October 2003 Archive
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September 2003 -
November
2003 
Links- internally where there are follow-up stories we try, at the end of each story, to put a pertinent link to the top of the next relevant story. Regarding external links see note at end of page.
RNW October comment - Considers whether talk radio need be the province of bigots and the crude.
RNW September comment -Meters are likely to replace diaries for ratings soon. We consider the ratings future.
RNW August comment - Considers how different regulatory regimes have affected the success of digital radio.
2003-10-31: In further third quarter results from the US, Interep has listed a greatly increased loss, mainly related to the impact of Citadel's move to Katz Media (See RNW Oct 4), and Salem a profit that would have been slightly up but for a one-off boost of USD 17.9 million from the sale of WYGY-FM.
Interep had a loss for the third quarter of USD18.9 million (USD 1.85 per common share) compared to USD 3 million (USD 0.31 per share) a year earlier on commission revenues up 3.7% to USD 23 million.
For the nine months to the end of September, Interep's commission revenues are up 1.2% to USD 64.2 million and it has made a net loss of USD 32.4 million (USD3.16 per share), up from a loss of USD 6.5 million (USD 0.69 per share).
Interep says some USD 11.6 million of the loss in the third quarter relates to the write-off arising from Citadel's move to Katz and its chairman and CEO Ralph Guild commented, "National radio business in Q3 was healthy, particularly in the first two months of the period."
He added, "Visibility remains low with advertisers booking spots 2-3 weeks in advance. Pacings have slowed to the low single digits for October and November."
"We are hopeful that the holiday shopping season will help improve business for the remainder of 2003 and many advertisers are convinced that budgets should open up in 2004. Interep will continue to market the benefits of radio to advertisers that have not been heavy users in the past, in an effort to increase billings for our client stations."
For the full year Interep expects revenues of USD 86-7 million and operating EBITDA of USD 14-15 million.
Salem reported third quarter net broadcasting revenues up 6.8% to USD 42.6 million, operating income just up from USD 7.4 million to USD 7.6 million after a one-time write-off of $0.7 million due to the cancellation of a contemplated debt offering, and net income of USD 1.5 million (USD0.06 per diluted share) compared to USD 18,1 million (USD 0l77 per share) a year earlier when it gained USD 17.9 million from the WYGY-FM sale.
Commenting on the results, Salem president and CEO Edward G. Atsinger III said it had "outperformed the radio industry in the third quarter, achieving revenue growth of 6.8% and station operating income growth of 10.1%."
"These impressive results," he added, "were fuelled by high growth at our start-up and development stage stations, which is driven by the success of our Christian music format, combined with the consistent and stable performance of our block programming business. Salem's results to date and outlook for the future demonstrate Salem's ability to deliver both predictability and growth. Looking ahead to the fourth quarter, we are seeing an up-tick in our business as demonstrated by our projected 12% same station revenue growth for the month of October. In total, we expect our fourth quarter same station revenues to be up in the high single digits setting the stage for another year of growth in 2004."
Previous Atsinger:
Previous Guild:
Previous Interep:
Previous Salem:
2003-10-31: The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has rejected an application - with Democrat Commissioner Michael J Copps issuing a dissenting note - from a California man to deny the licence renewal of Infinity's WXRK-FM, New York (K-Rock) because of its "origination of origination of a radio show [the Howard Stern Show] containing allegedly indecent material."
The complaint from Al Westcott of Ojai, California, related to his listening to the show on KLSX-FM and FCC staff had renewed the licence "after fully considering Westcott's submission as an informal objection. "
The FCC says " staff dismissed Westcott's petition for reconsideration based on the principle that informal objectors are not parties in interest and thus have no standing to seek reconsideration" but Westcott had argued that he should have been accorded "standing as a "listener" of the New York station.
The Commission rejected this argument but Copps dissented, commenting, "Westcott fails to establish standing because he is a listener of his local California station, not of station WXRK, New York, New York, and fails to demonstrate that Californians like himself are aggrieved by renewal of the distant station's license."
It added," In the present case, Westcott has not shown even transient contacts with WXRK. Westcott cannot receive WXRK's broadcast signal but merely one WXRK-produced program, which a distant station, KLSX, procures by non-broadcast means for delivery to its own listeners and which does not reflect the WXRK-unique editing of the program that is heard only in New York.
In his dissent, Copps notes that the Commission had dismissed an attempt to deny the renewal of KLSX-FM on the basis that the complainant had "relied on printed excerpts from the show and therefore did not demonstrate knowledge that the program actually aired on KLSX-FM" and additionally denied his challenge to WXRK, "concluding that he did not prove the material had actually been broadcast on WXRK-FM."
Copps then continues, "In both cases, the Bureau apparently made no effort of its own to ascertain the facts of the broadcast… I find the majority's decision troubling, especially as we enter a new license renewal cycle this fall. It is the Commission's affirmative responsibility under the statute to determine whether a broadcaster is serving the public interest and deserves to have its license to use the public's airwaves renewed. Unless a citizen or some other outside party complains, licenses are almost automatically renewed. The message from today's decision is that, even when the public raises issues, this agency will look for procedural vehicles to avoid our substantive responsibility to ensure that a licensee is serving the public interest." "The process by which the Commission carries out its statutory duty places inordinate responsibility upon the complaining citizen. That's wrong. It is the Commission's responsibility to examine whether a station is serving the public interest. I hope we will do better in the upcoming license renewal cycle."
The Commission has also reduced from USD 10,000 to USD 2,000 a penalty against Access.1 Communications Corporation, licensee of KCUL-AM and FM, Marshall, Texas, for failure to clear or repaint the station's tower so as to maintain good visibility.
The FCC inspected the tower in April 2002 and Access had argued that it had judged the tower to be within FCC regulations at the time and had budgeted to have it repainted in mid 2002, the work being done in June that year. It also argued for a reduction on the basis of a past history of compliance.
The FCC went part of the way with the argument and trimmed the penalty to USD 4,0000 on the basis of good faith attempts to comply with regulations that had begun before the notice of apparent violation was received and then cut it again to USD 2,000 on the basis of the company's past history of compliance.
Previous Copps:
Previous FCC:
Previous Viacom-CBS-Infinity:
2003-10-31: The managing director of UK radio ratings organization RAJAR (Radio Joint Audience Research), Jane O'Hara, is to leave at the end of the year to go long- distance sailing; She has a 38-foot steel ketch that has been refitted over the past 18 months and is to leave the UK in Spring, initially bound for Spain, Portugal and the Caribbean.
Commenting on her decision she said it had been "very difficult", adding, "I thoroughly enjoy my role at RAJAR, which is interesting, challenging and exciting. I wish I could do both, but as I can't live two parallel lives I have decided to take the opportunity now to try my hand at ocean sailing and the different challenges and excitement full time sailing presents. "
"This is an appropriate time for a change. RAJAR has completed the major tests into electronic measurement and keenly awaits the opportunity to start testing again on the next generation equipment. The RAJAR contract is not out for tender at the present time and therefore my successor will have an opportunity to get their feet under the table before that process begins. "
Lord Gordon of Strathblane, chairman of RAJAR and also of Scottish Radio Holdings, said, "Losing a chief executive in whom one has complete confidence is any chairman's nightmare. It's made worse if one enjoys working with them, but I recognise that for Jane this life changing decision is the fulfilment of a dream. Jane has done a great job for RAJAR, sometimes in very difficult circumstances. She will be sorely missed."
Tributes also came from the BBC and UK commercial radio with Jenny Abramsky, director radio & music BBC, and a RAJAR board member, saying, "Jane's even-handed approach and communication skills have impressed everybody at the BBC involved with RAJAR. We will miss her steadying hand on some complex decisions that need to be taken."
UK Commercial Radio Companies Association (CRCA) chief executive Paul Brown, also a RAJAR board member, added, "Messing about in boats myself I'm aware that nobody buys a steel yacht simply to go pottering around the Solent. Thus when Jane told me she had bought such a boat, a couple of years ago, a great adventure seemed to be beckoning. She has helmed RAJAR well through difficult waters. The commercial radio sector will miss her."
Previous Abramsky:
Previous Brown:
Previous Lord Gordon:
Previous O'Hara:
Previous RAJAR:
2003-10-31: MUSICMATCH and AOL retained their top station and network rankings in the latest Arbitron Internet Broadcast Ratings, which show a little chair-swapping at the very top allied with a pattern of more people listening for less time.
For the week to October 19, Arbitron's top five stations ranked by Total Time Spent Listening (TTSL) with (in brackets) TTSL and Cume persons (a measure of the cumulative audience -CP) for the previous week - were:
1: Internet only artist-match MUSICMATCH (*Non Commercial) - TTSL 686,301 (721,752); CP - 227,032 (224,084). Same rank with lower listening but higher reach.
