discretion. - americanradiohistory.com · discretion. intelligence. results! george i. otwell...
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![Page 1: Discretion. - americanradiohistory.com · discretion. intelligence. results! george i. otwell 513.769-4477 brian e. cobb charles e. giddens 703.827-2727 randall e. jeffery randall](https://reader034.vdocuments.site/reader034/viewer/2022052408/5f1149de0806865e1b0f30e6/html5/thumbnails/1.jpg)
November 17, 1997Volume 14, Issue 46
Integrity.
Discretion.
Intelligence.
Results!
GEORGE I. OTWELL513.769-4477
BRIAN E. COBBCHARLES E. GIDDENS
703.827-2727
RANDALL E. JEFFERYRANDALL E. JEFFERY, JR.
407.295-2572
ELLIOT B. EVERS415-391.4877
RAI )10 ;Ind TELEVISIONBROKERAGE APPRAISALS
MEDIA VENTUREPARTNERS
WASHINGTON, DCORLANDO CINCINNATI
SAN FRANCISCO
Oh. a
OICE OF THE R ADIO ROAOCASTING INDUSTRY°
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Record station trading total nears $15 Billion 3
The mega -deals of 1996 broke all records for the radio industry, but
the crown will move immediately to 1997-and there are weeks to go.
Powell may want pow wow on duop ramifications... 3...but would leave the booze for the FTC 3SW puts Forth entertainment news programs 3Sporting proposition between three companies 3Will Long Island rates take a hike? Not likely 4Tower to the people? Bill may give locals last word 4Radio not in the sights of the Gore Commission 4Some broadcasters welcome DOJ intervention 6
RBR INTERNATIONAL
Buying stations as an alien: Befriend a local 6
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No News is bad news if you want to attract Boomers 8-10A guide for the wire buyer 10Network News wars begin to heat up 10
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Radio's Wall Street 03 outperformed predictions 11
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Tanger updates playlist with Hartford Rocker 12Woody Tanger's Marlin group has been 100% Classical-until now. Not
only will Rock CDs go into inventory, bad boy Howard Stern is aboard.
Morris gets seven from four for Palm Springs superduop 12Last seen in Abilene: Cumulus strikes again 12Spin-off's a feather in Washington's Cap(star) 12Regent becomes the Fair(com)est of them all 13Emmis satisfies foreign appetite with Hungary deal 13
Radio Business Report has immediate openings fora Director of Sales and Account Executives. Wehave six publications with more being planned. Youneed to be self motivated and a lover of money.If that is you, fax your resume to:Ken Lee at 703-719-9509.Strictly confidential. EOE.
ComeJoin a
Winner1.;
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211/17/97 RBR
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One for the record books; 1997 poised to break $14.7B
After seeing the flurry of deals that followed Telcom Act passage in February1996, many in radio believed that the trading record set last year-$14.4B----would stand for at least a decade. Not so. Breaking the record took only 10months, not 10 years.
The deal that pushed 1997 trading volume past the '96 mark was JacorCommunications' (O:JCOR) $620M late October buy of Nationwide Commu-nications (RBR 11/3, p. 12-14). Including last week's issue (RBR 11 / 10) , 1997station trading was less than $2M short of $14.7B.
Although 1997 hasn't had a single deal come even close to last year's $4.34B(radio value, from total of $4.9B) merger of Infinity Broadcasting intoWestinghouse/CBS (N:WX), there have been four $1B -plus deals this year,plus lots of deals in the hundreds of millions. All of those mega -deals haveadded up, and it appears almost certain that total trading by year's end willexceed $15B.
RBR observation: What will 1998 bring? Far be it from us to declare $15Ba trading record which will stand well into the new millenium. With radiocompanies becoming so large under deregulation, deals to acquire or mergeany of the top 10 would ring up multi -billion -dollar price tags. As they say herein Washington-"a billion here, a billion there, and pretty soon you're talkingabout real money!"
Duopoly review possibleFCC Commissioner Michael Powell(R) has opened the door to reviewingthe radio duopoly rules. During aninformal press briefing Thursday, theformer DOJ antitrust attorney said,"The assumptions behind the ruleshave changed" so a review of broad-cast ownership may be warranted.Powell went, on to say that the FCCshould "assure that those rules makesense in light of the predicatedchanges," alluding to the DOJ's pend-ing review of more than a dozen radiomergers. He also said there has beenan "overtendency to judge competi-tion by the largest companies." Seenews analysis, p. 4 & 6.
Powell against booze review
Add a name to the "no" column, onthe issue of an FCC review of alcoholadvertising. Commissioner MichaelPowell (R) is apparently against sucha review. "I personally would ratherthat issue be evaluated in the contextof a more complete review," Powellsaid during a press briefing Thurs-day. He went on to say Congress maybe baiting the Commission, "Fiveunelected representatives ought to becareful not to do something Congresswould not do." Powell also said it maybe more appropriate for the FTC tolook at the issue.
FCC Chair Bill Kennard said twoweeks ago the FCC should at least
hear debate on the issue (RBR 11 / 10,p. 4). Holdover Commissioner SusanNess (D) has supported an alcoholadvertising review in the past.
SW shifts direction; expandsentertainment news
Refocusing its program offerings, SWNetworks said it is adding three moreentertainment news nets to its sevenformat -specific nets. It also said itwas in negotiations to sell its long -form programming including its 24 -hour Classical format. "It's been along process and we're finally fo-cused on entertainment content," saidSW President Dan Forth. The threenew nets: CHR entertainment newsnetwork, an entertainment news net-work, and SW Entertainment Expressfor coverage of TV, movie and celeb-rity news. SW also announced it hasbeen reorganized under Sony MusicEntertainment.
RBR observation: RBR sourcessay SW Nets says is close to selling itslong -form programming, which RBRsources say has cost SW Nets mil-lions in losses (RBR 9/29, p. 6). SWfailed to close a deal back in Septem-ber because it wanted to exclude inthe sale its programming services,considered to be SW's most success-ful offerings.
AVI, SportsLine USA, andSportsFan in 3 -way deal
In a revenue sharing deal, AVI andSportsFan Radio Net will be syndi-
© 1997 Radio Business Report, Inc.Publishers of Radio Business Report, Mid -Week News Brief, the Source Guide, Manager's Business Report
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11/17/97 RBR 3
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News AnalysisDOJ v. Chancellor update by Katy Bachman
Long Island rate hikes? Fear not!The DOJ's case against Chancellor (RBR11/10, p. 3, 6) comes down to fear-andradio consolidation is the boogeyman.That's got Chancellor's attorney, EdwardHenneberry of Howry & Simon, scratchinghis head. "They'll have to come up with evi-dence to bolster the complaint [of radio ratehikes]. I don't know what that evidence is."
