Playing Well With Others

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Playing Well With Others

• Dennis Hamilton
• April 3, 2009
• NFCB Conference Portland, OR

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About PRC

• PRCs mission secure and expand public radio in
  communities nationwide. Projects completed
  already have secured public radio programming for
  nearly 30M people.
• Goal Create greater program choices for in-depth
  information, unbiased news, diverse music, and
  cultural programming.
• Nonprofit organization supported by grants from
  Ford Foundation, Surdna Foundation, and others.
• Leading advisor in planning, securing and
  financing new public radio channels.
• www.publicradiocapital.org

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• PRC provides
• Business modeling and planning
• Station assessments
• Station appraisals
• Brokerage representation
• Acquisition services
• Financial advisory services

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Pieces of the Playing Together Puzzle

• Why Bother?
• Who should be involved? Whens the best time to
  do it?
• Where do you start?
• How do you share the ideas?
• How do you know when you should proceed?

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Why Bother?

• You have what you think is a good idea
• Increase impact
• public service
• community value
• brand extension
• resource sharing
• greater effectiveness, etc.

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Who should be involved?

• Staff, Management, Board, Licensee should
  generate ideas
• Management and Board/Licensee should evaluate the
  ideas and plan any actions
• Management and Board/Licensees should be the only
  people authorized to take the next steps
• Why?
• Avoid confusion
• Demonstrates a serious intent
• Begins to create a common story

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Whens the best time to do it?

• You should never stop!
• Constantly in search of ways to improve what you
  do or might do by looking at capacity you might
  share, develop in partnership, acquire, etc.
• As part of regular strategic planning
• When you have not achieved a prior year budget
  evaluate changes needed to improve performance.
• When you want to do anything big, complex, or
  long range.

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Where do you start?
Start with what you know or is readily available.

• Talk to other stations who have undertaken
  similar projects to learn from their experience
• Did they get the results they expected in the
  time period they expected?
• Were there items they didnt take into account
  that they wish they would have?
• Identify benchmarks (expected operating costs,
  reasonable income expectations)

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Figure out what you dont know.

• List elements you want to consider
• Estimate numbers of listeners, members and
  underwriters.
• Number of staff required.
• Program acquisition costs
• Capital expenditures for new signal, equipment,
  etc
• Financing costs
• Others? Document assumptions!

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Create the Story Yes, Virginia, Do a Business
Model!
Listeners

• Benefits
• Membership
• Major gifts
• Underwriters
• Other

• Listener Sensitive Income
• membership as of listeners x average s
• underwriting spots x rate
• major donors x average gift

• Other Income
• CPB Grants
• Other revenue sources

Benchmark Analysis
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• How Do You Evaluate the Story?
• Assess the outcomes
• Public Service
• Financial
• Feasibility
• Timing
• Compliance with the mission statement and
  strategy
• Organizational readiness
• (Is the organization ready for this?)

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Share the Idea and Press On!

• Present the findings to your Board/Licensee
• Prove your case!
• Get Approval!
• Develop and action plan
• Who does what/when?
• Develop a communications plan
• Go forth and conquer!