Broadcasting NewsBroadcasting Newshttp://vegasnews.squarespace.com/broadcasting-news/2008-11-24T21:19:42ZSquarespaceSatellite Radio Is Deadhttp://vegasnews.squarespace.com/broadcasting-news/2008/11/24/satellite-radio-is-dead.htmlJerry Wilson2008-11-24T21:16:57Z2008-11-24T21:16:57ZSatellite Radio Is Dead
I hate to say it, but somebody has to: Satellite radio will come crashing down to Earth within the next two years. The newly merged Sirius XM Radio is already living on borrowed time -- and borrowed money -- and simply will not and cannot survive.
First of all, I'm not an anti-satellite guy. I don't want satellite radio to end (partly because I have a lifetime subscription). My family has two subscriptions in all, and I listen to satellite all the time. But reality is working against both the Sirius XM Radio company, and the idea of radio delivered by satellite.
As a competitor to radio, satellite rules. It has most of the advantages as radio, namely that it's easy to use, it's in the car and it has content you can't get elsewhere (Howard Stern, for example). Plus, it has qualities regular radio doesn't have: better sound quality, far more content and focused channels, like the Elvis Channel. Satellite radio isn't remaining static, either. It's evolving into something better than what it used to be. The devices are becoming better and smaller, and gaining great features, such as the ability to "TiVo" programs.
]]>Clear Channel's Cloudy Futurehttp://vegasnews.squarespace.com/broadcasting-news/2008/4/5/clear-channels-cloudy-future.htmlJerry Wilson2008-04-05T01:11:37Z2008-04-05T01:11:37ZClear Channel's Cloudy Future Louis Hau, 03.27.08, 12:15 PM ET
That's the question looming over Clear Channel Communications (nyse: CCU - news - people ) and its shareholders now that the long-waited $19.5 billion deal to take the company private has become engulfed in litigation.
On Wednesday, private equity firms Thomas H. Lee Partners and Bain Capital Partners, Clear Channel's would-be acquirers, sued the deal's lenders in New York and Texas to force the banks to complete the deal. The two firms claimed that the banks wanted to replace a long-term financing package of at least six years with a short-term, three-year bridge financing.
"It seems clear that lenders' remorse set in when credit markets worsened,'' Thomas H. Lee and Bain said in a statement. "Now they are trying to walk away from their commitment letter, which clearly states that they bear all the risk that conditions in the debt markets might change."
Clear Channel joined the Texas suit, alleging that the banks were deliberately trying to derail the buyout. "The defendants have made clear that they are determined, by any means possible, to destroy the merger and thus avoid their obligation to fund, as they are required legally to do,'' Clear Channel Chief Executive Mark Mays said in a statement.
Late Wednesday, a Texas judge issued a temporary restraining order finding in favor of Clear Channel and the private equity firms, ordering the banks to refrain from "taking any action that would interfere with or thwart consummation of the merger agreement."
In a statement released Thursday by Citigroup on behalf of the other lenders, the banks declined to comment on the judge's order but said they had presented Thomas H. Lee and Bain with "credit agreements fully consistent and compliant" with their financing agreement."
"We believe the suits are without merit and will contest them vigorously,'' the lenders said.
Despite the judge's restraining order, the ultimate fate of the Clear Channel buyout remains unclear. The uncertainty was reflected on Wall Street, where Clear Channel's shares were trading at mid-morning Thursday at $29.46, up $2.54, or 9%, but still far below the approved buyout price of $39.20.
Due to a deterioration in the credit markets, proceeding with the Clear Channel buyout would mean the lenders would have to shoulder losses of at least 15 cents on the dollar, or about $3 billion on the $22 billion in financing they had committed to. That's a far steeper bill than the $500 million termination fee they'd face if they walked away.
Indeed, as Thomas H. Lee and Bain Capital noted in one of their lawsuits Wednesday, backing out of the deal would probably result in a significant, one-time gain on the banks' income statements. Why? During the recent market turmoil, the banks "have been reported to take large write-downs in order to account for the potential losses resulting from their financing commitments," they said. It follows, they observed, that "if the Banks breach their obligations ... they will seek to reverse those write-downs."
It isn't certain that a termination fee would be the only cost the banks would face if they backed out of the buyout. In its lawsuit Wednesday, Clear Channel argued that failure to complete the deal "could result in immeasurable damages," exceeding the buyout price.
