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Volume 22, Issue 97, Jim Carnegie, Editor & Publisher

Tuesday Morning May 17th, 2005

Radio News®

XM hits 4M subscriber mark
It happened sometime last week, someone bought and activated the four millionth XM Satellite Radio receiver now in operation. CEO Hugh Panero noted that it took 23 months from launch for XM to reach one million subs. The move from three million to four million took less than five months. XM says it remains committed to hitting its target of 5.5 million by the end of 2005. Meanwhile, rival Sirius was at 1.1 million subscribers at the end of Q1 and projecting that it would hit 2.7 million by year's end.

RBR observation: Time to put up or shut up. Both XM and Sirius have been telling investors for years that four million is the magic subscriber number that will turn them cash flow positive. Since XM reached the mark in mid-quarter, it's not obligated to end the flow of red ink from operations in Q2, but it had better show a positive number in Q3 - - and in every quarter thereafter. We wait with baited breath.

ABCRN's Jen Purtan resigns
ABC Radio Networks' SVP/Ad Sales and Marketing Jennifer Purtan has given her two weeks' notice, via an email at the company. She's leaving because her husband, a newscaster, has moved back to Detroit and she wants to join him there. Also, Jen's mother is ill and she wants to care for her. Send your resumes - - ABCRN has no replacement and will be starting the hiring process immediately. Says Jim Robinson, ABCRN CEO: "Jennifer Purtan today announced her decision to resign from ABC Radio Networks. I have asked her to stay on until June 10, and she has graciously agreed to help us through this transition. Throughout her 13-year career at ABC Radio Networks, Jennifer has dedicated herself to promoting the ABC brand and supporting many of our most important business initiatives. We deeply appreciate Jennifer's dedication and wish her all the best in her future professional endeavors."

RBR observation:
What's at stake at Univision
If you're wondering what's up with Televisa suing Univision for 1.5 million bucks (5/11/05 RBR #93), rest assured it's not about one and a half million greenbacks. The legal bills alone will probably run well over that for both companies. Univision last year paid 170 million in royalties to its two big foreign program providers, Mexico's Televisa and Venezuela's Venevision, both of which are major shareholders of Univision as well. RBR/TVBR estimates that about two-thirds of that went to Televisa, which provided 36% of the programming on the Univision network and 23% of the programming on its younger sibling, TeleFutura. Since the money in question is chicken feed, it seems likely that Televisa has another reason to bring suit. Televisa CEO Emilio Azcarraga Jean has made no secret of the fact that he wants to become a major player in US television, and may even apply for US citizenship (he's married to an American) so he can own stations here. But Univision has the US rights to Televisa programming tied up through 2017. Azcarraga doesn't want to wait until he's 49 to make his play. If Televisa can win the 1.5 million case over royalties for the "Premio Lo Nuestro" music awards show, it may gain some leverage to get out of the long-term contract for its novellas and other programming that are key elements of the Univision/TeleFutura schedules. But look for Univision to put up quite a fight. That programming would be hard to replace and it's estimated that the Televisa programming accounts for nearly half of Univision's network TV ad sales. On the other hand, the payments from Univision account for less than 5% of Televisa's total revenues. Azcarraga is betting that he can make a lot more than that if he's free to run his own show in the US market. The down side, though, is that Televisa owns more than 30 million shares of Univision stock. If it wins the fight, it could also see its investment decline sharply from its current 780 million plus.

What's "The Deal" with Kevin Martin?
The Deal.com has taken a look at new FCC Chairman Kevin Martin - - actually, it has tried to bring him into focus in the old crystal ball. It basically sees a new version of free marketeer Michael Powell, albeit armed, in all probability, with a new strategy for pushing Powell's agenda. The Deal.com speculates that the massive grab bag of initiatives which came together in the ill-fated 6/2/03 media ownership rulemaking will be broken into bit-size bits. First up is likely to be the liberalization of cross-ownership restrictions, which the Third Circuit said suffered from flawed cap rationales rather than a flawed rationale, period. Indeed, the court noted that often, co-owned newspaper/broadcast operations were leading in-market news providers. Since there is no hurdle, or a shallow hurdle on this issue, it may provide an ideal starting point for the new chairman.

RBR observation: Think The Deal is on to something? Michael Copps does. Speaking at a House communications caucus led by Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) last week Copps predicted exactly this strategy. That means if Martin is counting use of the element of surprise to come in under the radar, he may as well forget it. Copps and Adelstein are prepared to go on their national tour again, be it over one issue at a time or the whole grab bag at once.

