despite the Company's announcement to explore strategic alternatives on October 24, 2006, no strategic buyer emerged. Two separate consortiums of private equity funds submitted firm, fully financed offers, the highest of which was 37.60 in cash from funds sponsored by Bain Capital Partners, LLC and Thomas H. Lee Partners, L.P.," the letter states. Feld and Lewis also repeated the previously disclosed information that during the "go-shop" period, CCU's financial advisory contacted 22 potential strategic and private equity buyers and did not find one interested in submitting a bid. "As we draw closer to the April 19, 2007 meeting date, we want to emphasize that approval of the merger agreement requires the affirmative vote of two-thirds of Clear Channel's outstanding shares. Not voting has the same effect as a vote against the merger, so, if you wish to approve the transaction, it is vital for you to vote for the merger today by completing, signing and returning the enclosed proxy card in the postage-paid envelope provided," the letter urged.

XM class action lawsuit dismissed
After XM Satellite Radio announced last year that its marketing practices were being investigated by the Federal Trade Commission, class action lawyers were tripping over each other to get to the courthouse to file lawsuits on behalf of XM shareholders (5/4/06). But it is much easier to file a lawsuit claiming that management of a company defrauded shareholders than to actually win a judgment. In a filing with the SEC yesterday, XM said its motion to dismiss the class action litigation had been granted. The company said the federal court concluded that "plaintiffs have failed to identify any materially misleading statements or omissions that are actionable" under US securities law.


Expert testimony:
No XM/Sirius merger

"Regardless of the definition, a satellite radio merger still has an antitrust component that must be thoroughly examined by the Department of Justice and the Federal Communications Commission," said J. Gregory Sidak. "No matter how you slice it, dice it or package it, the merger of XM and Sirius would establish a monopoly, which are typically characterized by a lack of economic competition for the good or service that they provide, as well as a lack of viable substitute goods." Sidak works for Criterion Economics, but he used to be Deputy General Counsel for the FCC, and he produced his analysis at the request of Consumer Coalition for Competition in Satellite Radio (C3SR), and for the benefit of his former Commission employers. He said that "...DARS are a distinct antitrust product market;" "The proposed merge would be anti-competitive as (i) it constitutes a monopoly under the most reasonable market definition; and (ii) even under a more expansive market definition the proposed merger would increase seller concentration ratios to unacceptably high levels;" "The majority of efficiencies identified by XM and Sirius would not benefit consumers;" and "The conditions offered by XM and Sirius would not preserve consumer welfare." C3SR's Chris Reale observed, "This study confirms, empirically, what we have been stressing since before this merger was even announced: subscribers do not view their satellite radio service as a substitute for other forms of entertainment, and a merged provider would be able and motivated to raise prices and cut back the programming that so many listeners value and depend on." Meanwhile, the NAB reports that the state of Alabama is halfway toward a legislative resolution opposing the merger. The Alabama House has passed a resolution, and the Senate is getting ready to take it up.

Oversight hearing unmasks political hit list
There is no shortage of political theory and experts to go with it in Washington, and they process of churning out lists of the electorally vulnerable began not months. But the list turned up by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform comes straight from the White House Office of Political Affairs and is attributed to Karl Rove himself. The hearing involved the allegedly inappropriate use of the Government Services Administration and its Administrator, Lurita Doan. Doan and the administration have been accused of (1) using the GSA to promote Republican candidates and (2) for using GSA facilities for meetings on how best to accomplish (1). Rep. Bruce Braley (D-IA) produced a White House power point presentation on the topic as evidence, and we provide it for your use in discovering whether or not you are in a Rove-perceived hotspot. It lists reps, senators and governors, both Republicans in need of defensing and Democrats worthy of attack. Note that only 14 governorships are up for grabs between now and November 2008, with three of those contests taking place in 2007.
| Hit lists here |


