Ephron On Media: It Should Be Cume (Reach), Not TSL (Frequency)

Erwin Ephron is establishing his website as a must-read. “Recency”, “Planning”, “Research”, “Media History”…his thoughts on media today are compelling and worthwhile of your time.

In an article published earlier this month, which summarized a NYC presentation he have, Ephron says the long-standing ratings system measuring the amount of time spent listening to radio is secondary to the actual reach or cume of radio. It’s the cume that possesses the power of radio as a media force.

Read on by clicking the headline (free member sign in required on his site)

Media Buyers Welcome AOL’s New Portal

The upcoming launch of America Online’s new AOL.com site will need to meet the needs both of users and advertisers to succeed, and early indications are that the company is on the right track with media buyers. Click to read the ClickZ.com article.

When CEOs Run Out Of Good Ideas

In this week’s article from Broadcast & Cable, John M. Higgins writes that, “in a business that thrives on fads, the hottest mantra among media investors is “return capital to shareholders.” At nearly every investor presentation or earnings conference call, media CEOs and CFOs are peppered by analysts and money managers with questions about the company’s plans to boost its share price by buying back its own stock or starting to pay dividends.”

Stock buybacks are no miracle cure for media giants’ woes. To read about the thinking going on inside Comcast, Time Warner, Clear Channel and more, click the headline and read on.

The Next Example of Deconsolidation: Viacom Will Spin-off Following Board Vote

For all the Wall Street talk in the ’90s that “bigger is better” and would lead to greater efficiencies, synergies and profitabilities, it looks like another media giant no longer believes that talk. Today, Viacom announced the vote from its board meetings that it will indeed spin off into 2 different, separate, publically-traded companies in 2006…”Viacom” (which will retain properties like MTV Networks, Paramount Pictures and theme parks and continue to be led by Tom Freston) and “CBS Corporation” (which will have CBS, the O&Os, King World and Paramount TV production, Showtime, Viacom Outdoor, Infinity and publisher Simon & Schuster, led by Les Moonves). Looks like Viacom is following Dick Parson’s thinking for Time Warner’s AOL and its cable divisions…can Clear Channel be noticing this developing trend? How about Wall Street?

Click the headline to read the USA Today article.

Media revolution to be digitized, on demand

It is all about convenience, connection and control…as consumer’s demand it. The consumers wants the decision power of what, when, how, how often and where they want their choice of entertainment.

It is the future, as reported in the Hollywood Reporter article.

Dear Diary, Clear Channel Wants Arbitron To Do A Better Job Now

Arbitron — radio’s single existing “official” ratings service — has a customer that is not happy with their old diary product. The PPM better get on-line quick…Clear Channel looks ready to take on Arbitron…again.

Nielsen Says System Shows More TV Watching

According to an AP article, new electronic gadgets introduced by Nielsen Media Research to track television viewing show that more people — men in particular — are watching more television than measured under the old paper diary system. Now there’s a surprise…

Satellite Radio Barely Reaches Earth

(from the Center of Media Research/Mediapost.com)

Bob Jordan, president of International Demographics, said “We were surprised at how little market penetration has been achieved by satellite radio,” after reviewing the results of a Media Audit survey in 87 metropolitan markets. With a collective adult population of 137,478,000, satellite radio has attracted a mostly male audience of just 681,000 or 0.5 percent of all adults in the markets surveyed.

Some of the findings of the study include:

* The demographic profile of the satellite audience is affluent and well educated
* More than 73 percent of all satellite listeners had household incomes of $50,000 or more, but that 73 percent represents only 0.8 of all households with incomes of $50,000 or more
* Approximately 63 percent of satellite listeners are men and 55 percent have at least one college degree
* 76.1 percent of all adult listeners are 35+ and 48.5 percent are 45+.
* Over 29 percent of satellite listeners fall into the proprietor/managerial classification
* 17.3 percent fit the professional/technical category

In the 87 markets surveyed, satellite radio attracted only 10,000 or more adults in just 20 of the 87 markets surveyed. The largest number attracted, 76,000 was in New York City which is a market of more than 14 million adults. Satellite only pulled one percent or more of the adults in just six markets and in no market did it attract two percent.

According to a recent Forrester Research study, says the report, satellite radio will have 20 million listeners by 2010. Jordan says “… even that number seems disappointing. News-Talk format in traditional radio that draws more than 19 million listeners just in the 87 markets covered, while Clear Channel stations in the same markets attract more than 48 million listeners…”

Jordan concludes by saying “Satellite radio is competing with a product that is distributed free, and that’s a heck of a price disadvantage.”

Old Media Is Shouting To Be Heard

(from CNN/Money: money.cnn.com)

Newspapers, radio and magazines are spending millions to combat the perception they’re obsolete.

The radio industry, whose main goal is not to entertain but to help companies build consumer awareness through advertising, has discovered it’s got an image problem — and it’s fighting back.

Facing sluggish growth and the perception that traditional radio is on the decline, AM-FM radio operators are banding together in ways that once were improbable.

Click the headline to read more from CNN/Money.

Ladies and Gentlemen, This Year’s Effie Award for Top Commercial Goes To…

TBWA/Chiat/Day’s ‘Silhouettes’ campaign for the Apple iPod. Click the headline for the full article and view of the commerical, posted by AdAge.com.