2: Country format AOL Top Country (Commercial) - TTSL 290,244 (290,748); CP 120,488 (111,934). Up from third despite slightly lower listening although reach was higher.
3: Contemporary Christian K-LOVE (Non commercial) - TTSL 286,111 (315,800); CP -45,239 (44,956). Down from second with lower listening although reach was up.
4: Hot Adult Contemporary Virgin AM & FM (Commercial) - TTSL 264,499 (268,802); CP - 53,458 (52,201). Same rank with lower listening although reach was up.
5: Smooth Jazz AOL Smooth Jazz (Commercial - TTSL 258,561 (208,679); CP - 58,916 (40,706). Up from seventh with higher listening and reach.
5: Top 40 AOL Top Pop (Commercial) - TTSL 256,888 (249,171); CP 161,679 (149,173): Up from sixth with higher listening and reach.
* Smooth Jazz AOL Smooth Jazz (Commercial) fell from fifth to sixth with TTSL 253,382, down from 258,561 and CP -61,942, up from 58,916.
The top five networks for the week to October 19 (Previous week's figures in brackets) were:
1: AOL Radio@ Network (Commercial) - TTSL - 6,260,894 (6,237,229); CP - 1,648,163 (1,554,149). Same rank with lower listening but higher reach.
2: LAUNCH TTSL (Commercial) - 3,997,369 (4,263,808); CP - 885,439 (866,264). Same rank with lower listening but higher reach.
3: MUSICMATCH Inc. (*Non Commercial) TTSL - 2,084,285 (2,123,567); CP - 485,056 (479,514). Same rank with lower listening but higher reach.
4: The Adsertion Network (Sales Network) TTSL - 1,093,999 (1,249,879); CP - 144,451 (156,058) - Same rank with lower listening and reach.
5: Virgin Radio (Commercial) TTSL - 515,374 (528,971); CP - 81,774 (78,326) - Same rank with lower listening but higher reach.
Arbitron does not now rank Content Delivery Networks (CDN) alongside other networks but does report on them; for the week the top Content Delivery Networks were Live365 with TTSL 2,493,391, up from 2,468,217and StreamGuys with TTSL 532,723, up from 516,836.
Previous Arbitron Internet Broadcast Ratings:
2003-10-30: New York-based satellite radio operator Sirius has cut its net loss in the third quarter by 10.9% to USD 106.7 million, as its revenue grows with the addition of new subscribers; it had 149,612 subscribers at the end of September, up 42% on the total at the end of the second quarter.
The loss amounted to USD 0.11 per share compared to USD 1.56 per share a year earlier when far fewer shares had been issued.
Revenue in the quarter was USD 4.3 million double that of the USD 2.1 million in the second quarter, and 250 times the USD 17,000 of a year ago.
For the nine months to the end of September, Sirius has revenues of USD 7.9 million and reported an operating loss of USD 312.4 million, compared to a loss of USD222.3 million a year earlier; its net loss applicable to common stockholders was USD166.6 million, (USD 0.22 per share) compared to USD 334.4 million, (USD 4.41 per share) a year earlier. The loss included a USD 256.5 million gain in connection with the completion of the company's restructuring in March 2003, and a deemed dividend of USD79.5 million associated with the elimination of its convertible preferred stock in March 2003.
President and CEO Joseph P. Clayton said he believed the company was well placed to take advantage of the Christmas season, commenting, "During a seasonally slow third quarter at retail, SIRIUS showed strong signs of consumer acceptance this summer. Based on data from NPD Group, our retail unit share increased by 48% over the previous quarter, which reflects both better products, more brands, and increased consumer awareness."
Sirius says it had USD 479 million in cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities available at the end of the quarter and CFO David Frear said," With a solid cash position and very little debt, our balance sheet remains the strongest in satellite radio. We have the working capital necessary to continue to execute our business plan and grow our subscriber base."
Sirius has also announced that it is to be offered as a factory-installed option in Daimler Chrysler's 2004 Dodge Durango beginning next month.
Returning to earth, Westwood One has reported revenues in the third quarter up 0.7% on a year ago to USD134, 7 million for the third quarter but took net income up 4% to a record USD 27.7 million whilst net income per share was up 10% to a record USD 0.27 as a result of its continuing stock repurchase programme.
Year to date figures were worse, however, with revenues down 2% to USD393.2 million, primarily as a result of the effects of the 2002 Winter Olympics and a weak economic climate associated with the war in Iraq; Net income for the period was down 8% to USD 68.9 million and net income per diluted share was down 3% to USD 0.66 per share.
President and CEO Shane Coppola said the record bottom line results indicated "the improvement we have seen in the national advertising marketplace."
He added, "We anticipate that 2003 full year revenues and operating income will be at the same level as the nine-month results stemming from the softness in local advertising that is continuing into the fourth quarter. In anticipation of a recovery in advertising markets in 2004, we continue to increase our audience and program offerings, while at the same time, controlling costs."
He also noted that the company "continues to generate substantial free cash flow, which we have used to repurchase our Common Stock and build value for shareholders."
In cyberspace--related business, RealNetworks has reported third quarter revenues up 14% on a year ago to USD 51.8 million and a net loss of USD 3.7 million (USD 0.02 per share) compared to nearly ten times that - USD 34.4 million (USD 0.22 per share) - a year earlier.
In particular it has highlighted the growth of its digital music services business, including both Rhapsody and premium radio; these grew to over 250,000 subscribers, an increase of over 46% over the combined music subscribers of RealNetworks and Listen.com at the end of the prior quarter with total premium digital media subscription services paying subscribers now 1.15 million, up 15% over the number at the end of the second quarter.
Chairman and CEO Rob Glaser said, "These results demonstrate both our continued momentum in paid content services and how well our model fits when applied to music."
"With over a quarter million subscribers, we're clearly the leader in music subscription services and believe that we are building a strong foundation for future success in digital music services."
Real says it expects fourth quarter revenues between USD 52 million and USD 56 million with gross margins flat to slightly lower than the third quarter as the lower margin music subscription business continues to grow. It is forecasting a net loss per share for the fourth quarter to be in the range of USD 0.01 to USD 0.04.
Previous Clayton:
Previous Coppola:
Previous Glaser:
Previous RealNetworks:
Previous Sirius:
Previous Westwood One:
2003-10-30: The 2002-03 Annual Report of the Australian Broadcasting Authority (ABA) shows investigations leading to a finding that regulations had been breached by broadcasters were down 55% compared to the previous year; it also highlights the auction of the new Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast commercial FM licences and the allocation of 28 new community radio and 39 new open narrowcasting licences during the year.
Investigations where a breach finding was made totalled 50 out of 106 compared to 91 out of 163 in the 2001-02 year, a year when there had also been a large fall on the previous year (See RNW Oct 25, 2002).
18 of the breaches related to TV, and 32 to radio of which two showed breaches by commercial stations, down from five the previous year, both concerning the handling of complaints.
Both related to Queensland stations, one concerning a 4BC Brisbane broadcast in which the complainant alleged that a caller said she was named as having an affair with a married man and the other against 4TC, Townsville, concerning racially motivated jokes said to have been made by presenter Steve Price about Aboriginal people.
There was one investigation resulting in a code breach in relation to ABC radio in 2002-03, compared with six for ABC radio and television in 2001-02. The breach concerned the manner in which ABC radio handled a complaint, down from five in the previous year.
Among community complaints were two breaches of codes related to complaints handling. This was down from six in the previous year and the ABA notes that in the previous year conflict resolution was the most problematic area in relation to codes breaches by community stations but following the registration of a revised Community Broadcasting Code of Practice by the ABA in 2002-03 only one of the nine complaints concerning dispute resolution in the year warranted an investigation.
There were also cases of alleged broadcast of obscene language and failure to tag political matter appropriately.
There were also 15 cases in which community stations were involved in breaches of licence conditions, 13 of which related to broadcasting of advertising and five of which involved Sydney Arabic service 2000FM.
Open narrowcasting stations were involved in one case of breach of licence conditions and two cases in which they were found to be offering an unlicensed commercial service in breach of Australia's Broadcasting Services Act.
During the year, the Authority also suspended for 14 days the licence of 6GS Wagin in Western Australia after licensee (Cybervale Pty Ltd) breached a condition of its licence in relation to providing audited accounts for the financial year; 6GS operates on a nonbroadcasting services bands commercial radio licence and transmits on a frequency just outside the AM band.
It found no breaches, however, regarding complaints over host Sydney 2GB breakfast host Alan Jones' holdings in Macquarie Radio Network stations 2GB and 2CH (See RNW May 14).
Previous ABA:
Previous ABA Annual report:
ABA web site (page links to reports - 1.37Mb PDF, appendices including complaints rulings - 745 kb - and financial statements 1.04 Mb TIF):
2003-10-30: Members of the US Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) have voted overwhelmingly - by 94% to 6% - to ratify a new 3-year contract for radio and TV commercials to take effect at the end of this month.
