800.275.2840 MORE NEWS» insideradio.com THE MOST TRUSTED NEWS IN RADIO MONDAY, MARCH 30, 2015 FCC turns to electronic ears as option for closing field offices. One worry for broadcasters assessing plans under consideration by the Federal Communications Commission to close two- thirds of its field offices is the potential inference problems that would go undetected. While few specifics have been released so far on how the agency will move forward, Office of Engineering and Technology chief Julius Knapp offered a clue during his testimony before Congress last week. “We would be looking at alternative ways that we could more efficiently locate and diagnose the interference cases,” he said, explaining, “There are tools that are available now to actually have sensors in place and do the outreach.” Those electronic monitors would help the FCC diagnose a problem in a market, with “strike teams” ready to be deployed into a city to help resolve an issue. Chairman Tom Wheeler defended the proposal during several appearances on Capitol Hill during the past two weeks, insisting that the agency would still be able to address interference complaints within 24 hours through a combination of technology and fast-response teams. “We believe we can do this without a diminution in quality,” he told a House hearing. The tentative outline is to shut all but eight of the FCC’s current 24 field offices, however Wheeler has not said how much money that move would save. The National Association of Broadcasters has called the idea a “potentially troubling development” that would undercut the FCC’s ability to police interference problems. Wheeler has said he has little choice. “Do I want to close these offices? I don’t,” he told lawmakers. “But I’ve got a fixed amount of dollars to work with so the question becomes how we can become more efficient — and that’s what we’re trying to do.” FM chips in phones won’t get any help from FCC’s wireless chief. The FCC’s top wireless regulator says if consumers want FM on their smartphones, market forces should get the job done, not the government. Wireless Telecommunications Bureau chief Roger Sherman told the House Communications and Technology Subcommittee that he’s on the same page as FCC chair Tom Wheeler. “He thinks the market seems to be working and if consumers want their FM chips, they can let the carriers know, and the market should solve that problem,” Sherman said during a hearing last week. His comments followed testimony Wheeler gave lawmakers earlier in the week, backing the hands-off approach. “FM chips are a good idea and they are in an increasing number of phones,” Wheeler said. The National Association of Broadcasters has stopped short of seeking a mandate but it’s been urging the FCC to use its position to help push wireless carriers along. Stations have also begun airing the NextRadio-produced commercials educating the public that most carriers are going out of their way to turn off the feature. The campaign is also suggesting they contact Congress and the FCC, a move that didn’t go unnoticed by Wheeler. “I think this is something that is being resolved in the marketplace and we ought to monitor that and watch what happens,” he told Congress. Waiting period rules remain tight, so Townsquare Media can’t keep three Iowa FMs. Working with Nielsen, Townsquare Media revived the previously dissolved Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA market with the Spring 2014 survey. It created a distinction from the Cedar Rapids market 50 miles down Interstate 380. It was also designed to allow the company to keep three FMs carved out from an over-sized Cedar Rapids cluster. But the FCC has thrown up a road block saying Townsquare didn’t comply with the required two-year waiting period. According to the rulebook, the purpose of the waiting period is to reflect actual market conditions and to keep companies from trying to circumvent the cap on radio ownership. Townsquare had sought a waiver, arguing it didn’t manipulate the Nielsen boundaries. Instead it said it simply restored a market that had [email protected] | 800.275.2840 PG 1 NEWS insideradio.com MONDAY, MARCH 30, 2015 existed from 1970 to 2012 — and only disappeared when rival Bahakel Communications dropped the ratings service. But Audio Division chief Peter Doyle concludes that although the Waterloo metro existed for decades, it would be impossible for the FCC to apply a “clear, predictable waiver standard” if regulators began trying to get inside the head of what motivates a company to buy or cancel the ratings. “We do not believe Townsquare has presented a compelling case for a waiver,” he concludes. And Doyle says