Media Info Bureau

Is your sales team falling short of expectations? Ask yourself why. Expert sales coach Barrett Riddleberger puts this question to his clients on a first call to get their perceptions about why their sales team is not meeting expectations. Sometimes he gets clear responses. Mostly, he receives vague ones, as he notes in this latest column.

As the old adage goes, what is one man's trash is another one's treasure. For featured Media Information Bureau columnist Ken Benner, a rescue from the trash heap of some old radio station equipment led to a radio show. The radio show opened Benner's eyes to just how things may work in Washington, sparking a fire under his belly that continues today, at age 80. In this column, Benner shares how he emerged as the industry's "Ralph Nader."

Do you ever find yourself checking out what the people around you are checking out when you’re at the grocery store? If you’re in an advertising-related business, there is a great reason to do this – it can help you target audiences and sell ads. Thanks to research from BIGinsight, we can do more than look into other people’s shopping carts – we can find stats broken down by format.

Doug Ferber of DEFcom Advisors LLC and Erwin Krasnow of Garvey Schubert Barer have created a special podcast series exclusively for RBR+TVBR members based on a series of articles centered on the topic "Broadcast Deal Myths Debunked." In this second episode, Ferber and Krasnow discuss the following topic: "It's Not Negotiable."

A presentation devoted to "cord-cutting" was delivered to the Wall Street investment community on Thursday as part of the Goldman Sachs Communacopia conference, with Mike Vorhaus, Los Angeles-based President of Magid Advisors, sharing some data about the rising embrace of SVOD services. The data are sobering reminders for broadcast TV's C-Suite that local news and original programming may be its final saving grace.

After more than a decade of providing cloud-based ad management technology to radio broadcasting companies, vCreative is nearing the launch of a similar platform for broadcast TV stations. The company's founder, Jinny Laderer, shared her thoughts on ad scheduling and how it can still get fouled up. It's why she's convinced TV can benefit from the tool she developed with her husband in the early 2000s, and we're pleased to offer this post-Irma encore for the benefit of all RBR+TVBR readers.

What can radio broadcasting companies learn from the waning weeks of a sizzling summer? With the release of Nielsen’s portable people meter (PPM) ratings for August 2017, one thing stands out for those looking to perhaps increase sales revenue. Whether you should "Walk This Way" or follow "Her Strut," one format may be a dollar delivery engine for your group.

Ooyala has just released its Q2 2017 Global Video Index, and there's a glimmer of hope for broadcast radio and TV C-Suiters intent on scraping away at some of those digital ad dollars: Mobile video plays have plateaued after 22 quarters of strong growth, increasing just over 1% since Q1 this year.

In the words of Boston radio broadcasting veteran Clark Smidt, the 2017 Radio Show — held last week in Austin, Tex.— was a winner. Some of the reasons, says Smidt, were "proximity, accessibility, the program, a user-friendly hotel and a quality crowd." In a special "thank you" to the RAB and NAB, Smidt penned an exclusive RBR+TVBR column lauding the two industry lobbying groups for a great conference.

Broadcast Deal Myths have long been a popular Media Information Bureau topic with RBR+TVBR readers, thanks to the insight and analysis offered in a clear, concise manner by Garvey Schubert Barer attorney Erwin G. Krasnow and DEFcom Advisors CEO Doug Ferber. Krasnow and Ferber have now developed an exclusive podcast series focused on the myths often tied to transactions, and we are pleased to offer the first in the series exclusively to RBR+TVBR subscribers.

In the view of Media Information Bureau featured columnist Ken Benner, the FCC's cooperation in support of the Alternative Broadcast Inspection Program (ABIP) has always been helpful. "It was my policy to visit the Commission's Compliance Bureau in Washington, D.C., every three years to update my part of the program," Benner says. In this column, he recalls his first such meeting — with then-FCC Chairman Michael Powell.

The House of Representatives on Wednesday unanimously passed H.R. 3388, the "SELF DRIVE Act of 2017," by voice vote. This is good news to columnist and blogger James Pethokoukis, who shares his thoughts on why the act is beneficial to all Americans. Could it be great news for broadcast media companies, or a harbinger to AM and FM station owners that increased competition for attention is on the way?

More than two decades ago, RBR+TVBR featured columnist Ken Benner was invited to the office of the president of a state broadcasters' association. He was told that a new means of compliance certification was being considered. It sounded like a good idea to Ken. Was it?

“The so-called ‘retail apocalypse’ makes for a great headline, but it’s simply not true." That's according to Greg Buzek, president of IHL Group, which has released a research report that declares, "A lot has been made in the mainstream news about the death of retail. But it is fake news." The 34-page White Paper, "Debunking the Retail Apocalypse," gives pause to broadcast media sales executives and members of the C-Suite, as brick-and-mortar retailers represent a healthy advertiser category that could grow through the use of radio.

Here's some more ammo to fuel "fake news" reports stating that America's youth don't consume the radio and prefer digital sources for music and entertainment: Data released Friday from Nielsen Audio shows that teens that were 12 years old in 2011 increased their average listening to AM and FM radio by an hour in 2017.