Television and Radio |

In flush times, television stations are accustomed to 30 to 40 percent profit margins. But the recession is goring even these cash cows with a 14 percent drop in advertising revenue in the first quarter of this year compared to last at Bay Area TV stations, analysts say.

Ad revenue took an even bigger tumble at Bay Area radio stations, with a 27 percent decline during the same period.

The main culprit is the imploding auto industry, which provides from 20 percent to one-third of the advertising revenue for broadcasters. With General Motors and Chrysler announcing plans last week to close 1,900 dealerships during the next year, it will take years for advertising levels to recover at TV and radio outlets. “And when it does return, it will be different,” said Robin Flynn, senior analyst at SNL Kagan, who recently conducted a nationwide study of advertising on radio and TV stations and projected the 14 percent TV decline.

“All advertising-driven media have been hit hard by the recession, not just newspapers,” Flynn said. “So companies are really trying to get creative to make up for that revenue.”

Spot TV ads drop

Broadcasters in top-10 markets like San Francisco are generally still profitable, Flynn said. Outlets in large markets are more dependent on national advertisers, so they’ve taken a bigger hit than broadcasters in smaller markets. In the first quarter of 2009, spot TV advertising by the top 200 Bay Area retailers dropped to an estimated $58 million from $62 million the year before, according to regional TV estimates by TNS Media Intelligence. And Bay Area radio stations – which collectively reach 5.5 million listeners a week – saw advertising revenue decline 27 percent in the first part of the year, according to a regional study by Miller Kaplan Arase Co.

“Never seen it this bad. Never,” said Mickey Luckoff, president and general manager of KGO-AM, who has been at the station more than three decades, much of that time with the news-talk broadcaster on top of the ratings chart. “It’s as close to a depression that I’ve seen in my lifetime.”

The downturn is even hitting new-media sites, with advertising down at some political blogs nearly 50 percent in this post-election year, and 10 to 20 percent at entertainment blogs, analysts said.

When you walk into an electronics store for the first time and gaze at the enormous array of brightly lit screens facing you, it can be easy to forget that you need more than just the television set to enjoy high-definition programming. And beyond the necessities is a world of accessories that can enhance your viewing pleasure — possibly to the point where you’ll never want to leave the house again. If your new HDTV is to be the centerpiece of your entertainment center, den or man-cave, you may want to look at a few other products to create the best viewing experience.

While the following list will help you get the most out of your HDTV, there are a few items that didn’t make the cut that still merit some attention. Here are a few accessories that you may want to consider that are not on our list:

You may need to purchase special cables to get the most out of your HDTV. Component, HDMI and S-video cables can carry high-definition signals and provide sharper, more colorful images than composite cables. You’ll find these cables come in a wide variety of lengths and prices, with premium cables costing hundreds of dollars. Within the home-theater enthusiast community, there’s a spirited debate over whether high-end cables provide a noticeably improved experience.

Video game consoles with the ability to provide high-definition graphics are a good choice. Both the Xbox 360 and the Sony PlayStation 3 are capable of displaying games in high-definition resolution with the right television set and cables. The Nintendo Wii, while an innovative and popular console, doesn’t emphasize graphics the way Microsoft and Sony’s consoles do.

To fine-tune your HDTV settings and get the best performance, you may want to invest in a calibration system or DVD. These systems guide you as you set up your television so that your picture quality is at its peak.

If you have a flat-panel television, you may want to consider a wall mount. And because some people find visible cables unpleasant to look at, you may need to research solutions such as flat wire technology.

Now let’s get to the accessories that made our list. First is the most basic — and most important — consideration you’ll need to take into account. you can buy with payday loan