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Volume 24, Issue 64, Jim Carnegie, Editor & Publisher
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Monday Morning April 2nd, 2007
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Radio News ®
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 Finally, a decent month for radio
Not too many years ago, a 3% growth month would have been a huge disappointment for the radio industry. Now, though, it is reason to break out the champagne. The Radio Advertising Bureau (RAB) reported late Friday that radio revenues rose 3% in February, building on the 2% rise in January. A lot of the February gain came from non-spot revenues, which jumped 11%, including fast-growing Internet ad sales. For spot sales, local rose 2% and national gained 1% for a spot total up 2%. Although still the weakest link, national was a surprise. "We were surprised that national was in the black this month, considering it was down 3% in January due mostly to a tough prior year comp of +6%. We had expected national to be down again due to another tough prior year comp of +4%," noted Wachovia Capital Markets analyst Marci Ryvicker in her commentary on the February results. She is, however, still sticking with her forecast that Q1 will be up 3% and the full year of 2007 only 1%. Through the first two months of this year, according to RAB, radio revenues were up 3%, with spot revenues up 2% (local +3%, national -1%) and non-spot up 12%.
What's next for Clear Channel?
The vote "no" recommendation from Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) has made it unlikely that the pending private equity buyout of Clear Channel will get the required two-thirds approval by shareholders (3/30/07 RBR #63). With a core group of stockholders controlling 20-25% of the votes already publicly opposed to the deal as it stands, following the ISS thumbs down call Bank of America Securities analyst Jonathan Jacoby told clients he sees two possible outcomes - neither one of which is approval of the 37.60 per share buyout. "We see two likely outcomes, both of which we believe are positive for the stock. 1) The Lee/Bain group bumps their offer to get the deal done, or 2) the deal "busts" and shareholders eventually pressure CCU to increase leverage and sell off non-core assets to boost the value of the stock. Such moves could add an estimated five dollars of value, in our view, making CCU shares worth approximately 42-43. We estimate that either outcome could result in and approximately 20% appreciation of CCU stock over the next 12-18 months," Jacoby wrote. Reiterating his recommendation that CCU is his top pick of the radio and TV stocks he covers, Jacoby noted that Paris-based billboard giant JC Decaux had once again reiterated its interest in acquiring assets from Clear Channel Outdoor.
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 Jeff to bid again?
Emmis Communications stock rose sharply Friday after Goldman Sachs analyst Mark Wienkes upgraded it to "buy" and suggested that another going-private bid from CEO Jeff Smulyan could be on the horizon. Is it just a coincidence, or has Wienkes discovered a pattern? The Dutch auction tender that bought back nearly 40% of the company's outstanding shares was announced in May 2005. Smulyan's rejected bid to buy out other shareholders for 15.25 per share was announced in May 2006. So, what can be expected in May 2007, the analyst wonders? "Given weak radio trends and Emmis' likely continued underperformance in the near-term, we believe minority investors might reconsider and now be willing to tender their shares at a 20-30% premium to current [approximately eight bucks] price," Wienkes said in his research note. Smulyan already holds 67% voting control and after a four bucks a share special dividend late last year, "the economics of a go-private transaction are increasingly viable, particularly upon asset sales or with an equity partner," the analyst said. In projecting a new target price for Emmis' stock, Wienkes assigned a 70% probability to a going-private bid and 30% to a fundamental valuation. He came out with a new six-month target price of 9.25, as opposed to his previous 7.50 target.
RBR observation: What assets might Emmis sell to make it easier for Smulyan to do a buyout without tapping outside private equity cash? Only WVUE-TV (Ch. 8, Fox) New Orleans remains to be sold from the former Emmis TV group and its sale is already assumed in the Goldman Sachs analysis. After that, Wienkes figures Emmis could de-lever by bringing in 150 million in asset sale proceeds, while reducing EBITDA by only 13 million, but no specific sales are spelled out. The radio assets which clearly are not part of the core business for Emmis are WTHI-FM & WWVR-FM in its smallest market, Terre Haute, IN, but they are also the least valuable of the radio assets. The other radio markets are New York, LA, Chicago, Indianapolis (home base), Austin, St. Louis, Hungary, Belgium, Bulgaria and Slovakia.
