RBR's Daily Morning Epaper

Volume 22, Issue 65, Jim Carnegie, Editor & Publisher

Friday Morning April 1st, 2005

Radio News®

Koppel bidding good night to "Nightline"

ABC icon Ted Koppel, who has been anchoring ABC News late night mainstay "Nightline" since its inception during the height of the Iran hostage crisis in 1979, will call it quits at the end of the year. He will be taking his executive producer, Tom Bettag, with him to pursue new ventures. ABC News was willing to work out an agreement with Koppel to either keep him on "Nightline" or at least in the ABC stable in some other capacity, but, according the ABC News President David Westin, Koppel himself decided it was time to move on.

RBR observation: It's no secret that the news and info offerings of "Nightline" enjoy much greater prestige than the entertainment offerings of NBC's "Tonight Show" and CBS's "Late Show." It's also no secret that it has no chance of beating either in the ratings. Koppel's departure opens the possibility of going the entertainment route in hopes of making late night a three-way race. However, the video vault mausoleums are filled with the bones of shows and hosts that tried and failed to make a dent in the time slot. Arsenio Hall is one - - he enjoyed but could not sustain a certain amount of success. The rapid demise of both Chevy Chase and Pat Sajak also comes immediately to mind. In the end, it may be easier find an appealing news-oriented talent to replace Koppel and simply stay on the high road. One thing is for sure: With such a wide range of options available, along with a good eight months to decide, media watchers will not need to be advised to stay tuned...

Martin on the breakfast menu at NAB2005

The FCC Chairman's Breakfast will be a featured event at NAB2005 in Las Vegas. It will kick off at 7:30 AM local time, and will bring newly instated FCC Chairman Kevin Martin face-to-face with a well-known moderator - - outgoing NAB President/CEO Eddie Fritts. Fritts will MC under a format that will provide an opportunity for members of the audience to ask Martin questions on "...the transition to digital radio and television, content regulation and broadcast localism...," all hot topics on both the FCC and the Capitol Hill calendars. Martin will not be able to complain about being abused in the press beforehand by Mr. Fritts. Here's what Fritts said about Martin's elevation to the FCC chair: "Kevin Martin is the right person at the right time to lead the FCC. Kevin has a passion for public service and a deep understanding and appreciation for the value of local broadcasting. We salute President Bush for this superb choice, and we look forward to working with Chairman Martin and his colleagues."

RBR observation: Fritts will also be able to thank Martin for being the only FCC commissioner to side with broadcasters in the battle with cable over digital multicast must-carry. However, in a way, it's too bad Michael Powell isn't still around - - then the breakfast could be billed as "The Epic Battle of the Lame Ducks - - Quack."

Census consents to compute commutes

In what should come as excellent news to radio broadcasters, particularly on the east coast, the Census Bureau has revealed that workers spend 100 hours a year commuting to work. And note the use of the word "to." RBR would guess that, in all likelihood those same workers spend another 100 hours getting back home. New York and Maryland headed up the state one way list with just over 30 minutes apiece, followed closely by New Jersey at 28.5 minutes Illinois is the midwest slow spot at 27, followed by California in the west at 26.5. The counties leader board is headed by those surrounding New York City, Washington DC, and the time-eaters on the city list include New York (again), Chicago, Newark NJ, Riverside, Philadelphia and Los Angeles. Census says the worst commutes, with the exception of the Los Angeles and Chicago areas, are invariably located on the east coast. To check your own stats, have a look at census.gov/acs or factfinder.census.gov.

RBR observation: Time is money, especially this kind of time for the radio industry. This kind of traffic is also good for radio - - most of us in the RBR Washington bureau have at one time or another based our listening decisions on which station had the best traffic reports. Radio is safe from TV here. However, in-vehicle listening must be effectively defended against the new threat from satcasters if radio is to hold onto its position in America's ever-changing media landscape.