The boards of the two organisations had recommended last month that their members agree to ratify the deal, which includes a 1% pension and health plan contribution increase from 13.3% to 14.3% and a 7% gain in session, holding, foreign, theatrical/industrial and internet fees for both radio and TV performers, and a 7% increase in wild spot use and the creation and implementation of Standard Employment Contracts for radio performers.
"We applaud SAG and AFTRA members for approving these solid contract gains by such an overwhelming margin," said SAG President Melissa Gilbert and AFTRA President John Connolly.
"This ratification enables commercial performers to work uninterrupted while building on the meaningful gains of previous contracts"
The Association of National Advertisers (ANA) and the American Association of Advertising Agencies (AAAA) also welcomed the vote.
AAAA President and CEO O. Burtch Drake said, "This agreement evidences the ability of both sides to work together constructively and efficiently in their mutual best interests."
Previous AFTRA:
2003-10-30: Interep, which earlier this month announced that Citadel Broadcasting had moved representation of its 211 stations from Interep to Katz Media. (See RNW Oct 4), has now said it has started legal action against Citadel for damages "relating to Citadel's unilateral termination of its exclusive representation agreement with Interep."
Interep had a contract running to 2010 with Citadel ans says it is entitled to termination fees topping USD 30 million over three and a half years under the terms of that contract, which over the past 21 months amounted to some 7% of its business.
Interep says it had to take action because Citadel's refused to make the payments required by the contract and had failed to abide by the stated terms of the contract.
Citadel says the claim is without merit and that it is likely to counter-claim for damage to its finances because of the way Interep handled its national business.
Previous Citadel:
Previous Interep:
Previous Katz Media:
2003-10-30: The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has confirmed a USD 7,000 penalty on Radio Centre Inc., licensee of WAGC-AM, Centre, Alabama, for failure to involve its antenna within an effective locked fence.
The Commission had issued a notice of apparent violation in April but received no response and has additionally ordered Radio Centre to submit a report to the Enforcement Bureau within 30 days outlining what measures it has taken or will take to correct the violation and ensure that it does not recur.
Previous FCC:
2003-10-29: Following in the wake of Astral and Corus, Canadian media company CHUM has posted significant improvements on last year's results.
For the final fiscal quarter, running to the end of August, the company recorded a CAD 2 million (USD 1.5 million) profit compared to a CAD 4 million (USD 3 million) loss a year earlier with revenues up 9.4% to CAD 177.7 million (USD 97.1 million); for the full year it increased its profits by 80% from CAD 15million (USD 10.8 million) to CAD 25 million (USD 19 million) on turnover up 12.6% to CAD 540 million (USD 411 million).
CHUM owns and operates 29 radio stations, eight TV stations and 18 specialty channels and has been significantly helped by improvements at its digital TV channels, whose losses were halved from CAD 4 million (USD 3 million) to CAD 2 million (USD 1,5 million) for the year.
Radio revenues for the year were up 6.2% to CAD 118 million (USD 90 million) but for the final quarter they fell by 4.3% to CAD 28.7 million (USD 21.8 million) partly due to the impact of the SARS outbreak and power blackout in August that hit Ontario and much of the north eastern US.
CHUM says the full year radio revenues exceeded its expectation and that it was ahead of the Canadian industry growth as reported by Trans-Canada Radio Advertising by Market Report (TRAM) in the nine months to the end of May and for the subsequent period to August kept pace with industry averages in the markets in which it operates but was not buoyed by strong results in Alberta, where it has no stations.
It adds, "In an economic environment that was sluggish at best, many of the Company's stations in Ontario were also affected by SARS, mad cow and the blackout."
CHUM's AM stations continued to lose money, but expenses were trimmed by 8% in the year, largely as a result of the decision to end the Team all-sports radio programming on six of the nine AM stations that had taken the service and change them to music formats.
In the US, Jefferson-Pilot Corporation reported a 14% in earnings per share to USD 0.91 before realized investment gains and a 9% increase in net income per share to USD 0.88 in a strong third quarter within which it said its Communications' division results were "excellent".
The division's earnings were up 17% to USD 11.4 million in the quarter with broadcast cash flow up 14% to USD23.6 million; for the first nine months, the division increased earnings 12% to USD 30 million and BCF was up 8% to USD 62.5 million.
In Mexico, Grupo Radio Centro, S.A. de C.V has reported third quarter broadcasting revenues up 15.2% on a year earlier to Ps. 175,915,000 (USD 15.9 million), mainly thanks to a general improvement in radio advertising.
The Group's broadcasting income (broadcasting revenue minus broadcasting expenses, excluding depreciation, amortization and corporate, general and administrative expenses) was up 82.2% to Ps. 48,111,000 (USD 4.35 million) and it cut its net loss to less than half the 2002 figure, from Ps. 33,710,000 (USD 3.1 million) to Ps. 13,644,000 (USD 1.2 million).
Grupo Radio has also launched Mexico's first digital radio signal using iBiquity's HD in-band-on-channel system; it went on the air from dance format 3 XHFAJ-FM "Alfa 91.3", Mexico City, under an experimental licence.
Previous CHUM:
Previous Grupo Rado:
Previous iBiquity:
Previous Jefferson-Pilot:
2003-10-29: Australian commercial radio broadcasters have strongly criticized the Australian Broadcasting Authority (ABA) policy for dealing with applications for trials of digital radio released on Tuesday.
Under the policy, described by ABA chairman Professor David Flint as "intended to provide greater clarity and transparency" about how its policy of encouraging trials of new technologies applies to digital radio trials, the ABA has endorsed the conducting of digital radio trials in Sydney and Melbourne by Commercial Radio Australia (CRA) and Broadcast Australia (BA) respectively using VHF channel 9A in both cities, for a period of up to eighteen months.
It adds that other applications from CRA and BA, or applications for extensions of the Sydney or Melbourne trials, will be considered in accordance with the revised policy framework."
It is the latter that has upset commercial radio operators and Joan Warner, CEO of industry body Commercial Radio Australia, commented, "The ABA is pre-emptively trying to set Government policy by stealth. It is short-sighted and deliberately provocative and fails to take into account the billions of dollars of investment by existing broadcasters in free to air radio in Australia."
"The announcement which grants a digital trial license to Broadcast Australia - a tower operator - establishes a dangerous policy precedent which effectively devalues our licences, destabilises the LAP system and threatens the industry's future."
…"The ABA's decision to grant scarce digital VHF Band 3 spectrum to a tower operator and third-party, Broadcast Australia, is unprecedented. We have stated to the ABA on numerous occasions that the existing broadcast community must have the major voice in its own future and the key role in developing the technology that is best for the Australian market. We were under the impression that the Government also shared this view. "
Commercial Radio Australia has called on the Communications Minister and the Prime Minister to "intervene immediately" to overturn the decision and points out that commercial broadcasters had formed a consortium with the ABC and SBS to launch a consumer trial of digital radio services in Sydney from next month and had also, on three separate occasions, applied for spectrum to roll out trials around the country, with a trial in Melbourne planned to start next year (See RNW Sept 27).
In its document, the ABA notes that in its 2001 election platform, the Government "affirmed the expectation that existing commercial radio services would be able to conduct trials of digital radio" and that it would "continue to work with the commercial radio industry in developing an appropriate framework for the introduction of digital radio in Australia."
It goes on to say that it will make spectrum temporarily available free of charges apart from administrative fees but then goes on to say… " The commercial radio industry has indicated that it wishes to the entitlement to conduct trials is not limited to commercial radio or indeed to present broadcasting services bands incumbents. The ABA will consider legitimate requests to trial digital radio systems from any person. It will also consider requests to trial any digital radio technology that makes use of the broadcasting services bands of the radio frequency spectrum."
"This potentially includes Eureka 147, Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM), In-Band On Channel (IBOC), ISDB-TSB and any other existing or emerging system that makes use of the broadcasting services bands."
It goes on to say," The ABA reserves the right to consider each particular trial proposal on its merits…While the ABA takes a wide view of who may trial digital systems, permission to conduct a trial in no way pre-empts or constrains future policy" and says this in particular means that an organisation taking part in trials will not necessarily be "permitted to operate digital broadcasting services if permanent digital radio services are introduced."
It also says the trials are not limited to technical purposes and may be designed to test market or other aspects of digital radio but the ABA "reserves the right to decide that a proposed trial does not have an appropriate trial purpose or that the location, duration or other attributes of the trial proposal are not consistent with the expressed purpose of the trial."
Previous ABA:
Previous Commercial Radio Australia:
Previous Flint:
Previous Warner:
ABA web site - trials document (44kb PDF):
2003-10-29: The latest report of the BBC Complaints Unit, covering the period from July to September this year, shows seven complaints concerning items on radio were upheld compared to eight in the previous bulletin with ten more TV complaints upheld, one of which was a promotion for digital radio.
