Thursday's Radio & Media News - May 9. 2013

Radio One Q1 Revenue Down 3.7% Alfred Liggins: 'Core Radio Revenue Grows 4.9%' Radio One reports that first quarter net revenue fell 3.7% to $99.1 million -- due to "a timing difference of two annual special events." Station operating income increased 8.6% to $35.9 million, and operating income rose from $13.8 million to $15.5 million. Net loss narrowed from $79.2 million to $18.1 million ( from $1.58 to 36 cents per share). Says Radio One President and CEO Alfred Liggins, "I was pleased with our Q1 core radio revenue growth of 4.9% in a flat market, which helped us to grow the radio division's adjusted EBITDA by 10.7%. Our two largest travel based events, the Tom Joyner Fantastic Voyage and One Love Gospel Getaway, are both taking place in Q2 2013 compared to Q1 in 2012, which effectively moves approximately $7.6 million of revenue and $594,000 of station operating profit from Q1 to Q2 compared to prior year." Adjusting for the timing difference for the “Tom Joyner Fantastic Voyage," Reach Media's revenue decreased 13.9% for the quarter. Liggins adds, “Our Cable Television segment had Q1 revenue and adjusted EBITDA growth of 11.6% and 27.7%, respectively, and continues its positive growth momentum. During the first quarter we integrated our syndicated shows and corporate sales into Reach Media, and I expect a strong return to profitability for that business unit in the second quarter. The Company repurchased almost 1.0 million shares at an average price of $1.59 during the quarter, and I believe that will generate a great long term return for shareholders. Core radio pacings for Q2 are currently up low single digits; we are seeing strong national performance, particularly in larger markets, but widespread softness in local business." Adjusting for the impact of integrating their syndicated shows and corporate sales into Reach Media, net revenues from the Radio Broadcasting segment for the quarter increased 1.4% over 2012. And adjusting for the timing difference for the company’s annual Gospel Cruise event held in March 2012 versus during Q2 2013, core radio revenue from stations increased 4.9% for the quarter, compared to 2012. Clear Channel Seeks Extensions of Existing Term Loans 'Part of Continuing Capital Structure Improvement Efforts' Clear Channel Communications says it is seeking extensions of its existing term loans as part of its efforts to optimize its overall capital structure, and continuing to explore a diverse array of other alternatives including, but not limited to, transactions which would extend maturities of its other debt, whether through a debt-for-debt exchange or other financing transaction. As we've previously reported, Clear Channel is facing large debt payments due over the next several years -- including $4.5 billion due next year -- and some analysts have speculated the company may not be able to make all of the payments due, and some have suggested the comapany might enter into default. The debt goes back to 2008 when Bain Capital and Thomas H.Lee Partners (THL) bought Clear Channel as a $24 billion leveraged buyout. According to a May 8 news release, "Clear Channel Communications, Inc. (“CCU”) announced today that it is seeking, subject to market and customary conditions, to extend $1.5 billion in aggregate principal amount of outstanding term loans B and C due 2016 until 2018. The new extended term loans will have the same security and guarantee package as the outstanding term loans B and C. These efforts are part of the Company’s continuing efforts to optimize its overall capital structure. It will continue to explore a diverse array of other alternatives including, but not limited to, transactions which would extend maturities of its other debt, whether through a debt-for-debt exchange or other financing transaction. Should CCU pursue any such transaction, the terms, timing and structure of any transaction will depend on market conditions, and the amounts involved may be material. There can be no assurance that any transaction will ultimately be pursued or that any transaction, if pursued, will be successful." 2013 Radio Mercury Award Finalists Announced As the Radio Mercury Awards announces the 2013 finalists, we're told that 114 radio spots and campaigns are included -- all of which are listed, with audio to hear the spots here. The awards honor outstanding radio spots created by advertising agencies, production companies, radio stations and students. Entries were judged on their creativity, originality and effective communication of a brand's message. The 2013 finalists, we're told, incorporate a range of small to large advertising agencies and radio stations alike, as well as national and regional advertisers from the automotive, consumer packaged goods, beer, entertainment, fast food, financial services, insurance, telecommunications and retail categories. "Radio is the ultimate storyteller medium," says Bill Cimino, Chief Creative Officer, Y&R Midwest, and Chief Judge for the 2013 Radio Mercury Awards. "The finalists going forward all created a bit of magic and developed stories as a way