Who Killed Citadel Broadcasting? (New York Times DealBook)

What a shame. Read the story:

http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/21/who-killed-citadel-broadcasting/?src=twt&twt=nytimesdealbook

Message from David O'Connor about upcoming FCC media ownership workshop

The Media Bureau has announced it will hold its next media ownership workshop on January 12, 2010 at 9:00 a.m. in the Commission Meeting Room as part of the Commission’s 2010 quadrennial review proceeding. The workshop will focus on the current financial and economic conditions and marketplace factors affecting the media industry and how the FCC should take these into account as it conducts its review process.

Specifically, the forum will examine whether:

-- The media ownership rules affect the financial health of broadcasters

-- Lending or investing institutions consider the rules in their funding practices

-- Economic changes affecting the media marketplace are cyclical or permanent

-- There is a need to balance financial conditions in the media industry with other policy goals when conducting the Commission’s ownership review and, if so, how that should be done

The workshop will also explore how new media are affecting broadcasters, the lending and investment practices in traditional media, and how market size affects financial issues related to broadcasting.

The forum will consist of two panels. The first will be comprised of smaller broadcasters, or broadcasters that compete in smaller markets, and representatives of financial institutions that serve them.

The second panel, consisting of larger broadcasters or broadcasters that compete in the larger markets, will also include representatives from financial institutions that serve these broadcasters.

See the links below for additional information.

MEDIA BUREAU ANNOUNCES MEDIA OWNERSHIP WORKSHOP ON FINANCIAL ISSUES.News Release. (Dkt No 09-182 ). News Media Contact: Mania Baghdadi or Amy Brett at (202) 418-2330 MB . Contact Janice Wise at (202) 418-8165

http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-295279A1.doc

http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-295279A1.pdf

http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-295279A1.txt

David A. O'Connor

Partner

Wilkinson Barker Knauer, LLP

2300 N Street, NW

Suite 700

Washington, DC 20037

Direct: 202-383-3429

Main: 202-783-4141

Fax: 202-783-5851

E-mail: mailto:doconnor@wbklaw.com

And the hits just keep on coming: NextMedia

NextMedia files for bankruptcy. Story at Radio-Info:

http://www.radio-info.com/?utm_source=Subscribers&utm_campaign=11dc08fd4a-eNews_Alert&utm_medium=email

10 in '10 (my predictions for the broadcasting industry in 2010)

‘Tis the season for crystal ball gazing. Here’s what mine (albeit a littly foggy) suggests for 2010:

1. More bankruptcies and bank workouts

I predict a couple of major bankruptcies, likely pre-arranged, and more than a couple from smaller broadcasting companies. (Note: I wrote this post last week before the Citadel news broke yesterday). Banks will continue to try to work with good company management groups, but will move to take over companies perceived to be burdened with weak management.

2. Prices will hover in the 6x to 8x BCF range (with occasional outliers both above and below).

3. Seller financing will return to small market deals. Banks will remain on the sidelines relative to new lending.

4. Social media will become more crucial to station marketing

5. Big radio companies will become smaller, focusing on top 50 markets and spinning off their smaller markets.

6. The entrepreneur will return (buying those markets spun off by the big boys).

7. Interactive revenue will post double-digit growth.

8. Broadcast groups will attempt to clean up and “right size” their portfolios (as opposed to point # 5, this relates to groups peeling off non-performing stations in markets where they will continue to operate).

9. FM sticks will trade at $3 to $6 per pop (based on the 60 dBu contour).

10. AM sticks will trade at less than $1 per pop (based on the 2.0 mVm contour)

RBR recently ran an article on 2010 which in addition to a few of my thoughts, included those of others in the industry. Check it out here:

http://www.rbr.com/features/intel_briefs/19396.html

So what do you think?

George
Media Services Group
http://www.mediaservicesgroup.com/location.cfm?id=3

Citadel files Chapter 11

According to Inside Radio, Citadel has filed a "prearranged" Chapter 11 reorganization plan with a New York bankruptcy court. Their full story is here:

http://www.insideradio.com/Article.asp?id=1632941&spid=32060

Congratulations to Tribune and Randy Michaels

As most of the broadcasting industry knows, Randy Michaels was named chief executive at Tribune a couple of weeks ago, succeeding Sam Zell who stays on as chairman. Randy also got a seat on the Board. He has been with the company since it went private in 2007, and COO since May, 2008.

If anyone can steer Tribune out of chapter 11 and back into prosperity, Randy can. He has a platform which includes WGN radio, 23 TV stations, and more than 50 web sites. I hope that the Board and the banks turn him loose to do his thing. If so, don't bet against him.

