http://www.pugetsoundradio.com/cgi-bin/forum/Blah.pl? http://www.eblah.com en http://www.pugetsoundradio.com/cgi-bin/forum/Blah.pl?m-1268767645/ http://www.pugetsoundradio.com/cgi-bin/forum/Blah.pl?m-1268767645/#num1 Turns out Bill Virgin, longtime radio columnist with the defunct print edition of the Seattle PI, has surfaced again as a weekly business columnist with the Tacoma News Tribune.
Reviewing his recent Sunday submissions, only one is broadcast-oriented .. and that is regarding Internet-based Television.  We reproduce it here, and say one more time, thanks to Bill for his many years of radio columns.

Web creates a new drama for television
Bill Virgin
TACOMA NEWS TRIBUNE
Published: 12/13/09 7:48 am

The college football fan who was without cable service during the most recent season need not have despaired of being limited to whatever games the broadcast networks might throw at his rabbit-ears-equipped television set.

Armed with no more than a high-speed Internet service, a computer and access to the Web site ESPN360.com, that fan could choose from a slate of more than a dozen games on any Saturday, sometimes with a half-dozen or so airing simultaneously.

Commercial break on one? Flip over to another game to see how it’s going.

Missed the game live? Watch the full thing on replay – or if you only want the good stuff, watch just the key or scoring plays.

It’s a wonderful playground for the sports fan, but as one is toggling from one game to another some potentially troubling thoughts begin to emerge.

Not troubling to the viewer, mind you, who is happily lapping up this buffet of pigskin offerings, but potentially troubling to both cable companies and Internet service providers.

After all, the football fan who is consuming sports programming this way is not paying the cable company, which is paying to carry programming from networks now offering that programming through their own delivery channels via the Web.

But he is chewing up a lot of bandwidth to stream real-time video to his computer, far more than he would if he were sending e-mails or placing on order with an online catalog retailer, even though those customers are paying the same amount for different levels of usage. That’s bandwidth capacity the Internet provider will have to pay to install and operate as more consumers turn to online video.

And they will, including those who have not the slightest interest in sports. They already are. Miss this week’s episode of “CSI”? You can find episodes of that show and dozens of other current and past series on CBS’ own web site. Or you can watch shows from multiple networks on Hulu. Or you can watch movies online from Netflix, instead of waiting for them to be delivered by mail. Or you can go searching for obscure or odd video clips on YouTube.

So are the cable companies and Internet service providers and outfits that do both, like Comcast or Tacoma’s municipally owned Click Network, in a panic over changes in the way we watch TV?

As with so much else in life, the answer is a lot more complicated than a one-word, or one-column, response.

Mitch Robinson, Click Cable’s marketing and business operations manager, says online viewing is going up – but that’s not necessarily at the expense of traditional TV viewing. What appears to be happening is that people are adding viewing hours to their day, watching online at times of day when people don’t normally watch television anyway, such as at work. One example from this past week: A spike of daytime traffic on the system as people watched the memorial procession and service for the slain Lakewood police officers.

And while programming companies are finding new channels to deliver their content, they’re not looking to cannibalize the ones they’ve already got – like cable. “They want to protect a variety of revenue streams,” Robinson says. “They want any revenue stream they can get but they don’t want to get rid of any revenue stream either.” Cable services provide a reliable stream of revenue, which those programmers might not get if they relied solely on marketing directly to consumers.

Nor are system operators fretting that increased online video viewing will snarl their networks to a standstill. Comcast spokesman Steve Kipp notes that because of technologies such as buffering, online video is “not as huge a drain as you would think” on capacity.

Both Comcast and Click have monthly caps on customer download volumes (250 gigabytes). Says Robinson, “99 percent of customers couldn’t get close to the cap if they tried.”

But change is occurring, and industry players – from programmers to cable and Internet system operators – are trying to figure out how to get ahead of those changes. One strategy is to focus more on what’s carried over the system, using those offerings to attract customers. That’s why Click makes a point of emphasizing its local programming. That’s why Comcast offers access to ESPN360 for its high-speed Internet subscribers, and it’s why Comcast recently signed a huge deal to acquire a majority stake in NBC Universal.

All of this may not mean much at first blush to the consumer who wants an hour or two of televised diversion in the evening and has come to expect near infinite choices in that diversion as a birthright.