So much for the banks--what would a failed buyout mean for Clear Channel? For the company's shareholders, including Clear Channel Chairman Lowry Mays and his sons, Mark Mays and President and Chief Financial Officer Randall Mays, it would mean being stuck with a shrunken stock valued far below the buyout price, much less its $90-plus peak in early 2000.
Moreover, it isn't immediately obvious what the company could do to boost shareholder value. Divest itself of non-core assets? The company has already played that hand. In 2005, it sold 10% of billboard advertising subsidiary Clear Channel Outdoor (nyse: CCO - news - people ) in an initial public offering and spun off its concert promotion business into a new publicly traded company called Live Nation (nyse: LYV - news - people ).
In 2006, the company unveiled plans to sell off 448 radio stations outside of its core markets. As of the end of 2007, it had sold 160 and had definitive purchase agreements for 73 others. And, earlier this month, it completed the $1.1 billion sale of 56 television stations to Providence Equity Partners.
Meanwhile, there's no way to sugarcoat it--these are difficult times for U.S. radio broadcasters. Advertising revenues are being pressured both by the slowing economy and by a shift among consumers to other sources of music, news and information, such as the Internet, satellite radio and a little device called the iPod.
After enjoying double-digit percentage gains in the late 1990s, radio ad revenue growth in the U.S. slowed sharply before flat-lining in 2005 and 2006, according to the Radio Advertising Bureau. And in 2007, U.S. radio ad revenue slipped 3.5%, to $10.7 billion, overtaken for the first time by Internet ad revenue, which surged 16%, to $11.3 billion, according to TNS Media Intelligence.
That said, there are a few bright spots for Clear Channel. Despite an industrywide decline in ad sales, the company reported radio broadcasting revenue of $3.4 billion in 2007, virtually unchanged from the previous year.
At the same time, the company's thriving outdoor advertising business saw sales jump 13%, to $3.3 billion. In other words, Clear Channel, the nation's largest radio broadcaster, is on the verge of generating more than half its revenue from billboards and other forms of outdoor advertising. Given the current health of the U.S. radio market, there are worse places to be.
And, of course, if the buyout is not completed, Clear Channel won't be burdened by the additional debt it would have taken on to go private. Standard & Poor's said Wednesday that it expects to raise the company's debt ratings, though still not to investment grade, if the buyout fails to close.
Alas, none of this is likely to provide much comfort for Clear Channel shareholders.
]]>New Global Morning show debuts on Love 97FMhttp://vegasnews.squarespace.com/broadcasting-news/2008/4/4/new-global-morning-show-debuts-on-love-97fm.htmlJerry Wilson2008-04-04T01:01:46Z2008-04-04T01:01:46ZNew Global Morning show debuts on Love 97FM
Love 97FM, the leading adult contemporary/oldies powerhouse in the Bahamas and on the World Wide Web is launching the "Global Breakfast Club."
Led by veteran broadcaster, Max Dean, this morning show is going to be unique because international media personality, Jay Michaels, whose career has taken him from Philadelphia to Los Angeles and around the world, will be providing information and fun to the newest program on Jones Communications, Love 97FM.
Mr. Dean who has been in broadcasting for some 38 years is known throughout the Bahamas for his educative and entertaining style.
Jay began a relationship with the Bahamas over 20 years ago when he turned the spotlight on the Island nation as being the best place in the world. Through his U.S. broadcasts he worked with the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism and Bahamian businesses to raise the awareness of this gem in the Caribbean.
Max Dean and Jay Michaels will have added commentary from Richella Tirelli and Shelly Carey.
Michaels has had a direct association with the radio station over the past three years through his program Rewind the Rhythm which airs on Love 97FM.
Chief Executive Officer for Jones Communications Wendall Jones says," The new Global Breakfast Club Show will have a long reach and range. It comprises a whole lot of experience in broadcasting and will go beyond the superficial and give our listeners the substance that they yearn for.
"New developments in the broadcasting industry have given Love 97 the opportunity to be creative and insightful. We believe that the new morning show will be satisfying to our valued advertisers and the listening public wherever they are in The Bahamas and around the world."
Mr. Jones paid tribute to the contributions made to the show by Tony Williams and Greg Lampkin for what they have done to make the former Breakfast Club Show the success that it has been.
The Global Breakfast Club will air on Love 97FM (97.5) throughout the Bahamas and around the globe on the World Wide Web, Monday through Friday from 6am to 10am EST.
