6-12-14
Matt Sunshine is back for another Friday Sales Meeting Podcast. We have a new sales meeting podcast coming Monday morning via the Radio Ink morning headlines. Matt Sunshine is a regular Radio Ink writer and EVP at the Center for Sales Strategy. Our podcast will focus on how your salespeople can generate quality appointments. If you want it this weekend so you can use it Monday morning, send an e-mail to edryantheeditor@gmail.com.
9-4-2013
A friend of mine forwarded a post that someone wrote about a big buy that went south, even after the client had initially said ?Yes.? The problem was that one of the salespeople on the call wouldn?t shut up. She got so excited about what she was selling that she extended the length of the meeting by nearly an hour. She was so wrapped up in details that she never noticed the panicked expressions on the faces of her teammates. In the end, the client, besieged with too much information, declined the offer.
I have found myself in a similar situation on more than one occasion. In one case, I was pitching the media buyer for a large soft-drink account. He said yes to my proposals to buy all of our stations. I got up to shake his hand and leave, but my sales manager who accompanied me on the call, insisted on showing the client reams of additional ratings data and color graphs. Again I tried to leave, but the manager wouldn?t stop talking (he had spent a lot of time on his presentation and he wanted to pontificate on every page). Suddenly, he showed a graph that illustrated a demographic weakness with one of our stations. The client changed his mind and decided not to buy that station. I was livid, as it cost me 30 percent of the original buy.
Another time, as a very new seller, I was pitching the owner of a local office products business. I showed him three proposals: high, medium, and low. To my surprise, he opted for the biggest schedule. I remember thinking that I should leave now, but instead I engaged him in further conversation. In the middle of a story, he cut me off and said he?d feel more comfortable with the medium-sized package. Instead of leaving at that point, I stayed, thinking that perhaps I could get him to change his mind. Well, he did. While I was talking, he talked himself into taking the smallest proposal. Geez! I finally got out with what was left of my original proposal and with my tail between my legs. Had I stayed longer, I would have probably wound up owing him make-goods and a free remote.
Those two very expensive lessons taught me this. When the client says yes, it?s time to get up and leave, because buyer?s remorse sets in quickly. To heck with the rest of your proposal. GET UP AND LEAVE. I?ll stand up and say, ?Thank you, I?m going back to the station now so I can lock these dates and production times in for you.? And you leave. Right then. I?m out like a fat kid in dodge ball. No sticking around. No joking, no long goodbyes, BAM, you?re gone. Or, you might say, ?I know how busy you are. Thank you for your time and thank you for your business. I?m headed back to the station so I can take care of this for you immediately.? And then, you leave. As quickly as possible. As they say, ?Quitting while you?re ahead isn?t quitting.?
Paul Weyland is the local direct broadcast sales trainer. He helps radio and television sales staffs (and their clients) increase their revenues. Paul can be reached at 512 236 1222 or buy books and compact discs at www.paulweyland.com or on www.amazon.com
(9/6/2013 12:51:12 AM)
5N5oUU I really liked your blog article.Really thank you! Much obliged.
(9/4/2013 9:41:32 AM)
Indeed; it's seldom a good to speak past the period.
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9-4-2013
A friend of mine forwarded a post that someone wrote about a big buy that went south, even after the client had initially said ?Yes.? The problem was that one of the salespeople on the call wouldn?t shut up. She got so excited about what she was selling that she extended the length of the meeting by nearly an hour. She was so wrapped up in details that she never noticed the panicked expressions on the faces of her teammates. In the end, the client, besieged with too much information, declined the offer.
I have found myself in a similar situation on more than one occasion. In one case, I was pitching the media buyer for a large soft-drink account. He said yes to my proposals to buy all of our stations. I got up to shake his hand and leave, but my sales manager who accompanied me on the call, insisted on showing the client reams of additional ratings data and color graphs. Again I tried to leave, but the manager wouldn?t stop talking (he had spent a lot of time on his presentation and he wanted to pontificate on every page). Suddenly, he showed a graph that illustrated a demographic weakness with one of our stations. The client changed his mind and decided not to buy that station. I was livid, as it cost me 30 percent of the original buy.
