"What it comes down to is that two companies own nine of the top 11 stations in town..."

Clear Channel, CBS stations are dominant in the ratings in L.A.

By Richard Wagoner, Posted: 04/21/2011, http://www.dailybreeze.com/ci_17902877

KIIS-FM (102.7) was Los Angeles radio's dominant force once again, based on the monthly Arbitron ratings released this week. While down a half point to 5.1, the station was still a half point better than KOST (103.5 FM) at 4.6.  With KFI's (640 AM) third-place 4.3 - its highest rating since at least November 2010 - owner Clear Channel had a 1-2-3 sweep. Add in 10th place KBIG (flat at 3.3), and the company had four of the top 10 stations in town - an amazing feat.

But wait: Though CBS didn't have quite the dominance as Clear Channel, it also controlled much of the top 10, with fourth-place KRTH's (101.1 FM) 4.2, a sixth-place tie between KNX (1070 AM) and KROQ (106.7 FM) at 3.5, and a 10th-place tie between Amp Radio (97.1 FM) and sister The Wave (94.7 FM) - matching Clear Channel's KBIG at 3.3.

What it comes down to is that two companies own nine of the top 11 stations in town.

In my opinion, that is market dominance that needs to be broken up. Last time something like that happened, the Federal Communications Commission broke up NBC and forced the launch of ABC, which later became one of America's premier networks...

MILESTONES IN MEDIA MONOPOLISM:

compiled by Rex Frankel, 1/19/2009

OVER THE LAST 20 YEARS, THE BIG 5 MEDIA CORPORATIONS BOUGHT UP THE MOST LUCRATIVE MEDIA ASSETS AND DUMPED THE LESS PROFITABLE ONES, ENDING UP WITH NEAR TOTAL CONTROL OF TV, CABLE AND FILM PRODUCTION, AND MOSTLY DUMPING PRINT, RADIO, AND RECORDED MUSIC.

GE/NBC/UNIVERSAL:

Main Businesses: TV stations and network, cable channels, film and TV production and distribution, theme parks

Bought During the Bush Years: Universal Studios, Telemundo TV network, Bravo, Oxygen and the Weather Channel

1932-Feds make GE and Westinghouse sell stakes in RCA radio networks

1957-MCA Universal buys Paramount’s pre-1948 film library

1980--RCA sells Random House book publisher to Newhouse co.

1985-GE buys RCA, getting NBC TV network and stations

1986-GE sells RCA music division to Bertelsman of Germany. They eventually sell it to Sony.

1987-GE sells consumer electronics division of GE and RCA to Thomson of France

1987-NBC radio programming producer is sold to Westwood One, a firm now owned by CBS.

1988-NBC sells 5 of its radio station to Emmis Broadcasting

1989-Universal buys 1/3^rd stake in Cineplex Odeon theaters. Stake is sold later to AMC Theaters

1989-NBC launches CNBC cable channel

1990-Universal and MCA is sold to Matsushita of Japan (now known as Panasonic)

1991-Polygram buys film producers Propaganda and Working Title Films and in 1992 buys Interscope Films. Polygram was jointly owned by Siemens and Philips of Europe.

1995 Universal is sold to Seagrams

1996-NBC and Microsoft launch MSNBC channel

1997-Universal buys October Films

1997-Universal buys out its partner in USA and Sci-Fi cable channels (Viacom)

1999-Universal buys Polygram pictures and recorded music co.

2000-Seagrams and Universal are sold to Vivendi of France. Deal is a disaster financially.

2001-Vivendi buys Houghton Miflin book publishing

2001-NBC buys Telemundo TV network which owns two stations in several major markets

2002-Vivendi sells Seagrams liquor business and Houghton Miflin book publishing

2002-NBC buys Bravo cable channel from Cablevision Corp. and MGM

2003-GE buys Universal Pictures leaving Vivendi with 20% stake in new NBC-Universal company. Vivendi keeps ownership of Universal recorded music division

2006-NBC buys Miss Universe and Miss USA pageants with Donald Trump

2007-NBC buys Oxygen cable channel from Oprah Winfrey

2008-NBC buys the Weather channel

TIME-WARNER:

Main Businesses: magazines, cable channels, film production and distribution

Bought during the Bush years: split the #3 cable system owner with their main competitor, Comcast (#1 in USA). Time Warner is the #2 largest cable system owner.