So far, the evi-dence of rate hikesseems to reside in afear from agenciesthat it's an inevitablescenario. "40% [ofradio revenues] isoutrageous; prettysoon they'll have100%," said JeanPool, EVP/Director,North America Me-dia Services, J.Walter Thompson.
Howard Nass,SVP/Corporate Di-rector spot buying,Foote Cone Belding,admits there are noexamples of hikes,
250
200
150
100
50
0
200
150
100
50
0
PM Drive C
yet. "We won't see rates rise dramaticallybecause everyone is so sensitive right now.The ball is theirs and the playing field istheirs. That's not very good."
In reality, evidence of indiscriminaterate hikes is downright scarce. MediaMarket Guide's CPP projections show thegeneral trend (which coincides with
Chancellor's LMA of SFX sta-
PPs tionssinceJuly 1996) is downslightly (see graph, left) "be-cause the preponderence oflistening comes from NYCstations," said Kathleen
1997 Coffey, president, MediaMarket Resources. "Nassau -Suffolk CPPs are already at apremium making other op-tions more attractive."
Those other advertisingoptions keep radio rates
o 1996 at bay, despite radio con -
01997 solidation. According toAd Audit President KipCassino, Long Island isthe #1 cable market inthe U S: "Newspaper hasgone so high that adver-
El 1996
AM Drive CPPs
Source: Media Market Guide (Nassau -Suffolk)
CPP projections, A25-54
eating a daily eight -hour block of sportstalk programming from CBS SportsLine(RBR 11/10. p. 6) beginning Dec. 1.Global Media will handle the sales andWinStar Networks, along with AVI, willhandle station affiliations. WinStarCommunications (O:WCII) is also theowner of Winstar Networks, GlobalMedia and SportsFan.
SportsFan will need to juggle itslineup to offer the programming blockwhich will include "The Drive," hostedby Scott Kaplan and SidneyRosenberg from 2P -6P ET: and"Sports Uncensored" with Craig Car-ton and C.J. Silas, airing 10A -2P ET.The block is already airing on about40 stations, said Ross Levinsohn.VP programming, SportsLine.
Predating this deal was an earlieragreement between AVI andSportsLine, which called for AVI tosyndicate SportsLine's "The Drive"and other programming (RBR 7/28,p. 7). According to Levinsohn, AVIthen brought SportsLine and
SportsFan together. "We ramp up alot quicker," he said.
Tower bill introducedSens. Patrick Leahy (D -VT) andJames Jeffords (R -VT) have intro-duced a bill (S1350) which wouldrepeal the FCC's authority to overrulea local jurisdiction in the placementof radio, TV and wireless towers."These tower siting rules should bestopped once and for all, and the wayto ensure that is to tear them out bytheir roots which were planted in the1996 Telcom Bill." said Leahy.
The proposed FCC rule would placethe burden of proof on communities,instead of on tower developers. Leahysays it makes no sense because towercompanies have the data and re-sources to explain why they have cho-sen a particular site.
The senators say they supportprogress, but are worried towers willsoon dot the peaks and valleys of theGreen Mountain State.
tisers and agencies are looking for an-other targetable source of advertising,"In 1996, cable netted $36.437M in adrevenues. For the first six months of1997, Ad Audit estimates $20.791M,which would put cable about on par withradio revenues ($42.7M). "That's veryhigh for cable," said Cassino.
Long Island Newsday, of course, to-tally dominates Long Island with a whop-ping $416M of revenues in 1996, ninetimes more than all the radio stationrevenues combined. For the first ninemonths of 1997, Newsday posted$349M, according to Competitive Me-dia Reporting. Despite the fact that thelone LI paper has no other major dailycompetitor, it is facing increasing pres-sure from the shopper and niche publi-cation market, which Cassino says is"booming."
"Even within radio, we think there's asubstantial alternative," said Henneberry,pointing to Barnstable's growth in the mar-ket and to the competition from New Yorkstations, which command 60% of the p12+audience and 60% of the 25-54 audience."Advertisers are getting hammered bynewspapers and TV; we're trying to buildup radio, that's the whole point of the Tele-communications Act."
Chancellor has 30 days to file an answerto the DOJ, which Henneberry says willhappen soon after the Thanksgiving holi-day.
Radio may not be "Gored"
The much -dreaded Gore Commissionwill leave radio alone. So says GigiSohn, a Commission member andExecutive Director. Media AccessProject. "I think [radio broadcasters]should cool their jets." Sohn told RBRlast week. Sohn, who is one of thegroup's more liberal members, saysthe FCC and Congress have sepa-rated TV from radio, so it is logical theGore Commission do the same. "Ithink this is a way to obscure thethings we are there for," Sohn added.The Commission is focusing on HDTVand whether broadcasters should beforced to obey stricter public interestobligations in exchange for the newdigital TV licenses (RBR 10/27, p. 3).
NAB spokesman John Earnhardtthinks it is still too soon for radiobroadcasters to sigh in relief, sinceSohn is just one of the 21 members ofthe Commission. The panel's nextmeeting is set for Dec. 5.
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GOES
Radiois on
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WORK
With no competition, lots of selling powerand just as many men as women!
65% of the workforce listens to the radio at work.
57% say listening to the radio at work improvestheir productivity.
54% of the workforce is male and 46% is female.
Think you might want to share this informationwith your clients? Arbitron's At -Work ListeningSurvey will impact your sales figures by shatteringmany common myths about who is listening, whenthey listen and how they listen. While drive timeswill undoubtedly continue to be the cornerstone ofradio's selling strength, there is no reason tounderestimate the power of radio at work.
For your copy of. the Arbitron At -Work ListeningStudy and your At -Work Local Market Profile,contact your Arbitron representative today.
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11/17/97 RBR 5
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RBR Internationarmby Katy Bachman
DOJ suit dividesbroadcasters
Not all broadcasters are rushing to thesupport of Chancellor in its impending le-gal battle with the Department of Justice(RBR 11/10, p. 3).
The American Community AM Broad-casters Association (ACAMBA) said it "ap-plauded" the DOJ's suit against Chancel-lor Media in Long Island. ACAMBA's presi-dent, Bryan Smeathers, was one of thefirst broadcasters to contact the DOJ abouttwo consolidation cases in west centralKentucky and Owensboro (#256). In
Owensboro, Smeathers said Brill Media,which owns (or has pending deals to own)WKDQ-FM, WVJS-AM, WBKR-FM, WOMI-AM, and WSTO-FM, "clearly has more than40% of the Owensboro market. How canthey own all that and get past the DOJ'sarbitrary 40% rule?"
