The Wires (Feb 6, 2010)

Jay Posner TV/Radio Sports: NFL riding viewership wave into Super Bowl

Star Bulletin: Cec Heftel, former Hawaii congressman and broadcast industry pioneer, died Thursday in San Diego, according to his family - Among other broadcasting achievments, Heftel has been credited for being a radio-industry visionary for seeing an opportunity to serve the burgeoning Hispanic population in the United States and buying Spanish-language FM stations in Los Angeles. The company, Heftel Broadcasting, later became known as Hispanic Broadcasting Co

Cleveland Leader: American Idol Producers Want Howard Stern to Replace Simon Cowell

Mel Phillips: While most of us will be watching the media event of the year on Sunday, Super Bowl XLIV will also be available on the radio. There will be free radio coverage available everywhere and for the truly adventurous, you can also listen to the game in 10 different languages on Sirius NFL Channel 124. Sirius even promises not to run the game in those 10 different languages at the same time

FMQB: Green Day, Chili Peppers (editor: greedy scums!) Back Radio Royalties...During Grammy week, over 20 artists signed a statement telling Congress to pass the Performance Rights Act.

At Modern Rock KBZT/San Diego, Tommy Hough moves from mornings to the PM drive slot replacing Halloran. The Mikey Show is now in place in mornings.

Tom Taylor of radio-info. KFWB To New Owner? Foster-child KFWB (980), Los Angeles finally gets a parent from the FCC. ThatÆs Bill ClarkÆs newly-formed Clark Radio LLC, and the FCC should be happy about this. It wasnÆt pleased with an earlier version of the trust that CBS (then Viacom) proposed for the purpose of parking KFWB until it could sell it or preferably) until the local-market ownership rules changed. This dance began in 2002, when Viacom wanted to buy a second TV station in Los Angeles, KCAL/Channel 9. The FCC limits required the spin of a radio property, and KFWB was the odd one out. The normal course of action would be to sell it directly or put it into a trust (a la Clear Channel with the Aloha Trust or Citadel with the Last Bastion Trust). Then wait to see what the Commission does with the rules. But respected former Shamrock group head Bill Clark never quite got squared away with the Commission, or rather CBS didnÆt. Now itÆs accepted a revised agreement, and the station that CBS has recently re-made into a news-and-talk format headlined by Dr. Laura will be overseen by Clark. At a guess, the impetus for the revision is the FCCÆs looming 2010 quadrennial review of its ownership rules.

L.A. owner Saul Levine is still fighting CBS over its ownership of KFWB (980) and its five FMs. He tells LARadio.com heÆs been pushing the FCC to require the placement of KFWB into a trust, and a trust with a real wall between it and CBS. Yesterday this T-R-I Newsletter told you about the new trust run by Bill Clark, as the fulfillment of a condition of KFWB parentÆs 2002 purchase of a second TV station. But LevineÆs not satisfied. He wants to make sure CBS doesnÆt try to sell spots on KFWB in combination with its sister KNX (1070) or any other CBS Radio property. And that thereÆs no shared staff between KFWB and other CBS outlets. Not only that û the way SaulÆs attorney Bob Jacobi reads the FCC local ownership rules, CBS shouldnÆt be allowed to own five FMs. What got Levine so riled up? It was when CBS put Riverside-San Bernardino-market ôK-Frogö KFRG on an HD-2 channel in Los Angeles. In SaulÆs view, thatÆs unfair competition with his ôGo Countryö KKGO (105.1). He says ôwhen you include the HD signalsö, CBS owns nine radio stations in the L.A. market.

Reception: KSIQ Campo (Feb 5, 2010)

I also got it briefly around Mission Gorge and Fanita in Santee.

Funny thing about it is that the booster's city of license when it gets on the air is Santee, yet the transmitter is placed just south of El Cajon. How can it serve the parts of Santee that are behind the hills to the south as it blocks the transmitter? Will the 700-watter be able to get that far?

The Wires (Feb 5, 2010)

Gary Lycan: "It's great to be back on the air," Doug McIntyre said in response to the news that "Red Eye Radio" returns to KABC/790 AM starting February 8, midnight to 3 am

Reuters: Citadel files its reorganization plan to rid itself of $1.4 Billion in debt

Jacobs Media: I have struggled with both Facebook and Twitter. While I am back and involved in both services, I continue to question whether my thoughts and observations are worthy. It's one thing to write a blog post in this space each day. It's another to share more transient ideas and quips on Facebook, much less the hit and run Tweets on Twitter

John Maffei: CBS will break tradition with sideline reporters on the Super Bowl.

