November 2004 News Archive

November 30, 2004
WBUF Buffalo has shifted to an FM Talk format (keeping rock for overnights and a little bit of weekend programming). WBUF already had Howard Stern mornings and Don & Mike in the afternoon (and at one point the station had Opie & Anthony in that afternoon slot). Now WBUF has added Brother Wease from WCMF in Rochester for middays and Tom Leykis for evenings (with Loveline filling the 10 PM-midnight slot). This might be a chance for Wease to show if he can work as a viable replacement for Stern (Wease is on morning drive in a few markets), particularly since Wease will have a "best of" show running in the Saturday morning slot. Perhaps the most unusual pairing is in Saturday afternoons, where three hours of the best of Leykis runs into three hours of... Michael Savage.

November 24, 2004
Lost in the craziness of last Thursday (Nov. 18) was this article from Forbes concerning the downgrade of Sirius' stock from "neutral" to "sell" by Banc of America Securities. This came out before Mel Karmazin was announced as CEO. However, BoAS' reason for the downgrade is because of its assumption that Howard Stern will start with Sirius in 2005. Plenty of people have speculated on this, but this is the first tangable place where I've seen it from an investment firm, let alone with a specific money figure:

Banc of America said the upside from an early switch by Howard Stern to Sirius "would be only slightly positive to overall firm value" and will be "expensive," potentially increasing cash costs per user by about 30% next year. The research firm's analysis assumes Howard's standard costs of $100 million would occur in 2005, plus it assumes a one-time $80 million cash settlement with Viacom to buy out the last remaining year on the show.

I'm curious as to where the data used in that analysis came from...

November 23, 2004
The last major holdout against the FCC anti-indecency crusade, Infinity Broadcasting, has given in. According to Broadcasting & Cable, Infinity has agreed to a $3.5 million deal which settles all outstanding and proposed fines against the company, with the exception of the Janet Jackson Super Bowl fine.

As part of the agreement, Infinity has agreed to delay all live programming on its radio and TV properties, including its CBS and UPN networks. Most disturbingly, "Viacom (Infinity's parent company) has also agreed to immediately suspend, and potentially fire, any on-air employee whose broadcast results in a notice of apparent liability from the FCC, and to institute indecency education programs at all its properties." What this means for talents like Howard Stern, Tom Leykis, Don & Mike, etc. remains to be seen (though Don & Mike have toned down their show considerably in 2004).

November 22, 2004
Robin Quivers of the Howard Stern show has signed a deal with Sony Pictures Television to create a pilot that would likely become a one hour daytime talk show. According to Reuters, the show could launch as early as next year. Here's the full story from the Washington Post.

All Access reports that it has obtained a letter by self-proclaimed indecency crusader Jack Thompson where Thompson claims that Beasley broadcasting plans to sue Thompson "for calling Stern's broadcasts on Beasley's WQAM indecent." While I imagine that the suit itself will be more polished than that, what actually would be most beneficial would be for Stern's crew to file a bar complaint against Thompson, who is a licensed attorney in the state of Florida. Such a move would prevent Thompson from taking action himself against Stern in the future (though he could always hire another attorney to do his bidding).

Stern affiliate WZNE in Rochester, New York has lost its Operations Manager. Infinity fired John McCrae following an internal investigation; according to the New York Times, Infinity believes that McCrae accepted gift certificates from record labels, which would go against company policy. The move comes as the state of New York begins taking a hard look at the issue of payola and plugola. The change at the OM position likely won't impact Stern directly, particularly since the Infinity O&Os will likely follow orders from corporate on how to proceed in his situation, but given the unique circumstances surrounding the developing situation with Stern, it's at least worth noting.

November 19, 2004
Howard Stern said nothing about getting out of his contract early on Letterman last night, and this morning he stated on his radio show that he was doing nothing to attempt to escape from it early. However, what he is doing and what Sirius is doing may be two separate things. It was also pointed out to me that in promotional banners at yesterday's Sirius giveaway at Union Square in New York City, the banners said "Howard Stern coming soon", not "Howard Stern coming in 2006". Perhaps that's just crafty promotion ("soon" can be a relative thing), but I detect far too many rumblings from behind the scenes for this to be nothing.

November 18, 2004
Former Infinity President/COO Mel Karmazin has signed with Sirius to become the company's new CEO. The news came out at approx. 4:40 PM Eastern... just minutes after the Late Show taping with Howard Stern began.

FMQB reports that Howard Stern is expected to announce on The Late Show With David Letterman tonight that Infinity and Sirius have reached an agreement for Stern to leave Infinity earlier than the December 2005 date when Stern's deal is presently set to expire. FMQB cites a confidential e-mail received from a Stern affiliate as its source for the information.