You can always listen to them in CD-quality at the Rewind the Rhythm website, www.rewindtherhythm.com , or download your favorites including complete albums and Jay's special playlists from the RTR Burnlounge (www.rtrburnlounge.com).
In the shows, Jay shares with listeners the latest information on how they can download and own their own special collections of songs played on the show, rendered in state-of-the-art digital quality, through RTR's "BurnLounge."
Details on the RTR BurnLounge may be found on the Rewind the Rhythm website, or by visiting, www.RTRBurnlounge.com
Sign-up for the Rewind the Rhythm newsletter www.rewindtherhythm.com/newsletter to find out more about what your favorite artists are up to, a chance to win a F R E E iPod, and much more!
ABOUT REWIND THE RHYTHM: Rewind the Rhythm is the brainchild of media maestro Jay Michaels, and recently celebrated its 200th show. The show features deep cuts into the catalogs of classic RnB, Soul and RnB/Soul-influenced rock artists, with a focus on Philly Soul, the Motown Sound, and Rhythm and Blues artists not heard anywhere else. The show is unique in that it has a caribbean flavor and pays tribute to the many artists throughout that region, including the Bahamas, that contributed so richly to the modern music scene. The show currently airs on a short list of syndication stations including Love 97 FM, Bahamas, and may be heard live thrice weekly on the World Wide Web.
Comments regarding Rewind the Rhythm and this article should be emailed to Jerry Wilson at jwilson@vegasbuzzradio.com
]]>The Sirius XM Thinghttp://vegasnews.squarespace.com/broadcasting-news/2008/4/3/the-sirius-xm-thing.htmlJerry Wilson2008-04-03T21:29:57Z2008-04-03T21:29:57Z Is the Sirius-XM merger a good thing? It could be, says this writer, with a few caveats.
$500 million for Howard Stern (mostly cash, I understand, not those flimsy nebulous stock options), a cool half a billion, and he's set for life.
Sirus is not set for life, though, regardless of whether they have sleaze king Howard Stern on their side or not.
In fact, Sirus may very well be looking at an ever-shortening life span.
XM? Same deal. Oprah or not, the fact is, competition from other quarters - as in 'iPod,' and maybe even the iPhone, ultimately, is stiff. Very much so.
Now how about subscribers? Let's take a look. with barely 10 million subscribers between them, and growth slowing, both giants, not in market share, but in infrastructure and hardware, are floundering. And that's really too bad. They're big in size, but not in investor return, which continues to shrink as share values decline.
Let's also take a look at some of the trends Vegas Buzz spotted years ago, and sounded then like a lone faint voice crying in the wilderness:
Blogging. Podcasting. iPod over satellite. And now, Video social networking ala YouTube, Google Video, Broadcaster, and now Vegas Buzz Video (www.vegasbuzzvideo.com)
This is one case where bigger, less efficient is not better, and certainly not profitable.
Meanwhile, iPod sales continue to be brisk, as well as music downloads from iTunes, which still maintains nearly 90% of the world music download share. Awesome, is the only word to describe it. Absolutely awesome. Singlehandedly the little iPod has loomed to become a real threat to conventional record retailers (i.e., Tower, Wal-Mart, and that ilk - all of which have pulled the plug on their music related stuff including downloading and dial-up Internet services - sounds almost stone age), conventional radio stations, and alas, satellite radio.
More and more new vehicles are being built with USB ports and accommodations for iPods and other music players.
Here's a small list:
Even the snooty luxury cars offer this high-tech wizardry.
Microsoft's getting in to the act with its mobile operating system for Ford-Mercury.
The trend toward building in satellite radio may very well fade, although it did seem like a good idea in the beginning.
With nearly 100 million sold - at least 10 times as many as satellite radio receivers of the two satellite radio giants combined - And even if they did, people would still want to listen to other types of music players. After all, who wants to listen to DJ banter in-between songs all over again? That's what drove people away from conventional radio to Web radio and iPods in the first place. For most people, the concept of mix-and-match all your favorite songs and hear them whenever you want, in whatever order you want, is just too irresistible. And furthermore, you can take your iPod and plug it into your dashboard in most USB-enabled vehicles. The typical iPod with the ultra-super-compressed AAC format, can store anywhere from 120 to several tens of thousands of songs, in a very compact space. It can also store all one's favorite podcasts, and with the Video Nano, several commercial-free, commentary-free seasons of your favorite TV shows.
