What are you getting from your radio station TV partnerships? Many News/Talk stations have a TV partner for weather and/or news. I have seen a lot of these deals over the years and the radio station usually gets the bad end of the stick. What are you really getting? Let us go through actual real-life scenarios.
A local TV station provides weather for your cluster. This is featuring the market TV weather star. Frequently, radio stations think that this will add CUME and/or prestige to the weather information on the station. In some cases, it really does. If your station is partnering with the biggest weather name in the market, it can be a win.
Are you always getting that big name on the weather forecast twenty-four hours a day, 365 days a year? If you are not, you are being robbed. The big name is the big name. The weekend weather meteorologist is not the star. The morning weather meteorologist is not the star. If these people were that important, the TV station would use that person in the late news. The weather promos start and end with the weather star. Ok, does the TV weather star mention your radio station in the forecast? Why not? Has the TV weather star recorded a promo for your station? Why not? So, the TV meteorologist is on your News/Talk station 4 times an hour every day. How much do four thirty-second spots sell for at your station? What are you getting for this partnership?
You receive access to audio from the TV station for your station’s news coverage. Sadly, news departments on radio stations have seen cutbacks on staff. There are reasons to get access to this audio especially for times that the radio newsroom is unoccupied. Is the TV station giving you access to their sound or are they providing audio specifically for the radio station? This can be negotiated, by the way. What are you getting for allowing the TV station’s audio to air on your radio station? What are you getting? I will tell you what you should receive later in this article.
Radio newsrooms have a tough time showing ROI. What is the return on investment? There are several factors in determining this number depending on the company. Frequently, it is money tied to newscasts. Some stations sell these sponsorships for huge amounts of sweet cash money. I have seen some stations where news is sold as a freebie to a big schedule on a station.
Generally speaking, if your station is missing sales goals, the bean counters begin to look at every expense. If the ROI is low, on paper, your news team will be sacrificed. I love our Account Executives and Sales Managers. They keep food on our tables. If you are a programmer, you should really investigate how your newscasts are monetized. If newscasts are given away for free, I would sit with the Market Manager and Sales Manager to discuss protecting the staff.
What should you get in your TV partnership? Radio is a business, and this relationship should be a quid pro quo. I believe that all exposure on your radio station should receive much better exposure on the TV station. So, four weather reports an hour, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. That is 672 thirty-second spots a week.
Just for argument’s sake, your station’s average spot rate for a 30 second commercial is $50. That is $33,600 dollars of exposure on your radio station every week. That is $1,747,000 a year. What are you getting for it? I have seen these partnerships so one sided that radio is being robbed. I have seen just a radio station logo at the end of the late news. Is that equitable? Is your weather partnership worth $1.7 million dollars of freebies a year? Does your weather partnership benefit your brand? Realize that local TV viewership has cratered over the past decade.
What should you get for that partnership? I would sure negotiate that your station receive trade in spots with that TV partner. Now, what does that look like? I doubt that a TV station will give you dollar for dollar trade. I would trade out a commentary or analysis from a talk show host on the station’s news. Many TV stations have a show with guests that pay for that exposure. Nexstar has a show called, “Living Well.” Get appearances on that. I would seek 15 second and 30 second spots. That number is totally up to you. Think this through. Be ready to walk away from the partnership and use a weather service.
Your radio station is a valuable resource to your community. Your station should not bastardize The Brand. If your TV partnership is diluting your brand, it may be time to move along. Your TV partner is likely playing you for suckers and morons. This ain’t 1987. Local TV is not that big of a deal anymore. Radio is much more vibrant than your TV station is. Don’t live in the past, live for today. I would fully assess your TV partnership and renegotiate the terms. I guarantee you that the TV station will be more than compliant to get something done. Don’t be scared to walk away. Your radio station’s brand is worth protecting.
Peter Thiele is a weekly news/talk radio columnist for Barrett Media, and an experienced news/talk radio programmer. He recently served as program director for WHO/KXNO in Des Moines, IA. Prior to that role he held programming positions in New York City, San Francisco, Little Rock, Greenville, Hunstville, and Joplin. Peter has also worked as a host, account executive and producer in Minneapolis, and San Antonio. He can be found on Twitter at @PeterThiele.
