ESPN Radio providing NBA All-Star Weekend coverage

For the seventh straight season, ESPN Radio will present complete, three-day coverage of NBA All-Star Weekend, culminating with Sunday's game at 7:45 p.m. ET. Coverage from Atlanta begins Friday 2/7 at 10 p.m. with Meet the All Stars, and continues Saturday with The Got Milk? Rookie Challenge and All-Star Saturday Night Presented by America Online, featuring the debut of the 989 Sports Skills Challenge, Jeep All-Star Hoop-It-Up, the 1 800 CALL ATT Shootout and the Sprite Rising Stars Slam Dunk competition.

Among ESPN Radio commentators in Atlanta, where Michael Jordan will play his last All-Star Game, will be Kevin Loughery, Jordan's first NBA coach, and Jim Durham, who called Jordan's first pro game.

FRIDAY 10 p.m.-midnight: Meet the All Stars -- (Doug Brown, Jim Durham, Dr. Jack Ramsay, Kevin Loughery): interviews with many of those playing in the game and other pertinent personalities at All-Star Weekend.

SATURDAY -- (Jim Durham, play-by-play; Dr. Jack Ramsay, analyst; Doug Brown, on-site studio host; Kevin Loughery, on-site studio analyst; Greg Anthony, Vinny Del Negro, courtside reporters)

4-6 p.m.: Got Milk? Rookie Challenge --: game between some of the NBA's best second-year players and a team of top rookies including the Suns' Amare Stoudamire.

8 p.m.-conclusion: All-Star Saturday Night Presented by America Online

- 989 Sports Skills Challenge: four NBA stars will compete on an obstacle course that tests shooting, passing and dribbling skills. Seattle's Gary Payton, Phoenix's Stephon Marbury and New Jersey's Jason Kidd are scheduled to compete.

- Jeep All-Star Hoop-It-Up: four-on-four half-court game with Magic Johnson leading a Los Angeles team against an Atlanta foursome led by Dominique Wilkins.

SUNDAY 7:45 p.m.- conclusion: 52nd NBA All-Star Game -- (Jim Durham, play-by-play; Dr. Jack Ramsay, analyst; Doug Brown, on-site studio host; Kevin Loughery, on-site studio analyst; Greg Anthony, courtside reporter).

AURN, Skylight, add AP Radio audio

Two more radio networks, serving 340 stations combined, are now using audio from the AP Radio on their on-air broadcasts. American Urban Radio, which maintains 270 music station affiliates, will use AP SoundBank, an Internet-based actuality archive covering of 90-years of digitized audio. Skylight Radio Network, which serves 70 affiliates, will use AP's live Top-of-the-Hour newscasts, which is an element of AP's flexible 24-hour audio network, AP Network News, along with AP's text and information service, NewsPower.

Alex Bennett returns to KNEW-AM

Now that Clear Channel and CNet have retired the CNet format 1/31 (1/17 RBR Daily Epaper), Clear Channel RVP Ed Krampf announce the return of Alex Bennett to morning radio effective Monday, February 3 on the all new 910AM. The Bay Area knows Alex Bennett, an award-winning icon of San Francisco Radio.

"The people who loved Alex 20 years ago, will love him all the more today, because those people are all on the AM dial. Topical dialogue from a local activist voice couldn't be more timely," said Clear Channel Regional Vice President of Programming & Operations Michael Martin.

CC Radio says stay tuned as more information unfolds regarding the new radio station on 910AM.

Delphi confirms SKYFi distribution plans

Delphi said it plans to ship 80,000 Delphi XM SKYFi "boom box" Audio System units to retailers during the first half of 2003. The company was the first to market with a fully portable consumer satellite radio system. In the final three months of 2002, Delphi delivered approximately 100,000 of its SKYFi satellite systems to retailers including Best Buy and Circuit City, making it their top selling retail satellite radio system.