Tribune: Still no smoke signal from Chicago HQ
The self imposed deadline of March 31st passed without a decision from the board of directors at Tribune Company on whether to accept one of two buyout offers or continue as a public company and let CEO Dennis FitzSimons lead a management attempt to boost shareholder value. A report yesterday in the flagship Chicago Tribune indicated that the bid from Sam Zell had the edge over the revised bid submitted last week by Eli Broad and Ron Burkle. Zell valued his offer at 33 bucks per share, while Broad/Burkle valued theirs at 34, but they differed in some details. What the two bids have in common is that they would rely on an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) to borrow billions to finance the deal. The Chicago Tribune article, written by three employees who would have personal interests in the resulting ESOP, raised questions about the risks associated with such an approach. It noted how employees of United Airlines (also headquartered in Chicago) and Polaroid had lost their life savings when ESOPs went bad. And the article recounted how the ESOP at a Houston company had been converted into a 401(k) and still ended in disaster. That company was Enron. "If Tribune flourishes and eventually goes public again, employees stand to gain. If it falters and winds up in bankruptcy, their equity likely would be wiped out in the restructuring," the article noted. Meanwhile, another purported bid for Tribune has surfaced, although it should probably be noted that radio talk host and political activist Andy Martin scheduled the formal announcement of his offer for April Fools Day. He claims to be offering 35 bucks per share for Tribune through what he calls "peoples' equity" as opposed to "private equity."
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Safe seats?
Here's a follow-up to last week's story on races targeted by the White House Office of Political Affairs. We were told point blank in material attributed to Karl Rove's outfit where the administration thinks Republicans have opportunity in the next election cycle, and where they perceive vulnerability. We can infer from those lists which seats, in the Senate and in five governor's mansions, where the White House believes seats are not in play, at least not at this point. Is your senate or governor's race going to be a humdrum affair with little likelihood of generating massive amounts of campaign cash? See if your representative is on the following lists.
| Seemingly senators, governors here |
If at first you don't succeed
Fox News has already had one Democratic presidential debate attempt shot down, but it has teed up another proposed event, along with plans for a Republican session as well. While ideological problems derailed the earlier Democratic attempt in Nevada will probably not affect any gathering of elephants, this time the network has a co-sponsor that may help smooth the way for the gathering of donkeys as well - the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC). It reprises a partnership between the two entities in the last presidential cycle. The Democratic version of the event is pegged for Detroit on 9/23/07. A date and venue for a Republican debate have not yet been determined. CBC makes no bones about what Fox has to offer. "As a leading organization dedicated to educating the public on issues of national policy, the CBC Institute is committed to presenting the presidential candidates to the broadest audience possible, said US Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS)."Our goal with each debate is to provide a platform that will allow voters to hear the positions of candidates from both political parties. Collaborating with Fox News provides an opportunity to take this presidential election to millions of households."
RBR observation: The Nevada event had only New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson signed up when John Edwards dropped out, citing only a crammed debating schedule. Then Fox honcho Roger Ailes made some jokes at an awards ceremony, some targeting Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama, and the event blew up almost immediately thereafter. We would guess that the presence of CBC on the invitation will make this event much more difficult for Democrats to duck.
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| Wall Street Media Business Report TM |
New investors for Liberman
A few days after dropping its long-pending IPO (3/14/07 RBR #51), Liberman Broadcasting has taken on new investors to help grow the Spanish-language radio and TV specialist. Oaktree Capital Management LLC and Tinicum Capital Partners have acquired a 39% stake in Liberman Broadcasting for 155 million. Founders Jose and Lenard Liberman received 30 million for selling some of their shares to their new partners. The remaining 125 million will be used to repay the junior subordinated notes and related warrants primarily held by Alta Communications and to pay down about 47.9 million in debt, leaving Liberman Broadcasting and its LBI Media subsidiary with about 54.1 million in debt outstanding under its senior revolving credit facility. "I am extremely excited to have such outstanding institutions as Oaktree and Tinicum as partners in our business. This is the third investment Oaktree has made in LBI over the years and we have always valued that relationship. I am confident that this transaction will put LBI Media in a strong position to capitalize on future growth in the Hispanic broadcasting sector," said Lenard Liberman. Meanwhile, Liberman Broadcasting reported that Q4 net revenues rose 11% to 27.5 million, while adjusted EBITDA decreased by 26% to 9.1 million as costs increased, including start-up costs for its new Dallas radio stations. Radio division revenues increased by 11% to 13.8 million and television division revenues were up 12% to 13.7 million.
