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Volume 24, Issue 86, Jim Carnegie, Editor & Publisher
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Wednesday Morning May 2nd, 2007
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Radio News ®
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 NABOB complains about PPM
AQH ratings for Urban stations in Philadelphia are down more under PPM than for other formats and the National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters (NABOB) charges that Arbitron has been unresponsive to calls for revisions to PPM methodology. "Several of our members have met with Arbitron during the past two years to suggest revisions to the PPM methodology, but Arbitron has been slow to consider any revisions," said NABOB Executive Director Jim Winston. Arbitron responds that it is willing to talk, but PPM is right on target for counting African-American listeners. In fact, says Arbitron VP of Communications Thom Mocarsky, black households have the highest rate of agreeing to become part of the PPM panel and both the panel and intab rates match the percentage of African-Americans in the Philadelphia metro population. Arbitron has found that diary users tended to overestimate how long they listened to a particular radio station and, since Urban listeners are heavy radio users, that is Arbitron's explanation for why actual listening times as recorded by PPM show a bigger drop in TSL and AQH ratings for Urban stations. Mocarsky says the NABOB members really need to be talking to advertisers and ad buyers about how to adjust the way they buy ads based on PPM vs. diaries and Arbitron is happy to help facilitate those talks. "We'd love it if more NABOB members joined the MRC (Media Ratings Council)," which evaluates ratings methodology, said Mocarsky. Winston told RBR that NABOB plans to have further conversations with Arbitron and he insists that the organization is not resisting the new world of electronic measurement. "Our experts tell us that there are serious flaws in the way the panels are structured in terms of proportionality and demographics," he said. As for the advertisers, "we're hearing different things from different advertisers and agencies," so Winston thinks Arbitron needs to do a better job of working with stations to get advertisers to modify their buying approach to reflect the change to PPM and not treat PPM AQH numbers the same as diary AQH numbers.
ISS says no to Clear Channel buyout
Just as it advised clients to reject the original 37.60 per share buyout bid for Clear Channel Communications, Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) says 39 bucks is not enough either. RBR noted earlier this week (4/30/07 RBR #84) that ISS could be the key to whether of not the pending buyout deal is approved in the shareholder vote on May 8th. It is the largest and most influential of the firms which advise institutional investors on proxy votes. With two of its largest shareholders, Highfields Capital and the Fidelity mutual funds group, committed to voting against the buyout at 39 per share, the ISS recommendation of a no vote will make it very difficult to win approval of the buyout by Thomas H. Lee Partners, Bain Capital and the Mays family. Approval of the deal will require acceptance of two-thirds of all shareholders, with all unvoted shares counting as no votes.
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 Consolidation lovers
miss another meeting
The public forum on broadcast ownership in Tampa followed the script of the three prior official forums and the many non-FCC hoc forums which have been attended by the two Democratic commissioners. The 250-300 citizens who showed up, for the most part, were not there to praise big media conglomerates and local consolidation. The five commissioners are getting to the point where they have stump speeches for such events (click through below to see their opening remarks). Chairman Kevin Martin (R) intoned the magic words "competition, diversity and localism" before suggesting that many of the current rules are creaky with age; Michael Copps (D) and Jonathan Adelstein (D) rallied the protesters in the audience; and Deborah Taylor Tate and Robert McDowell for the most part simply indicated they were listening with an open mind. The local Media General operation of NBC 8 WFLA-TV and the Tampa Tribune garnered much of the attention. Media General defended the arrangement, saying it puts more resources at the disposal of its reporters; others argued that it is simply a way to repurpose one story and diminishes the number of independent versions of a given event. Critics of consolidation included citizens who fail to hear local talent on the radio and who were dissatisfied with the quality of much of the news (the glut of attention on Anna Nicole Smith was mentioned as a case in point), and smaller media companies worried about their continued ability to compete with bigger and bigger vertically-integrated local clusters.
