[BC] the break up of the conglomerates?

[Rich Wood]

------ At 05:47 PM 7/9/2005, Donna Halper wrote: -------

>I would love to see the return of locally owned broadcasting, but I am not 
>sure we can put the toothpaste back into the tube, so to speak.  On the 
>other hand, what do you make of Sumner Redstone's comments?

Been there. Done that. Infinity has already been spun off once. I believe 
Redstone simply means that a company as large as Viacom can't be 
effectively run as a single entity. It's restructuring rather than 
divesting. It makes sense to recombine CBS and Infinity and separate them 
from the company's unrelated businesses. Infinity was spun off when CBS was 
hemorrhaging. I think it might be a downside for Infinity by adding TV and 
the Networks. Radio is usually at the bottom of the food chain. That's why 
we're constantly dealing with the rumor that ABC radio might be sold. It's 
just not important to a company the size of Disney. I'm surprised they 
didn't sell it long ago. It may be that radio is doing better than TV.

Infinity is a major player in radio. Less so now that it's run by TV folks 
rather than Mel, but still important. It was originally spun off to make 
its stock more valuable without the drag of CBS and Blockbuster.

We're seeing Clear Channel downsize with the sale of 100% of Clear Channel 
Entertainment and 10% of Clear Channel Outdoor.

I seriously doubt we'll see deconsolidation. Maybe the usual spinoff to buy 
something else. With some exceptions, I think locally owned radio is history.

Rich

Rich Wood
Rich Wood Multimedia
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