FitzSimons is a true Samaritan
Tribune Company Chairman, President and CEO Dennis FitzSimons has been selected to receive the Samaritan Award from the NAB Education Foundation (NABEF) at next month's 7th annual Service to America Summit in Washington, DC. "Through his recent chairmanship of the FCC's Media Security and Reliability Council, his role with the McCormick Tribune Foundation and his leadership in numerous community organizations, Dennis FitzSimons exemplifies what makes a true Samaritan in our industry," said NAB President and CEO Eddie Fritts. FitzSimons is one of five directors of the 50-year-old McCormick Tribune Foundation, one of the nation's largest charitable organizations, with combined assets of nearly 1.5 billion. Foundation grants in partnership with Tribune businesses totaled 43 million last year. Also, the Tribune broadcast stations and newspapers provided 27 million in in-kind charitable giving last year, primarily in the form of donated air time and ad space.

A devil's-eye view of VNRs
The devil's in the details, they say, so what is the key difference between the VNR bill successfully attached to a spending bill by Robert Byrd (D-WV) and that submitted by Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) and John Kerry (D-MA) now languishing for a good part of the summer in the Senate Commerce Committee? In a nutshell, the Byrd amendment requires that the source of all VNRs be clearly presented at some point. The Lautenberg-Kerry bill requires that sourcing be included on all footage. While few on the Hill, or among witnesses invited to the Hill have a problem with the fundamentals of clear sourcing, both Barbara Cochran of RTNDA and Doug Simon of DS Simon Productions (a VNR producer) had problems with continuous sourcing. A big problem is that it would be construed as disruptive to a newscast's visual style, and would result in worth material being left off the news. Take the case of an extremely famous, and utterly noncontroversial VNR (except for members of the Flat Earth Society and such) - - one that you've no doubt seen over and over again, even if you were born to late to catch it live. We refer to Neil Armstrong's first step onto the Moon. That's right, ladies and gentlemen. No members of the press were along for the ride on that little adventure, so all the footage we saw was via VNRs from the government, as was pointed out last week by Simon. We'll look at further implications of VNR legislation in the days ahead.

Upfront 2005

ABC struts its stuff
The housewives may be desperate, but there's no desperation at Disney's ABC in putting together its lineup for fall. Unlike recent years, ABC is on a roll and looking to be the big market share gainer from this year's upfront. In addition to "Desperate Housewives," ABC has bona fide hits in "Lost" and, most recently, "Grey's Anatomy." Continuing to grow on the drama side, it has high hopes for "Commander in Chief," staring Geena Davis as the first female US President, and "Invasion," which should appeal to folks who were hooked on the "X Files" a few years back. Despite its resurgence, ABC is still weak in the 18-49 demo, where it's in third place, barely ahead of poor old NBC. It's expected to roll out several new comedies today, and thinks it has a keeper in recently launched "Jake in Progress," but it looks like the end of the road for "My Wife & Kids" and "8 Simple Rules." If only ABC could turn the corporate battle at Disney into a reality TV series - - Michael Eisner and Bob Iger pitted against Roy Disney and Stan Gold in something that would be a cross between "The Apprentice" and "WWE Smackdown!" Now that would be reality television!

RBR observation: One thing that ABC does have going for it is cross-promotion on its extensive Disney platform - - including cable (ESPN, Disney Channel, etc.), its owned & operated radio network and stations (including "Radio Disney" which is going gang-busters in its demo) and theme parks. So ABC has a big opportunity if it can get back to its roots of youth and use those assets to marketing the network's programming content. But make a commitment and don't blink in the gunfight against NBC and CBS. Don't just hope for the buyers to be impressed by last season's gains. Keep pushing!

Conference Calls Q1 2005

Susquehanna gained in Q1
If you're planning to bid for all or part of Susquehanna Media, here's a look at how things went in Q1. Radio revenues rose 4% to 1.8 million, with growth concentrated in the San Francisco and Atlanta markets. The company said its other markets were relatively stable compared to a year ago. Operating income for radio rose 11% to 9.4 million. For cable, Q1 revenues were up 22% to 47.7 million - - a 5% gain on a same systems basis. Operating income fell 8% to 5.8 million, due to an operating loss at the recently acquired system in Carmel, NY.