RBR observation: In short, been there, done that. This is not to diminish the points made on both sides. The media landscape is getting more rather than less complex, and this whole argument may seem laughably quaint in ten years, like arguing over cassette or eight-track. For now, Tampa is just another way station on the trek to the end of the Quadrennial Review which kicked off in 2002 and which is still not within sight of the light at the end of the tunnel.
| Commissioner comments here |
Who competes with XM and Sirius?
Besides each other, that is. In order to win approval of their proposed merger, the two national satellite radio companies are trying to convince regulators to use a broad definition of competition as described by Sirius CEO Mel Karmazin below. The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) has been rounding up experts with the opposite view. Most recently, it engaged James C. Miller, former Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission, as a consultant to review the proposed merger. His views appeared yesterday as a commentary in the Washington Times, where he took on the contention that XM and Sirius have lots and lots of other competitors. "But just on the face of it, would the threat of switching to broadcast radio or listening to an iPod really restrain the merged company from raising its prices? Would that keep it from cutting costs by reducing offerings? Would that keep the company on the edge of technological developments, leading to better, even more reliable service? It stretches credulity to believe that a two-down-to-one merger in a market with no really good substitutes and where entry is very, very difficult would be in the public interest. Surely the federal agencies know that too," Miller wrote.
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News menu goes back to the spread
America made it through the last full week of April without any of the kind of earth-shattering events that focus every camera, mic, pen and keyboard in one direction. The result, as recorded by the Project for Excellence in Journalism, was a return of focus on Iraq and the 2008 presidential campaign. The former story was fueled by an Iraq funding bill passed by the Democratic Congress containing the veto magnet of a withdrawal date. The latter story was fueled in part by the first Democratic candidate debate in South Carolina. And as PEJ noted in its lead comment, even fake news got into the act via a contentious interview between Republican candidate John McCain (R-AZ) and "The Daily Show's" John Stewart, an event which managed to touch on both stories at once. The VA Tech tradedy had residual coverage after consuming an incredible 51% of the total media news hole the previous week, and continued interest in the cable and radio communities even pushed the Imus story back into the overall top ten. As usual, there was a top 10 weather story. The biggest story to drop off the list concerned the US Supreme Court's ruling on certain abortion procedures.
| Top ten lists here |
 Mel happy with Sirius Q1
Mel Karmazin told investors and analysts that Q1 results were right on target for Sirius Satellite Radio and he expects to have over eight million subscribers by year end. The company's net loss declined to 144.7 million from 458.4 million a year ago as revenues grew 61% to 204 million for the quarter. Despite his pending merger with rival XM, Karmazin was bragging about how Sirius is outperforming XM. Sirius had 66% of the net satellite subscription additions in Q1 and 76% of additions from the retail side. The CEO said revenues for Sirius will approach one billion bucks this year and that the company is on track to have eight million subscribers at the end of 2007. "We are the fastest growing radio company in the United States," Karmazin crowed. The FCC has not yet opened public comment on the proposed XM-Sirius merger, but Karmazin told analysts that he expects endorsement from many prominent organizations. Turning a deaf ear to the preponderance of negative comments about the merger from Members of Congress during hearings held so far on Capitol Hill, Karmazin pointed to support from people he called key lawmakers. And despite growing fears on Wall Street that the merger is doomed, Karmazin said he remains confident that it will win regulatory approvals and close by the end of 2007.
RBR observation: Mel is a salesman, so he was even practicing his sales pitch for merger approval during the quarterly Wall Street conference call. Commenting on why Sirius has kept its monthly subscription price at 12.95 since it launched, Mel insisted that Sirius offers a premium product over XM and could justify charging a higher price "if we were only looking at XM." Get ready for the pitch to the FCC and DOJ's Antitrust Division. "However, we are competing against alternatives that are effectively priced at free. Even though our content justifies the higher price, our focus is on growing satellite radio, vis-à-vis terrestrial radio, Internet radio, iPods, content over mobile phones and other alternatives for audio entertainment. Right now we have a relatively small number of people subscribing to satellite radio and we want that number to grow huge - and the way to do so is by providing great content at a good price. To look at it another way, if we do not have enough subscribers at 12.95, how will we get them at 14.95 or higher?" Karmazin said. Think that pitch will convince the DOJ Antitrust legal beagles? Not likely.