Getting Sirius about TV
Sirius Satellite Radio is making its long-anticipated move into video. The company announced a deal with Chrysler Group to offer the Sirius Backseat TV in its 2008 model lineup. The new video service will feature TV programming from Nickelodeon, Disney Channel and Cartoon Network. The service will be available in select 2008 model Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge vehicles, beginning with the all-new 2008 Chrysler Town & Country and Dodge Grand Caravan minivans, available later this year. "In Sirius' first venture in visual entertainment, I am pleased to have the three most original family-centered programming providers in TV. Just as we provide the Best Radio on Radio, this allows us to launch Sirius Backseat TV as the Best TV in the Backseat," said Sirius CEO Mel Karmazin. Sirius Backseat TV will also be available on the 2008 Chrysler 300, Dodge Charger, Dodge Magnum, Jeep Commander and Jeep Grand Cherokee. The new video service operates via an in-vehicle satellite video receiver and two small roof-mounted antennas. Programming is displayed on the vehicle's second- and/or third-row video screens, and channel name, program title and rating will be broadcast and displayed on the screen(s). The system can be operated from either the rear-seat entertainment unit or the radio head unit. In addition, when the vehicle is in Park, programming can be displayed on the MyGIG screen for front-seat viewing. Sirius Backseat TV is available for a Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price of 470 bucks -- which includes the first year of service -- when packaged with Chrysler Group's Rear Seat Entertainment System and Sirius Satellite Radio. After the first year, Sirius Backseat TV is available for seven bucks per month when packaged with Sirius Satellite Radio (12.95 per month). Sirius Backseat TV will only be available to Sirius Satellite Radio subscribers.

RBR observation: The obvious limitation for Sirius is bandwidth. Spectrum being used for TV can't be used for its mainstay, radio, and vice versa. Three channels is not much of a service, but Sirius can't spare a lot of spectrum, so it is predictably targeting kids, who are the main backseat occupants. So, for just under 20 bucks a month, mom and dad will be able to listen to Howard Stern in the front seat, while the kiddies watch Cartoon Network in the back.


Ad Business Report TM

Ronning Lipset Radio creates new network
Paving the way for small and mid-sized online radio broadcasters to attract traditional, national advertisers, Ronning Lipset Radio announced the formation of "RL Select" - a network of independent stations measured by Arbitron. The RL Select network is launching with GotRadio (www.gotradio.com), Big R Radio (www.bigrradio.com) and 181.FM (www.181.fm). Eric Ronning and Andy Lipset, co-managing partners of Ronning Lipset Radio, said they cherry-picked these stations based upon the management teams' strong programming skills, marketing finesse and business acumen. Ronning Lipset is exploring a limited number of other independent stations to join RL Select in the coming months. "We have created the RL Select network as a response to advertisers who have expressed interest in reaching even more online radio listeners but who need reliable audience measurement data to make educated buying decisions," said Andy Lipset, co-managing partner of Ronning Lipset Radio. "We are proud to be introducing RL Select and to be giving stations such as GotRadio, Big R Radio and 181.FM the rare opportunity to be tracked by Arbitron, the industry standard in radio measurement."

Steve Grubbs on his move to Fuse
PHD US CEO Steve Grubbs, who was just named of Fuse Sports and Entertainment Group NA CEO (3/29/07 RBR #62), spoke to RBR/TVBR about his lateral move within Omnicom and what was behind it.

Tell us about your new role at Omnicom and why you took the job. "Two things-number one, one of the main passions in my entire life has been sports. From the participation standpoint; from a viewer/fan standpoint I've always been a big fan of almost every sport. In my previous days at BBDO when I oversaw the national broadcast unit, I was very intimately involved in the sports area. We represented a number of clients that were very active with a number of the leagues and bought sports TV time. So that's an area of the business that has always held a special place with me-I enjoy it. And then the entertainment side of the business is really the fun side-another area that I've always been interested in and have dabbled in over the years. It has also been increasingly important to our clients and to the services business in general. So I'm looking forward to working with our four companies to put together an entertainment strategy that can provide a very compelling resource for the clients of OMD, PHD, other Omnicom companies and other companies in general."

Well, congratulations, this sounds like it's right down your alley. "It's right down my alley, and I've loved PHD. I've learned a lot over the last five years and it has been probably the most challenging five years of my life. This will be potentially very, very cool."

We've heard Matt Seiler, PHD USA President, will likely get the CEO role at PHD. Is that true?-there still hasn't been an official announcement. "Well, he's certainly the #2 here, but I can't talk about the succession planning. But it has already been figured out."


NAB Daytime Planner
The following will be attending the NAB.
Call or email to make your
appointment in advance.

