Hot topics click link for more
News Corp takes a cut
Bulgarian radio and TV sold
None of this was a particular surprise. Mr. Murdoch – The Elder – remarked a couple of years ago that (a) he didn’t like Eastern Europe and (b) he doesn’t like free media. So, it was then up to James Murdoch – The Younger – to get it done.
It wasn’t easy, seeing that financial markets have been skirting the scene. But now the last cog (almost) in News Corp’s Eastern European ventures moves off the balance sheet. Bulgarian television station bTV, a couple of cable channels and five radio stations have been acquired by Central European Media Enterprises (CME), the rumor of which was widely reported earlier in the month. Two Moscow radio stations, part owned by News Corp, are still seeking new owners.
The only modest surprise is the sale price. When bTV and the rest of News Corp’s Bulgarian assets were originally being shopped in late 2007 the presumed asking price was about €1.1 billion. Much of that speculation was based on the purchase by Modern Times Group (MTG) of Nova Televizia for €620 million. Earlier CME bought two much smaller Bulgarian TV stations is 2007 for about €110 million. Et Voila! (See Bulgaria market data here and major media here
The sale price announced (February 18) is US$400 million, just shy of €300 million at today’s trading rates. That’s about one-third of the rumored asking price, which, of course, was pure fantasy.
“We would like to thank the management team and staff of the company for their commitment and high professional standards,“ said Gary Davey, the Chief Operating Officer of News Corp Stations Europe.
"bTV was a News Corporation start-up which went on to become clear market leader for the past eight years,” said News Corp Stations Europe COO Gary Davey in a statement. “We wish the company well for the future under the ownership of CME.” What he forgot to add was “and I’m going to Disneyland.”
Without question News Corp built a monster TV operation in Bulgaria. The last TNS ratings show bTV with a 35% market share. Next closest has less than half the share. For the Bulgarian broadcasting market there’s nothing but good news: the major TV channel changes owners – regulator permission notwithstanding – and the new operator, CME, brings considerable talent to the market. (JMH)
The BBC Restores Lord Haw-Haw
The BBC’s web site archive section has posted 15 programs that Lord Haw-Haw broadcast from Germany during World War II. His Nazi propaganda program was so popular at the time that had the British government really worried.
Lord Haw-Haw was in fact an American, William Joyce, whose family moved to Ireland when he was three. A well known fascist and anti-Semitic, he fled from Britain in 1939 to Germany and he soon became the most popular program on Radio Hamburg. British troops listened to his propaganda and so did the folks back home.
In the first weeks of the war in 1939 the War Office believed Joyce’s broadcasts were already negatively affecting public morale, and the next year the BBC itself showed how popular Joyce had become when it wrote that the main 9 p.m. radio news program was listened to by about 16 million adults, and that if the program following the news wasn’t of great interest then some 6 million listeners would switched to Radio Hamburg to listen to Joyce who had soon earned the nickname, “Lord Haw Haw”.
At the end of the war Joyce was discovered meandering aimlessly alone in a forest with nowhere to go by a lone British soldier who, when he challenged the man, recognized Joyce’s voice. He was taken back to England, tried for treason, and was hung.
For advertising, 2009 was as bad as everybody thought
Internet passes TV, newspaper ads crash
Data released by IRM, the Swedish institute collecting such things, shows just how bad 2009 was for advertising revenues. Four billion Swedish kronor just vanished. That’s about €400 million.
Ad spending fell to SEK 28.281 billion (€2.858 billion) from SEK 32.424 billion (€3.277 billion), a 12.8% decline. A bit more than a year ago IRM predicted 2009 ad spending to fall but 4.6% over 2008.
Internet and mobile advertising took 17.8% of the ad spending, up from 15.1% in 2008 and is now greater than TV advertising. Ads spending on the glowing box rose to 15.6% from 15.4%. The direct mail advertising share rose to 14.0% from 13.2%. Radio ad spending was up to 2.3% of all spending from 2.2%.
Ad spending on daily newspapers fell – crashed, actually – to 24.8% of all spending from 27.0%. Free newspaper ad spending also dropped; to 7.8% from 7.9%. (JMH)
UK To Ban Sex Ads?
Do you live in a community where editorial pages decry the sex trade and yet turn to the classifieds and there is plethora of ads for escorts, massage, telephone sex and the like? Newspapers say that’s part of their Chinese wall between editorial and advertising, and given the economic downturn sex is one industry that seems to just keep chugging along providing much needed advertising revenue to keep some newspapers alive.
The UK Labor government doesn’t buy into that and so as part of its manifesto for the general elections expected in May it says it will pass laws fining publications £10,000 for printing sex ads. Because sex phone lines advertising is so prolific these days Labor does not plan to outlaw them per se unless such ads are a front for prostitution.
