News INSIDE >> Thursday, March 7, 2013
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GET MORE NEWS & UPDATES @ INSIDERADIO.COM >> FRANK SAXE [email protected] >> PAUL HEINE [email protected] (800) 275-2840 Thursday, March 7, 2013 THE MOST TRUSTED NEWS IN RADIO More companies scrap streaming ad insertion in favor of 100% simulcast. Six months after Saga Communications became the first group to drop ad insertion on its internet streams and convert to a full simulcast of its on-air product, a growing number of radio groups have taken a similar course — at least with some of their portfolio. For some broadcasters the issue isn’t how little web radio sales have amounted to, but rather how much more they estimate they can make with higher ratings from a full simulcast. Liberman Broadcasting and JVC Media are the latest groups to flip their webcasts to a full simulcast of their broadcast product. “It is something we just could not monetize to a level that made sense for us,” JVC president John Caracciolo says. He explains that local advertisers say they want a “4D” experience that not only speaks to the consumer, but also “touches and interacts” with them. “Rather than separate our mediums, we have them work together to give our clients that multi-platform ‘reach out and touch someone’ package,” Caracciolo says. Several other groups have begun testing simulcasting some of their signals online, while keeping ad replacement in place for other stations. The list includes Merlin Media, Broadcast Company of the Americas, Yucaipa, and Royce International, according to “total line” simulcast data submitted to Arbitron. Saga EVP Warren Lada has been championing the idea. He spent six months last year studying the matter and determined there isn’t any legal issue keeping stations from simulcasting. Since last August all Saga stations have scrapped ad insertion. “It is working just fine for us — we haven’t had any issues,” Lada says. Saga has begun to include language in all of its contracts, insertion news INSIDE >> orders and confirmations alerting advertisers and agencies that the spots will on-air and online. >>Senate gets anti- Monetizing station streams: Different strokes for different folks. While some groups are royalty resolution dropping ad insertion altogether, Salem is taking a blended approach, simulcasting stations whose advertising revenue is most closely tied to ratings. That includes its contemporary Christian “Fish” stations in Dallas, Los Angeles and Atlanta. Salem radio division president Dave Santrella says a one-size- fits-all approach doesn’t make sense in the rapidly changing world of digital radio. “For the moment the potential of greater ratings because we’re simulcasting outweighs the benefits of the potential revenue from having the second stream to sell — it’s just math at this point,” Santrella says. That’s not to say Salem is down on ad insertion. Santrella thinks it’s “worth the effort” in many situations. At Salem stations that don’t focus on transactional ad sales, the ad insertion strategy is at work. Hubbard Radio has begun simulcasting a majority of its stations online, with every cluster except St. Louis giving it a test drive. The company first began experimenting with the simulcast on WTOP-FM, Washington (103.5) last fall. The all-news station’s sizable online audience was credited for giving the station a small bump in the ratings. “For WTOP even a slight move up in ratings can mean a significant rise in revenue,” SVP/general manager Joel Oxley told Inside Radio in December. That lift in ratings could also be seen at other stations that don’t have enough online listeners to meet Arbitron’s minimum reporting standards for a digital line in the ratings report. Those listeners will now be credited to the station’s simulcast overall. CBS Radio turns to digital ad exchange to monetize streaming ad inventory. With some radio companies choosing a simulcast model to monetize their streams, CBS Radio is heading in the opposite direction. The company has become the first broadcaster to join Triton Digital’s a2x ad exchange, which allows advertisers to buy inventory through real-time bidding and uses behavioral targeting. CBS has 127 broadcast radio stations and another roughly 200 online-only streams. The a2x ad exchange sells audio ads similar to how most web display and video advertising is transacted. When CBS or another audio publisher puts inventory up for bid, the purchase price for an ad impression is determined via a real-time auction rather than a predetermined fixed rate. The technology establishes a minimum price at which the impression can be sold for. It also relies on behavioral targeting — enabled by tracking cookies used by webcasters to collect information MORE NEWS >> INSIDERADIO.COM PAGE 1 NEWS Thursday, March 7, 2013 on the web activities, systems and devices used by their listeners — to deliver the most relevant ad to listeners, regardless of the content they’re listening to. The goal is higher CPMs (cost per thousand