Another time, as a very new seller, I was pitching the owner of a local office products business. I showed him three proposals: high, medium, and low. To my surprise, he opted for the biggest schedule. I remember thinking that I should leave now, but instead I engaged him in further conversation. In the middle of a story, he cut me off and said he?d feel more comfortable with the medium-sized package. Instead of leaving at that point, I stayed, thinking that perhaps I could get him to change his mind. Well, he did. While I was talking, he talked himself into taking the smallest proposal. Geez! I finally got out with what was left of my original proposal and with my tail between my legs. Had I stayed longer, I would have probably wound up owing him make-goods and a free remote.
Those two very expensive lessons taught me this. When the client says yes, it?s time to get up and leave, because buyer?s remorse sets in quickly. To heck with the rest of your proposal. GET UP AND LEAVE. I?ll stand up and say, ?Thank you, I?m going back to the station now so I can lock these dates and production times in for you.? And you leave. Right then. I?m out like a fat kid in dodge ball. No sticking around. No joking, no long goodbyes, BAM, you?re gone. Or, you might say, ?I know how busy you are. Thank you for your time and thank you for your business. I?m headed back to the station so I can take care of this for you immediately.? And then, you leave. As quickly as possible. As they say, ?Quitting while you?re ahead isn?t quitting.?
Paul Weyland is the local direct broadcast sales trainer. He helps radio and television sales staffs (and their clients) increase their revenues. Paul can be reached at 512 236 1222 or buy books and compact discs at www.paulweyland.com or on www.amazon.com
(9/4/2013 9:41:32 AM)
Indeed; it's seldom a good to speak past the period.
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7-25-13
We have a new sales meeting Podcast coming Monday morning with The Commercial Professor Tim Burt (pictured). One of Tim's favorite lines is, "99% of all advertising is a waste of money." In our podcast Tim explains that position and he discusses why most commercials are worthless and how you can write better copy for your clients. If you want the podcast this weekend so you can prepare for your Monday morning sales meeting, and before everyone else hears it, e-mail edryantheeditor@gmail.com
3-21-13
Yesterday, we held our weekly national sales podcast on the topic of developing superstar salespeople. Our guest was Wayne Ens, President of ENS Media, a company that focuses on helping salespeople sell more radio. Next Thursday at 11 a.m., our special guest will be Jon Horton, the author of the brand new book "The 22 Unbreakable Laws of Selling." Here's a link to this week's PODCAST.
9-4-2012
Now that a court has ruled in favor of Emmis, the company will hold a shareholder meeting Tuesday at Emmis headquarters in Indianapolis. The meeting is being held so shareholders can vote on amendments to the preferred stock. The first of seven amendments to be considered would be to remove Emmis' obligation to pay preferred shareholders back dividends. Emmis sued the preferred shareholders hoping for the result that was handed down by the judge on Friday before moving forward with the vote that will take place today.
A majority of the Emmis Board believes the amendments will have a positive impact on Emmis' capital structure. It's been reported that preferred shareholders are owed about $34 million in dividends, dating back to 2008. More specifically, according to an SEC filing, the Emmis Board believes the amendments will provide Emmis with greater flexibility in recapitalizing and improving its balance sheet; enhance the value of the common stock and reduce debt. Emmis has been aggressively selling radio stations and its magazine business to reduce debt.
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We have another fresh sales meeting Podcast ready for you to download Monday morning. If you are interested in receiving the link this afternoon in time for your Monday morning sales meeting send an e-mail to edryantheeditor@gmail.com. This week we interviewed Tom Talbott of Talbott Marketing. Talbott once worked in radio, and was very successful, before launching his own company to super-serve clients. Also, be sure to check radioink.com all weekend long. We'll be updating your radio news headlines throughout the weekend.
