In the second release from a new study of radio industry thought-leaders, managers say their radio brands can make more money by monetizing streams separately with their own spot inventory than by simulcasting those spots with the over-the-air brands.
The study was conducted by Mark Ramsey Media by telephone in November and December, 2014 among more than 100 top-50 market radio General Managers, Sales Managers, Digital Executives, and Program Directors.
56% of these managers say a separate monetization strategy for streams with their own spot inventory will likely make more money than simulcasting those streaming spots with over-the-air content (26%). That’s a ratio of more than two to one.
So despite the temptation to simulcast streams for a remote chance of overall ratings impact, most managers acknowledge that more money can likely be made by separating streaming from over the air inventory.
Separately, I previously reported that radio managers anticipated a dramatic rise in the fraction of revenue derived from digital sources over the next five years.