The Talk Radio Network, which announced earlier this week that it has signed Mancow to a distribution deal, has revealed more details about its plans to roll Mancow into new markets. According to All Access, TRN has formed a new division, called TRN-FM, to distribute the show. The Chicago Sun-Times reported that the deal between Mancow and TRN is a three-year deal, presumably matching the length of his recently signed contract renewal with Chicago's WKQX. TRN has a few very successful shows in its stable (Michael Savage being the big one), though this is the company's first foray into the world of hot talk. Its timing is perfect, with Stern heading to satellite and some major market opportunities opening up in the near future. The knock on Mancow (from what PDs and OMs in the biz have told me personally) in the past was his asking price, particularly in mid-major markets.

If TRN prices Mancow competitively, there could be some interesting matchups created here in the near future. Bob & Tom have gone basically unchallenged in Indianapolis since they beat Howard Stern there a few years back. Clear Channel certainly wouldn't put Mancow on there (I know how hard I tried to get Bubba on WRZK last year, and he's from Indiana, but there's no way Clear Channel would dilute their cash cow in their home market). But WKLU might be willing to give Mancow a try if TRN can sell to that station the chance that Mancow might give B&T a run for their money in their hometown. But even if that particular scenario doesn't play out, there are many other possibilities and doors that could be opening for Mancow with this latest move.

Howard Stern gave away 500 Sirius boomboxes and one-year subscriptions to lucky fans in Union Square at noon today in New York City. For the other estimated 20,000 who showed up, they received a voucher coupon for a free boombox if they purchase one year of Sirius programming. The offer applies to everyone; details are available by clicking here. Note that the offer lasts only November 24 (and no, I don't make any money off of this; I'm providing it merely for informational purposes).

November 17, 2004
Howard Stern plans a giveaway of some sorts at noon tomorrow (11/18) in New York City's Union Square, where he will be giving out "special gifts" to his fans as a thank you for their loyality. On his show this morning, Stern implied that the gifts are Sirius satellite receivers. The move is a lead-up to his much-anticipated appearance at a taping later that afternoon on The Late Show With David Letterman, which will air that night on CBS. Stern promises to give all-new specific details on Letterman's show about his morning show's forthcoming move from Infinity Broadcasting to Sirius.

This next item doesn't apply to hot talk radio directly, but it should give you a look into the mentality of the people running the show at the FCC. FCC President Michael Powell appeared on CNBC this morning, and according to All Access, Powell said this: "(The segment was) very disappointing... I wonder if Walt Disney would be proud. It would seem to me that while we get a lot of broadcasting companies complaining about indecency enforcement, they seem to continue to be willing to keep the issue at the forefront, keep it hot and steamy in order to get financial gain from the free advertising that it provides." Keep in mind that the FCC is there only to act on viewer complaints, but we have Powell out there spewing his rhetoric about something that clearly gives away his bias on the topic. 1950s TV and radio, here we come...

November 16, 2004
I've gone back-and-forth on whether this is worth putting on here (since I hate giving these self-proclaimed "moral crusaders" any press), but Coral Gables attorney Jack Thompson (who has complained to the FCC before about Howard Stern) made an open promise to Infinity Broadcasting: fire Howard Stern and he'll go away. Since Stern returned to the Miami market on WQAM, Thompson has filed a dozen complaints with the FCC about content aired on his show. It was a Thompson complaint against former Stern affiliate WBGG-FM (owned by Clear Channel) which helped to faciliate Stern being dropped from the six Clear Channel stations that at one time carried his show.

In other news, the White House announced today that FCC member Jonathan Adelstein will remain with the commission through 2008. Adelstein, a former aide to Senator Tom Daschle, has served as one of two Democrats on the five-member commission since December 2002. This is bad news for those who dislike the aggressive approach taken in the past year by the FCC against so-called "indecent" broadcasters.

Consider Adelstein's comments about Bubba The Love Sponge made in January 2004: "Clear Channel and, indeed, this particular Bubba the Love Sponge program have been the subject of repeated Commission indecency actions in the past. Given the explicit nature of the broadcast material and the history of prior offenses, this is the type of serious repeated behavior that I believe would warrant initiation of license revocation hearings."

Mancow has signed with the Oregon-based Talk Radio Network, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. And according to FMQB, Mancow has his sights set on the current Howard Stern affiliates that are soon to be without a morning show. I had figured that Emmis' KPNT in St. Louis would be the most logical choice, but it appears that Mancow is angling toward WXRK New York and much of the Infinity piece of the pie. It's unclear how much of that is posturing and how much is legit, but certainly Mancow should not be overlooked as a major player in the post-Stern shake-up.

November 15, 2004
Don & Mike launched donandmikewebsite.com, their new official website, this past Friday.

According to their website, Lex & Terry have landed a new affiliate, Clear Channel-owned KZZE in the Medford, OR market. However, KZZE's website doesn't yet reflect that change. The move puts L&T head-to-head with Bob & Tom, which is on Mapleton classic rocker KBOY-FM.

