April 2005 Archive
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RNW April comment - Looks at how the UK has introduced digital radio and considers how HD digital radio will fare in the US.
RNW March comment - Considers how US terrestrial radio should meet competition from new competitors and considers strong local services are best placed to compete.
RNW February comment - Expresses concern about the pressures put on broadcasters by pressure groups, the public and advertisers without any relation to discernibly consistent standards.
2005-04-30: Clear Channel has reported first quarter net income down 59% on a year ago to USD 47.9 million with earnings per diluted share down 53% to 9 cents on revenues down 4% to approximately USD 1.9 billion.
It also announced that it was to spin off its live-entertainment business and also launch a separate initial public offering for 10 per cent of Clear Channel Outdoor. As well as its split, Clear Channel announced a USD 3.00 per share special dividend and 50% increase in its recurring quarterly dividend too USD 0.1875 per share ($0.75 per share annually).
The Clear Channel Entertainment spin-off is conditioned on receipt of a tax opinion of counsel and letter ruling from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) confirming its tax-free nature.
Clear Channel shares rose initially following its announcement but then fell back again to end the day just 0.19% down at USD 31.94 having touched USD 34.30 at one point.
In divisional revenue terms, Outdoor had a strong quarter with revenues up 11% to USD 579 million, "Other" revenues were up 5% to USD 138 million, radio was down 7% to USD 774 million and Live Entertainment was down 17% to USD 423 million, put down to lower ticket sales because of fewer big-name concerts this year.
Clear Channel said the radio decline was "primarily due to a reduction in overall commercial minutes, offset by average rate increases" an added that there had been a slower adoption than expected by advertisers of the shorter commercials being offered in its Less is More initiative although it expects "that this will improve as the year continues."
Commenting on the results president and chief executive Mark Mays said, "In what was a challenging first quarter, we maintained our focus on leading change, driving innovation and delivering value to our customers across our leading out-of-home media assets."
"Clear Channel Radio's results," he added, "reflect our first full quarter of performance in a 'Less is More' listening environment. While still early, we are already seeing proof that we are providing a better listening experience and more effective environment for advertisers. Early indications point to ratings improvements and pricing across all commercial lengths increased steadily throughout the quarter, continuing into the second."
Mays said Clear Channel remained "committed to maximizing shareholder value and returning cash flow to shareholders, underscored by our repurchase of over USD 670 million in common stock this year. Combined with the strategic initiatives announced today, we are taking the right steps for the future of our Company and have the utmost confidence in our plan and the people implementing it."
Commenting on the "Strategic Realignment of Businesses to Enhance Shareholder Value", Mays said in a company statement, "We're seeking to unlock the considerable value in our Company, and create a strong foundation for future growth, by improving the strategic, operational and financial flexibility in each of our leading business units."
He added, "We expect these transactions to highlight the fundamental value of each of our leading businesses in a tax efficient manner, so that current and future investors can more clearly evaluate the Company's overall inherent value. These initiatives are designed to optimally capitalize each business in a manner that generates enhanced equity returns while maintaining strong balance sheets and preserving financial flexibility. Each business will have sharpened management focus and an improved ability to attract, retain and reward employees in a way that's aligned with shareholders."
Mays stressed that the split move was not a sign of lack of confidence in radio, saying at the conference call that the company remained "bullish" about radio in the long term and saying in a statement, "We are highly confident in the future growth prospects of the broadcasting business. Our creative efforts to innovate the industry by giving listeners more of what they come to radio for and delivering a better environment for advertisers have already paid dividends with our listeners and advertisers. By reducing clutter, implementing unique advertising units with exceptional creative execution, and developing new, highly compelling programming through strong local, regional and national brands, we will continue to deliver outstanding entertainment and information to our listeners and superior results to our advertisers. We are the best equipped radio broadcaster to benefit from a rebound in advertising while leveraging the sustainability of local content."
Chairman Lowry Mays added, "Clear Channel's long history of creating shareholder value has taken another leap forward today. This bold strategic initiative that the Board approved is a transforming event for the Company and one that will unleash numerous benefits focused on allowing us to continue to provide shareholders with superior long-term returns. Our radio and television, outdoor and entertainment businesses are leaders in their respective industries. Each has respected management teams and unique opportunities for growth. We couldn't be more excited about our Company's future."
CFO Randall Mays commenting on the dividends said, "Clear Channel Communications is fortunate to own businesses which generate substantial amounts of free cash flow and under present circumstances we believe we can best demonstrate that ability by returning a considerable amount of excess capital directly to shareholders. Today's announcement of a special dividend and a 50% increase in our regular quarterly dividend enhances shareholder returns both at the outset and on a recurring basis."
Under the plan to split the company, Clear Channel Communications will retain no interest in the new Clear Channel Entertainment company, which will have a separate Board of Directors to be comprised of a majority of independent Directors not overlapping with Clear Channel Communications' Directors.
Current Clear Channel Entertainment CEO Brian Becker is to leave the company "to pursue alternative entrepreneurial opportunities" and will form a form a joint venture company with Clear Channel Entertainment "to pursue entertainment content opportunities."
Randall Mays will serve as interim Chief Executive Officer during Clear Channel Entertainment's transition to an independent company.
Regarding the Outdoor business, Clear Channel will retain its controlling interest but says the plan means, "A partially-separated Clear Channel Outdoor will enjoy greater strategic focus and flexibility. Additionally, Clear Channel Outdoor will be able to supplement its attractive organic profile by pursuing selective acquisitions using a currency based on its inherent valuation rather than the blended valuation represented by the Company's current common stock."
In other US radio results, Interep has reported commission revenue in the first quarter up 3.3% on a year ago to 17.5 million, mainly attributable to improvements in national spot advertising; its net loss applicable to common shareholders was down from 9.2 million a year ago (90 cents a share) to 5.7 million (51 cents a share) this year.
Chairman and CEO Ralph Guild commented, "Interep's commission revenue improved in the first quarter due to what appears to be an overall strengthening in the national radio market. This strength is continuing into the second quarter with a broad range of categories showing growth, including continued improvement in the Automotive and Retail sectors."
"Prudent fiscal management, coupled with increased demand for radio advertising," he added," should make for significantly improved operating results in 2005."
Bill McEntee, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer added that Interep was "excited about our prospects for 2005" and continued, "Last year, we implemented several cost-cutting initiatives in non-sales related areas, which are now being positively reflected in our 2005 numbers and are anticipated to reduce operating costs by approximately $6 million in 2005 compared to 2004. First quarter revenue exceeded the comparable period in 2004, and we outperformed our budget goals."
"Pacings for the second quarter," he said, "continue to be strong, and at this point we expect mid-single digit revenue growth for the quarter. Interep also continues to have adequate liquidity for its current needs with $4.4 million of cash and $8.0 million of availability under the revolving credit facility as of March 31, 2005."
Previous Clear Channel:
Previous Guild:
Previous Interep:
Previous Lowry Mays:
Previous Mark Mays:
Previous Randall Mays:
Previous McEntee:
2005-04-30: WorldSpace India Private Ltd., which runs WorldSpace satellite radio in India, has appointed former IndusInd Media & Communications head Deepak Varma as its new managing director.
He replaces KR Harish, who will become CFO of WorldSpace's Asia operations.
WorldSpace is boosting its Indian operations with a new marketing and advertising campaign and is to start operations in other cities in India following its start of operations in Hyderabad earlier this month. It plans to extend them to Mumbai, Delhi, Pune, Ahmedabad, Chandigarh and Kolkata (See RNW Apr 16).
Previous Indian Radio:
Previous WorldSpace:
2005-04-30: Nine UK radio sales groups have confirmed that they are to take part in UK Leaders Live, a show to be simulcast tomorrow featuring the leaders from all three major UK political parties - Prime Minister Tony Blair, Conservative leader Michael Howard, and Liberal-Democrat leader Charles Kennedy on the last Sunday before the UK General Election on Thursday (See RNW Apr 9).
They include Capital Radio, Chrysalis, Emap, Saga, and UBC. The show will air from 09:00 to 10:30 GMT and will be hosted by radio and TV presenters Krishnan Guru-Murthy and Margherita Taylor.
2005-04-30: New US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chairman Kevin J. Martin has announced that he intends to appoint Daniel Gonzalez as the Commission's Chief of Staff, Monica Desai as Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau Chief, Kris Monteith as Enforcement Bureau Chief, and Tom Navin as Wireline Competition Bureau Chief.
He is also to appoint Michelle Carey to his personal staff as Legal Advisor for Wireline Issues.
Gonzalez has served as Chairman Martin's Senior Legal Advisor and Wireline Advisor since February 2002, and since September 2004, Michelle Carey served as Deputy Chief of the Wireline Competition Bureau prior to which she was Chief of the Competition Policy Division for nearly five years
Desai has worked at the Commission since 1999 including a spell as an interim legal advisor to then-Commissioner Martin on spectrum and international issues and various common carrier and media issues; Monteith most recently served as Deputy Bureau Chief for Outreach and Intergovernmental Affairs in the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau; and Navin most recently served as the Chief of the Wireline Competition Bureau's Competition Policy Division,
Previous FCC:
Previous Martin:
2005-04-30: Buckley Broadcasting's WOR-AM, New York, will end 80 years at its studios at 1440 Broadway today with a final broadcast from Joey Reynolds in his 01:00 to 05:00 slot after which all broadcasts will come from WOR's new studios at 111 Broadway.