In all, the unit dealt with 289 complaints concerning 177 items in the quarter compared to 645 complaints relating to 227 items in the second quarter of this year, upholding 25, two of them partly 8.5% of the total, which compared to 48.5% in the previous bulletin that was skewed because of 182 complaints about one TV promotion.
Of the total complaints, 76 related to matters of fairness and accuracy, down from 87 and they related to 62 items, down from 65.
A further 210 related to matters of taste and standards, down from 555; they related to 112 items, down from 159. The remaining three complaints about three items concerned other matters, the same as in the previous quarter.
In a foreword to the bulletin BBC Director-General Greg Dyke notes that today's report is the last to be published before new media regulator Ofcom assumes its full powers, including considering complaints about breaches of editorial standards.
He additionally notes that the BBC was the first broadcaster to set up a system for investigating serious complaints impartially and independently of programme-makers, and publishing details of upheld complaints and actions taken as a result and comments, "We're not proceeding on the basis that it's perfect already, and we're looking at what we can do to improve it. The signs are that Ofcom will be looking to the broadcasters to take more responsibility for the way complaints are handled, and we intend to be ready to meet the challenge."
Radio complaints upheld were:
* Infringement of the complainant's privacy - A complaint against BBC Radio 4 concerning a report on age discrimination in which a complainant, who had given an interview only on the basis of anonymity, was named in the item's introduction in error by a subsequent team on duty.
* Other bias - a complaint about a BBC Radio Five Live discussion of the Bush presidency in which all the guests had been critical of the US President and the presenter was said to have "seconded the criticisms in a way which led to imbalance." The BBC held that the guests represented a proper range of viewpoints but the producer had reminded the presenter of the responsibility to maintain balance during discussions.
*Factual inaccuracy - A complaint against the Radio 4 Farming Today programme in which it was said that hundreds of people had died as a result of exposure to radiation from the explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power station. The BBC said that only 30 deaths could be demonstrably attributable to the explosion and the figure used, in terms of continuing problems since the explosion, should have been presented as an estimate.
Bad language - three cases which were:
*A complaint about the use of the word fuck by a guest on the Johnnie Walker programme on BBC Radio2; the presenter did not comment at the time to draw further attention to the comment but had apologised at the end of the item.
*A complaint about the inclusion of an Eminem track on Mark Radcliffe's Radio One afternoon show; the record company version of the track had been played rather than a more edited version. An audit is being conducted to ensure correct versions are aired in future.
*Four complaints over the language used by a guest on the Jonathan Ross show on BBC Radio 2; the programme producer now routinely reminds guests to bear in mind the make-up of the Saturday morning audience, and to confine their language within acceptable boundaries.
*Sexual conduct - A complaint concerning a version of 'Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer' in which Rudolf's "shiny nose" was replaced by an explicitly sexual term on Mark Radcliffe's Radio 1 show. The regular feature of which this was an instance has been dropped, and the presenters and programme team instructed to exercise greater care in their choice of material.
In addition, a promo for digital radio was found to be in poor taste. It was one in a series in which people used comically unlikely time-saving expedients in order to make more time to listen to digital radio service. The promo that led to the complaint had been broadcast in Northern Ireland onceonly in error and had not been approved.
It featured a man economising on time during his working day by not visiting the lavatory and consequently wetting his trousers
In the same quarter, the BBC Governors Appeals Committee considered two appeals in July and more in September but the later decisions have yet to be ratified and will be published in the October to December Bulletin. In the previous quarter it considered seven appeals, five on matters of matters of fairness and accuracy and two of matters of taste and decency, upholding one appeal in full and one in part.
Only one appeal was upheld; this involved complaints from their relatives about a TV broadcast "Correspondent: Al-Jazeera Exclusive "that showed the bodies of the two men. The Appeals Committee said it recognised the decision was very finely balanced between that of public interest and private distress of the families but concluded that the former argument in this case was not sufficiently compelling.
Previous BBC:
Previous BBC Complaints Bulletin:
Previous Dyke:
BBC web site - complaints bulletin (450Kb PDF):
BBC web site - Appeals report (440Kb PDF):
2003-10-29: The Indian Government, whilst pushing ahead with its plans for the development of FM radio, is holding back as far as community radio plans are concerned, in part because it says it is concerned that the medium could be misused if it "falls into wrong hands."
Officials say they think community radio has great potential, especially in rural areas, but there is concern about the implications of foreign funding, as by non-governmental organisations, and also about possible abuse of licences by sectarian interests.
As far as FM radio is concerned, however, the government is soon expected to accept the recommendations of Amit Mitra Committee [Mitra is secretary -general of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI)] is and free up the rules for foreign investment, allowing up to a 26% holding as for other media.
The report is expected to be finalised this month and other recommendations are expected to include scrapping the current auction system for licences over a period and replacing it with a one-time fee, combined with a revenue- sharing arrangement.
The government is also expected to allow news broadcasting on privately-owned FM channels (See RNW Oct 2).
Previous Indian Radio:
2003-10-28: XM Satellite Radio has announced that it has now topped 1 million subscribers in less than two years since its commercial launch, reaching the "milestone" in less time than other communication technologies such as satellite TV, cable television or online subscription services.
XM notes that the only technology that managed a million sales inside two years - just beating XM - was the DVD player, where a million were sold inside 21 months of its introduction. CD players took 28 months, as did MP3 players, whilst Videocassette recorders took nearly five years to reach the total.
XM president and CEO Hugh Panero commented, "With more than one million subscribers, XM has firmly established a new mass-market entertainment medium for consumers nationwide", adding, "XM's success is particularly evident when compared to other media, from the inception of radio to today's latest technology."
Shares in both XM and rival Sirius ended higher on Monday: XM ended the day 3.5 % up at USD18.84 and Sirius stock was up 2.5 % at USD 2.44.
In terrestrial US radio business, Milwaukee-headquartered Journal Communications, which went public last month (See RNW Sept 25) has reported third quarter net earnings up 16.3% to USD 22.8 million on essentially flat continuing operating revenues of USD 245 million. EBITDA was up 11.3% to USD 53.4million.
For the year to date, continuing operating revenue was down 1% to USD 604.9 million, but net earnings are up 9.9% to USD 47.9 million.
Total broadcasting operating revenues were up 0.7% in the third quarter to USD 47.1 million with radio operating revenues up 1.2% to USD 25.4 million and radio operating earnings up 9.6% to USD 5.7 million, whilst TV operating revenues were essentially flat at USD 21.7 million and TV operating earnings were down 28.3% to USD 3.3 million, primarily because of an increase in programming costs and expenses related to organizational changes made at the Las Vegas station.
Previous Journal Communications:
Previous Panero:
Previous Sirius:
Previous XM:
2003-10-28: The UK Radio Authority, which is to be subsumed into the new British Ofcom super regulator at the end of this year, has announced that it is to close its Reading Room on November 14.
The Authority has used the room to allow viewing of all eight-year local analogue radio licence applications and digital multiplex applications but will award its last licence a week before the closure.
Ofcom has already started taking soundings regarding a number of proposed changes, including a call for consultation on future regulation of broadcast advertising under a plan that would remove the regulators from their current role of overseeing UK advertising and put matters into the hands of an advertising industry body operating "under the banner" of the current Advertising Standards Authority.
Currently sensitive radio adverts and most national radio advertising campaigns are vetted by the Radio Advertising Clearance Centre (RAAC) whilst the Radio Authority handles complaints; a similar system operates for TV.
Ofcom says under its plan "The ASA would become a 'one-stop-shop' for all advertising complaints, thus simplifying the current fragmented regulation of advertising across media."
Ofcom would retain responsibility for non-content related advertising matters such as the number of minutes permitted within a period and sponsorship related matters and could be asked by the new co-regulator to impose penalties up to and including licence revocations if it were felt more severe sanctions than those of the co-regulator were required.
In addition it would have a back-stop role and should the new system fail to meet standards could, as a last after exhausting other approached, suspend the system and take advertising regulation back into its hands directly.
Ofcom has also issued a call for public comment on criteria for transferring functions to co-regulatory bodies and has set a deadline of January 9 next year for comments in each case.
Ofcom site - advertising proposals (647 Kb PDF):
Ofcom site - criteria proposals (250 Kb PDF):
Previous Ofcom:
Previous UK Radio Authority:
2003-10-28: The financing of Sky Radio Network, which produces programming for audio channels available on flights on various US airlines, is highlighted in an article in the New York Times.
Sky has become the subject of a complaint to the Federal Trade Commission following a call made to Joanne Doroshow, executive director of the non-profit consumer rights organization the Center for Justice and Democracy, asking her if she would be interviewed for a talk show on the issue of tort reform.