In his own market, Smeathers' stationWMTA-AM competes with Starlight Broad-casting, which owns three (WNES-AM,WKYA-FM, WQXQ-FM) of the four stationsin Muhlenberg county, plus a weekly news-paper and one-third of another. "That'stough to compete with, plus the FCC justgave them a translator," said Smeathers,who has been leading the fight for transla-tors for AM stations. "Anyone who saysconsolidation isn't affecting small marketsis out of their mind."
Even broadcasters who have benefittedfrom consolidation's effect on rising salemultiples, have expressed concerns. "I amnot fully convinced that consolidation isnecessarily the best thing for this industry,"said Paul Robinson of Emerald City RadioPartners, who has sold stations to bothCapstar and Clear Channel. "There aremany owners that wonder how eliminatingcompetition in the radio industry is going tocreate an increase in employment andownership opportunities for people like me."
The key, said Robinson, is the change inhow radio companies are financed. "Whathappens when the public's interest comesin conflict with the shareholders' interest?Public companies will be forced to do any-thing they have to do to protect the share-holders first, and the public second."
RBR observation: One frighteningside result of this high -profile case couldbe a radio house divided, ultimately affect-ing radio's relationship with all sectors: thepublic, the investment community, the ad-vertising community, not to mention Con-gress and the FCC.
Making an overseasradio investment
As Dorothy said, "I don't think we're inKansas anymore, Toto." Well, that's true,but then there isn't an awful lot left to buyin Kansas, anyway.
So maybe some of those people whohave sold their Kansas (or California, orMassachusetts, or wherever) radio sta-tions are trying to figure out what to do withall of that money. Maybe there is a non -compete that keeps them out of the buyer'smarkets, or maybe the sellers simply havedecided that it costs too much to stay inthe game in the U.S.
In short, maybe the time is right to bringall of that expertise gained in the mostcompetitive market in the world to someother locale. And having cash in handdoesn't hurt, either.
The first thing that one must understandabout investing in the electronic mediaoutside of the United States is that it is verydifficult to own 100% of a deal. And evenif it is legal, it is far more efficient to get intobusiness with a local partner, one whounderstands the culture and the mores ofthe marketplace.
The investor can bring sales, market-ing, research, programming and man-agement expertise to the table (and don'tforget the cash), but the investment has afar better chance of succeeding with alocal partner.
Different countries have different ruleson foreign ownership. As most readersknow, the U.S. has a regulation that pro-hibits foreign ownership of more than 25%.Prohibitions on foreign ownership byAmericans vary from country to country.
For instance, in the United Kingdom,there is a prohibition on foreign ownershipto the extent of no more than 49%. That isfurther expanded to exclude "control,"even if control is exercised by a minorityshareholder.
If you are a citizen of the EuropeanUnion, however, the rules are very spe-cific in allowing 100% ownership. So, if
your grandfather was born in Ireland, youcan qualify for an Irish passport, therebymaking you a citizen of the EuropeanUnion.
Being a citizen of the European Unionautomatically grants you the opportunityof 100% ownership in any of the EU coun-tries, which includes the UK, France, Ger-
by Robert Richer'
many, Italy, Spain, Belgium, The Nether-
lands, etc.Pricing of an investment becomes more
complicated when one goes abroad. Theconcept of Media or Broadcast Cash Flowas it is applied in the U.S. is rare overseas.Multiples of after-tax earnings are startingto come into play, but the reality is thatthere are so many startups and so muchradio that is just coming up on the curve,that in many instances, what eventuallyevolves is a sort of estimated "stick" value.
As an example, Capital Radio in Lon-don recently sold its 13% holdings inanother UK company, GWR. GWR owns avariety of medium -to -small stations in theUK, but it also owns the only National FMlicense in the UK, "Classic FM." While"Classic FM" has had a history of misman-agement and disappointing earnings, thestation is now turning around, and offersthe potential of becoming hugely profit-able. Capital Radio sold its 13% for £24M(approximately $38.6M). This would valuethe entire company at £108+M ($175M),which defies any rational calculation basedon earnings multiples.
What we saw in this sale, however, wasa buyer who understood that radio adver-tising in the UK is growing at the rate ofsome 15% a year, and who understandsthat there is considerable upside availablein the new management team that hasbeen installed. The future looks pretty good.
As one goes further East in Europe, itbecomes apparent that much of the valu-ation is based on emotions coupled with aseat -of -the -pants judgment as to howmuch money is going to be spent in radioadvertising over the next few years,blended with the buyer's judgment as tohow much expertise he or she can bring tothe table.
No wonder investing in this developingmarketplace is not for the faint of heart.But for those who have confidence in theirown abilities and who have a vision for thefuture of the planet, it can be one veryexciting and rewarding ride.
*Robert Richer is president, InternationalMedia [email protected]
860-677-9688
611/17/97 RBR
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The News War, Part 1:
Aging Boomers meannews no afterthought
America's need for news is larger thanever. News magazines fill prime timesix nights a week, cable news net-works are fighting for fractions of arating point, news -based Web sitesabound on the Internet, and moreand more radio stations are doingnews, including those with music in-tensive formats.
Such is the graying Baby Boomers'growing appetite for news. ArbitronNew Media's Pathfinder study, whichinterviewed people age 16-74, foundthat 95.5% of radio listeners heard atleast one radio newscast. It also foundthat radio news listeners were morelikely to watch TV news. With thesuccess of news magazines such as"60 Minutes", "Dateline" and "20/20," it is no wonder more stations arerushing to include news in the pro-gramming mix.
The driving force on news has beenconsolidation, says Barbara Cochran.president, Radio and Television NewsDirectors Association. "As one ownerhas more stations, it's now easier tohave news on more stations. The ini-tial thought that consolidation wouldmean less news has turned out to bewrong."
Radio's changing climate of con-solidation, not to mention the leapsforward in software technology, havemany stations reassessing their newsproducts. No longer is there one ortwo wire services to choose from, in-stead there are several new names to
the news business. Then there is theproliferation of digital technology.Many music -intensive FMs and pro-duction studios have made the leap todigital, while news operations remainrelics of a technologic past.
A Lone Star State broadcaster saysshe's holding off on digitizing herstation. WOAI -AM San Antonio GMBetty Kocurek says "We know that'scoming, but at this point everythingis terribly expensive and [the sys-tems] are such hardware hogs."Kocurek has yet to see a system thatmeets all her needs without filling herstudios with computer terminals. "I'llhave no room left for people," shejokes.
WMAQ-AM Chicago GM WeezieKramer says the systems may enableone person to do the work of three,but she's not convinced they are builtfor big news stations.
KQV-AM Pittsburgh GM BobDickey agrees. "I will look at digitalwhen I feel digital and an All Newsoperation have caught up with eachother," he says. With a large staff, andten workstations, the cost to convertwould be significant for KQV. "Youbet cost is important," says Dickey.
