Clear Channel 4.78 Billion LOSS...Radio Drives Huge LOSS at Viacom

[SoCalDem]

Clear Channel Posts $4.7B Loss in 4Q
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x1267049
Fri Feb 25, 2:54 PM ET Business - AP


By T.A. BADGER, AP Business Writer

SAN ANTONIO - Clear Channel Communications Inc. on Friday reported a loss of $4.7 billion in the fourth quarter of 2004, all of it due to an accounting change to comply with federal regulations.

snip...


The new strategy comes as traditional radio continues to lose audience share to satellite radio, which doesn't interrupt programming with commercials. A recently released survey by J.P. Morgan found that the absence of commercials is the single biggest factor in why many listeners are switching to subscription services like XM Satellite Radio and Sirius.



snip....

In larger markets, it said it was hurt by lower ad spending by retailers, car dealers and telecom companies. Revenue from concerts and other live events rose 4 percent for the year to $2.75 billion, and outdoor advertising grew 13 percent to $2.45 billion.


Clear Channel operates about 1,200 radio stations and 41 television stations in the United States. The company is also the world's largest producer of concerts and other live-entertainment events, and has significant interests in billboards domestically and overseas. Its shares were down 91 cents, or 2.7 percent, to $33 in early trading Friday on the New York Stock Exchange (news - web sites). The 52-week trading range for Clear Channel is $29.96 to $45.22.

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http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-viacom25feb25,1,4999481.story?coll=la-headlines-pe-business&ctrack=1&cset=true

Radio Drives Huge Loss at Viacom

The media giant posts an $18.4-billion loss after slashing the value of Infinity Broadcasting.


By Sallie Hofmeister, Times Staff Writer


In a move that reflects the continued challenges facing the struggling radio business, Viacom Inc. dramatically wrote down the value of its Infinity Broadcasting division Thursday, contributing to the fifth-largest quarterly loss ever reported by a U.S. company.

The New York-based media giant, which also owns CBS, MTV and Paramount Pictures, posted an $18.4-billion loss after taking an $18-billion charge against fourth-quarter 2004 earnings. The bulk of the charge — $10.9 billion — was attributed to Viacom's radio holdings, while $7.1 billion was related to its outdoor advertising business. The write-down came on the heels of a $1.5-billion charge against earnings that Viacom reported in the third quarter. That loss was associated with the company's spin-off of the video rental chain Blockbuster Inc. Viacom, the nation's second-largest radio broadcaster, is the latest company to report significant radio-related losses. In 2002, the biggest U.S. radio company, Clear Channel Communications Inc., posted a loss of $16.9 billion after writing down the value of assets it acquired during a buying spree.

snip....

Moonves and Chief Executive Sumner Redstone said Viacom would soon pare down its exposure to radio by selling stations outside of the top 25 markets.

snip...



When Viacom entered the radio business through the acquisition of CBS Corp. in 2000, the oldest electronic medium was booming.

snip....



In addition, Viacom plans to sell or trade what analysts have estimated to be as many as 70 smaller radio stations outside the country's top 25 markets.((ATTENTION DR DEAN..WE NEED TO BUY THESE STATIONS)) Viacom says it will concentrate its efforts in the major markets, which account for 80% of revenue and cash flow.

SNIP.....

[liberalcanuck]

1. That's really great news. I couldn't stand the crap I heard every day

to and from work. That's what prompted me to get XM radio. Now I actually enjoy my commute. I get to listen to all my fave music and listen to some great repuke bashing thanks to Air America. It's the best $10 a month that I've ever spent.


I hope the trend continues. When it starts to hit 'em in the pocketbooks perhaps that will be what sparks some change in the way we receive our 'news'.

[jedr]

2. I give Howard Stern credit.

for part of this ...he certainly outfoxed (no pun interned) Powell and the crew...him pushing satellite radio on his program to a huge audience gave us an alternative to the now boring radio...soon the A.M. dial will be all Christian, F.M. all oldies and satellite will be the only entertainment

[Odysseus Poseidon]

3. No Commercials For Now

Warning

After sat radio kills free radio, the commercials will come. Maximizing profitability is the American way.

[trumad]

5. Free radio

Hah! You do realize that you can't even say the word Penis on the radio now? Boy, ya gotta love free radio.

[Odysseus Poseidon]

6. Free Radio

I mean free in terms of not having to pay to receive it. Not free in terms of speech.

[global1]

7. Remember Back When Cable TV Was Commercial Free?......

or when only the person making a telephone call was charged? How long do you think Sirius and XM will be commercial free? Only until they reach critical mass and sway the balance of listeners over. Then you'll be paying both ways. It's only a ploy to be able to make money from both the listeners and the advertisers.

[depakid]

10. Used to be that there weren't any commercials on cable, either

See how long that lasted!

However, the commercials, one can almost deal with. It's the generic crap that the likes of Viacom & Clear Channel churn out that's the problem. Who wants to listen to that shit? Not me. Since those two bought up most of the stations in Portland, I haven't listened to any commercial radio here. None at all. Zippo. Nada except AAR and KPSU (college radio).