She agreed, only to be told it would cost her organization USD 5,900, an amount that the caller suggested might be reduced to USD 3,500 when she balked at the idea.
Doroshow told the Times, "I was furious. I thought this was another way corporations are dominating what people hear, and are getting only their side presented because they're willing to pay for it.''
She asked the center's lawyers to draft a complaint asking that Sky Radio be required to disclose prominently that its news-style programs are actually little more than paid advertisements.
According to the paper an FTC spokesman said he was not sure if airline programming fell under its purview, that of the Federal Communications Commission or the Department of Transportation.
Doroshow said she wanted to ensure that producers of airline programming - available to three million passengers a month on American Airlines, a unit of the AMR Corporation, according to Sky Radio - were held to the same disclosure standards as Web search engines (which have been directed by the F.T.C. to disclose if a company has paid for high placement) or infomercials (which generally are supposed to announce whether guests have been paid).
The call to her related to an interview for Forbes Radio, for whom Sky produces programming that, according to Sky founder and chief executive Marc Holland comprises 30 minutes of actual news content (supplied to Sky Radio by Forbes editors) followed by about 90 minutes of "public-affairs programming" known as "The Business and Technology Report''
Holland said that hundreds of companies - " Oracle, Dell, every tech company, most of the pharmaceutical companies, all the big energy companies'' - have agreed to make their representatives available for interviews, for a similar fee although some VIP's were not charged - he instanced former US President Jimmy Carter and former Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright.
He also said an announcer says at several points in the latter part of the broadcast that "the guests on the show may have paid a fee to appear'' but acknowledged that no disclaimer appears in the programming guide in the back of the airline's magazine; the only clue that the Forbes programming is separated from the paid programming is a thin line.
The guests' fees are important revenues for Sky, which pays the airlines an undisclosed fee for its airtime and does not accept more conventional advertising.
RNW comment: As with the Australian commercial radio cash-for-comment affair, this practice underlines the fact that there are few free lunches in the world and that there is a real price to pay when broadcasting is paid for by advertising, just as there is when financing is through sponsorship or via licence fees. In some cases the financing is clearly attributable - as with a licence fee, in others obvious - as with advertisements and sponsors announcements, whether or not all listeners are sophisticated enough to sort out the hidden biases in some cases - and in others in our view it is certainly tinged with deceit if not at times downright dishonest. A Forbes spokeswoman told the Times the thin line made it clear there was a distinction between the sections of Forbes material and the segment that followed but admitted it might not be to a passenger. Her comment would seem a reasonable guide to the ethical standards of her organisation just as Holland's comment are of his organizations.
New York Times report:
Sky Radio web site:
2003-10-27: After weeks when Rush Limbaugh dominated print stories about radio in the US, another conservative talk host - Bill O'Reilly - has moved up in print cover over the past week - this time as a result of the National Public Radio (NPR) ombudsman's ruling following his walking out of an interview with Fresh Air host Terry Gross.
The ombudsman, Jeffrey Dvorkin, said of Reilly's interview, " I believe the listeners were not well served by this interview. It may have illustrated the "cultural wars" that seem to be flaring in the country. Unfortunately, the interview only served to confirm the belief, held by some, in NPR's liberal media bias."
Dvorkin included in his ruling a number of e-mails he had received about the walk-out, which happened after a long spell of questioning by Gross about accusations made against him Al Franken's book, Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right.
Franken had been interviewed by Gross two weeks earlier and O'Reilly said in the interview that he felt Gross had given Franken an easy ride and accused her of uncritically repeating falsehoods about him by Franken; he also said he had no part in the lawsuit that Fox launched- and lost - against Franken's use of the term "Fair and Balanced", which it had tried to claim as its copyright.
Dvorkin said he was particularly disturbed "when Terry Gross was about to read a criticism of Bill O'Reilly's book from People magazine. Before Gross could read it to him for his reaction, O'Reilly ended the interview and walked out of the studio. She read the quote anyway."
"That was wrong. O'Reilly was not there to respond. It's known in broadcasting as the "empty chair" interview, and it is considered an unethical technique and should not be used on NPR."
In the conservative media, Gross came under attack with a typical comment coming from Brent Bozell on TownHall.com: Bozell started by using the Dvorkin judgment to launch an attack on NPR - and immediately in our view, conflated a number of different issues - before going on to say of the Gross, "Gross recently became a hot topic on journalism Web sites for first having a friendly, giggly interview with 'satirist' Al Franken, promoting his obnoxious screed against conservatives on Sept. 3, and then on Oct. 8, unloading an accusatory, hostile interview on Bill O'Reilly's show. She pressed the Fox host to respond to the obnoxious attacks of Franken and other critics."
He then broadened the attack, writing, ". Under the guise of "objective news" reporting, the left is actively advancing its political agenda. On the Oct. 17 "Morning Edition," host Bob Edwards launched into a long "news" report on the flaws of the Bush foreign policy, observing: "Overall, the policies of the United States are still very unpopular around the world. The Bush Doctrine, a preference for unilateral military action and a disdain for multinational diplomacy, is under scrutiny more than ever." The Middle East "road map" was "in tatters," Iraq and Afghanistan were "highly unstable." NPR may as well have suggested it was time for a different president."
RNW comment: Using the standard journalistic practice of inserting antonyms to see if an original made sense, the Bozell point of view comes out as something like...the policies of the United States are still very popular round the world. The Bush Doctrine, a preference for unilateral military action and a disdain for multinational diplomacy, is no longer considered worthy of scrutiny." The Middle East "road map" is proceeding smoothly and Iraq and Afghanistan are now stable." We suggest Bozell needs to read some newspapers from around the world concerning the first point and only needs a very low IQ to realize his criticisms of NPR in this case were ill judged. He is, however, on firmer ground (assuming he is giving all the facts) when he later lists the "experts" on the show, whether or not NPR presented them as non-partisan and even more so, again assuming he has presented rather than invented "facts" in his comments on remarks made by NPR's legal reporter Nina Totenberg at various times.
From Wisconsin, a strongly opposing view came from John Nichols in the Capital Times; he suggested that NPR should dump Dvorkin, writing, "National Public Radio is an imperfect but exceptionally necessary part of the American media landscape."
" For any democracy to function, it needs strong public broadcasting networks. And while NPR is not nearly so well-financed or so intellectually adventurous as it should be, the network merits more praise than criticism. "
"Much of what ails NPR has to do with what it lacks in staff. The network has been starved financially for far too long. But that doesn't mean that all cuts are inappropriate. For instance, NPR ombudsman Jeffrey Dvorkin definitely needs to look for a new line of work."
…" Dvorkin's criticism of Gross for the "crime" of asking tough questions does far more damage to NPR than O'Reilly ever could. Instead of complimenting Gross for hosting an aggressively hostile guest, Dvorkin took her to task for failing to conduct a vapid celebrity interview. "
"When veteran interviewers get the message that they are not supposed to ask the questions they think appropriate - either to avoid criticism from ideologues or to thwart threats of funding cuts from NPR's enemies in Congress - the pressure to soften the edges and narrow the discourse increases."
"The last thing America needs is another broadcast network that refuses to ask tough questions and instead practices stenography to the famous and powerful.
And O'Reilly himself? Well our view from listening to the interview is that he knew exactly what he was doing, is quite capable of handling things, was certainly well-briefed and has a good memory, and in all probability had pre-planned his options however the interview went to ensure he benefited.
Indeed he as good as said so in a comment made to Anthony Violanti of the Buffalo News: "I did it as an experiment, just to show everybody, because I have been critical of NPR, exactly who they are and what they do," he said. "I put myself on the firing line because I knew I could handle it. I knew this was going to be this way."
O'Reilly welcomed the Dvorkin ruling, saying, "We're happy there's an honest voice over there at NPR that took a look at this interview and saw it for what it was - a hatchet job."
Of the Gross interview itself, he said, "I don't do interviews like that, I back up my stuff with facts."
"I don't carry anybody's water. I don't try to embarrass people on the air. I ask tough questions and people are held accountable for their answers. But we're fair."
And of the point when Gross began to read a very unfavourable review of his book "Who's Looking Out for You" he said, "It was done in a way to try and embarrass me," O'Reilly said. "I would never, ever read a bad review of somebody's book on the air, without balancing it with a good review."
O'Reilly then went on with his attack on NPR, adding, "I believe they're a left wing outfit. They're certainly entitled to that, by the way. I think we need more strong, point-of-view analysis in this country, on both the left and the right. But I don't want to pay for it. I don't think it's right for taxpayers to fund an outfit that is coming from the progressive point of view."
RNW comment: Although on the surface the latter comment seems fine, in practical terms the likely effect of withdrawing funding from NPR would in our view be to reduce the range of political discourse in the US and in our view, formed from a wide reading of US papers and working experience of US broadcasters, that discourse is already far too narrow and conformist. We were also a little surprised by his comment on balance - almost a defence of the former FCC rules on fair comment.
