NEW YORK — Using technology and digital solutions to grow is one way locally focused broadcasters can achieve riches without high expenses. That was one key takeaway offered during a Forecast session featuring independent ownership groups of radio and TV stations across the U.S.
From AI to decreased centralization, much was shared on the “Main Street Media” panel, with Vince Benedetto, President/CEO of Bold Gold Media Group, sharing that profitability for his stations, located in the Poconos and Catskill Region of Pennsylvania and New York, respectively, has never been higher.
Then, there’s the need to access content from streaming platforms, which may now include video. For Melody Spann Cooper, Chairman of Midway Broadcasting Corp. in Chicago, gaining audience has resulted, with no erosion of the radio stations’ ratings; Cooper took a swipe at Nielsen Audio by noting that the stations’ ratings were miniscule.
She also believes that younger people will work “for passion,” and this will help carry the industry on. Cooper made the comment as the session moderator, Colorado Broadcasters Association President/CEO Justin Sasso, also asked two TV executives where they stand with respect to growth and opportunities ahead.
Vince Bodiford, the CEO and Head of Media for the fast-growing Bridge Media Network, said the owner of the 24/7 NewsNet operation shifting to owned stations from digital multicast distribution stands to greatly benefit from political dollars.
For Lilly Broadcasting CEO Brian Lilly, “the great streaming experiment” will be ending in 2024. He reiterated comments made at a previous session from Rob Folliard at Gray Television as to how content moving back to broadcast television enjoyed a bump in consumption. This, he believes, illustrates how stations such as his will thrive.
