The Wires (Dec 20, 2008)

Bubba sticks with Sirius XM. Bubba the Love Sponge won't become terrestrial-only. Todd "Bubba" Clem has signed a two-year contract with Sirius XM Radio to continue hosting a daily four-hour show for the Howard Stern-programmed "Howard 101" channel. Bubba's terrestrial morning show recently went into syndication. More on SDN later.

The RIAA will drop its campaign of lawsuits against people allegedly sharing music online illegally, according to The Wall Street Journal. Instead, the RIAA said it will try to rely on Internet service providers (ISPs) to curb music sharing through graduated responses . In preliminary agreements between the RIAA and ISPs, users who appear to be uploading music illegally would be warned through email . Users who appear to continue sharing music could have their Internet service slowed or cut altogether . Read more about the RIAA's lawsuit campaign and future plans in today's issue of RAIN : Radio And Internet Newsletter, at http://www.kurthanson.com.

RWOnline: Concerns Raised About 'Franken FMs' Are they TV or radio?

TV Tech: Underserved Still at Disproportionate Risk of Losing TV. On the bright side, policy advocates said Monday, an ambitious ground game is under way.

Jay Posner: With Chargers-Bucs “flexed” off Sunday night, CBS has the 10 a.m. telecast with Greg Gumbel and Dan Dierdorf. Panthers-Giants is NBC's new prime-time game. The NFL will announce the final Sunday night game on Monday; my money is on Dolphins-Jets, although Chargers-Broncos could be a long shot if somehow that game means anything.

radiodailynews.com: David G. Hall is the new Director of Operations for Citadel Broadcasting's 790 KABC. John H. Davison, President and General Manager has confirmed it. Hall is a well-tenured programming executive in the Los Angeles market, having programmed 13 years at KFI-AM and 5 years at CBS news stations KNX-KFWB. He will assume programming duties at 790 KABC January 5, 2009

Inside Music Media: We know the bad news. Now, how about some good news about the radio industry. (1) Satellite Radio Isn't Hurting Radio (2) The Music Performance Tax Has Not Been Passed (read more - Jerry Del Colliano - Inside Music Media)

Radio Ink: Report: RIAA To End P2P Lawsuit Campaign. The RIAA is largely dropping its long-running strategy of suing individuals over illegal downloading, choosing instead to seek the cooperation of Internet providers, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Radio Ink: A Lifetime With Sirius XM For $300. Sirius XM Radio is offering a $100 discount, to $300, on its lifetime subscription via a targeted campaign, reportedly making the proposal to existing XM subscribers.

All Access reports that WGRD Hires Jeffery Dahmer.

KYXY Launches 'Uplifting Alternative The Crossing' On HD-2 CBS RADIO AC KYXY/SAN DIEGO recently launched HD-2 channel THE CROSSING, the "Uplifting Alternative." The channel can also be head via streaming from THE CROSSING website at thecrossingfm.com. THE CROSSING features artists such as THIRD DAY, JEREMY CAMP and TOBYMAC.

The Wires (Dec 19, 2008)

Insideradio.com: Wagner trades Tucson for San Diego. Clear Channel names Tucson market manager Debbie Wagner to take over operations of its seven-station San Diego cluster. In announcing her promotion, EVP Susan Karis notes under Wagner Tucson’s online revenue pacing is ninth among all Clear Channel markets. Bob Bollinger is out.

Radio World: FCC Begins Granting Power Increase Requests for Test Purposes. Starling: 'An unhappy listener is a failed transition'

Radio World: Saga Uses FM translators to Spread Multicast Programming. 'While we wait for HD Radio to take off, we've found a way to make it work for us'

Kurthanson.com: There are now more News/Talk radio stations in the U.S. than any other single format, according to Inside Radio’s publication M Street. It says there are now 2,064 N/T outlets (there were 40 new entrants to the format last year, and 250 since 2003). According to Arbitron, “News/Talk/Information” is also the most-listened-to radio format in the U.S. A New York Daily News columnist points out, “Music fans have more and more alternatives to traditional radio , including the Internet and iPods, but that news/talk is something they can’t find anywhere else. So it becomes ‘unique content’ for radio.” Some industry experts, like LAUNCHcast founder David Goldberg, have long held that music radio’s future is on the Internet , and AM and FM will survive only as Talk outlets.

NY Biz: Sirius XM has 22% less staff than what they started with and is forecasting a smaller-than-expected adjusted loss this year

NY Daily News: Three years after he changed the radio game by jumping from the free airwaves to Sirius satellite, Howard Stern is thinking out loud about leaving altogether. He raised that prospect on his show last week, and while radio retirement is a notion he's floated often, he didn't back down when he returned Monday, saying, "I don't know what I'll do".

