Black Information Network

[Valueratio]

Hello:

This is my first time returning to post on this forum for approximately 10 years.
I hope this is the correct forum for this topic, rather than the News/Talk forum.

I am not a radio industry professional, but I have been a fan of news/talk radio formats as long as I can remember.

Until 2 weeks ago, I was unaware of the existence of the BIN radio format. I inadvertently stumbled onto a local affiliate (1340 Springfield, OH) and after a brief listen, I have so many questions...

Is this format profitable for iHeartMedia - as a network?

Do you think any of the individual stations in this network are profitable?

Would advertising sales for this format be national/agency placements? Would the ad sales on these signals be a cluster ad sales "throw-in" to provide some reach to Black consumers?

Does this format attract any local ad buys?

Any idea of how this format does ratings-wise? Do any of these stations subscribe to a ratings service?

In terms of signal and coverage, which of the stations are the best of the lot?

Prior to becoming BIN affiliates, were any of these stations considered important in the Black community, in their respective markets?

Is there enough news content that fits this format to sustain 24/7 programming?

Any there any prominent Black radio personalities working on this network?

Do you think this format could revitalize AM listening in the Black community? Or is it just a low-cost automated format that can be parked on an underperforming station?

Do Black audiences still listen to AM radio? There still seems to be some interest in local Black-oriented talk radio (stations such as WVON in Chicago and WDBZ-AM and WCIN-AM in Cincinnati). I notice that these stations are not affiliates of BIN.

I apologize in advance for the elementary level of some of these questions, but I am truly wanting to be educated about this format.

 

[TheBigA]

My response is here:

https://www.radiodiscussions.com/threads/black-information-network.765736/#post-6634405

 

[radiorobert]

Just curious, how many stations is it on currently?

 

[Mediafrog+]

Just curious, how many stations is it on currently?

Here you go: How To Listen To BIN | BIN: Black Information Network

 

[MarkW]

As someone who resides within strong listening range of a BIN affiliate (1130 WDFN in Detroit), I'll be happy to answer some of the questions presented above.

Would advertising sales for this format be national/agency placements? Would the ad sales on these signals be a cluster ad sales "throw-in" to provide some reach to Black consumers?

I've heard zero local advertising on 1130 WDFN and little national advertising as well. Most "commercial" breaks seem to be filled with vignettes regarding historical events or other pre-recorded content.

I am hearing a spot play for CVS Pharmacy as I'm typing this reply.

Does this format attract any local ad buys?

Based on what I've observed on 1130 WDFN - no.

Any idea of how this format does ratings-wise? Do any of these stations subscribe to a ratings service?

Many are located in PPM markets and are encoded. With the exception of 105.3 FM in Hampton Roads, VA, I've yet to see one score any higher than a 0.3 share.

In terms of signal and coverage, which of the stations are the best of the lot?

105.3 in Hampton Roads (Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, et al.) is the one I'd say is the best of the lot.

640 in Chicago (which is operated by iHM under an LMA), 640 in Atlanta and 1130 in Detroit have decent signals, especially during the daytime, by AM radio standards. Neither of these come close to being able to compete with top-rated AM stations in their respective markets, though, with regard to land coverage, and all suffer from less than full market coverage at night.

Prior to becoming BIN affiliates, were any of these stations considered important in the Black community, in their respective markets?

Most previously aired syndicated sports talk content or syndicated news/talk content that received very little listenership. In the case of Chicago's WMFN, it was actually rebroadcasting a Regional Mexican station based in Michigan, as bizarre as that may seem.

Is there enough news content that fits this format to sustain 24/7 programming?

On the Detroit station, weekdays are programmed largely like an all-news station, and I'd say 75%+ of the news stories are similar to what one might hear on 950 WWJ. In the case of the Detroit station, many hours of programming during weekdays are tailored to the Metro Detroit region specifically, and at least a couple of the on-air hosts are based locally.

Any there any prominent Black radio personalities working on this network?

Not to my knowledge.

Do you think this format could revitalize AM listening in the Black community? Or is it just a low-cost automated format that can be parked on an underperforming station?

It's a rather high cost format (multiple anchors, reporters, producers, production people and the like) that is being parked mostly on obscure AM stations and is being bankrolled by several large corporate sponsors for what I suspect are primarily public perception reasons.

Those dollars ought to instead be directed to after-school programs for disadvantaged youth, educational & job training programs, etc., in my opinion.

Do Black audiences still listen to AM radio? There still seems to be some interest in local Black-oriented talk radio (stations such as WVON in Chicago and WDBZ-AM and WCIN-AM in Cincinnati). I notice that these stations are not affiliates of BIN.

