NCSA Program

“Our sponsors typically receive a minimum return of 3-to-1 representing the value of the aired spots compared to the dollar investment.”

Current Sponsors

What Is NCSA?
NCSA is an acronym for Non-Commercial Sustaining Announcement. NCSA programs are fund-raisers sponsored by state broadcast associations across the country. In South Carolina, the funds support various member programs and services. A significant amount goes to our Educational Foundation to fund grants and scholarships at state colleges and universities that offer broadcast training. The S.C. Broadcasters Association (SCBA) NCSA programs allow participants to contract with SCBA to have their promotional spots distributed to radio and television stations in South Carolina at a reduced flat-rate cost. All fees go directly to SCBA. In support of their Association, stations run NCSA spots on a volunteer basis.

Who Is Eligible to Participate in NCSA?
Non-profit organizations and government agencies are eligible participants. Despite limited funding for promotional efforts, these groups can still get affordable statewide distribution of their messages through the NCSA program. Participants cannot concurrently participate in NCSA and purchase advertising time from selected radio and television stations. Participants may not purchase advertising from other media (newspaper, billboards, etc.) while participating in an NCSA campaign.

What Stations Participate?
Although station participation in SCBA’s NCSA program is on a volunteer basis, our Association is fortunate to have outstanding support from its member radio and television stations throughout the state. Virtually all S.C. television stations and the majority of commercial radio stations are members. In addition, NCSA sponsors have the option to have their spots distributed to non-member stations as well.

What Are the Responsibilities of the Participating Agency or Organization?
The participants are responsible for the production of their radio and television spot(s), the cost of tape duplication and the cost of distribution of the spots to stations. SCBA will be pleased to recommend production facilities and duplication and distribution resources, if needed.

What Are SCBA’s Responsibilities?
SCBA will provide mailing labels for all member (and non-member, if desired) radio and television stations in South Carolina. We will also provide cover materials to accompany the spot(s) introducing your organization as an NCSA participant.

In those materials, stations are encouraged to not only run the spots frequently and in the best time slots available but to also return monthly affidavits indicating what days and times spots ran and the dollar value of the airtime. In turn, SCBA will provide the sponsor with regular reports summarizing which stations ran the spot(s) and how many spots were run at what value. At the end of your NCSA campaign, SCBA can tell you what rate of return was received based on your investment. Historically, our sponsors receive a minimum of 3 to 1 representing the value of the aired spots compared to the dollar investment.

What Number of Spots Can We Provide At What Length? What About Content?
NCSA campaigns can be from three to twelve months in length. Three-month campaigns include one tape distribution and a six-month campaign includes two tape distributions. Twelve-month campaigns include quarterly tape distributions. These additional distributions during a campaign are optional but are strongly encouraged to keep sponsors’ messages fresh and, therefore, more likely to be aired.

The number of spots on each tape is up to the participant. More than one allows the station to rotate your spots to keep their air fresh but too many can be unmanageable. It’s suggested the number of spots on one tape be limited to three or four.

Spot length and content are also up to the sponsor. If only one spot is done, a 30 second spot is recommended over 60 second, especially for television. Please note that, before tape duplication, all spot copy must be approved by SCBA’s NCSA Committee. Please allow one week (5 business days) for this approval process. Because of political advertising and equal time considerations, our Association’s legal counsel has recommended that elected officials and potential candidates not be used in NCSA spots.

Also note that each spot must contain a sponsor identification tag as required by the FCC. An appropriate tag is “Sponsored by (organization) and aired by the S.C. Broadcasters Association and this station.”

How Do I Get More Information?
Contact the SCBA office at:
South Carolina Broadcasters Association
One Harbison Way, Suite 112
Columbia, SC 29212
803-732-1186 (phone)
803-732-4085 (fax)
scba@scba.net