Even worse news? Who really needs satellite radio for music? The main pitches of both XM and Sirius, especially to commercial trucking fleets, has been the ability to keep listening to your favorite station no matter where you go in the country. Good pitch, but flawed.
The real reason truckers need XM radio, is for weather reports and reports on load availabilities throughout the nation. It's really more of a commercial application, and for the tech-adverse (although nowadays the trucker's cab is really pretty high-tech), no downloading. But most people have a teenager in the house that can put music on an iPod for you, so, probably not that much of a benefit.
Still, there's the magic of discovering new music, which is kind of what iTunes introduced the public to with its iPod and iTune store.
But few could argue that the iPod-iTunes combo isn't a formidable one that is ripping and tearing at the conventional wisdom of what music acquisition, consumption and enjoyment should be.
What can save these two companies?
They probably won't listen, but we've got a few ideas.
Turn podcasters into broadcasters and lose the celebrity broadcasters, and their expensive keep. (Like Snoop Dog, Howard Stern and Oprah)
Begin work immediately on a joint receiver that both subscribers can use.
Create a receiver that, iPod Shuffle-like, can download, store, and mash-up one's favorite genres and tunes. Certainly companies that came up with the world's first pocket-sized, portable satellite radio receivers, could make this happen.
Use podcasters and web radio to promote satellite radio broadcasts on the web.
Submit show programming to Web 2.0 - style democracy - Let the people vote daily on the best shows and personalities. In other words, let the people decide who's hot and who's not.
Enable downloading of shows as podcasts (that sounds like a stroke of genius if we do say so ourselves, which virtually guarantees this will not be done, but it would be an interesting concept).
Target commercial applications such as weather, and enable two-way communications capabilities for example for trucks to locate jobs in various areas, for example. The kind of stuff that needs to be constantly 'streamed' vs. downloaded to an iPod.
And most of all, even though this may be redundant, and common sense nowadays, "LEVERAGE THE POWER OF THE INTERNET!"
(C) 2008 Vegas Buzz News Network ]]>Fresh off open-access win, Google pushes for Wi-Fi in white spaceshttp://vegasnews.squarespace.com/broadcasting-news/2008/3/25/fresh-off-open-access-win-google-pushes-for-wi-fi-in-white-s.htmlJerry Wilson2008-03-25T18:52:22Z2008-03-25T18:52:22Z
Google Inc., a major force in prying open the 700 MHz band for third-party applications and devices, could also become the pivotal deal-maker in the equally controversial and politicized debate over whether federal regulators should make vacant TV channels -- white spaces -- available for unlicensed wireless broadband access.
Google submitted to the Federal Communication Commission a proposal that it believes “will eliminate any remaining legitimate concerns about the merits using the white space for unlicensed personal/portable devices.” The Google plan draws on a Motorola Inc. technology combining geo-location to avoid interference to digital TV signals and beacons to prevent disruptions to wireless microphone operations. Moreover, the proposal includes a safe harbor for wireless microphones in channels 36-38, meaning no TV white spaces would be allowed to transmit in that spectrum.
The high tech and TV broadcasting sectors remain engaged in a high-stakes battle over whether potentially huge swatches of vacant TV airwaves -- approximately 15 to 40 channels in the 210 TV markets after the digital transition ends in early 2009 -- can be freed up for Wi-Fi and other unlicensed services. Broadcasters argue Wi-Fi deployment in white spaces could undermine the expensive transition to digital technology, pointing to government testing last summer that found a Microsoft Corp. device incapable of avoiding interference to TV reception. High-tech companies reply that other test devices have passed muster in FCC testing to date, proving spectrum-sensing technology works just as it does with 5 GHz sharing between Wi-Fi users and military radar. High-tech firms brush off the Microsoft incident as a case of defective equipment.
The FCC is conducting a second round of testing on units supplied by Microsoft, Phillips Electronics and Adaptrum Inc. The agency could issue rules this summer.
Several House members previously wrote FCC Chairman Kevin Martin to urge a prompt resolution of technical issues and a final decision in the next few months. Still, a considerable number of lawmakers have expressed concerns about white-space device interference to digital TVs.
Richard Whitt, Washington telecom and media counsel for Google, told reporters today he hoped to win support for Wi-Fi in TV white spaces.
