PRX CHOOSES “MARKET INGINUITY” FOR PROGRAM & PODCAST SPONSOR REVENUE • WCQS, ASHEVILLE UP 30% FROM 2015

Kurt Hanson’s RAIN NEWS reports [link] reports that PRX has inked a deal with Market Enginuity [link] to represent PRX for sponsorship revenue for programs and Radiotopia podcasts.

Market Enginuity represents some of the leading public media organizations including KCRW, WAMU, KERA, KUHF, KNKX, KJAZZ/KBAQ, KUT and TPT – Twin Cities PBS. 

The company specializes in hiring, training and managing embedded sales reps at its client stations for digital ad sales and strategy.

Jim Taszarek

In a press release, Market Enginuity Managing Director Jim Taszarek said:

“We’re excited to increase capacity for PRX, helping them grow revenue and scale for their highly talented, creative and inventive producers.”

Market Enginuity evolved out of the Public Radio Partnership Program (PRUP) that started in 1997 with a grant from CPB. A goal of the PRUP was to cross-pollinate best practices of commercial broadcasters to public media organizations.

FALL 2016 NIELSEN AUDIO DIARY MARKETS: ASHEVILLE, AKRON, HONOLULU & OMAHA

WCQS in Asheville is one of the most successful dual-format NPR News and Classical stations in the public radio system. According to Nielsen Audio estimates for Fall 2016, listeners seem to agree. WCQS’ weekly cumulative listeners grew 30% over the year since Fall 2015.  Triple A WNCW was also up.

Akron is the home market for WKSU, Kent, Ohio. WKSU competes in Cleveland but most its listeners are scattered throughout northern and central Ohio. 

I wish WAPS subscribed to the Nielsen ratings. They likely have significant listening. Folks say Brad Savage is doing a great job at WAPS.

I’ll bet you didn’t know The World’s Number One Student-Run College Radio Station is in Akron. That is the claim made by WZIP – Z88, and it may be true. WZIP [link] is owned by the University of Akron and is operated by AU students with a bit of faculty guidance. 

WZIP’s estimated weekly listeners were down 9% in Fall 2016 compared with Fall 2015.

As I write this post, an ice storm is starting in Minneapolis.  I wish I was on the beach in Maui listening to Hawaii Public Radio.

KIWR a/k/a 89.7 The River is proof that programming causes an audience. They are the center of the Omaha rock music scene mixing Triple A with alternative rock, a mix that pleases thousands of listeners.  The River is also great at recruiting new students for the licensee, Iowa Western Technical College.

According audited financial information on the station website [link], KIWR operates with a cash budget of around $700,000.  In FY 2015 KIWR received around $270,000 in memberships, $215,000 in underwriting, $100,000 from CPB and ZERO from the College. The River is self-supporting, an example other noncoms should consider for a struggling station.