Peter Smyth
Peter Smyth has been committed to radio for thirty years, has succeeded at every turn of his career and has a track record that’s as enviable as it is admirable. He’s held several key broadcast executive positions with RKO General and Greater Media, a company he’s currently guiding with passion, purpose and vision. Smyth’s success at Greater Media is accented by his fervor for his industry. In January of this year, he was named the new Chairman of the RAB. He also serves on the Board of Directors for the NAB and is an active member of the HD Digital Alliance Oversight Committee.
Radio Ink magazine dubbed Smyth Radio Executive of the Year for 2006 and honored him as America’s Best Broadcaster the preceding year.
eQB presents excerpts from the March FMQBmagazine Cover Story with Greater Media President & CEO Peter Smyth
On the infusion of outside thinkers to help successfully guide radio through today’s uncharted waters… It’s time. Once you stop learning, once you close off your mind to knowledge and assume you have all the answers, you’re out of business. I feel what I knew eighteen months ago is probably obsolete today, in terms of technology, marketplace changes, and tactics and strategies. It all has to be constantly reinvented. You should never feel threatened by someone who might have a better idea.
On the biggest challenge for terrestrial radio today… Radio itself! We should all be promoting the idea of taking radio back to being a local business. Radio needs to speak from one voice and launch an aggressive marketing campaign to talk about the benefits of what we deliver to the American workplace. I believe we hurt ourselves dramatically when we don’t operate this way.
On the viability of HD radio relative to the criticisms of the movement… Some people are Doubting Thomases because they feel that anytime radio comes together to do a joint venture it usually falls on its ears. I’ve sat through many different calls and traveled the country trying to promote HD radio to different manufacturers. I’ve heard the critics and my response is that this is the first time the radio industry has come together and pooled over $200 million of their resources. It’s the first time that over 1000 radio stations across the U.S. converted to HD radio.
On when HD radio will really gain traction… The beginning of any new technology carries with it a certain degree of skepticism. We come from a platform where we don’t have a lot of equity for radio in the first place. We have the credibility depth of a pie plate. But I believe if we do not continue to move down this road we are just going to be an analog business. There are too many experiences for the end users in the digital world and I feel we are on the cusp of greatness.
On the Clear Channel decision to go private… Greater Media has been a private company for fifty years. Radio is not a ninety-day business. I don’t believe you can change people’s attitudes in ninety days and we deal in the business of attitudes. Investments in these properties, both in marketing and in people, are crucial to success. It’s the people that make this business great. I believe with Wall Street involved in our business, it just crushed it. It forced you to make decisions for the wrong reasons.
On the end of monolithic ownership in radio… People have tried it and it’s gone full circle. I think CBS is doing the same thing. I believe people are saying it’s not the quantity it’s the quality. When we went into deregulation, there was no roadmap; nobody knew how this was going to work. Everybody thought at the time that one and one would equal six.
On changing the ad agency/radio industry mindset about the younger demo… I think everybody has missed the boat on the 18-24/18-34 markets. I have watched Country radio nationally. It’s doing exceedingly well in the younger demos. This generation, like all generations, is into audio entertainment and into music. Our digital music stores are doing great business because we are playing new music and they want to buy it or they look at the resurgence of Classic Rock. We’re in the audio entertainment business and the more compelling we can make our stations on all platforms the better off we’ll be going forward.
On satellite radio luring great talent and personalities away from terrestrial… As an industry, we are all challenged to find great talent. The talent issue comes from the fact that satellite has also inflated the cost of top talent. Take Howard Stern’s deal, and I don’t mean anything negative about him, he’s a brilliant man and God love him, but he made more money than the investors at satellite. We have to get the next generation of great jocks on the radio.
On today’s biggest programming challenges… The biggest challenge for programmers is being able to make sure they can get a good read on all different sections of the market. Cell phones are making it harder and harder to do research. We have to make sure we are doing the proper research. I value our programmers. Their jobs aren’t easy today.
On wearing multiple hats in our industry and functioning in many roles… My affiliations with the NAB, RAB and HD Alliance keep me in touch constantly with the needs and problems of our industry. It also gives me a platform to be an industry advocate for the voices that aren’t heard in my company and other stations around the country. It gives me an eye on the industry from a variety of perspectives. It keeps me abreast of what’s going on in Washington, D.C. and how the government can impact our life in a heartbeat. It also keeps me on the technological edge.
** QB Content By Fred Deane **