RBR observation: If the name Oaktree Capital Management sounds familiar, it is the same company, sometimes described as a "vulture capital company," which has tried unsuccessfully to gain control of Interep (4/13/06 RBR #73). It appears to have had a much better relationship with management at Liberman Broadcasting.
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| Executive Comment |
 Mel's blue smoke and mirrors
In addition to all of his obvious talents, Mel Karmazin now proves his skills as a Master Illusionist. I have known the "Zen Master" since the mid-70's when I was working Morning Drive at the original Disco 92 WKTU (NYC) and Mel was at MetroMedia's WNEW-AM. Later, I joined MetroMedia in Baltimore and shortly thereafter was approached by MetroMedia's former CFO Jerry Karas, who with his Boston-based venture partner Mike Weiner had just negotiated their very first acquisition for fledgling Infinity Broadcasting to manage their Jacksonville stations. As President of Infinity, Mel later negotiated the purchase of WKTU and the majority of the other stations then owned by a company called SJR Broadcasting (San Juan Racing). Mel's brilliance as a businessman always stemmed from his realization that he has absolutely no knowledge of or concern with what constitutes great "programming content." Recall that he once remarked very publicly that programming was just "arts and crafts" from his perspective. For Mel, it always was all about "hitting the number" Consider that in all the debate over the proposed Sirius/XM merger, Karmazin has managed to divert all discussion away from the real issues and instead focus the regulators, the politicians and even the press on "More for Less."
| Read More... |
Paul W. Robinson
Emerald City Radio Partners, Baltimore, MD
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Ad Business Report TM
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ESPN Radio drives home Symetra
Symetra Financial announced a national consumer advertising campaign on ESPN Radio. The campaign launched on Major League Baseball's (MLB) Opening Day yesterday. Several 30 second Symetra ads will air during all of ESPN Radio's MLB broadcasts throughout the 2007 regular season, playoffs and World Series. The campaign is designed to raise greater awareness about Symetra on a national level. Symetra has solutions for some of the greatest concerns facing American families and businesses today: guarding against outliving retirement savings, having access to cost-effective health insurance, finding a robust 401(k) to support growing businesses and securing life insurance to protect loved ones. The ads center around Symetra's theme "Reach for Great Things," a brand concept about empowering clients to reach their financial goals and improve their lives by partnering with the company. Symetra worked with Seattle-based Copacino+Fujikado, to design the campaign.
 JRN to handle ad, affiliate sales
for U.S.A Biker Nation
Jones Radio Networks has added U.S.A. Biker Nation Radio Network to its impressive talk show roster. JRN will handle both advertising sales and affiliate sales for the weekend program. Hosted by Denver radio personality and motorcycle enthusiast Peter Boyles, U.S.A. Biker Nation Radio Network celebrates the motorcycle lifestyle and features biker talk, interviews and listener call-ins. The two-hour program debuts April 7. Boyles is the host of The Peter Boyles Show on Denver's KHOW-AM and is considered one of the most influential media personalities in Colorado. He's been featured on ABC's World News Tonight, CNN, MSNBC, CNBC, Court TV and Geraldo. U.S.A. Biker Nation Radio Network can be heard each Saturday from Noon-2:00 p.m. ET on Denver's KKZN-AM, the flagship.
Matt Seiler named CEO of PHD North America
It's official: Omnicom Media Group announced Matt Seiler (45) has been appointed President and CEO, PHD North America, replacing Steve Grubbs (TVBR 3/29/07 #62). Seiler joined PHD in September of 2004 as President, PHD U.S. "Matt is redefining the scope of media service companies to include all forms of marketing communications and constantly reaching further to do smarter, innovative work for his clients," said Daryl Simm, CEO of Omnicom Media Group. "His energy and enthusiasm for PHD's brand of work make him the right executive to lead clients through an ever more dynamic and competitive consumer environment." In keeping with PHD's "Pioneering" positioning, Seiler encourages his team to think about PHD's clients' businesses holistically rather than through a media filter. He has restructured around that vision. With what PHD calls Account Leads, he installed client service, much as full-service agencies have account managers, who oversee all agency disciplines.