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Ad Business Report TM
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More buyers comment on Philly PPM data
We've asked agency buyers what they thought about Arbitron's initial PPM data release for Philly (5/1/07 RBR #85). The commentary continues today with Agnes Lukasewych, VP, Account Director/Radio Broadcast at MPG:
Any comments in general about the Philly PPM numbers?
"With the significant changes we've seen with PPM AQH ratings in Philly, it will not just be a simple process of adjusting cost. The greater issue will be in keeping the balance of radio usage on advertising plans. As the cost gap between TV and radio narrows there is a danger that radio will not be as attractive to some advertisers. It will no longer be necessary to buy as deep on station selection to attain reach goals, therefore I foresee a more aggressive playing field among stations for advertising dollars. Stations deemed desirable for a particular advertiser will stand a chance to grow shares since more units will have to be purchased in order to attain same frequency goal as in a pre PPM world. The good news on the data received out of Philly is that radio is still a highly targeted media. And based on RAEL studies we know that listeners have a more personal experience with radio than they do with other media vehicles."
Will you be willing to bump up CPP to compensate for lower AQH numbers?
"The willingness to bump up cost in order to achieve same GRP goals is something that we would look at on an individual client by client basis. There is no one answer for this. Some advertisers might choose to start utilizing shorter length units to defray cost increases should that become a reality based on supply/demand, for others it may be a choice of changing R&F goals to compensate for higher reach levels in which case total campaign budgets may be re-allocated by media. For the industry there is no going back, electronic measurement will create a more accountable methodology that buyers, sellers and advertisers will have to adjust to. Next change in methodology/metrics should be about applying all our learnings to measuring actual ROI."
 Auto and Austin
radio spots examined
Media Monitors took a look at auto advertisers and the city of Austin, Texas and their use of spot radio. The CHRYSLER-JEEP-DODGE combo, run by Daimler Chrysler, was the largest automaker on the radio with 17,624 spots. TOYOTA was #2 with 14,621 commercials. Coming in #3 was Ford Lincoln Mercury with 6,696, while CHEVROLET the strongest GM brand was 4th airing 5,200 spots. HONDA was #5 with 4,859 spots and Subaru was 6th with 4,645 announcements. The 7th largest automaker to advertise was NISSAN with 3,879 and BMW was in at #8 with 2903 commercials. Acura Certified Pre-Owned (part of the HONDA group) came in at #9 with 2675 spots. And bringing up the 10th position, VOLKSWAGEN ran 2,573 spots. In the Texas capital city, the leader in commercials for last week was the HD DIGITAL RADIO ALLIANCE with 735 units. #2 was VERIZON with 549 spots, while Leif Johnson Ford - Riata Ford was #3 with 426 announcements. The fourth position was held by CHAMPION TOYOTA with 404 commercials and LOUIS SHANKS (furniture) was in at #5 with 356 units. HOME DEPOT drops from 2nd to 6th last week with 341 spots. GEICO fell from 4th to 7th airing 334 spots. JUST BRAKES stops at #8 this week with 321 units, while CHRYSLER-JEEP-DODGE (300) was in at 9th position, while the WELLS FARGO BANK settled in at #10 with 286 commercials. From all the radio spots aired last week, HOME DEPOT rocked the National SPOT TEN with 34,641 spots ahead of the HD DIGITAL RADIO ALLIANCE in at #2 with 28,446 announcements, while GEICO was #3 with 26,589 units.