November 12, 2004
Today's Wall Street Journal reports that the issue causing Howard Stern to go off on his show on Infinity's Joel Hollander is because Infinity is pulling its legal team's support from Stern in his lawsuit against Clear Channel (and that company's countersuit against Stern). Quoting from the article, "People close to Infinity say that because Mr. Stern was secretly negotiating with Sirius while enlisting the support of Infinity's legal team in a suit against Clear Channel, Infinity no longer feels compelled to back him." Click here to read the article in its entirety.

The latest word I hear is that it will be Adam Carolla who will replace Stern on WXRK in New York (and on most of the other Infinity stations that carry Stern). This would likely necessitate Carolla moving to New York City (since a Los Angeles-based morning show meant for east coast consumption isn't particularly feasible). I hear also that Mancow is being considered by other current Stern affiliates to fill their morning spot.

November 11, 2004
Howard Stern is scheduled to appear on The Late Show with David Letterman on Thursday, November 18, where he promises to talk about everything involving his forthcoming move to Sirius satellite radio. Moreover, on his show this morning, Stern said that he would reveal on Letterman's program the promise that he claims Infinity President/COO Joel Hollander broke to his agent (which seems to be a source of extreme angst for Stern). This article from today's New York Post has more information about the behind-the-scenes turmoil.

FCC Chairman Michael Powell told reporters yesterday that he has no plans to step down from his post at the FCC. Powell's term at the Commission runs through 2007. There had been some speculation that he would step down to make a run at either a political office (such as Governor of Virginia) or more likely a spot within George W. Bush's cabinet, but it seems that Powell is going to hold off on those ambitions for the short term.

November 10, 2004
EXCLUSIVE: Bubba The Love Sponge is going to be featured in a forthcoming issue of FHM Magazine. His article is slated to be in the February 2005 issue of the magazine (which should be available in the first or second week of January 2005).

There's a great deal of speculation swirling about the Don & Mike show and the possibility of the program moving to mornings on WJFK-FM in the Washington, DC market. DCRTV.com has speculated that WJFK-FM's talk programming may be moved to the stronger 94.7 signal licensed to Bethesda, MD (which provides better coverage to the DC region, particularly the northeast suburbs). Let me be clear: I have no firsthand knowledge of what is going to happen, and I believe that the thought process is still in the works, but I could anticipate D&M going to mornings on at least WJFK-FM and WXYV (Live 105.3) in Baltimore, displacing Stern, with Ron & Fez potentially being moved to afternoon drive (and maybe given Westwood One distribution). R&F's three markets now are DC, Baltimore and Tampa, all of which run Tom Leykis on a tape-delay after R&F (meaning that Leykis could potentially slide into the R&F slot -- he was on in evenings in Baltimore until a few months back, when he was bumped to tape delay due to sluggish ratings).

It seemed to me like it would only be a matter of time... but Howard Stern is apparently having problems with Infinity Broadcasting over content issues. And these aren't related to indecency, but rather Stern discussing his forthcoming move to Sirius satellite radio. After curtailing his talk of Sirius, and even satellite in general, Stern has returned to the topic with authority. Meanwhile, there are complaints coming from the west coast (where the show runs on a three hour delay), particularly in Los Angeles, of the show being "chopped up" and edited down. In particular, Stern has criticized Infinity's Joel Hollender on-air. Somehow I see this already tenuous situation not improving anytime soon...

November 5, 2004
Don & Mike affiliate WORC (in Worcester, MA) is flipping from Talk to Spanish Tropical on Monday, 11/8/2004, according to All Access. The change will knock D&M out of the market.

The Bob & Tom page is updated to reflect some recent market losses for the show (including Austin, TX and Chattanooga, TN).

November 3, 2004
Bubba The Love Sponge lost in his bid to become Sheriff of Pinellas County. The expection from the BTLS camp is that the show is going to return via satellite radio, either with XM and Sirius. It wouldn't surprise me to see something finalized with one of those companies before the end of November.

Howard Stern lamented on his show this morning that he was "down to 42 markets"; however, by my count he has 46. I haven't heard word of Stern losing any markets as of late, so I'm not sure if he was just off on his math in his post-election blues or if he knows something of impending market drops. I've heard that KPNT in St. Louis is planning toward life after Stern, and I hear they're looking for a local show versus an out-of-market syndicated offering, which would seem to put the Mancow theories to rest.

As for who's replacing Stern, I still think it'll be Kidd Chris out of K-Rock in San Antonio, though Don & Mike have alluded to the possibility of them being given the morning drive slot. That could potentially open a door for The Russ Martin Show in Dallas, which is also broadcast in Austin on KOYT. However, this is all conjecture, and until anything is officially announced we'll have to wait.

Full News Archive
October 2004 News/December 2004 News

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