Idaho Radio News Etc.

The economy continues to pinch broadcasters across the nation – including Journal Broadcast Group. The latest report has the JBG TV outlet in Green Bay, Wisc. cutting its sportscasts. It will instead produce them out of WTMJ/Milwaukee.

Journal Communications, parent of JBG and the collection of Boise assets (KRVB, KTHI, KGEM, KCID, KJOT, KQXR and KIVI/KSAW) saw April revenue slip in both its print and broadcasting divisions. Publishing dropped 6.2% from the same period a year ago, while the TV/radio side of the ledger fell 4.3%. Weakness in Vegas, Ft. Myers and Tucson was cite for the loss.

The company also noted “softness in all of our radio markets except Omaha.”

Sources tell IRN that the Boise operations are under a hiring freeze – and the company cut at least one on-air talent.

It’s been a string of bad news for media companies with local operations – including Citadel, McClatchy, Belo . Even Fisher announced it would sell its swanky Fisher Plaza at the base of the Space Needle in Seattle.

At Journal Communications’ annual meeting earlier this month, CEO Steven Smith told a crowd that there is no plan to take the newspaper/TV/radio conglomerate private. Smith bought back nearly 20 million shares, leading to the speculation, according to the Associated Press.

The AP’s wording does seem to leave the door open a crack, however:

…Smith told shareholders at the company’s annual meeting in Milwaukee that talk of the company going private is only speculation and the board has no immediate plans to do so.

KJOT/J-105 Journal Broadcast Group has a nice little exclusive set for tomorrow night. The station has a preview screening of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull. The group has been snagging winners for the last few days – and will pack an auditorium at Edwards 21 Tuesday – two days before the movie opens wide to the general public.

Update: KRVB/Idaho’s 94.9 The River, KQXR/100.3 The X and KTHI/107.1 K-Hits are also in on the fun

KTHI/107.1 K-Hits helped co-host KIVI’s coverage of Race for the Cure today. He held down the fort at the halfway point for the station’s coverage of the race event today. Mac joined a pair of KIVI anchors and an Idaho Daily Statesman reporter for the broadcast.

And as a PS/shameless plug… you can find lots of video, pics and exclusive aerial video & finish line cam over at KTVB.COM.

And PPS: After Race for the Cure I was standing behind my dad downtown today at the Saturday Market with a KTVB vest on when my dad (a former radio guy) said “hi” to none other than Bob Rosenthal. I was uncharacteristically quiet…

KQXR/100.3 The X cut afternoon host and former morning host Ian this week. Night guy Josh will move up and work 3pm-8pm – while “Britt” will fill the void from 8-11. Parts of the shifts will now be voicetracked. I’m told Ian wasn’t fired — could this be part of the Journal-wide belt-tightening we talked about earlier?

The memo said that JBG bosses would “miss” him and “wished him well.”

Boise will soon have one fewer radio frequency controlled by Journal Broadcast Group. Currently, KIVI-TV broadcasts on channel 6, which is 83.25-87.75 Mhz. The audio portion of channel 6 (in Boise and everywhere) is at 87.75 Mhz — which some (but not all) radios can pick up as 87.7 FM.

But on February 17, 2009 – all TV broadcasters will shut off their analog transmitters and broadcast in digital only. That means that stations will move to a new portion of the spectrum – on the UHF band (KIVI moves to channel 24 though PSIP will map it to “6.1″). So if you currently listen to KIVI’s program audio in your car — enjoy it while it lasts.

Company-wide, the Journal Broadcast Group has been trimming staff in the radio and TV division by about 5%. The cuts began last fall, according to Inside Radio – citing CEO Doug Kiel. The cuts will save $3 million per year – and also include a hiring slowdown.

Journal Communications’ first quarter income fell a whopping 91%. While that headline screams “what the…” it really isn’t that bad. JC had net income of $73.3 million in the first quarter last year, and just $6.7 million this year – but the company benefited from a sale of assets in the period in 2007.

The decline was within analysts’ expectations. The breakout:

• Publishing revenue dropped 6.7%
• Broadcasting revenue fell 4.6%
• Radio fell dropped 6.8%
• TV went down 3.4%

JC did not make any notation of how the Boise operations fared.

Speaking of KGEM – have you gone to their website lately? The “new” (1140kgem.com) site disappeared… and has been replaced by a generic splash page.

All the other JBG sites are registered to “Journal Broadcast Group Technology Services.” 1140kgem.com is registered to “Tate McColly Applied Marketing.”

The Boise Burn’s second season is underway – and the games are again on the radio – partnering with KGEM-AM again this year.

The topic I get the most e-mail about is “how is Margo Vaughn doing?”

Her latest blog post notes that she is working to slow down – and learning how to be healthier by not overloading her life. It includes these words of wisdom:

“It’s not my youth I wasted,….it’s my old age that wasted me.”
- Margaret Margo Rose Vaughn Nelson Churchwell, circa 2057

Just about a month ago – she gave a bit longer update:

Still hanging in there, although my poor husband must be at the end of his rope. Somebody should take him out. I mean somebody should take him out for a drink or something….not “out”. Not like a Soprano thing.