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| Washington Media Business Report TM |
 Guess who's defending
the First Amendment
Who said, "...if there is to be free speech, it must be free for speech that we abhor and hate as well as for speech that we find tolerable and congenial?" It was the FCC, explaining its decision to stay on the sidelines in a license challenge of Skyline Broadcasters' KGEZ-AM in Kalispell MT brought by Montana Human Rights League (MHRN) and several individuals. They object to language from Skyline president and air personality John Stokes. They claimed he compared environmentalists to Nazis, advocated selling white sheets at Martin Luther King Jr. events, and called a gay woman a "stupid gumba. They claim he incites violence by encouraging automobile drivers to run down bicyclists. He launches personal attacks against them without providing opportunities for them to respond and - on the indecency front - suggested that petitioner Kate Hunt's name yields interesting results if the initial consonants are switched. They also claim he broadcast their home address, and misrepresented MHRN as a hate group affiliated with domestic terrorists. They also attacked the station's financial viability and the legality of the corporation. The FCC said that the petitioners may have a point but that it was out of FCC jurisdiction. If Stokes is presenting a clear danger, or if he is invading personal privacy or making slanderous statements, or if the company should be declared insolvent, it is a matter for the courts. On the Hunt indecency matter, a tape was provided, but Stokes never said anything on the FCC's list, so there is nothing the FCC can do on that count.
RBR observation: We will not use this space to comment on Stokes' programmingo material. You all have your own opinions on that. We're just thrilled because it's always nice to have the First Amendment 'splained, just to clear things up. It's OK to advocate sheets at an MLK remembrance, but if you use the wrong variation of a word that parents are forced to use several times a day when potty training their child, it can cost you 350K. It's OK to advocate the infliction of serious bodily harm to cyclists, but at the same time, we should allow bureaucrats the authority to punish broadcasters for depicting violence - maybe that would make the alleged Stokes comments actionable - who knows?
No wandering for WPLO
 A Grayson GA AM station has been ordered to stay put by the FCC. It had attempted to take advantage of the AM Auction No. 84 filing window to execute a city of license change which would take it five miles up the road to Lawrenceville. However, even though the application was free and clear of any competition (not mutually exclusive, in FCC jargon), the application was denied because it would leave Grayson without any radio service. Both towns are about 25 miles or so northeast of Atlanta. Lawrenceville is larger, with a population of about 22.4K compared to Grayson's sub-1K total of 765. The station is licensed to Teresa Prieto.
RBR observation: This is not what you'd call a hot one. It appears to be entirely cosmetic, as a matter of fact. The CP application the station has on file does not call for the power to go up so much as one watt either day or night, and it does not call for the transmitter to move so much as an inch. The owners of the station apparently would like to identify with a slightly larger small town that's five miles away, which by the way does not have a broadcast facility licensed to it. It would be a trade of one one-horse town for another. What's always fun in an instance like this is reading the FCC's reasoning for the turndown, since allowing the move would "...deprive the community of Grayson of a radio service on which it has come to rely for programming serving its needs." Uhhh, right. Except the station isn't really moving. If you can hear it now, you'll still be able to hear it in either case. No one is being deprived of anything. So again, no big deal, but we don't see what the harm would be in allowing a cosmetic-only exception to the city-of-license rules that allow a broadcaster some leeway in these situations.
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| Media Markets & Money TM |
Debut debuts on Mississippi side of Mississippi
That's the western side of the state for those of you keeping score at home. Debut is a new radio group which has splashed onto the scene with a pair of April deals in unrated portions in the west central portion of Mississippi along Old Muddy. The earlier deal was a 300K agreement for WNLA AM & FM in Indianola MS, about 25 miles east of the river. That combo is coming from Gerald M. Brophy's Shamrock Broadcasting Inc. The bigger deal is a 1M contract to acquire WNIX-AM/WBAQ-FM in Greenville MS and nearby WIQQ-FM in Leland form The River Broadcasting Company Inc., headed by George Pine and James Karr Jr. Both deals include non-competes.
