What’s Going On With Local Ad Revenue?

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Public radio companies have consistently reported that local ad revenue in the second quarter has been dismal. If not for strong national revenue, things could have been a lot worse. All week long we’ll be checking in with privately held radio groups to see how local ad revenue is performing for them. First up JVC CEO John Caracciolo

John Caracciolo is the David in markets ruled by Goliaths. The President/CEO of JVC Broadcasting owns 11 radio stations and operates five venue/event locations on Long Island and in Florida. He talked with Radio Ink about local ad revenue success.

Radio Ink: How has local ad revenue been for you so far this year?
Caracciolo: It was a slow start for the year. In January it took a couple of weeks to get going, but we had a good back-half of Q1, and Q2 was great. Now, July and August are shaping up to be fantastic in all of our markets in New York and Florida. Local is driving the bus for us. We have never really counted on huge national business, so local has been doing it for us.

Radio Ink: Is it surprising that July and August are looking good, considering sometimes the “summer doldrums” can kick in?
Caracciolo: In New York our stations are on Long Island, we are a Suffolk County company so we have the beach, The Hamptons, and our outdoor concerts. Business in the summer is fantastic for us on Long Island. In Florida, Ocala and Orlando, the summer business has been great. I fly down from New York all the time and the flights this summer have been full, people are vacationing a lot.

Radio Ink: What are your best local categories?
Caracciolo: Radio still moves local business and local radio drives local business. Our local business owners in our markets are doing well. Car dealerships are a big category for us and they are selling cars. Colleges and universities do well with us. Legal and medical categories have been fantastic. Weather has been good in both of my markets and people are going out and spending money with local businesses.

Radio Ink: How are things pacing for Q3?
Caracciolo: It’s pacing really well. July and August have been great. Back to school now is producing some good business. I’m also excited about political spending on our stations. We don’t typically do well during Presidential or federal race years. Right now, though, many of our markets have local races on the ballot. Those candidates use local radio a lot because they like the results and how it drives people to the polls. I think we are going to have a good finish to what has already been a good year for us.

Radio Ink: What challenges do you see going forward?
Caracciolo: People, finding great people. Coming up with fantastic ideas for clients is always a brainstorming meeting we have to have. For us, I’m happy with our business. We are growing, adding some stations. We are doing things a little differently and it’s giving our clients the opportunity to ride this wave of success with us.

Radio Ink: What is your gut feeling for the rest of 2019?
Caracciolo: We are going to finish strong. Political ad buys are going to be good for us. Our talk stations are doing really well for us. They’re getting results for our clients. I think 2019 is going to finish up a really good year for JVC Broadcasting.

Thanks to John Caracciolo, JVC Broadcasting

1 COMMENT

  1. Our privately held radio groups generate more ad revenue using Tele-Traffic as their traffic provider, as we implement a fee based model. Tele-Traffic implements this model, putting the ad inventory, value and control back into station…where it belongs. Overall revenue gains and savings will be the end result for the station. Tele-Traffic is not in the business of commercial time or advertising brokering – we are in the business of traffic. The barter model which is used by most other groups devalues a stations inventory while supporting vendors who are selling against them. Stations give up their brand to the vendor, collapsing the quality of their shows. The barter model continues to fail when stations are trying to capture as much revenue as possible, especially when they already have a sales team/force in place selling other space times for that station group.

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