PTC using advertisers to get at MTV

The Parents Television Council has made no secret of its utter disdain for the programming on basic cable's MTV service. PTC campaigns in the past have largely targeted the email boxes at the FCC. This time, however, it has a different target: the corporate wallet of MTV itself via an attack on the service's top advertisers. PTC's Brent Bozell said, "These companies are directly responsible for the raunchy programming poisoning the minds of impressionable children. We are calling on these sponsors to explain why they choose to support a network that contains substantially more sex, foul language and violence than any broadcast television program aimed at adults. These companies must be held accountable for underwriting this material." The advertiser hit list is based on the number of ads run on MTV during special Spring Break programming from last year. One of the companies listed in MTV parent Viacom. Here are the top ten: (1) Procter & Gamble - - 218 ads; (2) Sony - - 170 ads; (3) Time Warner - - 131 ads; (4) PepsiCo - - 115 ads; (5) Viacom - - 112 ads; (6) Colgate-Palmolive - - 98 ads; (7) Hershey Foods - - 94 ads; (8) Cadbury Schweppes - - 89 ads; (9) Foot Locker - - 85 ads; and (10) General Electric - - 84 ads.

RBR observation: We've said this over and over again - - if you want to stage an effective protest against a programmer, please leave the Constitution alone and keep the FCC out of it. And do something truly effective. Nothing gets the attention of a businessman faster than a good swift kick to the wallet.

No off button on the political ad season

Another tightly targeted ad flight is being launched over a political issue. This one is coming from Citizens for Global Solutions (CGS), a group strongly opposed to the nomination of John Bolton to be the US Ambassador to the United Nations. The tight target is the state of Rhode Island (better known to broadcasters as the Providence market). CBS, Fox and NBC TV affiliates there are getting the buys in an attempt to influence the state's US senators in general and Lincoln Chaffee (R-RI) in particular (Democrat Jack Reed probably doesn't require any additional prodding). Chaffee sits on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, where a small number of Republican defections is probably all that will be required to derail Bolton's nomination confirmation. CGS is considering further ad buys in Florida, Indiana, Nebraska and Wisconsin.

"High-Tech Texan" adds interactive to radio show
Most radio stations across the country have been using the Internet and e-mail to connect with listeners for a few years. But Houston radio host is taking it up a notch by interacting with listeners via video web conferencing during broadcasts. MegaMeeting.com and Houston's "The High-Tech Texan Show with Michael Garfield" let users of PC, MAC and Linux systems all communicate without having to download, install or configure any software. Listeners can click on a special link at www.HighTechTexan.com, enter their name, click 'accept' and they are watching Michael Garfield. Listeners with cameras can be seen by Garfield and other listeners. "Michael is really making the most of our Internet based video web conferencing solution by using it for his live radio program," says MegaMeeting.com co-founder Scott Goldman. "His listeners not only become viewers but also an interactive part of the show." According to Goldman, all that is required of attendees is that they have the ubiquitous Macromedia Flash 7.0 browser plug-in to access the website to begin meeting with others.

Saga sets its dog and pony show

Radio/TV group owner Saga Communications will meet with analysts and reporters via conference call at 2PM eastern 5/3/05 for the purpose of going over its Q1 2005 financial results. Besides presenting a fairly balanced view of the broadcasting industry by virtue of operating mixed media - - 55 FMs, 27 AMS, five TVs, four LPTVs, two ag nets and three state radio nets (plus a few more radio stations on the pending pile) - - in 25 markets, the Saga sessions also feature the wit and wisdom of Saga honcho Ed Christian, who nearly always has some valuable ideas and insights to share with the industry. As always, RBR promises to tune in so you don't have to.

Adbiz©

Buyers push for automation

Agencies still spend 40-60% of their time processing the paperwork from buying spots, so panelists at the TVB management conference in New York pushed for stations to move faster to implement not only electronic invoicing, but electronic ordering as well. Warning that advertisers aren't going to pay for the increasing cost of shuffling paper and manually re-keying information, Kathy Crawford, President of Local Broadcast at Mindshare, said, "If we don't do this I can tell you it will be a great impediment to the future use of spot television." Asked what local TV stations can do to get more business, the panelists pointed to communication. They said stations need to listen to what each brand is trying to do. And they need to tell buyers and planners well in advance of special opportunities-not wait until they have avails to sell.