BANKERS
Brian Eick/Dave Meier/John Weller; Gladstone Capital; Bellagio Hotel;
Brian cell 847-612-3002, Dave cell 847-650-1735, John cell 509-496-3254; [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]

BROKERS
Todd Fowler/David Reeder; American Media Services; Bellagio Hotel; 843-972-2200; [email protected], [email protected]

Brian Cobb/ Denis LeClair /Dan Graves/Jack Higgins; Cobb Corp; Bellagio Hotel; 212-812-5020; [email protected]

Andy McClure/Erick Steinberg, The Exline Company, Bellagio Hotel, office 415-479-3484, cell 415-497-3855, [email protected]. [email protected]

Frank Boyle; Frank Boyle & Co.;
Bellagio Hotel;
203-969-2020; cell 203-249-7818; [email protected]

John L. Pierce/ Jamie Rasnick; John Pierce & Company LLC; office 859-647-0101, John cell 859-512-3015; Jamie cell 513-252-1186, Bellagio Hotel; [email protected]; [email protected]

Gordon Rice; Gordon Rice Associates;
843-884-3590; Bellagio Hotel; [email protected]

Dick Kozacko/George Kimble;
Kozacko Media Services; office 607-733-7138; cell 607-738-1219; Bellagio Hotel; [email protected], [email protected]

Media Services Group; Bellagio Hotel; www.mediaservicesgroup.com

Elliot Evers/Greg Widroe/Brian Pryor/Patricia Carberry-Harris;
Media Venture Partners;
415-391-4877; Bellagio Hotel;
pcarberryharris@
mediaventurepartners.com

Brian Byrnes; Paramount Media
Advisors, Inc.; 312-396-4043;
cell 312-933-7559; Bellagio Hotel; bbyrnes@[email protected]

Glenn Serafin; Serafin Bros., Inc.;
office 813-885-6060; cell 813-494-6875; Aladdin Hotel; [email protected]

Bill Schutz; Schutz & Company; Bellagio Hotel; 757-258-8740, cell 757-880-9251; [email protected]

Larry C. Wood; Wood & Company, Inc.; Alexis Park Hotel; Office: 513-528-7373; Cell: 513-225-5100;
[email protected]

Media Markets & Money TM
Fast actin' transaction: Univision a done deal
Did you taste it? That's what we ask our dog when he moves this fast on a table scrap. But then again, the table scraps at our house rarely carry an estimated 13.7B price tag. Nevertheless, Univision did not stand on ceremony. The FCC approved the deal, and the principals completed the deal seemingly as fast as they could gets their pens out of the pockets. Let the record show that Madison Dearborn Partners, Providence Equity Partners, TPG, Thomas H. Lee Partners, and Saban Capital Group paid $36.25 per share in cash for the leading Hispanic media group in America. Joe Uva, who is now officially installed as CEO, says that in addition to having the eponymous Univision television network firmly ensconced as the #1 Hispanic option, it is also #5 when taking English language networks into account.

RBR observation: Don't look for Univision in our daily stock list. It closed forever Wednesday on the NYSE at 36.23 and former shareholders are now waiting to receive checks or electronic transfers giving them two cents more than that.


Washington Media Business Report TM
FCC flicks Quick WICK claim
Back in 2005, a group of Pennsylvania radio stations were sold with an extraordinary provision of restitution for children who were found to be victims of the station's primary owner, Douglas V. Lane. Lane was found guilty of child molestation, is in prison and is appealing. The stations were WICK-AM/WWRR-FM Scranton and WYCK-AM Plains. They went to Bold Gold Media Group for 1.925M, with cash going to creditors and victims in various sliding amounts. Just over a year ago, a challenge came in from Leslie C. Quick III, who claims 20% ownership of WICK-AM licensee Lamcom Inc., who claims he was deprived of his share of proceeds from the sale of the station due to bad acts of another, and that the deal determining where the money would go was struck between various parties after the 30-day petition period had passed. The FCC has turned down his appeal. It said that the deal was made with Virginia B. Lane acting as an "authorized Lancom officer," with no objections on the table. Even though Quick had missed one filing deadline, the FCC said he had other avenues available which he did not use, including an informal objection. Presented with a Lancom officer and a multiparty deal with no objections whatsoever, the FCC said it acted appropriately in granting the transaction. The FCC opined that Quick's pursuit of whatever cash may be owned him is a civil matter and referred him to the Pennsylvania court system.


