Wiremania (May 18, 2012)

Radio Wires

Chris tweets: Nearly 22,000 listener sessions in the first month at http://www.themighty690.com

Gary Lycan: KIIS-FM among four stations dominating L.A.-O.C. ratings.

Wall Street Journal: Disco's Queen Ruled the Radio. In memoriam for Donna Summer.

Forbes: Pandora Slides As iHeart Radio Grows, Spotify Raises Cash

'Adaptive Radio': The Next Big Thing in Wireless?

Long Beach Press-Telegram: Tom Leykis Shifts Schedule for a Day (happened yesterday). Why the change? It was because of the Los Angeles Kings, who hosted the Phoenix Coyotes in the NHL Western Conference Finals Thursday night. Leykis is a huge hockey fan and wanted to see the home team live. And that conflicted with his show.

iHeartRadio Reaches 10 Million Registered Users in Just Eight Months. Faster Than Facebook, Twitter, Pandora, Spotify and Instagram --Just Eight Months Since Its Launch at theiHeartRadio Music Festival in Las Vegas. Eight months after re-launching its digital radio platform with a personalized radio add-on, Clear Channel reports 10 million users have registered to use the service. The company notes that registered users account for only a percentage of iHeartRadio’s total listeners, since registration is only required for the custom station feature.

Sports Wires

The Futon Critic: TBS To Exclusively Air Major League Baseball Wild Card Contests. MLB Network to Air Two Division Series Games For the First Time. Major League Baseball and Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. announced today that TBS will exclusively televise the American League and National League Wild Card games in 2012 and 2013. The new Postseason format will feature the two Wild Card teams in the American League and National League playing in a single-elimination game with each winner advancing to compete with the three division champions from its League in the Division Series. MLB also announced that two Division Series games in each of the 2012 and 2013 Postseasons will shift from TBS to MLB Network.

Los Angeles Kings are two wins from Stanley Cup Finals. Local media, take note!

Mini-tour golfer cards incredible 16-under 55 at Oklahoma course

Multichannel News: NBC Sports Network Lines Up Cable-Record 292.5 Hours of Olympic Coverage

TV Wires

Jimmy Kimmel Beats Tonight Show For The First Time.

The 2012-2013 Fall TV Lineup. Anyone care anymore?

Wednesday Broadcast Ratings

Tuesday Cable Ratings

Tech Wires

As Facebook grows, millions say, 'no, thanks'

Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin could be banned from ever returning to the U.S. if Ex-Patriot Act passes

Pinterest financing values company at $1.5 billion

Facebook Gets Religion for Revenue. The latest revenue spaghetti test came last week, when Facebook began charging users in New Zealand as much as two New Zealand dollars ($1.53) a post to ensure that their own friends see what they write. The service, dubbed Highlight, comes close to flouting Facebook's long-standing pledge, emblazoned on its home page, that the site is "free and always will be."

Microsoft to charge customers $99 to remove OEM 'crapware'

Comcast ups data caps, adds tiered pricing

Consumer Wires

Coffee buzz: Study finds java drinkers live longer

Misc Wires

Artist creates indoor clouds

Y! Big Story: Annular solar eclipse, transit of Venus and other non-doomsday celestial phenomena

Massachusetts woman and her dog narrowly escape when a tree crushes her car.

Maxell Capsule 110

Type II (High Bias)

69 available as of May 15, 2012
Prices as follows. Shipping and handling applies.

Quantity

One Cassette $1.39 USD Two Cassettes $2.29 USD Three Cassettes $3.19 USD Four Cassettes $4.09 USD Five Cassettes $4.99 USD

Used Blank Cassettes For Sale

Get them here

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Cox Cable Satisfaction Down (May 17, 2012)

Full disclosure: I was employed at Cox Communications in 1989 for six months as a telemarketer. I quit after that. Take a look at this:

Deadline.com: Consumer Satisfaction Rising For Movies, But Not Other Media: Study. Cox Communications, which historically has beaten cable peers in customer satisfaction surveys, saw its rating drop 6% in the past year on the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) survey. At the same time, Verizon’ FiOS TV, Dish Network, Comcast and Time Warner Cable all rose from last year’s ratings. Charter’s ratings were unchanged and remained in the last place.

Now, what I've been witnessing in the past ten years is that the cable bill, my cable bill, has shot up over 50 percent, going from $40 to $65 for analog service with some two dozen starter channels and about 40 expanded (formerly 45) cable channels. While the cost of the service has gone up, the value of the service has gone down exponentally, especially given the fact that most of the analog channels I'm paying for are not available as its high definition counterparts on clear QAM (without the need to rent an expensive and bulky converter box as there's no room on my media shelf to accomodate it anyway!).

Cable as a whole is shooting itself in the foot by raising the rates without increasing the value of the service. Let's start with the starter service where about two dozen channels are offered including many of the local broadcasters. Most of the broadcast starter channels have high definition counterparts available in clear QAM without the need of a converter box. Some channels, such as My TV 13, Telefutura 36, Tu Canal 12, and some others are broadcasting in high definition, and Cox isn't carrying any of them at all period. Now that's an oversight.

On the expanded cable front, most of all of the 40 cable channels that I'm paying for in the analog expanded tier are broadcasting high definition conterparts, but Cox isn't letting us see any of them unless they make us rent a converter box and pay extra money to receive the HD channels. Not fair at all, Cox. I'm paying an exhorborant amount of money for something like 67 analog channels, costing me about than $1 a channel per month, and Cox isn't increasing the value of the expanded cable service at all.

Giving us the high definition counterparts to the analog channels I'm already paying for in clear QAM would justify the $65 a month I'm paying for. I'm not paying twice for the same cable channels, once for analog and once again for its high defintion counterpart. It's not going to happen, Cox. Just give up the shenanigans and do the right thing without increasing the cost.

An even better idea, why not give us an Economy tier that I can pay for. Just give me the channels that have sports, comedies, cartoons, and variety (not reality) shows. Get rid of the useless reality, biased news, and other junk channels like TLC, Food, HGTV, History, Travel, Animal Planet, CNBC, FNC, Spike, Syfy, USA, E!, VH-1, MTV, etc. Never watch any of those channels. I don't care to pay for them either.

Here's what I want in my idea of an Economy tier. Include the high definition counterparts in clear QAM for no additional charge and no box. ESPN, ESPN2, ABC Family, WGN, Fox Sports West, Fox Sports San Diego, Golf, Speed (put it back on analog you fools!), NBC Sports, TBS, TNT, Comedy Central, TV Land, The Hub (move it to analog), Antenna TV and Me-TV (again, move them to analog), Discovery, Lifetime (there's some comedies in it), FX, Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, Disney, Disney XD (move it to analog), CMT, National Geographic (move to analog), Science (move to analog).

Move all of those other non local broadcast and cable channels to the digital tiers.

Put all of the Spanish language channels on the clear QAM digital tiers. Include all of the high defintion versions of the local Spanish channels.

Play fair, Cox.

Wiremania (May 17, 2012)

Radio Wires

KIIS-FM returns to radio's top spot but KFI-AM is close behind

TV Wires

NBC's channels to broadcast Olympics

Why 10 p.m. Broadcast News Programs Make Sense For Local Stations -- And Their Networks

Upfronts 2012: CBS Moves 'Two and a Half Men' to Thursday

Tuesday Broadcast Ratings

Monday Cable Ratings

Tech Wires

Verizon to kill unlimited data plans for existing subscribers

Verizon plans price hikes for Fios, wireless users

Upfronts 2012: New Programming Heads Turner Video Strategy. TNT and TBS unveil development slates

Beware of 'Smishing' Identity Theft Scam

10 News: Thousands May Lose Internet Access Due To Virus. FBI Says Virus Redirects Users To Websites Through Adware. SAN DIEGO -- Hundreds of thousands of people could lose access to the Internet and San Diegans could be among them. It is because of a computer virus that most people do not even realize they have.