to help build their client's brand and message." RAB President and CEO Erica Farber tells us, "We continue to see marketers and advertisers leverage radio in unique ways. I'm really encouraged by the level of agency finalists and radio station finalists as well. This is a great example of the overall breadth and scope of radio; it continues to be an effective and strategic medium to build brand awareness and purchase intent, no matter the advertiser or marketer." More Congressional Support for Local Radio Freedom Act Bipartisan Group of Representatives Sign On As Co-Sponsors of LRFA A bipartisan group of nine Members of the House of Representatives have signed onto a resolution that opposes "any new performance fee, tax, royalty, or other charge" on local broadcast radio stations. The Local Radio Freedom Act is now currently co-sponsored by 133 Members of the House and 10 Senators. Adding their support to the Local Radio Freedom Act are Reps. Sanford Bishop (GA-2), Jeff Fortenberry (NE-1), Trey Gowdy (SC-4), Tom Graves (GA-14), Joe Heck (NV-3), Michelle Lujan Grisham (NM-1), Marc Veasey (TX-33), Ed Whitfield (KY-1) and Frederica Wilson (FL-24). Reps. Michael Conaway (R-TX) and Gene Green (D-TX) introduced the Local Radio Freedom Act (H. Con. Res. 16) in the House of Representatives on February 15 along with 71 additional co-sponsors. An identical resolution (S. Con. Res. 6) was introduced in the Senate on March 6 by Sens. John Barrasso (R-WY) and Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND). "Congress should not impose any new performance fee, tax, royalty, or other charge relating to the public performance of sound recordings on a local radio station for broadcasting sound recordings over-the-air, or on any business for such public performance of sound recordings," reads the Local Radio Freedom Act. Full listings of the 133 House co-sponsors and 10 Senate co-sponsors are available here, from the NAB. NYC's WFAN-AM-FM Extends With NY Giants "Sports Radio 66AM/101.9FM" WFAN-AM-FM, New York, reaches a new multi-year agreement with the New York Giants, extending the exclusive flagship radio station rights to broadcast preseason, regular season and postseason games. Financial details and length of the extension are not disclosed. CBS Radio New York Market Manager Don Bouloukos tells us, "We are proud to continue our partnership with the New York Giants, the city's premier football franchise. Our tri-state area listeners are fans of the team, and they know they can count on WFAN for unparalleled coverage, access to players and coaches, and insight they can't hear anywhere else." WFAN has been the flagship station of the Giants since 1997. WFAN will also continue to be home of the Giants in-depth pre and post-game coverage for all contests broadcast on the station. Additional elements of the agreement include a weekly 30-minute Giants-themed segment as part of the station's Monday Night Football coverage, presenting the latest news, game reviews/previews, and a one-on-one interview with a featured player -- and "Giants Power Lunch" -- a new one-hour live program to be broadcast one Tuesday a month during the regular season from the Giants Training Facility in East Rutherford, NJ, within the "Benigno and Roberts" show, which airs weekdays 10am -1pm. Also included in the new deal, exclusive weekly player interviews with Eli Manning and other Giants player(s) to be named prior to the start of the 2013 season; and an "expansive schedule of weekly and daily updates and vignettes" to be executed across several different programs on WFAN from trusted experts and station personalities. "The Giants are delighted to extend our relationship with the CBS Radio family," says Giants SVP/Chief Marketing Officer Michael Stevens. "We will continue to work with WFAN to provide our radio listeners, across the tri-state area and beyond, with the best Giants broadcasting and coverage. Our partnership with WFAN has been dynamic over the years and we are pleased to continue it for many years to come." Dial Global Announces New Lineups Across Multiple Music Formats Dial Global announces new on-air lineups for its Hot Country, Hot AC, Mainstream Country, Adult Contemporary and Rock 2.0 music formats, effective immediately. This follows Wednesday's announcement (as reported here) that Ryan Fox will anchor mornings on its Hot Country format. Today, the company tells us that Kansas City/Denver personality Blake Powers will now be heard in 3pm-7pm, ET on Dial Global's Hot AC Total and Hot AC Local. Chuck D will start mornings 6-10am on Dial Global's AC Total and AC Local formats, followed by Cathy Taylor 10am-3pm. Michael Gifford moves from mornings to afternoons 3-7pm, and Debbie Diaz takes nights 7pm-12midnight. Chuck D (aka Chuck Woodford) has had stints at KBCO-FM, KXPK-FM, and KTNI-FM in Denver. Taylor has had stops at stations in Tampa, Sarasota, Charleston and Denver. Gifford segues to afternoons, a daypart he previously occupied during his 14-year run at "The Wolf" KIMN-FM, Denver. Diaz joins Dial Global AC after spending 17 years as midday host at Classic Hits "98.7 K-Luv" KLUV-FM, Dallas. After