Engineering Business Report TM
BE offers RDS "Plus" unit
for advanced features

Broadcast Electronics (BE) announced the availability of a new RDS unit capable of inserting Radio Text Plus (RT+) into the data stream. BE's new RDS RT+ Injector unit, the first such generator on the market, will start shipping next month to meet demands for advanced radio text applications. The RT+ Injector is based on RT+, a standard passed by the RDS Forum in June 2006 that builds on the internationally established Radio Text standard by adding category codes to existing text streams. The additional codes will create new opportunities for displaying traffic updates, weather readouts and more on RDS radios. BE finalized the development of the generator based on the standard after co-hosting an international RT+ "plugfest" in September along with Kenwood, Entercom, CBS, Clear Channel, and others. Kenwood has since announced new radios capable of receiving RT+, and broadcasters such as Entercom have added RT+ to their data initiatives. The Radio Experience and the new RT+ Injector will be shown at BE booth N7106 during NAB.


Transactions
25M KFXD-AM/KTMY-FM, KCIX-FM, KIDO-AM, KSAS-FM & KXLT-FM Boise ID (Boise, Garden City, Nampa, Caldwell, Eagle ID) from Citicasters Licenses LP, a subsidiary of Clear Channel Broadcasting Inc. (Mark Mays) to Peak Broadcasting of Boise Licenses LLC, a subsidiary of Peak Broadcasting LLC (Todd Lawley). 2.5M escrow, balance in cash at closing. LMA 4/1/07. [File date 3/8/07.]

180K KWCB-AM San Antonio TX (Floresville TX) from Wilson County Education Foundation Inc. (Cecelia Gonzalez) to La Promesa Foundation (Leonard J. Oswald et al). 17.5K escrow, two 25K non-competes, balance in cash at closing. Nomcommercial station. [File date 3/8/07.]


Stock Talk
Stocks end up and down session up
Fears about mounting tension with Iran held stock prices down on Thursday, but the government's report on GDP growth was well received - not too hot, not too cold, but just right. In the end, the volatile session ended on the up side. The Dow Industrials rose 48 points, or 0.4%, at 12,349.

Radio stocks followed suit. The Radio Index gained 0.724, or 0.5%, to 153.729. Salem surged 4.9%, erasing some recent loses. Beasley was one of the few decliners, down 3.3%.


Radio Stocks

Here's how stocks fared on Thursday

Company Symbol Close Change Company Symbol Close Change

Arbitron

ARB

46.80

-0.08

Hearst-Argyle

HTV

26.95

+0.10

Beasley

BBGI

8.63

-0.29

Journal Comm.

JRN

12.88

+0.04

CBS CI. B CBS

30.50

+0.13

Lincoln Natl.

LNC

67.55

+0.21

CBS CI. A CBSa

30.49

+0.06

Radio One, Cl. A

ROIA

6.50

+0.02

Citadel CDL
9.45 -0.04

Radio One, Cl. D

ROIAK

6.49

-0.02

Clear Channel

CCU

34.81

+0.27

Regent

RGCI

3.01

+0.03

Cox Radio

CXR

13.63

+0.12

Saga Commun.

SGA

9.95

+0.10

Cumulus

CMLS

9.14

-0.02

Salem Comm.

SALM

12.88

+0.60

Disney

DIS

34.39

+0.16

Sirius Sat. Radio

SIRI

3.26

unch

Emmis

EMMS

8.05

+0.08

Spanish Bcg.

SBSA

3.90

+0.01

Entercom

ETM

28.09

+0.18

SWMX

SMWX

0.85

+0.10

Entravision

EVC

9.07

-0.06

Westwood One

WON

6.79

+0.09

Fisher

FSCI

48.47

+0.70

XM Sat. Radio

XMSR

12.96

-0.10


Bounceback

Send Us Your OpinionsWe want to
hear from you.

This is your column, so send your comments and
a photo to [email protected]


Below the Fold
Ad Business Report
Ronning Lipset Radio
Creates new network paving the way for small & mid-sized online radio...

On his move to Fuse
Steve Grubbs discusses his his lateral move within Omnicom and what was behind it...

Media Markets & Money
Fast actin' transaction
Univision a done deal, Don't look for Univision in our daily stock list...

Washington Media Business Report
FCC flicks Quick WICK claim
Back in '05, a group of PA radio stations were sold with an extraordinary provision...