But TV has already been radically changed from the not-so-long-ago days when the choice was three over-the-air broadcast channels, take it or leave it. The viewing public has proven itself quite adaptable to the new TV technologies over the last three decades.

Given the possibility of technologies, programming choices and delivery options we haven’t even imagined yet, there’s going to be at least as much drama going on behind the screen as what’s appearing on it.

Bill Virgin’s column on business and economics appears Sunday in The News Tribune. He is editor and publisher of Washington Manufacturing Alert and Pacific Northwest Rail News. He can be reached at bill.virgin@yahoo.com ]]> Tue, 16 Mar 2010 12:27:25 mikedup http://www.pugetsoundradio.com/cgi-bin/forum/Blah.pl?m-1236833908/ http://www.pugetsoundradio.com/cgi-bin/forum/Blah.pl?m-1236833908/#num1 On Radio: Community stations seek donations
By BILL VIRGIN
SEATTLE P-I REPORTER
March 12

The economy is in the tank, the headlines are filled with news about layoffs -- now would be a great time to go ask people for money.

But that's what public, community and noncommercial stations typically do each spring and fall, asking existing contributors to renew their memberships and hoping to land some new donors to replace those who have fallen away and maybe even increase the base of listeners willing to pay for the stations they hear.

Those pledge drives, and the success rate in meeting goals, are always important for those stations. This year, with tremendous pressure on other forms of support including corporate underwriting, they're crucial.

"For a lot of stations this is a make-or-break year," says Bruce Wirth, general manager of Everett-based community station KSER-FM/90.7.

KSER is hoping to raise close to $48,000 in its spring drive. Out of an annual budget of $375,000 the station raises $120,000 from listeners.

KBCS-FM/91.3, based at Bellevue Community College, hopes to raise $177,000 in a drive that begins March 19, says general manager Steve Ramsey. That amount, he adds, "is ambitious for us," but would allow KBCS to meet its fiscal year budget target. The station has an overall budget of $670,000, of which $500,000 comes from listeners.

KSER does have a transmitter tower that it rents out, generating enough income to support a third of its annual operating budget. That allows KSER to use listener donations for programming costs. Stations like KSER and KBCS also rely on such sources as fundraising concerts, employer matches of listener donations and underwriting by business contributors.

But that still leaves a lot of the budget riding on what listeners come up with.

"If someone smarter than me could come up with a way of fundraising that's better, they would have done it years ago," Ramsey says. Its drawbacks notwithstanding, "It's really the most direct way to support this kind of media," he says. "It will be an ongoing challenge for stations."

The challenge is acute this year with many businesses cutting back spending on advertising, marketing and contributions, which would include support for community radio. Wirth said he has projected a 10 percent drop in business support this year.

But the response to a mailing to existing members in advance of the spring drive has been "OK," he says. Ramsey has heard anecdotal evidence from other community radio stations that have "done really well" in their recent pledge drives.

"I don't know," Wirth says about prospects for this year. "I'll just go in and hope for the best."

Adds Ramsey, "Even in good times I'm nervous about fundraising."

In other radio notes:

*KIRO-AM/710 has announced the weekday programming lineup for its all-sports format, which it plans to launch next month. It will feature ESPN's "Mike and Mike in the Morning" 3-7 a.m.; another ESPN show, "The Herd with Colin Cowherd" 7-11 a.m.; a local show hosted by former University of Washington and NFL quarterback Brock Huard, teamed with former ESPN host and reporter Mike Salk, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.; former Sonics play-by-play voice Kevin Calabro 3-6 p.m.; and Mariners pre-game and game broadcasts, or ESPN's "GameNight," 6 p.m.-midnight.

*Bob Rivers, heard mornings on KZOK-FM/102.5, confirms that producer Mike Jones is no longer with the show for budget reasons. "He is a true pro, and his work for nearly a decade was impeccable," Rivers says via e-mail.

*Attorney General Rob McKenna takes listener calls at 9 a.m. Thursday on "Weekday" on KUOW-FM/94.9.

*The Bad Plus with Wendy Lewis performs in the studios of KPLU-FM/88.5 at 12:20 p.m. Friday.

*The Metropolitan Opera performs Dvorak's "Rusalka" at 10 a.m. Saturday on KING-FM/98.1.