Misc Wires

Spectacular solar eclipses

Man raises stink over all-you-can-eat snub

Wiremania (May 16, 2012)

Radio Wires

KFWB and Clippers Renew. KFWB NewsTalk 980 in L.A. will continue as the Clippers flagship with the signing of a multi-year agreement to carry all preseason, regular season and postseason games. KFWB GM Valerie Blackburn (pictured) said, "We are so happy to forge forward with our relationship with the Clippers who have captured the hearts of Southern Californians and fans across the country."

Media Wires

Deadline.com: Consumer Satisfaction Rising For Movies, But Not Other Media: Study. Cox Communications, which historically has beaten cable peers in customer satisfaction surveys, saw its rating drop 6% in the past year on the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) survey. At the same time, Verizon’ FiOS TV, Dish Network, Comcast and Time Warner Cable all rose from last year’s ratings. Charter’s ratings were unchanged and remained in the last place.

MCN: Cox Falls, FiOS Rises On ACSI's TV Customer-Satisfaction Survey. Comcast, TWC and Dish Also Rise, While Pay-TV Sector Remains Flat.

Customer satisfaction in phone companies, TV service fall

TV Wires

Weekend Broadcast Ratings

Thursday Cable Ratings

Monday Broadcast Ratings

Weekend Cable Ratings

Tech Wires

Young Listeners Turn Off Broadcast, Tune Into Internet Radio [STUDY]

This transparent HDTV is straight out of the future, and could soon appear in your living room

Scared or annoyed? More DVD anti-piracy warnings

GM Halts Facebook Ads; Site Faces User Distrust Ahead of IPO

Consumer Wires

Why does your car's oil light come on?

6 Money Mistakes Everyone Makes

Car salesman confidential: don't parachute your trade-In

10 Weight-Loss Myths Debunked

Four Secrets to Boost Your Health

Choosing the Best Sunscreens—and Avoiding the Worst

Sugar can make you dumb, US scientists warn

Misc Wires

Report: Global Biodiversity Down 30 Percent in 40 Years

Sunday solar eclipse visible from national parks

Mississippi Highway Murders: Killer Posing as Cop?

High-speed photography captures moment of impact

Wiremania (May 12, 2012)

Radio Wires

Ellen K, co-host of the KIIS-FM/Los Angeles morning show On Air with Ryan Seacrest and the Premiere Networks globally syndicated program of the same name, was honored with the 2,471st star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the Radio category.

TV Wires

TV REVIEW: PBS' 'Johnny Carson: King of Late Night Television' Is Enlightening and Entertaining. Side note: When Johnny Carson retired from hosting Tonight in May of 1992, he stayed retired.

Canceled TV Shows: Networks Clean House. Ringer is a goner, plus other surprises.

Cable Networks Are a Mixed Ratings Bag in Primetime This Season

Thursday Broadcast Ratings

Wednesday Cable Ratings

Sapan: Dish Dispute Could Have 'Material' Effect. Trial Date For Voom Litigation To Be Set Next Week

Soap Ratings Report for the Week of April 30 – May 4, 2012

Tech Wires

Facebook Co-Founder Saverin Gives Up U.S. Citizenship Before IPO

Man implants magnets to keep iPod at the ready

Cool sculpting will freeze the fat off your love handles

Consumer Wires

18 Most Sickening Food Ingredients

Get Home Phone Service for Less Than $10 a Month

Wiremania (May 11, 2012)

Radio Wires

Press Telegram: Radio: Kim Amidon dropped from The Wave. Kim Amidon, half of the morning team at KTWV The Wave (94.7 FM), has been let go, leaving her former co-host, Pat Prescott, flying solo as the station moves to a more music-intensive approach in the morning

Gary Lycan OCR: KBRT reflects on Rich Buhler: 'He changed lives'. In other news, KSBR annual Jazz Birthday Bash is May 27 in Mission Viejo.

Sports Wires

Football Television Money At All-Time High

John Maffei: TV COLUMN: Seau memorial a tricky broadcast. In case you're wondering, sources say there has been no movement on a deal between Fox and Time Warner to carry the Padres in San Diego. Time Warner Cable Sports Net, the new home of the Los Angeles Lakers, Sparks and Galaxy will launch October 1 in Southern California.

Play-by-Play Thrives On AM. The big story in recent months has been the migration of talk, even sports talk, to the FM dial. People, even broadcasters, often rag on AM radio saying listeners are nearly in their grave. And FM is where all talk is headed to get the younger demos. Yesterday Arbitron released PPM numbers that show listeners don't always think of the AM dial as radio's ugly stepchild. The numbers are (6 plus) for opening day of the baseball season and compared to last year, the numbers are huge, including a jump of over 320,000 listeners for WCBS-AM in New York for opening day of the Yankees.

Time Warner Cable stepping up its game in L.A. sports programming. Time Warner Cable will bow its two regional sports networks centering on the L.A. Lakers basketball team on Oct. 1. Why This Matters: Time Warner Cable SportsNet and Spanish-language Time Warner Cable Deportes will have their own production team and programming sensibilities. In addition to Lakers games, the RSNs will show L.A. Galaxy soccer matches and L.A. Spark WNBA contests. It’s unclear what TWC will charge distributors for the netlets but analysts peg the number between $2.50 and $3.50 per subscriber per month. Operators already pay Fox more than $5 total for Prime Ticket and Fox Sports West.

TV Wires

Portland Broadcast Affiliates Pull Signals. The ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC broadcast affiliates in Portland, Ore., have told Internet TV venture Skitter to stop distributing their network feeds as they "review our retransmission agreements," according to a notice the startup sent to subscribers.

Cutting the cord: Why and why not (Device & Conquer)

TBS grabs 'Cougar Town' from ABC. Sitcom will migrate for fourth season

Wednesday Broadcast Ratings

Tuesday Cable Ratings

Tech Wires

Printing in 3D?

US phone subscribers hang up on contracts US phone subscribers hang up on contracts; industry sees first quarterly decline. Looks like the consumers have finally wised up.

Misc Wires

Fork with a Thumb

Wiremania (May 10, 2012)

Radio Wires

Randy Dotinga: Did right-wing conspiracy kill KLSD? Randy Dotinga is still shocked that KLSD had nothing to do with LSD.

SDRadio.net: Rich Buhler Passes

Pandora Says it Now Owns 6% of All Radio Listening

The Battle For The Dash Coming to Convergence

First-Ever High School Radio Day May 16th

Car web radio standards in the works. As automakers embrace internet radio in their new digital dashboards, an international group that’s been working with the makers of desktop receivers has turned its attention to the car. The four-year old Internet Media Device Alliance (IMDA) hopes to hash out the basic technical specifications of web radio among broadcasters, automakers and receiver manufacturers.

Saga may pull the plug on streaming. Streaming may be the medium of the future, but in the here-and-now advertising sales aren’t covering the costs for Saga Communications. So CEO Ed Christian says he’s considering no longer offering webcasts of some or all their radio stations

Sports Wires

ACC’s new television deal with ESPN closes divide in media dollars for conference

Compass Media Networks Announces College Football Broadcast Schedule

All 30 Major League Baseball teams are now streamed by SiriusXM. That started yesterday and it may be an extra kick to some terrestrial radio GMs – with each channel “showcasing that team’s radio announcers throughout the season.” It’s another nibble at the exclusivity AM/FM stations once enjoyed with baseball. The new availability is for both online and the SiriusXM mobile app. Of course the games have always been on satellite.

TV Wires

Kids' TV time tied to unhealthy food choices: study

Daytime Emmy Award Nominations Announced. “General Hospital” Receives 23 Nominations, Including Outstanding Drama Series, and Is the Most Honored Show. Note: This article is biased towards naming ABC shows and people.