The station, which first went on air in 1922, moved to New York from New Jersey in 1941. As well as the studio move it is also involved in a transmitter move from its current site since 1967 in Lyndhurst, New Jersey.
The site, on a former dump, is to be developed with other sites by the State of New Jersey and WOR is rebuilding its transmitter facility on nearby virgin swamp.
Previous Buckley Broadcasting:
WOR web site:
2005-04-29: US radio revenues in March were up 3% on a year ago according to latest figures from the US Radio Advertising Bureau (RAB): On a year-to-date basis they are now up 2%, having risen 3% in January and remained flat in February.
Within the figures local ad sales were up 3% for March, national revenues were up 5% and non-spot revenues were flat.
RAB's Radio Revenue Index that equates the pre-dot com base year 1998 to 100 showed a total spot index of 142.8 in March with the local sales index 142.3 and the national one 146.0: The comparative year-to-date indices were total spot 142.9; local 141.3;and national 146.5.
Commenting on the results RAB President and CEO Gary Fries said, "Radio is evolving at a rapid pace, both technologically and creatively. Growth should remain steady throughout the year, as the medium and its advertisers explore how to maximize the advantages emerging from this new landscape."
Previous Fries:
Previous RAB and RAB figures (February):
2005-04-29: Sirius has reported ending its first quarter with 1.45 million subscribers, says it now has more than 1.5 million and has increased its expected year-end figure from 2.5 million to 2.7 million but it also reported an increased loss, up from USD 144.1 million (12 cents a share) a year ago to USD 193.6 million (19 cents a share) this year.
Its revenues were up 365% over a year ago at USD 43.2 million, a much larger pro-rata increase than rival XM which increased its revenues 140% on a year earlier to USD 103 million (See RNW Apr 28) driven by subscription increases - it had a net gain of 305,437 subscribers in the quarter.
Sirius also reported an improvement in its monthly churn to 1.3%, the lowest since it began, and said it is now costing it USD 190 to add a new subscriber, 23% down on a year ago, a figure it expects to reduce to below USD 145 for the full year 2005: In comparison XM says it is now spending USD 90 to add a new subscriber.
Sirius is forecasting full-year revenues of USD 215 million, up from previous guidance of USD 210 million and adjusted operational losses of about USD 510 million compared to previous guidance of USD 480 million.
Commenting on the results, CEO Mel Karmazin said, "Coming off a strong finish last year, we continued to see increased demand for Sirius during the first quarter."
"Not only did we beat Wall Street consensus for subscriber and revenue growth," he added, " but we also registered our lowest churn ever, which clearly indicates a preference for our superior programming, as well as very high levels of customer satisfaction. Our strong results in the automotive channel are increasingly contributing to our subscriber growth, and we expect this momentum to build even further as more factory programs begin this year."
Karmazin also highlighted the addition of Martha Stewart Living Radio, the arrival of Howard Stern next January and of NASCAR in 2007, as likely to drive demand for Sirius's service.
At the company's conference call Karmazin expressed disappointment that Sirius products were not available in may stores in January because of low supplies but said this had now been remedied.
He also said that Sirius had no current intention of increasing its USD 12.95 a month subscription although research had shown they could get away with increases without hitting subscriptions and churn.
Sirius shares ended up 1.128% on the day at USD 4.73 whilst those of rival XM were down 3.88% to USD 27.25.
Previous Karmazin:
Previous Sirius:
2005-04-29: The Florida Supreme Court has refused to hear conservative host Rush Limbaugh's appeal against an earlier 4th District Court of Appeals ruling that held that prosecutors had legally seized his medical records during an investigation in to whether he had "doctor-shopped" See RNW Oct 7, 2004). Limbaugh obtained about 2,000 painkillers, prescribed by four doctors in six months - to obtain large amounts of painkillers.
The court has not published the reasons for its 4-3 decision.
Limbaugh's records were sealed whilst his appeal as to be heard and it is not clear how soon state prosecutors will move to look at them.
So far the host, who is usually very speedy in posting news of decisions that go his way, has not posted any reference to the latest ruling on his web site.
10:00 GMT Update: Limbaugh's lawyer Roy Black has issued a statement (Still not posted on the host's site 12 hours later) saying that all along he had said there was no breach of the "doctor shopping" laws and adding, "Mr. Limbaugh appropriately sought treatment for severe back pain and for pain from an operation to restore his hearing. He has not been charged with a crime, and he should not be charged. His medical records will show that he received legitimate medical treatment for legitimate medical reasons."
"Only those who have suffered the long-term agony of chronic, severe pain will understand what Mr. Limbaugh was going through and why the appropriate medical treatment for his pain was so important," said Black.
RNW comment: The Black statement strikes us as the usual tendentious arguing with which he and Limbaugh are commonly associated by many people, ourselves included.
The information that has come out so far indicates to us that, although Black may be right about an important general point for patients' privacy, it's stretching credulity to the limit to try and get anyone to agree with the emphasis he puts on this case.
Previous Limbaugh:
2005-04-29: The Australian Broadcasting Authority (ABA) has found that a New South Wales community station breached the country's Broadcasting Services Act 1992 by broadcasting advertisements but rejected other complaints that it had failed to encourage members of the community to participate in the operations and programming of the service and failed to establish a written conflict resolution policy.
Blacktown City Community Radio Association Inc, licensee of 2SWR, Blacktown, was held to have broadcast advertisements in Punjabi and Sri Lankan programmes - through the mention of a particular supermarket in one Punjabi programme and mention of a fashion business I another and
Through the mention of a number of businesses without required sponsorship tags in the Sri Lankan programmes.
The station had already taken action to prevent future breaches and the ABA opted to take no further action although it will continue to monitor the station's compliance with the rules.
Previous ABA:
2005-04-29: Viacom has named Michael J. Dolan, formerly Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Young & Rubicam Inc., as Executive Vice President And Chief Financial Officer to succeed Richard J. Bressler, CFO from March 2001, who is not renewing his contract.
Dolan takes over his new duties on May 11 and will report to chairman and CEO Sumner Redstone.
Previous Redstone:
Previous Viacom-CBS-Infinity:
2005-04-28: XM added nearly 550,000 subscribers in the first quarter of this year to reach 3.77 million, on target it says to reach 5.5 million by the end of this year, and cut its overall loss from USD 170.1 million (96 cents a share) in Q1, 2004, to USD 119.9 million (58 cents a share): The figures a year ago included a one-time non-cash charge of USD 25.6 million -- a provision for deferred income taxes.
Revenues in the first quarter were nearly two-and-a- half times that of a year ago, up 140% to USD 103 from USD 43 million, driven mainly by subscription growth - it increased subscriptions by 541,140, a 68 percent increase over the 321,675 subscribers added in the first quarter 2004, and finished the quarter with 3,770,264 subscribers.
XM said the retail aftermarket accounted for almost 60 percent of total net subscriber additions driven by heavy demand for Roady2, SKYFi2 and the new MyFi portable, wearable radio: it cut the cost of adding a subscriber from USD 106 a year ago to USD 80 in the first quarter of this year.
EBITDA loss was cut from USD 78 million a year ago to USD 71.3 million.
XM President and CEO Hugh Panero said of the results," This was an outstanding first quarter by any measure. XM added more than 541,000 subscribers, kicked off comprehensive coverage of the 2005 Major League Baseball season, successfully launched our third satellite and exited the quarter with an annualized revenue run rate of $430 million."
"We are very pleased with our performance to date," he continued, "and remain on track to reach 5.5 million subscribers by year-end."
Panero also noted during the company's conference call that the company had not been harmed by raising its subscription from USD 9.99 to USD 12.95 but had gained a significant number of long-term subscribers though the move with 34% of subscriptions being for an annual or multi-year plan in the quarter, up from 24% in the final quarter of last year.
XM has also announced the launch of a 24-hour Spanish language sports channel in partnership with soccer play-by-play announcer and entrepreneur Andres Cantor. The channel, to debut in July, will feature in-depth coverage of the 2006 FIFA World Cup Soccer tournament, including qualifying matches and will also broadcast coverage of Latin American and Mexican baseball and boxing. XM will broadcast World Cup soccer matches in English on a separate channel.
Although the figures were above analysts' expectations, XM shares fell around 1.5% in early afternoon before rebounding and ending the day 2.72% up at USD 28.35. Those of rival Sirius, due to report today, fell further - down around 6.4% in early afternoon before recovering somewhat but they still ended the day 4.11% down at USD 4.67.