The problem is all these drugs and toxins we’re pumping in the body to kill any cancer that thought about hanging around after we cut it out, is now affecting my typically spunky mood. ( i.e. I’m crying all the time.) And I add for no good reason. An ant might have crossed my path, probably didn’t see it, but I break out in a big ol’ tear fest. The sun rises and there I go again, the dam bursting.

KIVI’s Michelle Edmunds has traditionally put together a team for the Race for the Cure – and this year that team will be walking for Margo

Media stocks are getting killed lately — especially stocks of companies that are tied to newspapers.

Journal Broadcast Group is no exception — with its stock trading very near its 52-week low of $6.37/share. The stock traded as high as $14 last year.

But… they aren’t alone. Citadel Communications is seeing a similar pattern – with a high of $10, now trading at less than $2. Talk about two buck chuck

For reasons not fully understood, Journal Broadcast Group Boise didn’t bid on the BSU sports rights. But Journal’s flagship AM station 620 WTMJ did get to play ball this spring – and extended an agreement with the Milwaukee Brewers.

KCID/1490 AM and KGEM/1140 AM both launched websites for the first time. Not much to look at yet, and the sites don’t use the same framework as the FM JBG sites… but it’s a start.

Journal Communications, parent company of Journal Broadcast Group saw profit fall more than 59% in the fourth quarter – well below analyst expectation.

For the period ended Dec. 30, net income slid to $9.5 million, or 15 cents per share, compared with $23.4 million, or 33 cents per share, a year earlier.

A big chunk of the loss came from the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. The storm may not be over:

The company cautioned that first-quarter publishing revenue will decline due to classified advertising difficulties, partially offset by strong online, commercial printing and commercial distribution performances. Radio and television revenue is expected to fall slightly during the quarter.

The stock is getting pounded on Wall Street today. Here’s a live quote:

In Idaho, Journal owns KTHI, KRVB, KJOT, KQXR, KGEM, KCID, KIVI-TV and KSAW-TV.

The announcement is set for this Wednesday 9 a.m. MST. You can listen in on the conference call with investors right over here.

The Boise Weekly’s Deana Darr has a fantastic piece on the race to land the radio rights to Boise State’s athletic events. I talked to Deana on background last week – and she did a great job chasing down all the players.

First, the headlines:

- Journal Broadcast Group did NOT bid on the rights
- Citadel GM Sandy Gamblin: “Certainly, it’s very important to maintain the rights”
- Tester Broadcast Group bid, and would put the games on KTMB/99.1 The Man.
- Peak Broadcasting submitted a bid, but declined to say where the games would go

Journal’s decision to not bid on the rights frankly isn’t a big surprise. They don’t really have a suitable station, and they have a lot of irons in the fire. If the radio rights and TV rights were tied together and Journal had both – that would be something – but the TV rights are not up until next year. Bob Rosenthal is clearly a big BSU backer, but JBG doesn’t seem to be focused on sports.

Citadel has the most to lose – and least to gain out of this. Sure, they’ll save a bundle if they don’t win the rights package, but all that ad revenue goes away. It also hurts KBOI, which has built its identity around BSU. Recent developments, like the rebranding (with less blue and orange) and the expnasion of afternoon news could be a hedge against losing the rights. KBOI also stands to lose Paul J. Schneider if they don’t keep the contract. After 35 years – Paul J. could either go to whomever grabs the rights – or retire. Paul J. is the best-known radio personality in this market, and KBOI doesn’t have an obvious successor. KBOI would also possibly face new competition. If KIDO/NewsRadio 580 pulls in the rights, it boosts them at KBOI’s success.

Peak is possibly the most-obvious second choice to many. The rights would boost KIDO instantly – and could have some benefit to KFXD. Why is Godwin declining to say what station he’d put the games on? This could signal that part of the package is a double pump with football games on both KIDO and an FM station. Of course, all four of Peak’s FM stations are female-oriented. As I’ve reported before, Peak CEO Todd Lawley told staffers last year that he would either get the rights for his group – or make Citadel pay dearly. I highly doubt he gave much thought to a third bidder.

Which brings us to Tester Broadcast. While Dave doesn’t own the stations – he’s a smart operator with the backing of an owner with pretty deep pockets. BSU might be turned off by the KTMB. The station has a very large signal pattern, but there are holes around Boise. Part of the plan may be to find ways to plug those gaps. I think everyone in this town just expects KBOI to take home the rights yet again. Perhaps. People think Peak is the number two choice. Don’t count out TB.

Frank Zang, Boise State spokesman, said the university is not forced to accept just any bid. The selection criteria will take into consideration things like the company’s history in the area, experience in sports broadcasting, creativity of proposal and opportunities for promotions, as well as financial terms and benefits.

Let’s break those things down, by bidder.