George

Media Services Group

http://www.mediaservicesgroup.com/location.cfm?id=3

Broadcast industry news

We have assembled a web page of RSS feeds from the broadcasting industry. It is a great way to get your morning news "fix" quickly. Click here and add us to your bookmarks:

http://www.mediaservicesgroup.com/index.cfm?pg=newsinfo

George
Media Services Group
http://www.mediaservicesgroup.com/location.cfm?id=3

Meet the Media Services Group partners: Bob Heymann

Bob Heymann is a hard core Tar Heel fan. He is also a darn good broker.

Highlighting my partners on the occasion of MSG's 20th anniversary, I would like to focus on Bob, who runs our Chicago office. Prior to opening that office, Bob spent 24 years brokering radio and TV stations from coast to coast with a total aggregate value in excess of $500,000,000.

A few of his record setting transactions include:

•Sale of WNIB-FM (now WDRV) Chicago for $165,000,000
•Sale of WPNT-FM (now WILV) Chicago for $75,000,000
•Sale of KOMA AM&FM Oklahoma City for $54,000,000

Among his other business enterprises, Bob was co-founder and chairman of the nation’s first broadband cable system and chairman of the largest telecom information company partnered with Pacific Bell (now AT&T).

Prior to beginning his brokerage practice, Bob managed KQAK San Francisco and previous to that, he held management positions and consulting relationships with some of the largest broadcasters in America including NBC, CBS, and Evergreen Media.

Bob got into broadcasting early (becoming interested at 14 years old!) and was one of the youngest people ever to receive a First Class Radio Telephone Operator License from the FCC.

Bob has a B.S. degree from the Kenan-Flagler School of Business at his beloved University of North Carolina. He regularly makes the trek to Chapel Hill to attend ballgames. Go Heels!

George

5-step program to a better Public Inspection file (courtesy of Graham Brock)

This is from Graham Brock's website: http://www.grahambrock.com/public_file.htm

"Public Inspection Files have been a sore spot with broadcasters for a long time because no one seems to know what is really supposed to be in it, nor does anyone bother to keep it updated. If you have ever looked at the Rules and tried to determine what is supposed to be in the Public Inspection File, you'll understand why this is such a sore subject. In almost all of the Due Diligence Inspections we do, we find inadequate Public Inspection Files. The most common excuse is, 'Well, I didn't know what went in there.'

So, with that said, we have attempted to compile a "user friendly" Public Inspection File List and have created a 5-Step Program To A Better Public Inspection File. This list has been complied from the FCC's Rules & Regulations, the FCC's Web Site and the FCC's Self-Inspection Checklist. We have tried to be as thorough and as accurate as possible, however, it is your responsibility to contact your Communications Attorney to ensure compliance with the Commission's Rules."

If you're charged with maintaining your station's Public Inspection file, check it out. Call Stu or Jeff with any questions (912) 638-8028.

George
Media Services Group
http://www.mediaservicesgroup.com/location.cfm?id=3

Stations for sale: "And now a word from our sponsor. . ."

In my media brokerage practice, with an occasional exception, I generally represent sellers. Many of our station listings are kept very quiet; stations owners are ultra-sensitive to word leaking about their stations being on the block.

But we have a little more latitude with some opportunities; still confidential, but we're able to talk about them publicly on a "blind" basis. If any of these situations fit what you're looking for, please send an email (mailto:George@MediaServicesGroup.com):

• New York DMA big population coverage AM stations
• North Carolina FM cluster (possible seller financing)
• Virginia FM cluster (possible seller financing)
• West Virginia AM/FM cluster (possible seller financing)
• Midwest top 100 market two-FM cluster
• Florida video production studio
• AM/FM in southeastern resort market
• AM move-in to Montgomery (possible institutional financing)

Finally, I would like to invite you to regularly check our "Classifieds" section of the Media Services Group website: http://www.mediaservicesgroup.com/index.cfm?pg=cla

George
Media Services Group
George@MediaServicesGroup.com
(904) 285-3239
http://www.mediaservicesgroup.com/location.cfm?id=3

How to follow this (or any other) blog

If you would like to keep track of this blog (or most others), you generally have several options:

1. You can subscribe to the RSS feeds. Click on "Subscribe To" (right column) and you'll be given a choice to "Add to Google," "My Yahoo," etc. You can subcribe to the posts and/or the comments. This is probably how most people track their blogs.

2. You can "Follow." See the "Followers" section below right. Click on "Follow." You will then be prompted to select Google, Twitter, or Yahoo. I prefer to use the Google Reader. Don't have a Google account? Click "Create a Google account." It just takes a few seconds and is a pretty handy tool.

3. Finally, and my preference, you can use Google Reader. Just click "Add a subscription" in the upper left hand side of your screen, and past in the URL (http://georgereedradiotv.blogspot.com/).

Of course, you can alway just bookmark your favorite blog pages directly into your browser.

George
Media Services Group
http://www.mediaservicesgroup.com/location.cfm?id=3
mailto:George@MediaServicesGroup.com

Looking for radio station coverage maps?

