IBBA Files Letter with FCC Supporting Geo-Targeting

RADIO ONLINE | Wednesday, November 2, 2022

International Black Broadcasters Association

Rob Neal of the International Black Broadcasters Association has filed a letter with the FCC adding the support of the IBBA to the chorus of voices from the minority broadcasting community supporting the proposal to permit FM broadcasters to provide hyper-local content using geotargeting booster technology. The IBBA joins the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), the Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council (MMTC) and other representatives of the minority broadcasting community in supporting this proposal.

Based in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, the IBBA's objective is to promote ownership, employment, education, and equality for minority broadcasters in America and abroad.

"As these organizations have highlighted, minority broadcasters are particularly vulnerable in the current economic environment, and thus it is more important than ever that regulators provide broadcasters with the flexibility to innovate with new technologies that hold the potential to make them more competitive," wrote Neal.

"We agree that geo-targeting technology holds this potential, by enabling broadcasters to sell targeted advertising to small, minority-owned businesses that may not need or want market-wide advertising. This would benefit both the broadcasters, who could sell more ads, and these mom-and-pop businesses that could acquire affordable, targeted advertising directly in their communities. This would ultimately have the effect of enabling minority broadcasters to super-serve communities that are currently underserved," he added.

Additionally, Neal wrote, "We were encouraged to hear Commissioner Geoffrey Starks echo these clear public benefits from geotargeting during a conversation with Dr. Benjamin Chavis on NNPA's "Let It Be Known" live morning news program, and that he indicated he is working with the Commission to make sure these benefits are known."