Membership

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We offer station membership to Arizona broadcasters and associate membership to partner groups.

In 2022, station membership gives you access to benefits within 6 core focus areas:

Statewide marketing campaign support

The ABA is launching a first-of-its-kind paid media campaign in 2022 to promote over-the-air TV and radio in Arizona. The ad campaign will invest up to $200,000 to help market Arizona broadcasters as a free alternative to paid subscription services. Elements will run in both English and Spanish, exclusively targeting cord cutters and digital audiences. This will be our largest-ever single effort investment!

ABA-funded paid internships and recruitment

INTERNS: The ABA is dedicating a record $100,000 to fully fund paid internships at member stations throughout 2022. Our goal is to inspire new careers and innovation across Arizona.

SALES/ENGINEERING RECRUITMENT: The ABA plans to build more certification and training programs at all three state universities to recruit more people for hard to fill broadcast sales and engineering roles.

CAREER FAIRS: The ABA will again fund and manage year-round media career fairs at high traffic locations (hopefully in-person) to help stations recruit for positions and meet FCC EEO outreach obligations. We’ll also evaluate new mentorship program opportunities.

SCHOLARSHIPS: The ABA will continue to fund a limited number of college scholarships at all three state universities with the goal of supporting students who have a passion to pursue Arizona broadcasting careers.

Free staff training and live events

ON-DEMAND TRAINING: We’ll again offer our free P1 Training on-demand digital courses in most broadcast disciplines, including media sales, marketing, management, content and HR.
AE TRAINING: The ABA will also financially underwrite one-on-one expert training to help new AEs get up and running more quickly. We’ll offer a 7-week on-boarding program that includes personalized training.
LIVE EVENTS: The ABA will continue hosting digital live events to offer education on trends, sales and leadership.

ABA-funded consumer and sales research

The ABA plans to go back into the field to get an updated snapshot of Arizona audience consumption habits for 2022. We debuted our first-ever research study in 2021 and we know stations continue to need more data to help close sales deals and understand today’s media use

FCC training, inspections and protection

The ABA has a unique partnership with the FCC that allows us to train stations on all FCC rules, have an ABA inspector audit all practices, and when passed, give stations a 3-year moratorium on most FCC inspections. This “ABIP” project will continue to be offered in 2022, and at a 50% discount to make it accessible to every station group.

Free legal support, lobbying and advocacy

LAWYERS: The ABA is covering all costs for member stations to ask questions of our Washington DC legal counsel and Arizona broadcast lawyer on topics like advertising, EEO, compliance, towers and audits. We expect it to be a busy year of issues during the political cycle.
LEGAL DEFENSE: We plan to reserve additional budget dollars in 2022 to help fund legal issues affecting multiple member stations. Think of this fund as a safety net for unplanned legal costs that affect all AZ broadcasters.
ARIZONA LOBBYING: The ABA will continue to fund the only lobbyist for Arizona broadcasters at the state legislature, watching for any legislation – including taxes – that may impact the broadcasting business in Arizona.
DC LOBBYING: The ABA will continue its track-record of success with Arizona’s congressional delegation in Washington to advocate for legislation that makes it easier to keep Arizona broadcasting strong.
BIG BUSINESS ADVOCACY AND PROJECT LEADERSHIP: The ABA will remain focused on advocacy with Arizona ad agencies and partners that do big business with Arizona broadcasters. We will also lead all EAS efforts in coordination with state officials and again act as the bridge for shared TV and radio projects across the state.

Associate membership gives you access to:

Unmatched relationships

Network with nearly every broadcaster in the state. We’re talking 200 partners that touch most audiences in the state of Arizona. Need an introduction to a specific station? Want to partner on project? Need advice on effective communication? ABA membership gives you a foot in the door with some of the best broadcasters in Arizona and access to a long list of ABA events where you can build relationships with broadcast leaders.

Marketing to Decision Makers

Once a year, ABA membership gives you the opportunity to promote your company directly to our broadcasting database. It’s a list that make up a “who’s who” in Arizona mass media. You can pitch your services, promote an upcoming event or simply educate our radio, television and other associate members on a topic that’s important to you and your business. This is truly unique access.

Broadcaster Speaking Network

Are you looking for someone in the Arizona broadcasting industry to be a master of ceremony at your next event? Maybe you need someone to sit on a panel discussion? The ABA works with associate members to help coordinate the participation of some of the biggest names in Arizona broadcasting. Our goal is to help create forums that open up new dialogue and leave participants taking part in unrivaled events.

Board Representation

We take our Associate Members’ input very seriously, so much so that associate members can sit on our board of directors. Even in the digital world of today, there’s no megaphone larger in Arizona than broadcasting. If you’ve got a passion to help shape the future of mass communication in Arizona, ABA membership creates a unique opportunity to be a vocal advocate and community leader in Arizona.

Evolutionary Inside Information

Broadcasters fund the largest (and in many cases only) newsrooms in Arizona. In most places outside our large cities, local radio stations act as the only amplifier of community information, emergencies and localism. You’ll gain access to our once-weekly analysis of the evolutionary trends and new technologies literally changing the face of Arizona mass media. Your financial support will also help protect the critical role broadcasters play in our communities.

Training & Webinars

Even if you don’t work directly in broadcasting, the ABA offers a long list of on-demand training to all members. This includes hundreds of interactive courses, tests and written materials for sales, leadership, management, communication, HR and administration. Additionally, Associate Members have full access to our monthly webinars on a wide range of topics affecting the future of broadcasting and communications.

Curious who's already an ABA Member?

Tools that help all of us grow

A strong broadcast association is a key to elevating the caliber of operations in the entire marketplace. With tools for education, a strong political presence, and attention to the underserved members of our community, the ABA provides necessary tools for all of us to grow. The Hubbard organization and family is totally committed to this fine organization.

Tools that help all of us grow

Trip Reeb

Hubbard Radio

Strong community

The ABA united broadcasters in a joint effort to negotiate the successful renewal of a 20-year lease renewal with the South Mountain telecommunications site, and without the ABA’s support and guidance, there would have been a much different outcome. We will continue to be an active ABA members and we encourage everyone to do the same!

Strong community

Rich Howe

KAZT-TV

Return on investment

Every dollar counts and spending money that doesn't bring a return these days is just not done. Information, sales training and the legal hotline all bring a return to the station. Belonging to ABA is important, because it's an organization that impacts decisions that directly affect the radio business and is critical these days for future growth.

Return on investment

Mike Barna

KSWG-FM Wickenburg

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