Why should I? You can't hear new artists anymore- EVER. A guy like Beck could NEVER get played (and hence discovered) today (thanks to Bill Clinton signing the Telecom Bill). All you get is the same old shit on every channel. That's really too bad, because not that long ago, there was a pretty decent radio mix here- and I had like 4 or 5 stations punched in on the car radio.

[newyawker99]

13. Hi Odysseus Poseidon!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[rman]

4. goes to show the the propaganda doesn't catch on very well.

which is good news.

[Ivote]

8. Put Our Money Where Our Mouths Are Buy Blue

Really now we have it in us to support those companies that support our goals.
It's time to get SIRIUS now.
Sorry, couldn't resist.

[KharmaTrain]

9. Mixed Blessings...

Whoa, I knew Cheap Channel was having a bad year, but not as this. Last year was a terrible one for radio and this year isn't starting out much better.

Yep, Cheap Channel will either sell or shut off stations (most of them are small AM'ers) and word is Infinity...the #2 chain is planning to do the same thing. It's not certain that the FCC will re-issue licenses that these companies turn in...thus keeping their inflated market values high. The fear is by having to sell so many stations, this would crash the overall market and cause major financial problems for a lot of broadcasters.

Cheap Channel has even more troubles since it has a huge debt and has been over-spending on side ventures (concerts, billboards, internet) with little return. This is a company, just like the airlines, that got too big for its own good and now can't put out all the little fires that are going on.

This company is Air America's biggest partner...and any sneeze this company has is sure to give AAR a cold.

Yes, there are station buying opportunities ahead, just are there the people to own and operate them? Dr. Dean can't do it.

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

11. Part of the problem is that radio is absolute shite compared to years ago.

Popular music? Totally crappified and homogenized by Clear Channel and MTV.

News/Opinion? You can listen to anything you want as long as it's some angry shouting right wing moron like Savage or Hannity or Limbaugh, a million choices!

A sanctuary of sanity in PBS? No longer.

The crappification of everything that constitutes the broadcast radio product has been progressively accelerating, particularly over the last several years, and they must be reaching some tipping point in the last year or two where it will finally be felt in their pocketbook.

[Ouabache]

12. Maybe our persistent & strategic boycotts are having an effect

I wouldn't discount it.

[daa]

14. This is the same bunch

that controls all the concert venues. $125 per ticket plus service charges for bands that have been around 40 years. We haven't been to a concert for years and used to see at least 6 a years. Clear Channel sucks and that is why they are falling apart. In states like the Dakotas they own all the radio stations and have one DJ for the whole state. That plus greed and pimping for chimpy is their downfall. Good for the bastards.

Cox radio that carries that asshole Boortz also had bad results.

[catmandu57]

15. Twenty minutes of commercials

followed by twenty minutes of the same music by the same old tired assed bands , followed by twenty more minutes and slanted opinion is why I don't listen to the radio anymore.
98% of the music I hear now comes from the net, http://radioio.com is my choice and I don't know if they're available on satilite, but they're well worth the listen.
When I'm in the car, I rarely even turn the radio on, I have a weak moment every now and then and turn it on, thirty seconds later I'm cursing the radio and wondering why?, why in the hell did I even turn that shit on.

[dbt]

16. Time to talk about what killed Radio, innit?

Having made my living at it for thirty-odd years (some odder than others), I say it was suicide.

[Broadslidin]

17. The B.B.C. is My Cup of Tea.......!

So many quality radio stations, free from advertising.

What an unbelievable number of shows covering
every type of music, entertainment, and learning experience imaginable!

With what seems like 100's of unique "highly Professional" programs,
from fifteen minutes to an hour and a half long,
all available for instant archive access.

Always exploring and discovering ever more favorite productions,
The B.B.C. has become my radio heaven!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio

[Wise Child]

18. Clear Channel is trying to do something, but I can't ever trust them.

I read this article in Wired. Apparently, the former guitarist for The Sex Pistols is a DJ for a Clear Channel radio station of which it's namesake is the term for the Rock underground. He's allowed to play anything on his show, including home recorded "demo" CDs from unsigned bands. This sounds too good to be true, and I seriously doubt that Clear Channel is going to totally adapt to a format style akin to college or community radio.

http://www.indie1031.fm/main.html

It's like a broadcast lab, and at most, a quarter of the bands on Indie 103, will reach "Modern" Rock stations in Middle America markets.

[calimary]

19. I like this part best:

"Moonves and Chief Executive Sumner Redstone said Viacom would soon pare down its exposure to radio by selling stations outside of the top 25 markets."

Oh LORDY LORDY!!! RED ALERT!!!

THIS is how we take down the regressives. THIS is the easiest way to get our reframed messages across. ESPECIALLY in the smaller markets where lots of these stations cater to the red-state mind, and many of them are in thise critical "fastest growing counties in the country" category that the republi-CONS seem always to be crowing about, now. That's where you have lots of these little stations that spew out all the pre-packaged limbaughs and o'reillys and guy-whose-name-rhymes-with-VANITYs like so much projectile vomit.

DAMN!!! You Just Start The Drumbeat... That's ALL it takes!

[Quixote1818]

20. Isn't Air America run by Clear Channel?

[NYCGirl]

21. No. Not at all. Clear Channel carries AAR on some of their stations,

but they do not own AAR, by any stretch of the imagination.