Public radio stations are engaged in an unprecedented expansion program, the report notes, with broadcasters buying new stations faster than ever. From 1998 through 2000, only one public radio station changed hands per year, but in 2002 six did so. This year promises even more activity, with four deals already pending. On a small scale, the M&A…
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Mergers and acquisitions are among the oldest tactics for commercial ventures that want to increase their power and presence. They are also increasingly popular in the non-commercial sector, according to a March 14 Associated Press report.
Now that satellite radio services XM Radio and Sirius Radio have their "birds" in position, they are encountering a slew of unexpected roadblocks here on earth. Among the problems: loss of signal in tunnels and urban canyons, interference with wireless communications, and a lighting technology that emits strong radio waves close to the broadcasters' assigned bands.
The satellite services have discovered that drivers lose their signals when they enter tunnels or when driving among tall buildings. To overcome this, XM and Sirius plan to deploy terrestrial "repeaters," local transmitters…
John Lennon and the Plastic Ono Band's 1971 album Imagine has now been remixed and remastered at Abbey Road Studios in London, supervised by Yoko Ono, and will be reissued in a new version on vinyl, CD, and cassette by Capitol Records on March 28. The re-release precedes the April 11 release of a behind-the-scenes DVD documentary, Gimme Some Truth—The Making of John Lennon's Imagine Album, which attempts to examine the creative process that took place at Lennon's home recording studio during the legendary 1971 sessions.
At the beginning of Gimme Some Truth, Yoko Ono explains that "it was…
Digital perfectionists Meridian obviously pulled out all the stops on their new flagship speaker product, the DSP8000. Checking in at $45,000/pair, the eight-driver Digital Active design is expected to hit the market sometime in March. Meridian claims the three-way powered speaker has a 24/96 digital input on the back and processes the digital signal internally with two 100MHz DSP engines operating with 24/192 resolution. Also on display were the new DSP33s, also Digital Active but more modestly priced at $4500/pair.
MartinLogan had their new $10,000/pair Prodigy electrostatic speaker on…
Making good on a promise reported back in December of last year, Threshold Audio has returned the Threshold brand to the market with a new stereo power amplifier.
Dubbed the Stasis 7.0, the amplifier is a 100Wpc/8 ohms, class-A powerhouse based on the T200 design. The first production units were shipped "to a major recording label headquartered in New York," stated company principal Chris English. "We are now in full production of the Stasis 7.0, and ready to accept orders." Retail price is $7000.
Owners of original T200s can have their amplifiers brought up to Stasis 7.0 level at…
Hachette Filipacchi Magazines (HFM) announced last week that two of its titles, Stereo Review and Video magazines, would be merged to form a new magazine titled Stereo Review's Sound & Vision. According to the statement, the new title will be launched in February 1999, with the premiere issue to coincide with next year's Consumer Electronics Show.
"HFM's strategic decision to combine Stereo Review and Video is driven by the rapid rate at which once-distant technologies in the consumer electronics industry are converging," said David J. Pecker, President and CEO of HFM. HFM currently…
DVD-Audio has been struggling to find its footing for three years now; the average consumer on the street has very likely never even heard of it. Watermarked discs, confusing playback menus, competition from SACD, and a dearth of titles haven't helped, but perhaps the biggest problem DVD-A faces is simply getting the word out.
In an effort to make a little more noise, Warner Music Group, Silverline Records, BMG, EMI Recorded Music, 5.1 Entertainment Group, Meridian Audio, Dolby Laboratories, and Panasonic have formed the DVD-Audio Marketing Council.
According to the group, the DVD-A…
In a move that acknowledges the increasing convergence of consumer electronics and computer technology, Sony Electronics has reorganized its US sales and marketing structure, and will emphasize digital performance in its new line of products. Foremost among these developments is Sony's recent announcement that its new line of audio and video products will prominently feature its VAIO personal computers. The notebook computers have editing features for video and motion-picture technology, and are quite popular in Japan, where around 100,000 have been sold.
The reorganization will "…
Sad news this week: We heard from Ken Kessler of the passing of legendary UK engineer Stanley Kelly, who died in his sleep on November 13, after suffering a stroke the previous week. Stan would have been 89 next month. While he was, of course, the "Kelly" of the classic Kelly Ribbon Tweeter, he was also one of the founders of Hi-Fi News and was the only person to have been listed on the English magazine's masthead since Vol.1 No.1, the June 1956 issue. In recent years, Stan had developed a series of high-sensitivity speakers for UK manufacturer Musical Fidelity.
Stan had one of the…
The world is mourning the passing of Yehudi Menuhin. The 82-year-old violinist, conductor, author, educator, and humanitarian died of heart failure at Berlin's Martin Luther Hospital on Friday, March 7. He was in Berlin to conduct performances of Brahms and Mendelssohn by the Warsaw Symphony Orchestra.
The son of Ukrainian-born immigrants, Menuhin was born in New York and grew up in San Francisco, where by age four he had begun studying the violin under child-prodigy specialist Sigmund Anker. His public debut took place at the age of seven, when he performed with the San Francisco…