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| NAB Daytime Planner |
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The following will be attending the NAB.
Call or email to make your
appointment in advance.
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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]
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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] |
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| Media Markets & Money TM |
Radio Korea gets Vulcanized
Sports KMPC-AM Los Angeles is going Korean. In fact, it's going to Radio Korea in a deal with Paul Allen and his Vulcan Radio Corporation. According to John Lauer of Force Communications & Consultants, who brokered the deal, the price is 33M. According to Lauer, Radio Korea already has an LMA in Los Angeles with Arthur Liu's KYPA-AM. It also operate a Korean radio network and is active in a dozen US and Canadian markets, including New York, Chicago, Washington, San Francisco, Atlanta, Houston, Dallas, Las Vegas, Anchorage, Honolulu, Toronto and Vancouver. KMPC is one of three stations Allen bought back in 2000 from One-on-One Sports, in a 100M package with WJWR-AM New York and WNRB-AM Boston. According to documents filed back then with the FCC, KMPC accounted for 25M of that deal's total value, compared to 30M for the New York station and 10M for the Boston station. The earlier deal attributed about 35M to non-FCC assets.
Zimmer zooms into Illinois
AAA Entertainment announced that it has a deal to sell its three stations in the Bloomington-Normal, IL market - WDQZ-FM, WYST-FM & WRPW-FM - to Jerry Zimmer's new company, Great Plains Media. Terms were not immediately disclosed. Zimmer and his brothers had sold their Zimmer Radio Group in 2005. He recently launched his new company with three stations in the Lawrence-Topeka, KS market and will now have group status with his second market.
Peak closes first buy
And it is a substantial one. Todd Lawley's Peak Broadcasting is now the biggest radio player in Fresno, having closed its 90 million bucks deal to acquire a seven-station cluster from CBS Corp. (11/17/06 RBR #225). Broker Kalil & Co. notes that Peak has a second big deal pending to buy six Boise, ID stations from Clear Channel. The price tag on that deal was disclosed last week as 25 million and an LMA began yesterday.
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| Washington Media Business Report TM |
 NAB sends the FCC a reminder
One of the big keys to the merger of satellite radio services XM and Sirius is how the relevant market is defined. If the services are seen as just one more player in a vast audio content marketplace, then the deal has a much better chance to go through. The NAB notes that the FCC has looked into this critical matter before, "and has determined that satellite antitrust law and the Department of Justice Merger Guidelines in finding that other audio services such as terrestrial radio (including HD radio), iPods, and Internet radio are not competitive substitutes for XM or Sirius." NAB President/CEO David Rehr elaborated, saying, "This FCC decision that the current duopoly of XM and Sirius do not compete with radio, iPods or any other audio sources in the satellite radio market further undermines the arguments made by XM and Sirius to obtain a government-sanctioned monopoly. While the FCC clearly intends to examine all issues surrounding the XM/Sirius merger, the hurdle the parties must overcome to convince the FCC to change direction is very high. This is a dramatic blow to XM/Sirius' presumption of a broader market, and still more evidence that XM and Sirius compete ferociously against each other in the market for nationwide multichannel mobile audio services, and no one else."
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| Ratings & Research |
 Study suggests younger Hispanics crave assimilation
The rapidly growing Hispanic population in the US has increased exponentially the use of the Spanish language in the nation, as well as the amount of electronic media using Spanish as a primary language. But a Yahoo-Telemundo poll indicates that those who will be driving Hispanic purchasing decisions in the near future, the 14-29 demographic, are not only open to English-language advertising, they'd like to see more aimed at them as Hispanic and/or bicultural individuals. 77% said that commercials did not have to be in Spanish to address them as Hispanic; 75% said they'd like more Hispanic actors cast in English television and movies; 69% want more Hispanic programming in English; 67% appreciate biculturalism being acknowledged; and 63% want more English-language commercials targeting Hispanics. Meanwhile, only 48% crave more Spanish language programming and only 40% want more Spanish-language commercials.