1944-Warners buys Looney Tunes cartoon studio and Bugs Bunny

1948-Warners sells film library to MGM

1967-DC Comics is bought by Kinney National Company

1969-Kinney National buys Warner Brothers, in 1972 Kinney spins off Warner Communications Co.

1972-Time inc. buys HBO pay channel

1978-Warner Communications buys cable system operator ATC

1982-CBS sells paperback publishing to Warners

1987-Time and Warner merge

1989-Warners buys Lorimar-Telepictures studios

1989-Time magazine publishing merges with Warner, which makes films and record

1991-Turner Broadcasting (18% owned by Time-Warner) buys Hanna-Barbera animation company

1992-Turner launches the Cartoon Network

1993-Turner merges with Castle Rock and New Line films

1996-Time-Warner buys Turner Broadcasting, getting CNN, TBS and other cable channels, and old MGM film library

1998-T-W sells Six Flags theme parks to Premiere Parks co.

1999-AOL buys Mapquest internet site

2000-Time-Warner merges with America Online. Deal is a huge money-loser.

2000-TW buys some magazines from the Tribune Company. It resells them in 2007 to Bonnier.

2003-TW sells half stake in Comedy Central to Viacom (already owned other half)

2004-AOL-TW sells music division to Edgar Bronfman

2005-TW buys remains of bankrupt Adelphia cable with chief rival Comcast Corp.

2006-TW sells its book publishing division to Hachette of France.

2006-TW buys half of Court TV channel from Liberty Media (already owned other half)

2009-Time Warner plans to spin off #2 US cable systems division to shareholders.

WALT DISNEY COMPANY:

Main businesses: TV stations and network, cable channels, film production and distribution, theme parks, books and magazines

Bought During the Bush Years: Pixar Animation, top producer of computer animated films

1943-feds force RCA to divest itself of ABC radio network

1960-Disney buys out stake in Disneyland from ABC

1984-ABC buys ESPN channel

1985-Capital Cities co, owner of TV stations and newspapers, buys ABC

1993-Disney buys Miramax films

1994-ABC buys out Viacom’s stake in the Lifetime channel

1995-Disney Buys ABC TV and radio networks

1996-Radio Disney network is launched

1997-Disney sells its 4 daily newspapers to Knight-Ridder

1997-Disney buys asset of Cinergi Pictures, producers of Die Hard series

1999-Disney sells its women’s magazines

2006-Disney buys Pixar Animation, which had been founded by GeorgeLucas

2006—ABC sells its music, talk and news radio networks and stations to Citadel Broadcasting, keeping ESPN Radio and Radio Disney stations

FOX—RUPERT MURDOCH-NEWS CORPORATION:

Main Businesses:

Newspapers in USA, Australian and UK, cable channels, TV stations and network, magazines, book publishing, internet sites

Bought During the Bush Years: myspace.com and Wall Street Journal

1935-Century Pictures and Fox Film merge to form 20^th Century Fox

1977-Murdoch buys NY Post

1985-Murdoch buys Fox Pictures and also buys 7 TV stations from Metromedia to set up TV network. Murdoch buys the Boston Herald and Chicago Sun-Times but later sells them

1987-Murdoch buys Harper and Row book publishers

1988-Murdoch buys TV Guide and Seventeen magazine

1988-Murdoch buys William Collins book publisher

1991-Murdoch sells several magazines

1995-Sets up Fox sports channels in partnership with TCI, later brings in channels owned by Cablevision in east coast

1996-Fox News channel is launched

1996-Fox buys New World Communications, getting 10 TV stations

1997-Buys and in 2003 sells L.A. Dodgers baseball team, keeps broadcast rights

1997-Fox/Liberty Media buys control of FitTV channel

1999-Fox trades stock to Liberty Media for full control of Fox Sports channels

1999-Fox sells TV Guide to Gemstar corp.