*Jim Wilke's "Jazz Northwest" at 1 p.m. Sunday on KPLU-FM features performances by the Roosevelt and Garfield high school jazz bands.

*The Sunday edition of Jim French's "Imagination Theatre," heard at 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday on KIXI-AM/880, includes a new Harry Nile mystery.

P-I reporter Bill Virgin can be reached at 206-448-8319 or billvirgin@seattlepi.com.]]> Wed, 11 Mar 2009 21:58:28 hamnack http://www.pugetsoundradio.com/cgi-bin/forum/Blah.pl?m-1236239507/ http://www.pugetsoundradio.com/cgi-bin/forum/Blah.pl?m-1236239507/#num1 On Radio: Era passed with Paul Harvey
Singular radio voice was heard for 70 years
By BILL VIRGIN
SEATTLE P-I REPORTER
March 5 2009

The death last weekend of Paul Harvey at age 90 marked more than the end of a remarkable career, one that spanned more than 70 years and made him one of the nation's, not to mention the industry's, best-known voices.

Harvey's passing also marks the end of an era of nationally known radio newsmen.

Who else in radio's modern era comes close in recognizability in radio news? Perhaps Bob Edwards in his days with National Public Radio's "Morning Edition," although he later went off to satellite radio. Perhaps Charles Osgood, although he might have been even more well known for his TV work.

But Paul Harvey, from his opening of "Hello, Americans ... Stand by for news!" to his closing, "Paul Harvey ... Good day," and his distinctive style of speaking and writing in between, was a creature of radio.

As industry commentator Tom Taylor put it, "The classic 'Paul Harvey pause' was something the early generations of radio performers knew in their bones -- silence is a great hook. It makes the mind of even a casual listener try to guess the next words, and before you know it, you're along for the whole story. How many morning shows today feel compelled to stuff every moment with words and laughs, dreading even a scintilla of silence?"

"He taught us all how to tell a story and have a sense of humor," said Dennis Kelly, AM group program director for both KVI-AM/570 and KOMO-AM/1000, which had run Harvey's "News & Comment" and "Rest of the Story" in recent years.

Kelly is among the millions who were part of Harvey's generation-spanning audience; among his earliest memories of radio is listening to Harvey while accompanying his father, a restaurant supply salesman, on his routes. At the same time, "My kids know that voice," Kelly added.

Harvey was almost as well known in the business for his networking, whether it was notes to contributors, to those who had written about him. On Radio's files include a thank-you note from Harvey in 2000 after an item on the announcer signing, at age 82, a new 10-year contract. He included a quote, "The most fun of all is work," and signed off with, "See you in a few miles."

Kelly recalled Harvey's speaking to the KOMO newsroom while on a visit to Seattle in the late 1980s, telling those assembled, "You're my army" of correspondents, the eyes and ears for spotting "that quintessential Paul Harvey story." Particularly prized was submitting a story featuring a humorous hook with which Harvey traditionally ended his newscasts.

So who's the next Paul Harvey -- or is such a thing even possible in radio today? "I'm curious to see what ABC will come out with," Kelly said. One possibility for a replacement, at least on "Rest of the Story": Paul Harvey Jr., a writer for his father's shows. Kelly said that when he was asked the question about a Harvey successor some years ago, he mentioned a local broadcaster and competitor with the ability to tell a story as the model for a replacement: "I said they needed to find somebody like Dave Ross."

But Kelly added, "It's almost an irreplaceable loss. I can't think of anyone with the gravitas to replace him."

In other radio notes:

*A follow-up on last week's item about local business-news station KKOL-AM/ 1300, which in mornings now has five-hour-old programming from Bloomberg. Program director Dave Drui said cuts made by Bloomberg in its radio and TV operations knocked out the live programming Salem Communications had been relying on for its business stations in Seattle, San Francisco and Miami. Salem is now scrambling to find alternative program sources, he said.

*Mark Christopher, formerly on KBSG-FM, is now filling in on weekends at KRWM-FM/106.9.

*Manhattan Transfer performs in the studios of KPLU-FM/88.5 at 12:20 p.m. Friday.

*Erik Blood and The Redwood Plan perform on "Audioasis" beginning at 6:30 p.m. Saturday on KEXP-FM/ 90.3.

*The Metropolitan Opera performs Puccini's "Madam Butterfly" at 10 a.m. Saturday on KING-FM/98.1.