Adbiz©

Cadbury Schweppes names
The Digital Edge AOR
The Digital Edge, Mediaedge:cia's interactive communications division, has been named digital AOR for Cadbury Schweppes Americas Beverages (CSAB). Effective immediately, The Digital Edge will handle all strategic digital planning, buying and execution duties for Dr Pepper, 7 Up, Sunkist, Diet Rite, Snapple, Motts and other Cadbury-Schweppes beverages. "We are thrilled to be working with CSAB, especially on 2006 planning, as digital channels have become more integral to their communications strategies," said Jay Krihak, partner and group director, The Digital Edge.

JWT appoints Marian Salzman as EVP,
Director of Strategic Content
Bob Jeffrey, Worldwide CEO and Chairman of JWT, the largest advertising agency in the U.S. and fourth largest in the world, announced today that Marian Salzman has been named EVP/Director of Strategic Content, and a member of the agency's Worldwide Executive Committee. In the newly created post, Salzman will hold responsibility over global knowledge management, including corporate intelligence, and corporate communications at JWT. The dual role calls for Salzman to oversee all of JWT's PR resources to ensure cohesive and strategic internal and external communications about the agency on global, regional, and local levels, and to spearhead the development of consumer insights, trend reports, and other thought leadership pieces. Over the past four months, Salzman has acted as a consultant to JWT.

Philips Launches
new branding campaign
Royal Philips Electronics announced the launch of the second wave of its brand campaign based on the concept of 'Sense and Simplicity'. The ads are designed to give customers a "distinctive image of a sharper, more focused enterprise to deliver simpler end-user experiences." The company will spend more than 100 million between April and June to bring its message to customers in 11 key markets around the world. The next wave of the branding effort will again focus on affluent decision makers in the 35-54 demo. The integrated campaign started yesterday in the US and will run through the end of June. The media spend is 25 million and will include network and cable, magazine and newspaper, an online component, as well as airport advertising in selected cities. The second wave of the campaign was developed together with DDB, Philips' global AOR, and Carat for buying. It will also run via broadcast, print and online in China, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and the U.K. in addition to four new markets featuring the original creative executions: Brazil, India, Russia and Spain.

Ad Council scores 83% increase in upfront commitments
The Ad Council, as part of an upfront procurement strategy initiated last year, the council has reportedly so far secured 470 million in pro bono media commitments for 2005, an 83% value increase over upfront commitments for the previous upfront. For FY 2004, American media companies donated 1.7 billion in ad time and space for Ad Council campaigns, a 33% increase over the donations it received in 2003. The council attributed the increase to its upfront outreach effort and a bigger presence in local markets - - the council added regional directors in New York, LA, Chicago, Atlanta, and Dallas.

Radio & Television Business Report Magazine

June Magazine '05 Clock is Ticking-Heading for Closure

National Sales:
EDI - Electronic Data Interchange, sometimes synonymous with Electronic Invoicing
Kathy Crawford, MindShare President, Local Broadcast, speaks her mind on EDI, specifically stating what solutions she needs from the software and keying entries to get stations faster payment in an exclusive column. States straight up, "Lest you should all think that our work is done in the world of EDI. Think again!" EDI- the focus of the future of national spot dollar. Who is and who isn't involved. From the rep firms to the software companies, we get answers. The Clock is ticking on EDI. Closure in '05?

Reserve your Ad Marketing Space today. Advertising space is limited, contact:
June Barnes [email protected] ----- or ----- Jim Carnegie [email protected]

"Make sure you receive this June EDI Report " | New Readers Sign Up Here |

Media Markets & MoneyTM

TV hitting double of ditch days
In the early days of radio consolidation, many were analyzing their markets, deciding where and whether to grow or get out - - and for the last year or so, that's also been the case in TV land - - however, as often or not LMAs are involved in the face of court-delayed regulatory relief. The story this time is about WEMT-TV in the Tri-Cities TN-VA market, known to radio as Johnson City-Kingsport-Bristol. According to Kalil & co. which handled brokerage chores, Sinclair has decided that this market is not a keeper, and is selling to two different companies for 7M. One - - Aurora Broadcasting Inc. - - will get the license for 1.4M, and the other - - BlueStone Television Inc. - - will get the intellectual or non-license assets for 5.6M. WEMT, which carries Fox on Channel 39, will in effect double up with BlueStone's WCYB-TV, which has NBC and Channel 5. BlueStone will handle sales and administrative chores while Aurora sees to the programming of the station. Sinclair confirmed its double down or double-time it out strategy. "In the past six months, we have announced the sale of 325M in single station market assets that we were unable to duopolize," said honcho David Smith, "but were able to sell at very attractive multiples of cash flow."

