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Loss of small market radio

Posted: Sat Jun 08, 2019 5:48 am
by brianroth
https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radi ... -with-them

Here they are, struggling along:

http://www.willcoxradio.com/

Glad that as a youngster in early 1970's that I bailed out of the biz.

Sad.

Bri

Re: Loss of small market radio

Posted: Sat Jun 08, 2019 4:23 pm
by billshurv
Whilst personally not a listener to local radio I am saddened by these stories. As a cycle commuter for most of my working life I haven't listened to the radio on the way into work and back I am painfully aware that the parish magazine is now the only source of local information and that's only once a month. It is a big loss. For small town america I can understand its a much bigger loss.

Re: Loss of small market radio

Posted: Sat Jun 08, 2019 8:05 pm
by mediatechnology
Local radio's fate is so closely intertwined with the demise of locally-owned retail.

Syndicated programming brings bartered advertising.
(Barter is the practice of the station providing time for the syndicator's spots at no charge in exchange for the content.)

If the syndicated programming brings a large local audience that's great, but without a local business to sell local spots to there's no money to be made.

Agency buys for national spots placed locally could help, but the agencies have a bi-coastal mindset and are reluctant to place a buy in a small-market station in red fly-over country. It's beneath them even if the spots are cheaper than dirt.

(Ad agency local buys and network buys are why you sometimes hear the same spot twice in a row.)

So even with no-cost programming there's often not enough money coming in to even power the transmitter and the stations go dark.

One of my clients used to do the Motel 6 spots with "We'll leave the light on for you" Tom Bodette.
(They were cut here in Dallas with Tom dialing in by ISDN from Alaska.)

Unfortunately many AM stations won't be leaving the light on for us...
It's a huge loss.