*Jim Wilke's "Jazz Northwest" at 1 p.m. Sunday on KPLU features a recent performance by the Hadley Caliman Quintet.

P-I reporter Bill Virgin can be reached at 206-448-8319 or billvirgin@seattlepi.com.
]]> Wed, 4 Mar 2009 23:51:47 hamnack http://www.pugetsoundradio.com/cgi-bin/forum/Blah.pl?m-1235631676/ http://www.pugetsoundradio.com/cgi-bin/forum/Blah.pl?m-1235631676/#num1 Last updated February 25, 2009 8:38 p.m. PT

On Radio: L.A. station flip changes Seattle's morning drive
By BILL VIRGIN
SEATTLE P-I REPORTER

Morning drive, because of the size of the audience, is considered the centerpiece and anchor of a radio station's schedule, so what happens in that time slot is of concern to both management and listeners.

For three Seattle stations, there are developments to report for morning shows -- one departing, one renewed and one in flux.

For KNDD-FM/107.7, the show that's departing is the nationally syndicated talk show hosted by comedian Adam Carolla.

Carolla's show came to an end when his home-base station in Los Angeles flipped formats. He's now doing a podcast and working on a proposed TV series.

That leaves The End with the question of what to replace Carolla with. Dave Richards, who manages the station, says The End will air "best of" Carolla shows for the next few weeks while it decides what's next.

Asked if the replacement might be local or syndicated, talk or music, Richards answered: "Yes. We're looking for what the best show is for The End. Our minds are open."

Carolla wasn't the only talk host left without a radio home when the Los Angeles station flipped format. Tom Leykis, whose show had been heard at nights on KISW-FM/ 99.9, is also now off the air. Richards, who is also in charge of KISW, said Leykis has been replaced by moving KISW's music show "The Grindhouse" to 10 p.m.

Sticking with KISW, the show that is staying there is BJ Shea's morning talk show, which has been renewed for another five years, according to the industry Web site All Access.

Shea came to KISW in 2005 when parent company Entercom switched a sister FM station from talk to country. His show was KISW's effort to replace Howard Stern when that show moved to satellite radio, and it proved to be one of the most successful successors.

The morning show in flux is on KKOL-AM/1300, which earlier this year switched from conservative talk to business news. Morning drive was anchored by Bloomberg News radio's "On the Money" show, which offered market updates along with interviews of economists, analysts, company and newsmakers in the business world.

But lately KKOL has been running Bloomberg's "The First Word" program. At 8:30 a.m. in Seattle, you can hear an announcer saying "it's 6:30 a.m. on Wall Street" and giving a preview for the upcoming trading session. That means the program is five hours old, and stock-market trading in the U.S. is in full swing, by the time it airs in Seattle.

Officials at Salem Radio in Seattle, the parent of KKOL, weren't available for comment. Bloomberg recently made cuts in its TV and radio operations, but it's not known if those are related to the change in programming heard locally.

In other radio notes:

*KTTH-AM/770 is adding Dr. Laura Schlessinger's show 9 p.m. to midnight weekdays beginning Monday. Her program had been running on KVI-AM, which dropped it in favor of Dennis Miller's show. On KTTH, she'll replace Lars Larson.

*KUOW-FM/94.9 has done some schedule shuffling in the wake of cancellations of syndicated shows. "The Conversation" with Ross Reynolds moves to noon Monday through Friday. The "BBC News Hour" airs at 1 p.m. Monday through Thursday, with Tavis Smiley's show in the 1 p.m. slot on Friday. "KUOW Presents" airs noon to 2 p.m. Saturdays, replacing "Weekend America."

*Seattle Opera performs Bartok's "Bluebeard's Castle" and Shoenberg's "Erwartung" in a live broadcast at 7:30 p.m. Saturday on KING-FM/98.1.

P-I reporter Bill Virgin can be reached at 206-448-8319 or billvirgin@seattlepi.com.]]> Wed, 25 Feb 2009 23:01:16 hamnack http://www.pugetsoundradio.com/cgi-bin/forum/Blah.pl?m-1235066499/ http://www.pugetsoundradio.com/cgi-bin/forum/Blah.pl?m-1235066499/#num1 On Radio:
Broadcast radio holds its ground against satellite
By BILL VIRGIN
SEATTLE P-I REPORTER
Feb. 19

Satellite radio began life with advantages, momentum and publicity that traditional broadcast radio could only envy: high-profile deals with former radio mainstays such as Howard Stern and major league baseball, the allure of hundreds of channels offering niches and genres no longer heard on the airwaves, a lot of it commercial-free, and access to potentially millions of new customers through agreements with auto manufacturers to put satellite-radio receivers in their vehicles.