Advertising apparently works real well for the sex trade. According to a 2008 survey by the government-funded Poppy Project that helps trafficked women, the 921 brothels examined made some £86 million from trade driven by newspaper ads alone. It didn’t say exactly how it came up with those numbers.
And Londoners, and tourists, who are shocked by the huge number of colorful advertising cards offering prostitute phone numbers that are splattered all over telephone booths may be in for reprieve. Labor says it will outlaw the printing of such cards whereas previously it had only been against the law to leave those cards in a telephone booth, but printing them was ok.
Global Formula 1 Viewers Decreased 13% Last Year
Formula 1 is an immensely popular global sport but it learned an important lesson last year –compete on TV against a domestic sporting event and you may well not be the first past the checkered flag.
By starting some of its races later than usual to try and hit peak European viewing, Formula 1 found itself competing in the Asian market in particular against major domestic sporting events – soccer and the like – and the outcome was a net global drop of some 80 million F1 viewers.
F1 received some £290 million in 2009 for broadcast rights – could lower viewership translate into lower rights fees?
Incidentally, Formula 1 engines are probably the most advanced in the world but the television production of the races is not. For the foreseeable future there will be no HD telecasts, F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone says, unless TV stations are willing to pick up the extra production costs.
No forced digital switch, say commercial broadcasters
“currently impossible”
The drumbeat against imposed digital switchover for radio just got louder. The Association of European Radio, representing a majority of private, commercial radio broadcasters, has added its voice for restraint in forcing digital switchover and analogue switch-off. ”Setting a date for the switch-off of analogue radio service is currently impossible,” said the AER statement. “Transition to any digital broadcasting system should benefit from a long time-frame.” (See full statement here).
This is by far the strongest voice against imposing analogue radio switch-off. Digital radio proponents have argued, largely, that radio listeners wouldn’t run out and buy new digital receivers until forced with the loss of their favorite stations. Realists, often out-numbered by multiplex owners, chip makers and governments (often intertwined), have come to understand the futility of attempting to manage consumer behavior. (JMH)
Radio salaries higher than TV
Was ist das?
Radio is supposed to be television’s starving sister, right? Well, according to a study by Goldmedia commissioned by the Bavarian media authority BLM salaried employees at radio stations make about 6% more than TV station employees. And salaries for radio people rose slightly more than salaries for TV people since 2002.
The average salary for permanent radio station employees in Bavaria is €2855 monthly, compared to €2693 for the TV people. (More on media in Germany here)
When compared with national channels (read: public broadcasting) salaries at Bavarian stations seem paltry. The average monthly salary at national radio channels is €3782, €3615 in TV land. (JMH)
All-sports radio for sale
multi-platform merger
One of the newly approved digital radio channels in France is apparently about to fade. Europe 1 Sport, owned by Europe 1 (RTL), could soon have a new owner, according to Les Echos and SatMag (February 15).
Both sources suggest 10 Sport publisher Michel Moulin might be interested in the possibility of merging his recently launched 10 Sport Radio, available on the internet and smartphones, with Europe 1 Sport.
Under French regulator CSA rules, cross promotion between Europe 1 and Europe 1 Sport isn’t allowed. That makes for expensive marketing, particularly with sagging radio advertising in France.
Europe 1 Sport has a Paris FM frequency in addition to the national digital license. According to the sources, Europe 1 president Alexandre Bompard doesn’t believe digital radio will take off quickly in France and doesn’t believe a Paris-only niche station can return on the investment. (JMH)
RadioDaysEurope program announced
Seize the opportunity
When the NAB Radio Europe conference was cancelled last October for lack of interest there was no doubt something to replace it would arrive. RadioDaysEurope will be in Copenhagen March 18th and 19th. Organizers – Danish, Norwegian and Swedish public broadcasters – say this event will be “affordable.” (See details here and see release details here)
Program details announced this week show a neat package of presentations on issues (copyright, digital), audience behavior and programming (morning shows, being number 1). Save one token American, all speakers (so far) are European, about evenly divided between the public and private sector.
Compared with the NAB Radio Europe conferences, which ran for 16 years, RadioDaysEurope is heavier on programming and lighter on sales and management. And, the entry fee is about half (€600), a major complaint. There are other differences: all day Thursday and half day Friday rather than taking the weekend, Northern Europe rather than Southern Europe, no ‘get out and sell something’ speeches.
Years ago, in the 1990’s, an annual European radio conference was held in Montreux, Switzerland. It folded for a variety of reasons but it was popular among public broadcasters and generally ignored by the private, commercial set. Things change. The new RadioDaysEurope has interesting promise. (JMH)
|
