And this format would attract listeners in the demos advertisers want to reach ... how, exactly? Would it attract 25-44 females from AC? 35-54 males from sports and classic rock? Black or English-dominant Hispanic listeners from Urban, CHR and other rhythmic formats? I can't see it attracting anything but 55+ white males looking to turn back the clock in the belief that the way radio sounded in the '60s and '70s and the content it offered back then will "make radio red hot" (Remember that industry campaign?) today.
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A national news radio idea
- Thread starter MrRadio
- Start date
The same way everything else is in commercial radio, either by advertising, or if you subscribe to a streaming service, through subscription fees.
Just this morning I was listening to AP News on Alexa (the kind of news digest I envision), and evidently it's rolled into my Amazon Music subscription in general. I use TuneIn (which is also accessible via Alexa) for much of my radio listening, and TuneIn is also available through Apple CarPlay.
Advertising would be tough, given the age of the news audience. The subscription price of a single channel like this would make it prohibitive.
Why do they need "web site owners?" Those companies already own some of the most trafficked sites on the web.
You need local news. I don't think the local station operators would want to hire their own staff to fill those segments if they're trying to do news on the cheap by taking a feed.
I really like the idea. There are so many AM stations with so few listeners.
Unfortunately, as many have pointed out, making it work financially is problematic. A running national news feed with local weather inserted might be?
Other than the Black Information Network, it seems only the biggest (and older) cities have all-news stations. NYC, Philly, Detroit, Chicago, DC, San Francisco and Los Angeles? Perhaps a couple others.
Boston is part time. Not sure about Seattle.
Unfortunately, as many have pointed out, making it work financially is problematic. A running national news feed with local weather inserted might be?
Other than the Black Information Network, it seems only the biggest (and older) cities have all-news stations. NYC, Philly, Detroit, Chicago, DC, San Francisco and Los Angeles? Perhaps a couple others.
Boston is part time. Not sure about Seattle.
The Black Information Network does a good job, I listened to them in Greenville when I was up there, to get my hourly news fix.
Why is BIN still airing PSA's reminding people the importance of voting this Nov. 5th???? This is a national radio network. Is there anyone monitoring what's going out over the air? Oh wait, its run by iHeart, that explains it.
Yep, NBC NIS didn't work then, certainly won't work today.
BIN is not like the typical format. BIN exists because a core group of companies (advertisers elsewhere) kick in a certain dollar figure to pay for BIN and have it turn a bit of a profit for iHeart. If they don't sell a commercial, they still make a profit. They can have a .1 in the ratings and be okay. They can be on a less that great AM signal without issue.
BIN was not designed to get ratings. It was launched in the summer of 2020--the summer of George Floyd--and signed corporate sponsors who probably felt being a sponsor would help their image.
When I was in Greenville earlier this year, I found that the only way I could get news on the hour, was to tune to BIN. Everything else was pretty much either country music or religious programming (the latter not surprising for Greenville). WBT from Charlotte was the only other choice I was able to find.
Within the current environment where some are trying to make "woke" into a dirty word, is there a future for BIN?
I have not listened recently, but has anyone compiled a sponsor list so that we could analyze why they are on an un-rated network and what future purpose that presence may give them in establishing their brand as being actively pro-equal rights?
When I did listen in the earliest period of its operation, I found the content simply more specifically focused on Black interests and it was not particularly controversial or combative. It did seem that they were on stories rather late and held them rather too long.
Here you go:
Our Founding Partner | BIN: Black Information Network
A special thanks to our proud founding partner who shares and supports the mission of the BIN: Black Information Network.
More details here:
iHeartMedia’s Black Information Network Is First of Its Kind - Strategic Media Inc.
iHeartMedia has launched Black Information Network, the first 24/7 national and local all-news audio service for the Black community.
www.strategicmediainc.com
The future of the network is 100% based on those sponsors continued support. That goes away, and the network goes away. If it does, iHeart could easily pivot to a 24/7 outlet for TTN. (Total Traffic & News)
How many of those are still on the air with them, and have they added additional sponsors?Here you go:
Our Founding Partner | BIN: Black Information Network
A special thanks to our proud founding partner who shares and supports the mission of the BIN: Black Information Network.www.binnews.com
More details here:
iHeartMedia’s Black Information Network Is First of Its Kind - Strategic Media Inc.
iHeartMedia has launched Black Information Network, the first 24/7 national and local all-news audio service for the Black community.
The future of the network is 100% based on those sponsors continued support. That goes away, and the network goes away. If it does, iHeart could easily pivot to a 24/7 outlet for TTN. (Total Traffic & News)
I listened for 10 minutes and heard custom BIN spots for CVS and Bank of America. So they're still current.
That list of sponsors/underwriters are the Founding ones. 23andMe....Yikes! You have to wonder if they will continue as an underwriter. And looking at the BIN website they may not be, the only founding partners mentioned on the website as of 12/14/24, are Bank of America, CVS Health and Geico. No mention of Lowe’s, McDonald’s USA, Sony, 23andMe or Verizon. I'll have to listen to see if they mention any of the sponsors on air.
Is BIN/iHeart seeking out new sponsors/underwriters? That's the question. Do they have any outreach or recruiting for new money. Just looked at the Team link and lots of Hosts and Anchors but no one brining in money.
Is BIN/iHeart seeking out new sponsors/underwriters? That's the question. Do they have any outreach or recruiting for new money. Just looked at the Team link and lots of Hosts and Anchors but no one brining in money.
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