Arizona EAS upgrades, FREE tickets to NAB, data for sales calls

Arizona Broadcasters,

This week, we're announcing some pending enhancements to Arizona's EAS program with broadcasters. We're also sharing an ABA perk for those of you thinking about a trip to the NAB Show in Las Vegas. We have two new members to welcome as well, a new PEP campaign launching for radio stations, and some headlines that include one study you may want to take out on sales calls around Arizona.

We've also got a new incentive to offer if you haven't yet registered for the ABA's critical April fundraiser, The Broadcast Scholarship Golf Classic.

More below...

EAS CHANGES & UPGRADES (INCLUDING AMBER ALERTS)

In partnership with the state, I'm thrilled to announce we're close to rolling a series of upgrades for Arizona's emergency alert system (EAS). The enhancements will include a new (and more reliable) internet-based delivery system to broadcasters, the potential for bilingual delivery, and a refocused effort around how information about AMBER Alerts is shared with stations (and specifically Arizona newsrooms).

As part of this roll-out, the ABA will be co-hosting a broadcasters meeting next month at Arizona's Counter Terrorism Information Center (ACTIC) in north Phoenix. The ACTIC "fusion center" of government departments from around the state is responsible for sending out many of Arizona's EAS messages, including all AMBER Alerts, Silver Alerts and Blue Alerts.

This meeting will walk broadcasters through the changes, what it means from a technical and content perspective, and help answer any questions. The meeting will be held on Wednesday, April 24th at 1pm, and the ABA is encouraging as many broadcasters to attend as possible. We're also working on a conference call set-up for those who can't make the meeting because of location, and we'll of course follow-up with emailed documentation for everyone after the fact. While the meeting is open to all broadcasters, engineers and newsroom leaders are most strongly encouraged to attend. Expect a more formal invite shortly.

FOR ABA MEMBERS: FREE NAB SHOW EXHIBITS TICKETS

We're just a few weeks away from the NAB Show in Las Vegas. If you are planning to head north for the show, the ABA is pleased to offer all ABA members a free Exhibits-Only pass using the code PR34 when you register at nabshow.com. This offer is only good through March 24 and has a $50 value per ticket. As we've told you in previous email updates, expect the annual broadcasting technology show to have new focus areas around 5G mobile connectivity, artificial intelligence and cloud data, eSports, in-dash TV and digital audio and Next Gen TV (ATSC 3.0). The 2019 NAB show runs April 6-11 in Las Vegas.

8 BROADCASTING HEADLINES TO GET YOU THINKING THIS WEEK

1) Cable and satellite "cord cutting" nearly doubled in 2018 to 2.9 million. Most of those losses came from satellite TV. So where are these people going? Some are going to digital streaming services like YouTube TV, but even more are relying only on antennas for live, linear TV.

2) Despite the very real struggles for car radio, here's a point of optimism. Consumers name AM/FM radio as the platform they use most often as well as the source they historically prefer over all others. If this isn't a sign that opportunity still abounds for radio, I don't know what is. But expect those numbers to fall in the years to come without continued innovation by radio stations.

3) A new study says 51% of Americans expect "predictive personalization" from content and brands by next year. So how do TV and radio stations embrace this new world and avoid getting lost in this dust?

4) It’s a watershed moment for podcasting. For the first time ever, a majority of Americans (51%) say they have tuned in to on-demand audio. A second study out this week shows that 70% of Americans are familiar with podcasts.

5) Video ad campaigns that COMBINE traditional TV with digital video have the highest incremental reach of any ad campaigns out there, according to a new Nielsen study. Put another way, digital-only campaigns reach just 12% of those between 18 and 34, yet the percent jumps to 18% when you combine traditional TV and digital video. This might be a good piece of research to use in the field on sales calls.

6) The car advertising market is expected to grow by just .8% in 2019 as the trade war with foreign automakers lingers. And while car markers have spent just 22% of their budgets in digital up until now, expect that to start growing -- quickly.

7) A new study shows television news has a bright future ONLY if it can adapt to the times and focus on its brand, its consumers and the technology its viewers have chosen. If you run a newsroom, this article is an interesting read from the University of Mississippi.

8) Okay Arizona newsrooms. It looks like NBC will be the latest to get into the streaming news service business. A couple Arizona broadcasters also play in this space on the local level, but KRON in San Francisco recently took it to a new level by offering a paid service. Can the scale get big enough in local digital video to drive real subscription dollars? And will people pay for it? Stay tuned.

WELCOME NEW MEMBERS TO ARIZONA BROADCASTERS ASSOCIATION

The ABA is pleased to welcome TWO new companies to our Arizona membership:

Station Member: Globecasting Inc. (KQSS-FM and KJAA-AM), Rollye James, Owner
Associate Member:AZ Community Media Foundation, Victor Aronow, President

Our ABA is only as strong as its combined membership. Thank you for joining our efforts of 200 Arizona partners to grow and protect Arizona broadcasting!

FCC FINES IN FEBRUARY -- ARE YOU IN FULL COMPLIANCE?

Here we go again. Each month, the ABA asks our Washington-based law firm partner to flag us on any FCC violations for broadcasters. In February, the FCC’s media bureau issued three compliance violations around the country:

• FCC fines Kentucky men $144,344 for illegally operating LP TV station
• North Carolina radio station settles with FCC over unauthorized transfers
• Connecticut radio station warned for inspection and antenna violations

News like this is why the ABA offers what’s arguably our most beneficial member service, the ABIP program. The Arizona Broadcasters Inspection Program protects member TV and radio stations from routine FCC inspection and fines that often climb into the tens of thousands of dollars. Many of you have inspections up for renewal in 2019. Our team will reach out to coordinate as dates come up. For those of you who don’t currently participate in ABIP, here’s more information.

NEW PEP CLIENT FOR RADIO STATIONS STARTS MARCH 15

The ABA is thankful to announce we have a new PEP campaign starting THIS FRIDAY (March 15) for all Arizona radio stations. Traffic directors received notification about the specifics earlier this month. Please help us ensure the campaign launches strong on March 15. Here's more information about the campaign and here are the ISCI codes. There is no TV component to this campaign.

There’s nothing more critical to the ABA’s success than our Public Education Program (PEP). The program relies on Arizona radio and TV stations to voluntarily donate a limited number of spots from their monthly ad inventory. The ABA then offers this TV and radio airtime to government agencies and non-profit groups in return for large financial grants they make to the ABA. Here’s the one-sheet about PEP and here is a list of all current campaigns.

INCENTIVE TO REGISTER FOR ABA GOLF TOURNAMENT BY MARCH 31
We still have work to do to sell out the ABA's Broadcast Scholarship Golf Classic, and we want to give you an incentive to register TODAY. As long as you register by 11:59pm on March 31, you'll be entered into a raffle to win a pair of concert tickets ... and you'll get to pick who you see from a long list of performers coming to Arizona this spring. If you have already registered, you're also eligible for the prize!

There are few things more important to our Arizona broadcast business than recruiting talented staff. All dollars raised from this April 19 fundraiser will go directly to Arizona scholarship and recruitment efforts to build staff pipelines.

Bring clients, staff, friends or family to network with broadcast colleagues from around Arizona -- or underwrite the cost and we'll invite scholarship students to play in your name.

You can also get involved by donating a raffle item.
Email mklau@azbroadcasters.org to arrange a pick up. Thank you!