WBT-AM Charlotte is one of the fewnews -intensive stations that havetaken the plunge into digital. "We hadto face the fact that this kind of tech-nology is going to be commonplace,"says News DirectorJohn Stokes. With13 workstations it cost WBT tens of
by Frank Saxe
thousands of dollars to digitalize, butthe station has saved money on pa-per, carts, and service contracts."There was a bit of a learning curvethat was difficult for some, but it doesmake you more efficient," says Stokes.
WTOP-AM Washington has recentlydigitized its All News operation. PDJim Farley says he shopped around,speaking with Dalet, Metro, ComputerConcepts-and in the end chose AP'ssoon -to -be -released Sound Desk. "I'mconvinced digital is the way to go,"says Farley. WTOP traded its PCs,and will end -up paying $30,000 toconvert its 20 workstations to digital."Probably, in the long run, it will payfor itself," says Farley.
With so many software choices andwire service options, many GMs saythey feel inundated by brochures,sales pitches, and new names to thenews game. Dalet Marketing ManagerAstrid Carver says "there is a lot ofanxiety, but they're forced to take theplunge." She adds, "Radio groups willput a few names on their short list, sonot everyone will be around in fiveyears."
'They've got to face up to the factthat this technology is here," saysStokes. "Think about stations 15 or20 years ago that were playing recordson turntables when CDs came out-the same kinds of arguments weremade then. I think once it's explainedit will be accepted, and you can savemoney to boot."
IFIUPI-revolutionizing the way that information
is gathered, packaged and delivered
If you're not a subscriber now, you're missing so much.
Call UPI National Sales at 1-800-503-9993
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811/17/97 RBR
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'There is so much money on theI line, you have to be cautious," saysErik Disen, director of engineeringand facilities at KRLD-AM and K000-
' AM Dallas. He says it would cost$250Kto make a complete switch to digital forKRLD and the Texas State Network.
But why spend the money at all?"What problem do we have that it'ssolving? If it is not solving a problem,why spend the money," asks Disen."Your local 7-11 never buys technol-ogy just because its cool to have."And Disen knows CBS will only spendthe money if it can make or savemoney. "I don't know that I canjustify that," he says.
Software's hard choicesPerhaps the place where the ad-vancements are the greatest, andthe competition the most fierce, is inthe battle of software technology.With an estimated 99% of news-rooms still not digitized, you canunderstand why so many compa-nies are fighting for a piece of thenewsroom budget. At last countnearly a dozen software packageswere on the market, including thosemarketed by AP, Computer Concepts,Dalet, Media Touch, Metro, RCS andScott Studios.
Dalet News is already being used bysome of the big guys, such as ABCRadio Networks, BBC/Bristol, andDanmarks Radio. Dalet's high pointsinclude its audio cuts embedded withincopy and its compatibility with othertraffic, production and other stationsoftware applications. "Its all integratedfrom the moment you get audio to themoment it goes out to the air," saysCarver. She says it's not just the on -airboard that Dalet News speaks with, butalso traffic and production worksta-tions. In the past, the Dalet's systembiggest shortfall has been its inability tocapture wire copy, something the Win-dows -based system can now do, ac-cording to Carver. Base price: $30,000.
One of the most complete systemsis marketed by Computer ConceptsCorp. Its NewsRoom was the first Win-dows -based system on the market,and it has the largest number of sta-tions using its system in the US, in-cluding Standard News, KLBJ-AMAustin, WBT-AM Charlotte and smallmarket stations such as KICD-AMSpencer, Iowa. NewsRoom featureswire and audio capturing and editingcapabilities, prompter, and the abilityto embed audio cuts into copy. Largeoperations may find its phonebook, e-mail and future file functions particu-
larly handy. Another interesting fea-ture is its portability: NewsRoom canbe used in the field or at a permanentbureau site, and with a modem thesound and copy can be sent back tothe main system at the station.
"Ours is probably the most flexiblesystem out there, at the same time itis probably the most powerful," saysMark Bailey, Computer Conceptspresident. He says that power can beused to sort multiple incoming feedsand customization for each station.NewsRoom can also be networkedwith traffic, production, and on -airsystems-plus place news scripts ontoa station web site. Although earlyeditions of NewsRoom hadteleprompter problems, the latestmodel features smooth scrolling. Thebase price, for two workstations, costs$3,000 but the average user has sixterminals at a price of $5,400.
The Associated Press is not willingto let its only contact with newsroomsbe on the content end. It is coming outwith a new software package calledSound Desk. It will feature AP's wire,cart stacking and digital editing. APhopes to have its software on themarket by the end of the year. WTOP-AM Washington was one of its testsites. "AP wowed us with some inter-
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11/17/97 RBR 9
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Which wire?All the bells and whistles that digital sys-tems bring into the newsroom do noterase the need for news content. Like thesoftware companies, news content pro-viders are increasingly locking horns towin subscribers.
The granddaddy of wire services is theAssociated Press, and with 3,000 sub-scribers, it continues to be the most used.Although the number of competitors isgrowing, competition is nothing new forthe wire which dates back to 1848.
AP offers a variety of products andpackages to broadcasters, and facedwith new options open to stations, it is
loosening -up subscriber rules. AP hasalways been a cash -only, no barter op-eration but the recent syndication of anAP staple, available for barter, may indi-cate a shift of thinking. RBR has alsolearned that AP will begin making its wireavailable to radio stations on a daypartedbasis, so stations could simply take morn-ing drive if that is the only time they donews (RBR 11/10, p. 4). Initial reaction,particularly by music -intensive stations,has been positive.
United Press International is the Asso-ciated Press' most enduring competitor.Bruised and battered from poor manage-ment and even worse bookkeepingthrough a series of ownership changes,UPI has learned to be lean and mean(RBR 10/27, p.8). It offers the traditionalnews summaries, sports, and regionalnews in two dozen states-but it is theshow prep and features that UPI feels arethe strongest. "UPI was the first broad-
cast wire, but as time has gums on, WU VC;
begun to realize the entertainment slutI forjocks is much more important than it usedto be," says Howard Dicus, UPI GM. UPIboasts the largest roster of show prepfeatures, including format wires, consumernews, and horoscopes. "We've found thatwhatever information gets passed along tolisteners is done by jocks, but ours is writ-ten by news people, so the facts are accu-rate," says Dicus. UPI also offersNewsWraps, complete scripts writtenaround UPI audio cuts. Dicus says thefeature allows news stations to direct ef-forts toward local news, sidekicks to spendmore time on the air, or for jocks to read anup-to-date script.
Dicus admits he is often reminded bybroadcasters of UPI's near death in the1980's. But UPI is back, and has grownback to 350 clients, plus 20 networks, andnewspapers could once again be clients."Their short stories look like our broadcastwire," says Dicus.
