Big Five Stories of the Week (Jan 5, 2008)

4. ComputorEdge publishes its first issue without a hard copy version for the first time ever this past Friday. Too bad I have nothing to read during lunch on Fridays.

3. Valerie Bertinelli debuts her latest look in a weight-loss company commercial. Was she doing an impression of a brunette Hannah Montana?

2. USC wins the Rose Bowl. Anybody care about the other bowl games?

1. The late night talk show hosts return to network TV. I had to deprogram reruns of MASH from my VCR to catch Leno and Letterman back in action. David Letterman is fixated on the striking writers too much. Jay Leno is writing his own jokes despite warnings by the WGA that it's in violation of their rules. Craig Ferguson is okay, but Conan O'Brien is flat and boring, as bad as when the show premiered in 1993.

1+. This just in. One contestant wins $1,000,000 for the first time ever on the game show "1 vs. 100" this past Friday night.

Confusing TV News Promo (Jan 5, 2008)

Um, do you mean that the storm will arrive at 11, or do we have to watch the news at 11 to find out when the storm will arrive?

Jeers and Cheers (Jan 5, 2008)

Also, jeers to XTRA Sports 1360 for not picking up any of the BCS bowl games not carried by XESPN. Give this station a reason to exist. Put on some ball games!

Jeers to 91X for making half of their playlist basically unlistenable. Too much minor chord noise.

Cheers to Sophie 103.7 for playing several hours of House of Sophie on its main terrestrial station as well as on their HD1 digital channel. They played the mix during New Year's Eve. House of Sophie is found on its HD2 channel, but this mix needs to be played more often on its HD1 and analog channel.

Jeers to Sophie for making half of their playlist basically unlistenable. Too much soft chord tunes.

A rare cheers to Channel 933 for playing an not-so-old school mix of urban dance songs Friday mornings as they "Flush The Format." Takes you back to the days when "Sabrina the Teenage Witch" was just starting its run on ABC in 1996.

Cheers to KIFM for basically playing music for grown-ups to enjoy. I can't say the same for Blazin 98.9.

Cheers to the broadcast team of Josh Lehan and Hank Bauer of Rock 105.3 for broadcasting the Charger games. See the game on TV Sunday afternoon, but turn down the TV sound unless you prefer to listen to the comatose network announcers instead of the lively team on 105.3.

The Wires (Jan 5, 2008)

FCC Provides Road Map for Final DTV Transition Steps. For many stations operating on their post-transition DTV channel specified in the final DTV Table of Allotments, they have only one action to take to complete their DTV transition at midnight Feb. 17, 2009: Switch off the analog transmitter.

Legislation Introduced to Protect Border Stations. TV stations along the Texas-Mexico border may be exempt from shutting off their analog signals on Feb. 17, 2009 if a U.S. Senator from Texas gets her way.

Broadcasters Gain Some Build-out Flexibility. The commission said the deadlines allow broadcasters the flexibility they need while minimizing service disruptions and ensuring that consumers who have invested in digital TVs get the signals they were promised.

Consumers Swarm for Converter Coupons. The government’s program to give over-the-air TV viewers $40 coupons toward digital-to-analog converter boxes is off and running—with no hitches apparent so far.

The Wires (Jan 4, 2008)

Kurt Hanson: One month ago today, we reported on the launch of Nokia's Internet Radio application which enables listeners to connect to Shoutcast streams. Today in RAIN is a link to a short video which demonstrates the Nokia interface -- and commentary from industry expert Mel Taylor, who finds apps like this far more dangerous to traditional broadcasting's business (as well as HD) than satellite radio. Also today, a third-party developer has created an interface for the Wii gaming console which enables users to stream music they've stored in their MP3Tunes lockers. These stories, and more, can be found in today's issue of RAIN: Radio And Internet Newsletter, available now at http://www.kurthanson.com.

MSNBC: Digital switch worries border stations. Picking up Mexican stations on old TV sets will be option for U.S. residents. Broadcasters along the U.S.-Mexico border fear they will be at a competitive disadvantage when the U.S. switches to digital television in 2009 because residents can still pick up Mexican stations on old TV sets. On Feb. 18, 2009, tens of millions of televisions that are not equipped to receive digital signals will no longer be able to receive programming. People in the U.S. with old televisions will have to buy converter boxes or subscribe to cable or a satellite service to get programming. But along the U.S.-Mexico border, Americans with old sets still can get free Mexican stations, and U.S. broadcasters fear they will choose not to convert to digital sets, costing them viewers. "The U.S. is cutting off all analog broadcasting. Mexico is not," said Barry Friedman, a lobbyist who represents the Spanish language broadcasters in south and west Texas. "Mexico will continue to transmit an analog signal receivable by everyone who hasn't got rid of their old analog set. That will provide a competitive advantage to the Mexican stations." The legislation allows stations serving communities within 50 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border to continue broadcasting an analog signal for five years if given permission by the FCC. That would affect companies with stations in Laredo, McAllen and El Paso, Texas, and those in the broadcasting region between Yuma, Ariz., and El Centro, Calif. Read the rest of the article at MSNBC.

Gary Lycan: No word yet on a new radio home for Marc Germain, aka Mr. K, on Clear Channel's KTLK/1150 AM, who was dropped from the progressive talk lineup in December. The man who was also known for years as Mr. KABC said, "I'm open to all offers. I have good relations with the Clear Channel staff and management. I am available now" + Charlie Tuna, ex-KBIG/104.3 FM, e-mailed friends that his Clear Channel contract expired in December and he is "free to explore new opportunities in the market" (read more - Orange County Register)

Inside Music Media: From Jerry Del Colliano -- The traditional media moguls who don't understand the next generation think suing them is better than wooing them. Obviously, these misguided record executives don't drink at the fountain of knowledge known as Steve Jobs. In fact, record execs hate Jobs as much as 18-24 year olds hate the labels. Meanwhile as Apple teaches us yet another lesson in marketing, look down the street at the mundane excuses we call record stores

SIRIUS SATELLITE RADIO ended 2007 with 8,321,785 subscribers, up from the company's 2006 ending subscriber base of 6,024,555. During 2007, SIRIUS added approximately 2.3 million net subscriber additions.