a five-year run as Imaging Director and night personality on Rock KBPI-FM, Denver, Eddie Barella moves to fulltime middays (10am-3pm) on Rock 2.0. Says Dial Global President of Programming Kirk Stirland, "I am thrilled with these lineup changes as we continue to create the nation's best format solutions for our affiliate stations." Tommy Page Joins Pandora as VP of Artist and Brand Partnerships It hasn't been too long since we reported that Tommy Page resigned as Publisher at Billboard, for "an exciting new opportunity to be announced." Now, Pandora announces that the music industry veteran is joining their company in the new position of VP of Artist and Brand Partnerships. Prior to joining Billboard, Page spent 14 years at Warner Bros. Records where he began as a radio promotion/A&R executive. He's also a songwriter/recording artist, who has recorded nine studio albums. Page's immediate focus at Pandora is to expand artist development programming through both branded content, such as the Legends & Icons series and Off The Map, as well as live music experiences like Pandora Presents and the upcoming "Live on Pier 26, Hudson River Park brought to you by Pandora" summer concert series that will feature headline acts such as One Republic, fun. and The Specials. "Pandora is like lightning in a bottle for artists because we can do so many things for them on the internet radio platform and with brand partnerships," says Page. "The Pandora Music Genome Project and our team of professional musicologists have also been helping emerging artists get discovered by our 200 million registered users. My goal here is to help develop and grow those artists' careers and partnerships using personalized concert series and events." Says Pandora Chief Revenue Officer John Trimble, "Music is an intense passion point for people. Artists love Pandora and use it frequently to both discover new music and connect with their own fans. Tommy is a music ambassador who will build initiatives that connect bands, brands and fans. We think an exciting part of the future of the music business lies in these types of strategic, multi-platform partnerships." PTC Takes Decency/Indecency Fight to Congress The Parents Television Council continues its campaign against what they consider the FCC’s proposed changes to broadcast indecency rules. The FCC is still receiving public comments on whether the indecency rules should be relaxed to focus enforcement on the most "egregious" violations of decency, and thus easing enforcement on cases of " fleeting expletives." The PTC, along with a 75-member coalition, has sent a letter to members of the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee and the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce, urging them to oppose any FCC easing of the rules. "We are calling on Members of Congress with oversight of the FCC to protect enforcement of the broadcast indecency law. The FCC's proposal to weaken the law’s enforcement by applying it only to 'egregious' violations is absurd, and it must be defeated," says PTC President Tim Winter. The letter to the Committee -- available here -- reads: "We are writing with great concern to request that you use your position and influence in an effort to get the Federal Communications Commission to take seriously its duty to enforce federal law, 18 U. S. C. 1464, limiting indecency and profanity on the publicly owned airwaves to times of day when children are much less likely to be in the audience. The FCC has been derelict in this regard under the leadership of its current Chairman Julius Genachowski, having executed no enforcement actions during his tenure. We strongly urge you to oppose the FCC proposed changes, outlined in a Public Notice of April 1, 2013, GN Docket No. 13-86, to its established indecency enforcement standard. This proposal would only prohibit “deliberate and repetitive” expletives, rather than all incidences, as the current FCC standard does. Further, the FCC seeks guidance on whether it should weaken its enforcement standard to allow for incidences of isolated, non-sexual nudity or continue to curb all such incidences from airing before 10:00 p.m. The Public Notice indicates that the FCC is already using this proposed new standard, and began to do so before opening this public comment period. Yet Congress has not provided any guidance on the suggested change." Some observers believe the letter is intended to send a message to the next FCC Chairman, as well as stopping any rules changes. Notably, the Senate Committee to which the letter is sent is the one that will ask a lot of questions to Tom Wheeler, President Obama’s nominee to replace Genachowski as FCC Chairman, as part of the confirmation process. Bill West Becomes Charleston SC 'Wolf' Program Director Cumulus Media announces Bill West as the new Program Director at Country "96.9 The Wolf" WIWF-FM, Charleston, South Carolina. Says Cumulus Corporate Program Director Bob Raleigh, "I can't be more excited to have Bill back on board the Cumulus team of extraordinary country programmers. His talent coaching skills and strategic thinking raised