Radio News ®

Cox renews Arbitron contract
Cox Radio CEO Bob Neil may be unwilling to participate in Arbitron's Portable People Meter (PPM) tests in Houston, but he's still buying ratings from the company - - so long as they're produced with good old diaries. Cox announced that it has signed a new ratings agreement with Arbitron for all of its radio stations running for five years through 2008. That's a much longer contract than Arbitron has been able to get with other groups, notably Clear Channel and Infinity, who've elected to go with only one-year deals while waiting to see what happens with PPM.

Eisner's successor on the agenda
Don't look for any formal announcement, but the big topic before the Disney Board of Directors as their two-day meeting behind closed doors at Disneyland wraps up today is who will run the company once CEO Michael Eisner is gone. The lack of a succession plan has become a more important focus since more than 45% of shareholders voted to oust Eisner at the company's annual meeting. For years, Eisner has been loath to discuss the issue of a successor, but when pressed has indicated that he currently favors Disney President Bob Iger. That's viewed by most outside observers as unlikely to happen. In fact, with Iger so closely tied to Disney's most troubled unit, ABC Television, there's been widespread speculation that he will be gone from Disney before Eisner.

CAIR wants Boston station
to sever with Severin
Boston Talker Jay Severin, who plies his trade on Greater Media's WTKK-FM, is under fire from an Islamic group for an insensitive remark made over the air. According to the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), Severin was discussing Muslim plans to take over America no matter how long it takes, when he said, "I've got an idea, let's kill all the Muslims." According to CAIR, GM Matt Mills said that Severin's remarks were not condoned by the station, and that an on-air apology would be forthcoming. However, CAIR wants more. It wants Severin pulled from the air, something it says Mills admitted would have happened had the Severin's remarks been targeted at, say, African-Americans. CAIR is concerned about the increasing incidence of hate crimes, saying that "...the increasing attacks on Islam by talk show hosts harm the United States by creating a downward spiral of interfaith mistrust and hostility."

Conference Calls, Q1 2004

Earnings jump for Salem Communications
Wall Street saw why Salem Communications' stock has jumped recently, with the company beating analysts' expectations with its Q1 results. Earnings were $1.2 million, up from a loss of $6.1 million a year ago, for per share earnings of a nickel a share - - two cents better than The Street had expected. Q1 revenues rose 11.5% to $43.2 million and station operating income (SOI) jumped 26.2% to $15.6 million. On a same station basis, revenues were up 10% and SOI 27.3%. CEO Ed Atsinger was optimistic in his conference call with analysts. He noted a positive change in pacing trends this year. For Q2, Salem says to expect revenues of $47-47.5 million and SOI of $17.5-18 million. Net earnings are expected to be $0.11-0.13 per share, up from $0.08 a year ago.

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Buyer responds to Delilah story
Reyn Leutz, SVP, Director of Radio Negotiations, Mindshare USA, tells RBR/TVBR that Delilah has been a real asset to the radio medium and that her move to Premiere/Clear Channel (4/26 RBR Daily Epaper #81) will be a big leg up for his clients: "I am the biggest Delilah fan in the radio industry. Why? Because she represents everything that is great about radio. She has an awesome voice-a soothing voice in the night that reaches women-and reaching women, high concentrations of them, can be difficult in radio. Listeners identify with Delilah and she has done a wonderful job with many of our clients in making their products come alive. Research shows that personality endorsements in radio lend substantial credibility to a client's message-Delilah is radio's answer to TV's product embedment. The move to Clear Channel will place her on stronger stations nationwide leading to bigger ratings and more of the consumers that our clients want to reach."

Kmart withdraws Martha Stewart lawsuit
Kmart and Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia announced an agreement on royalties on sales of goods bearing the domestic maven's name, settling a multimillion-dollar legal suit. The amended contract extends the partnership two years, until 2009, and expands it to cover new product categories. In a complaint filed in February in bankruptcy court, Kmart had accused Martha Stewart's company of overcharging it for the exclusive rights to sell housewares and other products under the Martha Stewart Everyday label. The amended contract keeps a minimum guaranteed payment for overall sales, but eliminates minimum payments in each product category, which was the source of the conflict. "We are pleased to have extended and deepened our relationship with Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia," said Kmart CEO Julian Day. "MSO is an extremely valued brand partner, and we look forward to continuing that relationship on terms that best benefit both companies."

Starz & Dish Network launch marketing effort
Starz Encore Group and EchoStar/DISH Network announced a new joint marketing initiative that consists of two campaigns running consecutively from 4/22 to 6/30, both featuring significant tactical marketing elements. The campaigns will highlight the exclusive television premieres of the Disney/Pixar film "Finding Nemo" on STARZ! 5/22 at 9:00 p.m. (ET/PT), as well as Disney's "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl" on STARZ! 6/12 at 9:00 p.m. (ET/PT). | Full Story Click Here |

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Washington Beat

Transactions

$8,000,000 WJYY-FM Manchester VT (Concord NH); WNHI-FM Lake Winnepesaukee (Belmont NH) from Concord Broadcasting LLC (Bruce G. Danziger) to Nassau Broadcasting Holdings (Louis F. Mercatanti). $800K escrow, balance in cash at closing. WJYY-FM has overlap with WNHI-FM and is also in superduopoly with WOTX-FM Concord, WNNH-FM Henniker; WNHI-FM will be in superduopoly with WLKZ-FM Wolfesboro, WBHG-FM Meredith and WEMJ-AM/WLNH-FM Laconia. [File date 3/23/04.]

$43,000 KQZQ-FM CP Bakersfield (Shafter CA) from Bridge Broadcasting Inc. (Lorry McConnehey) to Educational Media Foundation (Richard Jenkins). Settlement. EMF will pay Bridge $20K plus unspecified reimburesment for expenses, and will also pay other applicants: $20K to Mary V. Harris Foundation and up to $3K to SJD Christian Broadcasting Inc. [File date 3/23/04.]

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