National Public Radio, Inc.Washington, DC, United States

Clear Channel to Increase Advertising Time - Clear Channel Communications, operator of more than 1,100 radio stations, will increase the number of ad slots at peak listening hours and during its most popular shows. Clear Channel had shortened its commercial breaks in 2004 in an initially successful bid to raise ad rates and draw listeners from the Internet, iPods, and satellite radio, according to The Globe and Mail. Ad rates have since fallen, however, and a review of two years of data on ad sales and listener habits prompted the increase in the number of ad slots.

Technical Issues will Slow Merger of Sirius, XM Networks - XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio will continue to run separate networks for some time if the FCC approves their merger, according to a Sirius executive. Satellite radios used by customers of either company can't be used to listen to the combined XM and Sirius channels. The timing of a switch to a combined network depends partly on when the merged company chooses to absorb the costs, according to Public Broadcasting Report.

Ad Spending Forecast Lowered - A leading forecaster of ad spending reduced his prediction for US ad spending growth in 2008 for the fourth time. Robert J. Coen of Interpublic Group says that ad spending, the primary revenue source for radio broadcast programming, will rise 2 percent in 2008 compared to 2007. Coen initially predicted that ad spending would rise 5 percent year-over-year in 2008, but increasing weakness in the US economy led to subsequent downward revisions.