Wiremania (Nov 26, 2011)

Radio Wires

The Advertiser: Commercial radio stations have a fight on their hands in their bid to reduce local content on the airwaves.

Kansas City Star: Let's face it - the standard AM/FM radio doesn't quite have the luster it used to. As technology has advanced, we've been given satellite radio, with its specific niche stations, and podcasts, which delve even further into the obscure. TuneIn www.tunein.com exists to remind us of the way it used to be by combining old-fashioned radio with our thirst for information overload.

Sports Wires

John Maffei TV/Radio Sports: Padres' TV contract still on hold. After more than a decade on Cox Communication's Channel 4, Padres' game will be somewhere else in 2012. Fox will be the destination, but nothing has been announced and "while we continue to move along, noting is imminent," said Padres vice president and chief operating office Tom Garfinkel. All three Padres radio announcers - Ted Leitner, Jerry Coleman and Andy Masur - will return for the 2012 season. Leitner was offered a one- and two-year deals, settling on the two-year deal.

Sports on TV (Nov 26, 2011)

Friday, Nov. 25

College football: Louisville at South Florida, ESPN2, 11 a.m.; Eastern Michigan at Northern Illinois, ESPNU, 11 a.m.; Iowa at Nebraska, ABC, noon; Houston at Tulsa, Fox Sports Net, noon; Arkansas at LSU, CBS, 2:30; Boston College at Miami (Fla.), ABC, 3:30; Colorado at Utah, Fox Sports Net, 3:30; Pittsburgh at West Virginia, ESPN, 7; California at Arizona State, ESPN, 10:15

College men's basketball:Old Spice Classic, in Orlando, semifinals, Indiana State vs. Minnesota, Dayton vs. Fairfield, ESPN, noon and 5; Wake Forest vs. Arizona State, ESPN2, 7:30; Battle 4 Atlantis, semifinals, teams TBD, in Nassau, Bahamas, Versus, 2; Teams TBA, ESPN, 2:30; Teams TBA, ESPN2, 2:30; Teams TBA, ESPNU, 2:30 Dick's Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off, ESPN, 5; Teams TBA, ESPN2, 5; Teams TBA, ESPNU, 5; Green Bay at Virginia, ESPNU, 7; Las Vegas Invitational, South Carolina vs. North Carolina, in Las Vegas, ESPN2, 10; 76 Classic, in Anaheim, Calif., consolation, teams TBA, ESPNU, 9:30; semifinal, teams TBD, ESPN2, midnight

Golf: PGA European Tour, South African Open, second round, in Johannesburg, same-day tape, Golf Channel, 9 a.m.; Australian PGA Championship, second round, in Coolum Beach, Australia, same-day tape, Golf Channel, noon; Mission Hills World Cup, third round, in Hainan Island, China, Golf Channel, 10:30

Motor sports:Formula One, practice for Brazilian Grand Prix, in Sao Paulo, Speed, 11 a.m.

NHL: Detroit at Boston, NBC, 1; New York Rangers at Washington, NHL Network, 4

Saturday, Nov. 26

Boxing: Adrien Broner vs. Vicente Rodriguez, for vacant WBO junior lightweight title, in Cincinnati; Canelo Alvarez vs. Kermit Cintron, for WBC super welterweight title, in Mexico City, HBO, 10:30

College football: Ohio State at Michigan, ABC, noon; Georgia at Georgia Tech, ESPN, noon; Rutgers at Connecticut, ESPN2, noon; Rice at Southern Methodist, Fox Sports Net, noon; Iowa State at Oklahoma, FX, noon; Football Championship Subdivision playoffs, first round, James Madison at Eastern Kentucky, ESPNU, noon; Grambling vs. Southern, in New Orleans, NBC, 2:30; Regional coverage, Virginia Tech at Virginia or Oregon State at Oregon, ABC or ESPN2, 3:30; National coverage, Alabama at Auburn, CBS, 3:30; Penn State at Wisconsin, ESPN, 3:30; Vanderbilt at Wake Forest, ESPNU, 3:30; Missouri vs. Kansas, in Kansas City, Mo., Fox Sports Net, 3:30; Florida State at Florida, ESPN2, 7; Texas Tech vs. Baylor, in Arlington, Texas, Fox Sports Net, 7; Mississippi at Mississippi State, ESPNU, 7; Washington State at Washington, Versus, 7:30; Clemson at South Carolina, ESPN, 7:45; Notre Dame at Stanford, ABC, 8; UCLA at Southern California, Fox Sports Net, 10