Complete Daytime Emmy Nominations List

TV Land Unveils New Look. Network looks to target younger demos; adds second night of original programming.

Univision Debuts 24-Hour News Network on DishLatino. Launch of FOROtv Completes Rollout of Four Cable Networks under Expansive Distribution Deal with DBS Provider.

Tuesday Broadcast Ratings

Monday Cable Ratings

Tech Wires

Uncompressed Wireless HD

Consumer Wires

Three tech gadgets you might be tempted to buy, but shouldn't

70% don’t trust Facebook with their personal information

Fisker Karma owner blames house fire on car, offended by Fisker’s doubts

Hybrid Honda owner loses appeal of small-claims court victory: Update

How to Prevent Identity Theft

The Inflation of Life - Cost of Raising a Child Has Soared

Misc Wires

The Ugliest $20 Bill Ever?

Intelligence Is Overrated: What You Really Need to Succeed

School misspells its own name for years. Sunrise-McMillan Elementary school in Fort Worth, Texas misspelled its name for 9 years using "Sunrise-McMillian" on signs, logos, and more.

Carnivorous Plants Employ Bodyguard Ants

Wiremania (May 9, 2012)

Radio Wires

Pandora Claims An 87% Increase In Listener Hours. Pandora claims its share of U.S. radio listening has reached nearly 6%. The just-reported April percentage of 5.96% is up from 5.79% in March. Pandora reports 150 million registered users, with more than 100 million accessing the service via smartphone or tablet.

Sports USA Reveals Its 2012 College Football Broadcast Schedule

Liberty to grow Sirius XM stake. The FCC has tossed Liberty Media’s petition for de facto control of Sirius XM Radio, but the John Malone-led company is stepping closer to control regardless. It’s announces plans to spend $650 million to boost its Sirius XM stake to 45.2%. Liberty CEO Greg Maffei says they also plan to file a petition of reconsideration asking the FCC to take a second look at its petition seeking control.

Sports Wires

Josh Hamilton hits four home runs against Orioles, becomes 16th player in history to reach record

Multiplatform TV: Comcast Set To Launch Live ESPN, Disney 'TV Everywhere' Services. MSO to Offer WatchESPN, Plus Live Feeds of Disney Channel, XD and Disney Junior

Tech Wires

Myspace Settles With FTC For Misleading Users About Privacy

Facebook ad trolls charged $100K, ordered to stop their trolling

LED lights seek to uncrown 100-watt bulb. The company's Energy Smart LED bulb consumes 27 watts to give off the same amount of light as a 100-watt incandescent lamp. It will be released in the first half of next year. The price has not yet been set.

Phishers hooking Facebook, Twitter, Google, Yahoo passwords

The six signs of Facebook addiction

Hackers target Twitter spammers in massive account data breach

Microsoft patches 23 Windows flaws, warns of risk of code execution attacks

TV Wires

Best and Worst TV Series Finales

Oprah Network Hurts Discovery Earnings. Discovery Communications reported lower first-quarter profits in part because of losses from OWN, its joint venture with Oprah Winfrey.

Analysis: Cable Carriage And Fees Will Be Tough Slog for ABC and Univision Channel

Monday Broadcast Ratings

Friday-Sunday Cable Ratings

Consumer Wires

Gas Prices Falling: Next Stop $3 a Gallon?

The New Ideal Retirement Age: 67

Warning signs that a used car is a rebuilt wreck

What not to give for Mother's Day

Five Messy Money Mistakes

How the pressure of finding health care insurance affects one family

Lunch Breaks: Do They Do a Body Good?

Wiremania (May 8, 2012)

Radio Wires

Cumulus Lost Millions on Rush Limbaugh Boycott

KSL Turns 90

TV Wires

Analysis: Murdoch's Fox TV licenses seen surviving UK scandal

ABC News, Univision to Launch Hispanic TV Network. English-language news channel will target English-dominant, bilingual Hispanics.s

ABC's challenge: Replacing its aging hits

Primetime Ratings: Penultimate 'Housewives' Helps ABC Win Sunday

NBA Playoffs Win Thursday Cable

Sports Wires

Chris Davis throws two scoreless innings, earns first victory for AL position player since 1968

Albert Pujols hits first homer of season, returns to empty Angels dugout (VIDEO)

Tech Wires

Facebook and Your Privacy. Who sees the data you share on the biggest social network?

Consumer Wires

7 Compulsive Shopping Traps We Fall Into

The Worst Habits for Your Heart

The 90-Second Ab Blaster

Americans: Too broke to go bankrupt

How To Make Your Own Will

Misc Wires

'Supermoon' lights up the sky

"Crab" chips, fruity Oreos? They're big overseas

Seven amazing domino creations

Solar-powered catamaran completes record-setting circumnavigation

Austria’s ‘upside down house’ becomes tourist attraction

Wiremania (May 5, 2012)

Radio Wires

Gary Lycan, OC Register: Kim Amidon on 94.7 exit: ‘Sorry I let you women down – I tried' In other news, KIIS’ Ellen K to get Hollywood star May 10, KABC’s McIntyre drops jazz. Gary has more.

TV Wires

Deadline: Dish Network Will Drop AMC, IFC, WE, and Sundance in June. Dish says its customers will lose channels including AMC, IFC, WE, and Sundance at the end of June – but that’s “solely” due to “their high renewal cost when compared to their low viewership. After a New York appellate court ruled that ongoing litigation over the now-defunct Voom HD service should head to trial, Dish Network threatened to remove AMC Networks from its channel lineup. Why This Matters: Dish claims viewership declines and rising rates are forcing it to consider dropping AMC Networks’ stable of networks. But AMC Nets’ programming is some of the highest-rated on the dial these days. To wit: The Walking Dead closed its Season 2 in April by bringing in 9 million viewers, making it the No. 1 drama series in basic cable history with men 18-34, according to Nielsen. The sparring between Dish and AMC dates back to 2008, when Dish agreed to carry a suite of Rainbow-owned HD channels known as Voom HD. But Dish terminated the contract in 2008 and Voom HD filed suit, seeking more than $2.5 billion in damages.

Alex Trebek Considering Retirement at 30th Anniversary of Jeopardy!

Former NBC Boss Talks About The Rise and Fall of Must-See TV

Bob Stewart, Creator of Price is Right, Pyramid, Password, More, Dies at 91.

Cable TV Subs Fell 5% In 2011: Nielsen. Broadband With Broadcast-Only TV Households Jumped 14%. U.S. cable operators lost about 2.9 million video customers in 2011, shrinking the overall pay TV market by 1.5%. Why This Matters: Telcos packed on 1.1 million new subs and satellite providers were at 280,000 net new additions. At the same time, homes with broadband and only free-over-the-air broadcast channels rose by 631,000 homes for a total 5.1 million. After 20 years of growth, the number of households with a TV set declined for a second straight year: this time from 114.7 million to 114.1 million. At the same time, they are spending more time playing video games and watch streamed online video.

Soap Ratings: DAYS Up for Apr 23-27 Week

Thursday Broadcast Ratings

Wednesday Cable Ratings

Sports Wires

John Maffei: Fox taking Padres telecasts to next level

Tech Wires

10 awesome ways to use a USB flash drive. Find out how versatile your thumbdrive is with these 10 little-known uses and tricks.

LaserSaber: A real 'Star Wars' lightsaber at last?

NFL Forecaster 7.22 (Windows)

Consumer Wires

Best breakfast sandwiches rated

24K Nation: Are Americans Crazy to Think Gold Is the Safest Investment?

Cellulaze: A New Cellulite Treatment

Home prices to hit bottom in 19 markets this year

Movie Wires

May The 4th Be With You! "Star Wars," as a motion picture and a pop culture phenomenon, probably deserves its own day. In celebration of such, we present this gallery of 10 fun facts about the film.

