How much can I charge for a 30 second spot on a Sports Internet show?

Question

Lets say I have an Internet Sports Radio Show. I have a contract for 16 shows with 50 commercials or 25 minutes of commercials per 2.5 hour show. What is a fair price to charge a company per 30 second spot and also maybe a block of 10, 25 or 50 commercials?

What are you basing your answers on?

Answer 1

depends on whether you intend to charge separately for production costs, your audience demographics but mostly how much the advertiser is willing to pay.

having sold for commercial radio, an RSL and internet stations i'd suggest you go for all inclusive packages between £50 -£150.  anything more is beyond the reach of small businesses.  

dont waste your time chasing big business they all use agencies who punt the business around to the big players with RAJAR  figures

the optimum amount of plays is 4 across a day so for  your show the best packages  to sell would be 16 or 32 for 1 or 2 plays per show.

if you use your own voice people and mixed the ad yourself each 'spot' is worth between £1.50 and £9.00.

you can get extra revenue by finding a sponsor for the show itself, the weather,  the football results , that kind of thing.

finally, be sure  the client agrees to pay any production costs involved.  several times when i first started selling, the client would back out at the last minute leaving me with a £40 bill to the voice artist and a wasted afternoon mixing a commercial that no one was ever going to hear.

it's a cut throat business you'll need some good luck.

Answer 2

75 to 400 dollars a slot

regards x Kitti x

Answer 3

Jack - good answer, a lot of work. Kitty - nimble as usual.

Do the first things first. The basics:

Be sure you know how much it's costing you to operate, include everything. add in the amount you want in profit for yourself and enough to get the next show off the ground, then do the division. That's your minimum. You can't go below that.

Now, who are you going to convince to buy these ads? Remember, "WHAT'S IN IT FOR ME" is emblazoned across the inside of the advertiser's foreheads. Is it to be a local show? How are you going to promote it and let people know you exist? Advertisers will want to know these things. Have answers that will convince them you are going to make them money; or bring more bodies through the doors, or send more Pizzas out the door.

Those are the basics you need to do before you get to the other stuff. Go visit a few local merchants involved somehow in sports. See what the level of enthusiasm is. Gradually bring the subject around to what THEY think a spot might be worth. Don't call it a spot, that's an industry buzzword that diminishes it - it's an ad. Always your ad or your advertisement. Or even your commercial. Call it whatever they call it not what the guys at the station call it.

Then go from there. Get as much as you can, and don't go below your minimums. Expect to bargain. Expect some to pay more than others - it's just the way it is. Do not sell exactly the same plan to two advertisers at different prices. People talk. Make the plan slightly different if it looks like you might get more/less money.

Make sure everybody gets paid, including you. Get cash in front whenever possible. Have a business plan and promotional plan, and do some in-the-market, seat-of your pants research.

Good luck!

-a guy named duh