 |
|
Image courtesy of Inhailer Radio
|
Cincinnati
Public Radio announced last week that Inhailer
Radio is now providing the programming heard on WGUC HD3.
Inhailer [link] is an independent streaming
music service that is available for iPhone and Android as well as online.
Inhailer began in 2017 after
Northern Kentucky University sold the beloved AAA station WNKU.
You can see our coverage of WNKU’s demise here.
Inhailer was launched to fill the
void left by the exit of WNKU.
Since then, Inhailer has grown
into a key player in the Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky music scene. They provide support for independent touring and local musicians as well as being a
place of music discovery.
 |
| Coran Stetter |
Coran
Stetter is the person who brought Inhaler
to life. Stetter had numerous ties to WNKU.
He is the lead singer of indie-pop
band Mulitnagic and he is a relentless
a promoter of Cincinnati’s independent music.
Mulitnagic’s songs, particularly their
hit Let Go, received considerable airplay on WNKU. The band headlined the
main stage at several music festivals that were promoted by WNKU. Stetter also
attended NKU in 2003 and 2004.
According
to a 2017 report by WCPO-TV [link], Stetter cashed out his 401(k) and used the
money to start Inhailer. Stetter and
his team established it as a volunteer-run, 24/7, community multimedia platform.
Their mission was, and still is, to breathe life into Cincinnati’s music, arts
and cultural scenes.
He
told WCPO about the reason he started Inhailer [link]:
“With the loss of WNKU,
would there be not just a void but a vacuum. I'm not a radio guy. I'm not a
broadcast mogul or anything. I'm just a guy that wanted to start something and
to not let this vacuum happen."
Stetter’s
admitted lack of knowledge about the business of radio might pose problems for
Cincinnati Public Radio. Inhailer is
a for-profit business that aggressively sells advertising space and time.
According
to Inhailer’s media kit, “Our advertising structure allows your ad to
fully control the screen while the listeners has Inhailer Radio playing.”
Inhailer sells commercials on its
audio feed for $15 per spot. The ads are 30-seconds in length and violate many
of the FCC’s rules regarding proper underwriting verbiage.
 |
|
Image from Inhailer Radio’s media kit promising
advertisers
return on their investment
|
In
its media kit, Inhailer says, without
attribution, that its time spent listening (TSL) is longer than the TSL for
terrestrial stations. They also claim to have 12,000+ local monthly listeners
and 3,300+ social media followers.
An
online radio station can run commercials but a noncommercial broadcast station
can’t. Until now, everything was fine but the partnership with Cincinnati
Public Radio changes the equation.
We
assume that Cincinnati Public Radio knows about the situation and is taking
steps to make certain that Inhailer Radio
simulcast doesn’t air commercials on WGUC’s HD3 channel.
Inhailer Radio is a terrific community
resource, but now it needs to bridge the gap between commercial advertising
sales and the rules of noncommercial broadcasting. We wish them well.
PODTRAC’S APRIL TOP PODCAST
PUBLISHER RANKINGS SHOW THE DISRUPTION CAUSED BY COVID-19
Podtrac’s
top podcast publisher rankings for April 2020 when compared to April 2019. The
April 2020 chart now lists 20 publishers. Last year there were only ten
publishers.
Some
of the changes are likely due to the disruptions of lifestyles snd work-styles
caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Beyond that, the changes seen on the chart may
be due to market forces.
The
April rankings show the impact of big-money companies like NBC, Fox News,
Warner Media and Cumulus/Westwood One. Smaller shops such as This American Life
and barstool Sports have found that there is more competition for the ears of
podcast listeners.
In
the April 2020 rankings only seven of the Top 20 publishers (35%) are public
media related organizations. For-profit companies have 13 of the 20 (65%) spots
on the Top 20 publisher list.
Ken,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your kind comments regarding Cincinnati Public Radio and our partnership with Inhailer Radio ("Is Cincinnati Ready to Inhale?"). As you assumed, CPR was very aware of Inhailer's operation as a commercial concern and that was one of the primary points of discussion when we started negotiations late last year. Prior to brining Inhailer onboard, we shared our Underwriting Policies and worked with Inhailer volunteers to bring them up to speed, not only on FCC Rules and Regulations, but on broadcasting Best Practices. Despite the somewhat aggressive sales pitches in Inhailer's Media Kit, there was only one commercial in rotation at the time we initiated HD broadcasting that required editing to comply with our standards. Cincinnati Public Radio is very experienced with transforming quasi-commercial broadcast operations into good public broadcast partners, having transitioned the storied WOXY-FM ("97.1 - The Future of Rock 'n Roll"), as featured in the film "The Rain Man" from internet only to HD Radio, and later, Radio Artifact (RadioArtifact.com) to WVXU HD2 in 2018.
Richard Eiswerth
President, GM & CEO
Cincinnati Public Radio
Thank you for your clarification. I particularly liked when you said "Cincinnati Public Radio is very experienced with transforming quasi-commercial broadcast operations into good public broadcast partners." We need more of that.
ReplyDelete