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8/15/2012Like it or not, until radio changes the way it is rated, agencies all across the country are going to set the rules for how much money they spend with us. You can play the CPP and added value game their way or you walk and leave money on the table. To at least be considered for more of a buy it's important to know what these agencies are thinking of us as a medium and you as a rep. What do they expect from you and are you delivering that? Why are we treated differently than TV? How can you really pitch them digital so you are getting additional money and not just bringing a digital order back to the station that you would have gotten with spots anyway.
In this weeks Radio Ink Sales Meeting Podcast, we spoke with Kara Hocking, the owner of Hocking Media in Detroit. Hocking spent over 25 years at an advertising agency in Troy before opening up her own shop in 2008. Her accounts included Blue Cross Blue Shield and Comercia which accounted for over $30 Million annually.
In our interview Hocking says she uses radio to great success for her clients because of radio's ability to engage the consumer. On what radio salespeople need to improve, she doesn't hesitate, "customer service." She believes radio plays too many commercials, it's more difficult to track than Pandora, Clear Channel should sell ads on iHeartradio should sell ads and reps do not understand how to speak the language of digital.
Here is our interview with Kara Hocking of Hocking Media.
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7-24-2012
It's never a good thing when meetings are held behind closed doors. That lack of transparency leaves people at the mercy of however the meeting participants want to craft a headline. And, when the government is involved in a closed door meeting everyone should be twice as skeptical. For whatever reason, the FM Chip issue was the focus of an FCC closed door meeting last Friday and even the NAB was unwilling to discuss what went on.
Closed door meetings about the FM Chip just give off the impression that the radio industry is trying to sneak this through. And it appears, despite the positive spin coming from our industry, many cell phone manufacturers, including Apple, are opposed to government even getting close to this debate.
A Wireless Association letter to the FCC, praising the commission for "a light regulatory touch" includes signatures from Apple, Motorola, RIM and Samsung. "The Wireless Association and the undersigned manufacturers, who supply over 85 percent of mobile wireless broadband devices to consumers in the United States and the vast majority of devices to the world, write to underscore their strong concern with any intervention in the innovation, design and features of wireless devices in the dynamic wireless ecosystem. This Commission is well aware of the United States? lead in driving innovations in wireless devices, operating systems, applications, and networks."
The letter also urges the FCC to leave this decision up to the consumer, a decision the Wireless Association believes has already been made. And, they are correct on the consumer front. The radio industry hasn't really produced any evidence there is an outcry for the FM chip. "The fact is, demand for FM-enabled handsets in the U.S. has been underwhelming. The market should drive feature decisions rather than a separate, self-interested industry," the Wireless Industry letter to the FCC stated.
The radio industry originally wanted the government to mandate the FM chip. They have since reversed course on that approach and are now pushing the chip as a safety issue. A chip would not require the use of data so as long as a phone has power, those with a chip could be turned on for information from local radio stations.
The Wireless Association has been clear in its opposition to the chip. It's recent FCC letter included additional concerns they say they would have to deal with. "Issues such as battery life, integration issues, the presence of numerous antennas (perhaps as many as nine or more) and components for other cutting-edge capabilities all compete for extremely limited ?real estate? within sleek, carefully designed devices that attract and excite wireless users. The notion of government intervention in this extremely complex and intricate development and engineering process would dangerously impact this thriving ecosystem and undoubtedly have a detrimental impact."
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7-18-2012
Understandably, neither Randy Michaels or Walter Sabo were available for comment yesterday. It wasn't a banner day for the two men who claimed a new format was going to take the industry by storm. Merlin Media made a big splash in the Windy City about a year ago with big investor money, a rare new radio idea and a lot of excitement built around a staff of news gatherers hoping to be part of something transformative. Yesterday that all came crashing down.