Why DVD Still Makes Sense

Gallery: A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away..

Misc Wires

A Cheat Sheet on Tipping Do's and Don'ts

Stop the Lunacy! 5 Mad Myths About the Moon

Wiremania (May 4, 2012)

Sports Wires

Why ESPN doesn’t cover hockey

TV Wires

Nielsen Reports a Decline in Television Viewing

Antennas for Next-Generation Digital Broadcasting

Wednesday Broadcast Ratings

Tuesday Cable Ratings

Tech Wires

Tired of using Google search? Try DuckDuckGo

Consumer Wires

5 Fast-Food Favorites You Can Make Healthier at Home

Misc Wires

Grow Your Own Organs

10 Best Cities for Cheapskates

'Supermoon' May Outshine Meteor Shower This Weekend

The ten best ways to kill your car

Wiremania (May 3, 2012)

Radio Wires

SD Reader: Mom and Pop Radio.

"K-Tesh Los Angeles" is John Tesh’s next project, an online Christian radio station that combines contemporary Christian music with his “intelligence for your life” content." His TeshMedia Group is networking with area churches to include directories of ministries and services – and being a radio guy, John is even building some contesting into “K-Tesh.”

Sports Wires

NBC wins big at Sports Emmys. Network nabs eight kudos.

ESPN LA Radio Host Remembers Former Teammate Junior Seau

TV Wires

Lifetime Unveils New Logo, Tagline 'Your Life. Your Time.' in case anybody cares.

The Weather Channel Turns 30

Tuesday Broadcast Ratings

Monday Cable Ratings

Consumer Wires

Over 1.5 million Visa, MasterCard credit card numbers stolen?

Misc Wires

A rare look at a star's demise in a supermassive black hole

Wiremania (May 2, 2012)

Radio Wires

Letters: Roger Hedgecock

Inside Radio: Fatigue factor seen among Pandora users Unlike a subscription service where users may feel they have an incentive to use a product, the vast majority of Pandora listeners don’t pay. That may be impacting how long people stay engaged with the service. Bridge Ratings surveyed Pandora listeners and concluded the longer they’ve been a using it, the less conclude they’re “highly satisfied” with the service.

TV Wires

Rupert Murdoch's Fox broadcast licences targeted by US ethics group. FCC called on to revoke licences in wake of British parliamentary report as phone hacking scandal widens abroad.

FCC Shares Channel-Sharing Details

Monday Broadcast Ratings

Sunday Cable Ratings.

The Mighty 690 Dot Com Signs on (May 1, 2012)

http://www.themighty690.com/ is a new streaming radio website that was launched this past Saturday. It features hit songs from the 1980s.

Chris Torrick launched the station after spending six months preparing the website and acquiring a streaming licence with streamlicensing.com in order for him to legally stream the songs online.

The Mighty 690 was once an AM radio station broadcasting on XETRA-AM 690 from 1980-1984. Though it was licensed to Tijuana at the time, it billed itself as a Los Angeles radio station, hence sometimes at the top of the hour, you heard the ID jingle "The Mighty 6-90! Los Angeles!". The strong 77,000 watt directional signal reached many pockets in the Los Angeles metro area.

Chris was asked many times – “Why did you decide to do this ?” Chris explains: "It was pretty simple. The Mighty 690 was a part of who I was. I grew up listening to it. When I decided radio was what I wanted to do with my life, I was an intern for 690 and 91-X. I worked with some of the most talented people on the dial, and I learned a lot.

"I knew I wanted to build an 80’s station online. I don’t know about you, but I would be a little let down by stations that did an 80’s weekend and would play a “lost 80’s” song from Human League. Really? It was lost? I heard it on a ‘Swiffer’ commercial during “Big Bang Theory” last week.

"Anyway – everything led me back to “Mighty 690”. So, I started looking and researching. I discovered that there were no copyrights or service marks on the name. Then….surely someone has a website on www.themighty690.com. Nope! With the entry of 16 digits on my Visa, I was the owner of “The Mighty 690”. YAY!!!!!

"For this tribute I wanted everything to be as authentic as possible. My first search was for Yolanda Salas. You heard Yolanda at least once an hour doing the station ID in Spanish back in the 80’s. Sadly her trail ran cold a few years ago. I am happy to say that I found a great voice actress in Mexico City. Her name is Regine Clemenceau and she fills in for Yolanda. Anyone know what happened to her?

"I wanted the original logo. From what I understand, the rights were sold to a radio memorabilia collector who has passed away. It was a dead end, so I went with a new design. It’s a tribute to San Diego, Los Angeles, the beach, ocean and sunshine.

"The DJ’s. This was tricky and it still is. I have told many friends that I think the “Mighty 690” DJ’s were involved in some witness protection program. If you have been curious as to the whereabouts of some of the famous voices of our youth, this is what I discovered.

"Steve Sande – Steve was working radio in Chicago until 1992. Sadly, he passed away of a heart attack that year. RIP Steve.

"Michael Boss – Michael had one of the most distinct voices. We heard Michael more than others because he was also the station production director and did a lot of commercials. Michael was selling rare collectable books up until a few years ago. His trail runs cold as well.

"Kris Anderson – For some reason, I worked the phones a lot when Kris was down in Mexico playing the hits. We had some good times and got each other in a little hot water during the “Jackson’s Reunion Tour”. Thankfully I was able to track him down. When I shared with him my plans for the tribute he was beside himself with excitement. Listen for Kris on The Mighty 690.

"Jerry Hardin - Jerry was one of the first DJ's at the station was there from the beginning. He left the station after 6 Months because he was offered a Management position at a radio station in Albuquerque.

"I hope you enjoy what I have in store for this little piece of retro cyberspace. We won’t be successful without your support. When you’re listening, tell your friends on social media. If you call to get tickets for a show on our concert page, tell the venue or club you heard about it through us. If you know of someone who needs a cost effective advertising solution, tell them about us. Our commercials are inexpensive and we have loyal listeners….like you! If you have any questions, I am all ears. Email me and I will be back in touch.

"Thank you – and welcome to TheMighty690.COM"

Chris Torrick

Wiremania (May 1, 2012)

Radio Wires

Cumulus And Townsquare Announce 65 Station Deal

Nearly 50% Say Pandora Should be Called Radio

Sports Wires

Andrew Bynum (10 blocks) ties NBA record for blocks in a playoff game, posts triple-double in Lakers win (VIDEO)

TV Wires

Hulu's possible future: A playground for cable subscribers. The TV and video streaming service is rumored to be swapping its free Internet model for one that requires users to pay for cable or satellite TV. Hulu is changing its free TV streaming business model by requiring viewers to log in with their cable or satellite provider to access its litany of “free” programming. Why This Matters: The move toward authentication, which could take years to complete, should make cable operators happy as they work to create their own streaming businesses but is likely to anger consumers who have been able to avoid paying to watch many of their favorite shows and smugly boast about it to their cable- and satellite-paying friends.

The HDMI cable ripoff and why retail is really dying

Variety: More shows are on network bubble. Promising new skeins leave less room for veterans.

Keck's Exclusives: More Murphy Brown?

Bounce TV to Launch Its First Original Scripted Sitcom (B&C)

Sunday Broadcast Ratings

Thursday Cable Ratings

Fewer Than 1.2% Of Cable TV Subs Opt For CableCards. NCTA: Nine Top MSOs Have Deployed 615,000 Standalone CableCards and 34 Million CableCard Set-Tops.

From radio-info: Seacrest expands NBCU deal. CHR KIIS-FM, Los Angeles (102.7) morning host Ryan Seacrest has signed what’s being dubbed a “groundbreaking multi-platform agreement” with NBCUniversal. The new, two-year deal extends Seacrest’s current on-air presence with E! onto NBC, spanning news, entertainment and sports programming. That includes a role at this summer’s Olympics. Seacrest’s current contract with Clear Channel expires in 2013.

