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  1. crfceo is offline
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    06-27-2008, 05:21 PM #1

    That's it Rehr! A little acceptance goes a long way!

    Rehr: 'We Must Reignite The Passion' For Radio

    MINNEAPOLIS -- June 27, 2008: NAB President/CEO David Rehr talked up radio's strong points as he keynoted the Conclave Friday, but he also acknowledged that, "like any long-term relationship, things between radio and its listeners may have gotten a little stale over the past few decades."

    Rehr said, "Radio is so pervasive, like water, air, and electricity, that many people take it for granted. I believe we must do a better job reminding people why they fell in love with radio. We must reignite the passion."

    He then talked about how that's being addressed through the ongoing Radio 2020 initiative, announced at the NAB Radio Show last September. He pointed to "four key areas for growth opportunities to remind consumers of the value of radio."

    On the technology side, Rehr said, "We must ensure that radio is incorporated on every new gadget, everywhere" -- something he said consumers demand, and that will be to the advantage of manufacturers. He pointed to a recent NAB study that showed radio could reach 257 million mobile subscribers if FM were offered on more cell phones.

    Rehr's second key point was "playlist variety and format diversity." He said, "We know that in this customizable era, consumers are becoming more selective and protective of their choices. People want new, unique content. They want niche channels. And radio must respond." He said HD Radio offers "immense opportunities" to do that, and pointed to automaker deals and new technology that lets stations upgrade to HD at a lower cost.

    Rehr then turned to the future of radio, saying radio "can't afford to rest on its laurels." He continued, "We are working to help empower radio stations and their sales teams to be evangelists for radio, by sharing best practices and helping our radio loyalists tell radio's story, and by working with agencies to develop and cultivate more creative and dynamic advertising."

    The NAB conducted a large-scale survey when it rolled out Radio 2020, and Rehr said, "Armed with what we learned from the survey and with what we know about our business, we must act now to ensure radio's value is realized well into the next century."

    Finally, he said radio must work to "reignite" consumers by reminding them that radio is unlike any other medium. He pointed to radio's accessibility and convenience and said, "Radio is a great equalizer, a great unifier."

    He said, "This is the driving force behind Radio 2020. We have to remind consumers of the value of radio."

    Radio 2020 is now rolling out the "Radio Heard Here" campaign, with multiplatform promotional and educational initiatives that, Rehr said, are "design to engage virtually the entire ecosystem that radio touches." He pointed Conclave attendees to www.radioheardhere.com for tools and information and said the NAB will be distributing talking points and a fact book on "what we need to tell people about radio." The NAB will also be sending out spots to remind people of what they love about radio.

    Rehr said the response to the campaign so far has been "great" and added, "It is our hope, that armed with the facts and the good news about radio, you will join us in this campaign to reinvigorate this great business and secure a successful future."

    Moving on to regulatory issues, Rehr talked about the FCC's proposed localism regulations, which, he said, "reflect an outdated regulatory mindset." He continued, "Many have been tried and previously dismissed by the Commission as ineffective, unnecessary and too burdensome on broadcasters," pointing to the proposed local advisory boards, return to the main studio rule, and reporting ruled. "We've been through this before," Rehr said.

    He said the broadcasters already serve their local communities every day, "and we don't need the government to step in to tell us how. And NAB is driving that message home in Washington each and every day."

    On the Performance Rights Act, to impose performance royalties on radio, Rehr compared the number of House co-sponsors of the anti-royalties Local Radio Freedom Act, 220, to the 20 co-sponsors of the PRA.

    The PRA passed in the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property on Thursday, but Rehr pointed out, "There are more hurdles for the bill in the future." He urged broadcasters to ask their members of Congress to support the Local Radio Freedom Act in the House and the Senate, and said, "Momentum is on our side. The House sponsors of the performance tax bill have admitted that they do not have the support to move this legislation this year. But we must keep the pressure on. I believe with your support and action, we will be successful in this battle."

    On the long-pending merger of XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio, which the NAB has been battling, he said the decision by the Department of Justice to approve the merger was "disappointing" but added, "We are working tirelessly to ensure the FCC takes action where the Justice Department would not."

    He said, "Given the satellite radio companies systematic breaking of FCC rules over their 11 years of existence, it is unfathomable that the commission could now reward the companies with a monopoly."