Stations for Sale

Mississippi AM-FM
Recently Merged, Profitable Now
Significant Upside Remains
Gordon Rice Associates
(843) 884-3590
[email protected]

NorthEast FM's For Sale
Clusters, standalones, sticks
8x - 12x BCF, 950K - 7.2M
[email protected] or
781-848-4201

10 TX, AZ, NC, and GA
FM radio stations at an exceptional value offered for sale. Broker cooperation encouraged. Please visit www.toweritrust.com for complete information including pricing.


Market your Stations For Sale
in our daily epapers.

Contact
June Barnes
[email protected]

Radio Media Moves

Rockin' in
Ft. Myers-Naples

Beasley announced on-air changes at WRXK-FM "96-1 K-Rock" Ft. Myers-Naples. Kellie Chase is now hosting mid-days after being a "weekend warrior" and Ryno has returned to the market to host afternoon drive. He was most recently in Columbus, OH, which reportedly has fewer beaches that Ft. Myers-Naples.


More News Headlines

NY Times takes
a look at Google

The NY Times took a long look at Google's entry into the radio and television ad marketplace yesterday. Here are some excerpts: "If there was any doubt about the scope of Google's ambitions in the advertising world, one of its recent job postings should dispel them: It seeks a "head of national TV sales" to help build "a world-class national TV advertising sales team." Then there is radio. Google's chief executive, Eric E. Schmidt, said last year that the company would eventually have 1,000 employees dedicated to radio advertising alone. Google may one day rock the television and radio advertising markets. But its TV plans have yet to take shape, and its other efforts to extend its dominance over online advertising into offline media like newspapers and radio are inching along. The early results are mixed, suggesting that Google's successful transition from online kingpin to credible player in traditional media is far from assured.
| Read More... |

AWRT's new directors
American Women in Radio and Television (AWRT) announced its 2007 National Board of Directors. Mary Bennett, Executive Vice President, Radio Advertising Bureau, New York, NY, will serve as the National Chair. Serving as Vice Chair of AWRT is Sylvia Strobel, President & GM, Pennsylvania Public Television, Hershey, PA. The Treasurer is Valerie Blackburn, Market Controller, CBS Radio, Los Angeles, CA; and the Treasurer-Elect is Elizabeth Hammond, Attorney, Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP, Washington, DC. The following are directors: Chickie Bucco, President, Katz Direct Marketing, New York, NY; Erinn Carter, Account Manager, WMAQ-TV NBC 5, Chicago, IL; Lynne C. Conlan, Director of Programming & Promotion, WMOR-TV, Tampa, FL; Catherine Corry, SVP, Programming & Production, Major League Gaming, New York, NY; Christa Dahlander, Senior Vice President/Communications, Radio Advertising Bureau, Dallas, TX; Lauren Darr, President, Lauren Originals, Inc., Mason, OH; Bill Diaz, Director of Account Services, The Spot Marketing, Tampa, FL; Dick Kernen, Vice President, Industry Relations, Specs Howard School of Broadcast Arts, Southfield, MI; Nia Mathis, Attorney, Latham & Watkins, LLP, Washington, DC; Christine McLaughlin, Of Counsel, Venable LLP, Washington, DC; Kathleen T. Ross, EVP & Chief Administration Officer, Arbitron Inc., Columbia, MD; and Desiree Vanderwal, Producer, KFI-AM, Valencia, CA.




RBR Radar 2007
Radio News you won't read any where else. RBR--First, Accurate, and Independently Owned.

New media will not replace old media; It will become it!
Wachovia hosted an advertising mini conference 3/27. The conference included three panels, discussing recent trends in national, local and new media advertising. Their key takeaways on Radio: The outlook for radio continues to be sluggish due to the fact that this medium is doing ''too little too late.

RBR observation: All sectors of the media were examined and discussed and it would be to ones best interest to review this report and print out. Remember only you can make a difference for yourself and the radio medium. Wachovia's word is not law. It is not too late to improve the radio business.
03/29/07 RBR #62

Rumors take flight over
violence, chairman

With a Republican administration, a Democratic Congress and issues that often pit industry v. industry rather than party v. party, or divide in ways otherwise divorced from the straight party line, it's an interesting time to be at the FCC. Chairman Kevin Martin recently went out of his way to dispatch a backlog of agenda items, pushing over ten of them through during the March open meeting. But other issues may be hung up. Details in RBR
03/29/07 RBR #62

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. 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.
03/27/07 RBR #60




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