In other US radio results, Jefferson-Pilot Communications' has reported first quarter earnings up 5% on a year ago to USD 11.0 million in the first quarter with Broadcast cash flow also up 5% - to USD 23.0 million.
Previous Jefferson-Pilot:
Previous Panero:
Previous Sirius:
Previous XM:
2005-04-28: According to the Drudge Report, the US Secret Service is investigating Air America Radio following a skit on the Randi Rhodes Show that featured an apparent gunshot warning.
The site quotes an unnamed government source as saying, "Even joking about shooting the president is a crime, let alone doing it on national radio... we are taking this very seriously."
Drudge reports the skit's contents as starting with an announcer saying, "A spoiled child is telling us our Social Security isn't safe anymore, so he is going to fix it for us. Well, here's your answer, you ungrateful whelp: [audio sound of 4 gunshots being fired.] Just try it, you little bastard. [audio of gun being cocked]."
Drudge also reports that Rhodes apologized for the skit that she called "a lame attempt at humour."
At a White House briefing spokesman Scott McClellan, asked about the broadcast, commented according to the official White House report, "I haven't heard anything about it until you must mentioned it, but it sounds very inappropriate and over the line to me from the way you described it."
RNW comment: Maybe it's our understanding of the meaning of the word "investigate (to look into something carefully to discover the truth)" or general lack of regard for Drudge's record of accuracy but we find Drudge's report his usual overblow and the quote one we hope for the sake of American "free speech" to be an invention.
We can't we see how a skit, as opposed to incitement to violence, can reasonably be termed a "crime" but wouldn't dissent, from the description of the skit as "lame" nor from McClellan's comment.
Previous Air America:
Previous Rhodes:
Drudge report:
White House briefing:
2005-04-28: India's state run broadcaster Praser Bharati, which oversees Doordorshan TV and All India Radio (AIR), has been told by a parliamentary panel to cut down on their broadcasts of programmes with social messages, which bring in no revenue.
The radio and TV broadcasters had complained that they were obliged to broadcast programmes that no private broadcaster would contemplate airing and AIR said its stations were bogged down by these and cited the amount of airtime it devoted to such topics as Republic Day, Independence Day, parliamentary proceedings, environment campaigns, consumer protection and programmes for industrial workers for eradication of untouchability ( The untouchables are part of India's caste system).
The panel suggested that there should be limitations on the requirements to broadcast government and social programming to enable the broadcaster to attain a "meaningful balance between social obligations and financial considerations."
It also suggested that AIR "should encourage corporate entities and multinationals to spend a part of their social welfare budget on sponsoring such programmes."
Previous AIR:
Previous Indian Radio:
Previous Prasar Bharati:
2005-04-28: Infinity has announced the launch next month of what it terms the world's first podcasting radio station with all content to be created by its listeners.
The station will be heard on Infinity's KYCY-AM, San Francisco and streamed online at kyouradio.com.
Infinity chairman and CEO Joel Hollander said of the launch, "We're always thrilled when we can incubate new programming ideas and bring them to life on our radio stations in ways we never before imagined… There is a profound shift underway in the way we use technology that allows everyone to have a voice. KYOURADIO harnesses that power by serving our listeners with content developed by them for them and offering a platform to share it with the rest of the world."
… "We envision KYOURADIO not only as a place to hear a fresh and new perspective created from the outside, but an outlet with which to foster the creativity of undiscovered talent from all walks of life."
Previous Hollander:
Previous Viacom-CBS-Infinity:
KYOURADIO site:
2005-04-28: Harris Corporation has reported revenue for its third quarter of fiscal 2005 up 18% to USD772 million with net income up 57% to USD 55.8 million (40 cents per diluted share, up from 26 cents).
Chairman, president, and CEO Howard L. Lance said it had been "another excellent quarter" and highlighted further penetration of our government business into civil and technical services markets and increased momentum in our already very strong tactical radio business."
He also said Harris's broadcast business "delivered higher gross margin in its core business and essentially completed the integration of Encoda Systems, which significantly expands our market reach."
Amongst the factors cited as aiding Harris's broadcast operations were increased sales in the U.S. of HD Radio transmission equipment - Harris says it has more than half the market for HD radio transmission equipment - but this was offset by soft international market conditions for both analogue and European-standard digital broadcast equipment.
Harris's Broadcast Communications segment reported revenue up 40.8% to USD 103.2 million with operating income up nearly 14-fold, from USD 500,000 a year earlier to USD 6.9 million.
2005-04-27: Cutting its advertising load has benefited its ratings in Chicago according to Clear Channel whose regional vice president and market manager John Gehron attributed a strong ratings performance in the Winter Arbitrons in part to the company's "Less Is More" initiative to scale back commercial breaks and reduce ads and promos.
"People found our stations more listenable," Gehron said of the change to the Chicago Sun-Times.
In the ratings Clear Channel's urban contemporary WGCI-FM held on to a 5.4 share and overtook news/talk WGN-AM, whose share was down from 5.9 to 5.3, for the top spot overall. WGN had been in top rank since fall 2002.
Clear Channels adult urban WVAZ-FM was third overall (4.7 down to 4.6), its smooth jazz WNUA-FM ( 4.0 up to 4.3) and adult contemporary WLIT (4.6 down to 4.3 ) were fifth equal.
Infinity's WBBM-FM was furth ( 4.3 up to 4.5).
In his Chicago Sun-Times column Robert Feder says the other big winner was Univision Radio's Spanish-language adult contemporary WPPN-FM ("Pasion 106.7 FM") that four months after its debut became the top Spanish station in the market: It increased its share from 1.0 in the fall ratings to 2.8 to take 12th rank overall, ahead of stablemate WOJO-FM (14th with share fell from 3.7 to 2.8) and Spanish Broadcasting System's WLEY-FM (17th with share down from 3.2 to 2.4).
RNW comment: It seems to us rather premature to claim without supporting evidence that reducing advertising clutter boosted Clear Channel's stations in the ratings although we would certainly find a station preferable without long advertising breaks and find it a reasonable deduction that fewer adverts could boost a station's audience.
At the same time, we'd also expect that as US terrestrial radio moves to digital - with the potential for more channels, and also exploits podcasting and Internet services, it would also find that it may well have to trim advertising breaks to keep its audience albeit with more outlets for advertising that may not cut back income in proportion to the reduction.
Previous Clear Channel:
Previous Feder:
Previous Gehron:
Chicago Sun-Times - Feder column:
2005-04-27: US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chairman Kevin J. Martin has asked for approval to increase the agency's spending in its 2006 financial year by 8.2% over the 2005 level to USD 304.1 million with a direct federal funding request of USD 4.8 million, up from USD 1 million. The balance of the payment would come from regulatory fees.
Martin told the House Appropriations Committee that to continue operating at its current level the agency would need a 3% increase for non discretionary increases such as salaries and inflation increases for office rental and contractual services.
In addition he sought an additional USD 14.27 million for an E-Government Personnel Program (USD 450,000), for a Licensing Integration Initiative (USD 1.35 million), a special Field Facilities Improvement Initiative at the Commission's offices in Columbia, Maryland (USD 9.3 million), and to hire 26 limited term FTEs (Full Time Equivalent staff) to increase the agency's Universal Service Fund audit and oversight activities in Fiscal Year 2006 (USD 3.17 million).
Asking for the funding, Martin said he understood "the Subcommittee seeks to ensure the Commission runs a tight fiscal ship, and I share that goal " and said he was working with his staff "to continue undertaking a comprehensive review of the Commission's budget and Commission operations to ensure that when we do receive our funding level for the next fiscal year, we are prepared to use our resources in the most efficient manner possible."
Previous FCC:
Previous Martin:
2005-04-27: The UK Times reports that, despite its protestations last month that its radio division was not up for sale (See RNW Mar 26) the Guardian Media Group (GMG) will in fact consider selling them if offered more then GBP 150 million (USD 286 million).
The paper says GMG rejected a GBP 115 million (USD 219 million) offer from Chrysalis Group and says unnamed senior sources at GMG have indicated that "Chrysalis fell well short of our value, which is £150 million to £175 million".
It adds that GMG is not under pressure to sell because its debts are a manageable GBP 450 million (USD 857 million) and falling, but the amount of borrowing means that it would struggle to expand by buying other stations.
The Times notes that GMG's radio operations lost GBP 2.1 million (USD 4.0 million) last year and says while that performance is expected to improve, few in the industry believe that the business can command a valuation of more than GBP 120 million (USD 229 million).
Previous GMG:
UK Times report:
2005-04-27: Philadelphia morning drive duo Preston Elliot and Steve Morrison (Preston and Steve) seem to have won their fight to go on air at Greater Media's rock station WMMR-FM.
The pair were signed up by WMMR when Radio One Inc. closed down its alternative rock WPLY-FM in February but Radio One claimed that they could not work for WMMR because of a six-month non-compete clause in their contract allied with a 12-month non-solicitation agreement.
They had argued that because their former station had been closed and competition would thus be against an entity that did not exist, the non-compete died with it and Federal Judge Cynthia Rufe agreed with their argument and issued a preliminary injunction against Radio One allowing the two to start work at WMMR.