Toyota wants to be "Moving Forward"

That's the tagline for the number one foreign automakers' current ad campaign, but Steve Strum, Toyota USA VP/Planning, told the TVB Conference that he needs ideas from broadcasters about how to make his brand stand out. "We will need your creativity, your ingenuity and your expertise," he said. Sturm said more and more advertisers are focusing on the same key times and programs to push their products, so it's harder and harder to break through the noise. "It's not always about price," he said of ad placement. Rather, he's focused on both quality and quantity in advertising.

eBay moves to BBDO, sans review
BBDO announced it has scored eBay's 80 million ad account without a review, just one day after the company had dismissed Goodby, Silverstein & Partners.

PepsiCo food, beverage head resigns

PepsiCo announced the chairman-CEO of PepsiCo Beverages and Foods North America has resigned and will be replaced by two current PepsiCo execs. Gary Rodkin will leave in June to pursue new career opportunities, said a PepsiCo statement, and is being replaced by current Pepsi-Cola North America President Dawn Hudson and John Compton, previously Vice Chairman of Frito Lay NA. Both will report to PepsiCo's Chairman and CEO Steve Reinemund. Rodkin has held that title since 2002.

Account Action: A run-down of this weeks' reviews and moves
* Revlon has placed its 40 million Almay account in review. Deutsch, the incumbent, will defend against Kaplan Thaler and Strawberry Frog.

* The Limited has placed its 60 million media account in review. Initiative currently handles. Carat, TargetCast TCM, Horizon, MPG, Starcom MediaVest and Mediaedge are competing.

* Sun Microsystems placed its 10 million PR account in review. Ruder Finn, MWW Group, Bite Communications and Citigate Cunningham are competing.

* AKQA NY has been awarded the online and web development duties for Coca-Cola Zero, to be introduced in June. Crispin, Porter + Bogusky will handle offline.

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Media Markets & MoneyTM

New group gets second western AM
New Radio Ventures is about to become one of radio's newest group owners. it announced earlier this month that is was getting KMYL-AM in the Phoenix market for 3.75M Now it's planning to enter Denver with a 5.525M deal for KNRC-AM, according the Patrick Communications brokers Greg Guy and Larry Patrick, who represented the buyer, and Jody McCoy of Media Venture Partners, who worked for seller NRC Broadcasting Inc. The station is licensed to the close-in suburb of Englewood. Maria Elena Llansa, Heberto Lima-Villers combine for a 90% share of New Radio Ventures, with long-time group Susquehanna along for the ride with a 10% stake.

Close encouter in St. Louis
Simmons Media's latest foray outside of its Salt Lake City base is now a done deal, according to broker John Pierce, who tells us everyone has signed on the dotted line and keys have been exchanged in the 1.15M acquisitino of WESL-AM St. Louis. The seller was M&R Enterprises.

Analyst: Satcasters sapping terrestrial future

Bloomberg reports that at least one analyst is blaming weakness in Clear Channel securities may be due to fears that satcasters XM and Sirius are effectively taking a bite out of the older terrestrial service, and that the trend will continue. Bloomberg quotes Brad Lutz of Declaration Management & Research, who says that the satcasters are causing a decline in listenership, which in turn will lead to a decline in advertising demand.

Washington Beat

Chaffee back to facing a question mark

Just as fast as he became a front-runner, Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) got out of the raise to head the Democratic ticket in Rhode Island during the 2006 elections. Kennedy, son of Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA), has decided to stand for re-election to the House seat he already holds rather than try to unseat Sen. Lincoln Chaffee (R-RI). Chaffee may still have to overcome his status as a rare Republican in a blue state, but for the Dems in the state, its back to the drawing board in the search for a viable opponent to the incumbent.

RBR observation: As far as advertising goes, the presence of a relative unknown at the top of the Democratic ticket could well inspire an even greater infusion of out-of-state cash if national party leadership thinks it has a real chance - - they may well make a bigger investment to overcome a lack of name recognition. Hey, Governor Dean, you'll give us plenty of warning on this, right?

Sikh and tired of Canadian radio?