United Stations Radio Networks' Classic Hits - Oldies program, Dick Clark’s Rock, Roll & Remember, hosted by Dick Clark, will merge its production efforts and its affiliate lineup with Rewind with Gary Bryan of KRTH LA. The newly merged program will be known as Dick Clark Presents Rewind with Gary Bryan and will provide affiliates with up to 5-hours of programming weekly beginning the week of January 26

Inside Music Media:. The problem with radio is not money. It's worse. It's a lack of compelling and addictive content. Failure to create content for the mobile world and a terrible misunderstanding of what the Internet can mean in terms of future revenue. Plus a total disregard for the critical importance of social networking. Okay, I'm nuts. I'm all wrong. Radio needs another numbers crunche

Radio Ink: ABC Radio Networks, Dees Make Development Deal. ABC Radio Networks has made a development agreement for new content with Rick Dees' Dees Entertainment. With the deal, ABC Radio Network takes on syndication for The Rick Dees Weekly Top 40.

Randy Dotiga: Stuff your stocking with radio gifts. Also: After almost a year on the air, talk-show host Stacy Taylor is no longer with 1700-AM. On his Web site, he wrote that he was "eliminated" and told that the station was having financial problems. "What ultimately becomes of 1700 is a mystery," Taylor wrote. "Deep recessions tend to put a damper on radio advertising revenue."

KUSI's Analog Broadcast Misses DTV Message (Dec 18, 2008)

With just two months to go before the analog broadcast TV shutdown (except for LPTV), the local stations ran a soft shutdown of the over-the-air analog service.

The message was seen for people who tuned into the analog broadcast channels KFMB, KGTV, XETV, KSWB, KPBS, and KNSD. The message did not run on the DTV signals or on the analog cable systems.

Analog TV sets hooked up to cable TV are not affected by the DTV mandate.

The announcement explained the availablity of cable and satellite as well as digital TV converters (that do not decode cable channels) to hook up to the TV sets that still depend on over the air broadcast.

While the six named aired the two-minute DTV message, KUSI's analog broadcast signal on 51 didn't cut away to the DTV message, though Paul Bloom said at 7pm that they did.

Radio Shack recently announced that they now carry portable TV sets that can get DTV signals, though I haven't been in one within the week and I cannot verify which stores carry them. My portable B&W TV that I use in my car will be useless after Feb 17 except if I care to watch a scratchy Tijuana signal on it.

The Wires (Dec 18, 2008)

radiodailynews.com: service unavailable

The Wires (Dec 17, 2008)

SIRIUS XM Radio has renewed an exclusive deal with Mojo Nixon who was first brought to satellite radio as a DJ on its Outlaw Country channel, which “Little Steven” Van Zandt created and executive produces

San Diego host Stacy Taylor is missing from the San Diego 1700 AM line-up. CNN is replacing his time slot.

Mel Phillips: The total number of College radio stations may have dwindled to about 700 but the student disc jockeys are keeping it alive. The music is still eclectic, lots of reggae with a dash of folk, rock, and name-your-favorite genre, for good measure. You won’t find many disc jockeys listening to the music they’re playing when they’re off the air, opting instead for their iPod, the Internet or the blog that they write, but they remain as devoted to their craft as ever. “College radio is still tremendously important” says XL Recordings executive Kris Chen.

Inside Radio: More decide to go dark, not broke. Facing lower revenues, more stations are opting to turn off the transmitter. In recent weeks there’s been an increase in requests landing at the FCC seeking permission to remain silent due to the bad economy. One operator who shutdown three FMs admits it's “unable to operate profitably.”

Top 5 Headlines Of The Week (Dec 8-14, 2008)

5. NBC Plans Jay Leno Weeknights at 10pm This Fall. Network is out of ideas!

4. Tribune Files For Bankruptcy. KSWB May Go Off The Air! XETV May Get Fox Back! Sure.

3. XX Sports Radio Cuts Two Voices, Picks One Back Up.

2. No number 2. The economy is so bad Christmas has been delayed until April 17.

1. Chargers Pull Off a Miracle, Beat Kansas City by One Point!

The Wires (Dec 16, 2008)

All About Jazz: Commercialized radio may not die out entirely, but it will bleed money in the meantime. The local radio stations stand a better chance because they have the advantage connecting with their audience and being more able to adapt to the needs of their market. There are 10 top reasons why radio stations are bleeding money (read more - HypeBot - All About Jazz)

Inside Music Media: Less Is More is getting ready for the next phase. Any day now -- and certainly within weeks -- don't be surprised to see your number one radio group, Clear Channel, give radio a glimpse of the consolidated future. Again. Clear Channel has led the way -- or should I say, bullied its way into recreating radio in its own image that harkens back to the old moniker "Cheap Channel" back in the Mays days (read more - Jerry Del Colliano - Inside Music Media).