1999-Murdoch buys William Morrow and Avon books from Hearst

Buys and later sells DirecTV satellite TV distributor

2000-Fox buys 10 Chris-Craft TV stations, gaining second channels in several major markets

2001-Sells Fox Family channel to Disney, had bought it from Pat Robertson in 1997

2001-Fox sells its 33% stake in the Golf channel and Outdoor Life to Comcast, getting full ownership of Speedvision channel in deal.

2003-Murdoch buys DirecTV from General Motors

2005-Murdoch buys myspace.com

2006-Murdoch trades DirecTV to Liberty Media in exchange for Liberty’s 19% stake in News Corp.

2007-Murdoch buys Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Company. To finance the deal, Fox sells 9 TV stations in smaller market.

CBS-VIACOM-SUMNER REDSTONE

Main businesses: TV stations and network, billboards, radio stations, film production and distribution, book publishing, cable channels

Bought During the Bush Years: rest of Comedy Central, and DreamWorks Pictures

1938-CBS buys Columbia record label

1964-CBS buys NY Yankees baseball team, sells in 1973

1965-CBS buys Fender guitar co.

1970-Viacom is formed when feds make CBS divest its ownership of TV show producers and syndicators

1981- MTV-launched 1981 by Warner Communications and American Express

1985-Viacom buys out partners, gets full ownership of MTV, VH-1, Showtime, the Movie Channel and Nickelodeon

1985-Mutual Broadcasting radio network is sold by Amway to Westwood One. NBC sells its radio network to Westwood One.

1987-Redstone buys control of Viacom

1987-CBS sells off it book publishing division to Harcourt Brace Jovanovich

1988-CBS sells recorded music division to Sony

1993-Viacom buys Paramount Pictures

1993-Paramount buys Macmillan book publishing

1994-Viacom buys Blockbuster video rental stores

1994-Viacom sells Madison Square Garden and 2 sports teams to partnership of Cablevision and ITT.

1994-Infinity Radio buys Westwood One

1995-Viacom sells its cable systems to TCI (which eventually sold out to AT & T, which sold them to Comcast)

1995-CBS is sold to Westinghouse Corp, which owned 8 CBS TV affiliates, 18 radio stations, the Nashville Network cable channel and 31% of Country Music TV channel. Eventually most of Westinghouse’s non-media assets are sold off and company is renamed CBS.

1995-Viacom launches UPN TV network using Chris-Craft’s network of stations

1995-Viacom spins off its local cable TV systems, which TCI buys.

1996-CBS buys Infinity Radio getting 77 stations and up to 6 stations in several major markets.

1997-CBS buys American Radio Systems, getting 98 stations

1999-Viacom and CBS merge, with Redstone in full control.

1999-CBS buys Outdoor Systems billboard firm, largest in USA

1999-CBS buys King World-distributor of shows like Oprah, Wheel of Fortune

1999-Westwood One buys Metro Networks, producer of radio traffic reports

2000-Viacom buys Black Entertainment TV cable channel.

2003-Viacom buys other half of Comedy Central from Universal

2004-Viacom spins off Blockbuster video stores to shareholders, writing off big loss

2005-to boost stock price, Redstone splits CBS and Viacom in two, though he still controls them; CBS writes off $18 billion loss from purchase of overpriced radio and billboard assets

2005-Paramount buys DreamWorks pictures

2006-CBS sells Paramount’s 5 theme parks to Cedar Fair, owner of Knotts Berry Farm in L.A area.

