Christian Radio Could Use an Ad Network

At NRB back in March, the topic of monetization came up a few times in my conversations. The challenge that Christian broadcasters face when it comes to streaming their stations' content is that it costs money to do so – oftentimes a lot of money! Commercial radio has made the adjustments over the past ten years to start actually monetizing their streams, but the same can’t be said for non-commercial religious radio stations – why is that?

Well, it is inherently easier for commercial radio stations to monetize their digital audio as they already have a sales staff to do the selling, while non-commercial broadcasters rely mostly on listener donations and don’t necessarily have sales staff to sell ads. Further, a sales staff is generally not needed due to the fact that non-commercial stations are very limited as to what can go over the air.

When it comes to digital audio, however, there is an opportunity to sell ads for both streaming and podcasts, yet the challenge of staffing up an organization to sell digital audio remains. The cost of paying a sales person worth their salt will set a company back instantly, and it takes time to build a solid book of business and partners, so that just doesn't make sense. If only there was another way?

Maybe there is. Programmatic ad networks and dynamically-inserted ads (DIA) have increasingly become the norm when it comes to digital audio. Listeners expect to hear ads, especially on most podcasts. Pre-roll ads on live streams have also become the breadwinner for digital audio sales for other non-commercial radio stations, such as NPR and its affiliate stations. So, we really have to dispel the belief that an ad is somehow affecting the listener experience negatively – because it is not.

To summarize, your radio stations have an audience that is quite alright with hearing a pre-roll ad on your station’s stream and hearing ads on a podcast, but your station does not have a sales staff to make those sales. My suggested solution? Enter the ad network.

It is my contention that if we can find a way to deliver ads in the form of a programmatic ad network that honors Christian beliefs and values, then many stations would opt-in to an ad network like this to instantly monetize their digital audio – because they can!

Matt Kellogg is VP of Sales & Business Development at SoundStack, which simplifies audio through the development of platform-agnostic technology for creators and advertisers.

matt@soundstack.com