2020 dues, fighting back against radio fees, summer training

Arizona Broadcasters,

We have a lot of BIG updates to share with you this week. We're asking for your feedback on a proposed member dues change for 2020. We're also alerting you to an official comment we're filing with the FCC to protest a possible increases in annual radio fees. This week, we're also opening up space for our quarterly, one-on-one sales training for new AEs, flagging you to a required EAS test now set for August, and reminding you about our long list of summer webinars open to every member station. To cap off this note, we're also highlighting a big radio announcement from Apple. All of that and more below:

FEEDBACK NEEDED: ABA MEMBER DUES STRUCTURE FOR NEXT YEAR

The ABA is opening up a month-long comment period for a proposed adjustment to our 2020 dues structure. We've spent a lot of time meeting with each of you over the last eight months, and there are still more meetings to come. Based on your feedback, this 2020 proposal would LOWER dues for nearly 60% of our members. The proposal would keep levels the same for another 20% of the membership and would very modestly raise dues for the remaining 20%. This change would first require formal member approval later in the year, but before we get that far down the road, we want to open up this proposal to feedback.

Here is the 2020 dues proposal. For comparison's sake, here is the current 2019 dues structure. As most of you know, the ABA exists only thanks to support from each of you.

There are three key goals with this 2020 proposal:

1) We want our dues structure to reflect the business realities of 2019 and offer a rate plan that accounts for different-sized broadcasters across Arizona.

2) We want to simplify the process. Our current structure has 28 different rates. This proposal nearly cuts that in half and prioritizes equity in membership support.

3) We want to plan for the future and offer more rates that can fairly account for the potential of new duopolies, as well as ensure that our smallest single-station operators are able to continue their ABA membership long into the future.

As most of you know, membership dues are key to the ABA's funding, but there is no greater revenue source for our organization than PEP (the public service messages that most of you air). Offering member dues relief to many stations is possible only if membership support of PEP remains strong. Please share feedback on this proposal directly with me or any of our ABA board of directors. If you would like a personalized forecast, we can also help with that. My email address is chris@azbroadcasters.org. My phone number is 602-252-4833. The comment period will close for feedback on Friday, June 28.

PLAN AHEAD: REQUIRED EAS TEST COMING ON AUGUST 7

The FCC and FEMA have scheduled the next nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) for August 7, 2019 at 11:20 am (Arizona time). This is a REQUIRED TEST for every licensed radio and TV station in the state.

This year’s test will differ from previous nationwide tests in that it won't use IPAWS (the new internet delivery system for EAS messages). Instead, it will be issued through the National Public Warning System, composed of FEMA-designated Primary Entry Point facilities, to test the readiness of the EAS to function in the absence of Internet connectivity. In Arizona, Primary Entry Point messages can be received over-the-air from radio stations KFLT in Tucson, KJZZ in Phoenix or via any satellite Sirius/XM device (on all channels).

There are some regulatory obligations for each station, including filing an FCC form BEFORE the test date, no later than July 3, 2019.

Stations will also be required to file a day of test form and a post-test form.

This test will once again place a bright spotlight by the government on radio and TV stations, and any failures in receiving and relaying the national test may be laid at the feet of broadcasters. If you have questions or concerns, let us know.

FIGHTING BACK AGAINST PROPOSED ANNUAL RADIO FEE INCREASES

If you are still perplexed about why the Federal Communications Commission is proposing to hike annual regulatory fees on radio stations by an average 20%, join the club.

The FCC's notice last month made no attempt to explain or justify the increase, even though the fee hikes will be an unexpected and substantial burden for many broadcasters, seeing fee increases that rise for some by thousands of dollars. While the NAB has already filed comment against the move, we're joining the the cause at the ABA to file a public notice and make sure there is substantial noise about our displeasure here. Part of our pledge to members is to save you money wherever possible, and we hope this is one of those places where we can soon celebrate another success.

FREE ONE-ON-ONE SALES TRAINING AVAILABLE IN JULY

Have a new seller on your team? Make sure they get the proper training needed. The ABA offers member stations access to a FREE 7-week on-boarding program with personalized training and one-on-one feedback designed to build confidence and know-how with media sales. The next training session begins on July 8, and space is extremely limited. If you're interested in signing up, reach out to ABA Operations Manager Mary Kate Lau at mklau@azbroadcasters.org or call her at 602-252-4833.

FCC FINES IN MAY: WHAT TO MAKE SURE YOUR STATION AVOIDS

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

• Months-long tower lighting outage leads to warning
• FCC warns traffic management company over unlicensed radio operations
• FCC settles over unauthorized transfer of 108 private wireless licenses

News like this is why the ABA offers what’s arguably our most beneficial member service. The Arizona Broadcasters Inspection Program (ABIP) protects member TV and radio stations from routine FCC inspection and fines. For those of you who don’t currently participate in ABIP, here’s more information.

FREE SUMMER TRAINING ON 10 DIFFERENT BROADCAST NEEDS

It's summer in Arizona, and we're offering a long list of trainings and free conversations available to your teams. All the trainings are digital, and all are FREE for anyone at your station(s). Register now and we'll send you a calendar invite reminder:

If you know better, you are supposed to do better: A back-to-basics sales reset
Wednesday, Jun 12, 2019 | 9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.