With Sabo long gone from the company - a relationship with Michaels that never clicked - and several iterations of a format incredibly expensive to run, the all news experiment at Merlin ended Tuesday with pink slips in Chicago and New York City. Ratings were non-existent, listeners couldn't latch on to a moving-target news delivery and advertisers were few and far between. Word is many millions of dollars were lost on this project and so now, both stations are playing music. Far less expensive to operate, but certainly not new, innovative or very exciting.
So what went wrong in the Windy City? Is CBS just too strong at news? Did the investor group force Michaels to make a change and stop the bleeding? Was it an ever-changing vision? A lack of vision? Probably a combination of all. Somebody who is familiar with the situation told us yesterday, "the station in Chicago was just unlistenable."
In July 2011, after leaving WGN, Charlie Meyerson got a call from Andy Friedman. Friedman was one of the many, some say too many, people running the Merlin Chicago operation. When he received his envelope yesterday it wasn't one of the 16 containing employment agreements to spin Classic Hits records. After all, Meyerson is a veteran newsman of Chicago, he probably wasn't expecting to be part of a music station. "I think people were braced for change. I think many of us were surprised at the nature of the change that was announced, which you know about. Hot Hits, I don't think was on anybody's radar. Certainly on the radar of no one that I knew."
Meyerson was not part of the management team. He was out on the street, as a reporter, covering the news in Chicago. He offers up this opinion on what went wrong. "I think there are as many theories of what went wrong as there are people who worked there or people who listened. I think the station went through so many transformation over the course of year, that at any given point it was someone's vision of what the station was supposed to sound like. There were a lot of cooks in this kitchen. Some of the cooks got their way some of the time and some of the cooks didn't get their way some of the time. More talk. Less talk. More live. Less live. A lot of stuff was tried. For whatever reason, maybe because we tried so many different things, it didn't stick. It didn't catch. Maybe none of those combinations, if left untouched would have gained traction, or maybe one or more of them could have. But, it didn't happen."
On the original attempt to target women, Meyerson says, "I think the consensus among many of us was that the first attempts to target women sounded condescending. I don't think they intended to be condescending, but they sounded condescending. Yet, I know many listeners that liked that iteration of the station."
Meyerson also says there were some things that went right. "This little start-up operation which came from nowhere won a regional Edward R. Murrow award for 3 hours of non-stop commercial-free coverage of the sentencing Rod Blagojevich last fall. We had barely been together weeks but we pulled out all the stops. We had reporters all over town. We had analysis lined up on the phone. We had many talented journalists with decades of experience at the microphone. It was great coverage. It won the Murrow award and it won the Illinois Broadcasters Association Silver Dome Award for best live coverage of an event. In my mind, that was kind of the pinnacle of what this station could do. It was free-form, it was live, it was intelligent, it was informative. It was the essence of what news radio can do that other media can't do."
What about CBS? Was CBS jus too dominant at the news game to compete with? "In this market, at this time, executed in this way it didn't make a dent in CBS's ratings," Meyerson admits. "Personally, I believe in much of what the philosophy of this organization has been. Which is to say I think the audience is migrating to FM. I think as the FM audience becomes older, the demand for news on FM will become stronger. I believe that radio does news as few other media can. The success of news on CBS stations, on National Public Radio stations, shows that people do want information on the radio and particularly in the case of NPR, on the FM dial. I expect and I hope that this won't be the last attempt at a news intensive format on the FM dial in Chicago. I believe there is an audience there for it. Anecdotally, friends, casual acquaintances, strangers on the street, would see my ID card. They would tell me they love the station. In any of its incarnations, they loved it. They wanted it to succeed. I think that there is potential for a new intensive FM station to succeed in Chicago. I am sorry this one didn't. I don't think it is the last."