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| Media Business Report TM |
 Comcast and Yahoo!
announce ad partnership
Comcast announced its Comcast Interactive Media and Yahoo! have entered into a multi-year strategic partnership for online display and video ad services on Comcast.net. Yahoo!'s ad sales organization will be the primary marketing and sales channel for display and video advertising. Comcast.net will tap into Yahoo!'s network of brand advertisers and get ad-serving, targeting and inventory management capabilities to enable the pricing, targeting, delivery and reporting. Comcast Spotlight will continue to bundle Comcast.net in cross-platform and locally-targeted ad packages to its base of local, regional and national advertisers through its existing sales force of over 3,000 sales execs. Yahoo! and Comcast Interactive Media will collaborate to create and market new sponsorships and custom advertising packages that are supported by Yahoo!'s platform. Yahoo!'s ad services will be integrated within the redesigned Comcast.net planned later this year.
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| Internet Media Business Report TM |
 Google says Viacom's
1B lawsuit is all wrong
Google has made its response to the one billion bucks copyright infringement lawsuit that Viacom filed against Google and its YouTube subsidiary, denying that it violated anything and insisting that it owes Viacom nothing. Google presented various defenses, saying that it is shielded from liability by the 1998 digital Millennium Copyright Act because it complied with Viacom requests to remove copyright material. But it also suggested that many of the clips posted by YouTube users constituted "fair use" of Viacom's shows anyway. In an aggressive response to the lawsuit, Google charged that Viacom is threatening the way people legally exchange information, news and entertainment online.
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| Transactions |
300K WNLA AM & FM Indianola MS from Shamrock Broadcasting Inc. (Gerald M. Brophy) to Debut Broadcasting Corporation Inc. (Rovert Marquitz, Steven Ludwig, Stephen Rush, Garrett L. Cecchini). Cash. Buyer will present two 10K letters of credit prior to closing. Includes non-compete. [File date 4/6/07.]
280K KTDX-FM CP Frisco CO from Educational Communications of Colorado Springs Inc. (Ronald A. Johnson) to Cedar Cove Broadcasting Inc. (Victor A. Michael Jr., Lori Michael, Mitchell A. Beranek). 40K deposit, balance in cash at closing. CP is for Class A on 90.3 MHz with 400 w @ -293'. [File date 4/5/07.]
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| Stock Talk |
Rupert gooses the stock market
Rupert Murdoch's five billion bucks bid for Dow Jones & Co. got Wall Street excited and gave a boost to media stocks, as well as the broader market. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which he would like the title to, rose 73 points, or 0.6%, to a record high 13,136.
Radio stocks enjoyed the lift. The Radio Index gained 0.873, or 0.6%, to 158.871. Radio One led the way, with its Class D up 3.8% and Class A up 3.6%. Cumulus and Journal were each up 2.2%.
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| Radio Stocks |
Here's how stocks fared on Tuesday
| Company |
Symbol |
Close |
Change |
Company |
Symbol |
Close |
Change |
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Arbitron
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ARB
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49.24
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-0.04
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Hearst-Argyle
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HTV
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26.14
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-0.49
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Beasley
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BBGI
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9.00
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-0.14
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Journal Comm.
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JRN
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13.79
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+0.30
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| CBS CI. B |
CBS |
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31.71
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-0.07
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Lincoln Natl.
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LNC
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70.79
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-0.36
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| CBS CI. A |
CBSa |
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31.97
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+0.17
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Radio One, Cl. A
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ROIA
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7.30
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+0.25
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| Citadel |
CDL |
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9.13 |
-0.05 |
Radio One, Cl. D
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ROIAK
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7.33
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+0.27
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Clear Channel
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CCU
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35.60
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+0.17
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Regent
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RGCI
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3.46
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unch
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Cox Radio
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CXR
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14.25
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+0.13
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Saga Commun.
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SGA
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9.99
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-0.01
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Cumulus
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CMLS
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9.58
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+0.19
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Salem Comm.