Radio One in a statement said it would appeal against the decisions and Vice President of Operations Zemira Jones said, "We are deeply disappointed by the District Court judge's decision and intend to appeal. This decision not only impacts Radio One, but will have an adverse impact on all broadcasters, as it calls into question the enforceability of valid non-competition agreements when a format change occurs, which is common in the radio industry."
He added, "This decision is ironic in that it was Preston and Steve's decision to depart Y100 that led Radio One to change Y100's format and that change now serves as the basis for the judge's decision to bar enforcement of the non-competes."
"Contrary to press reports," he commented, "Radio One made every effort to renew Preston and Steve's contracts with Y100 beginning last fall. In spite of our efforts, Preston and Steve made a decision to leave for a competing station. In January, they announced their intent to depart Y100 upon the expiration of their contracts in February."
…"Radio One attempted to find replacement talent, but ultimately made a business decision to introduce a contemporary inspirational format in the market…"We continue to believe that we have a legitimate business interest in enforcing the non-competes, despite Y100's format change. We will continue to press our arguments on appeal and believe that we will ultimately prevail."
RNW comment: We are in general against allowing non-compete clauses since the broadcaster usually has much more power in the situation than does the talent, thus making any such deal too one-sided. In this case the talent won because of unusual circumstances but on the basis of Radio One's statement, a principle applied that seems quite reasonable does when looked at in detail seem to be finely balanced in that the hosts are said to have been determined to leave but would in the circumstances have been subject to a six months delay starting elsewhere because of the non-compete.
In general, our view is that it is a pity the system does not automatically impose a large punitive award against any station that has fired talent or not renewed a contract under existing terms and conditions and then tries to enforce a non-compete. If the talent is greedy and tries for a large pay hike, then they should lose such protection but the logic, if this is not being demanded, in our view is clearly that the station has considered them expendable and thus should not have any legal recourse to stop competition.
Previous Jones:
Previous Radio One Inc.
NEPA/AP report:
2005-04-27: UK media regulator Ofcom upheld no complaints against radio and 4 against TV in its latest bulletin compared to one radio complaint and one TV complaint upheld in the previous bulletin. It also considered a further five TV complaints resolved and rejected one TV complaint following an adjudication.
In addition a further 108 complaints relating to 100 TV items and 13 radio ones relating to 12 items were rejected or held to be out of remit compared to 141 TV complaints relating to 100 items and 18 radio complaints relating to 18 items in the previous bulletin.
Previous Ofcom:
Previous Ofcom broadcast bulletin:
2005-04-26: Online listening to BBC radio totalled 13.1 million hours in March, up nearly 60% on a year ago and up 17% on February: Of the listening, live listening reached 8 million hours, up by half on a year ago and 18% on February whilst on-demand listening totalled 5.1 million hours, up three-quarters on a year ago and 15% on February.
In addition there were more than 100,000 MP3 downloads of BBC radio programmes, taking the total number of downloads to date past 460,000.
In terms of network listening in March this year, the rankings were (Total listening hours-live plus on-demand and percentage change compared to February in brackets):
Radio 1 - (3,671,658 + 15%).
Radio 2 - (2,515,913 +13.5%).
Radio 4 - (2,163,698 +12%).
BBC 7- (1,199,454 +25%).
Radio 5 Live- (880,137 +2.5%).
Radio 3 - (666,526 + 12.5%)
6 Music - (639,007 +6.5%).
1Xtra - (577,151 +7%).
Asian Network - (221,859 + 16%).
5 Live Sports Xtra - (30,359 -20%).
The top five on-demand programmes were :
! - BBC Radio 4 soap The Archers with 445,334 listens in March - up 25% on February.
2 - Chris Moyles on BBC Radio 1 with 401,888 - up 15%;
3 - Essential Mix on BBC Radio 1 with 230,443 - up 22%;
3 - Radio 1's Chart Show with JK & Joel with 207,731 (In February its predecessor, The Official Chart Show, was sixth with 122,596);
5 - The Essential Selection on BBC Radio 1 with 202,357 - Down from fifth despite listening up 16%.
Dance Anthems from BBC Radio 1 dropped from fifth to seventh with 137,074 as listening dropped 6%.
Previous BBC:
Previous BBC Online figures:
2005-04-26: Eastlan Resources is trying to tap the radio ratings business for smaller US markets with the launch of its Analysis One product that provides a survey for markets with a population of up to 50,000 at a cost of USD 3,999.
Eastlan President Mike Gould said the product had been "designed with the micro-market broadcaster specifically in mind," adding, "Over the past couple of years, we've repeatedly been asked about the possibility of creating a survey product that would allow micro-markets the ability to look at multiple demos and day parts."
The survey uses a sample of 200 covering all demographics but only for a limited number of day parts.
Earlier this month, Eastlan added another market to its roster with a deal with Southern Broadcasting, which has a five-station cluster there, to survey the Northeast Georgia (Athens) market, previously an Arbitron CSAR market.
Previous Eastlan:
Previous Gould:
2005-04-26: More radio stations round the world are trying podcasting cum MP3 offerings on their web sites with amongst the latest addition a new podcast from Corus Entertainment that is offering what it says is the first podcast in Canada of national music-based programmes. On offer for download across Corus' new rock and classic rock stations are popular music documentary programs The Ongoing History of New Music and Legends of Classic Rock are now available.
The programmes, developed by Corus' in-house Interactive team, can be accessed through Classic Rock 101 and CFOX-AM, Vancouver, Q107 in Calgary, The Hawk and FM 96 in London, Ontario, and The Edge and Q107 in Toronto.
The Ongoing History of New Music, which has been on the air for more than a decade and is hosted by modern rock music historian Alan Cross, is the longest-running music documentary feature in Canada and the themes, facts, issues, myths and personalities behind today's music culture.
Legends of Classic Rock, hosted by Rock 101 Vancouver PD and musicologist, Jeff Woods, gives listeners the stories behind the music.
Corus Radio National Program Director Ross Winters said, "Eighteen- to 34-year-olds have the MP3 players and they're eager to try out this new technology, but until this point, there has been very little content that appeals to them. So, Corus Radio offers them a solution: on-demand music-based programming from our rock stations-number 1 and 2 with the same group, in virtually every market we're in."
Corus is planning to extend the service, which began earlier this month, with other podcasts including syndicated spoken-word content.
In Ireland, state broadcaster RTÉ has also dipped its toes into the waters with its first offering, an MP3 file from Lyric FM's Artszone of a tour of various famous Dublin buildings by Dr Hugh Campbell of the School of Architecture at University College, Dublin.
The programme was made to mark the Architectural Association of Ireland's inaugural series of lectures in modern architecture.
Previous Corus:
Previous RTÉ:
RTÉ Lyric FM site:
(MP3 to Download - 10 Mb).
2005-04-26: The Broadcasting Complaints Commission of Ireland (BCCI) has upheld three complaints against radio, one relating to a "joke" newsflash in December last year saying that Pope John Paul 2 was clinically dead, and one against TV out of 25 complaints considered at its board meeting this month: Of the 25, four were considered frivolous or vexatious and closed, consideration of two was deferred and adjudications made on 19.
The radio complaints upheld related to a programme item, a promo, and an advert that referred to premium rate services without detailing the related tariff.
The programme complaints upheld were both against the "Breakfast Show with Eamon Dunphy" on Talk 106. One related to a mock "newsflash" during an interview on the Northern Ireland peace process saying that Pope John Paul II was clinically dead and that Cardinal Ratzinger was in charge for the time being.
Complainant Fr. Declan Moriarty had phoned the station about the newsflash and was told it was a joke and complained that he the "joke" distasteful, anti-catholic and insensitive to people suffering from Parkinson's disease and/or arthritis.
Upholding the complaint, the Commission commented "The humour throughout the sketch was based on the failing health of the Pope with its 'punch-line' being a purported unintelligible speech made by him, during which canned laughter was used. Basing humour on the real illness of an individual, and announcing his 'clinical death' in a spoof newsflash is not acceptable. Not only is it insensitive, it is asinine and highly offensive. Also, the manner in which the piece was presented gave cause for concern. It was not until near the end of the 'sketch' that a listener would have been aware that it was a 'spoof' comedy sketch. Such crass treatment of the Pope's grave state of health was unwarranted and in extremely bad taste."
The other complaint upheld related to a promotion for Dunphy's show, purporting to be an advertisement for UK Business on the Move, that featured a man boasting crudely about the number of 'Filipino' women he had sex and about the 'sister of the Quartermaster of the …branch of the IRA' with whom he had also engaged in similar behaviour.
The complainant said she could not understand how the material promoted the show and objected to the crude language, denigration of women and, in particular, to the racist undertones of the piece.
Upholding this complaint the commission commented, "The scenarios presented included discriminatory references to women, some of which were also racist, lewd sexual descriptions and puerile male bravado. In the opinion of the Commission the language and the descriptions used denigrated women including women from particular ethnic backgrounds. Such reference to, and treatment of, any section of the community is unacceptable. The language and content of the sketch were in very poor taste and offensive."