But don't look for UPI to barter says CEOJames Adams, "We're not in the barterbusiness, we're in the selling of news busi-ness." UPI is targeting Christian and heavymusic stations (RBR 10/27, p.8).
Upstart ABC Newswire has come onstrong, growing from 99 affiliates in 1993 tomore than 1,000 today, putting it firmly inthe number two slot. "We ask the stationswhat they want and fulfill their needs," saysGlen Leeder, GM ABC Newswire.
ABC has teamed -up with Reuters, ESPNand USA Today to provide hard copy tomusic -intensive stations. ABC NewsWireoffers the usual news headlines, but it alsosends what is considered by many as the
best luature arid prep material. "We decided there was an opp,says ABC VP/News Rau BernardGershon.
ABC positions its wire differently de-pending upon the station. For big newsstations, it can be a compliment to the AP,while it could he an economic alternativefor small market stations. ABC, unlike APor UPI, is willing to offer stations its wire forbarter. In exchange for 28 units a week,with one per daypart, a station gets theABC wire. Leeder says roughly 50 sta-tions are barter subscribers.
Metro Networks has also gotten into thenews game. Its new Metro Source includesa news browser featuring stories from Metrobureaus around the country, plus stringersin 35 state capitals. "With over 350 broad-cast journalists nationwide, we have one ofthe largest news gathering operations inthe country," says Tomlinson. Metro hasalso inked a deal with "Hard Copy" foraudio, with more deals expected by theJanuary 1 launch date. Metro hopes to nabthose 53% of radio stations that their re-search shows do not have a wire. Whiletheir software and editing technology ismuch like the others, Metro'is hoping theirwire makes it more attractive to stations.
WTOP was one of Metro's test stations,and Farley says they found it was easy touse right out of the box. "It's a perfectsystem for a small newsroom," says Farley.But sources at another of Metro's teststations tell RBR that wire content is it
biggest downfall. "You can't reinvent thewheel in three or four months." He saysthere have been improvements, as Metrobegins to develop an infrastructure.
esting stuff, it's vastly superior," saysFarley. "It is much more seamlesswith, literally, click and drag technol-ogy," he says. By proving their soft-ware can work in a news intensivesetting, AP hopes to have the edgewhen pitching CBS/Westinghouse,which owns most of the nation's AllNews stations.
UPI, too, has a software package.WorldView has been designed forsmall stations or those without anews staff. WorldView's best featureis its price. It's free for UPI subscrib-ers.
Metro Networks is no longer thetraffic copter guys. It now does newsfor 475 stations, and is marketing an"all inclusive" news software system.Metro VP/News John Tomlinsondescribes Metro Source as "an allencompassing product that includes
information and the ability to writeand edit and report from the sameworkstation." This one -stop worksta-tion features Metro's news wire, au-dio cuts, cart deck and editing fea-ture, plus a prompter. The Windows -based system can also download APwire copy and other audio networks."We haven't found a system that it isincompatible with," says Tomlinson.
An interesting feature of MetroSource is its price tag. In marketswhere Metro is already a force, sta-tions can get the system for straightbarter, via ten second live reads dur-ing a newscast. In smaller markets(76-200), Metro is offering a cash andbarter deal. "Our goal is not to createa software product that we couldmarket to stations. Our goal is togrow the whole news side of the busi-ness," says Tomilson.
Affiliate fight is onThe affiliate battle is also being waged.Last Monday, WTMJ-AM Milwaukee (#29)switched from CBS Radio to ABC Radiofor its national news. Why make theswitch? Mary Alice Tierney. VP, Jour-nal Broadcsting Group, says it was ABCRadio's willingness to customize newsfor the News/Talk station.
"ABC will give WTMJ full access to itsnews correspondents around the world,"says news director Dan Shelley
On its debut, WTMJ's talk hosts spokewith ABC correspondents in Aman, Jor-dan for the Iraqi -US showdown, and inBoston for the au pair trial. In what maybe a hint of things to come, ABC iscustomizing a network newscast forWTMJ during afternoon drive. If it worksin Milwaukee, the service could be ex-panded to other makets.
10 11/17/97 RBR
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.Y./, .T.7,r.ZAll 11111J1.1J -i L. J.
111L'ial'AL'JAL"_AIM 111M-IL'JIMI1111111l."
November 12 RBR Stock Index 1997
Company
11/5
Mkt:Symbol Close
11/12Close
Net
Chg
PctChg
11/12Vol (00) Company
11/5
Mkt:Symbol Close11/12Close
Net
Chg
Pct 11/12
Chg Vol (00)
Ackerley A:AK 16.750 16.062 -0.688 -4.11% 6 Heftel Bcg. 0:HBCCA 67.312 69.062 1.750 2.60% 145
Alliance Bcg. 0:RADO 1.000 0.750 -0.250 -25.00% 0 Jacor O:JCOR 44.125 44.843 0.718 1.63% 4049
Am. Radio Sys. N:AFM 48.937 48.625 -0.312 -0.64% 1048 Jeff -Pilot N:JP 79.750 75.687 -4.063 -5.09% 842
AMSC 0:SKYC 9.000 8.625 -0.375 -4.17% 157 Jones Intercable O:JOINA 13.250 13.125 -0.125 -0.94% 397
Belo Corp. N:BLC 48.000 49.812 1.812 3.78% 670 Metro Networks O:MTNT 32.750 31.875 -0.875 -2.67% 480
CD Radio 0:CDRD 21.125 20.625 -0.500 -2.37% 1025 New York Times N:NYT 56.000 55.437 -0.563 -1.01% 3341
Ceridian N:CEN 41 625 42.500 0.875 2.10% 3930 News Comm. O:NCOM 1.875 1.812 -0.063 -3.36% 59
Chancellor 0:AMFM 65.062 58.812 -6.250 -9.61% 8101 Pacific R&E A:PXE 3.625 4.500 0.875 24.14% 16
Childrens Bcg. 0:AAHS 3.750 3.562 -0.188 -5.01% 404 Paxson Commun. A:PXN 10.812 9.625 -1.187 -10.98% 8408
Clear Channel N:CCU 70.562 68.437 -2.125 -3.01% 2663 Pulitzer N:PTZ 55.312 54.500 -0.812 -1.47% 10
Cox Radio N:CXR 33.625 33.187 -0.438 -1.30% 117 Saga Commun. A:SGA 20.000 20.000 0.000 0.00% 16
DG Systems 0:DGIT 4.000 3.500 -0.500 -12.50% 134 SFX Bcg. O:SFXBA 74.125 73.312 -0.813 -1.10% 1722
Disney N:DIS 85.062 83.062 -2.000 -2.35% 14367 Sinclair O:SBGI 38.250 35.625 -2.625 -6.86% 506
Emmis Bcg. 0:EMMS 44.000 43.500 -0.500 -1.14% 51 TM Century O:TMCI 0.875 0.656 -0.219 -25.03% 0
Faircom 0:FXCM 0.687 0.625 -0.062 -9.02% 230 Triathlon O:TBCOA 10.875 9.750 -1.125 -10.34% 151
Fisher 0:FSCI 122.000 122.000 0.000 0.00% 0 Tribune N:TRB 57.000 55.812 -1.188 -2.08% 6261
Gaylord N:GET 30.562 30.437 -0.125 -0.41% 780 Westinghouse N:WX 28.000 27.875 -0.125 -0.45% 20571
Granite 0:GBTVK 9.937 10.000 0.063 0.63% 673 Westwood One O:WONE 31.125 29.250 -1.875 -6.02% 6199
Harris Corp. N.HRS 46.125 43.437 -2.688 -5.83% 2231 WinStar Comm. 0:WCII 25.500 26.312 0.812 3.18% 11906
The hits keep on coming!