Ratings of urban talk stations on the AM dial have declined dramatically in the past 20 years. These have always been niche stations, and now they've become ultra niche stations. I have no idea if African American audience share for AM stations such as Chicago's WSCR (Sports) or Detroit's WWJ (News), for example, vary significantly from Caucasian share. That's a great question; I'd love to know the answer if anyone knows it.

What I do know is African Americans listen very little to conservative news/talk outlets. I saw a detailed ratings analysis a decade ago that indicated 99 percent of 760 WJR's audience in an average quarter hour is white.

The numbers for a full service AM station such as 700 WLW that carries some conservative talk but is not exclusively conservative talk, and that carries a lot of sports programming, would be interesting to see.

 

[davideduardo]

Until 2 weeks ago, I was unaware of the existence of the BIN radio format. I inadvertently stumbled onto a local affiliate (1340 Springfield, OH) and after a brief listen, I have so many questions...

Here is my interpretation. Add this to MarkW's great response.

Is this format profitable for iHeartMedia - as a network?

It is likely that it is. Even low rated national networks tend to make money, with Salem's low rated conservative talk being an example. A network is easy to buy compared to individual buys of lots and lots of single local stations.

Except for the technical costs of keeping all the transmitters on the air, the cost for 30 network stations is not much more than a single local station. Of course, BIN ads some local shows in larger markets, but it is likely they make that a "star" topic in sales presentation.

Do you think any of the individual stations in this network are profitable?

I doubt the even break that data out internally. It's run as a network. I was sales manager for a "national network" in Puerto Rico and programmed several others and we never did separate financials for the individual properties as that data did not help; our entire sales pitch was "total coverage" and we did not look for local sales at all.

Would advertising sales for this format be national/agency placements? Would the ad sales on these signals be a cluster ad sales "throw-in" to provide some reach to Black consumers?

I suspect that sales for the BIN is done in separate presentations and, likely, at a much higher level than media planners or media buyers. They likely make a primary point out of "community support and brand presence".

Does this format attract any local ad buys?

It might in some markets. That is a bonus. I suspect, though, that many of those stations do not even have local sellers.

Any idea of how this format does ratings-wise? Do any of these stations subscribe to a ratings service?

They are all iHeart stations and iHeart has other stations in the markets. If you are a subscriber for your other stations, you are a subscriber for the BIN station.

In terms of signal and coverage, which of the stations are the best of the lot?

MarkW defined this. Remember, also, that Black communities tend to be concentrated in certain areas so all those station do cover the bulk of the local Black communities. Of course, there is a percentage of the Black population that is not in such areas and most of those AMs have limited or restricted night signals. Daytime, they are all pretty adequate.

Prior to becoming BIN affiliates, were any of these stations considered important in the Black community, in their respective markets?

As Mark said, they were a diverse bunch of secondary AM signals that had a range of formats. A lot of them are stations iHeart inherited as part of deals in the heavy consolidation days and kept "just in case". For a while, many thought that AM stereo would revive AM; how terribly wrong that idea was!

Is there enough news content that fits this format to sustain 24/7 programming?

Not all of it is specifically Black, but often the difference is detailing how things affect Black communities.

Any there any prominent Black radio personalities working on this network?

No more than there are on general market all news stations. BIN is not "all news" and it is not "all talk". It is a bit like news with analysis. Within its universe, it could develop "stars" of a specialized type such as Maria Bartiromo on business channels past and present.

Do you think this format could revitalize AM listening in the Black community? Or is it just a low-cost automated format that can be parked on an underperforming station?

A bit of each. AM is tough for those under about 40 and the Black community is much younger than the non-Hispanic white community. I don't know how much they are promoting streaming and podcasts, but they need to be in all forms of new media.

Do Black audiences still listen to AM radio? There still seems to be some interest in local Black-oriented talk radio (stations such as WVON in Chicago and WDBZ-AM and WCIN-AM in Cincinnati). I notice that these stations are not affiliates of BIN.

I question whether this will continue if the BLM and other related movements loose their furror and angst. If some of the current emotion fades into acceptance of limited improvements, companies that found success by allying themselves with aspects of those movements may see less incentive if there is no large profit attached to their support of Black causes.

I apologize in advance for the elementary level of some of these questions, but I am truly wanting to be educated about this format.

Many of the questions are both good and, from the social aspect, hard to answer as they relate to a combination of forces that can be called "social consciousness is good business".