Fox/Clear Channel Deal Seen as ‘Gigantic’

Lots of attention to the Fox/Clear Channel deal this week.
The New York Times quotes analysts who say Fox becomes a significant player in radio as a result of the five-year pact. Fox replaces ABC News as provider of broadcast news material for Clear Channel stations.
Fox has said it could have as many as 500 Clear Channel affiliates by the middle of next year. Fox now has 275 affiliates total.
By comparison, ABC has 2,500 radio news affiliates. CBS has more than 500.
“You couldn’t say enough about how phenomenal this is for Fox,” the Times quoted Matt Feinberg, senior VP for radio at Zenith Media, a buying agency. “This is gigantic.”
Analysts also noted the unusual, cash-only nature of the deal, rather than a fee-and-barter arrangement.
As to criticism that the deal brings together two companies associated with conservative programming, the paper quoted Clear Channel Radio CEO John Hogan saying in an e-mail, “We don’t run our business to any political agenda – remember, we’re the largest carrier of the Air America network on our Progressive Talk stations.”