This is the reason local broadcasters are coming to Philadelphia in two weeks – to plan a strategy for a radio industry that will see one and likely two major consolidations up ahead.
CBS/Entercom will close fourth quarter and like it or not everything will change as the big get bigger and attempt to dictate the play in radio.
And Cumulus is a merger target for another company – Beasley, Townsquare – someone looking to get bigger and keep up with the majors.
To make things more challenging two bankruptcies are also ahead -- iHeart around the end of 2017 or 2018 and Cumulus from now until next year. These bankruptcies will have an adverse affect on good local operators faced with the desperation of radio groups with nothing left to lose.
If you’re a solid, local operator, this is no time to sit idly by so I thought you’d like to see the blueprint for local radio in this time of great change.
- Rate Protection -- How to keep your rates up and away from the market forces that most certainly will drive them down to sell volume not rate.
- Premium Rates -- How to create longer spots that will earn premiums and avoid the shorter/cheaper trend consolidators have adopted to get business at any cost.
- Less Advertiser Churn -- A proven way to get your best advertisers to pay more if you have a way to test their commercials for effectiveness and help them produce spots that will resonate with audiences. No one is better at this than Jerry Lee who does it year after year at More FM in Philly. Lee will explain how to test the spots, where to have them tested in a cost-effective way and share his secrets for creating spots that get the best results.
- Audience Development -- How to change the way radio engages audiences because, to be sure, consolidators will be taking an even cheaper route to programming and when that affects the FM dial in your market, it affects you.
- Morning Show Modernization -- How to invent the morning show of the future before we lose the one thing even Millennials love about radio. They want new features, new hosts, a more feminine empowered show. Believe me, consolidators are in no position to do this but independent, local operators are if they are ready to go to school on what we are now learning.
- Off-Hour Revenue Development -- How to generate revenue between those “dark” hours of 7pm until 5am. Most stations just break even or lose money in these time periods, but our blueprint will show some talk shows, on-air podcasts and other strategies to generate premium rates without having to attract more audience. It’s a play for P1s after dark and we’ll brainstorm together on these ideas and concepts.
- The Millennial Game Plan -- How to get Millennials to listen. I have asked Morley Winograd, expert and co-author of three books on Millennials to address what radio needs to do to win this 18-34 year old in-demo generation over. Only you will have access to this critical material and the brainstorming we will do based on it.
- Reinventing Digital --- The best way to make money from digital. Digital has been a disappointment. Groups who report increasing digital revenue are also making up what they call digital and often it is simple spot revenue. But short-form video is an inexpensive and immediately profitable pursuit for most independent stations so be prepared for learning what it takes and how that turns into real revenue rather quickly.
- New Trend Watch -- How to avoid the mistakes consolidators are making on podcasting. Yes, it is growing in popularity. No, it isn’t about to be monetized very soon. So I have asked program director turned podcast expert Steven Goldstein to put together a “Jerry Talk” on this. I have seen it and you will want to take lots of notes. Podcasting has a role but not the one consolidators think it has.
I hope you’ll consider taking a seat at the table for this illuminating and useful brainstorming session designed for local operators facing more competition from consolidators.
Because the teacher and the taught together do the teaching at my events, this seminar will not be available on tape or by stream.
A little over 2 weeks until the conference.
The full agenda, topics, drilled-down details, times, location, costs, discounts and hotel choices are available here.
Help? Please call Cheryl or Jerry Del Colliano at (480) 998-9898.
Please join us for this transformative experience.
Recent Posts
- The Rise of Digital Agencies
- The ‘Enshittification’ of Radio – Hedge Funds Next Moves
- My NYU Students Are About to Surprise Media Execs
- Beasley Kicks a Beasley to the Curb
- SiriusXM’s Last Chance
- iHeart Lenders Turn on Each Other
- Podcasting is Becoming Streaming Music
- The Efficacy of Pop-Up Stations
- Audacy’s Turnaround Hopes
- Radio’s Self-Inflicted Wounds