Emmis chief, intent on L.A. Growth, eyes Infinity assets. (Media).THE chairman and chief executive of Emmis Communications Emmis Communications (NASDAQ: EMMS) is a media conglomerate based in Indianapolis, Indiana. The company owns radio and television stations and magazines in the United States, Belgium, Hungary and Slovakia. Corp. was in town recently and making it quite clear that the Indianapolis-based company is likely to become a far bigger player in the L.A. radio market. Jeffrey Smulyan said that Emmis is looking to own five FM radio stations locally. "Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. is our absolutely top market," he said. Emmis currently owns two L.A. stations: KPWR-FM (105.9) and KZLA-FM (93.9). Overall, it has 21 radio stations, 15 television stations and seven city magazines (including Los Angeles magazine) nationwide. The company also owns two stations in Argentina and a few radio networks. It may have an opening locally since Viacom Inc. now owns KCBS-TV (Channel 2) and KCAL-TV (Channel 9), and its Infinity infinity, in mathematics, that which is not finite. A sequence of numbers, a1, a2, a3, … , is said to "approach infinity" if the numbers eventually become arbitrarily large, i.e. Broadcasting Corp. subsidiary may have to give up one of its seven local radio stations in order to be in compliance with Federal Communications Commission Federal Communications Commission (FCC), independent executive agency of the U.S. government established in 1934 to regulate interstate and foreign communications in the public interest. rules. Smulyan said he would be glad to buy any of Infinity's local FM stations. Asked if he had presented Infinity with an offer, Smulyan said people in the radio industry "talk every day." The company's results in L.A. have been mixed. While hip-hop station KPWR is top-rated, country music outlet KZLA continues to struggle. "KZLA has always been a challenge," Smulyan said. However, the station recently has shown some signs of promise and Smulyan plans to give the format another year or two to prove itself. While the company's stock took a plunge The term Plunge has multiple meanings:
Smulyan said Emmis would spin off its TV group off later this year in order to appease ap·pease tr.v. ap·peased, ap·peas·ing, ap·peas·es 1. To bring peace, quiet, or calm to; soothe. 2. To satisfy or relieve: appease one's thirst. 3. its investors who want to focus on radio, an industry with higher cash-flow ratios. "Right now, Wall Street loves radio and hates television," he said. Yet Smulyan noted that advertising revenues have been rebounding more quickly in the TV group, which is made up of network affiliates in smaller markets. Staff reporter Claudia Peschiutta can be reached at (323) 549-5225 ext. 229, or at cpeschlutta@labusinessjournal.com |
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