Preemptions are something every station must deal with to some degree or another.  They obviously affect inventory management, but they also cost you money.  Preemptions have many layers to them; meaning they have an impact to your bottom line on many different levels; one of which, may not be so apparent.  Spoiler alert: We are talking about the time associated with the preemption.  Remember that time is money.  If you could avoid as many preemptions as possible, would you?  That was a rhetorical question.  In a perfect world, we would make the most of our inventory and avoid preemptions altogether.  Wouldn’t it be great if more of your booked spots actually ran where they were initially booked?  Also, a rhetorical question.  So, how much is a preemption worth?  Well, the answer is “it depends.”  Let’s explore.

We’ll save you most of the cliches to describe the days between March 2020 to the present. However, you may accurately describe these many months as rough, frustrating, exhausting, and possibly migraine-inducing. Above all else, however cliché it may be, it has been uncertain. How do you put together a budget for next year when you don’t know what next month will look like? How do you factor automotive into your pricing when you don’t know if it will even be there? How can you count on the local client across town to buy again when they are crossing their fingers and toes that they will be in business a month from now? There are many things in our business that can knock us off course. For many, however, COVID didn’t knock us off course, it erased the path ahead and said, “Time to pave a new one.” With a tool like ShareBuilders at your disposal, you can get back on course and navigate the uncertain with much more confidence.

Nailing down your budget for the year is no easy task. Once you’ve navigated the obstacles in your budgeting process and came to your best conclusion on the many unknowns of the year ahead, you are finally at a number that allows you to rest easy. However, the battle is only halfway over. Now you need to figure out your spread. You know where you need to be to come out on top for the year, but how about each quarter or each month? There are many smaller victories along the path to conquering the year.

Your budget is only as good as the data you use to create it with. Without reliable data, your budget is highly likely to miss the mark. With accurate historical data, you can build a budget that you and your sales team can stand behind with confidence for the year ahead.

The media industry is a data-driven industry. ShareBuilders uses that data to help clients navigate forecasting, budgeting, and inventory management with pinpoint accuracy. Working with data from every corner of the country provides fantastic insight to the industry. Patterns such as Olympic sellout trends, effect of sudden economic changes, pacing comparisons, and many others provide a multi-angle view of the industry at any given moment. This level of insight gives customers the ability to be proactive instead of reactive to any situation in the market.

By this point, you’ve likely read enough about COVID-19. With the pandemic continuing to impact all facets of daily life for close to two years now, it’s not a novel insight to suggest this has all been and continues to be “unprecedented.” That said, in our industry, it’s important to look at COVID-19 through the lens of future preparedness.