San Antonio - Clear Channel Radio (NYSE: CCU) on Tuesday announced the launch of erockster, a site that offers a collection of on-air, online and on-demand music content, along with community features. The site, produced by Eric Szmanda -- the actor who plays Greg Sanders on "CSI" -- launched last weekend with a stream of songs from artists that have played the Coachella music festival in California. As of May 2, erockster's content will also begin streaming from Los Angeles (KYSR-FM), Washington D.C. (WWDC-FM) and Philadelphia (WRFF-FM), and a two-hour syndicated show will also be offered on FM stations.

New York - Mobile entertainment content distributor Thumbplay announced on Monday that it will create customized mobile content stores for the websites of more than 650 local Clear Channel Radio (NYSE: CCU) stations. New York-based Thumbplay has already created mobile sites for more than 100 radio stations, which allow listeners to purchase ringtones based on songs they hear on-air.

With a possible decision looming on December 18 on the Chairman's proposal to loosen the newspaper-broadcast cross-ownership rules (see our summary here and here), the FCC this week granted two applications involving the sales of the Tribune Company and of the Clear Channel television stations, where the decisions focused on the application of the multiple ownership rules - and where the Commission granted multiple waivers of various aspects of those rules - some on a permanent basis and many only temporarily. And, in the process, both of the Commission's Democratic Commissioners complained about the apparent prejudgment of the cross-ownership rules and one complained about the role of private equity in broadcast ownership. Both decisions are also interesting in their treatment of complicated ownership structures and, at least under this administration, evidence the Commission's desire to stay out of second guessing these structures.

Chicago - Clear Channel Radio said on Thursday that it has teamed with cable TV provider Comcast and Music Choice to launch a music video countdown show hosted by local Chicago radio personalities. "Video 6 Pack" will be hosted by Crazy Howard McGee or Tony Sculfield, both of Clear Channel's WGCI-FM, and will be offered on Music Choice's free video-on-demand service for Chicago-area Comcast subscribers.