Golf: PGA European Tour, South African Open, third round, same-day tape, Golf Channel, 9 a.m.; Australian PGA Championship, third round, same-day tape, Golf Channel, noon; Mission Hills World Cup, final round, Golf Channel, 10:30

Soccer: Premier League, Newcastle at Manchester United, ESPN2, 9:55 a.m

Motor sports: Formula One, qualifying for Brazilian Grand Prix, in Sao Paulo, Speed, 11 a.m.

NHL: Philadelphia at New York Rangers, NHL Network, 2; Pittsburgh at Montreal, NHL Network, 7

Sunday, Nov. 27

College men's basketball: Michigan State at Eastern Michigan, ESPNU, noon; Old Spice Classic, in Orlando, fifth place game, teams TBA, ESPNU, 2:30; third place game, teams TBD, ESPN2, 4:30; championship game, teams TBD, ESPN2, 6:30; 76 Classic, in Anaheim, Calif., fifth place game, ESPNU, 4; third place game, ESPNU, 6:30; championship game, teams TBD, ESPN2, 9; Virginia Commonwealth at Alabama, ESPNU, 9:30

Collegewomen's basketball: Baylor at Tennessee, ESPN, 2

Golf: PGA European Tour, South African Open, final round, same-day tape, Golf Channel, 9 a.m.; Australian PGA Championship, final round, same-day tape, Golf Channel, noon

Motor sports: Formula One, Brazilian Grand Prix, in Sao Paulo, Speed, 10:30 a.m.

NFL: Regional coverage, CBS and Fox, 1; Regional coverage, Fox, 4; Regional coverage, doubleheader game, CBS, 4:15; Pittsburgh at Kansas City, NBC, 8

Tennis: ATP World Tour, Finals, semifinals, in London, delayed tape, ESPN2, 5 a.m., championship match, at London, ESPN2, 12:30

Wiremania (Nov 24, 2011)

Padres Wires

padres.com: Padres extend club's radio deal for 2012. Padres.com reports that XX Sports 1090's rights for the play-by-play radio broadcasts of the Padres games will be extended for the year 2012. Broadcasters Jerry Coleman, Ted Leitner and Andy Masur will return in 2012 as part of the Padres radio lineup, as the team announced on Wednesday that it has agreed to a one-year contract extension with Broadcast Company of the Americas, who operate XX Sports 1090. All Spring Training games and 162 regular season games will be broadcast. The first game to be broadcast will be the Padres annual charity game against the Mariners in Spring Training on March 4. The first game of the regular season is set for April 5 against the Dodgers at Petco Park. The TV rights, however, remain a question mark.

AMC/OLTL/PP Wires

Access Hollywood: Prospect Park Cancels Plans To Put 'One Live To Live,' 'All My Children' Online. After more than four decades on the air, "One Life To Live" and "All My Children" will not be continuing their runs online, Prospect Park, the Internet company which had picked up the two series for the web, announced on Wednesday.

Huffington Post: 'All My Children,' 'One Life To Live' Both Canceled By Prospect Park, Series Dead. Prospect Park, the licensee of the two ABC soap franchies, admits it couldn't secure the backing and clear all of the hurdles involved in making the venture possible after all. Prospect Park appears to have run up against some of the same financial obstacles that forced the broadcast networks to cancel soaps.