“While we continue to believe that spectrum sensing alone is more than sufficient to protect legitimate concerns of the broadcasters and wireless microphone communities, we are willing to go considerably farther in order to secure a positive outcome for all,” stated Whitt in a Google filing to the FCC. “The value of the TV white space to all Americans simply is too great to allow this unique opportunity to be blocked by unfounded fear, uncertainty and doubt.”
Google previously lobbied the FCC to include open-access stipulations on the recently auctioned 700 MHz spectrum. The stipulations require the winner -- which turned out to be Verizon Wireless -- to open the network to all suitable devices and applications.
Sprint Nextel Corp. and T-Mobile USA Inc., the nation’s third and fourth largest mobile-phone operators, respectively, have voiced support for a fixed-licensing scheme for TV white spaces that would offer a less costly option for wireless backhaul services.
(Broadcasting News - Vegas Buzz News Network)
]]>DIGITAL NETWORKS VIE FOR AFFILIATION DEALShttp://vegasnews.squarespace.com/broadcasting-news/2008/2/7/digital-networks-vie-for-affiliation-deals.htmlJerry Wilson2008-02-07T02:56:28Z2008-02-07T02:56:28Z As HD proliferates, so does available digital bandwidth. Radio stations now have the opportunity to carry video as well as data in a subset of their allocated spectrum. At NATPE, however, radio broadcasters were surprisingly lukewarm, according to Convention News @ Vegas Buzz.
TVNEWSDAY FOCUS ON PROGRAMMING
DIGITAL NETWORKS VIE FOR AFFILIATION DEALS
TVNEWSDAY, Feb. 6, 8:45 AM ET
At NATPE last week, Retro Television Network, LATV, World Championship Sports Network, .2Network and Mexicanal sought broadcasters willing to carry them on their digital channels.
By Harry A. Jessell
It wasn’t just program syndicators that were chasing broadcasters at NATPE last week.
Story continues after the ad
Also in the hunt were at least five independent digital broadcast networks—Retro Television Network, LATV, World Championship Sports Network, .2Network and Mexicanal.
All were trying to sign up TV stations as digital affiliates—that is, trying to persuade them to carry their networks on one of their digital subchannels.
“What we discovered at NATPE is that people are underestimating the opportunities available to them through multicasting,” says Howard Bolter, president of LATV, an up-and-running bi-lingual Hispanic network laden with music videos.
“Right now it’s a new frontier, but by February next year, it’ll be everybody’s reality,” Bolter says.
Principally owned by Entravision CEO Walter Ulloa, LATV is announcing this morning the addition of another key affiliate, KTVU San Francisco. The Cox station gives LATV outlets in six of the top 10, and 16 of the top 25, Hispanic markets.
“We were basically overwhelmed at NATPE,” says Richard Schilg, president of the .2Network, a general entertainment HD diginet built around movies that expects to launch on July 1.
Schilg says he and other .2 (pronounced dot-two) executives met with more than 30 broadcasters by appointment and another 50 or 60 who just stopped by.
Schilg says he expects to announce the network's first affiliation agreements within the next week or two.
And, in the meantime, the company will be following up on the NATPE leads, he says. “We have a number of proposals to make to the largest groups in the industry.”
.2 is a unit of the Guardian Enterprise Group of Columbus, Ohio, which also owns a small TV production company and an independent TV station serving Columbus, WSFJ.
The network’s movies, mostly from the past 10 years or so, anchor a schedule that also includes original comedy and lifestyle programming, some produced by Guardian.
Each of the five independent diginets offers affiliates a different mix of programming with different spins.
RTN, owned by Little Rock, Ark.-based Equity Media Holdings, is built around popular vintage TV shows like Mission Impossible, Hawaii Five-O, Happy Days and I Love Lucy. RTN is willing to customize its feed for each affiliate by integrating local programming at its Little Rock hub.
The network has been adding affiliates on a regular basis for the past several months. According to RTN’s Mark Dvornik, it now counts 65 outlets (not all announced) covering more than 30 percent of the country.
As a result of distribution deals with key international and national governing bodies, World Championship Sports Network offers more than 2,000 hours a years of live Olympic and lifestyle sporting events ranging from skiing to karate.
Acccording to WCSN’s Bo LaMotte, the network now has 12 affiliates, including eight Granite Broadcasting stations, Sunbelt Communications’s Idaho stations in Idaho Falls and Twin Falls, Tribune’s WPHL Philadelphia and Gray’s KOLO Reno, Nev.