the bar during his previous tour of duty with us in Savannah. Bill is definitely a member of the 'A' team and we’re proud to have him back home where he belongs." In addition to programming the station Wolf will be the new host of the "Wolf More Music Morning Show" beginning May 20. Since his previous stint at Cumulus, West had been with Clear Channel, including time as Program Director at Country WEZL-FM, Charleston, South Carolina. "The Wolf" competes with that station. "Charleston is the greatest city and Cumulus is THE leader in the world of country radio," says West. "This is the perfect home for me. It’s a return to the family of sorts for me as I spent six great years with Cumulus’ WJCL in Savannah and loved it. I’m so excited to dig in and be a part of this great team." West spent the last 25 years in the Southeast. His first job was in Hilton Head Island, SC, in 1989. After five years there on several stations -- and three years in Savannah, Georgia, the better part of those eight years as a morning show host/co-host -- he moved to Columbia, SC, initially with a Country format. Two years later, he returned to Savannah, where he was the Program Director and midday host for six years at Cumulus "Kix 96" WJCL-FM, followed by three years at "The Bull" in Augusta. Radio, Take Notice: RIAA Adds Digital Streams to Gold/Platinum Criteria In what could be another notice to skeptics in our industry -- broadcast radio -- that the future is in a digital online presence, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) announces the integration of streams to its Gold & Platinum (G&P) certification program. On-demand audio and/or video song streams will now be counted towards the 500,000 (Gold), 1,000,000 (Platinum) and 2,000,000 plus (multi-Platinum) thresholds required for G&P’s Digital Single Award certification. With the change, the RIAA added 56 titles in the inaugural certifications for the newly expanded Digital Single Award. The RIAA awards 11 Gold, 18 Platinum and 27 multi-Platinum new "combined" Digital Single Awards counting both downloads and streams. This includes streams from on-demand services like MOG, Muve Music, Rdio, Rhapsody, Slacker, Spotify, Xbox Music and others, plus video streaming services like MTV.com, Vevo, Yahoo! Music, YouTube and more. "Including music streaming in Gold & Platinum awards marks the continued evolution of the industry’s premier program for recognizing artistic achievement, and it reflects the wide spectrum of ways consumers enjoy music from their favorite bands," says RIAA Chairman/CEO Cary Sherman. "The music business, along with its incredible array of digital service partners, is offering fans more access to music than ever before. We’re thrilled that our awards will now more fully recognize artists’ commercial success today." Benztown and Brickman Partner for 'Your Weekend' Benztown Radio Networks is joining forces with Jim Brickman’s Brickhouse Productions to produce the nationally syndicated radio show "Your Weekend with Jim Brickman" -- and bring the show to additional markets across the U.S. and Canada through a new production, sales and marketing partnership. The show’s inventory will continue to be cleared by Cumulus Media Networks. Currently, the four-hour weekend AC program is heard in more than 85 markets. Says Benztown President Dave "Chachi" Denes, "We are beyond thrilled to work with Jim Brickman, one of the most loved and respected personalities and artists in AC radio and a media and entertainment powerhouse. Jim has developed and grown ‘Your Weekend’ through brilliant grassroots marketing and a highly engaging, music-centric show that helps people live their best lives and make the most of the best part of their lives -- the weekend." Behind the Microphone: The Ins and Outs of Radio Saga Rhythmic CHR "Energy 106.9" WNRG-FM, Milwaukee, Brand Manager (Program Director) Brandon Rowe has left the company. So far, there's no word on a replacement. (In case you don't remember, Saga changed all Program Directors to the Brand Manager title) ... Davenport, Iowa, AC "Star 93.5" KQCS-FM midday host and Alternative "97X" WXLP-FM afternooner Steve Donovan announces his retirement after 28 years in the Quad Cities. He officially ends that long run Friday (May 10) ... CHR KTFM-FM, San Antonio, unveils a new nightly EDM-based show -- "Beat Mix" -- hosted by Assistant PD/Music Director and afternooner Nick Russo, airing Monday-Thursday 11pm-12midnight ... "Progressive Talk 1470" WNYY-AM, Ithaca, NY, adds an FM simulcast on a translator at 97.7 FM to add "greater coverage into downtown Ithaca, and on both the Cornell and Ithaca College campuses" ... We just reported the exit of morning co-host Brian Kramp at Alternative "FM 102/1" WLUM-FM, Milwaukee, noting that co-host Jon Adler remained. Now we're told that starting May 20, Adler will begin a new music-intensive morning show. Says Adler, "I’m excited about continuing with FM 102/1 and this new opportunity." Translation: "Glad I still got a job in these times" ... After an 18-month "hiatus" Tom Joyner returns to WJMR-FM, Milwaukee, beginning Monday (May 13), airing 5-9am.