Rob Neal is the Executive Director of the International Black Broadcasters Association. Neal has written a letter to FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel in support of the proposed rule change to FM boosters that would allow broadcasters to Geo-target programming for several minutes per hour.
Neal wrote that minority broadcasters are particularly vulnerable in the current economic environment, and thus it is more important than ever that regulators provide broadcasters with the flexibility to innovate with new technologies that hold the potential to make them more competitive. “We agree that geo-targeting technology holds this potential, by enabling broadcasters to sell targeted advertising to small, minority-owned businesses that may not need or want market-wide advertising.”
Earlier this week the National Association of Black owned Broadcasters pulled its support for the rule change. The NAB has been fighting hard to stop the change from occurring.
Neal says the change would benefit both the broadcasters, who could sell more ads, and mom-and-pop businesses that could afford them, targeted advertising directly in their communities. “This would ultimately have the effect of enabling minority broadcasters to super-serve communities that are currently underserved.”
There is no time-frame for when The Commission will make a decision on the proposed rule change.