The prospects for this new competitor, and its potential to drain off listeners, caused considerable consternation in broadcast radio. Losing a ratings generator such as Stern to satellite was bad enough. Having to compete with satellite or programming also heard on local stations, including National Public Radio shows and Seattle Mariners baseball, was worse.

But barely seven years after the service's introduction, the industry is down from two independent, publicly traded companies to one company whose stock has been driven down to 16 cents a share and that had to turn to a satellite-TV operator, Liberty Media, for a capital infusion to avoid bankruptcy. That followed by less than a year the combination of former satellite radio competitors Sirius and XM, also a deal that was not done from a position of strength.

Broadcast radio still has mammoth headaches -- the collapse of advertising revenue, competition from personal music devices and the Internet, declining listenership among younger audiences -- but as it turned out, satellite radio isn't one of them.

So why not? Veteran radio programmer and host Kent Phillips of KPLZ-FM/ 101.5 cites three reasons. One is the economy. "What a rotten time to launch a service you have to pay for when you can get it for free," he says. Indeed, XM started in late 2001 (Sirius followed shortly thereafter) as the economy was stalling, and the combined companies are now trying to persuade people to pay for their services in the midst of a much worse recession.

Beyond that, "The programming wasn't that much different," he says. "A lot of the '70s and '80s channels were just a repeat of what you get for free." And with budget cuts, some of the early offerings have been cut back.

Finally, "long-range, the Internet will supplant it," Phillips adds. After years of fits and starts and fights over issues such as royalties for music played on Internet stations, listening and advertising support are finally growing. "The numbers are very strong for streaming," he says, and because they are, "now you can monetize it." Furthermore, when cars come equipped with WiFi, WiMax or some similar wireless Internet technology, those streams will be available in-vehicle just as traditional broadcast radio is now, he says.

Although Sirius XM says it has 19 million subscribers, Sandusky Radio General Manager Marc Kaye says customer figures have been pumped up by free yearlong service that buyers of new cars got. The most recent earnings release from Sirius XM shows a conversion rate -- how many of those who signed up for paid subscriptions when the free service expired -- at just under 50 percent.

And although Sirius and XM offered a lot of commercial-free music channels, "if (listeners) wanted that kind of jukebox, they can play CDs in their cars" and not have to pay for it, he says.

The huge point of differentiation, he adds, is local content. Listeners don't object to commercials if the programming it pays for compels them to stick around. "Localized radio," Kaye says, "has a lot to offer."

In other radio notes:

*KRKO-AM/1380 plans to debut its stronger signal Monday with a revised lineup of sport-talk shows. Whether local or syndicated, the programs will air live. Dan Patrick holds down 6-9 a.m., followed by Jim Rome 9 a.m.-noon and Chris Myers noon-3 p.m.

Jeff Aaron's local show will be expanding by an hour, 3-7 p.m., followed by Tony Bruno 7-10 p.m. and J.T. "The Brick" 10-11 p.m. KRKO will also carry Everett Silvertip and Aquasox games, Washington State football and basketball, NASCAR races, NHL hockey and high school sports.

*King County Executive Ron Sims takes listener calls on "Weekday" at 10 a.m. Thursday on KUOW-FM/ 94.9. At 9 a.m. Friday, the guest is state Auditor Brian Sonntag.

*The Metropolitan Opera performs Cilea's "Adriana Lecouvreur" at 10 a.m. Saturday on KING-FM/98.1.

*Jim Wilke's "Jazz Northwest" at 1 p.m. Sunday on KPLU-FM/88.5 features a recent performance by the Steve Korn Quartet.

*Singer and guitarist John Pizzarelli performs in the studios of KPLU-FM at 12:20 p.m. Tuesday.

*KPTK-AM/1090 said it is running a talk show hosted by Nancy Skinner 6-9 weeknights while it awaits some resolution of a dispute between Randi Rhodes and her syndicator, or if Rhodes finds another distributor for her program.]]> Thu, 19 Feb 2009 10:01:39 hamnack