Radio stocks continued to exceedWall Street expectations with Q3earnings reports. Analysts surveyedby First Call had expected Cox Radio(N:CXR) to report net income of 14cents per share (an improvement oftwo cents over a year ago), but whenCox released its report (11/11), thenet was an astounding 21 cents pershare! Cox reported Q3 net revenuesup 67.2% to $55.2M and broadcastcash flow ahead 94.6% to $20.6M.On a same -station basis, revenuesgained 17.8% .and cash flow 36%.
Other reports:Heftel Broadcasting (0:HBCCA) saidQ3 net revenues rose 99.1% to$37.2M and broadcast cash flow shotup 181.1% to $15.8M. After-tax cashflow was $12.2M, compared to a nega-tive $28.2M a year ago. On a proforma basis, revenues gained 22.2%and cash flow 74.4%. Heftel alsoannounced that it would split itsstock two -for -one, effective 12/10.Radio One (public bonds) reportedthat Q3 net revenues increased 53.2%to $9.5M and broadcast cash flowgained 51.71A) to $4.4M.
AMRESCO Funding Corporationhas provided
$11,800,000in
Senior Credit Facilities to
Davis Broadcasting, Inc.
AMRESCO Funding Corporation700 North Pearl Street, Suite 2400
Dallas, Texas 75201-7424(214) 953-8323
AMRESCO
Proven performance. Promising future.
Offices throughout the U.S.; in Toronto, Ontario and in London, EnglandCorporate Headquarters: 700 North Pearl . Dallas, Texas 75201. (214) 951-7700
Internet: http://www.amresco.com . NASDAQ: AMMB
vim
-.:!,,sk,g4R91141
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Roll over Beethoven! Marlin buys heritage AOR
Woody Tanger has made the firstmove to take Marlin Broadcasting awayfrom its Classical roots with a deal toacquire WCCC-AM & FM Hartford,CT. The heritage AOR combo has beenowned since the '60s by Sy Dresner.who may be best known for havinggiven the first big break to HowardStern. The station is featured promi-nently in both the book and movieversions of Stern's "Private Parts."
Stern, whose syndicated show airson WCCC, expressed shock that hisold boss was selling the combo andtalked at length on the air with Dresner."It's a sad day," said Stern in a rare on -air display of sentimentality.
Tanger plans to continue WCCC'sAOR format and will keep Stern's showon the air-"That's set in stone," Tangersaid. It's the first format diversifica-tion for Marlin, which previously sold
its Classical stations in Philadelphiaand Detroit but still owns WTMI-FMMiami and WBOQ-FM Gloucester -Boston, both Classical. Tanger, who'sworking with Bank of Boston and Burr,Egan, Deleage & Co., says other dealsare in the works. Broker: Tony Rizzo.Blackburn & Co.
RBR observation: Even Sterncouldn't get Dresner to reveal theprice tag. We'd estimate it to be in thehigh -teens.
Morris blooms in desert
Morris Communications is jumpinginto the Palm Springs, CA market ina big way! Details were sketchy atdeadline, but the company headed byBill Morris. which recently movedheadquarters from Topeka, KS toAugusta, GA, is buying the following
Albert L. Wertheimer, President of
Lincoln Group, Ltd.has agreed to transfer the assets of
WSOM-AM and WQXK-FMCanton -Youngstown, Ohio
foi
$13,500,000
Jeffrey D. Warshaw, President of
Connoisseur, Inc.StarMediaGroup, Inc.
"Radio's Full ServiceFinancial Specialists" T."
5080 Spectrum Drive, Suite 609 East Dallas, TX 75248 (972) 458-9300
12
by Jack Messmer
stations from four different sellers:KCMJ-AM & FM, KNWZ-AM & FM,KPSL-AM, and KCLB-AM & KSES-FM. Sources say the price tags totalin the double-digit millions. Broker:Tom McKinley and Austin Walsh,Media Services Group
At deadline...A swap and cash deal will give CapstarAmericom's Fresno stations and takeCapstar out of Reno. Both companiesget bigger superduopolies. Broker:Media Venture Partners
Cumulus enters Texas
The latest market for fast-growingCumulus Media is Abilene, TX. Cu-mulus is buying KBCY-FM and KCDD-FM for $1.812M from companiesowned by Virginia Ann Hine, JohnFlahavin and Ed Harvey and KHXS-FM from Larry Hickerson's IQ Radiofor $375,000. Broker: Norman Fischer& Associates
Capstar spinning suburban trio
Frank Washington and his backersare again sen-ing as friendly and per-haps temporary buyers for some sta-tions being spun off by Steve Hicks'sCapstar Broadcasting Partners.Washington's BBR II LLC and itsWestchester Radio LLC are taking overWFAS-AM & FM White Plains, NY andWZNN-FM Mount Kisco, NY, withCapstar retaining a small non -votinginterest. BBR II is paying Capstar$350,000 cash, but is also borrowing$14.5M from Capstar and an addi-tional $35M from Bankers Trust, mak-ing the total value of the deal $49.85M.
The White Plains combo is in theNew York market and WZNN is in thePoughkeepsie market.
Capstar, however, will retain rightsto buy the stations back at the greaterof either 1) fair market value, as agreedby the buyer and seller, or -2) thecurrent purchase price plus a 20%annual compounded internal rate ofreturn.