CKAC-FM Montreal has been rebuked by the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council after one of its on-air personalities made an offensive remark about an ethnic minority. CKAC's Pierre Mailloux called members of the Sikh ethnic group of northern India "...a gang of bozos..." and remarked that they come from "a wacko culture," among other things. He also asked them to leave the "wacko" stuff back in their own country. CBSC has required an on-air apology, saying that while Mailloux was free to express opposition to Canada's immigration policies, the attack and on a specific demographic, and its tone, went over the line.

RBR observation:Demanding a public apology is fairly mild, as punishments go. But Mailloux apparently did not venture into George Carlin heavy-seven territory, so the US government would have pretty much been powerless to demand even that much. Here, it would fall to the Sikh community and whatever activist posse they may be able to round up to make CKAC and Mailloux atone for their transgressions.

Programming

Saga's Ed Christian sends satellite-simulcasted syndie programming packing

Taking a stand against syndicators that air shows on both traditional and satellite radio, Saga Communications CEO Ed Christian has reportedly begun canceling shows where their terrestrial exclusivity is a thing of the past. "If I'm carrying a program, I want exclusivity in my marketplace," Christian was quoted as saying. So far, Saga has sent cancellation letters to the Dr. Laura Show and had also planned to drop Glenn Haege's "Handyman" show in 12 markets but was assured the show would be yanked from satellite radio. Christian said the process of elimination will begin with weekend shows first, then weekdays. Christian did not return requests for comment by deadline.

Transactions

$5.025M KWMX-FM, KFLX-FM & KSED-FM Flagstaff-Prescott AZ (Williams, Kachina Village, Sedona AZ) from Red Rock Communications Ltd. (Thomas S. Rockler) to Grenax Broadcasting LLC (Greg Dinetz et al). $500K escrow, balance in cash at closing. Includes non-compete. Existing superduopoly. [File date 3/7/05.]

$4M WPSN-AM/WDNH-FM Honesdale PA, WYCY-FM Hawley PA & WDNB-FM Jeffersonville NY from de Wit Broadcasting Corp. (Robert Mermell) to Bold Gold Media Group Inc. (Vince Benedetto). $25K escrow, $3.475M cash at closing, $500K note. Existing superduopoly. [File date 3/7/05.]

Radio Stocks

Stocks held over a barrel
You can improve your sales effort, upgrade your programming, tighten up your expenditures, improve your bottom line and find a brand of food that your dog will eat. Four out of five of these should help the performance of your stock on Wall Street (and the fifth shouldn't hurt). But then the price of oil goes nuts and everyone takes a hit. At least for broadcasting issues, negative numbers were mild, and many companies were able to post modest stock price increases despite the ugliness in oil futures.

Here's how stocks fared on Thursday

Company	Symbol	Close	Change
Arbitron	ARB	$42.70	-$0.16
Beasley	BBGI	$17.78	$0.01
Clear Channel	CCU	$34.47	$0.15
Citadel	CDL	$13.73	-$0.30
Cumulus	CMLS	$14.25	-$0.03
Cox Radio	CXR	$16.82	-$0.01
Disney	DIS	$28.72	$0.37
Emmis	EMMS	$19.22	-$0.25
Entercom	ETM	$35.42	-$0.18
Entravision	EVC	$8.81	-$0.11
Fisher	FSCI	$51.71	$0.41
Gaylord	GET	$40.24	-$0.16
Hearst-Argyle	HTV	$25.50	$0.06
Intl. Bcg.	IBCS	$0.01	$0.00
Interep	IREP	$0.53	$0.00

Company	Symbol	Close	Change
Jeff-Pilot	JP	$49.05	$0.00
Journal	JRN	$16.53	-$0.22
Regent	RGCI	$5.35	-$0.19
Radio One A	ROIA	$14.68	$0.31
Radio One D	ROIAK	$14.75	$0.30
Salem	SALM	$20.60	-$0.10
SBS	SBSA	$10.26	-$0.03
Saga	SGA	$16.02	-$0.33
Sirius Sat	SIRI	$5.62	-$0.05
Univision	UVN	$27.69	$0.41
Viacom A	VIA	$35.04	-$0.06
Viacom B	VIAb	$34.83	-$0.03
Westwood	WON	$20.35	$0.07
XM Sat	XMSR	$31.63	$0.11

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

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Upped & Tapped

Arbitron names Tom O'Sullivan to VP/Local Radio Sales
Arbitron has appointed Tom O'Sullivan to Vice President of Local Radio Sales for Radio Station Services. In this newly created position, O'Sullivan will be responsible for oversight of all local radio sales and service of Arbitron products throughout the US. Most recently, he was Arbitron's VP/Sales for the Eastern Division.

