Independent and Optimistic: Why Smaller Can be Better & More Profitable is just one of panel discussions set for Forecast 2020 coming up November 20 at the Harvard Club, NYC. Tomas Martinez, Owner/CEO, Solmart Media will be a member of the panel. He gave Radio Ink a preview.
Radio Ink: On September 23, the Third U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals tossed out media ownership rules that had been approved by the FCC in 2017. How will that affect independents?
Martinez: To better compete in today’s highly segmented media world, I believe independent broadcasters in the small and medium-size markets are more likely to welcome less regulations on ownership. These proposals have been around for the last 20 years, in that time our world has evolved quite a bit and so should some of these rules.
Radio Ink: How can an independent owner compete with a corporate radio owner?
Martinez: Independent owners must provide their audience and clients with the better local programming than the corporate owners, they should also make every effort to provide the same array of marketing and digital tools which their corporate competitors offer.
Radio Ink: What size markets are good for independent owners and why?
Martinez: I believe that an independent owner should look more for a niche market that is underserved. Once they find it, they need to do some preliminary research to confirm their initial hunch. This is critical since it will help the financial process, as well as future programming and marketing initiatives. I should also point out that for first time radio owners, smaller markets are the perfect point of entry. They can also be the most challenging.
Radio Ink: How can an independent owner compete for a flat piece of the ad revenue pie?
Martinez: They can compete by continuously improving their local programming, promotions, and salesforce. Service continues to be the key in any size market. In some cases the larger groups undersell themselves and do not emphasize enough client support. Lastly, we must all evolve to media companies which will address the needs of our clients today.
Radio Ink: In general, what should a potential independent owner be looking at before investing in radio?
Martinez: A market with a healthy revenue base, an underserved population, and a property that has great coverage and has great potential to succeed.
Don’t miss the rest of what Tomas Martinez has to say about why smaller can be better and more profitable in the new year, exclusively at Forecast 2020. He’ll be joined by Jonathan Brewster, CEO, Cherry Creek Media, and Kristin Cantrell, owner/CEO, Cap Cities/Seven Mountains Media, in a session led by Erica Farber, President/CEO, Radio Advertising Bureau.
See the full agenda for Forecast HERE.
Register HERE.
I have a stand-alone in market 242–125K 12+. First, there are no “under-served markets,” 80-90 took care of that long time ago. I compete against 12 commercial stations, not to mention audience-sucking non-coms like K-Luv.
Small markets require twice the effort for less money. We’ve watched considerable erosion of regional and national money since we bought this station 10 years ago. So our revenue is almost exclusively local direct. Luckily my business partner has extensive sales experience and contacts going back 40 years.
Two group owners in town, one –muddy waters–has no local presence (three rooms in an office complex), cuts rates like crazy, but has the advantage of national consultants for their carefully massaged 300 cut rotation music stations.
We have two other stations-one in a town of 2300 with only AM competition, and a second in a town of 5,000 going against an AM/Fm with an FM. We’ve been in the first for more than 35 years, control the market, but it is still a daily battle as businesses come and go. The other town is dying, but we have little operational expense. But no debt on these stations.
Summary: You want to go into a small market?–very little debt, find local sales contacts, prepare for the long haul.