Kids Standoff in DC
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Vol. 6 No. 28 THE NEWS MAGAZINE OF THE MEDIA July 15, 1996 $2.95 MARKET INDICATORS Kids Standoff in D.C. National TV: Moving Fourth-quarter scatter is heatlng up and net- FCC deadlocked at 2-2 on new rules for educational television PAGE 2 worlks are getting CPM increases of 10-12 per- NEW MEDIA cent for inventory. Advertisers are looking to heavy up in new - A Bruising season premieres. Browser War Net Cable: Slow Most major cable net- Microsoft's Internet works are wrapping Explorer takes dead upfront efforts, with some holding more aim at Netscape 0 inventory than original- PAGE 3 ly budgeted. Smalier networks are still trying MAGAZINES harder. A late flurry of L.-J movie dollars helps. Times Mirror Spot TV: Waiting Makeover Third quarter is well below bubbly expecta- 68 years later, tions. All markets are moving slowly; drain of `Home Mechanix' Olympics money to become Today's noticeable. Soft-dr nk summer spending yet Homeowner' to start. Movies holding PAGE 5 longer in theaters could give small boost. OUT -OF -HOME Radio: Robust The Great Independence Day and The Nutty Professor Outdoors help keep movie busi- ness afloat in major As mergers mount, cities. Fast food and apparel starting to the billboard biz come on strong in is becoming Houston and Denver. CBS and Fox are getting ready to launch network the new radio Magazines: Strong PAGE 6 breakfast programs next month. To rise, local news Fashion is hot. So' re cosmetics, most 4968829> shows will have to shinePAGE 5 notably fragrances. 0 PAGE 2 http://www.mediaweek.com July 15, 1996 MEDIAWEEK Laura K. Jones JUL 2 21996 The Trouble With FCC standoff on new rules for educational television puts broadcasters in holding pattern Deadlocked FOR CHILDREN'S TV broadcast deregulation by 25 years. "This is By Alicia Mundy and Mark Gimein the worst program dictatorship idea I've seen The cold war between Federal Commu- in years," Quello toldMediaweek. nications Commission chairman Reed In turn, the staffs of Hundt and commis- Hundt and veteran commissioner Jim sioner Susan Ness said Quello and commis- Quello became a pitched battle last sioner Rachelle Chong, who also opposes sev- week. Less than a month after agree- eral provisions in the draft rules, were simply ing in principle to stronger education- delaying a substantive response to the pro- al TV requirements, Quello rejected Hundt's posal. Hundt appeared to be in no mood to proposed rules for broadcasters to follow. A bar- compromise. At a press conference last Fri- rage of heated rhetoric between Quello and day, the commissioner accused Quello of try- Hundt followed, with the National Association ing to sabotage the rules, saying that changes of Broadcasters and various members of Con- Quello has asked for would not only weaken gress joining the fray. the rules but also doom them in court. "Jim FCC officials had hoped to have an agree- wants loopholes and he wants a poison pill," ment on children's TV hammered out before Hundt said. House Commerce Committee hearings on the Later on Friday, Quello responded that subject begin on July 18 and in time for an FCC the flexibility he wants will actually allay any Reed Hundtcame to power in '94 as a champion meeting and White House summit scheduled potential constitutional problems and make of kids TV. Anything less than three scheduled for July 25. Now the four FCC commissioners the rules more likely to be upheld. hours of "good for you" television doesn't cut it. will be going to the House split on the issue. The Under Quello's chairmanship in 1991, the 2-2 standoff almost guarantees a Capitol fracas, FCC did not heavily enforce the educational with politicians trying to extract advantage asTV requirements of the 1990 Children's TV set the stage for the clash between the two(see either champions of private enterprise or de- Act, according to an FCC official. But Hundt, page 15),which came to a head last week. fenders of children. who assumed power in 1994, said he wants to put Critics of the broadcast industry pounced on Quello argued that the FCC draft rules on teeth back into the FCC implementation of that Quello's objections. "It appears Quello wants to educational TV would set the clock back on law-in effect, undoing Quello's practice. That sabotage the Children's Television Act," said Katherine Montgomery, president of the Center for Media Education. Quello's call for flexibility number, you can put it on a level playing field," with the in the new rules-generally understood to mean A Ratings Toy Story NB's handy new tool, Butensky says. an alternative to three hours of educational chil- The fact that raw cable and broadcast ratings are dren's shows each week-was shrugged off by TVB gives buyers a math lesson often placed side by side and compared directly has long the draft's proponents. "They tried [implement- been a sore point for Butensky and other broadcast