1-13-14
The following article was written by a respected Market Manager in Radio. We've kept his name anonymous.
Tom Callahan?s attack on the Borrell Study is unfortunately the common behavior now amongst radio industry managers and so-called leaders. The cold facts are that radio revenues just in L.A., have plummeted in 5 years by a dramatic 40% and $400 million. ? That?s a $400 million decline in just ONE market. And cold fact 2 is that total listening to radio in the 30 PPM markets has declined by more than 13% since 2010. That is a fact, folks. Not a ?prediction? that can be questioned.
And yet, individuals like Mr. Callahan do not address the dramatic revenue and radio usage declines, but rather attack the study. ? Bob Pittman of Clear Channel continually attacks Pandora but hasn?t yet been able to make Clear Channel profitable. Many radio managers openly question advertisers? spending levels on TV, and question the merits of same. This hostility towards outside events and competitors, is the pattern. ? Where are radio?s LEADERS? Where is there any innovation? Do any stations give play to local ? local ? emerging music groups like FM did in the 70?s?
These comments are geared specifically towards major and medium market stations, owned by large groups. I am confident there still are some solid, locally-owned stations doing a good job in small markets. Radio as an industry needs to shake itself free, and quickly, of several toxins. The first that needs to go are longtime managers at all levels, that still think that sales reps need to come into a physical building (the station# every day, or that think they ever need to come in more than just once or twice a week.
If you think that, you either don?t trust your salespeople, or you don?t get the digital era we are in. Either way, you?re gone. Holding regular weekly #or more# meetings, is part of this anachronistic thinking. Apparently you have not heard of e-mail. Hiring consultants is another drag on radio station?s resources, and an interruption and drag on the time of the sales reps. If you are a real Sales Manager Leader, you don?t need to bring in others, to do what you are supposed to be doing.
Consultants play to the managers and owners, who pay them. So intentionally or not, they create an expectation of sales/revenue improvements that are usually not realistic. And to do this, they suggest various sales gimmicks and techniques that often are not practical or real, to the everyday selling practice. Get out of the way of your salespeople! Let them DO THEIR JOB. Hire top-notch sales professionals from other stations or even other industries, not junior wanna-bee salespeople that you can hire cheap. Yes you will pay, but you get what you pay for.
Programming. Your station is LOCAL. Your station makes most of its money in the LOCAL market. So wouldn?t you want to run LOCAL programming? What personalities are COMPELLING and/or ENTERTAINING on your station? ? If what can be heard on your station, is available on multiple internet audio streams, you are dead in the water. It?s just a question of time. INNOVATE! And go local-local-local!!
The biggest drag on many radio stations right now, are the layers and layers of management, including corporate, revenue yield managers, Regional Market Managers, Corporate V.P.?s? are we running a big chain of supermarkets, or A LOCAL RADIO STATION ? And paying stockholders and/or paying equity firms carrying the massive debt servicing, is suffocating many radio stations right now.
First greed, and now debt servicing needs, causes stations to run 8, 10, even 12 or more, commercials in a row. Are you kidding? ..PPM?s conclusively prove that the majority of listeners REJECT these cluster breaks, tuning out en masse by the 2nd or 3rd commercial. So the advertisers get shafted, and loyal station listening is upended. ? Short term revenue gains with ominous long-term effects. Especially now, with multiple other options readily available to both audio listeners, and to advertisers.
The core of radio is LOCAL programming? LOCAL sales? and LOCAL promotion. The station?s resources, focus, and efforts belong squarely on those 3 areas. If you are outsourcing your local programming to voice tracking or national feeds, you are slowly putting yourself out of business. If you work at a station saddled with debt #including corporate owners), hope for the return of local owners. It could happen! Good luck everybody!
Add a Comment Send This Story To A Friend