If you're looking for free and quick radio station coverage maps, check out radio-locator http://www.radio-locator.com/.

Of course, Media Services Group clients can just call and request them (we use both V-Soft and the BIA databases).

George
http://www.mediaservicesgroup.com/location.cfm?id=3

Radio on Twitter

If you're new to Twitter and interested in following the radio industry, here is quick-start. Twitter recently added a "Lists" feature which allows users to group micro-bloggers into category specific lists. So now you can follow an entire list by simply clicking on it from your Twitter account.

You can follow me at: http://twitter.com/georgereedradio

I have a list of FCC attorneys: http://twitter.com/GeorgeReedRadio/fcc-attorneys

Other radio/media related lists which might be of interest:

http://twitter.com/Tachman/radio

http://twitter.com/johnschick/media-marketing

http://twitter.com/SteveGaines62/cville

http://twitter.com/radioguy49/radio

http://twitter.com/mediadude/radio

http://twitter.com/radioinsight/radiopeeps

http://twitter.com/mfhiatt/radio

http://twitter.com/chagota/radio-et-al

http://twitter.com/topramen/radio

http://twitter.com/ethernick/broadcasting

http://twitter.com/RicoG/radio-fools

http://twitter.com/StreamTheWorld/radio-industry

http://twitter.com/BruceBarber/radio

http://twitter.com/djmarc/ontheradio

http://twitter.com/MarkEdwards/broadcasting-buddies

http://twitter.com/KennedyCS/radio

http://twitter.com/iradiosales/faves

http://twitter.com/RL_Bynum/radio

http://twitter.com/red_and_nater/radio-tv-peeps

There are plenty more where these came from, but you have to start somewhere!

If you're brand new to Twitter, you might find this earlier article helpful: http://georgereedradiotv.blogspot.com/2009/10/hello-my-name-is-george-reed-and-i.html

George
http://www.mediaservicesgroup.com/location.cfm?id=3

Meet the Media Services Group partners: Eddie Esserman

Media Services Group just celebrated our 20th birthday. During that time, we have helped our clients buy and sell a lot of radio and TV stations, with transaction volume in the billions of dollars. It all started two decades ago when several brokers with Chapman Associates, myself included, decided to set out on our own and form MSG with a laser focus on client service. Several credit crunches and recessions later (along with a boom or two), we're still at it.

Over the course of the next few months, I want to highlight in these pages the guys I work with at MSG. We have a great team, and I am proud of my association with each and every one of them.

What better partner to start with than the one I've known the longest? Eddie Esserman and I met in Atlanta over 30 years ago; back then, we were kids (and competitors) in Atlanta radio. He was still relatively fresh out of Georgia Tech and a stint in the record business (get him to tell you his Willy Nelson story some time).

Like many of us, Eddie began his broadcast career in high school as an announcer. With a keen interest in engineering. he holds a General Radio Telephone license, having earned a First Class Radio Telephone license as a teen (and is still a practicing "ham").

After college, he returned to broadcasting in the programming department for the Pacific and Southern group of stations, migrating to the sales side and managing sales departments for two Atlanta stations. He became the Vice President and General Manager for Shamrock Broadcasting’s Atlanta outlet, WFOX.

In the mid 1990’s Eddie managed one of the country’s first large market duopolies (in San Francisco) for Shamrock. He pursued ownership after leaving Shamrock in 1995 and owned and operated in Macon and Savannah (I was proud to be his exclusive broker on those deals). After selling those stations, I talked him into joining us at MSG.

In addition to managing our office on beautiful St. Simons Island, GA, Eddie owns stations in nearby Brunswick, GA and not-so-nearby south Texas. Together, we are partners in a tower company (USAntenna, Inc.) with towers in the Southeast.

Eddie is a frequent faculty member of the NAB’s Education Foundation Broadcast Leadership Training Program. He has testified as an expert witness in bankruptcy matters and been a court appointed broker. And he is a great guy.

Catch Eddie's blog ("Esserblog") here: http://www.eddieesserman.blogspot.com/

George

Peter Smyth: "Always Looking Forward"

Greater Media's Peter Smyth talks about "Always Looking Forward" in his "From the Corner Office" commentary this month (http://www.greatermedia.com/corner/index.html).





". . . 2010 promises to be another step into the reality that I refer to as the 'new normal'. . ." Peter sees the following emerging trends worth noting:

• Better business people
• Even more focus on our local communities
• Interactive revenues will increase
• Better marketers
• Ratings will become less important than results
• There is more to selling than simply dropping price
• Technology continues to advance
• Need to expand the boundaries of our industry workforce

Read Peter's complete thoughts: http://www.greatermedia.com/corner/index.html

George
Media Services Group
http://www.mediaservicesgroup.com/location.cfm?id=3