exec- ing the Children's Television Act] without a min- TELEVISION /By Scotty Dupree utives. The NB has made previous efforts to get across imum standard, and it failed miserably," said Who'd have thought that a major bone of con- its point that the numbers are not comparable, to little Rep. Ed Markey, ranking Democrat on the tention between cable and broadcast tele- avail. "I have no problem with cable," Butensky says. House Telecommunications subcommittee and vision could be reduced to a tchotchke? The "Cable is our ally; they bring money into the marketplace an author of the 1990 law. In May, Markey's let- Television Bureauof Advertising last week and they do a fine job of marketing themselves." ter urging the three-hour minimum was signed mailed out to thousands of media buyers, TV stations and Joe Ostrow, president of the Cabletelevision Adver- by 224 House members. journalists a slide rule designed to create apples -to -apples tising Bureau, says the NB's new device isn't neces- Two key issues emerged during the week's comparisons of cable and broadcast ratings sary. "If [the NB] thinks that the agency community- debate. The first is the specific time require- "The problem," says TVB president Ave Butensky, "is and the press for that matter-doesn't know the ments facing broadcasters. The FCC staff pro- the misuse of data in the press" and by buyers who either difference between a coverage rating and a total uni- posal would require broadcasters to program don't understand or appreciate the difference between a verse rating, they are insulting both communities," three hours of full-length educational shows per cable and a broadcast rating. "If someone gives you a Ostrow says. -with Michael Burgi July 15, 1996 MEDIAWEEK http://www.mediaweek.com PAGE 3 Target: Netscape Microsoft readying major offensive against leading Web browser NEW MEDIA / By Cathy Taylor Kids he Internet is bracing for its own Microsoft is also likely to help promote sites Independence Day-style invasion. that participate in supporting Internet Explor- Microsoft, which has slowly been in- er. "It's a unique kind of quid pro quo, even for creasing the visibility of its Internet the Web," admitted one media executive. Explorer Web browsing software to According to Jeff Mallett, senior vp/busi- challenge market leader Netscape, is ness operations at Yahoo, Microsoft is willing about to use its deep pockets to launch a major to help market sites based on their willingness AGAINST offensive to support Explorer and other Inter- to get behind Microsoft technology. "We have net -related products. A key element of its plan been and continue to be in discussions with is to get heavily -trafficked media sites to sup- Microsoft in regard to looking at their tech- port Internet Explorer using a portfolio of rev- nology across the board here at Yahoo," Mal- enue -generating and comarketing incentives. lett said. A recent six -week deal between Microsoft is also expected to announce a Yahoo and Microsoft may be a precursor of range of development partnerships this week, marketing ventures to come for other sites. via an event called "World Wide Live" onYahoo was promoted in broadcast advertising Tuesday. Microsoft representatives would notby Microsoft, getting a high level of mass comment. The media site effort will support media exposure. Still, Mallitt stressed that the release of Internet Explorer 3.0, an im-both the Internet Explorer and Netscape soft- proved version of the current software, slatedware will remain available on the Yahoo site, for an August release. (Netscape will proba- as long as consumers want both browsers. bly release its Navigator Netscape hasalso ) been meetingwith "They're trying to get major Websitesin Microsoft to be the pre- recent weeks, trying to ferred Web browser of ensure that it continues James Quello has spent two decades fighting some of the major sites," its dominance of the regulat on. Did he really change his mind on kids? said one media executive Web -browsing software 0 is he bobbing and weaving his way to victory? with knowledge of the market. Netscape now Microsoft's strategy. The has about 85 percent of company is said to have the market, with Inter- week,allowing only rare exceptions. Other pro- initiatedtalks with a net Explorer at around posals, including Quello's, would let stations number of high -profile seven percent. While replace much of the programming requirement Websites,including Net-scape obviously has with other types of community service. ESPNet SportsZone, a substantial lead and The other major issue is the methods used by searchengineYahoo, can match Microsoft's the FCC to judge which programs are deemed HotwiredandTimeWaron the Web: Microsoft takespitch in areas such as "educational." The staff proposes using inde- Warner's Pathfinder, toon Netscape in a browser battle development, it would pendent groups to evaluateplogiams, then tap- support Internet Explorer.