WSCN was founded by Claude Ruibal and Tom Hipkins, who now serve as CEO and general counsel, respectively. It’s backed by InterMedia Partners, the investment vehicle for former cable exec Leo Hindrey.
Like .2, Mexicanal has yet to announce any affiliate agreements, but insists that it soon will.
Mexicanal is a Spanish-language network of news and general entertainment jointly owned by Castalia Communications Corp., an established program distributor, and Cablecom, a cable operator in Mexico.
But here’s the Mexicanal twist. Unlike other Spanish-language networks such as Univision and Telemundo, Mexicanal says it specifically targets Mexican-Americans, who just happen to account for three-quarters of the 44 million U.S.Hispanics.
“It's programming produced by Mexicans, for Mexicans,” says Mexicanal’s Chuck Wing.
For all their differences, the five networks have some things in common.
The diginets offer affiliates 24/7 programming and split the available advertising inventory.
At RTN and Mexicanal, the network and affiliates evenly split 12 minutes of commercial time each hour. At LATV, they divvy up 10.
.2 wants to keep 10 of the 14 commercial minutes it schedules each hour, but it also offers a large share of its national paid programming revenue. The share depends on the market size and how long the affiliate has been with the network.
Because of that paid programming share, Schilg says, broadcasters can make money without having to bother with local sales and ad insertions. It’s the “recommended approach” for affiliates just starting out, he says.
WCSN offers broadcasters five of the 14 minutes each hour, plus two of the six overnight hours set aside for paid programming.
To sweeten the deal, WCSN also allows affiliates to simulcast big events on their main channels.
None of the networks are new, although their interest in broadcasters’ digital channels may be.
LATV has been incubating at KJLA Los Angeles since 2001.
WCSN debuted two years ago as an online service.
Equity developed and tested RTN on its own stations before offering it to other broadcasters in 2006.
Mexicanal has been available via DirecTV for two-and-a-half years.
Likewise, a version of .2 has been on Sky Angel, a religiously oriented satellite TV service.
Of the five, only .2 is being offered in HD.
HD is what broadcasters are demanding, says .2’s Schilg. They see it as a big help in negotiating for cable carriage, he says.
Even if affiliates decide not to broadcast the network in HD because of bandwidth constraints, he says, they want to be able to deliver HD to cable headends.
Although the diginets are pursuing many of the same broadcasters, they don’t see themselves as mutually exclusive.
They point out that there are multiple stations in every market and that every station can squeeze multiple diginets into their digital spectrum.
There is room for any channel that is well thought out from the broadcasters' perspective and is designed to fill the needs of broadcasters, says RTN’s Dvornik. “We can all co-exist.”
TV station reps like the current crop of diginets and believe they will achieve sufficient distribution to give themselves a chance.
“They are going to use the income from the paid programming as the means of making themselves viable initially,” says Katz Television’s Bill Carroll. “Looking ahead, we will see if they yield audience,” he says. “If they do—and some may—then they will have some commercial viability as well.”
Carroll thinks the networks may work, even if they never rise much above a 1.0 rating.
“Look at the niche cable networks and the ratings they achieve,” he says. “There is no reason to believe that a digital channel would not be able to exist in that kind of universe.”
The diginets fill a need, says Petry Television’s Garnet Losak, who expects other independent diginets to emerge.
“The main issue for broadcasters is they don’t have the wherewithal, the trafficking systems, the personnel, the resources to program and maintain what amounts to several TV stations,” she says.
“What these networks do is provide palatable, maybe even desirable, programming that the stations can manage without overreaching their resources,” she says.
Not all broadcasters are rushing to the digital ranks.
Digital networks flood markets with avails, says Perry Sook, CEO of Nexstar Broadcasting. “I’m not sure that is the highest and best use of the spectrum.”
Niche services “may find a better home online than they do on the air,” he says.
Sook, who has worked hard to win retransmission consent fees from cable operators, also says he isn’t sure it makes sense to use retrans leverage to get carriage for diginets.
Sook says he could be enticed to launch a Spanish-language diginet in Nexstar markets with large Hispanic populations, but that in general he is more interested in in-band mobile broadcasting.
“I think that is going to be the better use of the spectrum.”
