Lakeville, Minnesota, September 4, 2020: The Independent Broadcasters Association (IBA) announced today that the IBA Membership website is officially “open for business!” Also announced today is a network radio ad sales partnership with New York City-based AdLarge Media to create two new independent radio station networks.
The IBA Board approved the membership offering on August 17. The membership fee is designed so that every radio station can afford to participate and benefit from all the deliverables underway. The cost of membership is $100 per station annually plus one :60 unit of advertising per week, Monday – Friday 6a-7p. Plans are set for an additional network that will deliver network revenue directly to member stations. Broadcasters can go to www.IBA.media to sign up. Stations that have signed up by September 30 will be included on the upfront national network avails for 2021.
There are currently 2,766 stations that have expressed interest in joining the IBA. Ron Stone, President of the IBA said, “We anticipate many more stations to sign up beyond those that have already expressed interest. With the launch of the AdLarge partnership, any station in need of new revenue should be signing up. If you are not a member, your stations will not be able to participate. I honestly cannot imagine any independent station not wanting to see new revenue flow their way. Independent radio will finally have a seat at the table for network revenue.”
AdLarge Co-Founder and Co-Chief Executive Officer Gary Schonfeld commented on the partnership, “We are thrilled to work with Ron and the independent radio stations across the country that are joining the IBA. This partnership comes at a most opportune time, giving independent radio groups and stations more power and prominence in network radio advertising. Ron’s industry leadership in creating the IBA will help thousands of radio stations nationwide generate additional revenue, and we are honored to be a part of it.”
“Radio is a powerful reach medium that can influence consumers because it touches their lives in their local communities,” observed AdLarge Co-Founder and Co-Chief Executive Officer, Cathy Csukas. “We look forward to bringing these new opportunities to our network radio advertisers and their agencies, who are looking to connect with consumers on Main Street.”
Stone also made note of several additional deliverables that will be announced soon. Stone said, “We have been working very hard to deliver on many opportunities. One of the big ones that will be rolled out by December 31 is a multi-layered traffic product, currently being tested in multiple markets. This system combines traffic, CRM, yield management and analytic tools to eliminate the redundancy and cost of multiple systems. What will be delivered is a system that will not only handle the back of the house duties, it will help sellers create new revenue and reduce attrition. This system will be available in 2021 at a significant savings to what independent broadcasters now pay for similar services.”
The website will also be evolving quickly, adding elements that will create more opportunities and savings for members including:
Shared Services | Shared Production | Promotions Idea Bank | Sales Idea Bank | Job Bank| News Service | Engineering Question & Answer Board | Networking | Educational Services | Help Line for accounting, traffic, programming, sales, human resources
Stone added, “the heavy lifting will begin soon on the new digital platform that will bring all the independents an opportunity to participate in true digital revenue, previously off limits to us. No more moving money from one pocket to the other. I want to thank Chris Peaslee and the entire Vipology team for all their efforts in getting the IBA website built and launched, and for the vision that they are providing for the new digital platform.”
About Independent Broadcasters Association
The IBA will serve independent radio stations. Our goal is to provide independent operators with ways to drive new revenue and achieve cost benefits from scale that cannot be achieved alone. We are working together to improve operating results for all!
About AdLarge Media:
AdLarge Media is the leading independent ad sales and content company with lifestyle-driven audio environments that span am/fm, podcasting, on-demand, and streaming. Its diverse portfolio reaches 207 million listeners a week across 5,000 radio stations and over 45 million monthly downloads across digital audio platforms. The company was founded by industry leaders Cathy Csukas and Gary Schonfeld in 2010, and its digital division was relaunched as cabana in 2017. AdLarge has offices in New York, Chicago, Detroit, and Denver. For more information, please visit www.adlarge.com.
IBA Contact:
Ron Stone
President
952.232.0588 | ronstone@adamsradiogroup.com
Media Contact for AdLarge Media:
Renee Cassis
RC Communications Marketing
646-808-6505 | cassis2@msn.com
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