MELBOURNE, Fla. — The idea was to bring consumer finance topics to radio listeners in Central Florida, but the project proved to be too expensive.
In the end, the financial support and a sought-after time slot didn't come through and $1.3 billion FAIRWINDS Credit Union, $1.3 billion Space Coast Credit Union and $279 million Community Educators Credit Union decided to shelve the program, which would have featured special guests speaking on a number of personal financial topics including a listener call-in segment, according to Ed Baranowski, founder of Melbourne, Fla.-based Topics Unlimited, a professional management consulting and seminar company and the point person for coordinating the program.
It was going to cost $1,000 an hour plus other production costs such as hiring technicians and assistants, Baranowski said. The costs started getting into the tens of thousands of dollars. The CUs also wanted a noon to 1:00 p.m. Sunday slot, but it wasn't available.
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"The marketing departments [at the CUs] couldn't justify spending that amount of money," said Baranowski, adding that the discussions to launch the program go back nearly two years.
FAIRWINDS CU went on to sponsor the weekly, 1:00-3:00 p.m. slot of the Clark Howard show, Baranowski said. Howard's consumer finance program airs nationally on more than 150 stations.
Baranowski said CUNA launching its own program a few weeks ago had nothing to do with the Florida venture.
"I'm pleased to see that CUNA has planted the seed," he said. "Maybe others can model it."
The idea of a credit union-owned radio program has been bandied about for years including by Bucky Sebastian, president/CEO of GTE Federal Credit Union, Baranowski recalled. At the 2003 CUNA roundtable, Sebastian threw out the idea of the top 100 credit unions paying for a national radio program. The $5 million initial investment would be divided among them. But the ongoing costs to run a continuous program made some question a commitment to it, Baranowski said.
"Having a dawn to dusk consumer program, some felt that the idea would get worn out," Baranowski said.
Meanwhile, as of Sept. 18, CUNA said 33 stations are now airing its Home and Family Finance program on the Radio America Network. Baranowski said he is looking into adding the program in the Melbourne, Rockledge and Orlando markets. –[email protected]
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