RBR observation: If the local TV caps every get a boost, this sort of deal will be happening all over the place.

Emmis goes Dutch
Emmis Communications has begun the "Dutch Auction" tender offer it announced last week at the same time it said it might sell its TV group (5/11/05 RBR #93). Here's how it will work. Shareholders who want to sell shares back to the company may tender them at any price they choose within the range of 17.25 to 19.75 per share. Based on those tenders, Emmis will determine the lowest per-share price which will enable it to buy 20,250,000 shares. Everyone will get that price, even if they offered to sell for less. The tender offer is currently scheduled to expire at midnight (EDT) on June 13th, unless extended by Emmis. Meanwhile, the company has filed a lawsuit in an Indiana state court to clear the way for the tender offer. It seems that the anti-dilution language for its outstanding convertible preferred stock would award holders of those preferred shares a lower conversion price than anyone had anticipated once the tender offer to buy back 39% of Emmis' Class A common shares is completed. The company wants the court to correct that formula. Closing of the tender offer is contingent on winning that lawsuit or, preferably, a declaratory judgment from the court. Otherwise, the tender offer will have to be called off and Emmis will look for another way to "deliver value to its shareholders" without triggering the anti-dilution provision.

Washington Beat

A call to arms from Commissioner Copps
Michael Copps was at the Free Press Media Reform Conference in St. Louis, and predictably he was exhorting the troops to rise up for another round of resistance as the FCC, Congress and perhaps even the Supreme Court look laws, rules and regulations pertaining to the media. Copps repeated a concept he shared on Capitol Hill last week, saying, "those awful rules that an FCC majority passed two years ago to loosen our media protections have been sent back to us by the courts. That's the good news. The bad news is they were sent back to whom? To the very same folks who dreamed them up in the first place. They screwed it up once. Believe me, they're 100% capable of screwing it up again." He added, "..a lot of pressure is going to be brought on the FCC to write new rules, write them quickly, and write them inside the Commission, far away from the sunlight of public participation and public input." He called on all in attendance to use every means at their disposal to keep the issue in the public eye.

Programming

Radio Disney "Incubator" launches
Radio Disney Incubator is a new on-air and online program on Radio Disney which features fresh and relevant musical acts under the age of 21. Launched yesterday, Incubator is dedicated to spotlighting and supporting the "new voices of music". And the tag, "This is Radio Disney Incubator...where hits are hatched!" Hope Partlow, pictured, is one of the new artists being featured on Radio Disney Incubator, a new program that is dedicated to spotlighting and supporting the "new voices of music."

Transactions

500K WFBR-AM Baltimore (Glen Burnie MD) from Metro Radio Inc. (Bruce A. Houston) to Way Broadcasting Licensee LLC (Arthur S. Liu, Yvonne S. Liu). Trade for WKDV-AM Washington (Manassas VA). Price is an RBR estimate. Way retains WZHF-AM Arlington VA, WLXE-AM Rockville MD in the Washington market. [File date 4/15/05.]

500K WKDV-AM Washington (Manassas VA) from Metro Radio Inc. (Bruce A. Houston) to Way Broadcasting Licensee LLC (Arthur S. Liu, Yvonne S. Liu). Trade for WFBR-AM Baltimore (Glen Burnie MD). Duopoly with WKCW-AM Warrenton VA. Price is an RBR estimate. Way retains WZHF-AM Arlington VA, WLXE-AM Rockville MD in the Washington market. [File date 4/15/05.]

Stock Talk

Oil drop raises stocks
Once again, stock prices are moving in the opposite direction of oil prices - - and that was a good thing Monday, as oil prices came down. The Dow Industrials were up 112 points, or 1.1%, at 10,252.

Radio stocks got a slight boost. The Radio Index gained 0.539, or 0.3%, to 198.155. There were no big movers. Fisher was up 2.1% and Saga declined 2.2% as the day's bookends for radio stock trading.

