Re: this week in review....

["Brian Vita" <brian_vita@cssinc.com>]

Doesn't the group ownership cap set up another possible scenario?  Try this
one on for size.  I'm using a local owner for the sake of demonstration
only, this is not an actual situation:

1.  There are a finite number of frequencies available in a given market
2.  There is an ownership cap based on % of advertising revenue.
3.  A large player, Greater Media has a very successful station (WMJX) and
it wants to keep it successful so it buys up as many of the other stations
in the market and deliberately puts less successful programming on them (Hot
Talk, AOR, Oldies [already in the market]).  By limiting the competition the
value of the primary station is protected and can charge the big $$$ for ad
revenue while being satisfied with the secondary ones paying their rent on
time.  As long as the group doesn't exceed the cap, this works.  The larger
station can charge confiscatory rates and the smaller ones can be thrown in
as "packages".

Brian T. Vita, President
Cinema Service & Supply, Inc.
75 Walnut St.
Peabody, MA  01960-5626
----- Original Message -----
From: "Chuck Igo" <Chuckigo@worldnet.att.net>
To: "Garrett Wollman" <wollman@khavrinen.lcs.mit.edu>
Cc: "Boston Radio Interest" <boston-radio-interest@bostonradio.org>
Sent: Sunday, August 26, 2001 8:32 AM
Subject: RE: this week in review....


>
> Garrett wrote:
> >>I've lived in markets where 1 of the top 7 stations had a 33+ share.
> (Assuming there even were seven stations to show up in the book....)<<
>
> And when the number of stations are that small, it's possible for that to
> happen.  also, iirc, didn't WTIC in the 80's have some 20+ share books?
> in Portland, there are over 20 rated signals for a metro population under
a
> half-million people.  it's hard enough for a station to stake out a claim,
> which is why the concerns were initially raised about group ownership.
> wasn't the ceiling set at 30 percent of available audience ratings?
meaning
> that, when the consolidation of stations began, corporations were only
> allowed to accumulate stations based on the most recent, prevailing
ratings
> shares; if the stations they desired to own had a combined rating share of
> less than 30 percent, then the deals were okay.  if a group had, say,
three
> stations already with an (example) existing twenty percent of audience
> shares, then went to acquire two more signals with additional percentages
> that would put them over the limit, that deal would be nixed.
> i feel bad for smaller operators who still have the guts to give it a go,
> people such as Bob B. and JJ Jeffrey, who are going to get pushed further
> and further down the food chain.
>
> - -Chuck Igo
>