The Advantage of Locally Owned Radio

(By Mike McVay) This past week I visited two different locally-owned radio clusters – one in a Major Market and one in a Small/Medium Market. Similarities between the two clusters include their financial success, commitment to their communities, focus on their audiences, and working with their advertisers to ensure their success.

They don’t sell advertising. They sell cars, products, services, foods, merchandise, and more. They’re fully committed to delivering a return on the investment made by those who commit to using their advertising platforms. There was a lot of discussion about being everywhere and being seen everywhere.

Given the work that I do as a consultant and my career-long experiences, I am blessed to work with radio stations in multiple-size markets. Some are part of large companies. Others are, as previously stated, owned by individuals. I consult syndicated and network programming, work with podcast companies and podcasters, consult digital companies, branding & imaging creators, artists & songwriters, and coach talent.

All of those various entities come back to one thing. Focus and emphasis on delivering promises made, be they to advertisers or the audience. 

I witnessed sellers participating in promotional meetings, bringing ideas to the table that can satisfy an advertiser’s needs while creating attractive promotions or exciting events that will engage an audience. Air talent who are making appearances. Talk of service to the community. People inside of a building. Studios with humans sitting behind consoles. And even a receptionist who answers the phone when someone calls or welcomes a person who shows up at the physical offices of a radio station. This wasn’t 2010. This was last week. 

We are in a “For Profit” business. How we arrive at that profit varies greatly from the biggest companies to those that are locally owned. When you have scale, you can have greater shared expenses and multitask across business platforms and across markets. There is less pressure on each individual station to perform at the highest level.

A large cluster with multiple stations can afford to have some participants who underperform in revenue and ratings. A locally owned cluster has less opportunity to lay off expenses and cover up inferior content or poor sales. They have to perform at a higher level. They have no safety net.

In the HBO miniseries Rome, the civil war between Pompey and Caesar is depicted in a way that reminds me of the advantage that locally owned radio operators have, given the right mindset. There is a scene where Caesar’s army is surrounded. He summons General Marc Antony to bring reinforcements. Upon meeting with Caesar, the Emperor tells him, “We are surrounded. We are outnumbered, and we shall surely die.” Antony is furious and challenges the Emperor by asking “Are you mad? You had me come here and leave Rome unprotected? Why?”

Julius Caesar’s response has stuck with me since watching the miniseries. “You have the ability to fire up the troops. You can convince them that they have one battle to win: this one. Because if they don’t, they die.” Caesar’s army won. 

That’s the advantage of local owners. They have to win.

Mike McVay is President of McVay Media and can be reached at [email protected]. Read Mike’s Radio Ink archives here.