The Wires (June 21, 2008)

Kurt Hanson: MSN Radio (which has been "Powered by Pandora" for the past 18 months) has shut down due to an end to the companies' partnership. Pandora has cited a need to focus its "limited resources" on their flagship Internet radio site, stating the MSN partnership was "no longer contributing" at a "substantial" level. Read more as well as Kurt Hanson's analysis in today's issue of RAIN: Radio And Internet Newsletter, online at http://www.kurthanson.com.

Radio World: HD-R Multicast Channels Could Be in July Arbitron ‘Book’. Get ready to see ratings for HD2, HD3 and AM/FM-related streams.

Radio World: Uniradio Turns on HD-R FM in Mexico, Near San Diego. Nautel says XHTY is using its V10 transmitter.

Radio World: Border AM Station Flips HD Radio Switch in Sonora. XEEZ airs at 970 from the town of Caborca.

Radio World: Radio Time Tuner Lets Listeners Access Syndicated Content. It now works with Clear Channel and Cox stations.

Avant Browser: Avant Browser is a Web browser based on an Internet Explorer-rendering engine that provides fast, tabbed browsing and offers many features available only to Firefox users with plugins. License: Free

Skype: The latest version of the software that enables you to make free calls anywhere in the world. License: Free to try.

Sosd: Museum Goes Star Trek: Museum sets course for the final frontier. Exhibit has sets, costumes from 'Star Trek' TV shows and films. The San Diego Air & Space Museum is boldly going where it hasn't gone before: hosting a Hollywood-style “Star Trek” exhibit mounted by a for-profit company. Usually, the Balboa Park museum is more History Channel than SciFi Channel

Jay Posner: Like the fans, networks will sorely miss Woods. Thinking golf will be just fine without Tiger Woods is like thinking San Diego would be the same without sand and sunshine or peanut butter would be OK without jelly. It's bad enough management at XX 1090 AM chooses to air Dan Patrick's show on a long delay, but Monday night someone put on the tape from the previous Thursday – four days earlier. So instead of the usual delay of “only” 13 to 18 hours, XX set a record of 109 hours! Congratulations.

John Maffei: TUBE TALK: U.S. Olympic trials about to light up airwaves.

Dave Kohl: Satellite radio subscribers are able to hear every broadcast from the 4 major pro sports leagues, as well as auto racing, college football and basketball, and other major sports events. The pending merger between XM and Sirius will eventually bring sports fans everything under one roof. Yet it continues to amaze me that over-the-air radio stations have been sitting still watching other media, and eventually advertising dollars, pass by. As I have said for the past 2 years, radio already has the answer, and it is HD Radio. Stations airing local team play-by-play should use an HD channel to replay their broadcasts (read more - Dave Kohl)

Randy Dotinga: Puff piece tells quite a tale. Sometimes you pick up a book and know within seconds that you're in fertilizer country. Such is the case with "Clear Vision: The Story of Clear Channel Communications," a new history of one of the most despised companies in the country. Just turn to the table of contents and check out these chapter titles: "Service to the Community," "Forging a New Industry Leadership" and "A Clear and Closely Held Vision." Or look at the dust jacket, which touts an inspiring story about "opportunity and diligence and dedication to hard work," "fiscal prudence" and "vibrant leadership." Oh dear. We're going to need a bigger shovel. The author of the book, radio consultant Reed Bunzel, has created a 307-page puff piece complete with laudatory quotes from, of all people, Donald Trump. To Bunzel, most of Clear Channels' mistakes were "unintended and minuscule." And the company's loudest foes? They just don't like "big business." There's a nugget of truth here: Critics have turned Clear Channel into a bigger villain than it actually is. For one thing, the rest of the radio industry has largely followed Clear Channel's lead but been spared the name-calling. For another, the allegations that Clear Channel has a right-wing political agenda are exaggerated. And radio hasn't gone straight to hell during the years of Clear Channel's dominance. But the excuses and explanations in "Clear Vision" ---- which reflect those held by company officials ---- go too far.

Note to 1and1 (June 20, 2008)

Note to KYXY/Sophie, Jack, and Clear Channel (June 20, 2008)

Note to Bumper Doc (June 20, 2008)

Match Game Pilot Taped (June 20, 2008)

Yet another incarnation of The Match Game has been tapped by TBS as a possible series on the cable network.

The pilot was shot this week in Los Angeles according to the wires.

Comedians being on the panel in the pilot were Sarah Silverman, Norm MacDonald, Bob Einstein, Scott Thompson, Rashida Jones, and Niecy Nash.

Andrew Daly hosted the pilot for the cable channel.

In the game show, contestants try to match a missing word in a given sentence with a panel of celebrity guests. The game show originally debuted on NBC in 1962 and lasted until 1969, and has been revived with a naughtier version in 1973 on CBS. On the CBS version, the sentences were tweaked to allow some double-entendre humor. The late Gene Rayburn hosted both versions. The NBC version was more reminiscent of an early prototype for Family Feud.

The game is played with two contestants and a panel of six celebrities.

In the 70s version, Rayburn hosted the game that lasted on CBS until 1979 and in syndication until 1982. Brett Somers and Charles Nelson Reilly, longtime regular panelists on the CBS version, died last year. Other panelists over the years included Vicki Lawrence, the late McLean Stevenson, Betty White, Orson Bean, Fannie Flagg and Nipsey Russell. It returned as half of The Match Game Hollywood Squares Hour from 1983-84 on NBC. Rayburn hosted the Match half, and Jon Bowzer Bowman hosted the Squares half.