And, finally, looking back on the year he spent with Merlin, Meyerson looks at it positively, saying it was an opportunity he and his colleagues never expected. "Who would launch an all news station in Chicago against WBBM, successful as it was? Who would give an opportunity to a lot of young and untested people who, in some cases, hadn't done radio before? Who would give old fogies like me a chance to teach what we know to the next generation of communicators and get paid to do it? It was an unprecedented opportunity. Even today, I think the consensus among the people I talk to was, "What a great ride. What fun we had." Yes, things changed all around us and the station had a hard time settling on what it was going to be, but it was never boring. We built something out of nothing. We learned, all of us, a hell of a lot. In many cases, and I think so in my case, we are better positioned, with stronger, sharper skills than any of us had a year ago to go on and create something new again, somewhere else."
Charlie Meyerson is an veteran radio newsman and can be reached at 708-628-4527 or cmeyerson@comcast.net. on Twitter: @Meyerson or at his blog http://meyerson.blogspot.com
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As a Sales Manager your job has never been tougher. Multiple stations, multiple teams, multiple personalities, perhaps you carry a list, you need to manage the GM, you need to train the newbies, the list goes on and on. That's why you get paid the big bucks. In this weeks Sales Meeting Podcast, Matt Sunshine from the Center for Sales Strategy outlines a killer strategy that will put you on the track to success and bringing in the numbers just like the home office expects.
Listen to this weeks sales meeting Podcast HERE
Previous Podcast Sales Meetings
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As a Sales Manager your job has never been tougher. Multiple stations, multiple teams, multiple personalities, perhaps you carry a list, you need to manage the GM, you need to train the newbies, the list goes on and on. That's why you get paid the big bucks. In this weeks Sales Meeting Podcast, Matt Sunshine from the Center for Sales Strategy outlines a killer strategy that will put you on the track to success and bringing in the numbers just like the home office expects.
Listen to this weeks sales meeting Podcast HERE
Previous Podcast Sales Meetings
Become a Rock Star Seller with Wayne Ens HERE
Improve your Closing Ratio with Sean Luce HERE
Listen to our sales meeting with Matt Sunshine HERE
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5-29-2012
This, and every Thursday, Radio Ink hosts a 30 minute Sales Meeting Podcast packed with money making ideas, real world sales challenges and information you can take to the streets immediately. All Sales Meetings are posted to iTunes Friday morning so you can take them with you on your smartphone and listen any time. This week we speak to veteran sales and management trainer Sean Luce. Send your questions in advance to edryantheeditor@gmail.com.
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4-2-2012
Emmis Communications will hold a shareholder meeting Monday at 11AM Indy time at the Emmis HQ building at One Emmis Plaza. The special meeting is being held for holders of Emmis? common stock to consider and vote upon a proposal to approve the 2012 Retention Plan and Trust Agreement and for holders of Emmis? 6.25% Series A Cumulative Convertible Preferred Stock to vote to elect a director to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Joseph Siegelbaum in November 2011. Here are more details about why this meeting is taking place and a link to a New York Times article that takes an unfavorable look at what Emmis is attempting to do. The Times piece is called: "A Strategy to Vote Dead Shares."
The Emmis board of directors has adopted the 2012 Retention Plan and Trust Agreement because "a majority of the board of directors believes that adoption of the 2012 Retention Plan and the entry into the Voting and Transfer Restriction Agreement described below will provide Emmis with flexibility to amend the terms of the Preferred Stock that are set forth in the Articles of Incorporation, which amendment is being proposed pursuant to the preliminary proxy statement on Schedule 14A filed by Emmis with the SEC on March 13, 2012, as the same may be amended from time to time. In addition, our board of directors believes the 2012 Retention Plan will increase employee stock ownership opportunities, improve Emmis? ability to retain a team of outstanding employees, and compensate employees for prior reductions in base salaries, a lack of merit increases for the current year and the increase in the employees? share of benefit costs. No executive officers or part time employees will be eligible to participate in the 2012 Retention Plan."
