IBA: Strength In Numbers
• Back in April Adams Radio Group CEO Ron Stone first broached the subject of creating an Independent Broadcasters Association (IBA). The concept was initially pitched to several thousand independent radio stations to come together and support the Radio Cares: Feeding America Emergency Radiothon. Some 3,400 individual stations – along with several major groups and networks — participated in this successful campaign, which took place on Thursday, April 30 and raised over $500,000 for Feeding America.
In an email sent out to over 4,000 broadcasters, Stone laid out the case for the creation of an Independent Broadcasters Association (IBA). The missive also included Stone’s thoughts on what the organization would focus on immediately and during its first two years:
1) Group Employee Benefits — better coverage and lower prices, and potentially add additional benefits for our employees;
2) Revenue Generation — An unwired network & digital platform supported by a national sales team to monetize for us;
3) Digital Services Group — would enable continuity across independent stations giving us the opportunity to accomplish double-digit digital revenue through Web, Mobile, Alexa, & Streaming;
4) Shared Resources – a system that allows sharing of that talent in non-competitive situations and reduces our dependence on national syndication that requires cash, barter and sometimes both;
5) Proprietary Systems and Services – Under the umbrella of a member owned association, we can create proprietary systems that we control and eliminate some of the costly monthly per station fees for traffic, accounting, CRM, Yield Management, even automation and music scheduling.
Stone said, “There has never been a time in radio history when this organization has been needed more… All independents need the help this highly focused organization will bring in revenue generation, cost savings and shared resources. We have just under 1,000 stations already signed up on the site in two days. There are 7,000 independents. I believe more of the independents than not will see the value of this organization. The next two weeks will determine how interested the industry is in this concept as the recipients of my email have time to digest it and respond.”
Interested independent owners / operators interested in signing up without any commitment, allowing the IBA to gauge the overall interest level, please visit: http://radioiba.org.