Film Wires

New 007 film to depict spy's inner demons

Consumer Wires

Dieting Mistakes You Are Making

Wiremania (Apr 28, 2012)

Radio Wires

From Jon Bruce: themighty690.com debuts at 10am Saturday morning. A great tribute site to a legendary station. San Diego’s onetime top 40 “Mighty 690” is the subject of a new online tribute, says Chris Torrick. He tells TRI “the format will be 80s, and I have spent the past year working on this.” The broadcast Mighty 690/XETRA was based in Mexico but had the power to serve all of Southern California. Torrick’s online station debuts Saturday morning at 10am Pacific time.

SDRadio.net: JM is KGB!

TV Wires

CBS News: Kelly Ripa dons Wonder Woman and catwoman costumes at Sunday's TV Land Awards

Hollywood Reporter: Thursday Broadcast Ratings

B&C: Thursday Broadcast Ratings

Wednesday Cable Ratings

Soap Ratings (Week of April 16-20)

One Day at a Time Cast Reunion at GMA (happened Thursday)

Tech Wires

Is Twitter a Radio Station?

Disable comments on most Web sites with Shut Up. Commenters can be cruel and stupid as often as they can be witty and insightful. The aptly named Shut Up extension for Chrome hides the comments section of most sites.

Why Mobile Data Is Such a Cash Cow for Carriers

CISPA: the controversy surrounding it and how it might affect you

Consumer Wires

Today in Food Finance: Nutella Is Not Broccoli

KFC ordered to pay $8.3 million to Australian girl

Wiremania (Apr 27, 2012)

Radio Wires

Gary Lycan Orange County Register: Art Laboe takes May Day off, KTLA anchor to play hits on Hot 92.3. ESPN Radio – KSPN/710 AM - and USC have agreed to a multi-year deal to allow the sports network exclusive national broadcast rights to Trojans home football games.

TV Wires

See 'Laverne & Shirley' cast then and now

Watch 56 Episodes of 'Star Trek' at the Same Time, With Sound (Video)

Wednesday Broadcast Ratings

Thursday Cable Ratings

Sports Wires

College football playoff closer to a reality

Compass to play ball with L.A. Angels. Compass Media Networks is rounding out its sports calendar with a multiyear deal to nationally syndicate 25 Major League Baseball games featuring the Los Angeles Angels. The “game of the week” roster includes games against the Yankees, Rangers, Mariners, Dodgers, Giants and Red Sox, among others.

John Maffei TV/Radio Sports: Time for Fox, TW to reach deal on Padres. It's time for officials from Fox Sports San Diego, the Padres ---- who own 20 percent of the network ---- Time Warner Cable and satellite providers AT&T U-verse, Verizon FiOS and Dish Network to barricade themselves in a room and not come out until a deal is reached to carry Padres games. Until FSSD actually has contracts with teams in San Diego other than the Padres ---- San Diego State, USD, UC San Diego, Cal State San Marcos, the CIF and maybe even the Chargers ---- there really isn't a San Diego sports network. There is the Padres and programming to fill the hours when the Padres aren't on.

Consumer Wires

Americans pick Toyotas as highest-quality cars: The Yahoo Autos Survey

Health Insurance Rebates on the Way

Gas Prices Seen Headed Lower at the Pump

Top 10 Superfoods. Wild salmon, apples, olive oil, eggs, yogurt, sweet potatoes, and four more.

2013 Ford Shelby GT500 rated at 662 hp, for the love of all that’s holy

Top Five Most Overrated Careers

Freebies are More Rare in the Land of the Fee. The average cost for standard cable soared from $22.35 per month in 1995 to $52.37 in 2009, an increase of 134 percent, according to a 2011 report from the Federal Communications Commission. That compares to just a 39 percent rise in overall inflation during the same 14-year period.

Misc Wires

America's 10 most polluted cities, 2012

National Geographic reader pics

Salton Sea: Is it drying up?

MIT students complete “The Holy Grail of Hacks” by turning building into playable Tetris game

Meteorites found in Calif. along path of fireball

Wiremania (Apr 26, 2012)

Radio Wires

Pandora Is Number One Radio Station In LA, According To Surprising New Report .

Radio Ink.com: Does Pandora Really Have 500K More Listeners Than KIIS in L.A.? (by Ed Ryan) That could be what L.A. advertisers are being pitched after a recent survey released by The Media Audit. According to the survey, done in September and October of 2011, 1.9 million people listened to Pandora while 1.4 million listened to KIIS-FM. The Media Audit survey is done twice a year. The problem with surveys and samples and diaries and meters is none of them are 100% accurate and pretty much all of the data can be used in various ways to make anyone look like they have great numbers. Move a daypart here, alter a demo there and before you know it, you have a presentation ready to roll.

Bruce Williams Returns With Online Show. Bruce Williams has relaunched his show, this time on the Internet, where he is producing a daily show for streaming and podcasting.

radio-info.com: Dick Clark changed "American Top 40" forever, when he subbed for Casey Casem in March 1972. Rob Durkee of the American Top 40 Fun & Games site says Casey was visiting Muscle Shoals, Alabama and Dick Clark agreed to fill in. In those days, AT40 was produced basically live on tape, as a three-hour show done in real time. Clark, always the sharp businessman, told the production staff they could let the host hear the intros and endings and then tape the dry voice tracks for later integration. Durkee says "AT40's staff followed Dick Clark's advice. The show was still a money-loser" in 1972, but that turned around the next year, "thanks in part to an historic bit of advice from Dick Clark." The March 25, 1972 show is reportedly available, this weekend, to stations who carry the vintage AT40 shows.

TV Wires

CW's 'L.A. Complex': Lowest-rated broadcast drama debut of all time

Television viewing continuing its slide with alternatives cashing in

Is Broadcast TV Fading Out? Ad revenue and viewership are sliding at the major TV networks.

Future of free TV uncertain in Internet age

Tuesday Broadcast Ratings

Monday Cable Ratings

Sports Wires

NBC Asks Nearly $1M to Advertise in Thanksgiving-Night Football

Consumer Wires

5 small cars with the worst gas mileage

10 Best and Worst Frozen Foods

Is Social Security really "exhausted?" Not at all

Misc Wires

5 things you didn’t know about Silly Putty

Cow Visits McDonald's Drive-Thru

Fox Sports San Diego Carriage Status (Apr 25, 2012)

Some radio ads by Fox Sports San Diego are now running this week with their announcement: "Time Warner, yer ouuuuut!".

Talks have been at a standstill between Time Warner San Diego and Fox Sports over carriage fees for the new Fox Sports San Diego satellite channel, which is featuring games of the San Diego Padres for the first time this year.

From the Fox Sports San Diego website, is an explanation: "Despite what Time Warner is saying publicly, they are not negotiating with us to offer FOX Sports San Diego and the Padres to their customers. In fact, we have not heard from Time Warner in weeks regarding our latest proposal. The silence is deafening. Time Warner is making it clear they have no interest in carrying the Padres this year. In the meantime, negotiations continue with AT&T and Dish, but there is no news to report."

The Padres previously originated by Cox Communications from 1997-2011 and the games aired on its own 4SD (Channel 4 Padres) cable orgination channel. Time Warner was the only cable operator that had the rights to carry the Cox-produced Padre games since most of its cable coverage area didn't overlap that of Cox North or Cox South cable systems.

Fox Sports San Diego is also not carried on AT&T's U-verse or Dish Network, again, over carriage fees, which are ultimately passed on to the cable subscriber. Time Warner's officials state that Fox Sports wanted around $5 a month in order to be carried.

