Thursday, January 13, 2011

Pandora Takes On CBS Radio...

Pandora's push into the drive-time radio market presents a real threat to CBS Radio, according to Forbes. "Traditionally, this market has been dominated by larger radio services like CBS, but can the stalwarts withstand Pandora's push?" Forbes price estimate for CBS shares stands at $19.72, which is slightly ahead of the current market price. Forbes estimates that "should CBS' radio maket share decline by 6% by the end of our forecast period (vs. our 8% forecast) there could be roughly 5% downside to our price estimate, pushing our number just under market price." The ever bullish Les Moonves can't like that forecast...

Forbes says "Pandora has a crititcal edge on traditional radio players through its advertising capabilities." According to Ford's digital marketing manager, Pandora can use several metrics like age, gender or musical taste of the user to increase the effectiveness of advertising. In 2011, Ford is expected to launch cars with embedded software that will operate Pandora through voice controls. Mercedes-Benz is also promoting Pandora's radio service in its cars. CBS hasn't been able to stop Pandora's progress with Last.fm, owned by the network and is not likely to do so.

Mel Karmazin, Sirius XM Radio CEO has always claimed that Pandora is not his competition. Maybe he's right. Apparently, the radio conglomerates have more to worry about than he does...

10 Timeline Memories:
1.1957] Birth of the Frisbee: Wham-O begins producing “Pluto Platters”. You might know them better as Frisbees…
2.1966] Stork sighting: Elizabeth Montgomery’s character Samantha on “Bewitched” gives birth to Tabitha...
3.1979] Mysterious Death: Singer Donny Hathaway dies after either jumping or falling from the 15th floor of a Manhattan hotel. Hathaway was just 34…
4.1982] This is a joke?: An Air Florida 737 crashes into Washington, D.C.’s 14th Street Bridge in a blinding snowstorm. The plane goes down in the Potomac River killing 78. Howard Stern gets fired when asking, on the air, when the next flight was scheduled to arrive at the 14th Street Bridge…
5.1982] Going to Hall: Hank Aaron and Frank Robinson are elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame...
6.1989] Guilty as charged: Subway vigilante Bernhard H. Goetz is sentenced to one year in prison for gun possession but is freed the following September…
7.1990] This I swear: L. Douglas Wilder takes office as the nation’s first elected black governor (Virginia)…
8.2000] Musical Chairs: Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates steps aside as chief executive and promotes president Steve Ballmer to the position…
9.2003] Busted: Pete Townshend of The Who is arrested on suspicion of possessing indecent images of children, which he denies. He will later be cleared of those charges…
10.2010] A great voice is stilled: Teddy Pendergrass dies of respiratory failure at the age of 59. The former lead voice of Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, who had a successful solo career in the late 70s was paralyzed from the waist down following an auto accident in 1982...

Music Memories:

"Happy Birthday...happy birthday":
William Hung (28), Orlando Bloom (34), Patrick Dempsey (45), Julia Louis-Dreyfus (50), Richard ("Bull") Moll (68), Billy ("Father Knows Best") Gray (73), Rip Taylor (77) and Francis Sternhagen (81)...

Timeline Countdown: 2 days until the NFL Division Playoffs, 5 days until MLK Day, 10 days until Conference championships, 24 days until Super Bowl XLV, 31 days until pitchers and catchers report & 32 days until Valentine's Day...

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