Gross commented of the Dvorkin criticism that she had continued to read the review after the walkout," "O'Reilly gave his answer by walking out," she said. "I think I owed it to my listeners to let them know what all the fuss was about."
After that, a link to some real conversations by US politicians that are contained in a new radio documentary on NPR, "White House Tapes: The President Calling."
The documentary is an American RadioWorks special and includes recordings of historic conversations by US Presidents Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon.
The series is to air on US public radio stations next month, is already in part now on the American Radio Works site, and will be released as a companion book-and-CD set in November in collaboration with The New Press
And finally, a recommendation for the final part of Tolstoy's Hadji Murat, the Sunday Classic Serial which we recommended last week, and which will be on the BBC web site until Saturday and also for another BBC programme (Both from Radio 4) available online. It's "A Man as Strong as a Crocodile" and deals with the rituals of the Niowra tribe from New Guinea. The tribe's main deity is the crocodile and young men of the tribe undergo a two-month ritual in which tribal elders cut their backs and legs into ridges like those of a crocodile, paint the wounds with mud, and beat the youths daily to make their skin tough and scaly. Anthropologist Benedict Allen was initiated by the tribe and made tapes describing the rituals: Not for the weak hearted!
Also on the site, a fascinating look at the way barley contributes to ales and whiskies - from the Food Programme - is a must for anyone who fancies starting a micro brewery or their own distillery.
Previous Columnists:
Previous Dvorkin:
Buffalo News - Violanti:
Capital times - Nichols:
National Public Radio - Dvorkin ruling:
American Radio Works site:
BBC "Listen Again" web site (Links to audio of programmes recommended above)
NPR site (page links to audio of Terry Gross interviews with Bill O'Reilly and Al Franken).
TownHall.com - Bozell:
2003-10-27: The problems of Capital Radio's London flagship Capital FM and the fall inthe group's market value after the latest UK ratings showed it had dropped behind Heart FM in terms of listening (See RNW Oct 24) has brought renewed speculation that it could end up being taken over, possibly by a US broadcaster.
There has been speculation that Clear Channel could be interested but this was dampened down in July by Roger Parry, chief executive of Clear Channel's international arm, who at the time said it was overpriced (See RNW July 19) and who said after the ratings release that the figures were unlikely to affect its long-term strategy.
Parry added that Clear Channel was interested in UK radio but suggested that the company would be keener on European operators at the moment.
Analysts think Capital is now more vulnerable but the UK groups most likely to be interested - Chrysalis and Emap - would be constrained by competition authorities; Chrysalis owns Heart FM and Emap owns Kiss FM and Magic FM.
Previous Capital:
Previous Chrysalis:
Previous Clear Channel:
Previous Emap:
Previous Parry:
2003-10-27: The latest attempt to sell a US radio station - or rather a construction permit for a Central Florida AM - WREY-AM, Mulberry - via an E-bay online auction has ended without any bids being made; the starting price was USD 100, 000.
The listing said the station on 780AM had been previously sold "but the buyer couldn't follow through due to personal reasons.
It added "His loss could be your opportunity to purchase the last new radio station to serve the Metro Tampa and Lakeland, Florida areas" and said all was in place for an immediate start to construction after the deal was closed.
Those interested were asked to contact broadcast attorney Dan J. Alpert for any further details.
E-bay listing:
2003-10-26: Yet again the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) was involved in controversy last week over the loosening of media regulations with the topic figuring at is first localism public hearing and in a lawsuit filed in an attempt to reverse the Univision takeover of Hispanic Broadcasting Corporation. Elsewhere matters were more matters of routine.
In Australia, the Australian Broadcasting Authority (ABA) has been concerned only with community licences as far as radio was concerned.
In Queensland, it allocated a new community FM licence for Blackwater to Blackwater Community Broadcasters Association Incorporated (BCBA), the sole applicant.
It has also advertised three new community licences in New South Wales. One is for Murwillumbah, with a deadline for applications of November 25th, a second for Glen Innes, with a deadline of December 15, and the third is for Lismore, with a deadline of December 23.
In Canada, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has been involved in a number of renewals and amendments as well as holding a public hearing in Gatineau, Quebec, that considered an application for a new hot adult contemporary format FM in Vermillion Bay, Ontario, with transmitters at Dryden and Kenora, also in Ontario.
Other radio matters dealt with included (in order of province):
Manitoba:
*Approval of a request by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation to replace its existing AM transmitter at Ste. Rose du Lac with a 5,420 watts FM to rebroadcast national French-language network service La Première Chaîne from CKSB-FM, St. Boniface. Simulcast of the AM and FM services will be allowed for three months.
Ontario:
* Approval of power increase to 11,390 watts and contour changes in connection with this and increased antenna height for CIWV-FM, Hamilton/Burlington.
*Administrative renewal until February 29, 2004, of licence for CKEY-FM Fort Erie and its transmitter CKEY-FM-1 St. Catharines. The commission said it would not be able to rule on the full renewal until the current licence expires on December 1.
Quebec:
*Renewal until August 31, 2010 of licences of CIHA-FM, CIHQ-FM and CIGP-FM, Baie James (formerly Radisson) (Champion Camp and LG2 Camp).
*Renewal until August 31, 2010 of licence for CJAB-FM Saguenay (formerly Chicoutimi). The Association québécoise de l'industrie du disque, du spectacle et de la vidéo (ADISQ) had queried whether there was sufficient information on performance available to justify streamlined approval of the renewal concerning which the CRTC said the station was in compliance with regulations and it therefore felt the streamlined renewal was justified.
*Extension for 18 months, rather than six months as requested, of deadline for start of operations of new AM at Lévis (formerly Saint-Nicolas).
*Extension until 25 July 2004 of time limit for start of operations for new transmitter of CJMC-FM Sainte-Anne-des-Monts at La Martre
The Commission also renewed until August 31, 2010, La Magnétothèque's licence for its national French-language reading service, provided via satellite and approved an application from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation to rebroadcast on the secondary channel of the digital radio station associated with CBF, Montreal, looped information from the main channel, specifically weather, traffic and news programming on its secondary channel seconds after its original broadcast on the main channel.
In Ireland, the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI) has given in principle approval to Scottish Radio Holdings purchase of FM104, Dublin (See RNW Oct 25); it is also involved with Irish ratings, which were released this week (See RNW Oct 22)
In the UK, the Radio Authority published its quarterly complaints bulletin (See RNW Oct 25) and assessments of the award of two licences, the new West Midlands regional FM licence, which went to Kerrang! (See RNW Oct 3), and the Cambridge digital multiplex to Now Digital Ltd., which is proposing to launch with five services in addition to carrying BBC Radio Cambridgeshire (See Licence News, Aug 31).
In the case of Kerrang!, the licence was awarded against competition from ten other applications, and members commented that in terms of broadening choice, "the station was aimed at catering for the tastes and interests of young men, a section of the population that research had shown to be relatively underserved by local commercial radio in the coverage area concerned."
Members considered that Emap, the sole owner of Kerrang! Radio, was extremely well placed to establish and maintain the proposed service and had demonstrated local connections.
The Cambridge multiplex had only attracted one application and members the applicants business plan was sustainable but added that they "recognized the difficulties of attracting programme providers to digital multiplexes in areas with limited population coverage, and considered that a good start had been made with the provision of a variety of services." They noted, however, that "most of them were aimed at a youth market however, and expressed the hope that as digital penetration increased, services aimed at broadening choice for an older audience could be encouraged to seek carriage."
In the US, the Federal Communications Commission held its first "localism" public hearing (See RNW Oct 24 ) and was also involved in the issue of a number of penalties for antenna-related offences (See RNW Oct 21 and Oct 23 ), public inspection file deficiencies, for unlicensed operation (See RNW Oct 24); it also reissued an order for Citadel to show why WYSE-FM, Birmingham, Alabama, should not be reclassified as a class CO (AlsoRNW Oct 24).
It is also involved in a lawsuit, filed by the New York-based Hispanic advocacy group, the National Hispanic Policy Institute, which is arguing that the Univision takeover of Hispanic Broadcasting violates federal laws on media concentration and "diminish the diversity of sources available to Spanish-language speakers."
Previous ABA:
Previous BCI:
Previous CRTC:
Previous FCC:
Previous Licence News:
Previous UK Radio Authority:
ABA web site:
BCI web site:
CRTC web site:
FCC web site :
UK Radio Authority web site:
2003-10-26: SMG-owned Virgin Radio and WorldSpace have announced an agreement for the Virgin to become the first content provider on WorldSpace's International Expatriate and Military Subscription Service.
The Virgin content will initially be available free during a promotional period but after that WorldSpace says it will become a "cornerstone of WorldSpace's new international premium subscription service "Home Team Radio," specifically created for US and UK expatriates as well as military stationed overseas."