Fox Sports needs to understand that the cable subscribers have other alternatives to the high cost of cable and satellite, and for that reason, some are cutting the cable cord or shutting off the satellite to save money on cable expenses. Many are beginning to rethink paying for cable channels that have shelled out ridiculous amounts of money to pay for the rights to carry many sports packages like the NBA, NCAA College Football amd Basketball, NFL, Major League Baseball, and even The Olympics.

However, there are also cable subscribers that don't mind paying more money just so that they can enjoy watching sports on cable TV, especially given the fact that most of the local broadcast stations are showing cookie cutter reality, sitcom, and dramas for the most part. For the sports fan, cable and satellite is heaven sent.

Today, the starter and basic cable lineups offered by cable companies are around $65 according to Cox Communications San Diego, and the $5 surge in the monthly cable bill can be attributed to the cost of carrying Fox Sports San Diego on their system.

Cable box technology sucks up a lot of watts to operate it, and some say that it raises the cost of electricity by $25-50 a month depending on its use. That's another big factor in trying to get the costs of watching television down to normal levels.

Cable companies, TV sets, and video recording units, should band together for the ultimate solution. Dump the cable box. Put the cable box technology into the TV and video recording sets, allow customers to pay for channels they want without the requirement to bundle channels, and let their TV and video recorders decode the channels they are paying for. Simple as that. Cable boxes are so 1970s, and should have been banished with the likes of 8-track players a long time ago. When we get something like this, we won't be having any more spats between the cable companies and cable programming providers if all of the cable programmers will be effectively offered as optional pay TV subscription channels the same way as HBO has been since the 1970s.

But in the meantime, it would be Fox Sports San Diego's best interest to offer its channel as either bundled with the other sports channels in a digital sports tier, or offer the channel directly to the cable subscribers as a pay TV channel for $5 a month, and let the viewers on Time Warner, U-Verse, and Dish Network decide for themselves whether to pay for it or not.

Fox Sports, don't be a greedy corporate loon. Do the right thing. Get your channel on those systems now.

And to Cox Communications, an extra charge of $5 a month is ridiculous. There goes your digital tier subscription. Had to let it go in order to afford your lame analog expanded cable service. Still not offering the HD versions of the cable channels in the expanded cable service in clear QAM is shameful! Would be great to see Fox Sports San Diego HD in clear QAM. You're not off the hook on this issue.

Here's more on this issue.

Q&A on Time Warner/FOX Sports SD deal. Be forewarned: this page is biased towards Fox Sports as they are hosting it.

FOX says Time Warner, Padres may be bust. Fox Sports raised the possibility Monday that the Padres might not appear on Time Warner Cable at any time during the 2012 season. The statement was made in reaction to recent rumors that an agreement between Fox Sports San Diego and Time Warner Cable was nearing.

Time Warner Fires Back at Fox Sports (Apr 25, 2012)

To give a balance, here's Time Warner's side on the issue.

From U-T San Diego: Excerpts: FSSD’s statement that Time Warner Cable is not negotiating is untrue. Many emails, phone conversations and other exchanges have occurred as we work together to reach agreement. The difficulty in reaching agreement centers around Fox’s demand for a nearly 400% increase over what TWC and our customers paid to see the Padres last year. It is an unreasonable demand

Here's a reply to the article from Cory: "I don't believe TWC! Show us the emails, show us the numbers FSSD is asking, show us what you were paying Cox for the padres. 400% doesn't make since. Cox must have heavily undersold the rights to them to see that kind of increase. Can you say collusion?"

Here's another link:

Time Warner Cable attempting to negotiate with Fox for San Diego Padres games

Wiremania (Apr 25, 2012)

Radio Wires

Nielsen Study: AC Format Getting Younger, Playing More Music. Shelve Celine Dion and get Pink. A Nielsen BDSradio study of AC stations in the top 10 U.S. markets shows the format is relying less on older core artists and more on songs from younger, contemporary performers. In fact, AC radio is now playing 40% more current music than it did five years ago while also drastically cutting back on its ‘70s repertoire.

TV Wires

Ryan Seacrest has inked a 2-year, $30 million contract extension with American Idol, reports The Hollywood Reporter. Seacrest has hosted the Fox competition since its debut in 2002.

Monday Broadcast Ratings

Sunday Cable Ratings: HBO's Veep Premieres Solid.

Sports Wires

ABC's NBA Ratings Up 10% Over Last Year. Network averaged 5.4 million viewers for most-watched season ever

Tech Wires

AT&T Hikes U-verse TV To 4 Million Subs As DSL Woes Persist. Telco adds 718,000 U-verse internet customers, drops 615,000 legacy DSL connections.

Consumer Wires

Home prices lowest since 2002

The Worst Household Cleaners for Your Health

Misc Wires

Tide Turns on Border Crossing. Number of Immigrants Arriving From Mexico Now Equaled by Those Going Home.

Q: What Happened To Enter Sandman On Leykis? (Apr 24, 2012)

Things I learn from listening to Tom Leykis: just having the rights to play 45 seconds of Metallica's song "Enter Sandman" each time he opens a segment would cost the Internet host $10,000 (per year), which goes to the copyright organizations responsible for distributing the royalties to the songwriters and composers, as well as the publishers, of the song. ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC are among those that collect royalties on behalf of the creators of the songs. That's why when Leykis opens each segment of his show, you'll hear a generic rock and roll instrumental composed solely for the show.

When his show was once on terrestrial radio, you once heard "Enter Sandman" opening each hour of the show that was once syndicated and produced by Westwood One, and from 2007-2009, produced by CBS Radio and syndicated by WW1. Radio stations carrying programming with copyrighted music subject to royalty distribution had to pay for the rights to the copyright organizations in order to play such music.

Now that Leykis is on his own, and he has no radio stations to carry his show, he had to let Metallica's song go, but acknowledged that the group deserves to receive royalty payments for each time their song gets played. So that is why you hear a generic rock composition specially made for his radio show.

Listen to his shows at blowmeuptom.com. Caution: strong language. Listener discretion advised. Guys, you need to listen to this show. If you're between age 13 and 17, ask your dad for permission and listen to Leykis together.

Is AM Relevant Anymore? (Apr 24, 2012)

Back in 1972, there once was some fabulous radio wars going on. KCBQ (1170), KDEO (910), and KGB (1360) were among the chief competetors for the younger listening group, the ones that catered to the music fans as young as 18. KOGO (600), XTRA (690), and KFMB (760) competeted for the older music fans of about 25-54 and maybe older. All of the AM stations played music formats of various types. FM was still in the establishing stage as most car radios didn't yet have FM. There was no Satellite or Internet radio. There were no politically heated talkers bent on diving the audience and scaring some listeners away. There was the one AM/one FM ownership rule as well as the 7-7-7 AM-FM-TV ownership rule. Playlists were diverse. Most played new music. Radio personalities were everywhere. Everything was great.

Fast forward to today. AM stations are not even on the radar screens of most listeners. The latest Arbitron PPM ratings release shows that the highest rated AM station is ranked at #24, and it's the third highest rated non music radio station. I consider KOGO an FM station that broadcasts on AM nowadays, and many people probably don't listen to the AM 600 of that station anymore, but it's #2. The most popular non-music station is KPBS-FM, a National Public Radio station. Is AM relevant anymore? AM radio is not as long as the fidelity is crappy and full of electrical interference, has right wing talkers saying anti-working class thoughts, full of brokered and syndicated programming, and sounds like they are programmed from a building in San Antonio or somewhere else. People are turning to public radio and non commercial radio stations for alternative views on the news and issues. Is it time for the right wing talk show advocates to go?

From SDRadio.net: Roger Hedgecock is moving again. That's vague. Is he not working well at KFMB?

What do you think? Is AM radio destined to be reallocated to the shortwave band? Is there any hope for talk as a format?