Klotz Digital appoints Hammell as Sales Director/North America
Klotz Digital Audio Systems announced it has appointed Joseph Hammell as National Director of Sales, North America. His responsibilities will include all sales and marketing management for the complete product portfolio, new
business development and sales promotion.

More News Headlines

Major progress made on Phoenix move-in
The first two pieces of the KVNA-FM Phoenix move (8/23/04 RBR #164) have been completed. KXKQ-FM Safford, AZ has moved to 94.3 as a C2 on Mt Guthrie. KRXS-FM is now KRDE-FM and moved from 97.3 to 94.1 on March 30th. The KVNA move (at least to test their new site) is scheduled for next week.

Kentucky Broadcasters approve 100% Membership in TDGA
The Kentucky Broadcasters Association have approved the underwriting of TDGA membership dues for every member-station Traffic & Continuity staffer in the Commonwealth. Included in the far-reaching program will be Traffic personnel, Continuity Directors and staffers for both Radio and Television member-stations in Kentucky. "We ran a significant pilot program with over 50 of our member stations during the past year and we've just concluded reviewing their consensus of benefits and usefulness of the Alliance with TDGA- The Traffic Directors Guild of America," said Gary R. White, President and CEO of the Kentucky Broadcasters.

March Digital Print Magazine Now Available

2005 Technology Odyssey...
The Changing Landscape
Ipods up to 4M sold over Christmas and radio doesn't have a problem?

Nexstar's Perry Sook goes exclusive One-On-One and is very vocal on why he is standing alone and tall against the Cable MSO's.

Brace yourself as media top gun Irwin Gotlieb tells all Radio & TV what he really thinks and if you don't like it - "Then change careers."

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RBR Radar 2005

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

Watchdog calls for diverse ownership
Robert McChesney and Ben Scott of Free Press think new FCC Chairman Kevin Martin is trying to have it both ways - - they say the fact that Martin wants more family-friendly programming while at the same time backs further consolidation of media ownership are mutually exclusive goals. Feeling big media companies are risk-averse and market-sensitive, homogenizing and replicating low-cost, high-ratings content in a race to the bottomafter noting the huge audiences drawn to edgy programming such as "The Sopranos" on pay cable and "Desperate Housewives" on broadcast network TV. RBR observation: There is another side to the argument - - that if more independents were in the game, they'd be producing "The Altos," "The Tenors" and "The Basses" to compete with "The Sopranos," whereas the actual producers of "The Sopranos" may well focus their further attention elsewhere so as not to cannibalize their own program. We saw it in radio formatics - - in a nonconsolidated market, five or six owners may compete for the big AC or the big Country revenue pie, whereas competing in a more consolidated market frees them to be more experimental with what would otherwise be the also-rans in the big format fight. The Free Press theory is attractive to many, and to be fair, represents only part of the argument against consolidation - - but it has by no means proven to have any legs. 03/31/05 RBR #64

The buzz: Entercom and Citadel in merger talks
It's the rumor that won't die. RBR/TVBR keeps hearing that Entercom is in talks to acquire Citadel Broadcasting. Neither company will respond to requests for comment - - no confirmation, but no denial either. Such a combination would make a lot of sense for both sides.
RBR observation: Station brokers and would-be buyers need not get too excited. One of the things that makes such a merger so attractive is that very few spin-offs would be required. Entercom and Citadel compete only in Buffalo, Memphis and Providence (and Entercom has only one station in Providence). As for timing, we can't say, but 2005 looks like a good year to pull it off. Things are looking up for both companies - - and for the radio business in general - - but their stock prices are still languishing. A big merger like this might get Wall Street excited about radio again. For the chart make up of this potential new group see 03/28/05 RBR #61

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