By now you’re probably familiar with the recently announced initiative from FOX that will reduce commercial content to just two minutes per hour by 2020. This comes as audiences are spending less time on network TV and more time on OTT (over the top) platforms like Amazon and Netflix. While in some cases younger demographics have opted away from traditional TV altogether, the greatest problem is the reduced time spent viewing on traditional TV, particularly among younger demo

Gordon Borrell has issued his latest report benchmarking local media’s digital revenues. Required reading for anyone in the local media business. Yesterday I published a transcript of Part 1 and the full video interview. Today, Part 2: Whereas the emphasis in the radio industry seems to be “let’s communicate the value of the Nielsen numbers, let’s make the Nielsen numbers as accurate as they can be,” you’re suggesting that there’s way too much dependence on Nielsen and the tr

Gordon Borrell has issued his latest report benchmarking local media’s digital revenues, and it’s another eye-opener. Here’s my full conversation with Gordon about this report, the consequences for the radio industry, and what radio can learn from it. Part 1 publishes today, Part 2 tomorrow. What’s the biggest way this report is different from your previous reports? I think after 15 years, basically, of doing these reports, you really either see a pattern or you’re stupid. An

So last week I penned a strong piece suggesting that the radio industry drop PPM. The argument was stimulated by the discovery that Nielsen households can contain up to 16 meters. For me, this was the straw that broke the proverbial camel’s back. The piece sparked a firestorm and almost a thousand Facebook shares, not because my points were so salient (although I hope they were) but because there does not seem to exist a single PPM subscriber who considers themselves satisfie

Lizzie Widhelm is Pandora’s Senior Vice President of Ad Product Sales & Strategy where she spearheads the team that brings advertising products to life and to market. At this Q&A from hivio, the audio future festival, Lizzie talks about the evolving Pandora platform and how it’s changing its sales strategy to meet the future head-on. Here are some of the questions we cover: Why is this evolution of Pandora so important? How is the new shape of Pandora likely to be different f

Podcasting is helping millions of listeners fall in love with audio all over again. That’s from the perspective of someone who has been at the center of radio, digital, and now podcasting. Mike Agovino is Executive Vice Chairman of PodcastOne and former COO of Triton Digital – two firms at the core of the new age of digital audio. In this conversation from hivio, the audio future festival, Mark Ramsey talks with Agovino about the amazing impact of podcasting for advertisers a

Last week I published a piece using actual data from actual broadcasters that argued that their brands could make more money if streaming spots were monetized separately from over-the-air spots. That is, separate inventories have greater revenue potential than one simulcast pool. So how does a radio broadcaster maximize revenue from that online-only pool of inventory? I’m going to provide some thoughts on that. Now I’ll warn you: Not all of these ideas are easy and some of th

Over the past few weeks I have heard the story more than once: A big segment of a News/Talk show or a morning show was given over to an interview subject whose identity, content, and duration had nothing to do with what interested audiences and everything to do with what advertisers are paying for. Everybody was in on this joke – except for the audience. For them it was just crappy content. It seems quaint to reflect on the fact that advertisers once bought spots. Today, the

Once upon a time a radio station featured two opposing forces: The sellers who sold the ads that interrupted the content and the programmers who created the content to grow the audience that sellers interrupted. The system was built to do two things: Maximize the audience and then throw obstacles at them – spots – that blocked their ability to enjoy the content they came to the brand for in the first place. Sounds like a house of cards, doesn’t it? While each side – sellers a

Pandora is changing more than the way folks consume radio – it’s changing the way agencies view audio advertising. This was at the center of my conversation with Pandora VP Audio Sales Doug Sterne at the hivio audio future festival in San Diego in June, 2014. Among the questions Doug answers: What impact has online radio in general — and Pandora in particular — had on audio as a force among agencies? For online radio, audio is more than just audio. What creative opportunities

As the demands of radio’s business change – as advertisers look beyond ratings to effectiveness – how should broadcasters adapt? That’s the question I put to Dave Ramsey, host of the nationally syndicated Dave Ramsey Show, which is heard on more than 500 radio stations throughout the US and Canada. Dave’s also an author, television host, and speaker. Listen to our full conversation – it’s a must-hear if you’re on radio’s business side: Alternate version: Audio clip: Adobe Fl

Local radio is now, more than ever, in the local media business. And that means not just selling spots or selling digital ideas that live around those spots.  It also means helping your current and potential clients create better media themselves and compete more effectively in the digital space your radio brand doesn’t own. But how to do that effectively and efficiently? That’s where BuzzBoard comes in. BuzzBoard is a complete digital presence analysis platform that enables

This is part two of one of the most important interviews you will watch, read, or listen to this year. Clark Kokich is the chairman of Razorfish, the well-known international digital agency. He is also the author of a fabulous new book called Do or Die. What follows is an abbreviated transcript of our chat….Part 2… What’s the best way for someone in the media business who wants to put these pieces together to “do”? What’s the best way for them to approach this process from t

This is one of the most important interviews you will watch, read, or listen to this year. Clark Kokich is the chairman of Razorfish, the well-known international digital agency. He is also the author of a fabulous new book called Do or Die Watch: Prefer audio?  Try this: Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser. Download mp3 (You can sub

Value to clients is about more than running ads.  And value to consumers is about more than simply playing music. That’s the new world of radio today. No longer is there a “sales side” or a “programming side.”  Nowadays there’s only one “side” and it’s the “value side.” Value to clients and consumers at the very same time – mediated by your brand. In the digital space, its all about value – not about interruptive ads stuck in the middle of valued content. In many ways, the cl

Recently I was visiting a client and sitting in on a sales meeting, when the GM flew in, looking as animated as I had ever seen him. It seems that a nearby sister-cluster’s sales team had thrown down the gauntlet. Not only did they have the gall to suggest they were a more potent sales team, but they had the gall to do it in a song! A song?! How dare they, this smaller market!? And to make matters worse, the song was funny and clever and biting in just the right good-nature

Gordon Borrell is a fan of radio, but not of radio’s performance on the digital sales front. How are radio’s digital selling efforts different from those of other media platforms? It turns out they differ quite a lot. It’s a sad thing, says Borrell, and radio is on the verge of “blowing it.” You need to go to the highest level in the organization, says Borrell, to make the investments required to keep radio healthy for the long run. Watch this conversation with Gordon Borrell

Recently I was interviewed by a reporter for a major advertising trade, and she asked me whether broadcasters “see the light” that shines on future opportunities, or are they stuck in the past, defending an industry structure that will never be what it once was. Many do see that light, I explained.  And there are two stories broadcasters can tell, one of which is unfortunately favored over the other. The first story is one of decline. It’s one where radio reacts reflexively t

Sometimes the only thing standing between your radio brand and a new client is the right creative on the right platform.  Cash by Creative is built to solve that problem, according to CbC CEO Yaman Coskun. Having facilitated millions of dollars in new revenue for CBS Radio, CbC is now available to all broadcasters.  I’m no expert in selling solutions but this sure seems like a good idea to me. Cash by Creative has rich resource for customizable spec creative for almost any di

How much potential radio revenue is left on the table in your market? What if radio were less scary or complicated to buy for small- and medium-sized businesses?  Especially for those small- and medium-sized businesses which are comfortable with the kind of self-serve advertising platforms popularized by folks like Google and Facebook? That’s where The Media Dash and their new product, The Media Dash Local, comes in: The Media Dash Local, which provides an easy way for small-