If there’s been one big discussion topic of late among radio industry leaders and those at the NAB advocating on behalf of its members, it is the fate of AM radio in the in-car audio entertainment system.
While that is unquestionably an important subject for U.S. radio broadcasters, another big push seen over the last several years has seemingly gone quiet in Washington, D.C. — “ZoneCasting,” a hyperlocalization solution from GeoBroadcast Solutions that requires program origination from an FM booster, something only a regulatory or legislative change can make happen.
The FCC hasn’t moved on the matter. Industry chatter has all but evaporated in recent weeks. The President of the U.S. Black Chambers now hopes to bring it back to the forefront of radio business leaders’ conversations.
Ron Busby Sr. leads the USBC, and in May 2020 the organization — which consists of over 145 chambers of commerce and business organizations in 42 states, representing approximately 326,000 Black-owned businesses — joined 20 other civil rights and
minority organizations in support of the Commission’s proposal to modernize its rules and allow program origination on an FM booster.
This, GBS has demonstrated, would open a path for FM radio stations to geotarget their listening audiences with hyper-local weather, traffic, emergency, and commercial information.
The latter is a big point of contention among broadcasters. The NAB and some of the nation’s biggest licensee believe opening the door to Zonecasting would ravage ad rates at an already challenging period for Radio, with core advertising still largely recovering from the pandemic. Groups favoring Zonecasting are in polar contrast in their thoughts, arguing that hyper-localization can bring new dollars to radio from local digital, which has siphoned money away from linear media thanks to addressability.
Today, with the Commission stalled on any forward progress of the Zonecasting NPRM, Busby wants action.
And, he’s called on Geoffrey Starks, the Democratic Commissioner, to do something.
Busby lamented that it has been three years since the USBC and the 20 other organizations wrote that letter in support of Zonecasting. “The time has come for the FCC to finish its work here,” he now says.
While AM radio remains vital in certain communities for multicultural audiences, Busby calls FM radio “a uniquely important entry opportunity for black entrepreneurs” and “a local asset.” He adds that it is “typically best operated by those with a commitment to, and
understanding of, the local community.”
Busby pointed out that “many black entrepreneurs have started their careers in media through the radio sector.” But success in radio, especially for those station owners that do not operate at a national level, “is harder to come by these days.” In addition to competing with a multitude of media outlets, radio has what Busby believes is one important disadvantage relative to these other outlets.
“it is barred, by an artifact of FCC rules, from geotargeting its audience,” he says. “This makes no sense, and especially harms black-owned station groups.”
That’s not necessarily true, as interference concerns from the implementation of Zonecasting remain another key safety matter — what if, in an emergency, broadcasters were garbled because of the technology? What if a booster prevented a primary station in an adjacent market from distributing valued information at a time of utmost concern?
GBS argues that Zonecasting would be implemented on a case-by-case basis, using mapping software to alleviate any concerns about interference. Still, problems could arise. As RBR+TVBR has repeatedly experienced in the Mid-Hudson Valley and Catskills region of New York State, an eight-mile drive on Route 28 from Kingston to Woodstock can result in a cacophony of competing FM signals, ranging from FM translators to docket 80/90 Class A stations that arrived between 1989 and the mid-1990s, and from “distant” high-power FM signals that could serve Albany, Hartford and the New York Tri-State Area, depending on what hill one is on.
While such a concern may be dwarfed by the need for geotargeting across the U.S., Busby argues that Zonecasting can also benefit other minority groups that own FM radio stations “because it affords them the ability to program information and news in alternative languages.” He continues, “Most minority-owned stations are located in large and
medium-sized diverse metropolitan areas, which include listeners which speak a
multitude of languages. Geotargeting, for only a few minutes per programming hour,
can enable station owners to reach these listeners with critical emergency
information and other advertising opportunities.”
Why is Busby approaching Starks, specifically? While he is African American, Busby notes that diversity in broadcasting “is a critical initiative” of his, and the USBC applauds
the work he’s done to date in that area. But, as Starks has said, more needs to be
done, and Busby and his group are eager to work with Starks in that regard.
Busby concludes his letter to Starks by urging him to place a high priority on completing the FCC’s proceeding to permit FM radio stations to geotarget. “It can and will be a critical piece of this FCC’s commitment to revitalize diversity in broadcasting,” he says.