2005-04-25: This week we start our look at print comment on radio in Chicago with a positive note and a different perspective on local host Erich "Mancow" Muller, best known for on-air comments that led to complaints against him to the Federal Communications Commission.
The other side, publicised by Robert Feder in his Chicago Sun-Times column, is a generosity of spirit as revealed in the host's support for competitors who have fallen on harder times.
The most recent example was Muller's reaction to a column concerning veteran Chicago host Kevin Matthews who opted not to renew his midday contract at Infinity's WCKG-FM - at the end of March Feder had reported that Matthews was being offered a renewal only if he took a pay cut of a third.
Matthews was attacked for his decision by WGCK afternoon host Steve Dahl and Feder subsequently ran a readers' letters column in which some letters attacked Matthews: Muller reacted by jumping to his former rival's defence.
As Feder's column had it: "'Shame! Shame! Shame!' Muller wrote in a letter to me that he also posted on his Web site. "Your recent article featuring readers letters was an abomination. We can rebuild Iraq, but let's keep kicking Kevin Matthews when he's down.
"It's very easy for these within-earshot experts to pummel without any understanding of what it's like to be talent in a corporate media mindsuck. Yes, I bashed Kevin -- but I'm a smart mouthed morning man and he was my competition! Steve 'Backstabber' Dahl gloated and readers pounced when Kevin couldn't fight back. It's cheap and dirty."
Feder notes that Muller had a similar response in 2002 when WBBM-FM morning duo Ed Volkman and Joe Bohannon were pulled off the air in a contract dispute with Infinity - they eventually re-signed for seven years at more than USD1.5 million a year each.
Asked why he did it, Muller said, "I've always thought the battle between radio personalities was a joke. It's play time. Underneath, there's a brotherhood in this shrinking business."
RNW comment: Although we note that the hosts involved were from a rival organization and Dahl was making his comments from inside the Infinity tent, Muller's reaction seems to be both generous and an intelligent recognition of longer-term self-interest for all in the business. It's certainly a plus in our view.
On then to comments on another host who jumped ship - and again a fairly generous attitude to him: In this case the host was Bob Edwards who moved to XM last year after National Public Radio moved him from his slot as host of its Morning Edition programme.
NPR ombudsman Jeffrey A. Dvorkin in a recent column noted that almost a year after Edwards left readers still asked about him, albeit in declining numbers.
Writing, "I think it's time to invoke some closure on this issue so we all can move along," Dvorkin summarized what had happened through responses to questions in an e-mail from a listener.
He also, as might be expected went on to indicate that the decision had been proven right, quoting NPR's senior vice president of programming Jay Kernis as saying a year later "Morning Edition is a better radio program, and 800,000 more listeners a week attest to that."
Edwards still comes out well, though: Dvorkin contrasts his response to leaving NPR with that of another host, Tavis Smiley, writing, "Bob was a recent guest on Tavis Smiley's show on PBS. As many NPR listeners know, Tavis hosted a radio program of the same name on NPR for three years until this past January. In leaving radio, Tavis publicly criticized NPR. On his television program, he tried to get Bob to join him in denouncing NPR."
…"To his credit, Bob wouldn't be drawn into that. In fact, Bob stated the opposite -- that he admired and respected NPR. He also said that he still listens. Bob showed himself to be a very classy guy in that interview." (Maybe that's why the listener's response to Dvorkin's reply included the conclusion, "Guess I will have to invest in satellite radio.").
And after hosts and the positive, on to some of the more usual bickering from the US, this time in relation to Air America.
In an opinion piece in the Los Angeles Times last week, City Journal senior editor Brian C. Anderson said the service was failing, writing, "The liberal Air America Radio, just past its first birthday, has probably enjoyed more free publicity than any enterprise in recent history. But don't believe the hype: Air America's left-wing answer to conservative talk radio is failing, just as previous efforts to find liberal Rush Limbaughs have failed."
Anderson then went through a number of reasons frequently put forward as to why liberal talk fails as well as contrasting the Air America success in reaching more than 50 markets with that of William J. Bennett's morning talk show, launched at the same time as Air America, and which reached more than 120
"And look at Air America's ratings," he continued. "They're pitifully weak, even in places where you would think they'd be strong. WLIB, its flagship in New York City, has sunk to 24th in the metro area Arbitron ratings - worse than the all-Caribbean format it replaced, notes the Radio Blogger. In the liberal Meccas of San Francisco and Los Angeles, Air America is doing lousier still."
Unsurprisingly - and one phrase in Anderson's item - "even if we were to grant the premise that conservative talk radio can sometimes be crudely simplistic" - does indicate some problem for him in terms of being somewhat challenged in terms of imagination and recognizing facts, Air America did not take the same view.
Responding in a letter to the paper, Air America CEO Danny Goldberg referred to the original comment as "petulant and inaccurate, an indication that conservatives are having a hard time dealing with a robust alternative to the monopoly they had on talk radio since the 1980s."
He failed to produce any details to refute the comments made about failure in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco (In Fall last year, for example, WLIB, which was 24 against fifth for WABC, which carries Limbaugh, and after increasing its Fall 2003 share from 1.1 to 1.4 in summer 2004 - after it moved to Air America - dropped back to 1.2 whilst WABC went from 3.3 to 4.1 to 4.5) but commented, "Every one of the original stations that picked up Air America has experienced dramatic increases in ratings. Our audience more than quadrupled what it was just nine months ago. We are on in 53 markets, including 16 of the top 20."
RNW comment: When we did an online check about WLIB's ratings we noted that the conservative sites in general emphasised any figures showing the network doing badly and skipped over those that showed a positive light whilst left-wing ones did the opposite but the latter tended to also feel they had to give the bad news as well whilst more of the former opted to just give one side.
On now to some suggested listening, starting with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's Background Briefing and its most recent edition , The Lesser Evil, in which Michael Ignatieff, Professor of Human Rights at Harvard University, spoke of the unpalatable decisions that those in power have to make sometimes with particular reference to the Gulf War - which he supported - and mistakes by the Bush administration.
We'd also suggest BBC Radio 4 and the Friday Play last week, My Ms And Me in which comedian and writer Jim Sweeney describers his 20 years as a victim of multiple sclerosis with humour and honesty.
Then also with an ear to those dealing with physical and/or mental difficulties, on Sunday in "Drinking With Cowboys", the first part of A Brush with the Bottle on Radio 4, recovering alcoholic Andy Mayer told of his descent into dependence on alcohol: "Tough Call", next Sunday's programme at 16:40 GMT, deals with his recovery.
Sticking with a positive note, the new series of "This I Believe", based on the original CBS series from 50 years ago, began running this month on US National Public Radio (See RNW Mar 24) and so far has included contributions from novelists Isabel Allende and John Updike and former US Secretary of State Colin Powell.
The transcripts and audio are on the NPR web site, allowing the opportunity to both listen and consider the words in more depth.
Then documentary and politics with a couple of suggestions, the first from BBC Radio 2 where tomorrow veteran British TV reporter Michael Nicholson in "Vietnam Notebook", the first of a two-part series, presents his personal history of the Vietnam war and the life for correspondents who reported on the conflict: Nicholson was amongst the reporters who scrabbled to get into the US Embassy to catch one of the last US helicopters to leave when Saigon fell thirty years ago.
And for a different perspective on that conflict, tonight at 19:00 GMT in Return to Saigon on BBC Radio 4, Megan Williams, born Hoang Mong Thu and who in 1979 arrived in Alabama as a refugee from refugee camps in Malaysia, returns to her homeland after 26 years living in the US and listens to the stories of those who remained.
For drama, but only for those who are prepared to accept gloom and language that would have the American Family Association rushing from the room with hands over their ear, we'd suggest Drama on 3 from BBC Radio 3: Yesterday's programme was Festen, adapted for radio from his stage play by David Eldridge.
Next Sunday the slot - at 18:00 GMT has Don Carlos with Derek Jacobi in the Sheffield Theatre production of the play by Friedrich Schiller.
Music next and first the weekday Performance on 3 programmes, also from BBC Radio 3 - each at 18:30 GMT that this week starts with an all-British concert tonight from the City of London Sinfonia with a programme that includes the premiere of Sir Peter Maxwell Davies's A Dance on the Hill; tomorrow features the final of the Manchester International Violin Competition; on Thursday has a retrospective of 60 years of the work of Luigi Nono; and on Friday includes the world premiere of Lyell Cresswell's Ara Kopikopiko (Maori for labyrinth).
For music - of a different nature - cum documentary "Music in Air Force Blue", aired last Friday on BBC Radio 4 told the story of tells the story of the Central Band of the RAF (Royal Air Force): It will be available on the site for a few days.
For sounds of a completely different nature we suggest The New Guinea Singing Dog at 10:00 GMT tomorrow on BBC Radio 4 - the dogs concerned have an uniquely musical howl, climb trees: They're threatened with extinction in the wild but there around 150 kept as pets in the US.