2007-CBS sells off 39 radio stations and 10 TV stations in smaller markets

-----

Giving “Choice” to a Captive Audience is bad for media behemoths:

The USA’s Biggest Radio monopolies are selling off stations, But sticking with their monopoly on billboards…

With the public turning to digital music players and podcasts, they can avoid the homogenized, ad-packed, junk-radio formats that litter the AM and FM dials in most cities. What they can’t miss, though, are the sky-blocking billboards owned by the same radio behemoths. During the late 1990’s, two corporations went on a deregulation-fueled radio and billboard buying spree. The two, CBS and Clear Channel, loaded up on debt to buy these speculation-steroid-enhanced properties. The results are mixed. CBS has done well, as it is insulated by its holdings in TV and publishing.

Clear Channel, on the other hand, which made its name in the early years of the Bush administration as the home of Rush Limbaugh and countless other right-wing radio hotheads, has lost a ton of someone’s (?) money. Their zeal to buy up radio stations led them to own over 1200 across the U.S. CBS, the next largest owner at its peak had 180 stations. Clear Channel reported losses totaling $21 billion in 2002 and 2005 due to the true value of their radio empire becoming evident, and they have sold off their 56 TV stations and are trying to sell off over 400 radio stations in smaller USA markets. Clear Channel was recently sold to several investment groups for $17.9 billion, after a $19.5 billion deal fell through.

With the economy in the dumper lately, a lot of the USA media are fighting themselves for market share—ah, yes, competition, we haven’t seen that for a while. As the internet has gobbled up ads from daily newspapers, we are seeing hard times for the daily papers that have largely served up corporate press releases to their readers masquerading as news.

Most important to the media monopolies is a “captive” audience. This is when we have over 100 cable channels available to us, but most of them are owned by the 5 media monopolies (CBS/Viacom, GE, Time-Warner, Fox and Disney). For daily newspapers, in most cities in the USA we have only one choice. For radio, the listeners and ad revenues are monopolized by CBS and Clear Channel, who each have 8 radio stations in L.A., for example. The big profit is in the audience having no alternative, and therefore, we are captive watchers or listeners. For example, when I tune into the 6 L.A. rock music stations, and a commercial block comes on, when I switch stations, guess what? They and all the other rock stations are playing commercials, too. Is this coincidence or collusion?

Thanks to my digital music player, I can pack my entire music collection in a little box. I really don’t miss the inane, pre-recorded chatter. I can always look away from the billboards, unless I’m stuck in the gridlocked traffic.

But that’s another rant…

---by Rex Frankel

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CBS to sell 50 of its radio stations:

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-cbs1-2008aug01,0,6157912.story

August 1, 2008

“The New York-based broadcasting company, controlled by billionaire Sumner Redstone, said Thursday that it planned to sell 50 radio stations in a dozen mid-size markets as ad revenue continued to slide in a weak economy. The company's once-mighty radio division continued to produce static and a drag on the company's earnings…

…Just two years ago, CBS Radio boasted nearly 180 radio stations. It has since shed about 40 stations, and with the planned sale of 50 more, the company would cut its holdings to about 90 stations. Included on its roster are Los Angeles powerhouse AM stations KNX 1070 and KFWB 980.

Analyst Tom Taylor said CBS might look to sell stations in such markets as Sacramento, Riverside and Las Vegas to focus on big-market stations that produce greater revenue. The loss of Howard Stern, who defected to satellite radio, continues to be felt, he said.”

http://www.redorbit.com/news/technology/797894/clear_channel_sells_radio_stations_to_rincon_for_173_million/index.html

WHAT CBS-VIACOM OWNS:

(FROM http://www.freepress.net/ownership/chart.php)

( technically, two separate companies but with the same owner)

TV:

CBS Networks: CBS Television Network, UPN, Showtime Networks, Inc. (SNI) owns Showtime, The Movie Channel, Flix, Showtime Too, Showtime Showcase, Showtime Extreme, Showtime Beyond, Showtime Next, Showtime Women, Showtime Familyzone, TMC XTRA, Showtime HD, The Movie Channel HD, Showtime on Demand, Sundance Channel (joint venture, SNI owns 30%), Showtime PPV, CBS Entertainment, CBS News, CBS Sports, CSTV Networks, Inc.