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SALM
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11.50
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-0.02
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Disney
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DIS
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35.47
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+0.49
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Sirius Sat. Radio
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SIRI
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2.90
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-0.06
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Emmis
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EMMS
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9.97
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-0.02
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Spanish Bcg.
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SBSA
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3.43
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+0.02
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| Entercom |
ETM
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28.01
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+0.27
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SWMX
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SMWX
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0.25
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-0.30
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Entravision
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EVC
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9.95
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+0.14
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Westwood One
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WON
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6.84
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+0.03
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Fisher
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FSCI
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48.41
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-0.11
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XM Sat. Radio
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XMSR
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11.55
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-0.15
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Bounceback
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 We want to
hear from you.
This is your column, so send your comments and
a photo to [email protected]
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Below the Fold
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Ad Business Report
Philly PPM data
More buyers comment, Today: Agnes Lukasewych, MPG
Media Business Report
Comcast and Yahoo!
Announce ad partnership for online display & video ad services on...
Media Markets & Money
Debut debuts on Mississippi side
Of Mississippi. That's the western side of the state. Debut is a new radio group...
Internet Media Business Report
Google says
Viacom's 1B lawsuit is all wrong denying that it violated anything...
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Stations for Sale
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9 FM radio stations
Texas, Arizona, North Carolina, and Georgia FM radio stations at an exceptional value offered for sale. Broker cooperation encouraged. Please visit www.toweritrust.com for complete information including pricing.
CA Coastal Class A
Rated Market $1.5M
CO Rated Market C.P.
Class C1 $400K
Brett Miller - 805.543.3466
[email protected]
OR Coastal Class A FMs
Positive Cashflow $795K
ND Small Market C.P.
Class C1 $150K
Brett Miller - 805.543.3466
[email protected]
 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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 SESAC ups Ellen Jones
SESAC announced the promotion of Ellen Bligh Jones to Associate Vice President, Corporate Relations. Formerly Senior Director, Corporate Relations, Jones has been with SESAC for 11 years and will continue to oversee the performing rights organization's advertising, promotion, sponsorships, website, online marketing and corporate magazine. Jones will report directly to Pat Collins, President/COO, SESAC.
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More News Headlines
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Jim Frank dead at 66
The suburban Chicago Daily Herald reports the death of veteran Chicago radio newsman Jim Frank. He was 66 and had been battling leukemia. Frank finished his career at WBBM-AM, retiring in 2006, but was best known for the years he spent as newscaster and straight man to "Superjock" Larry Lujack on WCFL-AM.
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TVBR - TV News
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Murdoch launches
surprise bid for
Dow Jones
Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation has made an unsolicited offer of 60 bucks a share, or some five billion in total, for Dow Jones & Co., which among other things publishes the Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones and the controlling Bancroft family said at first that they were considering the offer, which may set off a bidding war for the company, but later in the day a Bancroft family representative informed Dow Jones that the family is opposed to accepting the Murdoch offer. Dow Jones shares jumped yesterday on the news of the bid, which values the company at a 67% premium to where the stock had been trading. While news of the offer sent Dow Jones' stock up around 20%, News Corporation stock fell more than 3%. A statement from Dow Jones said the offer from News Corporation is to acquire all of the common and super-voting Class B shares for 60 bucks a share in cash, or in a combination of cash and News Corporation securities. What all does Dow Jones do? It provides a range of global business news and information services. Its Consumer Media Group publishes The Wall Street Journal, Barron's, MarketWatch and the Far Eastern Economic Review. Its Enterprise Media Group includes Dow Jones Newswires, Factiva, Dow Jones Licensing Services, Dow Jones Indexes and Dow Jones Financial Information Services. Its Local Media Group, Ottaway Newspapers, publishes eight daily and 15 weekly newspapers and their community Internet sites in seven states. Dow Jones owns 50% of SmartMoney and 33% of Stoxx Ltd. It also provides news content to CNBC and radio stations in the US.