Finally a look to be broadcast next Sunday (19:00 GMT) on BBC Radio 4 in A World in Your Ear at how a prison radio station in South Africa is steering prisoners away from a life of crime. The programme, one of a series that picks up material from radio stations from round the world, is not available through the Listen Again BBC service so can only be head on the day.
Previous Columnists:
Previous Feder:
Chicago Sun-Times- Feder:
Los Angeles Times - Anderson:
Los Angeles Times -Goldberg:
NPR- Dvorkin:
2005-04-25: China has begun digital audio broadcast (DAB) trials including broadcasts by Radio Beijing, which hopes to launch an official DAB service later this year, and by other stations in Beijing and Guangdong Province.
They are amongst a number of DAB developments using the Eureka 147 system - already being broadcast in some 30 countries - round the world including the submission in Norway of plans by state broadcaster NRK to end analogue broadcasts in 2014 and in the Netherlands to cut off analogue in 2019.
NRK has already identified four FM services that it indents to migrate to DAB only by 2007 with the remainder to follow: NRK is also developing new DAB-only formats, which it hopes to launch in autumn 2006 by when coverage of the country's national DAB multiplex should be up from its current 70% to 80% of the population and that of the country's regional multiplex, currently 30%, should also go up to the same level.
In the Netherlands, which began public service DAB services in early 2004, Minister of Economic Affairs, Laurens Jan Brinkhorst, has submitted his plans for the introduction of commercial digital radio licences to the House of Representatives. The legislation includes plans for issuing digital licences to commercial broadcasters by the spring of next year and cutting off analogue transmissions by 2019.
In Italy, where test broadcasts are already being run by commercial broadcasters and cover 65% of the population, the country's Media Authority has approved and published official regulations for DAB and the country's broadcaster is expected to start DAB transmissions soon.
In the Czech Republic, changes to the country's Act on Electronic Communications mean the public broadcaster, Czech Radio, can increase its digital offerings on the national multiplex. Czech Radio is also lobbying the government Telecommunications Office for enough frequency spectrum to allow the national multiplex to cover the whole country.
World DAB Forum President Annika Nyberg commented of the developments, "Establishing strong legislation and regulation is the first step to creating a digital radio market that is beneficial to both consumers and broadcasters. We are pleased to see more and more countries adopting such legislation and thus laying the groundwork for a smooth roll out of DAB digital radio services."
Previous Nyberg:
Previous World DAB:
2005-04-25: The BBC has started running promotions of the new Radio 4 "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" series that is to start on May 3, what it terms the "last ever instalment of the late Douglas Adams' classic tale."
The original Hitchhikers was commissioned by the BBC in 1977 and began airing in March 1978 without much promotion: it subsequently led Adams to write his best-selling cult novels that were subsequently developed as the basis for a TV series, video-games and a Disney film that has just been released.
The broadcast next month follows on from the penultimate series that aired last year (See RNW Jun 24, 2004), also adapted and directed by Dirk Maggs from Adams' last two books- So Long & Thanks For All The Fish and Mostly Harmless, and will also feature the voice of the late author as Agrajag by weaving into it recordings made before his death in 2001.
The cast also includes Simon Jones and Mark Wing-Davey, who were in the original radio series as Arthur Dent and Zaphod Beeblebrox, Sandra Dickinson and David Dixon, who starred as Trillian and Ford Prefect in the 1980s TV version who this time play Tricia McMillan and Ecological Man respectively, actor Stephen Fry and Hollywood star Christian Slater who will play John Watson, also known as Wonko the Sane, a character who lives in an inside-out house.
Previous Adams:
Previous BBC:
BBC Hitchhiker's Guide web site:
2005-04-24: The past week saw no major developments but a steady flow of activity from most of the regulators: In Australia, the Australian Broadcasting Authority (ABA) issued no licence decisions but did announce that it has begun an investigation into the Western Australian Aboriginal Media Association (Aboriginal Corporation) (WAAMA), licensee of Perth community radio broadcasting service 100.9FM in response to complaints that the station is not serving the interests of the Perth Aboriginal community.
Complainants also alleged that applications from members of the Perth Aboriginal community for membership of the station had been refused and that the programming format contains insufficient material that is of interest and relevance to the Perth Aboriginal community.
The ABA says it will investigate WAAMA's compliance with the conditions of its community broadcasting licence, including specific examination of:
*Whether WAAMA remains a suitable licensee.
*Whether WAAMA continues to represent the Perth Aboriginal community; and
*Whether WAAMA encourages members of the Perth Aboriginal community to participate in the operation of the service and the selection of programs provided by the service.
In Canada, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) was involved in a number of radio licensing decisions that included, in order of province:
Alberta:
*Approval of relocation of transmitter to Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's tower with consequent increase in antenna height for CJRY-FM Edmonton.
British Columbia:
*Approval of conversion of CJAV-AM, Port Alberni, to 6,000 watts FM and authorization to simulcast the programming of the new FM station on CJAV for a transition period of three months following the commencement of its operation.
*Approval of application for 1.6 watts English-language developmental community FM in Nakusp.
*Approval of new 600 watts "pop adult" format English-language FM commercial radio station in Sechelt. The application has originally been opposed when a different frequency was proposed, by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and was opposed by Central Island Broadcasting Ltd., now known as Island Radio Ltd. (Island) on the grounds of possible economic impact on interference to CKWV-FM Nanaimo.
Newfoundland and Labrador:
*Licence renewal until 31 August 2012 of Inuktitut- and English- language radio network held by Okalakatiget Society, Nain.
Ontario:
*Approval of frequency change to 106.7 MHz, increase in antenna height, and power increase from 1,600 watts to 2,000 watts for CIKZ-FM Kitcheners-Waterloo, a Country format FM on 99.5 MHz, which was found to suffer greater interference than had been anticipated because of a rare transmission phenomenon, called "thermal ducting" that is due to atmospheric conditions causing variations in the propagation of signals through layers of warm and cold air. These layers can trap radio signals and conduct the signals over long distances causing high signal levels at distances well beyond the normal range of reception.
Other options that had been considered included a power increase - ruled out because of objections from another licensee that would suffer from interference; a transmitter relocation that would provide inadequate power to properly serve the market and construction of a new tower that would have been prohibitively expensive.
*Approval in part of new 13,300 watts multi-genre music format FM. The format is being used successfully by an Internet-based radio station, and 60% of all music to be broadcast would be Canadian selections. The application was for the 106.7 MHz frequency now allocated to CIKZ-FM and the applicant has to come up with a suitable alternative: Two other mutually exclusive applications for the frequency were rejected -to change CJTW-FM Kitchener, to the 106.7 MHz frequency; for an English-language FM in Brantford that would also have used it.
*Short-term renewal until 31 August 2009 of licence of CKLC-AM, Kingston. The shorter term was related to a review in 2003 that showed the station to be playing less than the required percentage of Canadian musical selections. The licensee had acknowledged its non-compliance but said it had subsequently taken action to comply with its licence conditions.
Saskatchewan:
*Approval of English-language 50 watts. low-power FM tourist radio station in Perdue
The CRTC also issued a public notice concerning streamlined renewal for some of the licences due to expire this year and that it intends to renew for the full seven-year period unless interventions are received by May 24.
Licences involved included:
British Columbia:
CFOX-FM, Vancouver.
CFXX-FM, Whistler.
Manitoba:
CHIQ-FM, Winnipeg.
New Brunswick:
CKOE-FM Moncton.
CITA-FM Moncton.
CHWV-FM, Saint John.
CHTD-FM, St. Stephen
CIBX-FM, Fredericton
CKHJ-1-FM New Maryland, NB
CKHJ-2-FM Oromocto.
CFQM-FM Moncton.
CKCW-FM Moncton.
CKNB-AM, Campbellton.
CIOK-FM, Saint John.
CJVA-AM, Caraquet
CKLE-FM Bathurst/Caraquet.
Newfoundland and Labrador:
CKXD-FM Gander.
CKXG-FM Grand Falls.
CICQ-FM Mount Pearl.
Ontario:
CHQI-FM Niagara-on-the-Lake.
CKML-AM, Chalk River.
CHRI-FM, Ottawa.
CJLF-FM, Barrie.
CJLF-FM-1, Owen Sound.
CJLF-FM-2, Peterborough.
CHCR-FM, Killaloe.
CHCR-FM-1, Wilno.
CJMJ-FM ,Ottawa.
CFGO-AM, Ottawa.
CFRA-AM, Ottawa
CKPT-AM, Peterborough.
CJKL-FM, Kirkland Lake.
CFLG-FM, Cornwall.
CJUL-AM, Cornwall.
CJSS-FM, Cornwall.
CJXY-FM, Burlington.
CJTN-FM, Quinte West.
CHPR-FM, Hawkesbury.
CHUR-FM, North Bay
CKAT-AM, North Bay.
CIWW-AM. Ottawa.
CJET-FM Smiths Falls.
CJCL-AM, Toronto.