USRN announces "Country Giants" lineup

United Stations Radio Networks announced programming plans for Country Giants, its series of musical tributes to today's Country music superstars. This year's line-up of two-hour radio programs will feature four biographical salutes and one expansive eight-hour series, all honoring Country music's reigning performers. The first four programs will be broadcast around the major holidays in 2003. A month-long, four-part, eight-hour series airing in October will examine the leading ladies of Country Music. Country Giants is produced by Neil Haislop's Country Forever Productions and begins airing nationally the second weekend of February. Each two-hour show will be available on CD on a market exclusive, barter basis through United Stations.

Shawn Parr takes the helm this year as host of the series. In addition to his midday, on-air duties at KZLA-FM LA, Parr serves as the off-screen voice for The Golden Globe Awards, The American Music Award, ACM Awards and other television specials.

The Country Giants lineup for 2003:

THE ALAN JACKSON STORY The Week of Valentine's Day

THE GEORGE STRAIT STORY Memorial Day Weekend

THE BROOKS & DUNN STORY The July 4th Weekend

THE TIM McGRAW STORY Labor Day Weekend

Music Choice, others settle with RIAA, AFTRA, AFM

Streaming format and music download provider Music Choice, DMX Music and Muzak announced a joint settlement for royalty rates and terms through 2007 with the RIAA, AFTRA, and American Federation of Musicians (AFM). The RIAA's SoundExchange will collect the royalties distribute them to artists, record companies and other copyright holders.

Russian Press ministry: US needs to allow Russian radio

The Russian Rosbalt news agency reports Russian radio stations must be given access to US airwaves before the Broadcasting Board of Governors' (BBG) Radio Liberty can expand its broadcasting in Russia. The agency reports its also unlikely that Radio Liberty will be expanding its broadcasting in Russia in the near future. It was announced 1/28 by First Deputy Russian Press Minister Mikhail Seslavinsky at a meeting with Jeffrey Hirschberg, a BBG member and Radio Liberty Director for Policy and Strategic Planning Jeff Trimble.

Seslavinsky said Russian radio stations, in particular The Voice of Russia, still have no access to US airwaves as a result of US statutory limitations.

Russia had given Radio Liberty access to Russian airwaves a long time ago. "The USA must now take the initiative by working together with Russian media on US territory," he said.

Boortz to return to Donahue show

Neal Boortz, the WSB-AM talker is giving Phil Donahue another chance at 8 tonight on MSNBC's "Donahue" show. Boortz, who appeared via satellite last week from Atlanta, stomped off because he didn't get enough airtime during a discussion on slavery reparations (RBR e-paper 1-22).

UCLA Internet Report: Internet use eating away at TV viewership

According to The UCLA Internet Report, a global survey of thousands of people on how they use the web, Internet users are online at the expense of viewing television; Internet users watched 5.4 hours less of TV a week in 2002 than non-Internet users.

"Basically we're doing the study of the Internet that should have been done at the beginning with television," Jeff Cole, the director of the UCLA center, told Reuters. "We launched this three years ago to study the obvious and subtle changes that the Internet may make in our lives."

In addition, found people marginally less concerned about the risk that personal data and credit card information could be stolen online even though fewer used the Internet to shop.

Other findings include:

--Among the most experienced users -- online at least six years -- 73 percent found the Internet important, exceeding the 67 percent for books and 57 percent for newspapers.

--Newcomers with less than a year of experience consider books, newspapers and television more important than the Internet.

--Nearly 30 percent of Americans do not use the Net, most commonly because they don't have a computer or one good enough. But nearly half the nonusers say they are likely to go online within a year.

--Some 37 percent of parents say they have punished their kids by denying them access to the Internet. Forty-six percent used television as a similar punishment tool.

Verizon requests stay on DMCA ruling

Verizon is asking a federal appeals court to strike down U.S. District Judge John Bates' order (1/22 RBR Daily Epaper) to turn over the name of a customer suspected of downloading free music over the Internet. Verizon lawyers are arguing that the order is unconstitutional and would hobble privacy on the Internet. The company also filed a motion with Bates, asking him to stay his 1/21 ruling while the case is under appeal. Verizon will argue that Bates's reading of the 1998 Digital Millenium Copyright Act violates constitutional rights to privacy and anonymous speech.