Radio Stocks

**Here's how stocks fared on Monday**
Company	Symbol	Close		Change	Company	Symbol	Close		Change
Arbitron	ARB		39.82	+0.50	Jeff-Pilot	JP		49.77	+0.71
Beasley	BBGI		17.82	+0.33	Journal Comm.	JRN		16.43	+0.30
Citadel	CDL		11.55	-0.01	Radio One, Cl. A	ROIA		12.75	-0.11
Clear Channel	CCU		30.02	+0.09	Radio One, Cl. D	ROIAK		12.80	-0.10
Cox Radio	CXR		15.49	+0.20	Regent	RGCI		5.75	unch
Cumulus	CMLS		11.71	+0.10	Saga Commun.	SGA		13.70	-0.31
Disney	DIS		27.07	+0.07	Salem Comm.	SALM		16.75	-0.16
Emmis	EMMS		17.96	-0.03	Sirius Sat. Radio	SIRI		5.48	+0.13
Entercom	ETM		31.85	+0.06	Spanish Bcg.	SBSA		8.19	+0.12
Entravision	EVC		7.41	+0.04	Univision	UVN		26.29	+0.23
Fisher	FSCI		49.25	+0.99	Viacom, Cl. A	VIA		34.35	-0.22
Gaylord	GET		40.58	+1.03	Viacom, Cl. B	VIAb		34.22	-0.28
Hearst-Argyle	HTV		24.63	-0.07	Westwood One	WON		19.53	+0.10
Interep	IREP		0.55	+0.07	XM Sat. Radio	XMSR		28.32	+0.06
International Bcg.	IBCS		0.01	unch	-	-	-	-	-

Bounceback

Send Us Your Opinions We want to
hear from you.
This is your column, so send your comments to [email protected]

Please accept my nomination of Hyundai (5/13/05 RBR #95) for the Lamest Corporate Announcement Award 2005, if there is such a thing. A company positioning itself by what it is not going to do. Brilliant!

Robert Botik
Austin, Texas
(I have stock in Sirius and XM)

Upped & Tapped

One job, two people
Anna Davis and Liza Gransee have joined Border Media Partners to share the job of VP/Station Manager/Director of Sales for BMP's San Antonio cluster. The plan is to have one work Monday-Wednesday and the other Wednesday-Friday. That may be less complicated to pull off than you think, since the two have five years of experience job-sharing at Univision Radio in San Antonio, where they were paired up in one position as Senior AE - - and a top biller at that.

Drop the "interim"
After serving as interim Market Manager since December, Robert Leonard can now go to the printer for business cards naming him officially as Market Manager of Triad Broadcasting's seven-station cluster in the Savannah, GA-Hilton Head, SC radio market.

More News Headlines

XM in talks with carriers about radio on mobile phones
Yet another move by satellite to follow Infinity Broadcasting's lead: XM Satellite Radio is holding discussions with wireless carriers about offering some form of its radio service on mobile phones, XM CEO Hugh Panero said Monday. Recently, Infinity also committed to deploy Visual Radio (4/19 RBR #77), a new service from HP and Nokia that will allow listeners to tune-in to local FM stations via mobile phones while also receiving interactive info and graphics synchronized with the broadcast. Panero did not specify how close it is to signing an agreement.

Laura Ingraham
calls off wedding
TRN talker Laura Ingraham, just out of surgery for breast cancer, has called off her wedding. She made the announcement on her show last week, along with mentioning she'll have to be treated further, as well.

TVBR - TV News

NBC adds six new series for Fall sked
In NYC yesterday, NBC announced its 2005-06 Fall primetime schedule with a lineup of three new dramas, one new comedy and two unscripted series. The new dramas include "E-Ring" (Wednesdays, 9-10 p.m. ET), "Inconceivable" (Fridays, 10-11 p.m. ET) and "Fathom." New comedies being include "My Name Is Earl" (Tuesdays, 9-9:30 p.m. ET), "Four Kings," and "Thick and Thin." The annual program announcement was made by Jeff Zucker, President, NBC Universal Television Group and Kevin Reilly, President, NBC Entertainment, before the advertising community, affiliates and press at Radio City Music Hall. "NBC viewers will see fresh talent and bold, original concepts in our new series next year," said Reilly, "Our goal is to create real excitement, especially at 8 p.m., which will pay dividends throughout each night. We're eager to be number one again, and this freshman class, combined with NBC's powerful core schedule and recent successes like "Medium," "The Biggest Loser" and "The Office," represent a major step toward getting there." | We have the highlights |and NBC's new fall schedule.

