Peak CEO Todd Lawley on makin' it local
Peak CEO Todd Lawley does a phenomenal job on the day to day operations with its stations. We asked him a few questions about the KMJ-FM Fresno talker and website re-vamp, just unveiled yesterday (see Case study, Programming below). It's very significant right now that radio stations get back to their local roots. It seems KMJ-AM, FM and KMJNow.com is doing just that, with 18 of every 24 hours being California-based programming-and the FM and AM talkers only simulcasting in the mornings. We asked: How can other stations adopt this sort of mentality to help keep them in business during these trying times?

Radio forecast even cloudier
Following a sharp downward revision in December, BAIfn VP Mark Fratrik has lowered his forecast for radio revenues yet again. He's looking for 2009 to be even a little worse than previously forecast, with no positive number until 2011, rather than 2010. Click the headline to find out why. The one bright spot? Digital ad revenues.

RBR observation: Don't shoot the messenger, or in this case the analyst. Hopes for a quick recovery are dimming. Radio can't get back on track until the entire economy gets back on track.

Radio still strong, but computers pull ahead
One of the key findings of a groundbreaking study from the Council for Research Excellence (CRE), with funding by The Nielsen Company, is that the average consumer now spends more minutes per day using a computer than listening to radio. Don't get too worried - radio is still a heavily used medium.

LPFM bill introduced in Senate
A sixpack of Senators, five Democrats and John McCain (R-AZ), have submitted the Local Community Radio Act of 2009 into the Senate. The goal of the legislation is to increase the number of LPFMs in the US, partly by eliminating 3rd adjacent channel protection for full power FM stations, a policy which the NAB has stiffly resisted. The other Senators behind the bill include Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Russ Feingold (D-WI). Companion legislation has already been introduced in the House.

RBR observation: LPFM is a good old-fashioned power-to-the-people concept that naturally appeals to the populist side of most Democrats, and the fact that it also attracts a certain amount of Republican support these days really makes us wonder how much longer opponents can keep it away from the President's bill-signing pen.

Cash deal for Waycross AM
Richard A. Sasser's Satilla Broadcast Properties LLC is coming up with $125K in exchange for WWGA-AM Waycross GA. The seller is Gary P. Marmitt's Marmac Communications LLC. Waycross is in an unrated portion of the southeast quadrant of the state just north of the famed Okefenokee Swamp.

$55K KBSF-FM Springhill LA from Leon Hunt to The RAFFT Corporation (Jerome Friemel). $2.758K down payment, balance in cash at closing. Station is silent. LMA at buyer's option. [FCC file date 2/23/09]

Case study: Peak Broadcasting takes KMJ to new audiences
Peak Broadcasting of Fresno has announced a series of initiatives designed to expand the reach of KMJ's local news, talk, sports, and specialty programming offered throughout Central California. Yesterday, the 105.9 FM frequency (previously KFJK) was reformatted as The FM KMJ @ 105-9. KMJ-FM is a completely new and diverse radio station, yet powered, and branded by the KMJ name. Also both KMJ AM and FM offers a new and updated web platform. We spoke to Peak President/Operations Bill Figenshu about the plan…

Arbitron reports continued PPM improvement
The monthly report on sample quality metrics for Portable People Meter (PPM) markets shows that Arbitron hit its guarantees and benchmarks in February, in many cases going above 100% delivery. Click the headline to see the numbers.

Cumulus MP tender at 93.5%
Cumulus Media Partners reports that 93.5% of its outstanding 9-7/8% senior subordinated notes due 2014 were tendered for the company's proposed exchange by the early participation deadline, which had been extended to Wednesday. That leaves only $12.1 million face value of the $175.464 million issue outstanding. The tender remains in effect until April 3rd, but without the early participation bonus. Also, the company has waived the previous requirement that a minimum of 98% must be tendered for the exchange to take place.

Hearst-Argyle to weigh buyout offer
As expected, Hearst-Argyle Television has named a special committee of its independent directors to consider the $4-per-share buyout offer from its largest shareholder, Hearst Corporation. The company has also postponed its annual shareholders meeting.

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Cash deal for Waycross AM
Satilla Broadcast Properties is coming up with $125K in exchange for WWGA-AM

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How to Steal Customers from the Yellow Pages Right Now
There are a number of very good reasons that local direct decision makers who are advertising primarily in the Yellow Pages should begin advertising on local broadcast stations immediately. RBR.com has the reasons
03/26/09 RBR #59

A case for Ad-ID in Radio
The initiative revolves around industry adoption of Ad-ID, the only advertising asset coding system supported and authorized by the AAAAs and the ANA across all media. If you can't consistently identify it, how can you accurately measure and aggregate it? Read how the process works, it will be your standard so understand it.
03/26/09 RBR #59

NAB, musicFIRST
exchange potshots
The battle over performance royalties seems to be centering on the figure $5K. The musician advocacy says most radio stations would pay nothing more, and the NAB says for a small station, $5K is still a large bill to swallow.

RBR observation: We'd actually like to hear a lot more about how this works, if it ever goes through.
03/26/09 RBR #59

Take two: Hearst Corp. bids again to take Hearst-Argyle private
It appears some traders are expecting Hearst Corp. to be forced to raise its bid. We wouldn't bet on that, since it appears to have already lined up the purchase of enough shares to make this a done deal.
03/26/09 RBR #59

NBC sets NFL
Football kickoff
The NFL announced that the Pittsburgh Steelers will open defense of their Super Bowl championship, Thursday, September 10 on NBC, hosting the AFC South champion Tennessee Titans. See the schedule at RBR.com
03/26/09 TVBR #59

Arbitron cuts 10% of staff
Gone Tom O'Sullivan, the "diary czar" and RBR learned Chief Research Officer Bob Patchen was quietly dispatched. 24-year Arbitron veteran Jay Guyther, gone.
03/25/09 RBR #58

Moody's downgrades Cumulus Media Partners
As we noted previously, the noteholders don't have a lot of options. If they don't take the swap deal, a Chapter 11 filing is likely, in which case they would stand in line behind the senior lenders. At this point, the credit rating doesn't mean much. The highly-leveraged company is fighting for survival.
03/25/09 RBR #58

Designing Solar Power Systems for FM Translators
Generally translators usually are located at sites which receive commercial power. Station engineers can design their own solar systems or choose from new lines of mostly pre-assembled systems. Insight at RBR.com
03/25/09 RBR #58