This is one in a series of special reports for “Survival Guide 2: Radio’s New Media Leaders,” a supplement to the Sept. 24, 2008 issue.
(click thumbnail)The Web site encourages visitors to use the ‘WEUP on Your Desktop’ application to stay close to station news and music, win tickets, view weather, listen to streaming and get AMBER alerts.Hundley Batts Sr., co-owner and operator of Broadcast One, parent company of WEUP(FM) in Huntsville, Ala., doesn’t look at radio as an ordinary business.
“In the radio business you have to be CEO to the 13th power.”
But Batts said he has found that good business practices are important no matter what the endeavor. “I try to run a business, not a broadcast business,” he said. “We’re an urban radio station, but we do things a little differently from what urban stations normally are known to do.”
He said Broadcast One keeps its eyes out for opportunities.
“We describe opportunities as a favorable juncture of circumstance.” One such opportunity it spotted was the ActiveAccess desktop application from the BIA Information Network, which he describes as “an opportunity for us to continue our brand on the computer desktop.”
Visitors to the station’s Web site are invited to download the ActiveAccess desktop application, which is installed in less than a minute. “We have a weather forecast, we have lottery numbers, we have news as it comes up, breaking news. We try to serve a broader community, and stay community connected.”
(click thumbnail)This graphic appears on the user’s desktop.WEUP Desktop users can opt for HipHop.com Daily News, Huntsville news and Vibe Entertainment News, as well as RSS feeds. And they can stream an audio feed from the station to the PC.
Broadcast One is on the lookout for such new applications to reach out to their listeners and community, and has several they are getting ready to add. But Batts doesn’t look at these services as replacing the terrestrial radio portion of his business. His object is to give his customers, the advertisers, a good return on their investment.
“And once they win, we win, and the community wins,” he said. “If we keep them in business, we can stay in business.
“So the traditional terrestrial radio model is fine. I think if we do what we’re supposed to do for our listener base, our customer base, and listen to our audience, and create more P1 listeners — because P1 listeners have value, and if we know what that value is — we will then try to attract more of those in order for us to be more successful.
“Believe it or not, it’s that simple. It’s just difficult for us to see the simplicity in it.”