[BC] Clear Channel Wants More?

[DANA PUOPOLO]

How come WalMart is allowed to do this but not XM? When WalMart comes to a
town it (always) hurts the existing businesses.  No one helps those businesses
out.

XM and Sirius were created because the big radioconsolidators didn't WANT
terrestrial digital radio in those bands. So the FCC reallocated them to
satellite radio (and gave them IBAC). Now the big radio companies don't want
satellite radio there either! Sounds to me like they want to have their cake
and eat it too (while others get the crumbs!).

It seems to me that if Clear Channel is losing listeners while XM and Sirius
are (both) gaining them, them maybe Clear Channel needs to make some changes
in what they're doing - including hiring RADIO people back like Randy Michaels
was. If you have either service you know exactly what I mean - XM and Sirius'
programming are superior to what's on the radio.

Could that possibly be why people like them?

After all, more is more.

But then again, I'm just an engineer - what the hell do I know?

-D




------ Original Message ------
Received: Tue, 04 Oct 2005 07:22:57 AM PDT
From: Rich Wood <richwood at pobox.com>
To: Broadcast Radio Mailing List <broadcast at radiolists.net>
Subject: Re: [BC] Clear Channel Wants More?

------ At 08:37 AM 10/4/2005, Tom Dimeo wrote: -------

>On the news this morning I heard that billing for Clear
>Channel is down thirteen percent.  The report also said that
>Clear Channel wants to be able to own ten stations in markets
>where there are sixty or more stations.

I curious what "sixty or more stations" means. Is it 60 receivable 
stations or 60 stations licensed to the metro? I haven't researched 
it but it doesn't seem there are many markets with that many 
stations. I'm also not sure how he can be so sure additional stations 
will bring the ratings needed to increase billing. Wouldn't it be a 
surer bet to divest unprofitable stations? I suppose someone could 
buy one and make it profitable, creating a new competitor. If radio 
is dying, why buy more? If the head of Gargantua International is 
afraid of Podcasts we really have a problem.

This sounds a little like Lee Iacocca complaining to the government 
that American cars weren't selling well in Japan. American cars were 
too big and had the steering on the wrong side. The government was 
supposed to help by forcing Japan to accept more, rather than 
redesign the cars to be attractive to Japanese consumers.

I find it ironic that Clear Channel was one of the original investors 
in XM and helped create a new competitor.

Rich 


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