For many years, WBGO has been, and continues to be on the receiving end of extraordinary generosity from two distinct communities of supporters - our members - like you - and a wide variety of local and regional businesses that pay for “underwriting” announcements, which are in effect advertisements that promote goods and services, without including certain types of language ("qualifiers", "calls to action", etc.) in compliance with Federal Communication Commission (FCC) regulations. This vital support from the business community, is an essential element within our model for sustainability and viability.
We incorporate underwriting and sponsorship announcements for the very simple reason that approximately two in ten WBGO listeners are actual contributors, and those contributions represent approximately 60% of our annual income. And, in the aftermath of last year’s permanent loss of federal funding, which for decades represented a significant portion of our operating budget, we are experimenting with a variety of ways to replace the revenue that was lost and will never return.
Although we are prohibited from airing certain types of paid announcements on our broadcast signal, those restrictions are not applicable to our internet streaming services, and thus we have decided in the interest of our sustainability to run limited amounts of traditional “commercial” announcements to provide the supplemental revenue that is necessary to compensate approximately 30 paid employees and satisfy the operating costs to keep WBGO on the air. This isn't alarmist rhetoric – for WBGO it is an existential concern.
You’ve probably noticed these paid advertisements while listening on our website, mobile app or your smart-speaker – they are sonically different than the typical “support” messages you are accustomed to hearing on WBGO or other public radio stations, and they promote goods and services from national “name-brand” businesses and corporations. WBGO is not alone in its decision to progress through this new territory, there are numerous public radio stations and public television stations that have adopted this approach to revenue generation, and we are all working directly with advertisers to craft announcements that will be completely compatible with the "public media aesthetic", which de-emphasizes commerciality and rejects “aggressive” and at times, insensitive sales tactics. I am certain that WBGO will evolve and achieve an equilibrium that will be amenable to public media supporters like you, while remaining in agreement with our fiscal obligations and the pledge to represent a unique and enriching source of entertainment and information.
The overwhelmingly positive response to our most recent fundraising efforts has proven the viability of our purpose - we've raised more money than in the previous 12-month period - however the current levels of enthusiasm for supporting public media in our time of critical need are not sustainable for the foreseeable future and, in the final analysis we must prioritize sustainability if we are to continue to provide our unique programming.
You listen to WBGO because of an intrinsic value that is non-transferable when compared to other radio stations. We are confident that our "value proposition" is one of irreplaceability - which, hopefully, makes hearing a relatively small number of short advertisements on WBGO a minuscule exchange, to protect the institution you so richly deserve and relied upon for nearly 50 years, and to prevent the disintegration of decades of purposeful and pivotal community service.
With hopes for your continued support of WBGO...
