Effective January 13, 2025 the local FM radio stations will have full authorization by the FCC to operate boosters that can originate content within the coverage zones of each booster to create a new service providing over-the-air geotargeted traffic, news, weather, community information and zoned ads. With a pair of unanimous 5-0 votes the FCC authorized program originating FM boosters first on an experimental and now a permanent basis in its Second Report and Order in this proceeding. Innovative and new FM booster technology will improve local services for audiences and advertisers and help radio better compete with all the other local media platforms including digital, cable, newspapers, and TV stations.
To help educate the broadcast industry about the enabling technology, the IEEE Broadcast Technology Society hosted a ZoneCasting webinar. This practical session, Over the Air Geotargeting by Local Stations, is designed to provide valuable insights and is free on-demand to IEEE BTS members and a small fee for non-members.
The novel technology for using FM boosters configured in Single-Frequency Networks (SFNs) has evolved considerably in recent years, thanks to spectrum design and engineering solutions developed by GeoBroadcast Solutions. BIA Advisory Services has worked with GeoBroadcast to create business models, help educate the industry about FM geotargeting technology, and quantify economic opportunities for the local radio industry.
Already, over a dozen stations in 10 markets are rolling out ZoneCasting. To learn more about the business model, technology, and the design and construction of these new systems, IEEE’s Broadcast Technology Society hosted a webinar by GeoBroadcast Solutions. GeoBroadcast developed ZoneCasting(tm) as a new approach for using Single Frequency Network technology to allow FM boosters to both improve signal quality reception in authorized coverage areas to add population and geotarget content separately on different boosters to support zoned advertising and other geotargeted content models. This boost in coverage population and zoned advertising can help FM stations drive revenue growth in 2025. ZoneCasting is already being rolled out by stations in multiple markets.
ZoneCasting can help local FM radio stations generate more population coverage with their signals and, by creating geotargeted zones, help drive revenue growth. Just as media like newspapers, cable, mobile, and digital offer geotargeted or zoned ads in a local market, now radio can as well.
As in the illustration below, during program time when FM booster geotargeting is active, different content, including hyperlocal ads, can originate from each booster. For example, instead of one spot sold at $100, three spots might be sold to run simultaneously in each zone for $40 each and a total of $120 in sold inventory, a 20% lift over selling non-zoned ads. This is how newspapers, cable, mobile, digital, and other zoned media price and sell their ad inventory.
For more information about ZoneCasting, contact GeoBroadcast Solutions click here.
To learn more about the IEEE BTS webinar, which is available on-demand, click here.
