Hello.

Re-reading my post, I want to make something clear immediately before you read: I do not have a position to argue or even knowledge to disseminate.  I am hopeful for a collaborative discussion about this topic. Some of my best ideas started as half-baked.  Please do not withhold articulating your thoughts.  I am here to learn.  Maybe we can learn together as well as from each other. 
 

For years I have been very interested in developing revenue streams from global media.  The CBS affiliate TV station serving the Seattle region is a global medium thinking local. I was watching their newscast over The Internet and there was nothing advertised about Seattle to a Global audience: Underground Seattle would be an interesting trip to non-locals but it is not advertised locally.  Since I am watching CBS Seattle, I would think other viewers have an interest in the area....  Yes, local tourism is an obvious non-traditional advertiser.  (Usually, local sites get an advertising budget that does not include local media.)

The same thing with CTV.ca. I am a Canadian expat working in Poland.  CTV is my "Canadian TV" network.  But I am blocked from watching CTV episodes of ER, for example. (I am NOT talking legal issues about broadcasting but advertising revenue streams so I am ignoring that aspect of blocked broadcasting.)  I would watch English television rather than Polish TV - and few "locals" would watch the broadcast of a show years ahead of the seasons available locally.  If the locals are that interested in broadcasts occuring elsewhere, they can easily access a newsgroup or forum in their language or simply eMail someone in the market where the broadcasting is current to get the information they want. I could see Poles in a city like Chicago watching PolSat.... Monster.com would be an advertiser I would be interested in personally because, as an expat returning home, I will need a job. And I want to have my news and current events locally filtered so I "know" what's going on from a homefront perspective.

Traditional radio, especially in markets I am monitoring for my clients, provide advertising and programming I can access from anywhere in the world. But does an advertisement for, say, a travel agent on Main Street hold my interest when they cannot provide their service to me? Advertisers wanting to capitalize on the exposure from a medium with global reach need to rethink their basic marketing 4P's.

There is alot of chatter about segmenting the advertising market along lines of traditional media (TV with rabbit ears and dials) and new media (Internet delivery broadcasts).  That means TV from Seattle is currently serving a traditional demographic segmentation - geographically, I am not there.  But on The Internet, the same programming is either blocked or not available because the advertising revenue from a traditional demographic segmentation does not makes sense (making the programming a cost centre rather than a profit generator).  This despite the fact that, metaphysically, I am there.

TV from a CBS affiliate in Seattle may not be designed for Internet consumption but the same thinking is applied to global media designed for The Internet over at TVLand.Com or CTV for examples.

So, simplistically, here's a question for discussion.  What industry would you buy from where the goods/services were located in a foreign country?  Or, for that matter, across state/provincial lines?  What advertising would interest you; be relevant information to you?  I know Radio Paradise does not do advertising but, if it did, what advertisers would you like to see here?

And Bill, your contests are great for listeners in the North American market.  How would you extend the reach of your contests to listeners in South American, European, African and Asian markets?  What can you offer contest winners besides a trip or RP merchandise? I am sure you have thought about this: how to extend your appreciation globally to your international listeners?