TVBR observation: Why do we think this has a lot to do with the coming launch of the Fox Business Channel? Locking up the Dow Jones and Wall Street Journal names for use on the new network, as well as access to their reporters and extensive data networks could go a long way to make it quickly competitive with NBC Universal's CNBC.
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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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A peak inside the
Lincoln portfolio
Should Lincoln Financial Group decide to get out of broadcasting - which, we would note, is still only a rumor - some very attractive properties will be coming on the market. All of the radio properties are in top 40 markets and the TV stations are long-established news leaders in high growth southeastern markets.
RBR observation: The best arguments for Lincoln Financial Group to sell Lincoln Financial Media are that the private market for broadcast stations, both radio and TV, is healthy right now - as demonstrated by the recent sales by CBS Radio, Disney's ABC Radio, NBC, New York Times and Media General in television, and others. Also, while the broadcast division had accounted for 11% of revenues for Jefferson-Pilot (like Lincoln, primarily an insurance company), it accounts for only 4% of revenues for Lincoln Financial Group. There is, however, one very strong argument against a sale. The stations still carry the tax basis from J-P and J-P had owned them for a very long time. Uncle Sam will get a big cut if Lincoln Financial Group decides to cash out of broadcasting. View the List in this special page report of RBR.
05/01/07 RBR #85
CCU sets annual meeting
(and bonuses)
Will it be the last? Clear Channel had already postponed its annual shareholders meeting until after the May 8th vote on going private. But even if the vote is yes, closing won't come immediately, so shareholders will have their annual get together on May 22nd in San Antonio. No new members will be joining the board of directors. Executive Performance Subcommittee of the board's Compensation Committee: awarded Lowry Mays 3,312,500 in cash incentive bonus, Mark Mays 6,625,000 in cash incentive bonus, Randall Mays 6,625,000 in cash incentive bonus and John Hogan 987,552 in cash incentive bonus.
RBR observation: That is a lot of green in their jean. Wonder how the Clear Channel workers feel about this? See the full details in this issue of RBR.
05/01/07 RBR #85
First "currency" data
from Philadelphia PPM
Arbitron released the first "currency" radio ratings from the Philadelphia PPM ratings, covering 3/8-4/4. One compelling new finding is the dramatic increase in the composition of the radio audience (persons 18+) who are employed Full Time compared to what was reported by the diary. See charts in this page report of RBR and also see Ad Business Report on Agency comments.
04/30/07 RBR #84
Humpty Clear Channel
apart for good?
Former FCC Commissioner Harold Furchtgott-Roth says that the break-up of Clear Channel, for some, is a "bitter pill" in an essay called "Dismembering Clear Channel" published last week in the New York Sun. He notes that the fate of the current per-share offering for the company is uncertain, but that a sell-off is going on in any case. "Once the company is dismembered, it can never be put together again.
RBR observation: We occasionally see anecdotal evidence that one reason Clear Channel may be struggling is that no matter how local a large company tries to be, it simply isn't an easy task to pull off from one building in San Antonio. The top of a hierarchy can't help but try to govern the entire group, with varying effects down the line. For example, the effects of a new challenge in Hooterville are immediately apparent to Mom & Pop's Hooterville Broadcasting Company. If nothing else, the GM at the Clear Channel cluster across town may have to get blessings from Corporate to do what Mom and Pop did three weeks ago. Anyway, what investors see as a "bitter pill" may be seen as "blessed relief" by fans of local broadcasting. Any thoughts? That's what our Bounceback section is for [email protected] .
04/30/07 RBR #84
Wall Street pressure to spin NBC
General Electric stock jumped a buck on Friday after Citigroup analyst Jeffrey Sprague issued a research report that called on GE to set free three units which are not core to the industrial giant. One of those is NBC Universal, which Sprague said "has no meaningful synergy with the rest of the portfolio."
04/30/07 TVBR #84
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Hard finding that key person
to fill the important position at your organization? Media HeadHunters is the place that key media firms use to get results. See Media HeadHunters and get results with service--Period.
Need assistance
contact Cathy Carnegie
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