impressions) for sellers and a more targeted buy with less waste for buyers. CBS Local Digital Media president Ezra Kucharz says the company will continue to sell digital audio ads through traditional sales means. Joining the exchange will “create additional demand” and allow it to “participate in a new revenue stream targeting mobile and digital budgets,” he says. Triton Digital COO Mike Agovino says a beta phase of the ad exchange “is nearly complete” and additional advertisers are using it every week. Resolution to thwart performance royalty introduced in the Senate. With a blitz of in-person lobbying on Capitol Hill this week by broadcasters, Senators John Barrasso (R-WY) and Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) yesterday introduced the Local Radio Freedom Act. The bipartisan resolution is non-binding, but it shows opposition for an on-air performance royalty on radio stations. A House version was introduced February 19 with 73 members supporting it. That number has since grown to 89. The NAB-backed resolution covers well-worn talking points. Imposing an on-air performance royalty would upset the “mutually beneficial” relationship between the broadcasting and recording industries. Radio provides publicity and promotion to labels and acts in the form of airplay, artist interviews and concert promotions. Stations would suffer “severe economic hardship” is any new performance fee is imposed and that would harm consumers who rely on the medium for essential information during national emergencies and disasters. Meanwhile, radio’s largest company offered another example of how the radio and recording industries are working together on the performance royalty issue without government intervention. Clear Channel has signed a revenue sharing agreement with the music division of film producer and distributor Entertainment One (eOne), home to such acts as DJ Drama, Faith Evans, Pop Evil and Black Label Society, among others. It’s the seventh such deal the company has signed since last June. Cox expands its reseller program with Google. Stepping up its partnership with the digital giant, Cox Media Group has become the first radio station owner to become a Google Premier SMB Partner. Acceptance into the elite group of less than 20 companies allows Cox to put Google products on the digital menu it offers local and regional marketers, joining Hearst, Scripps, Advance Digital and others in the revenue-sharing program. Cox sellers will receive training and certification to pitch the latest Google products beyond the AdWords campaigns they already represented. That means a Google-certified Cox Radio account exec can offer Search Engine Optimization tools and advertising on YouTube and Google’s display network in the same breath as the broadcaster’s own digital offerings. “It’s really important to go to our advertisers with an integrated solution,” Cox Media Group VP/GM of digital operations Rich Reis says. Cox Radio’s digital sales repertoire already goes well beyond station website ads to include reach extension, SMS messaging and reputation management. Now it can add full-service campaign management, detailed reporting, one-on-one customer support and a more consultative sales approach. Local sellers receive sales support from Cox headquarters in Atlanta and from dedicated Google representatives — in addition to their local digital sales manager. With 30% growth in 2012, digital efforts pay off for Cox. Cox Media Group is betting that becoming a Google Premier SMB Partner will give it a competitive advantage — not just over other radio and TV broadcasters but over pureplay digital marketing companies like ReachLocal. “Everyone needs help with digital advertising, people are consumed about what they should do and when they should do it,” Cox Media Group VP/GM of digital operations Rich Reis says. The ability to offer local and regional marketers the latest Google products will help Cox sellers start the conversation with digital — before weaving radio into the mix. “Sometimes we need to enter the process from digital first because when you say, ‘I’m from radio station XYZ,’ they may say they don’t want to buy any radio,” he says. The strategy helped Cox grow digital revenue by a whopping 30% in 2012 and attract advertisers who traditionally haven’t used the medium. The company plans to hire more digital-only radio sellers in addition to the handful it currently has. “The combination of radio and digital is powerful,” Reis says. “We have to maximize our current radio advertisers and bring in new ones by leading with digital first. It’s the only way we’re going to grow our local advertising pie.” MORE NEWS >> INSIDERADIO.COM PAGE 2 NEWS Thursday, March 7, 2013 Townsquare looks to grow beyond its current borders. From the addition of a digital ad network last year, to the more recent expansion of its live music events business with the purchase of two events in as many months, Townsquare Media’s recent acquisitions have veered it away from a straight path of radio.