Company History
Peak – Brand new. Has established stations. Not locally owned.
Tester – New-ish (a rework of the FM Idaho group, same owners). Has new stations. Locally owned.
Citadel – Established. Established stations. Not locally owned.

Experience in sports broadcasting
Peak – As a company, none. Has some staff members with experience.
Tester – Some. Owns a sports station. Has a nightly sports show. Produced a slew of HS football games last fall
Citadel – Lots. Current BSU rightsholder. Paul J. on staff. Has a sports station.

Creativity of proposal
…we’ll see…

Opportunities for Promotion
Peak – Has a stable of stations with female appeal. Showed commitment to the school with efforts last fall. Tried to attach their brands to BSU without the actual rights – so I would expect this would only continue with the deal in hand.
Tester – Still a small group without a big ratings draw. Would probably have to look for partners and outside media
Citadel – They’d probably have to do better than what they currently offer, but they have experience

Financial Terms
Peak – Just spent a ton of money to just buy the stations – and has to keep them running.
Tester – FM Idaho’s Wendell Starke made a killing when he sold the stations and then bought them at the Horizon Broadcast Group fire sale. He’s been using that capital to add stations, build transmitters and acquire licenses.
Citadel – Just spent a fortune on ABC Radio. Pulled out of Spokane. Boise performs well, but paying up could be hard. The “rest” of the proposal may have to carry them.

I’ve teased the possibility that the school could take the rights in house. It’s still possible. Deana took the speculation around here and pitched it to Curt Apsey”: We’re considering everything and, at the end of the day, going a direction that’s best for all involved.”

Sounds cagey, doesn’t it?

By the way, I have a trick up my sleeve on this story – I should have more tomorrow.

Journal Broadcast Group picked up a second station in Palm Sprigns, CA – where it already owns NBC-affiliate KMIR. KSPE is a MyNetworkTV affiliate and gives the company a duopoly in the market.

JBG of course owns KRVB/KQXR/KJOT/KGEM-A/KCID-A/KTHI and KIVI-TV/KSAW-TV.

Journal Boise is hunting for a part-time air talent for an unspecified station – “weekend and evening availability is frequently required.”

Full posting after the jump, as they say.
Read the rest of this entry »

I threw out the “10 questions” poll the other day not having any idea if anyone would take the time to vote. To my delight, about 90 of you took a few moments.

You think KIZN/Kissin’ 92.3 had the strongest performance in the fall – and will wind up on top of the country roost yet again in the results later this month. Quite a few of you think KAWO/Wow Country 104.3 will not make it to the end of the year as a country station – but a plurality think KTMB/99.1 The Man is the most likely station to flip formats.

The conventional wisdom also seems to indicate KBOI & Citadel will again keep the Boise State Athletics radio contract – in fact, a majority think the station will hang on.

The chattering class overwhelmingly thinks Bob FM will be a niche player.

The smart money appears to be on Peak and Citadel settling their lawsuit out of court.

A whopping 93% of voters say Spanish-language radio will stay at its current level or grow. Almost no one thinks it will shrink.

Even with strong support for Citadel’s position in many questions – many of you think Citadel is most likely to leave the market this year. Most of the questions I asked will have a definitive answer by the end of the year – however it’s entirely possible no group will sell out this year. In hindsight, I should have provide that voting option.

A large majority thinks the Boise Community Radio Project will continue to have trouble getting a broadcast license.

And finally, a plurality thinks KDJQ will be reclaimed by the bank. More on that point soon.

Journal Communications saw November revenue fall by 13.4%, the Associated Press reports – a drop of 13.4%.

The biggest percentage drop wasn’t in the newspaper segment – but the TV business. Since last year was filled with political revenue and this year wasn’t – TV helped drive the company down. TV fell 26.3%, radio revenue dropped 9.6% and the newspaper group fell 5.6%. However, because Journal sees more cash-flow from the newspaper side of the ledger than it does from the JBG side, the newspaper group saw the largest actual (not percentage) drop.

All of our various businesses are changing: radio, television and newspapers. The oldest medium is also the one hurting the worst: newspapers are in trouble.

Journal Communications, parent company of Journal Broadcast Group – which owns KRVB, KQXR, KJOT, KGEM, KCID, KIVI-TV and KSAW-TV had a tough quarter, with overall revenue dropping 5.6%. Overall income increased, but that was largely due to cost-control and layoffs.

TV revenues also slipped, down a whopping 9.3% (imagine if your boss decided to cut your pay by 10 percent…), though Boise operations were singled out as a bright spot. Radio group revenue fell 5.1%, but here again – Boise was named among the clusters doing OK.

News also came this week that the Spokesman-Review of Spokane will slash 30 jobs from its staff of 130 (SR has a Boise bureau). Also, Idaho Statesman-owner McClatchy fell off the revenue train as well, losing 10% of its quarterly cashflow. McClatchy’s stock chart for the past year is down down down.

My employer, Belo recently announced it would split the company in two – newspapers on one side, TV stations on the other.