RBR observation: It would seem that these attitudes within the fastest-growing population segment in America would open a door to any company that wishes to make the effort to enter. This could be an untapped market for any mainstream, youth-oriented radio format or television program.
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| Monday Morning Makers & Shakers |
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Transactions: 2/12/07-2/16/07
The transaction sending a Green Bay television station (and a satellite) from CBS to Liberty for stock gave the week some decent value, but after moving 45 stations the previous week, licensees were content to hold this line at seven this time around. Radio was all but dormant, not even getting particularly close to 1M in total value.
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Total
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Total Deals
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5
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AMs
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3
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FMs
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2
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TVs
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2
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| Value |
64.545M
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| Complete Charts |
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Radio Transactions of the Week
Home, home in La Grange
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TV Transactions of the Week
CBS trades Green Bay for stock
| More... |
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| Transactions |
2.3M WWNS-AM/WPTB-AM Statesboro GA, WSYL-AM/WZBX-FM Sylvania GA, WMCD-FM Claxton GA, and WDXQ AM & FM Cochran GA from Communications Capital Company II of Georgia LLC (G. Woodward Stover, R. Charles McLravy) to Georgia Eagle Broadcsating Inc. (Cecil P. Staton, Joe Sam Robinson Jr.). 115K escrow, balance in cash at closing. Daisy chain with WCEH-AM/WRPG-FM Hawkinsville, WPMX-FM Statesboro, WHKN-FM Millen & WNNG-AM Warner Robins GA. [File date 3/12/07.]
100K WMCH-AM Johnson City-Kingsport-Bristol TN-VA (Church Hill TN) from Tri-City Radio LLC (Edward F. Seeger) to Tennessee Media Associates Inc. (Thomas H. Moffitt Jr.). 10K escrow, balance in cash at closing. [File date 3/9/07.]
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| Stock Talk |
Stocks end Friday mixed
Worries about international trade and inflation pushed stocks prices down most of the session on Friday, but bargain hunting late in the day gave the market a mixed close for the last day of Q1. The Dow Industrials rose six points to 12,354. The S&P 500 was up a bit, but the Nasdaq Composite was down a bit.
Radio stocks finished on the up side as Goldman Sachs upgraded Emmis and drew attention to the beaten-down sector. The Radio Index rose 0.737, or 0.5%, to 154.466. Emmis led the advance, up 4.8%. Entravision rose 3%.
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| Radio Stocks |
Here's how stocks fared on Friday
| Company |
Symbol |
Close |
Change |
Company |
Symbol |
Close |
Change |
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Arbitron
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ARB
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46.95
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+0.15
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Hearst-Argyle
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HTV
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27.19
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+0.24
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Beasley
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BBGI
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8.47
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-0.16
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Journal Comm.
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JRN
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13.11
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+0.23
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| CBS CI. B |
CBS |
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30.59
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+0.09
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Lincoln Natl.
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LNC
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67.79
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+0.24
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| CBS CI. A |
CBSa |
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30.61
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+0.12
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Radio One, Cl. A
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ROIA
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6.47
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-0.03
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| Citadel |
CDL |
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9.51 |
+0.06 |
Radio One, Cl. D
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ROIAK
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6.46
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-0.03
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Clear Channel
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CCU
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35.04
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+0.23
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Regent
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RGCI
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3.22
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+0.21
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Cox Radio
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CXR
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13.65
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+0.02
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Saga Commun.
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SGA
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9.73
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-0.22
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Cumulus
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CMLS
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9.38
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+0.24
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Salem Comm.
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SALM
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12.50
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-0.38
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Disney
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DIS
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34.43
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+0.04
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Sirius Sat. Radio
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SIRI
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3.20
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-0.06
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Emmis
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EMMS
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8.44
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+0.39
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Spanish Bcg.
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SBSA
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4.00
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+0.10
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| Entercom |
ETM
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28.18
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+0.09
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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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Entravision
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EVC
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9.34
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+0.27
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Westwood One
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WON
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6.87
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+0.08
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Fisher
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FSCI
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48.60
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+0.13
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XM Sat. Radio
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XMSR
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12.92
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-0.04
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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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Executive Comment
Mel's blue smoke and mirrors
Karmazin now proves his skills as a Master Illusionist...