READ THE NEW YORK TIMES ARTICLE CALLED "A STRATEGY TO VOTE DEAD SHARES."
Here is Emmis' response to the Times article. "This morning the New York Times wrote about the company's dispute with its dissident preferred shareholders. Unfortunately, the story does not fully represent Emmis' stance, which has not wavered: we offered a transparent process to all our preferred shareholders, including the few remaining holdouts. Holders of the vast majority of preferred shares saw the offer as fair and reasonable and accepted it."
If the 2012 Retention Plan is approved, the Trustee and the Trust will enter into a Voting and Transfer Restriction Agreement with Emmis, pursuant to which Emmis will have the right to direct the vote of 400,000 shares of Preferred Stock contributed to the Trust under the 2012 Retention Plan. In addition, the Voting and Transfer Restriction Agreement will provide the company the right to repurchase the Preferred Stock contributed to the Trust in exchange for the number of shares of Class A Common Stock into which the contributed Preferred Stock is convertible at the time the repurchase right is exercised.
EMMIS SUES PREFERRED SHAREHOLDERS
Emmis has already entered into total return swaps and voting agreements with certain other holders of Preferred Stock, and, giving effect to the entry into the Voting and Transfer Restriction Agreement with the Trustee of the Trust, Emmis will have the right to direct the vote of 1,884,679 shares of Preferred Stock, representing approximately 66.8% of the outstanding Preferred Stock (including the shares of Preferred Stock to be issued under the 2012 Retention Plan). Emmis intends to direct the vote of the above-described shares of Preferred Stock in favor of the proposals to adopt the Charter Amendments.
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Radioink.com introduces a new weekly program called Monday Morning Sales Meeting. This new feature is a thirty minute podcast with D.O.S.'s from across the country who answer questions about issues managers and salespeople deal with every day on the street. Today we have Adam Maisano (pictured below), Director of Sales for Curtis Media in Raleigh and Director of National Sales for Greater Media in Philadelphia Matthew Cowper. Topics include getting political dollars, the insurance category, the art of selling in your market and why the reps should stop 
apologizing for radio.
Listen to our Monday Morning Sales Meeting
for Monday December 19th.
(12/19/2011 7:41:20 PM)
EJ...whoever you are...God Bless You for your straight talk. Our business is Cannibalizing itself and we have the 'leaders' at the major groups to thank for it. Idiots all!
(12/19/2011 7:40:27 PM)
EJ...whoever you are...God Bless You for your straight talk. Our business is Cannibalizing itself and we have the 'leaders' at the major groups to thank for it. Idiots all!
(12/19/2011 3:27:26 PM)
Who, other than the obvious people in radio that should apologize like Cumulus and Clear Channel for commoditizing the most unique message delivery system ever created, should apologize? My AE's make no apology for delivering advertiser messages to thousands of people every week, in fact we brag about it!
(12/19/2011 8:20:58 AM)
Love this concept. Short, mobile, focused. I think the sessions will become more valuable if they present a case study of business success stories ("This is how we did it") vs.a warmed over version of what smart managers can debate about on any given day.
Managemnent styles & approaches may vary, but show & tell can inspire replication.There's a load of business opportunity for business-minded (not just media-minded) sales ops. Let's hear a de-construction of those stories soon.
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Download this show
Radioink.com introduces a new weekly program called Monday Morning Sales Meeting. This new feature is a thirty minute podcast with D.O.S.'s from across the country who answer questions about issues managers and salespeople deal with every day on the street. Today we have Adam Maisano (pictured below), Director of Sales for Curtis Media in Raleigh and Director of National Sales for Greater Media in Philadelphia Matthew Cowper. Topics include getting political dollars, the insurance category, the art of selling in your market and why the reps should stop apologizing for radio.
Listen to our Monday Morning Sales Meeting
for Monday December 19th.