Broadcasting and Cable: Even the fate of General Hospital, once one of daytime's most popular shows, is unclear as ABC rearranges its daytime schedule, pruning expensive and unrepeatable soap operas in favor of more economical talk shows. My prediction: GH will be cancelled and have its final airdate in September. ABC will be the first network to go soap-less since the 1950s.

Radio Wires

Reader Mail (Nov 23, 2011)

Wiremania (Nov 23, 2011)

Radio Wires

Radio World: The AM band is full of noise and it's getting worse. NAB will soon be looking into possible remedies.

TV Wires

Star Tribune: Local viewers are tuning-in to free TV again thanks to popular sub-channels.

Misc Wires

25 "Worst Passwords" of 2011 Revealed

Man catches 881-pound tuna, seized by feds

The Future of Solar Power

Wiremania (Nov 22, 2011)

Radio Wires

Radio Insights: Because of Pandora's meteoric rise, everybody assumes Internet radio use is growing by leaps and bounds. Because of Pandora, everybody knows that broadcast radio's days are numbered, that soon radios will go the way of typewriters. And Triton Digital's streaming ratings prove it. Or do they?

npr.org: Lamenting the loss of local Rock Radio -- Rock music on FM radio faces more competition than ever. With iPods, satellite radio and online streaming, many station owners have given up on rock music to boost ratings and revenue.

Los Angeles Times: KTWV-FM aims to be 'L.A.'s new Christmas station' -- The station known as the Wave hopes the shift from smooth adult contemporary to holiday favorites will translate into ratings gold, as it's done for KOST-FM. Also, Los Angeles market vet Bryan Simmons joins Smooth AC KTWV.

SiriusXM Radio will launch "Muppet Radio," a five-day limited run Thanksgiving week channel hosted by Kermit the Frog featuring new and classic Muppet music and an array of Muppets interacting with hosts from SiriusXM's talk/entertainment, music and sports channels. "Muppet Radio" will launch November 23 at 12:01 am ET and air through November 28 at 3:00 am ET on SiriusXM channel 145, online on SiriusXM Internet Radio channel 813 and through the SiriusXM Internet Radio App on smartphones and mobile devices on Limited Engagements 3. "Muppet Radio" will feature music from the new movie The Muppets, as well as holiday favorites from Kermit and company and classics from the Muppet archives. "Having the Muppets take over at SiriusXM was amazing! Lots of rocking, rolling, talking, laughing.and, of course, we spilled a lot of wet sticky stuff in the control room," said Kermit the Frog. "Folks are gonna hear us in a whole new way.and we'd really love to do it again, just as soon as they repair the studio."

Tom Taylor radio-info.com: Radio's John Lynch is part of the ownership group that's taking over the San Diego Union-Tribune newspaper. One year after being ousted by investors from the Broadcast Company of America group that he co-founded (October 28, 2010 TRI), Lynch has the satisfaction of being a media player on another stage. He's part of an ownership group that includes Doug Manchester, which is buying San Diego's daily newspaper for a reported $110 million. They're doing business as MLIM, and buying an asset that sold just a few years ago for $35 million. Seller of the Union-Tribune is Platinum Equity - which of course never planned to keep that investment for very many years. John Lynch has been part of San Diego radio since the 1970s and the early days of modern rock "91X" XETRA. Doug Manchester, a hotel owner and businessman, says "This is an honor and a privilege for John Lynch and the Manchester family" to be buying the paper. Manchester vows that MLIM will be "strong advocates for the city's interests and conscientious caretakers of the Union-Tribune and its legacy."

Biz Wires

Consumer Reports: Naughty & Nice Holiday List

High Standard Wires

10 Record-Breaking Bridges. Ten engineering marvels from around the world that take on a variety of shapes and sizes.

Porsche-designed condo lifts owners and cars to high-rise homes

irs.gov: Fraudulent email posing as the IRS 'Office of Professional Responsibility'. ALWAYS BE CAUTIOUS OF EMAIL SCAMS, especially requests for personal information without source verification. The IRS released a warning last week, identifying a fraudulent email posing as the IRS Office of Professional Responsibility. Tips and instructions are available on the IRS website.