Different targeted versions of "Home Team Radio" will be offered to customers in the various geographic markets covered by WorldSpace's two satellites: AfriStar (the Middle East, Africa and Western Europe) and AsiaStar (Asia and the Middle East) and the Virgin service will start on AfriStar only.
Previous SMG:
Previous WorldSpace:
2003-10-25: Scottish Radio Holdings (SRH) has announced a Euro 26 million (GBP 18 million, USD 31 million) deal to buy Capital Radio Productions Limited, which operates Dublin station FM104; the exact amount to be paid will be adjusted depending on Capital's net level of debt on completion and 45% of the funding will be in around 955,000 new SRH shares based on a mid-market level price of the shares in the three days up to October 23. The remaining 55% will be in cash.
SRH already owns five newspapers and the national commercial station Today FM in the Republic of Ireland as well as the Cool FM and Downtown stations in Northern Ireland.
FM began operations in 1989 and its licence was recently renewed for a further ten years (See RNW Licence News, July 20); in the year to the end of June it had revenues of Euros 7.56 million (USD 8.9 million) and operating profits of Euros 779,000 (USD 918,000) after accounting for one off extra expenditure during the year of Euros 374,000 (USD 441,000).
Commenting on the deal, which has been given approval in principle by the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI) but still has to be approved by the Republic of Ireland Competition Authority and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, SRH chief executive Richard Findlay said his company has "made a very significant commitment to the Republic of Ireland."
"The quality of Today FM and FM104," he continued, "is clearly demonstrated by the total of five prestigious awards won by the two services at last week's PPI [Phonographic Performance Ireland] Radio Awards. I am confident that FM104 staff, listeners and advertisers will benefit greatly by the addition of FM104 to the SRH family, as will the SRH shareholders."
Previous BCI:
Previous Findlay:
Previous SRH:
2003-10-25: Montréal -headquartered Astral Media has announced full year profits to the end of August up 18.7% to CAD 57.1 million (USD 43.7 million - CAD 1.25 per share) on revenues up 23% to CAD 476 million (USD 364 million); Net earnings from continuing operations for the year were up 42% CAD 71.3 million (USD 54.5 million) and EBITDA was up 37% to CAD130.1 million (USD 99.5 million).
For its fiscal final quarter, revenues were up 27% on a year earlier at CAD 125.2 million (USD 95.8 million) and EBITDA for the quarter was up 26% to CAD 36.5 million (USD 27.9 million). Net earnings in the quarter were up 68.6% to CAD 17.7 million (USD 13.5 million- CAD 0.32 per share).
Commenting on the results, Astral president and CEO executive Ian Greenberg said, "Astral recorded a superb year in Fiscal 2003, one that not only surpassed high expectations, but continues an extended period of growth in long-term value for our shareholders."
"We delivered on our promises of last year, and we are proud of our record financial results and of the strong performance of our business units. It was an exceptional year for our Radio and Television groups, and a strong year for Outdoor, which performed well despite a challenging year."
"The Radio group's results for the year, including the contribution of the stations acquired from Télémédia for 10 months, showed an increase of 130% in revenues and a 198% increase in EBITDA."
Astral listed the completed disposals of its Cleveland, Ohio, outdoor advertising and pending disposals including its investment in Artech Digital Entertainments Inc. and the sale, required by the regulators, of its Québec AM radio stations plus CFOM-FM in Quebec (See RNW Sept 3); there had been suggestions it would have to renegotiate the CAD 12 million (USD 9.2 million) price following the announcement that top talk-show host Paul Arcand is to leave CKAC - AM in Montréal next summer but the group said no call had been made for a renegotiation and it was just awaiting regulatory approval to complete the disposal.
In the US, Clear Channel has announced a quarterly cash dividend of 10 cents a share on its common stock, payable on January 15. It will go to all stockholders of record at the close of business on December 31.
Previous Astral:
Previous Clear Channel:
Previous Greenberg:
2003-10-25: The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has confirmed a USD 2,000 penalty to Chatterbox Inc, licensee of WQXB-FM, Grenada, Mississippi, for failure to carry out emergency alert system (EAS) tests. It had issued a notice of apparent liability in April this year but received no response.
The Commission has also re-issued an order to Citadel Broadcasting Company, licensee of WYSF-FM, Birmingham, Alabama, to show cause why it should not be reclassified from Class C to Class CO status to allow Calhoun, Georgia, to gain its first local commercial FM.
WYSF currently operates with a power of 100 kilowatts at 309 meters height above average terrain (" HAAT"), which is below the minimum Class C antenna height of 451 meters HAAT.
Previous FCC:
2003-10-25: The latest Complaints Bulletin, running to the end of September this year, issued by the UK Radio Authority shows that the Authority considered and upheld around the same number of complaints as it did a year earlier.
In all it considered 98 complaints compared to 96 a year earlier, upholding 18 compared to 17.
Of the total 43 were programming compared to 46 a year earlier and 89 in the previous bulletin; seven were upheld compared to eight a year earlier and 11 in the previous bulletin.
The remaining 55 complaints were advertising related compared to 50 a year earlier and 77 in the previous bulletin; 11 were upheld compared to nine a year earlier and 26 in the previous bulletin.
Of the programming complaints upheld, none related to balance, bias and fairness, six concerned taste and decency, and a further one was in the "other" category.
Of the advertising complaints upheld, one concerned matters considered harmful, eight those that were misleading, and two that were considered offensive.
The Complaints Bulletin shows a breakdown (Q1, 2002 figures in brackets followed by second quarter 2003 figures in square brackets) of programming complaints as follows:
* Accuracy - Two (One)[One] of which none (none) [none] was upheld:
*Balance/Bias and Fairness -Four (Six)[16], of which none (none) [eight] were upheld; two of these concerned one matter.
*Taste and decency -19 (26) [58] of which six (five)[three] were upheld; two of these concerned one matter.
*Promise of performance or format - three (eight)[five] of which none (none)[none] was upheld; two of these concerned one matter.
* Other - 15 (five)[nine] of which One (three)[none] was upheld.
The advertising complaints breakdown (again with 2002 figures in brackets followed by first quarter 2003 figures in square brackets) was:
* Harmful - Seven (three) [five], of which One (none)[four] were upheld; four of these concerned one matter and two another.
* Misleading - 32 (21)[43] of which eight (four)[21] were upheld; of these four were on one matter, three on another and two each on three others.
* Offensive - 14 (20)[27] of which two (two)[none] were upheld; of these three were on one matter two on another matter.
*Other -Two (six)[two], of which none (two)[one] was upheld.
Among programming complaints that were upheld were:
*A complaint against Magic 1548 (Liverpool) by a West Indian who was incensed at comments by a host who said a caller was "a little bitch", made a threat to give her "a good slapping" and told a subsequent caller to the show, who objected to the language, that "calling someone a bitch is not swearing… all coloured people call their girlfriends bitches."
The panel listened to the tapes, which included a segment in which caller said to the presenter "you're a load of shit and you're gay" and the presenter said, allegedly in response to obscene off-air comments, "you're a dirty little foulmouthed bitch" several times.
The panel said the comments "were both untrue and totally unacceptable and likely to have caused offence" and wrote "to the station management in the strongest terms warning that there must be no recurrence and that we were recommending to the Ofcom Content Board that any further similar breaches be brought before them to consider regulatory sanctions."
*Two complaints against Southern FM (Brighton/Eastbourne & Hastings) over a regular feature in a broadcast which one complainant said, "always has racist comments against people of German nationality."
The second complainant said he was "offended because the presenter mentioned that he got into trouble because someone reported him because he did German jokes…"
The station said the feature was meant to be humorous and had been discontinued but the panel commented, "Although we were doubtful about the humorous element of the first German story, we would have considered the issue resolved, as the station had decided to discontinue the feature. However, listening to the output related to the subsequent complaint, we heard the presenter mockingly continue with the feature while referring to details of the earlier complaint."
"It was clear that the issue of offence to listeners had been given scant regard: we therefore upheld the complaint and told the station that we were recommending to the Ofcom Content Board that any further similar breaches be brought before them to consider regulatory sanctions.
*A Taste/decency complaint against Virgin over a broadcast in which the presenter had used inaccurate beeping during a play on words about swearing by Greg Rusedski at a judge during Wimbledon tennis. Virgin had already reprimanded the host.
*A taste/decency complaint against Galaxy 102 (Manchester) over a Saturday lunchtime programme in which the term "shagging" had been used at least four times.
*A partially upheld taste/decency complaint against Forth 2 (Edinburgh) over a programme in which the presenter had become involved in sexual banter with a regular caller who was undergoing treatment for cancer and also has problems with alcohol. The panel was told the presenter had not expected the graphic outburst that occurred at the end of the talk.
