When and where there is no Internet, Shortwave radio reaches everywhere

There are many opportunities to reach large, international audiences, especially on the Internet.

However, there are still huge areas in the world that are not covered by the Internet, TV, FM or AM (Medium Wave) or satellite. Placing programs on just one of these media will severely restrict your potential audience and targets.

In today’ situation of very fragmented media – whether you represent a large or small organisation, either secular or religious – you should have a multi-channel media strategy that encompasses more than one platform. NEXUS-IBA can offer access to multiple International media platforms and channels at one time.

Shortwave Radio Airtime

Do you have a program, a message to air, but no radio station? Most programs carried on our stations are produced by small and large broadcasting organisations or small program producers with no broadcasting facilities of their own. As it is often the case, they rely in all or part, on NEXUS-IBA for strategical know-how and consulting on how to increase the effectiveness of their media distribution, i.e. on how to reach their international audience most reliably and cost-effectively.

NEXUS-IBA provides prime time on Shortwave, as well as a global outreach platform for any possible content (audio, video, text), designed to distribute any media content via several international media outlets (radio & TV stations, satellite, cloud facilities, audio & video streaming, social media, etc.) and using our Internet CDN technology called “WorldDirector”.

We can enable any media buying organisation, agency, airtime broker, brokered programming, secular or religious organisation to reach most English-speaking regions in the world or any particular non-English speaking target area cost-effectively.

Please notice that NEXUS-IBA does not support and ban Hate speech or any form of expressions from our stations. We will not broadcast any program which may spread, incite, promote or justify hatred, violence and discrimination against any person or group of persons.

Airtime costs on major networks

Typical primetime spots on national US networks can be expected to cost something in the range of $200,000 to $800,000, while on a larger national cable network you are expected to pay $40,000 to $80,000. On smaller US networks costs are between $2,000 to $40,000, and on very local stations you can buy some spots for as little as $50 for 60 seconds.

Shortwave airtime is cost-effective, and you can reach millions

Shortwave radio is one of the preferred and most cost-effective ways to reach audiences of several million users, especially in remote and developing areas where other media, such as the Internet, are not so widespread.

Recent additions of 50, 100 and 300 kW transmitters in our capabilities enable us to efficiently reach any region in the world, including Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia/Pacific and the Americas using directional antennas, on any frequency and at any time of day or night.

Costs of running a Shortwave broadcast depends mainly on the transmitter power used, prime time, promotions and availability of free transmitters and antennas or unsold airtime. Today you can pay as low as 1 Euro per minute and reach Millions in Africa, Europe, Asia/Pacific. It is just 1/6 of the lowest 1-minute rate of a radio or TV spot on a local US station, and a fraction of the cost of reaching a single market in the USA.

Shortwave reaches any remote place and conflict area in the world

Bridging across the Digital Divide

Shortwave radio remains one of the key electronic media for reaching the maximum number of potential listeners in the world.  This is proved by the fact that the world’s most prominent international broadcast organisations continue their activities via Shortwave, and invest in studio and transmission facilities.

In recent history, the Gulf War, conflicts in Africa, the problematic situation in North Korea, Ethiopia, Somalia, Cameroon and other regions of the world,  demonstrated how vital a telecommunications tool Shortwave is in reaching a vast audience.

Listeners can use inexpensive receivers that can be put in a suitcase or pocket.

Shortwave is everywhere.  It is the world’s most mobile medium!

Media placement: Local radio & TV media are expensive and reach just one market

In the presence of widespread and inexpensive Internet distribution technology, as offered by modern information technology and the Internet, audio and video streaming may appear to be cheap and cover a large audience. However, while this may be true in Europe and North America, where Internet penetration may reach about 80% of the population, Africa has just about 20% of users connected to the Internet.

Even where Internet access is cheap and generally available, the audience is in the hands of the major streaming players (i.e. Netflix, YouTube, Facebook) and content is so extremely fragmented. Will you succeed in making an impact streaming from your website?

Content on satellite & TV is equally very fragmented: literally, thousands of channels are available on satellite, cable or digital TV (DTT): will you be able to attract enough listeners to your own network or to any local station to justify the substantial investment in buying airtime on?

International Broadcasting on Shortwave

Anybody interested in buying airtime, or brokering their program on radio, should consider the high impact and cost-effectiveness of Shortwave vs any other media such as local broadcast stations, cable channels, local TV, AM or FM radio and the Internet.

Technically, standard AM and FM stations lose their power as their signals dissipate along the ground over long distances. In Shortwave, the opposite is true. The Earth is encased in an invisible covering of gases called the Ionosphere, that acts as a mirror, reflecting shortwave signals back to Earth, thus making it possible to cover vast distances with a single transmitter. This is why Shortwave is so efficient and cost-effective.

In the case of our NEXUS-IBA and our stations (European Gospel Radio and IRRS-Shortwave), you can cover Europe, Africa or Asia/Pacific and any remote location in the world for the same or less money than it would cost to reach just one local market at home.

Brokered programming, time-buy and block time

NEXUS-IBA’s primary aims are to provide all necessary means at our disposal for the dissemination of cultural, ethnic, political, and religious material on behalf of members and non-members of the association. According to our charter:

(…) Radio is to be the primary medium, locally, nationally, and internationally, although other forms of mass media may also be used. Pluralism of information is to be assured, with particular attention paid to minorities; above all ethnic, cultural, political, and religious minorities, without regard to race, sex, language, or political or religious beliefs, and in full accordance with the Human Rights guaranteed by the Constitution of the Republic of Italy and by International Law.

NEXUS-IBA’s charter states that “whoever has a message to air to the world”, they may be given access to block airtime on NEXUS-IBA media to relay their program, without discrimination of political or religious creed.

NEXUS-IBA has been the first organization of its kind to exist, and allow such an open access policy to almost any type of content (limitations apply to terrorist groups, rebels or anti-government groups indicated as such by Italian, European or International law).

Over the years such an open-policy has been accepted and judged positively by international organisations, political or human right movements, world and local news media organisations, government and private broadcasters, as well as non-governmental organizations and media placement agencies all around the world, who have been using block programming time on Internet streaming and on NEXUS-IBA’s World Service transmitter facilities.

Are you a pirate, illegal or clandestine broadcaster?

NEXUS-IBA and IRRS (the Italian Radio Relay Service) have helped many illegal broadcasters to become legal program producers, and broadcast on licenced media. NEXUS-IBA and our stations do not support pirate or illicit broadcasting.

We operate from stations licensed in each of the countries where we operate from. We can operate from several countries to cover any part of the world.

If you have a message to spread across borders, Shortwave is the practical solution to reach targets that may be inaccessible via the Internet due to local government censorship, or just because the desired targets may be so remote and isolated that no other media (including local FM, TV and Internet) are available.

Read more about Shortwave International broadcasting on our website.

Digital Radio & DRM

Digital Radio on AM and Shortwave (Digital Radio Mondiale) is also available via our stations. Please inquire if you desire to experiment this fascinating technology ahead of its full market implementation.

You can read more about our Shortwave and International Broadcasting also on Milano Ventures web site.

For more information on using NEXUS-IBA Shortwave services, please contact us.