The NAB/RAB Show and other stuff.....

…Live from NM World HQ…(one of the "special shapes balloons during mass ascension at ABQ Balloon Fiesta)



I swear…the political ads are approaching pure craziness….if you believe the 4 back-to-back pods on radio (and radio with pictures!)…there isn’t an honest person running for anything anymore…..very, VERY cool spot from KOB-TV though….showing a peaceful waterfall in full HD and stereo…tag line?....”Enjoy this break from political ads from KOB-TV4…nice…


..what a crazy busy three weeks…first the NAB in DC…then friends and family annual visit week for Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta….a must event for any “bucket list”….and then a busy week working on projects and landing the next adventure….


NAB was pretty darn cool this year…bankers attended but aren’t lending…brokers are attending but can’t do deals because no one is lending….and broadcasters all walked around with curious smiles….


..the more you ask the more you learn….do yourself a favor and call your NAB rep…or call the NAB office in DC and get the real lowdown on the plans for the PRA and FM Chips and why they are tied together…they go hand-in-hand…one sets the rate and the other sets the percentage of that rate that will be paid….seems to me that just once we need a 100% agreeable group….there are a million opinions on the benefits of the FM chips (sorry, “radio chips”) in phones and the wisdom of making a deal that’s hard to swallow….but a united front from radio is needed now more than ever….


…at our last lunch Jim Kerr and I discussed how the AFTRA deal found its way into the PRA, etc negotiation…it’s the old “step into my sandbox and you’ll play in my sandbox”…during a November meeting with the Copyright Royalty Board it seems the meeting was conducted by the head of AFTRA….welcome to the party!


…Kurt Hanson’s RAIN Summit was the best attended I’ve ever seen…lots of terrific ideas presented and of course the “hallway office” was in full force! Some random thoughts from RAIN…Ford and OnStar innovating to take over radios place in the car and no real innovation from terrestrial radio (don’t get me started with HD…sheesh)…Safety issues will become more and more important as the screen becomes more prevalent in cars…texting is the biggest cause of distracted driving accidents…radio needs to be in the forefront with this issue….the Coleman Insights presentation was fascinating to me….seems instead of satellite radio the new love affair is with Pandora….seems it is not a dominant brand…heck, I’m one of their 60 million registered users and haven’t used it in years….according to CI…”terrestrial radio needs to take dominant branding (local) and match it up with key product attributes”….see the study here….and my final quick hit from RAIN?....”target digital/online efforts on listeners needs not the stations needs!”…AMEN! (Thanks for another great conference Kurt!)…


…kudos to Mary Quass for championing reducing inventory to sell yield and ultimately improve programming….many a campfire talk when I was on the network side on the downside of selling share…a fool’s game that selling for share…sell yield, create value, improve programming….Mary said it to a packed house….nice!






…pretty darn big news this week…The wireless industry's eyes turned to Microsoft on Monday as CEO Steve Ballmer introduced the nine Smartphone’s that will run on its new Windows Phone 7 operating system -- models from HTC, Dell, Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics. T-Mobile USA will join AT&T as the carriers offering the handsets when the phones start to ship next month. Analysts offered favorable reviews. "We believe this is a key step toward rebuilding confidence in their ability to innovate in mobile," said Wells Fargo analyst Jason Maynard in a research note…..more from the CEA here…


..the Great Jill-Bear Bruce Gilbert passed along a terrific study from Esquire presenting facts about men 2010…if you are in sports radio, as Bruce points out …”VERY interesting data and representative of how we always talk about how different a 25 year old guy is vs. a 54 year old guy”….view the stats here….(as a side note…thanks to Amy/Bruce for the Rangers ducats this week!)


..Russ Hill recently wrote an open letter to news talk radio…what a terrific read here..!


…Seth Godin recently blogged about the difference between “generous gifts and free samples”…read it here….pretty insightful as always …


…make certain that you get a copy of the study commissioned by FEMA through Northrop-Grumman regarding the use of RDBS messaging in concert with EAS….email Matt Straeb from AlertFM for the lowdown here….


..so the end of an era has finally happened with Mickey Luckoff’s departure from KGO in SFO…Mick was the best (still is by the way!)…he ran the place with passion and class…too bad he was shown the door with a lack of both!


..random musings from the high desert….too dang many people to shout out from the NAB…always great to get a few minutes or a few hours with friends and colleagues….special thanks to the Triton/Dial-Global squad for the invite to their dinner…great time and great idea sharing….great to join Carl Rohling from RadioTime and Dan Halyburton from McVay New Media for dinner with my pal Patrick Pohlking from ESPN Radio…to my friend Milt McConnell…thanks for everything..you are the best….the team at Ando soooo gets it…..keep an eye on Abacast…Mike LoConte’s Advantage Sales Systems can make you money today….new direct ca$h..what are you waiting for….can a guy, my friend and mentor Jim Thompson, ask for two better guys as sons-in-law?...Tony Cima and Tommy McElwee are great guys…pretty good golfers and can deliver an all around fun day….thanks for the game guys!....go ahead…look up class and a great friend and the smiling mug of Peter Doyle is front and center….Dennis Green getting his pistol loaded with two launches in January..good luck Den….


…and finally….Go Phightin’ Phils Go…..what a cool WS it will be if it ends up Philly and Texas….??!!!!!


..from the high desert of NM World HQ…have a great weekend….-----teej