20 tips for the broadcast engineering professional
Thursday, June 20, 2019 | 10:00 – 11:00 a.m.

What is OTT and how can you make money from it?
Thursday, June 20, 2019: 12 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.

Winning the war on talent: How best to attract new employees
Wednesday, July 10, 2019: 9 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.

What's a Chief Operator, and did you know you need to have one?
Thursday, July 18, 2019 | 10:00 – 11:00 a.m.

Winning the war on talent: Positioning your job openings to be more appealing
Wednesday, July 24, 2019: 9 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.

How to save dollars, reduce cost at your transmitter site(s)
Thursday, August 15, 2019: 10 a.m. - 11 a.m.

Winning the war on talent: Interview tips to gain the most information possible
Wednesday, August 21, 2019: 9 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.

Winning the war on talent: How to compete in the compensation battle
Wednesday, August 28, 2019: 9 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.

What the future sales team looks like and how you can prepare
Thursday, September 19, 2019 | 10:00 – 11:00 a.m.

ABA BOARD OF DIRECTORS DEPARTURE, SEARCH TO FILL VACANCY

One of our ABA board members is leaving us to taken on a new opportunity in Southern California. Alejandra Santamaria has been the President and General Manager at Univision Arizona up until this week. She is now taking on a new leadership opportunity within Univision that will allow her to move back home to Southern California.

I know I'm far from alone in thanking Alex for all of the help she has leant to our organization. I also know each of you will join me in rooting for Alex's continued success protecting broadcast television and radio, now in Southern California.

Our search to fill Alex's board vacancy here at the ABA begins immediately. We need a strong leadership team to help protect our changing Arizona broadcasting business. If you know of good candidates, please let me know – or share that information with anyone on the current Board of Directors roster.

REMINDER: NEW ABA WEBSITE AND DIGITAL RESOURCE PORTAL

We've gone live with a new website at the ABA that we hope makes it even easier to access to the information you need, whenever you need it. We've added simple-to-navigate sections for the ABIP inspection program, PEP, and EAS. If you are looking to visit the “EAS” section of the website (with state-wide emergency plans and contact information), we’re required to keep that section password protected. The access password is Arizona, and the word is case sensitive. Plus, you'll find a streamlined list of all available member services on the site, a searchable member directory and a new "About Us" section that fully outlines the mission of the ABA for 2019 and beyond. As a capstone, we have a new and improved state-wide broadcasting job board. It's clean and searchable for candidates, and allows you to upload any jobs you'd like to share. Please reach out with questions and suggestions!

CAN YOU HELP? #BROADCASTGOOD DAY IS JUNE 11

The National Association of Broadcasters Education Foundation and the ABA are asking for your help to participate in the annual #BroadcastGood day on social media. The goal is to remind Arizona audiences, as well as local and national policymakers, of the localism provided by radio and TV stations all around the country. On Tuesday, June 11, please consider using one or all of your social channels to post a picture, video or even just plain text about charitable efforts or stories you've covered about good causes in our communities this year (food drives, community service projects, fundraisers, etc). All you need to do is use the hashtag #BroadcastGood. Both the NAB and ABA will use many of these stories in the year ahead to continue advancing the promotion of free, over-the-air radio and TV.

THIS WEEK: 11 BIG HEADLINES IN OUR BROADCASTING WORLD

1) How can you drive more revenue from digital to hit and exceed budget? Here are some of the top best practices. And for radio stations in particular, here's a look at the over-achievers and what they're doing to be successful.

2) Apple made a BIG announcement on Monday by introducing live radio to it's Siri home assistant. Starting soon, anyone with an iPhone or Apple HomePod will be able to ask Siri to play 100,000 different radio stations from around the country! With support for iHeartRadio, TunIn, and Radio.com, this is absolutely a huge marketing and reach opportunity!

3) We talk a lot in these emails about the competition to our business from big tech. If you missed the news, the Justice Department is now talking seriously about better leveling the regulatory playing field. Antitrust investigations could soon begin.

4) The 2020 political cycle may seem far away right now, but there are political broadcasting issues to start considering TODAY that can give you a leg up come next year.

5) Do you produce local news in Arizona? If so, keep an eye on LocalNow.

6) Looking for some new advertising prospects? Consider the banking world, where there's a huge need to buff up image right now.

7) Here's an interesting write-up that shows how Arizona compares to the rest of the country for mobile internet speed. We aren't near the top at all. In the changing world of streaming video and audio, these benchmarks are becoming more important than ever to traditional broadcasters.

8) Hey public radio stations, a new report shows that your stations are absolutely critical to new music discovery and act as "cultural hubs" in our communities. Is this article worth sharing out with your partners?

9) Online ad personalization is probably here to stay, and it's likely coming to radio and TV as next generation ad platforms mature. So how do audiences respond? Check out this infographic from SocialMediaToday.

10) A Comcast study suggests 40% of the TV ad spend will be data-driven by 2020.

11) May auto sales surged in May. It may be a good time to see if there is extra marketing budget for radio and TV buys.

WHO ELSE ON YOUR TEAM SHOULD GET ABA EMAILS? SIGN 'EM UP

We're working to grow our megaphone reach and want to make sure we're touching all key players across Arizona as we roll out more services and share updates about critical state-wide broadcasting projects. Who else on your teams should get these ABA emails? Sign up here!