Media Info Bureau

It’s time to do come catch-up in our ongoing effort to keep track of station trading during 2013. Today – the month of July, during which television cemented its dominance as the primary center of trading attention.

Many people in the market to sell or buy a broadcast station make use of the expert services of a media broker. Their special knowledge can be extremely beneficial to the client who contracts for their services. Communications transaction expert Erwin Krasnow takes an in-depth look at just what a contract with a broker should contain.

There is a tectonic shift undermining the very foundation of broadcast radio. Multiple metrics make it clear that serious threats imposed on the FM/AM platform by new online competitors are escalating exponentially. For more than 25 years I’ve helped build audiences for some of the radio industry’s most successful brands. But today, as online competitors like Pandora, iTunes Radio and Spotify add fuel to their astonishing rise, it’s questionable whether the strategies broadcasters have chosen can foster healthy growth.

Paul Rotella is the President/CEO of the New Jersey Broadcasters Association, and he has a lot to say about the unique challenges facing broadcasters in the Garden State, and the challenges facing broadcasters in general. IN the course of discussing his own organization’s members he makes the case for broadcasting everywhere. Check it out.

It’s a question that gets posed to me every day I go out and work with clients. Why should I use sports radio? Why should sports marketing take a prominent portion of my marketing and advertising budget?

Chances are that when your radio regulars are seeking broadcast entertainment, and they do not happen to be in a vehicle, they are watching television. But what are they watching? This is a very good thing to know for a number of reasons, and thanks to the research wizards at Prosper Insights and analytics, we can pinpoint viewing habits four you. Today we look at old-skewing TV audiences.

The old cliché is that it’s the waiting that’s hardest, but some waiting periods can be harder than others, such as the time between the FCC grant of a broadcast transaction and the FCC final order. In particular, it can be excruciatingly difficult if something major goes wrong with the station. Broadcast transaction expert John Pelkey guides us through the ins and outs of this difficult question.

Many people have noted a minor renaissance in station trading, but according to broadcast financial expert John Brooks it still is not a great market and financing is still extremely hard to come by. As to the general health of the radio business, it could be better but some might be surprised it’s still even around. Strap in and click through for a financial reality check.

Chances are that when your radio regulars are seeking broadcast entertainment, and they do not happen to be in a vehicle, they are watching television. But what are they watching? This is a very good thing to know for a number of reasons, and thanks to the research wizards at Prosper Insights and analytics, we can pinpoint viewing habits four you. Today we look at older-skewing radio audiences.

The indemnification portion of a broadcast transaction contract may well be a low point in what can be a boring document. However, its ultimate importance cannot be understated if problems come up that require one party or the other to spend more money. Communications transaction expert Erwin Krasnow walks us through the indemnification process. It is must reading for prospective buyers and sellers of broadcast stations.

The Direct Response Television industry’s success is good for America. It is one the few ways that a small entrepreneur can take an invention and fast track it to the Walmart shelf within a short span of six months. The American Dream is alive and well in DRTV. Stations generate advertising dollars. Design engineers create. Manufacturers employ people. Logistics people source and distribute. Telemarketers and web professionals take orders. And most importantly, customers have their important problems solved.

Veteran media broker Glenn Serafin has a lot to say about the current state of station trading and as well as analysis of where it is headed in the near future. But he has more than that to share – general financial and operational advice based on years in the biz, as well as a cordial invitation to entrepreneurs who would love to break into broadcast ownership. Check it out.

It’s a number we’re all familiar with, it’s roughly the percentage of people in the US that listen to the radio each week. It’s an amazing number, and one we rightly should be very proud of. But it’s something else: Coincidentally it’s about the same percentage of marketing dollars that are NOT spent on radio. In my 24 years in the business (and I suspect before), we’ve garnered about 7% of the ad revenue. Which leaves the other 93%.