Wiremania (Apr 24, 2012)

Radio Wires

Obituary: Jeff Chandler. Jeffrey Chandler dies at 70; part of family that built the Los Angeles Times

Sports Wires

John Maffei TV/Radio Sports: Chargers to get Lots of Play on Sundays.

Philip Humber claims place in history with unlikely perfect game for White Sox

Two words for the NHL playoffs: Hot stuff. Viewership is up 31 percent on NBC Sports Network

TV Wires

Soaps Rebound for Week of Apr 9-13

Sunday Broadcast Ratings

Thursday Cable Ratings

Free-to-air TV struggling in Australia

Consumer Wires

Best Careers for Shy People

8 Food frauds on your shopping list

10 Outrageous New-Car Scams To Avoid

1 in 2 new graduates are jobless or underemployed

Social Security funds to run dry by 2033

Misc Wires

Huffington Post: Happy Birthday, Valerie Bertinelli!

Wiremania (Apr 21, 2012)

Radio Wires

Bryan Schock is no longer at KGB. He's no longer listed on the 101kgb.com website. Coe Lewis is going solo in the mornings. R-I poster posted that Bryan is moving to KPRI.

TV Wires

Thursday Broadcast Ratings

Wednesday Cable Ratings

Tech Wires

YouTube faces massive music royalty bill in German copyright case

Misc Wires

Judge says she didn’t understand physicist’s stop sign ticket paper, let him off anyway

One Penny Sold for $1,000,000?

Woman’s Coca-Cola ‘habit’ cited in death

Is 'Hot Problems' by Double Take the New 'Friday?'

Direct Youtube Link of Above Song(?)

Wiremania (Apr 20, 2012)

Radio Wires

Gary Lycan: K-Earth's Gary Bryan rewinds with Dick Clark

Radio: 90 years on the air for KHJ and KFI

Hannity, O’Reilly stay at Fox. Radio talk hosts Sean Hannity and Bill O’Reilly will remain on Fox News Channel through the 2016 election cycle. Several media reports say the two hosts are close to finalizing new TV contracts. Hannity and O’Reilly have been at the channel since it launched in 1996.

Media Wires

SDRadio.net: Union-Tribune enters a “brave new world”

Tech Wires

Stuck With a $10,000 Phone Bill

TV Wires

Wednesday Broadcast Ratings

Tuesday Broadcast Ratings

Los Angeles Times: The future of KCET. The station says it is making 'progress' in reinventing itself after bolting PBS in 2011, but revenue is way down and few new shows have been produced. Critics question its survival.

Consumer Wires

10 Cheapest Cars for 2012

Passing: Dick Clark (Apr 19, 2012)

Dick Clark, the world's oldest teenager, has passed away yesterday at the age of 82.

A lot of today's generation missed the era when Clark was very influential on radio and television between the 1950s and 1980s. He was a TV and radio host, and an executive producer. Besides being the host of a long-running daytime series American Bandstand, he was also the host of the Pyramid game show, Bloopers and Practical Jokes co-hosted with Ed McMahon, and Dick Clark's Live Wednesday. He also founded a competetor to the Grammys called "American Music Awards."

He also hosted some radio shows like Rock, Roll and Remember, and in the early 80s, hosted a top 30 hit countdown show of his own called Dick Clark's National Music Survey. Clark also co-founded Unistar Communications, which eventually merged with Infinity Broadcasting. He was also a co-founder and shareholder in United Stations Radio Networks Inc. (USRN), as well as its Chairman Emeritus and one of its personalities.

In 1972, his first annual "New Year's Rockin' Eve" special aired on ABC where it's been ever since. Since his stroke in 2004, Regis Philbin stepped in for that year, then in 2005, Ryan Seacrest since then. Clark returned each year in 2005 to co-host, but Ryan was groomed to be the successor of the franchise that Clark founded.

ABC has more on Dick Clark

How many musicians between the 1950s and 1980s owe their careers to him is probably uncountable.

Clark first hosted "Dick Clark's Caravan of Music" at a local Philadelphia TV station in 1956. In 1957, ABC hired Clark to take his show nationally and call it "American Bandstand."

In the 1960s, he started Dick Clark Producations in Hollywood and began producing hit TV shows. Dick Clark Productions has turned out more than 7,500 hours of television programming, including more than 30 series and 250 specials, as well as more than 20 movies for theatre and TV.

Clark also was involved in radio as a partner in the United Stations Radio Network, which provided programs — including Clark's — to thousands of stations.

Clark, 82, changed the way we listened to pop music with American Bandstand , and helped ring in the New Year with his annual Dick Clark’s Rockin' Eve shows, even after suffering a stroke. Through Dick Clark Productions and his various hosting turns, Clark filled the broadcast, syndicated and cable airwaves with five iterations of Pyramid , TV Bloopers & Practical Jokes , Scattergories , The Challengers and Greed . A tear, a smile and a heartfelt R.I.P to “America’s Oldest Teenager.”

Also see:

United Stations Radio Network remembers Dick Clark

Wiremania (Apr 19, 2012)

Radio Wires

Sdradio.net: KKOS and KCEO Founder Dies

Modern Rock XTRA (91X)/San Diego has announced the lineup for its X-Fest 2012, set for June 3. Jane's Addiction, Garbage, Angels & Airwaves, P.O.D., Rebelution, Neon Trees, Of Monsters And Men, Grouplove, Eve 6 and Walk The Moon will all perform.

Media Wires

Is the Huffington Post a Newspaper?

TV Wires

Tuesday Broadcast Ratings

Monday Cable Ratings

Sports Wires

2012 Schedule: NFL Network's Expanded 'TNF' Slate Features Nine 2011 Playoff Teams. ESPN's 'MNF' Schedule Features Both Super Bowl XVLI Squads, Six Divisional Matchups, Da Bears.

Consumer Wires

Could this be the next Ford Mustang?

11 Worst Burgers in America

The Guide to Beating a Heart Attack

Wiremania (Apr 18, 2012)

Radio Wires

Stern's Suit Against Sirius XM Thrown Out. A New York State Supreme Court judge has dismissed with prejudice a lawsuit filed against Sirius XM by Howard Stern's production company, One Twelve Inc., saying the satcaster has met its obligations under the 2004 contract between Stern and Sirius. The lawsuit claimed Stern was owed performance-based compensation based on subscribers brought in via the Sirius-XM merger, but Judge Barbara Kapnick said the original contract's language was clear and unambiguous.

According to stationratings.com, Tom Leykis reports on his Facebook page "401 THOUSAND LISTENERS! Call us and tell us what you think! We have 401 THOUSAND LISTENERS! MORE than KABC and 13 other LA station[s]."

Sports Wires

Variety: NBC to Carry Full Olympics Live on TV or Online

NAB: Fox Affiliates Board Pumped for More Saturday Night Sports. Network and affiliates work on working together better.

TV Wires

All Star Trek Captains to Unite in London

Monday Broadcast Ratings

Sunday Cable Ratings

Consumer Wires

Tax time pushes some Americans to take a hike

Misc Wires

Mysterious Particle Found After Decades of Searching

“We’re Not Young” Parody Video Feels the Love We're Not Young - SketchY

Welcome (Apr 17, 2012)

Welcome to SDN. No confusing rotating links that come and leave here. No redesign. No being forced to click and click forward and reverse until a link you like shows up. Please e-mail me for links to media and tech stories daily. It takes a nation of readers to make it possible. One just cannot build it alone. Also submit commentaries as long as you don't libel. Please link here. Thank you. http://www.sandiegoradionews.com/

Wiremania (Apr 17, 2012)

Radio Wires

Broadcasters told to stand firm against Internet competition

KRLA-AM in Los Angeles and KTIE-AM in Riverside/San Bernardino Announce New Morning Show and New Brand. From Tom Taylor: Salem re-brands SoCal’s KRLA and KTIE as “The Answer”, with new morning host Heidi Harris. So Heidi was suddenly out after five years in mornings at Las Vegas Beasley’s talker KDWN (720), as you may’ve read in the March 12 TRI? She picks herself up and marches to a bigger market. She’ll anchor mornings on Salem talkers KRLA, Glendale (870) and KTIE, San Bernardino (590). Both conservative talk stations will assume the branding that Salem’s using on New York City-market WNYM (970), the former “Apple.” Salem’s Vice President and Director of Spoken Word Format Phil Boyce says he “could not be happier with the response” to the New York Answer. He calls the recruitment of Heidi Harris “a major investment in the future of these stations, so the timing was perfect to combine the new show with the re-branding effort.” Chuck Tyler is the PD of KRLA and KTIE, and says “the L.A. and Inland Empire morning talk airwaves are ready for a little shakeup.