CHVR-FM, Pembroke.
CIQM-FM, London.
CJBK-AM, London.
CJBX-FM, London.
CJEZ-FM, Toronto.
CKOC-AM, Hamilton.
CKLH-FM, Hamilton.
CJOJ-FM, Belleville.
CJWL-FM, Iroquois Falls.
CKNR-FM, Elliot Lake.
CHYK-FM, Timmins.
CHYX-FM Kapuskasing.
CHYK-FM-3 Hearst.
CHYC-FM, Sudbury.
Quebec:
CFIC-FM Listuguj.
CION-FM Québec.
CION-FM-1 Beauceville.
CION-FM-2 Saguenay (Chicoutimi).
CIBM-FM, Rivière-du-Loup.
CIBM-FM-1, Rivière-du-Loup.
CIBM-FM-2, Trois-Pistoles.
CIBM-FM-3 Sully.
CIBM-FM-4, Saint-Juste-du-Lac.
CKOI-FM, Montréal
CFDA-FM, Victoriaville.
Saskatchewan:
CFCR-FM, Saskatoon.
CJCQ-FM, North Battleford
CHQX-FM, Prince Albert
In Ireland, the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI) has approved in principle the takeover of two local stations: They are Radio Kerry, which is involved in talks with Midland Radio Group, who operate Shannonside Northern Sound, and Highland Radio in Donegal, which is the subject of takeover talks with Scottish Radio Holdings, who also own Today FM and Dublin's FM104. Both deals will also have to go before the Competition Authority.
In the UK Ofcom has posted full details of the four applications it has received for the new Ballymena licence it has advertised (See RNW Apr 9): They are in PDF format and total 4.23 MB.
It also announced the award of four new community licences following its award last month of the UK's first Community Radio Licence to Forest of Dean Community Radio (See RNW Mar 12).
They went to:
*Havant -- Angel Radio (Havant), which began broadcasting in March 2002 and currently operates a pilot access/community radio services specifically for persons aged 60 and over who live in Havant.
In all seven applications had been made for community licences in the Solent area. Ofcom says it is considering whether it can find frequencies for further community licences in the area.
*Stoke on Trent - Cross Rhythms City Radio, which serves the Christian access/community in the Stoke-on-Trent area has broadcast as a community radio pilot for over three years. Two other applications were made for licences in Staffordshire but the other applicants did not gain a licence
*Wales:
GTFM (Pontypridd) - another pilot station, a partnership between a local residents' association and the University of Glamorgan that aims to provide a local and inclusive radio service for the residents of Pontypridd.
Afan FM (Neath and Port Talbot), a music-based information service aimed at young people aged 11-25
Ofcom says it will consider at a later date a further three applications received from groups in South Wales.
In the US, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has set a date of November 1 for the start of its FM Auction 62. In all it proposes to auction 173 new FM licences, 143 new FM allotments, and 30 construction permits unsold from its auction 37.
The FCC has also issued details of further withdrawal payments for companies involved in its FM Auction 37.
LaGrange Broadcasting Corporation has been assessed for a payments of USD 26,630 after deducting from the total owed USD 25,000 it had paid as a deposit: It owed USD 35,000 as a final withdrawal payment for a USD 389,000 gross bid for a CP in Refugio, Texas, and a USD 14,130 initial payment relating to a USD 471,000 gross bid for a CP in Meridian, Texas.
Huryan Family Media has been assessed for USD 4,290 in initial payments after deducting from the total USD 10,000 paid as a deposit. It owed USD 1,969.50 related to a gross winning bid of USD 101,000 for a CP in Leakey, Texas, and USD 2,320.50 relating to a gross winning bid of USD 119,000 for a CP in Torrey, Utah.
Spearman Properties, LLC has been assessed for USD 35 in initial payments after deducting from the total USD 10,000 paid as a deposit. It owed USD 5,175.00 related to a gross winning bid of USD 230,000 for a CP in Mason, Texas, and USD 4,860related to a gross winning bid of USD 216,000 for a CP in Rocksprings, Texas.
Previous ABA:
Previous BCI:
Previous CRTC:
Previous FCC:
Previous Licence News:
Previous Ofcom:
ABA web site:
BCI web site:
CRTC web site:
FCC web site:
Ofcom web site
2005-04-24: Sirius CEO Mel Karmazin expects to bring the satellite radio company into profit by 2007 with advertising revenue then of around USD 100 million a year and ultimately sees satellite radio in the US gaining around 100 million subscribers according to comments he made in an interview with Advertising Age.
The publication notes however that he has to reconcile plans for advertising with resistance from subscribers to commercials and says he has no plans to put them on Sirius's 65 music channels: They will all go on its 55 news, talk, entertainment and sports channels and Karmazin expects ad revenue of up to $8 million this year, $50 million in 2006 and $100 million by 2007.
Karmazin forecasts that satellite radio will eventually gain more subscribers than cable and satellite TV combined - they are in around 90% of 108 million US homes but Karmazin notes that satellite radio also has a potential market in some 200 million cars on the road and also benefits from the potential for subscription and advertising revenue. He sees advertising revenues as being up to 30% of satellite radio's total revenues and comments of the idea of putting them on music channels, "The No. 1 annoyance consumers have to music on radio has been the commercials. Our business works so well with that paid subscriber that we don't need to mess with it by putting commercials on it."
Karmazin did not knock terrestrial radio, calling it a "great business" but adding that like the newspaper business it had now become a "mature" one and that in competing with satellite was facing disadvantages currently of poorer sound quality, the need to run advertisements on music channels in competition with satellite's commercial-free service, and the bandwidth advantage of satellite, which meant for example that they could run every football game being played rather than just one as a local station did.
Karmazin also comments on the ability to allow sponsorship of an entire channel and says of the ability to make "thing national" that this means Howard Stern will be available throughout the US not just in syndicated markets - and will also carry far fewer adverts with his show.
"There's no question in my mind that this thing is not only for real, it's huge," he said.
Regarding suggestions that his company's service should be subject to indecency legislation, he says, "Indecent speech, and Howard's show is not indecent, is protected speech under the Constitution. The interest that the government had in indecency was protecting children. In free, over-the-air broadcasting, you can't restrict the program from coming into your home. In the case of cable and satellite television and satellite radio, you can restrict it. So the idea of the government regulating HBO or regulating any of the cable TV channels or satellite radio channels, I don't see what the legal basis of it is."
He also comments on competing technologies such as portable players - "Listening to radio is a very different experience than listening to your own music" - as co-existing with satellite and argues that his company's product wins the battle decisively for a driver -- 83% of time listening to satellite, 7% to other music devices and the rest split between AM and FM.
Previous Karmazin:
Previous Sirius:
Advertising Age report:
2005-04-24: The financial windfall that Japanese Internet company Livedoor has gained from the deal being done by Fuji TV Network to take control of radio broadcaster Nippon Broadcasting System and also pump finance into Livedoor through a purchase of new shares (See RNW Apr 19) will potentially put pressure on Livedoor according to reports in the Japanese media.
In all reports the Asahi Shimbun, Livedoor will end up with JPY 147 billion (USD 1.4 billion) in cash - more than the total financial assets it listed last year.
This says the paper will put pressure on Livedoor President Takafumi Horie to invest the funds to produce a similar return on assets that the company had previously enjoyed and to do so speedily: Livedoor has in the past acquired around 30 companies, mainly in the financial sector, often through share swaps that have depended on it keeping a high share price and the paper says that should it fail to keep up returns the share price could fall and put pressure on the company's business model.
Horie said he had learned "many things, which I think will be useful in new M&As [mergers and acquisitions)" and has also said he intends to use some of the funds to develop Livedoor's Internet portal and some to fund further acquisitions.
RNW comment: Nowhere in this whole story have we seen any comment about constructive plans to improve NBS's services and the tale in some way seems to be a reprise of the corporate raids made in the US through leverage buyouts in the 1980s. At that time US companies focussed - as Japanese companies continued to do - on traditional performance measures such as sales or earnings growth rather than the cost of capital and return on it.
In that sense Horie is two decades behind the US but will face the same pressures that applied to many LBO (Leveraged Buy Out) deals in the US and frequently led to collapses of the companies involved. As a radio company rather than an opportunity for financial manipulation NBS is probably best out of his hands but the real irony would be if problems in keeping up the pace make Livedoor itself vulnerable: We might yet see Fuji take it over at knock-down prices if the Japanese economy weakens.
Previous NBS:
Asahi Shimbun report:
2005-04-24: US National Public Radio (NPR), which in 2003 launched its Tomorrow Radio initiative to test and demonstrate the technical viability of multicasting with iBiquity's HD Radio system, is to begin offering five programmed music formats to multicasting stations this summer and will develop more channels.
Tests had shown supplemental audio channels to work better than had been expected (See RNW Jan 14, 2004).
The five music formats will be classical, jazz, electronica, triple-A and folk and NPR is also developing a news and information service and formats that "would serve culturally diverse audiences."