]]>NHK chief Hashimoto offers to resignhttp://vegasnews.squarespace.com/broadcasting-news/2008/1/21/nhk-chief-hashimoto-offers-to-resign.htmlJerry Wilson2008-01-21T21:08:13Z2008-01-21T21:08:13ZNHK chief Hashimoto offers to resign
01/22/2008
THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
Genichi Hashimoto, president of Japan Broadcasting Corp. (NHK), said Monday he has offered to resign to take responsibility for an insider trading scandal, just days before his tumultuous term was to expire.
However, Hashimoto said NHK's board of governors, led by Chairman Shigetaka Komori, had not yet approved the resignation.
Two NHK managing directors will also resign effective today. Hiroji Hatakeyama, the managing director responsible for legal compliance, and Eijiro Ishimura, the managing director responsible for news, will step down over last week's revelation that three employees may have been involved in insider trading.
Hashimoto announced a new set of measures concerning stock trading by NHK employees on the broadcasting side.
Last week, NHK officials said three employees bought stocks in a restaurant chain minutes before the public broadcaster ran a news report on a planned capital partnership between that company and another major restaurant chain.
Two of the employees admitted to reading the news report on a company computer system before it was broadcast. The third employee denied reading the report.
Hashimoto's term as NHK president was scheduled to end Thursday. The board of governors had decided not to give Hashimoto a second term, but instead picked an outsider to turn around NHK.
Hashimoto was originally chosen as NHK president to lead the public broadcaster out of a series of embezzlement scandals that had led to thousands of subscribers refusing to pay their fees.(IHT/Asahi: January 22,2008)
]]>TV Advertising is Dyinghttp://vegasnews.squarespace.com/broadcasting-news/2008/1/13/tv-advertising-is-dying.htmlJerry Wilson2008-01-13T21:29:14Z2008-01-13T21:29:14ZTV Advertising is Dying For advertisers that are still spending more than $70 billion on TV, a permanent slide in TV viewership levels could be the catalyst prompting a major spending shift away from TV in favor of newer media channels like the internet and multimedia cellphones. Given the ability of these new digital media forms to deliver vastly more personalized entertainment experience in tandem with a highly targeted advertising message, television's indiscriminate mass media message looks decidedly dated, and increasingly ineffective from the perspective of the advertiser.
That said, perhaps because they see the writing on the wall, the television networks have recently begun cutting deals designed to allow their entertainment content to be bought directly by subscribers, in much the same way Apple's (Nasdaq:AAPL) iTunes service sells music. These efforts are obviously on the right track and not surprisingly, form the core of the current disagreement between the industry and the striking writers, who want a bigger piece of this pie.
]]>NEW LOCAL STATION WJXE-TV 15 JACKSONVILLE AND COMCAST CABLE SIGN AGREEMENThttp://vegasnews.squarespace.com/broadcasting-news/2007/11/18/new-local-station-wjxe-tv-15-jacksonville-and-comcast-cable.htmlJerry Wilson2007-11-18T01:02:35Z2007-11-18T01:02:35ZNovember 14, 200 NEW LOCAL STATION WJXE-TV 15 JACKSONVILLE AND COMCAST CABLE SIGN LONG-TERM, EXCLUSIVE PROGRAMMING ARRANGEMENT
NOVEMBER 14 - 2007 JACKSONVILLE, FL [VEGAS BUZZ NEWS NETWORK]–- WJXE-TV 15, a new television station serving the Jacksonville market, has just signed a long-term, 24-hour exclusive programming arrangement with the nation’s leading broadband provider Comcast Cable. Comcast will carry WJXE on its Jacksonville-area channel line up on channel 14. WJXE’s association with the First Coast’s premier video and communications provider will give the station substantial recognition in the marketplace as well as an increased viewership to approximately 300,000 Comcast cable homes.
WJXE’s programming will focus on Jacksonville with an emphasis on the African-Americancommunity by providing “niche” programming unavailable on traditional broadcast stations. In addition to these entertainment programs, WJXE-TV 15 will cover high school, collegiate and professional sports along with programming featuring historical black colleges and universities.
The station will also broadcast Comcast’s popular Comcast Connects, a weekly television magazine on Jacksonville people and events, as well as Comcast’s High School Game-of-the-Week series, which features sporting events from area high schools. Comcast has produced Comcast Connects and Comcast’s High School Game-of-the-Week series as an exclusive offering from the broadband provider for over five years in Jacksonville.
