Answer: More Consolidation? (Jan 17, 2009)

Like it or not, we may get Broadcast Company of the Americas (3), Finest City Broadcasting (3), MEC Network (2), Compass Broadcasting (1), Salem Communications (2), Lincoln Financial Broadcasting (5), Midwest Television (2), and CBS Radio (2) with stations in San Diego to put their stations in this market or entire companies up for sale or open for a merger with another company. We have Clear Channel running seven stations locally, so they can't get any more local stations.

There could be enough mergers to result in the smaller local radio companies becoming larger as they buy out their competetors who want to get out of the radio business, which has been reeling from the bad advertising economy as of late.

CBS Radio could deal one of the local companies its two stations with a price low enough to entice a buyer. Compass could decide to fold itself into another. Salem Communications could dump the two it runs. MEC Network could also quit while it's still behind.

BCA runs 1090, 1700, and 105.7, all out of Mexico. FCB runs 90.3, 91.1, and 92.5, also out of Mexico. MEC Network runs 800 and 98.9, again, from Mexico. Those three companies could fold their operations into one local unit running all eight of the nine English-language Mexican-owned radio stations. What could they name their company?

Salem owns 1170 and 1210. Compass owns 102.1. Lincoln owns 1240, 92.1, 94.9, 97.3, and 98.1. They could all merge their local operations into a local entity that's partially owned by all three of them. Compass would own 1/8th of it. Salem would own 1/4th. Lincoln would own the other 5/8ths.

CBS owns 96.5 and 103.7. CBS could sell them to any of them that doesn't run or own more than three FM stations. Midwest Television owns 760 and 100.7; it also owns a TV station. CBS could sell them to Midwest Television which, ironically, has a CBS TV affilliate, so a merger would result in the radio stations owned by CBS radio would no longer compete against radio stations owned by a company that has a CBS affilliate.

Any of the bigger local companies could then compete better with Clear Channel San Diego.

As many of the readers know by now, more mergers mean less music playlist diversity, but in this day and age where cash flow is running dry and radio companies are slashing wages, employees, and even entire job positions, the possibility of more mergers for survival is eminent. It's going to happen whether you like it or not.

But why should it matter to the reader if they're happy with their Internet radio station playing genres radio used to play or should have been playing, but isn't.

Should we shut down the Internet so that radio could survive?

The Wires (Jan 17, 2009)

Most sources: Clear Channel Staff Cuts To Come January 20.

TV Tech: DTV Delay Bill, Coupon Funding Introduced. The stimulus proposal could be taken as a sign the analog shutoff will be delayed, as people wouldn't receive the coupons until after Feb. 17.

RWOnline: Blaupunkt, iRoamer to Introduce Internet Car Radio. CES attendees see in-dash prototypes

Tom Taylor of radio-info.com: Sirius XM out-sources its traffic service and shuts down the XM traffic unit. Mel Karmazin had to make a choice, as he’s done with so many issues in the melded world of Sirius and XM – and ultimately he went with the Sirius approach of out-sourcing the major-market traffic reporting duties to Westwood’s Metro Networks. (I think their cash deal’s not up until 2010, which might’ve been a factor.) XM's Hugh Panero did it the other way – he hired onetime Shadow/Metro traffic expert Jim Battagliese to create a D.C.-based service that would be XM’s own, relying partly on data from Traffic.com. That debuted in March 2004 and at one point employed 55 people. As of this week, though – they join the ranks of the other souls who got consolidated out of a job. That number is well over 400 now, and the traffic folks are actually among the last to go. They shut the lights off Wednesday night.

ZDNet: Identity Finder Free Edition will detect unprotected credit card information and passwords on your computer and secure the information to protect you from identity theft. License: Free. OS: Windows 2000 with SP3/XP/Vista

Reuters: Clear Channel plans to lay off about 7 percent of its U.S. staff, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.

NY Post: The new owners of radio giant Clear Channel Communications will next Tuesday begin implementing a massive restructuring plan that seeks to cut $400 million in costs at the company, The Post has learned - The company is also likely to move toward a "national programming" model that would require less local-level staffing (read more - Peter Lauria - NY Post)

Inside Music Media: The table is set for more massive personnel cuts in radio -- with Clear Channel's big bang possible within days. By now, most radio people can see what group CEOs have done over the 12 year history of consolidation and have a pretty good idea what the general effect of more budget cuts will be going forward (read more - Jerry Del Calliano - Inside Music Media)

US News: Indie 103.1, a long-running radio station known for playing the edgy music that "corporate" stations wouldn't touch, is ceasing to broadcast today - There is probably no better day than today for someone interested in broadcasting. There's a simple reason: the market responded to the demand of dissatisfied radio listeners, and new technologies provided alternatives. Satellite radio gives you more dial choices than terrestrial radio in any city in the world. But more significantly, podcasting has turned anyone into a DJ (read more - Matthew Bandyk - US News & World Report)