This is the real issue we are all avoiding

[dittohead1]

There aren't enough "radio dollars" (advertising money targeted to radio) to sustain all these stations as they are currently being operated. Not just talking about CC either. This is especially true in the Triad where the amount of money spent on radio has gone down every year. The Triangle is in slightly better shape. Discuss.

 

[powerdown]

Then the weak will die, the strong will survive. Once that happens...only two ways to go...sideways, or up!

 

[quadraphonic]

Brokered block programming baby!

Bringin' radio back to the people's level!

 

[realradioplayer]

I think the real issue is that the money allocated to radio is smaller than it should be .... advertisers continue to make poor decisions on where they put their marketing dollars .... the Newspaper consitently out bills radio .... that is ineffecient as the newspaper has not kept pace with market growth since the 80's it does not have the reach or frequency of radio and does not begin to compete on a cost effeciency level ..... the next waste of marketing dollars is the yellow pages ... let me ask you when is the last time you looked in the yellow pages? It has been years for me .... I get my info on-line .... yet marketers continue to buy yellow page ads. So my answer is YES - there are enough ad dollars to go around ... radio sellers need to do a better job of positioning the medium of radio and get dollars from the failing mediums of newspaper and yellow pages.

 

[turkeydance]

my 2 cents:
there are not enough ad dollars to support TV/radio/newspaper/online/whatever as it currently stands.
i would make the case that there are not enough LOCAL ad dollars to do LOCAL TV by itself without
discounting from market rate. if all PY 2009 local ad dollars were put in barrels and counted, they would
not add up to just the PY 2007 Local TV dollars. the car guys have gone away (at full rate, anyway).
radio is not the only one being "picked on" in this fight for ads.

 

[dittohead1]

We have been having this debate since I got in the biz back in the 80's. We have not been able to get above x% of the ad dollars and it has been ever thus. While radio seems more affordable these days, soon local TV will have to go "dollar a holler" and cut their rates down to comparability with radio. Then advertisers can get sound + pictures for the same price as just sound. Online is plateauing and radio is hurting very much. Even good radio (as rare as it is) isn't being rewarded.

 

[triadradionewsman]

Even good radio (as rare as it is) isn't being rewarded.

Could you please let us know what you consider to be "good radio"? I realize the term is subjective, but its been a long time since I have consistently heard what I consider to be "good radio". I hear a lot of "bad radio" and "cookie cutter radio", but in these early years of the 21st century I can't find or identify such an animal as "good radio" locally.

 

[BIG APE]

Whatever happened to "Searchlights" at radio Remotes and Grand openings and projecting images..Like the Batman symbol..Man those search lights used to draw 'em in and to the best I can remember weren't that expensive. Oh, and on topic..There is no good radio now!" Too many people are too greedy and it's killed the business. Not to blame Clear Channel or anyone else, but in my opinion, it started when the FCC downgraded the requirements for 1st Phones and later just did away with all operator licenses. The quality of people in the business went from educated to mostly "Ghetto" Ask Bill Cosby.

 

[spacetrucker]

You sure hit that nail on the head. Those of us who went to the trouble and expense to get a 1st phone just to have it downgraded to a "general", then done away with all together sure took a hit. Not only in $$$ but just the idea of why did I go to all that trouble. Can't imagine the mindset of the person who got the 1st and it was a "general" 6 months later.