Ad Business Report
JRN to handle ads,
That is the affiliate sales for U.S.A Biker Nation...
Media Markets & Money
Radio Korea gets Vulcanized
Sports KMPC-AM Los Angeles is going Korean in a deal with Paul Allen & his Vulcan Radio...
Zimmer zooms into Illinois
AAA Entertainment has a deal to sell its 3...
Ratings & Research
Younger Hispanics
Crave assimilation to Yahoo-Telemundo poll indicates those who will be driving Hispanic purchasing decisions...
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Stations for Sale
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Syracuse, NY
metro FM: $3.25M
Open to purchase, swap plus cash, or LMA. Confidentiality agreement required. No brokers please.
hightowercommunications
@hotmail.com
888-904-0045
Ski Country FM
NEast, very profitable w. T site.
8.5x trailing CF. Price 950K
Inquiries 781-848-4201
email: [email protected]
Web: RadioStationsForSale.net
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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Mancusi promoted
Interep's CBS Radio Sales has promoted Thomas Mancusi to Director of Sales in the New York office. The former media buyer has been on the selling side with CBS Radio Sales since 2000.
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More News Headlines
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KNOE launches local online shopping via Local Thunder
KNOE-TV New Orleans has launched KNOEshopper.com, a local online shopping environment powered by the Local Thunder online ad platform. Through rich-content display ads, ecommerce capabilities and opt-in email campaigns, the platform is helping KNOE extend its Internet presence to an active local online ad showcase. The site went live yesterday with 50 local advertisers. With Local Thunder, stations sell the feature and content-rich ad showcase and then promote it using their local broadcasting brand. Consumers come to the site to shop local businesses and take advantage of special programs and promotions. The complete turnkey solution includes rich-content display ads, ecommerce capabilities and opt-in email campaigns. Sites can be custom-branded to a station's existing look and feel, as is the case with KNOE Shopper.com, or created with a new look.
Heat-seeking talkers
The latest Project for Excellence in Journalism study of talk show topics continues the trend. Gabmeisters take whatever is getting the most heat on the news and intensify it. For the week of 3/18-23/07, the US attorney controversy was the hot topic, consuming 18% of the news hole. The story went nuclear on the talk circuit, all the way up to 29%. The #2 news story, Iraq policy, followed the same trajectory, going from 12% in news to 22% in the talk universe. Talkers also warmed up the global warming story, from 3% to 8%. Campaign 2008 seems to have been the leveling-off point, going from 7% news to only 9% of the talk hole. Only two stories made the top ten talk topics that were not on the top ten news list, but each - the general war on terror and congressional corruption - made only a negligible 1% impact.
McKay dead at 73
Gene McKay, who was a fixture on radio in Columbia, SC for more than 40 years, died March 29th after undergoing back surgery on March 12th. He was 73. At the time of his death, McKay was co-host of "Good Morning Columbia" on Citadel's WISW-AM.
Herb Carneal
dead at 83
Long time Minnesota Twins play-by-play radio broadcaster Herb Carneal died yesterday at his home in Minnetonka, MN due to congestive heart failure. He was 83.
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TVBR - TV News
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When getting sidelined is a good thing
A major bone of contention has been eliminated thanks to a policy change from the National Football League (NFL). It is scrapping its rule, adopted in March of 2006, banning local television camera crews from the sidelines of NFL games. "This change represents a major improvement over last season's restrictions," Radio-Television News Director Association (RTNDA) president Barbara Cochran says. "Now local television stations will be in a better position to provide fans with excellent game coverage." The new rule will allow five broadcast television camera crews sideline access, with five home-towners and five stations from the visiting team participating via local negotiations with each NFL franchise. The participating stations would be required to share coverage with those stations beyond the ten. The 2006 ban did not include still photographers, which had RTNDA hopping mad. RTNDA says it has been working to overturn the policy ever since it was adopted, and has managed to get legislation to that effect introduced in state houses in Michigan, Missouri and Arizona.
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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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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. Meanwhile CCU is keeping pressure on with 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.
03/30/07 RBR #63
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. More on Sidak's examination in this RBR report.
03/30/07 RBR #63
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.
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.
03/30/07 RBR #63
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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