Another version of Match Game was on ABC from 1990-91. Ross Shafer hosted that version. Later that decade, another syndicated version aired from 1998-99 with host Michael Berger.

The Wires (June 20, 2008)

The Wires (Happy 30th Birthday, Garfield! June 19, 2008)

Kurt Hanson: Paragon Media's new study finds that radio TSL is up among the 14-24 year-old demographic. 59% of participants said they listen to music from non-radio sources (CDs, net radio, iPods, etc.) over traditional radio, a figure down from 73% last year. Paragon says this shows radio "is escaping its uncool image." However, as we explain, it's important to keep these results in perspective. Read more on the study in today's issue of RAIN: Radio And Internet Newsletter, online at http://www.kurthanson.com.

Inside Radio: Music sales fall to ten-year low. Global music sales fell 8% last year according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, which says music revenues totaled $19.4 billion. That's less than the $21.3 billion radio revenues totaled. IFPI CEO John Kennedy looks to close that gap. He says radio's royalty-free status is "totally unfair" telling members "It must change, and I believe it will."

XM to air Fox Business Network. The start-up business news channel gets national distribution on XM channel 128. XM executive VP of programming Eric Logan calls it "the latest milestone in a long and productive partnership" between Fox News and XM, which already airs Fox News and Fox News Talk channels.

The Street: The inability to refinance debt amid weak economic conditions could spell doom for XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio if their proposed merger fails to win the support of dueling regulators (read more - Robert Holmes - The Street)

The Wires (June 18, 2008)

Wal-Mart Music Sucks! Make no mistake about it Wal-Mart is not a friend of the music business or for 99% of the musicians out there. It’s a piranha with sharp teeth looking to rip into any prey – a fearsome predator. While everyone is waxing eloquent about Wal-Mart’s CD selling ability, it is lost in the fine print that Wal-Mart is also considering cutting back on the number of CDs they sell. CD sales in general have fallen almost 17% so far this year (read more - Jerry Del Colliano - Inside Music Media)

Julie Wheeler joins AC KYXY/San Diego as host of the Love Songs Show, heard Monday through Friday from 7 p.m.- midnight. Wheeler, who replaces Kris Toledo, was most recently morning co-host at KMGQ/Santa Barbara.

Sosd: U.S. motorists tap out gas stations. TIJUANA – U.S. drivers crossing into Mexico in search of cheaper gasoline and diesel fuel are straining supplies in Tijuana, gas station owners said. Near the Otay Mesa border crossing, the owner of a Pemex station posted a letter near the cashier's booth explaining diesel will be sold only to frequent customers who have an account at the station

Good News! Home prices continue downward spiral.

FireFox 3.0: What's New!

Coalition backs ten-fold HD Radio power boost. A group of 18 broadcasters, four equipment makers and iBiquity say HD signals don't go as far and have a harder time penetrating buildings. They're asking the FCC to increase the power from 1% to 10% of analog broadcast power. In studies iBiquity and CBS Radio engineers in New York, Los Angeles, Detroit and New Jersey, the average Class A FM's coverage area grew by 67% and the typical Class B jumped 56%.

Top 3 Highest Rated Daytime TV Events

2. One week in 1981 of General Hospital featuring the Luke and Laura Wedding.

Looks like that one has been dethroned by this event that literally shook San Diego and all of daytime television by storm.

1. The 18-hole and sudden death playoff between Tiger Woods and Rocco Mediate. Not even the script writers could have written this classic, which was seen in many public schools during the last day of school.

Kudos to XX Sports 1090 for airing the live NBC feed of the U.S. Open golf tournament in the final holes.

Weird question: Why are there TWO U.S. Opens? One for golf and one for tennis? I'll create a U.S. Open for tiddlywinks to confuse people more.

Top 5 Headlines Of The Week (Jun 9-15, 2008)

4. San Diego County Fair Returns to Rip You Off.

3. Andrea Evans returns to One Life to Live. Woo-hoo!

2. NBA Playoffs.

1. U.S. Open.

The Wires (Jun 17, 2008)

XM/Sirius Merger News. FCC's Martin To Back XM-Sirius Merger. The two satcasters agree to a series of conditions to receive Kevin Martin's approval for the merger. In addition, the ASSOCIATED PRESS is separately reporting that MARTIN's decision was also based on a concession that will turn over 24 channels of the combined service to noncommercial and minority programming. Another concession will be a three-year price freeze for consumers. A vote on the merger by the Commission could come as early as this week.

Broadcasters Want HD Digital Power Boost. HD Radio stations are authorized to broadcast with the power equivalent to 1% of a station’s analog power. The FCC mandated that to make sure they wouldn’t interfere with analog signals. Now, a group of 18 broadcasters, four equipment makers and IBIQUITY are saying the HD signals don’t go as far and have a harder time penetrating buildings.

Happy Hare: I’ve had two shots at major league television stardom, but I faded to black, never to light up the national screen again. The first TV occasion doesn’t count. It was a warm-up for big league opportunities that came later in 1960 and 1983. I was in New York doing mornings at WADO radio, a show that got a lot of good ink from Billboard. among others. Daily Variety tagged me as the next Johnny Carson. In New York, rave notices, though misplaced, begat opportunities that I could not have anticipated. After the Daily Variety plug, I received an invitation to appear on one of Jerry Lewis’s very first Muscular Dystrophy Telethons on local WNEW-TV (read more - www.HappyHareOnline.com)

Let's Go Retro with Old TV News

And this classic blooper David Letterman has been making fun of for the past few weeks...