“Hannity 106.9” is Merlin’s Philly stunt. All-Sean Hannity, all the time. That’s what Merlin Media is promising for “Hannity 106.9” WKDN, Philadelphia. The stunt station launched today confirms the Premiere Networks host will be part of Merlin’s news-talk station. It’s expected Glenn Beck will also be part of the lineup when the station launches for real, with Rush Limbaugh being added in June. Merlin has requested the call letters WWIQ.

Tom Taylor: Internet radio listening “is no longer a trend, it’s a behavior.” From a new TargetSpot study from Parks Associates presented at the RAIN Summit – 42% of the U.S. population is listening to Internet radio. TargetSpot CEO Eyal Goldwerger says that represents 8% growth from last year’s study by Parks. Goldwerger says the online audience is “valuable and desirable”, with 42% from households with kids, and 22% in households with more than $100,000 in income. That latter figure is up 29% from a year ago.

Sports Wires

CBS to broadcast Notre Dame and Navy from Ireland

USC games to air on ESPN Radio

NBC Gears Up for the Olympics

HBO Jumps Into Ring With 40-Hour Fight Package. HBO will air a May 5 primetime boxing special prior to the Floyd Mayweather- Miguel Cotto pay-per-view event, part of a 40-hour package of fight-related content.

TV Wires

CBS and ABC Step Up Mobile DTV Commitment

The Nashville Network Returns. TNN, will resume its country music and lifestyle programming as a digital broadcast network in late summer 2012.

Film looks at '80s talk show host Morton Downey Jr.

GMA Beats Today in Weekly Ratings For the 1st Time in 16 Years!

Sunday Broadcast Ratings

Thursday Cable Ratings

A Deeper Dive on Set-Tops, Power Use. Nothing like a TED quote to launch a deeper dive into recent news around energy-efficient set-top boxes. Excerpt: Here’s the issue when it comes to set-top boxes and energy consumption: Invention is underway to introduce light- and deep-sleep modes for new set-top boxes, which is great. I’d go so far as totally great. But there exists a big backlog (in the double-digit millions) of deployed set-tops that went into homes long before technology options existed to reduce per-device energy consumption. SDN Solution: Build TV sets and DVRs with set-top technology built-in and dump the set-top boxes for good! Not only that, have the set-top technology limit itself to 25 watts per hour when in use.

Tech Wires

Brand Yourself.com Control Your Own Google Results. When people Google your name, make sure they find accurate, positive results. BrandYourself is the only Do-It-Yourself platform that makes it easy for anyone to improve their own search results.

Appolicious Advisor: The best smartphones to buy for less than $100 (and without a long-term contract)

Here they are: America's great unwired! Twenty percent of Americans still don't use the internet.

Consumer Wires

Car redesign failures

10 Brands that Made a Comeback

Taxes: Are you paying your fair share?

Biz Wires

Best Buy announces list of 50 stores closing in 2012

Misc Wires

Song Mocks 30-Somethings

Spectacular Solar Flare Erupts From the Sun

Eight is Enough Season 1 To Be Released on DVD (on April 17, 2012)

Eight is Enough Season 1
*****

More Information About This Product

The Heartwarming Classic Tv Series About A Tight-Knit Family With Eight Children Makes Its Highly-Anticipated Debut On Dvd

From Warner Home Video

DVD Features All Nine Season One Episodes in a Two-Disc Collector's Set

BURBANK, CA (January 10, 2012) - The Bradfords, one of television's best known and most loved families, are back for the first time to entertain viewers with their touching and memorable escapades on Warner Home Video's (WHV) DVD release of Eight Is Enough: The Complete First Season. Making its much-anticipated DVD debut on April 17, 2012, after long-standing requests from fans, Eight Is Enough is the top-rated classic television series that chronicles the lives of columnist Tom Bradford (Dick Van Patten), his wife and their eight children. Eight Is Enough: The Complete First Season will be comprised of all nine episodes from the show's first season on two discs. The DVD set will retail for $24.98 SRP.

Eight Is Enough is the enormously successful series that focuses on the Bradford family, an endearing clan of eight children and their parents who reside in suburban Sacramento, California. Tom, the patriarch of the family, is a newspaper columnist for the Sacramento Register, and their mother, Joan (Diana Hyland), is a busy homemaker. Their large household, which is always run with a lot of love and humor, is the source of their endless sometimes comic, sometimes dramatic exploits.

The Bradford kids vary in ages and personalities. Each one couldn't be more different than the next. The youngest, Nicholas (Adam Rich), is an adorable and precocious eight-year-old. Tommy (Willie Aames) is a charming and handsome teenager with rock-star looks. Fifteen-year-old Elizabeth (Connie Needham) is a graceful beauty with enviable long locks. Next is Nancy (Dianne Kay), a sweet, sunny blonde. Susan (Susan Richardson) is the athletic one. Joanie (Laurie Walters) is an aspiring actress. Mary (Lani O'Grady), the oldest Bradford girl, is a pre-med student. Last but not least is heartthrob David (Grant Goodeve), the eldest of the kids, who no longer lives at home but is deeply entwined in the lives of his siblings.

Eight Is Enough premiered on ABC in 1977 and became an instant hit with viewers. The top-rated show was based on a book by the same title, written by Thomas Braden, a syndicated newspaper columnist who also had eight children. The series pilot, included in this release, featured Star Wars star Mark Hamill in the role of eldest brother David, with Kimberly Beck as Nancy and Chris English in the role of Tommy. Eight Is Enough aired for five successful seasons.

"Eight Is Enough resonated with so many viewers because it offered something for everyone. With such a wide-ranging cast, there was always at least one character for everyone to relate to," said Rosemary Markson, WHV Vice President, TV and Special Interest Marketing. She added, "It was a show that shared a lot of humor but would also tackle some very serious subjects. It touched the hearts of viewers with its unforgettable storylines and talented actors. Family dynamics can be complicated, especially with eight kids, but no matter how chaotic things got in the Bradford household, this is the family so many of us wish we had grown up in. Eight Is Enough: The Complete First Season is a must-have for anyone who appreciates great TV."

DVD Bonus Material:

Cast Reunion Special

About Warner Home Video:
With operations in 90 international territories, Warner Home Video, a division of Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Inc., commands the largest home entertainment distribution infrastructure in the global video marketplace. Warner Home Video's film library is the largest of any studio, offering top quality new and vintage titles from the repertoires of Warner Bros. Pictures, Turner Entertainment, Castle Rock Entertainment, HBO Video and New Line Cinema.

About Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group:
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group brings together Warner Bros. Entertainment's home video, digital distribution, interactive entertainment/videogames, direct-to-DVD production, technical operations and anti-piracy businesses in order to maximize current and next-generation distribution scenarios. WBHEG is responsible for the global distribution of content through DVD, electronic sell-through and VOD, and delivery of theatrical content to wireless and online channels, and is also a significant worldwide publisher for both internal and third party videogame titles.

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