As our industry struggles to compete in this new digital world and the current economic volatility makes advertisers reluctant to spend big, we’re all looking for additional ways to bring in new revenue. I’ve written before about radio stations getting video game type money by adding a subscription model that gives fans access to exclusive station content and events for a low monthly fee. Beyond that popular radio shows, especially morning shows, can drive incremental revenue by offering their own subscription service to their passionate P1’s. Here are two ways it can work.
Subscription Box Model
Through partnerships with strategic local and regional partners, the show could send a curated box of goodies every month to listeners who pay a small monthly fee. This subscription box model was started by Birchbox in 2010, when they began sending out beauty and grooming samples, but has been copied by hundreds of other successful companies since. Some of those include Bespoke Post, Ipsy, GQ Box, FabFitFun, Stitch Fix, Scentbird, Gentleman’s Box, Succulents Box and tons of others catering to men, women and lots of specific interests. Monthly prices range from $5 all the way up to $400 or more, but I think the sweet spot for radio shows will be somewhere in the $5 to $20 per month range. The more the show personalizes and localizes the boxes, and the more creative they get playing off of their popular benchmarks and show features, the more likely it will be successful. Another option would be to give a portion of the proceeds from the boxes to a charity the show already works with.
Exclusive Content & Experiences Model
The other way a popular on-air show could get into the subscription game is just like the broader station model I laid out. For a small monthly fee they could offer their fans exclusive content, either behind the scenes or expanding on their on-air content, and exclusive subscriber only events and experiences. One syndicated morning show that’s had a lot of success doing this is Free Beer & Hot Wings. For the low price of $6.95 (Or $59.95 per year) their fans can become “Idiots” to get a ton of extra content.
For either of these options to be viable the shows have to be personality-driven, good at interacting and engaging with their audience on all platforms and willing to crank out tons of digital content to support the service. That’s why it’s worked for Free Beer & Hot Wings because they do all of that and put on great on-site events as well across the country. With effort, the right shows can create significant monthly revenue for stations and extra income for hosts as an incentive to excel. With either option it’s critical that the talent get a cut or it will fall flat and won’t work for anyone.
What do you think? Have any of your shows tried something similar and if so how did it work?
Pic AI Generated using Envato Elements.