considering Townsquare actively sought out the resurrection of the Waterloo market, it’s the exact type of situation the FCC had it mind when it adopted the two-year waiting period. The FCC gave Townsquare two years to find buyers for CHR “Q-92.3” KKHQ-FM, classic rock KCRR (97.7) and country “K-98.5” KOEL-FM as part of its 2012 multimarket deal with Cumulus Media. So unless an extension is granted, Townsquare will have no choice but to sell. FCC weighs whether to put a stop to market definition changes for ownership caps. Much of the attention in the proposed 2014 media ownership review has been on cross-ownership regulations. But one bit of potential rule tightening under consideration would make station repatriations such as the one proposed by Townsquare Media a thing of the past. The FCC is looking at whether it should require a station to change its city of license or undergo other facility changes in order to qualify. “This clarification safeguards the local radio ownership limits from manipulation based on [Nielsen] market definition,” the FCC says in its proposal. Current rules are built off what the ratings company says is or isn’t in a metro, limited only by a two-year waiting period that regulators have said in the past was enough to weed out anyone trying to rig the system. Some radio groups have other problems with the Nielsen-based rules, such as treating a big Class C signal the same as a Class A which has a smaller footprint. Midwest department store shifts dollars to radio. The Middle America department store chain Gordmans Stores is the latest retailer to say it is shifting dollars out of print as it weans itself from Sunday circular inserts. CEO Andy Hall told investors last week the retailer has just hired a new advertising agency and, as a result, won’t spend as much on newspaper space. Instead, he said it will shift dollars to radio and television. Print will still be on the buy, but to a lesser degree. “We probably won’t kickoff a new campaign until midyear, but I think that’s an exciting opportunity for us,” he said on a conference call. Gordmans has 99 locations in 22 states, with plans to open six more this year while exiting the Chicago market. Hall said the new ad agency has begun doing research and interviewing customers as it fine-tunes the marketing strategy. One decision that has already been made is to put more focus on what Hall said are “specific natural shopping periods” for a department store, such as Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and back-to-school. But at the same time it will continue marketing through the year. “Our everyday value price is the cornerstone of our business model,” Hall said. “And I think we got a little astray from that model in the past and I think we will get back on board this year.” The Power of Radio: ‘souper’ results for fast casual restaurant chain. The parent company of the Souplantation and Sweet Tomatoes restaurant chains is on the air with a fresh ad campaign and a new voice. Patrick Warburton, former star of “Seinfeld” and “Rules of Engagement,” is voicing the spots that are now airing in the Los Angeles, Orange County, Inland Empire and San Diego markets. In a spot entitled “Once Upon a Tomato,” he tells a tale of the brief life and “sacrificial death” of a fresh tomato. In his signature distinctive deep voice, the ad ends, “If a chopped up, pureed and simmered Tomato could smile — he would.” Up next: broccoli is the star. The root (pun intended) of the ads are the longtime friendship of Garden Fresh Restaurant Corp.’s new CEO John Morberg and Warburton, who were classmates in elementary school. So far, Souplantation/Sweet Tomatoes says in the markets where the spots have run, sales have risen nearly 5%. San Diego- based Garden Fresh operates 128 restaurants in 15 states. Bressler: iHeartMedia may not be done selling. A recent deal to sell 411 broadcast towers for as much as $400 million is the biggest-ticket sale by iHeartMedia to date, bringing its sale of company holdings to nearly $800 million during the past few years. COO Rich Bressler told analysts recently that they shouldn’t be surprised if the company does some more [email protected] | 800.275.2840 PG 2 NEWS insideradio.com MONDAY, MARCH 30, 2015 trimming. “We are continuing to evaluate our business and asset portfolios to look for ways to optimize our assets,” he said during a conference call. The tower sale to Vertical Bridge — which is expected to close in the coming days — joins a list of sales that includes iHeart’s San Antonio offices, a minority stake in Sirius XM Radio, stakes in Australian and New Zealand radio networks, and some Hong Kong outdoor holdings.