“We at Comcast are excited to include WJXE-TV 15 on our local channel lineup for the Jacksonville area,” said Tim Horn, vice president and general manager of Comcast’s Jacksonville area. “Comcast is always interested in adding quality local programming. We believe this partnership is a win for Comcast, WJXE and the entire First Coast community.”
The Jacksonville Jam of the Premier Basketball League will be broadcasting all of its games throughout the 2008 season on WJXE-TV 15 beginning opening night January 4th from the UNF arena. Felix Krupczynski, general manager of the “Jacksonville Jam,” says this about the carriage arrangement with Comcast: “This certainly broadens our exposure and allows us to spread the Jam throughout the First Coast and beyond.”
WJXE Vice President and General Manager Michael Anapolsky says: “Comcast has given us a great venue by providing 24-hour-a-day carriage on cable channel 14. We feel this partnership will go a long way in our efforts to make a difference in the community where we live and work.”
Mr. Anapolsky went on to say: “We are very happy to have this opportunity to bring this new and community-focused television programming to Jacksonville.”
For more information please contact: Mr. Michael Anapolsky V.P./General Manager WJXE-TV 15, at 904-237-4430 or maanapolsky@comcast.net
Bill Ferry, Vice President of Government Affairs, Comcast, at (904) 374-7519 or (904) 626-2167 or bill_ferry@cable.comcast.com
About Comcast Corporation Comcast Corporation (http://www.comcast.com) is the nation's leading provider of cable, entertainment and communications products and services. With 24.2 million cable customers, 12.9 million high-speed Internet customers, and 4.1 million voice customers, Comcast is principally involved in the development, management and operation of broadband cable systems and in the delivery of programming content.
Comcast's content networks and investments include E! Entertainment Television, Style Network, The Golf Channel, VERSUS, G4, AZN Television, PBS KIDS Sprout, TV One, Comcast SportsNet and Comcast Interactive Media, which develops and operates Comcast's Internet business. Comcast also has a majority ownership in Comcast-Spectacor, whose major holdings include the Philadelphia Flyers NHL hockey team, the Philadelphia 76ers NBA basketball team and two large multipurpose arenas in Philadelphia.
]]>Cable Ruling May Provide Opportunities For Google, Startupshttp://vegasnews.squarespace.com/broadcasting-news/2007/11/11/cable-ruling-may-provide-opportunities-for-google-startups.htmlJerry Wilson2007-11-11T22:05:27Z2007-11-11T22:05:27Z
The FCC may move to open up access to cable television on the basis that the big cable companies are too dominant, according to the NY Times.
The move would lower the cost of entry to new content providers and forcibly provide access where this has been denied previously. There is also the possibility that the FCC may force cable providers to unbundle channels, allowing consumers to pick and choose which channels they want as opposed to the current bundled channel practice.
Without knowing exactly what the final ruling will look like, anything that provides improved choice to consumers is a good thing; it’s also a good thing for Google and content focused startups.
In Google’s case, its TV advertising product, currently being trialled by Sky in the United Kingdom, could well have a range of new potential customers looking for innovative advertising solutions. Many of the existing players have rebuffed Google’s overtures, new players may not.
A long shot, depending on the extent of the FCC ruling, is Google taking part in the content provision side itself. Consider that a site like YouTube is a conduit to the provision of content in the same way that a cable station is, and Google is already well versed in negotiating content distribution deals with major providers. Google has the time, money, and growing technical experience to provide a cable television station or two, all naturally supported by Google TV ads. It’s a stretch, and perhaps a more likely scenario is that we might see Google partner with someone else (be it in a full partnership or minority investment) but either way it’s an opportunity someone in Google will at least look at. Consider this: Google is trying to buy mobile spectrum to increase the reach of their mobile advertising product, a couple of cable channels is a much cheaper and more manageable proposition then being a mobile operator.
Lower access costs to cable networks also provide opportunities for content creating startups. We’ve already seen Podshow on TiVo; any similar content creator, either alone or in conjunction with others, will always look at ways to broaden their distribution in an attempt to maximize viewing numbers. The internet may be the first choice for many when it comes to accessing content, but there is still a very sizable cable audience in the United States, one that may be receptive to innovative channels run by startups that have previously been 'Net-only players.
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The FCC may move to open up access to cable television on the basis that the big cable companies are too dominant, 