Padres: Coleman will have reduced role in 2010

All Access: Howard Stern Was Offered Someone Else's TV Show... but turned it down.

Is MySpace Passe? Adotas.com reports that the website lost $32 million in the most recent quarter due to a decline in traffice, advertising, and search revenue.

The Wires (Feb 4, 2010)

Randy Dotinga: Pity the poor San Diego radio listener who likes to turn on the radio in the morning and hear music. It's getting harder and harder to find amid a glut of yakety-yak. Alternative-rock station FM 94/9, one of the last vanguards of music over talk in the morning hours, has finally given in to chatter. This week, longtime Rock 105.3 morning host Mikey began his new show on 94/9, and music won't be a part of it. Mikey and his crew of sidekicks will talk, talk and talk some more

USA Today: On the Web, Hulu currently offers just four episodes of specific TV shows for free viewing, such as Lost,The Bachelor and The Simpsons. Forrester Research analyst James McQuivey believes Hulu will eventually settle on two pricing tiers: $4.99 for an ad-free Hulu, or $14.99 monthly for complete seasons of shows and back catalog

Hear 2.0: Radio is Shrinking as a Source of News -- As the Internet becomes a more important source of "news when you need it," all traditional media - including radio - are becoming less important sources

Didja Hear? (Feb 3, 2010)

Mikey returned to the San Diego airwaves on FM 94/9 this past Monday.

ESPN Radio 98.9 has been broadcasting at very low wattage for some reason and time. It's barely audable five miles north of I-8.

February 3rd is the 10th anniversary of what used to be DFSX Radio playing comedy 24 hours a day. Nowadays, it's under a new easier-to-remember name: ifunnyradio.com.

91X is at its new digs broadcasting somewhere near beautiful downtown Mira Mesa, wherever that is. It still has technical bugs to work out as it finishes its move to its new location, complete with an HDTV set.

Hey, maybe at noon, they can catch All My Children as they broadcast its first episode in HD for the first time. Greenlee that crazy girl is back to cause trouble!

The Wires (Feb 3, 2010)

All Access: KFWB 980 is back in an amended trust for operation and/or eventual sale.

Twitterings (Feb 2, 2010)

10News... Local Car Dealers Take Advantage Of Toyota Recall: New numbers obtained by 10News revealed that some local auto de... http://bit.ly/bKbw9l

SDRadio... FM 96.1, licensed to Campo, is on the air. 25,000 watts from East County.

The Wires (Feb 2, 2010)

Ron Jacobs: This is article is about radio 80 years ago, when it was only ten years old, way back, when "Big Bucks" were indeed humungously huge. So let's go back in time. Maybe you don't believe radio is the highest paying field in the world. You will, after reading this -- RADIO SALARIES - WHEN MONEY WAS REAL: "Will Rogers (below)made his last commercial radio appearance on CBS with The Ziegfeld Follies of the Air and an amusing situation developed. To put the moral first: His pride was greater than the $7,600 he would receive for the last two of his contracted broadcasts. And so he resigned, resigned because he was cut of the air at the end of six minutes to chatter on his second program. You see, Mr. Rogers had been signed for four microphone appearances from Los Angeles at $3,800 each"

Inside Music Media: The radio trades have been touting the iPad as a device that will allow users to hear radio - which is true -- if you use an app or call up a website. What is not helpful is ignoring that the iPhone and iPod Touch allow you to do that now and still few people listen to radio on these devices. Many download radio apps, but a huge number of them don't use them. These accounts also fail to mention that even an FM chip would likely not turn a device like an iPad into a radio. Sadly for them, nothing will turn a modern day mobile Internet device into a radio

Bridge Ratings: Over 60 Million Americans Listen To Internet Radio

Palm Springs Radio Shuffle: The FCC has approved KDES-FM's move westward into the San Bernadino/Riverside metro area on Monday. KDES-FM 104.7 is moving to Redlands. LC Media LP, a company owned by Roy Laughlin, is buying and moving KDES-FM. KDES's power will be reduced from 41kw to 1.45kw. This mirrors another low desert radio station, KSIQ 96.1, moving westward to Campo from Brawley just 120 miles south of Coachella valley. KDES's oldies format and calls will move to 98.5 FM. KWXY's beautiful music/adult standards format will move to 1340 AM. KPTR 1340's talk format will move to KGAM 1450 repacing another talk format.