Washington previously boughtWJBR-FM Wilmington, DE, which
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Inside the Regent-Faircom dealWall Street traders are going to get their first opportunity to invest in Regent Commu-nications, as a result of the company's deal to acquire Faircom Inc. (O:FXCM) for $31M
(RBR 10/27, p. 12). No cash is changing hands, but rather Faircom will be merged into
Regent, with Faircom shareholders receiving new Regent preferred shares for their
Faircom stock.The new Regent preferred, which will be publicly traded, will be valued at $5 per
share and carry a 7% cumulative annual dividend. The preferred will be convertible,
one -for -one, into Regent common stock.
Lots of details have to be filled in before this deal closes, including the exactexchange rate for Faircom, but it's expected to work out to about 76 cents worth ofRegent preferred for each Faircom share. Thus, Faircom shareholders should expect
to receive one Regent preferred share for approximately each 6.58 Faircom shares.Since Faircom has 24M shares, they will be exchanged for approximately 3.6M Regent
preferred shares.Once the merger closes, Regent CEO Terry Jacobs will no longer have majority
voting control of the company, so he's filed with the FCC to transfer control of all ofRegent's current stations to "New Regent," which will include Faircom founder JoelFairman as a director. Jack Wyant of Blue Chip Venture Company, Faircom'sfinancial backer, will also become a Regent director. Other major equity owners willinclude GE Capital, The Bank of Montreal, River Cities Capital and Regent co-founder/
President Bill Stakelin.Reporting to the SEC and Wall Street is nothing new to Jacobs. He was the founder,
in 1979, of Jacor Communica- 80
tions (0:JCOR), a company which E
still bears a derivative of his name. Faircom60=
Once the Faircom merger and 50- stock priceall other pending deals close,Regent will own 29 stations in 11
40_
medium and small markets. Pro 30 =-
forma 1997 revenues for the corn- 20=
bined company are estimated at 10
$25M. Broker: Dean Meiszer,The Crisler Co.
1111111111/96 1/97 7/97 11/97
Capstar had to spin off to clear theway for the Evergreen/Chancellormerger, which gave Chancellor Me-dia (O:AMFM) the maximum five FMsin the adjacent Philadelphia market.Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst, headed bySteve's brother. Tom Hicks, is a ma-jor investor in both Chancellor Media
and Capstar.RBR observation: Is this White
Plains sale clearing the way for animminent purchase of a fifth NewYork FM by Chancellor Media? ...ormerely removing a potential obstaclein case a Big Apple signal becomesavailable?
International deal newsEmmis in Hungary for $20MEmmis Broadcasting (O:EMMS) has taken its international strategy from passive to activeby cinching one of two Hungarian FM licenses for $20M. The license is for seven years.
Emmis had bid on both licenses; the other was awarded to U.K. newspaper companyDaily Mail. "We targeted Hungary because they are privatizing," said Jeff Smulyan,chairman, Emmis. RBR sources say that the license Emmis got was its second choice, butEmmis characterized the signal as "the strongest commercial radio frequency in thecountry." Total advertising revenues of $460M are expected for 1997, with radio's shareat 8% or $36M.
The deal is key to Emmis' international strategy to "build a global base of business," saidSmulyan, who added that the company would start in Eastern Europe and expand fromthere. Before it was awarded the Hungarian license, Emmis was a passive investor in TalkRadio UK, which it has since exited.
The station will start operations in the next few months with Randy Bongartenoverseeing Hungaria Radio Rt., the company in which Emmis is a majority investor.
11/17/97 RBR 1;;
SOLD!
KNCQ/KEWB/KEGR(FM),Redding, Calilforniafrom McCarthy Wireless,Inc., to CapstarBroadcasting Partners,Inc., R. Steven Hicks,Chairman and CEO for$6,500,000.
Elliot B. EversGeorge I. Otwell
andRandall E. Jeffery
initiated the transaction.
BRIAN E. COBBCHARLES E. GIDDENS
703.827-2727
RAN DALL E. JEFFERYRANDALL E. JEFFERY, JR.
407-295-2572
ELLIOT B. EVERS415.391-4877
GEORGE I. OTWELL513.769-4477
RADIO and TELEVISIONBROKERAGE APPRAISALS
MEDIA VENTUREPARTNERS
WASHINGTON, DCORLANDO CINCINNATI
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The deals listed below were takenfrom FCC filings made public (luringthe week from Wednesday, Nov. 5through Tuesday, Nov. I 1. RBI?' s
Transaction Digest wpm-15mi all dealsthat involve assignment of a stationlicense (FCC Form 314) and substan-tial transfers of control of a licenseevia a stock sale (FCC Form 315), butnot internal corporate restructurings(FCC Form 316). All deals are listed indescending order of sales price.
2,600,000,000-* 111 stations invarious markets, 100% stock sale of vari-ous subsidiaries of American Radio Sys-tems (N:AFM) from the shareholders ofARS (Steve Dodge et al) to WestinghouseElectric Corp. (N:WX), headed by Chair-man Michael H. Jordan and CBS StationsGroup CEO Mel Karmazin. $44 per share incash, plus debt assumptions for total of$2.6B. Numerous superduopolies.Notes: Some of the 111 stations are pend-ing purchases or divestitures by ARS.Westinghouse is applying for temporarywaivers from the FCC, where required, tocomply with ownership limits and the one -to -a -market rule. For details of this deal,see RBR 9/22, special insert, and 9/29, pp.3, 12-13. Broker: CS First Boston
$370,000,000-* WNSR-FM New York,KBIG-FM Los Angeles & KLDE-FM Hous-ton from Bonneville Holding Company(Bruce T. Reese), a subsidiary of BonnevilleInternational, owned by the Corporation ofthe President of the Church of Jesus Christof Latter Day Saints (Gordon B. Hinckley),to various subsidiaries of Chancellor Media(O:AMFM, Scott K. Ginsburg et al). $3Mcash payment for option, additional $57Min cash at closing. Remainder of price isexchange of WTOP-AM & WGMS-FMWashington & KZLA-FM Los Angeles (be-low). Superduopoly in each of the threemarkets. LMAs since Oct. 9. For furtherdetails, see RBR 8/11, pp. 12-13. Broker:Paul Leonard, Star Media Group
$310,000,000-* KZLA-FM Los Ange-les & WTOP-AM & WGMS-FM Washing-ton DC from various subsidiaries of Chan-cellor Media (O:AMFM, Scott K. Ginsburget al), to Bonneville Holding Company(Bruce T. Reese), a subsidiary of BonnevilleInternational, owned by the Corporation ofthe President of the Church of Jesus Christof Latter Day Saints (Gordon B. Hinckley).Exchange in partial payment for WNSR-FM
by Jack Messmer & Dave Seyler
New York, KBIG-FM L(r, Angelff, R KDLE-FM Houston (above). Superduopoly inDC market with WXTR-AM,WWVZ-FM(Frederick MD), WWZZ-FM and LMA ofWTOP-FM (Warrenton VA). LMAs since Sept.30. For further details, see RBR 811 1, pp. 12-
13. Broker: Paul Leonard, Star Media Group
$13,200,000-* KBOI-AM, KOFC-FM& KKGL-FM Boise (Boise -Nampa ID),100% stock sale of Pacific Northwest Broad-casting Corp. from Wilson Properties LC(Charles H. & JoAnne J. Wilson) to CitadelBroadcasting Company, a subsidiary ofCitadel Communications (Larry Wilson etal). $500K escrow, balance in cash at clos-ing. However, should Citadel consumatean IPO prior to closing, $1.425M of the totalwill be paid in Citadel stock at the IPO price.Superduopoly with KIZN-FM & KZMG-FM, which are being purchased separatelyfrom a related seller. Note: LMA to beginupon expiration of Hart-Scott-Rodino anti-trust waiting period.