NPR has established a Multicast Receiver Team of seven NPR member stations - WOSU-FM, Columbus; WUSF-FM, Tampa; WFAE, Charlotte; WNYC New York Public Radio; Chicago Public Radio; Northern Indiana Public Radio; and Colorado Public Radio - that is holding detailed conversations with selected receiver manufacturers, aimed at a nationwide multicast receiver initiative for public radio listeners.
Twenty-four NPR member stations will begin multicasting in this year out of 56 public radio stations already broadcasting in HD radio and a total of 312 public radio stations committed to conversion.
NPR's vice president for engineering and operations Mike Starling, the "father" of the Tomorrow Radio initiative said digital radio was the biggest innovation in the medium since Armstrong invented FM in 1933 and added, "Public radio looks at multicasting with HD Radio as more than just a new technology. It's a creative, cost-effective way to extend our public service at a time when demand for public radio is greater than ever. We want to offer better and more choices for our listeners. That's why NPR and public radio are making such significant investments in multicasting technology."
Previous iBiquity:
Previous NPR:
2005-04-23: UK radio ratings organization RAJAR (Radio Joint Audio Research) has announced that it has committed a further GBP 500,000 (USD 960,000) to its "roadmap to change " to a metering system.
Starting in June it will commence national field tests of Arbitron's Portable People Meter (PPM) and the Eurisko's Media Monitor recruiting some 3,500 adults and a further 350 children to take part in the tests.
Arbitron has already spent GBP 1.5 million (USD 2.9 million) on testing audiometers and after its most recent tests excluded the GfK/Telecontrol MediaWatch (See RNW Feb 15).
RAJAR managing director Sally de la Bedoyere said the further spending confirmed its commitment to developing an audience metering system and added that the fieldwork tests were "to focus largely on compliance issues and how respondents relate to the audiometers."
"These include," she continued, "the actual time respondents put on the audiometers and whether they wear them all day; whether there is a time of day when they are less likely to wear them; whether there are any demographic groups which have a problem wearing them; and how children will cope with wearing/carrying them. The tests will also provide a first opportunity to analyse listening data which has been captured on a national basis, and ascertain whether there are any regional variances in the data, or, indeed, in compliance."
In all three fieldwork tests are to take place: The Arbitron PPM is to be placed with both a fixed panel, similar to BARB (Broadcasters' Audience Research Board, the UK TV audience organisation), of 700 respondents (15+ plus children) and a rolling panel, similar to the current diary method, of 1400 respondents (15+ plus children) and the Eurisko Media Monitor is to be placed with a rolling panel of 1400 respondents (15+ plus children).
RAJAR will share the results of the PPM tests that include encoding signals from a small number of TV station with BARB.
Previous de la Bedoyere:
Previous RAJAR:
2005-04-23: Astral Media and Corus Entertainment have welcomed the Canadian Federal Government's decision to uphold a January decision by the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) giving the go-ahead for a station exchange between the two that will give Astral five FMs in return for seven AMs and an FM from Corus (See RNW Jan 22).
The companies expect the deal to close at the end of May and Astral Media Radio President Jacques Parisien said they were "very pleased" and continued, "Based on our market research, we have determined what the best fit will be for each station within our three strong radio brands Énergie, RockDétente and Boom fm. We are looking forward to offering the best radio content in each of these regional radio markets and are confident that these five new stations will be a strong complement to our existing radio offer in Québec."
Previous Astral:
Previous Corus:
Previous CRTC:
2005-04-23: Yet more US stations have been flipped this week to the JACK-FM - "playing what we want" format variations of it.
In Seattle Infinity flipped its KRQI-FM (K-Rock) Alternative format to the JACK FM on Friday following a flip earlier in the week of its 80's format WXPT-FM (Mix 104) in Minneapolis to the JACK format.
In Portland, Oregon, Entercom put "Charlie", a variation of the format, on its oldies KKSN-FM frequency, move KKSN to AM on the KOTK-AM signal and dropped the Talk Radio for Guys "Max 910" it had been airing on the latter frequency.
It's web site describes Charlie as "kinda like an I-Pod on Shuffle... except Free!" whilst the KISN site has an explanatory note from Vice President/General Manager Erin Hubert that says of the changes, "We feel like we have the best of both worlds...the ability to launch an exciting new station with nothing like it in Portland, while keeping a great Oldies station on the air that we know you love. We'll also begin streaming KISN on the Internet very soon, so you'll be able to listen anywhere when you're on the web as well."
Hubert also comments on the implications of the introduction of digital HD radio to the market, writing, "As more and more "HD radios", as they'll be known, make their way to cars and homes, the quality of the AM frequency will take on an even better quality sound than what FM offers today. This evolution is going to make music stations relevant to the AM dial once again, and we wanted to be ahead of the curve by putting KISN back to its original dial position."
Previous Entercom:
Previous Viacom-CBS-Infinity:
Charlie FM web site:
KISN-AM web site:
2005-04-23: The Canadian Broadcast Standards Council (CBSC) has ruled that two French-language AMs breached Canadian regulations - CJRC-AM, Gatineau, through a host's "aggressive use of an offensive phrase" in an interview and in CJAD-AM, Montreal, by failing to keep logger tapes.
The first case related to a 2004 interview by Daniel Séguin, host of L'Outaouais ce matin, with Patrice Demers, the president of Genex Communications, whose CHOI-FM at the time was in the headlines because of a refusal to renew its licence (See RNW Jul 14, 2004)
The panel says that the discussion over a protest by station supporters and freedom of expression gradually became more heated, to the point where Séguin twice told Demers to "envoyer chier" ("fuck off"): It adds that it is clear that Daniel Séguin was faring well and had the upper hand and the Panel does not understand why the host descended from the relatively high road to the level of a personal attack.
"The Panel," it says, "recognizes fully that Daniel Séguin wished to give Patrice Demers some of his station's own medicine but this Panel did not find similar language acceptable in [a previous decision involving CHOI-FM as broadcaster] and it does not find it acceptable in the present case… It considers the use of the coarse and offensive language cited in this paragraph in breach of Clause 9 of the CAB Code of Ethics [and] also considers that the use of such aggressive language to insult his invited guest was improper and in breach of Clause 6 of the Code."
CJRC, in its response, had commented on the context of the comments, writing, "Following your comments, we listened to the complete interview, not merely the comment to which you refer in your complaint, in order to put the interview in context. We noted that in the minutes following the interview, Mr. Séguin apologized for his offensive remarks. We also listened to the comment made by Daniel Séguin on August 18, 2004 when he recalled the interview of August 10, 2004 and specified that he had addressed Mr. Demers in a fashion similar to that used by CHOI-FM. Mr. Séguin broadcast a CHOI-FM promotional message to that effect during which the following statement is made: 'C'est nous autres les numéros 1, toutes les autres allez chier' ('We're number 1 and the rest of you can fuck off.')"
In the CJAD case, the panel had received a complaint about comments made by the host on the eponymous Tommy Schnurmacher Show regarding the country's Governor-General and one of her trips overseas.
In accordance with CBSC procedure, the Council requested less than two weeks after the broadcast that the broadcaster holds copies of the logger tapes for the program in question and the station had confirmed that it had copies.
The CBSC, which noted that it could not adjudicate the complaint without the recording, said that the station should have set aside the tape when first contacted and that it had breached Canadian rules by not doing so.
Previous CBSC:
Previous Demers:
2005-04-22: A US National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) talk force says it will issue a voluntary indecency code for broadcasters in the summer, probably as early as June, in a move to avoid stricter government regulation.
Gary Chapman, chairman of LIN TV Corporation. and co-chairman of the NAB task force on responsible programming, told the Los Angeles Times members had discussed suggesting a five- to 10-second delay on some broadcasts, perhaps including live news feeds to prevent onlookers from shouting expletives into open microphones.
He said stations might be asked to beef up employee training about indecency standards, and educate parents about channel blocking technology with another suggestion that networks be urged to let their local affiliates preview telecasts.
"We would certainly want to be self-regulated [rather] than government regulated," said Chapman.
The move came just after a new poll by the Pew Research Center showed Americans as holding what the Pew termed "ambivalent views about the appropriate role for government in curbing sex, violence and indecency in the entertainment media."
Pew polled a total of 1,505 Americans in the period March 17-21 and it says its respondents, "have doubts about the effectiveness of government action, and believe that public pressure in the form of complaints and boycotts is a better way of dealing with the problem. They also blame audiences more than the media industry for objectionable material."
"Significantly, " it adds, "Americans see greater danger in the government's imposing undue restrictions on the entertainment industry, than in the industry producing harmful content (by 48% vs. 41%)."
Nearly four-fifths said inadequate parental supervision rather than inadequate laws is mostly responsible for children being exposed to that sort of offensive material and nearly nine our of ten that parents, rather than the entertainment industry, bear the most responsibility for keeping children from seeing sex and violence in TV and movies.
In seeming contradiction of this attitude, however, three-quarters favoured tougher enforcement of rules limiting broadcast of indecent material at times when children are most likely to be wat