    Rehr concluded, "Radio's future is bright. And if we are persistent and consistent, we will win our battles. We will realize the enormous opportunities ahead ... and, ladies and gentlemen, we will make radio new again. We will be reinvigorated. And we will prosper."

  2. crfceo is offline
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    06-27-2008, 05:23 PM #2
    Now does anyone else here make the connection between where this took place and the 5 Minnesota democrats asking foir concessions today?

  3. one959 is offline
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    06-27-2008, 05:39 PM #3
    Those democrats stink like on ice.

    Reminds me of the mob era in Chicago when 90% of the politicians and cops were all in the bag.

    Makes me wanna ALMOST as much as GTP.

  4. john is offline
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    06-27-2008, 11:55 PM #4

    Lets win one for the Gipper

    It sounds like he is a coach in the locker room trying to motivate his team because they are down 28 to 0. If they dont start to give it a 150%, they are going to lose.

    I think he knows what the result of the FCC is going to be. He knows now there is not going to be any stoping satellite radio, if they dont get their act together they are going to go the way of the dinosaur. God it was amazing he just proved Mel Karmazin point. That terrestrial is the major competetion and they will force them to improve themselves or die. He spouted the kind of content they needed was the same as satellite radio already offers. Just amazing.

    Nice post crfceo.

  5. crfceo is offline
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    06-28-2008, 09:10 AM #5
    oops! I don't want to take credit for a writers work. Here's the link I forgot to add.

    http://www.radioink.com/HeadlineEntr...&pt=todaysnews

  6. one959 is offline
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    06-28-2008, 03:51 PM #6
    He pointed to a recent NAB study that showed radio could reach 257 million mobile subscribers if FM were offered on more cell phones.
    Yeah I would pay extra for that feature on my next phone!!!

    NOOOOOOOOOT!!!

    Run my cell's batts down so I can listen to commercials.....BRILLIANT I tell you.

    And then there is the issue of reception. Plenty of rural areas where you can get cell and sat reception but miserable AM/FM. Oh wait, I know they'll offer radio thru the cell carrier. Yeah, can't wait to use my cell minutes to listen to.....COMMERCIALS.

    Like most cells don't have the option to listen to MP3's already.



    They are really getting to the point of desperation.

  7. voogru is offline
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    06-28-2008, 04:31 PM #7
    I think we should start selling Rehr dartboards.

    Complete with darts that have XM/Sirius logo wings.

  8. zcurzan is offline
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    06-29-2008, 12:23 AM #8
    I don't see how terrestrial radio can adopt the "niche channel" format that we see in Satellite radio. They have to operate in local markets, so they need to have the basic channels (country, top 40, rap, jazz, etc) If they tried to introduce something very specific it would have no listening audience and wouldn't be profitable for them.

    The reason that kind of programming is feasible in satellite technology is because on a national scale, they can get a substanial listening audience in agreggate, and even if its not hte most popular channel, they don't have to depend on its audience statistics to generate big ad bucks.

  9. Newman is offline
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    06-29-2008, 01:43 PM #9
    zcuran: that is not necessarily true. While I will not pretend to know much about the costs of broadcasting, I am curious how much it actually costs to broadcast a channel if you are already broadcasting another.

    Lets say Clear Channel has 2 stations in a market: Rock and Country. They obviously already have the equipment to broadcast, right? How much would it cost them to get another frequency and broadcast nothing but music and commercials? No actual "programming" but just a "set it and forget it" style broadcast until they get listeners to justify actual programming. I know at this point, it is not a business friendly style, but it is just to START the station and see how far it will take you. How much could that ACTUALLY COST? They already have the technical staff because of the other 2 stations, they already have the ad sales because of the other two stations... It would cost ONE person to program and ONE extra computer to run the programs... SURELY you can find enough advertising to cover THAT cost... right?

  10. zcurzan is offline
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    06-29-2008, 02:04 PM #10
    Quote Originally Posted by Newman View Post
    How much would it cost them to get another frequency and broadcast nothing but music and commercials?
    Good point, I guess I was just assuming that it would be pretty costly.

    In terms of multiple broadcasts. I guess they already do that kind of thing with the HD 1 & 2. I just don't think anyone would pay to advertise on the channel when they knew it would reach such a limited market.

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