(12/19/2011 7:41:20 PM)
EJ...whoever you are...God Bless You for your straight talk. Our business is Cannibalizing itself and we have the 'leaders' at the major groups to thank for it. Idiots all!
(12/19/2011 7:40:27 PM)
EJ...whoever you are...God Bless You for your straight talk. Our business is Cannibalizing itself and we have the 'leaders' at the major groups to thank for it. Idiots all!
(12/19/2011 3:27:26 PM)
Who, other than the obvious people in radio that should apologize like Cumulus and Clear Channel for commoditizing the most unique message delivery system ever created, should apologize? My AE's make no apology for delivering advertiser messages to thousands of people every week, in fact we brag about it!
(12/19/2011 8:20:58 AM)
Love this concept. Short, mobile, focused. I think the sessions will become more valuable if they present a case study of business success stories ("This is how we did it") vs.a warmed over version of what smart managers can debate about on any given day.
Managemnent styles & approaches may vary, but show & tell can inspire replication.There's a load of business opportunity for business-minded (not just media-minded) sales ops. Let's hear a de-construction of those stories soon.
Add a Comment | View All Comments Send This Story To A Friend
Radio Ink wants to hear from sales managers and general managers that run the best sales meetings in the country. If you think your sales meetings generate motivated sellers and ring your stations cash register please contact us today. For more information send your contact information to edryan@radioink.com. In the subject line enter: "great sales meetings".
While the performance "tax" issue is still a very important issue to the radio industry, it's not as white-hot as the spectrum issue is on the television side. The NAB concluded two days of board meetings in Washington yesterday and NAB Joint Board President Steve Newberry tells Radio Ink the performance rights issue is still in the hands of the R.I.A.A. "We made an offer back in November and the ball is in their court." Newberry says the topic most important right now to all broadcasters is the spectrum issue. "We heard the FCC Chairman (Genochowski) say giving up spectrum space should be voluntary. We don't want the word voluntary to have quotes around it."
A bill Newberry and broadcasters are keeping their eye on is Senate Bill 911, the Public Safety Spectrum and Wireless Innovation Act. Yesterday it was sent to the full Senate for consideration. The bill to build a nationwide communications network for first responders was overwhelmingly approved by the Commerce Committee 21-4. The bill allows broadcasters and other spectrum licensees to voluntarily return unused portions of the airwaves. The freed up spectrum would be re-auctioned for commercial wireless broadband use in exchange for a portion of the proceeds through ?incentive auctions.? The costs to build the public safety network will be offset by the proceeds of incentive auctions, and the surplus revenue will go toward deficit reduction."
Broadcasters do not oppose rebuilding the safety infrastructure that failed America on September 11th, 2011. What they are clearly opposed to is a government hammer that mandates a return of spectrum space. Newberry cautioned that the Federal Communications Commission is holding their plans regarding spectrum "close to the vest." He adds "there's a strong inclination to try to address this issue coming from the White House, the FCC and the Senate." Newberry says "we also have a lot of good friends in Congress." Without actually coming out and using the exact words, it appears broadcasters may be slightly worried that while the government keeps saying voluntary, voluntary may either mean something else or turn into something else."
Back in January Chairman Genochowski said "A lot of that spectrum is currently occupied by TV broadcasters, a large majority of which was freed up after the recent digital transition. As part of its national broadband plan, the FCC last year proposed allowing broadcast TV stations to voluntarily sell some of their spectrum for mobile broadband purposes. Genachowski on Thursday pushed hard to make those incentive auctions a reality. In the case of TV broadcasters, under our plan a broadcaster could choose to contribute the six megahertz they are using, or continue to broadcast by sharing a channel with one or more stations, or simply not participate and continue to broadcast as they do today," he said. "Since the DTV transition, some broadcasters are making effective use of the capabilities of their spectrum, but some are not."
It's clear the NAB board is somewhat worried that "voluntary" may turn into "mandatory" and that is when the real fight will begin.
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