RBR Radar 2005

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

Interep investor denies hostile intent
Its proposals aren't being warmly welcomed by CEO Ralph Guild and the board of Interep, but officials of Oaktree Capital Management say their effort to press the company on a financial restructuring should not be regarded as "hostile." Rather, as Interep's largest bond holder and the owner of more than 2% of its stock, Oaktree says it is seeking an outcome which will be good for investors, clients and employees.
RBR observation: The folks at Oaktree don't like the "vulture capital" description frequently applied to the 28 billion bucks investment firm, but they don't deny that they seek out distressed companies and try to profit by pressing them to put their financial house back in order. Regardless of whether or not he likes having Oaktree as an investor, Ralph Guild is going to have to recapitalize Interep - - which he is now working on with Allen & Co. - - so employees and clients can have confidence in the rep firm's future. And Oaktree isn't the only party calling for him to put a succession plan in place. As Ralph prepares to celebrate 50 years in the rep business in 2007, some clients and others now want to know who's going to be setting the agenda for the next era at Interep. 05/16/05 RBR #96

Missouri easing auto ad rules
Broadcasters in Missouri should soon be able to pitch auto dealers to increase their radio and TV advertising - - without having to use a big chunk of their air time with legal disclosures. The state legislature has approved a wide-ranging bill dealing with regulation of auto dealers.
RBR observation: Kudos to Missouri Broadcasters Association President Don Hicks and his members for successfully lobbying to have the Internet/phone option added to Senate Bill No. 390. No more need for fast-talking announcers to try to fit 20 seconds of disclaimers into 10 seconds of air time so there'll be enough time left at the front to make a sales pitch to sell a car or truck. 05/16/05 RBR #96

Next up:
Product placement disclosure
Senate Commerce Committee hearing which we thought was worth mentioning. Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein "We are also seeing reports of a rising tide of product placement, and I'm concerned that there seems to be a lack of awareness of the need for disclosure under our rules in this area as well, This practice is likely to increase, given that embedding products within programming is partly a response to the fact that technology increasingly allows consumers to view television content how and when they choose." RBR observation: No fake we all are aware that commercial zapping is motivating advertisers to seek out new and improved ways of getting their names, products and services out there. It may soon come to pass that disclosure in the form of text scrolling down on a third of the screen at the speed of light while a promo for a future show is occupying the other two thirds may be seen as inadequate. Watch for this issue to come up big in the next few years. Someone please get real and understand the situation and get out of the white tower. Are we seeing another out of control commission? 05/16/05 RBR #96

Sirius problem:
Stern may backfire with carmakers
Decision by Hyundai to make XM Satellite Receivers standard equipment in all of its '07 cars rather than rival Sirius, came down to one issue: Howard Stern. Surveying 300-400 Hyundai owners execs were stunned by how many people wrote-in, unprompted, that they were, in his words, "uncomfortable with programming from Stern." Also preferred the way the XM logo looked on the receiver faceplate, saying that AM/FM/XM is "neat and clean." RBR observation: Guess those Hyundai owners haven't ever heard Opie & Anthony on XM's "High Voltage" channel and don't realize that XM also offers the Playboy Channel. Those are already up and running on XM, while Stern won't debut on Sirius until next year. 05/13/05 RBR #95

Pine rallies the troops at Interep
Distributed a memo to his staffers assuring them that the company is building business, despite reports to the contrary. Pine didn't specifically mention critical comments last week in the Cumulus and Radio One calls, he noted that both SBS CEO Raul Alarcon and Entercom CEO David Field made a point of praising Interep's staffers in their conference calls. The Ta-Dum - working with Allen & Co. on refinancing Interep's public bonds. RBR observation: Preaching to the choir is fine, but Interep clearly needs to do a better job of getting its message out to Wall Street. Since the company no longer conducts quarterly conference calls and no analysts actively cover its stock, bad PR just kept building last week after Cumulus CEO Lew Dickey lashed out at Interep in his quarterly conference call. 05/13/05 RBR #95

Who's hot? Who's not?
Wall Street assesses the Upfront
Starts now, fall schedules and start booking ad purchases it's not just Madison Avenue that will be watching. How the nets do in the upfront affects the bottom line and stock performance of their parent companies, so Wall Street is keeping a close watch on the goings on. In advance of the annual hoopla, Goldman Sachs is predicting that the total take from this year's upfront will be down 5% from last year, the first decline in five years, although CBS and ABC should do well because of their improved positions in the ratings. CIBC World Markets isn't so pessimistic, it projects a 2% rise in upfront bookings and also sees CBS and ABC as the big gainers.
05/13/05 RBR #95

General Manager
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Broker Opportunity
Established in 1979, conducted over 1 billion in transactions seeking just one exec that desires to learn and become a player in the investment media station brokerage business. First quality in our firm is integrity.

Sales Position
We're expanding our sales force to spread the word about MusicMaster for Windows music scheduling software. Self-starters that can build relationships apply and grow. Must be able to travel but no relocation required.

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