CBS Television Stations Group: consists of 41 stations in 27 markets, featuring affiliates of CBS, UPN, WB and a small number of independents as of the end of 2005. (A search tool for stations can be found at their corporate web site. An overview can be found here.)

CBS Programming: The Early Show, 60 Minutes, 48 Hours, Face the Nation, CW Network (50% with Time Warner), CBS Paramount TV, Spelling Television, King World.

VIACOM Networks: MTV Music Television, MTV2, Nickelodeon, Nick at Nite, TV Land, VH1, Spike TV, CMT: Country Music Television, Comedy Central, MTV U, LOGO (planned for 2005), MTV World (planned for 2005), MTV Films, Nickelodeon Movies, Paramount Comedy, The Box, Game One, Viva, TMF (The Music Factory), MTV Network Europe, MTV base, BET, BET Jazz, BET Gospel, BET Hip Hop.

VIACOM Production: BET Event Production, MTV Productions

VIACOM Programming: Noggin, Nick Gas, Turbo Nick, Nicktoons Network, The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, MTV Desi, MTV Chi, MTV Tr3s, MTV Jams, VH1 Classic, VHUno, VH1 Soul, VH1 Country, MTV Mandarin, Nick Jr. Australia, Nickelodeon Brasil

CBS RADIO:

Subsidiary Infinity Radio, Inc. (to be re-branded CBS Radio) owns 178 radio stations as of the end of 2005. A full list is available via their corporate web site. CBS also owns the CBS Radio Network

VIACOM RADIO:

MTV Radio, BET Radio, Imagine Radio Limited

BOOKS AND PUBLISHING:

CBS :
Simon & Schuster: Atria Books, Kaplan, Pocket Books, Scribner, Simon & Schuster, The Free Press, The Touchstone, Fireside Group

Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing: Aladdin Paperbacks, Atheneum Books for Young Readers, Little Simon, Margaret K. McElderry Books, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, Simon Pulse, Simon Spotlight

Other Publishing: Simon & Schuster New Media, Simon & Schuster Online, Simon & Schuster UK, Simon & Schuster Australia, MTV Books

VIACOM PUBLISHING:

Music: Famous Music Publishing Co., The Extreme Music Library, Director's Cuts Production Music

Magazines: Nickelodeon Magazine

INTERNET PROPERTIES:

CBS: CBS Digital Media Group, CBS.com, CBSNews.com, UPN.com, SportsLine.com, NFL.com, NCAAsports.com, PGATour.com, Sho.com, Innertube, CSTV.com

VIACOM INTERNET:

MTV.com, VH1.com, Spiketv.com, ComedyCentral.com, Nick.com, GT.TV, GameTrailers.com, Neopets Inc, ifilm.com, GameTrailers.com, MTVi Group, SonicNet.com, GoCityKids.com, Comedy Central's MotherLoad, MTV Overdrive, VH1 Vspot, BET on Blast, Cmt.com

Viacom has teamed with Microsoft to operate an MTV site offering video and MP3 downloads. The company has also launched broadband versions of its cable networks, including MTV, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon.

CBS THEME PARKS:

Theme parks: owns Paramount's Carowinds, Paramount's Great America, Paramount's Kings Dominion, Paramount's Kings Island, Paramount's Canada's Wonderland (note: these five parks were sold in 2006 to Cedar Fair LP, owner of the Knotts Berry Farms park in the L.A. area. See http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/23/business/23park.html?_r=1&oref=slogin) Cedar Fair also took over the management of Bonfante Gardens horticultural theme park (Gilroy, CA) and Star Trek: The Experience (themed attraction at Las Vegas Hilton)

CBS still owns the CBS Television City attraction at the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino (Las Vegas, NV).

OUTDOOR BILLBOARDS:

CBS Outdoor

MOVIES:

VIACOM: Paramount Pictures (including DreamWorks SKG), Paramount Home Entertainment, iFilm Corp, MTV Films

VIACOM OTHER HOLDINGS:

Famous Players (theatrical exhibitor, Canada, with 50% interest in Mann Theaters), Xfire (gaming), MTV Mobile