Justifying another new Public Radio station in a market.

[perenoel6218]

Here's a question. Does anyone on this site have any research or figures to
justify a third Non-comm in a market that already has an NPR public station and
a University Non-comm airing jazz and classical most of the day.
If so, what would the new station tell donors and supporters in order to "sell"
those folks on the fact?
Is it a simple fact of alternative programming? Or stronger emphasis on local
issues the others are skimming over? Just what could it be that would excite
a donor to give funds for a third station?

 

[Al Johnson]

Here's a question. Does anyone on this site have any research or figures to
justify a third Non-comm in a market that already has an NPR public station and
a University Non-comm airing jazz and classical most of the day.
If so, what would the new station tell donors and supporters in order to "sell"
those folks on the fact?
Is it a simple fact of alternative programming? Or stronger emphasis on local
issues the others are skimming over? Just what could it be that would excite
a donor to give funds for a third station?

It's hard to respond to your questions without specifics. Are you asking because you are part of a group that wants to start a third station or because you are with the two existing stations and don't want another player on the field?

Many markets have three (even more) public radio stations, plus additional school and community stations. In most instances with which I am familiar, all seem to have found their place and to be doing well.

What are the two current stations doing? Is the public station running a news and information (talk) format, or do they do news during morning and afternoon drive and mostly music/fine arts the rest of the time (if so, what kinds of music)? You mention the university station runs a mix of jazz and classical, which suggest a third station could be full time in one of those formats, say jazz, leaving the university station to go full time with the other format, say classical. Or the new station could add an additional format such as alternative, folk/acoustic or even standards/big band. It all depends on the market (and the size of the market).

If the third station is essentially a community station, it can function as a "hobby" station with volunteers, no paid staff. Often donors are people interested in a certain type of programming. They donate. They volunteer. They produce shows at their own expense.

Somebody has to think something is missing in what's available now. The question is whether they (or you) can persuade others to invest time and money to provide that missing programming.

If you just want to start a station to start a station and want somebody to give you a good (or marketable) reason for having a third station, that's pretty lame. You know better than any outside "research" what's wanted and needed in your town. If you don't have a "good reason for being" for having a third station, nobody can give it to you.

 

[perenoel6218]

Okay, those are good points.
First the NPR station runs the news magazines and most of the NPR and PRI talk shows
during the daytime, with just a few hours of classical music in the evening, the overnight
they air the BBC World Service. The University noncom runs, as I said, jazz during the
day and classical late afternoon till the next morning at 9.
Our people know what our "third" noncom will do once we hit the airwaves hopefully
fall of 2008. Some children/family programming during the school drive times. A
solid mix of music (all kinds) during the day with some block programming in the
evening (folk hours, world music hours, radio drama, etc.)
My quest is to find if there are any actual research articles available which indicate
whether a market such as ours of about 1 million folks can find a niche, can find
the financial support and can be used when addressing possible donors who might bring
up the area of research and listener needs. Basically something that has been published
which indicates that other similar markets can support and sustain a third full FM
noncom...ammunition to take into a foundation meeting!!!

 

[Shiny Knob]

There is certainly room for a third non-com in a large market. But you'll have to be tough. You can expect the NPR station to suck up at least 90% of the available underwriting money and a big chunk of listener support.

Go to the Radio Research Consortium site for some very helpful reports done for public radio stations:
http://www.rrconline.org/reports/

These are probably more general than the format-specific info you want, but you'll get a ton of info that will help you make your programming more popular with the people who would pay your bills. I know that I learned a lot from reading them.

For one thing, you really have to have specific programs that people happily pay for to keep them on the air. NPR knows this and airs specific shows that will bring in the pledges. Morning Edition and Car Talk bring in people who will pay to keep hearing their favorite show. Not just ratings, but pledges and underwriters.

A mixed music format will most likely not generate this kind of listener loyalty. People just don't seem to dig into their jeans for a few bucks to keep music on the radio. But they will pay to keep various specialty shows on, if they can't get them anywhere else. It's hard to compete with most MP3 collections, so a successful station is going to be talking about things that fascinate the audience, rather than playing tunes that are readily available.

You might do well to affiliate with Pacifica, which is very inexpensive to free. They have several shows that are crowd pleasers, particularly Democracy Now and Free Speech Radio News. Those are potential fund raisers with a built in audience.

So if you're going for a music format, set aside those "hard to find an announcer for" morning drive hours for news and info programs. Your first fund drive will tell you what the listeners are willing to pay for.

Whatever you do, make sure the station develops a special identity that people recognize you for around town.

NPR stations have very high ratings. They are generally in the Top 10 in most markets where they have a signal comparable to the commercial stations. It's hard to go head to head against that. Better to be the nimble little guy who can broadcast the shows that aren't heard anywhere else in town.