$550,000-WHIM-AM Providence (WestWarwick RI) from Providence BroadcastingInc. (Richard A. Muserlain) to Hibernia ofProvidence LLC, a subsidiary of HiberniaCommunications LLC (Michael R. Craven,James B. Thompson, Marcos A. Rodriguez).$27.5K escrow, balance in cash at closing.Note: ABC Radio Networks will have op-tions to purchase this station from Hibernia.
$200,000-WPJM-AM Greer SC fromAntelope Broadcasting Inc. to Full GospelWPJM 800 AM Radio, Inc. (Bobby Cohen,et al). $75K deposit, balance in cash atclosing. LMA in place.
$226,000-WEBO-AM WGRG-FMBinghamton (Owego NY), 50% stock salefrom Michael T. McKilligan to Thomas J.Mollen Sr. $17.6K downpayment, additional$158.4K in cash for stock, $50K in ad tradewith McKilligan Industrial Supply underconsulting agreement. Steven J. Gilinskycontinues as 50% stockholder.
$171,500-KRMX-AM Pueblo CO fromVentana Enterprises Inc. (Jerry De La Cruz,Diane Young) to Metropolitan Radio GroupInc. (Gary Lewis Acker). $10K escrow, bal-ance in cash at closing.
$112,500-WTOC-AM & FM JonesboroLA from Jackson Parish Broadcasting (A.T.Moore) to Willis Broadcasting Corp. (Levi E.Willis). $11,250 deposit, balance in cash atclosing.
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$110,000-* WTOS-FM Skowhegan MEfrom Mountain Wireless Inc. to CumulusLicensing Corp. (William Bungeroth). Cash
deal. Will form a duopoly with WQCB-FMBrewer ME and WBZN-FM Old Town, ME.
Mountain Wireless is buying WHQO-FM,Showhegan.
$100,000-WZBZ-AM Plattsburgh NYfrom Barry Lunderville to Family Broad-casting Inc. (Alex and Jennie McEwing).$50K downpayment, balance at close. Fam-
ily Broadcasting is already operating the
station under a LMA. Family Broadcastingowns WGLY-FM Waterbury, VT.
$95,000-KZXX-AM Kenai AK fromBrent Elkington to JDDJ Broadcasting Inc.
(James, Dolly & Ryan Wenstrom, Donald,Jennifer & Nathan Hoffman). Assumptionof note payable to The Jacqueline S.
Lindauer Trust, with the principal due ad-justed to $95K.
$88,000-WALZ-FM Machias ME fromHenry Chausse to Michael Goodine, Will-iam McVicar and Roger Ho1st, a GeneralPartnership. $20K cash, balance in a prom-issory note.
$85,000-KDMN-AM Buena Vista COfrom Alpine Broadcasting Corp. (R. DonTaylor) to Pilgrim Communications Inc. (P.Gene Hood, Randy Hood). $15Kdownpayment, balance in cash at closing.
$76,000-WHKL-FM Crenshaw MS fromJohn Pelham Ingram to Batesville Broad-casting Co. (J. Boyd Ingram). Would createa duopoly with WJBI-AM and WBLE-FM,
Batesville.
$75,000-KPSO-AM Falfurrias TX fromBrooks Broadcasting Corp. (RaymondCreely) to The Evangelistic Worship Center(Lee De Los Santos). $15K in cash at clos-ing, $60K note. Note: The seller will retainKPSO-FM.
$75,000-WSSG-AM Goldsboro NCfrom Creative Broadcasting (PeggyStrickland) to Robert Swinson. Cash deal.
$71,200-WJKI-AM Woodruff SC fromJackie Cooper Media Inc. (Jackie B. Coo-per) to Cadence Inc. (James M. Gibert,James V. Gibert). $1.2K downpayment,balance in cash at closing.
$55,000-WEKT-AM Elkton KY, 50%stock sale of M&R Broadcasting Inc. fromMarshall Sidebottom (who retains 50%) toC. Nicholas Reed. $20K, $35K note.$50,000-WTNW-AM Tuscaloosa ALfrom WBHJ, LLC to Tuscaloosa Radio Co.(Mike Hubbard, E. Kirk Wood). $50,000cash. LMA since Aug. 5.
$34,719-WKCH-FM CP Whitewater WIfrom WKCH Radio (Scott Trentadue) toGoetz Broadcasting Corp. (Nathan andRobert Goetz). Goetz had owned 49% of
WKCH Radio, now it owns 100%. GoetzBroadcasting owns WFAW-AM and WSJY-FM Ft. Atkinson WI, which overlap with
WKCH.
$25,000-WAUC-AM Wauchula FL fromMarlene Ayala to Dora A.Cruz. $7K de-posit, balance a promissory note.
$18,000-* WFXD-FM Marquette MIfrom Vista Point Inc. a/k/a Vista Pointe Com-munications Inc. (Kris Erik Stevens) to MidPen Broadcasting Inc. (Wallace D.Steinhoff). Cash equal to accounts pay-able, provided that the amount payable toStevens shall not exceed $18K. Duopolywith WQXO-AM & WHCH-FM Munising MI.
$17,126.52-WLAS-AM Statesville NCfrom Eckhardt Broadcasting (KeithEckhardt) to Eastern Broadcasting Inc.(Ronald Benfield). $17K promissory note.
$14,500-WBXQ-FM Altoona (CressonPA), 7.63% stock sale of Sounds Good Inc.from Edward Horak a/k/a Edward Sherlock(0.83% afterward) to David A. Barger (53.7%afterward). Barger is also loaning the cor-poration $90K.
$14,000-KAKR-FM CP (96.5 mHz) Ster-ling City TX from Leonel Sanchez and Mark
C. Nolte, a Joint Venture, to GBE of AbileneLLC (Herbert L. Graham, William Phillip Gra-ham). $14K escrow to transfer at closing.
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11/17/97 RBR 15
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16 11/17/97 RBR