There were a number of complaints against talkSport, none of which were upheld including one in which a presenter describing an incident he had witnessed on the motorway, in which he felt a police officer had acted recklessly while trying to set up a speed camera and referred to him as a 'dickhead'. The panel said it felt that in view of the time this was broadcast, "...on balance, we did not think that the term would have caused offence to the general audience."
Advertising complaints upheld included:
* A complaint against 103.4 The Beach (Great Yarmouth & Lowestoft) over a series of Department of Health adverts including one on the subject of sexually transmitted diseases that the panel said should not have been aired when young children might be listening (Harmful category).
* A complaint against Wave 105 FM (Solent Area) that a presenter had blurred the distinction between programming and advertising when referring to a competition winner's trip to a local restaurant and had not made it clear that the restaurant had sponsored the competition (Other category).
Four complaints against a Proctor & Gamble "Sunny D" advert carried by a number of stations "which claimed that there was less sugar in a [200ml] glass of 'Sunny D no-added sugar' than "in two bowls of spinach".
The company provided evidence to substantiate the claim scientifically but the panel felt that the advert compared spinach and the drink competitively and thus breached its rules.(Misleading category).
*A complaint against 2CR FM (Bournemouth) over an advert which described the advertiser as the "leading conservatory company in Bournemouth", something that the competitor complaining said was incorrect (Misleading category).
*A complaint against Q97.2 Causeway Coast Radio (Coleraine) over a Department of the Environment advertisement concerning road safety that was found not to have gone through the required clearance procedure (Misleading category).
*A complaint against 107.5 Sovereign Radio (Eastbourne) over an advert by Eastbourne General Hospital for a private healthcare suite that was found not to have gone through the required clearance procedure (Misleading category).
* A complaint against LBC 97.3 (Greater London) over a Eurotunnel advert that was unclear about when a special fare began(Misleading category).
*A complaint against 96 Trent FM (Nottingham / Derby) over a car wipes advert whose sexual innuendo was held to unsuitable for broadcast when children might be listening (Offensive category).
*A complaint against 96.2 The Revolution (Oldham) over an advert for travel services that had not gone through the necessary clearance (Offensive category).
The panel also upheld two complaints restricted service licence holders.
One was a Balance/Bias/Fairness against Radio Pak (Leeds) over complaints that it had promoted just one party in an election; the station did not provide tapes or comments and the panel issued a warning to Radio Pak that we would take these failures to comply into account if they applied for further licences.
The other was a taste/decency complaint against Sunny Govan (Glasgow) over playing musical tracks with bad language including tracks with the words
'motherfucker', 'fuck' and (from one black singer to another) 'nigger'.
A similar complaint was upheld against digital station Liquid (on Greater London III multiplex).
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2003-10-24: Viacom has reported third quarter revenues up 5% on a year ago to a record USD6.60 billion with Operating Income Up 7% to USD1.38 billion and net income up 9% to USD 700 million, USD 0.40 per diluted share.
Of its divisions, video has a 25% increase in operating income, followed by 20% in cable networks and 19% in television but radio lagged behind with a 3% increase to USD 266 million.
Radio revenues were up 2% to USD 552 million with President and COO Mel Karmazin commenting on a conference call that Infinity's Los Angeles and Chicago stations had recorded 11% increases, more than twice those of their markets.
In New York, however, he admitted to a 1% fall in revenues, mainly down to the problems at WNEW-FM although he defended the axing of the Opie and Anthony Show (hosted by Gregg Hughes and Anthony Cumia) following the sex in St Patrick's cathedral stunt, saying that what they did was "not acceptable to Viacom at any price, so we had to make a decision and take them off the air." Karmazin said they "would make that same decision again; we will not tolerate that kind of programming."
Karmazin also said that he wanted - and expected - radio to lead growth in Viacom, not hold it back as it had done in the first half of this year.
Overall he focussed on the other divisions, saying, "Viacom delivered the best third quarter performance in its history with segment operating income gains of 20% in Cable Networks, 25% in Video, and nearly 20% in Television. We continue to see positive momentum in our national advertising platforms, which are benefiting from a strong upfront at CBS, MTV Networks and BET and significant growth in syndication markets. With our management focus and our superior creative and operational execution, Viacom is extraordinarily well positioned to benefit from an improving economic environment which will lead to continued growth in the national advertising markets and a resurgence of local ad markets."
Viacom chairman and CEO Sumner M. Redstone commented, "Viacom's record third quarter results, including a double-digit increase in earnings per share, demonstrate our continuing ability to generate returns for shareholders. We delivered top line growth in nearly every business area and brought in significant operating income gains, all despite slower than expected growth in local advertising that did not keep pace with gains in the national ad market. Viacom also continued to deliver value to shareholders by using our strong free cash flow to purchase our stock and to declare a quarterly dividend. Looking ahead, we remain confident that 2004 will be the best year in Viacom's history, led by expectations of a continued economic resurgence, a return to the historic mix of growth in advertising markets and the favourable impact of unique programming and political events during the coming year."
For the year as a whole, Viacom is saying it still expects mid- to high-single digit growth in revenues and operating income with low- to mid-teen growth in earnings per share and for 2004 it says it expects revenue growth of 5% to 7%, resulting in operating income growth of 12% to 14% and earnings per share growth of 13% to 15%.
In Canada, Corus Entertainment has announced consolidated revenues for its fourth quarter ending August 31, 2003 up 2% on a year ago at CAD175 million (USD 134 million), EBITDA up nearly ten-fold from CAD 4.4 million (USD 3.4 million) to CAD 41.7 million (USD 32 million) and net income of
CAD 12.4 million (USD 9.5 million, CAD 0.29 per share) compared to a loss of CAD 189.9 million (USD 145.5 million, or CAD4.45 per share).
For the full year, Corus had net income of CAD 40 million (USD 30.7 million or CAD 0.94 pr share) compared to a loss of CAD168.6 million (UD 129 million or CAD3.96 per share) on revenues that were down 5% to CAD 643.9 million (USD493.5 million) following several business divestitures in 2002 and 2003 and the planned reduction in Nelvana's production slate. On a pro forma basis, revenues were up 2% over the previous year reflecting the advertising growth from Corus' core radio and television assets.
Corus's radio division saw a 4% increase in the final quarter to CAD 57.7 million (USD 44.2 million) aided by a &5 increase in national advertising sales with radio EBITDA for the quarter up 9% to CAD 16.6 million (USD 12.7 million); for the full year, radio revenues increased 7% to CAD 226 million (USD 173 million) with EBITDA up 10% to CAD 58.1 million (USD 44.5 million).
President and CEO John Cassaday commented, "This has been an excellent year for Corus," said John Cassaday, President and CEO. "We delivered top line growth, despite the negative impact in Canada of a number of unforeseen events, including war uncertainties and SARS. Our exceptional performance in growing earnings and delivering cash flow of CAD35.0 million for the year reflects our efforts to integrate our assets and focus the entire organization on operational improvement."
Executive Chair Heather Shaw added, "Corus set clear targets and strategies at the outset of this fiscal year and we're very pleased that we've exceeded these targets."
"The Company has demonstrated its ability to integrate and effectively operate the assets it has assembled and deliver value to its shareholders. Corus is well positioned to benefit from continued growth in the Canadian advertising sector.
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2003-10-24: US radio giant Clear Channel came under repeated attack from cyclists at the first US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Field Hearing On Broadcast Localism held in Charlotte, North Carolina with a number of interventions coming close to a call for revocation of its licences.
The calls followed comments made last month on WDCG-FM, Raleigh, by disc jockeys Bob Dumas and Madison Lane, who were said by one speaker to be involved in "Inciting class A felony…encouraging intentional assault and harm to cyclists."
References were made to other anti-cyclist comments on Clear Channel stations (See RNW Oct 15) and a number of speakers attacked the company, one speaking of amazement that "these two clowns are still employed" and another terming a host "provocative and callous."
FCC chairman Michael Powell said there had been formal complaints about the incident that were being investigated.
The hearing also heard a number of expressions of concern about consolidation of ownership,including one concerning voice-tracking, and others linked to statements that this automatically reduced local power.
Amongst those taking this line was panellist John Rustin, the Director of Government Relations for the North Carolina Family Policy Council, who said that a "station owner who resides in his or her local community is more likely to understand and respond to local standards than someone making programming decisions from hundreds or thousands of miles away."
He had praised local owners for keeping some shows off the air and in his introductory remarks Charlotte's Mayor Pat McCrory had cited the failure of the Howard Stern show in the local market as an example of localism at work.
Other complaints came on matters such as the need in a democracy for coverage of local news and politics with North Carolina Rep. Mel Watt, who is supporting the call for the repeal of the FCC's June 2 media regulations commenting that "The best citizen is an informed citizen."
Another panellist, singer/ songwriter Tift Merritt brought u