The BCA was formed in March 1972 in answer to some large industry losses and the continuing problem of slow payment by agencies. Several national advertising agencies filed bankruptcy, including Lennen & Newell, US Media, Reach, McClinton & Co., Powell Schoenbrod & Hall, and Bauer-Tripp-Hening & Bressler, leaving the media owed millions. In September 1972 BCA’s PHASE I and PHASE II were presented at the IBFM Conference and the 200+ attendees unanimously approved the plans to provide the industry with a broad range of credit services as soon as possible. The goal of Phase I was to provide member stations with the Monthly Agency Aging Summary Report. Phase II would provide agency reports, work with agencies on slow pay problems and do collections for a 5% fee on all accounts collected. In addition to being endorsed by the RAB, TVB, NAFMB and the SRA, all three major networks, ABC, NBC and CBS, joined immediately.

In September 1973 Ray Watson of KGTV San Diego, Chairman of the BCA Committee, sent a letter to all broadcasters asking them to join the BCA, which needed $100,000 to start PHASE II. If the dollar goal was not met by the annual IBFM conference (9/30-10/3/73), the BCA would cease to exist and all members would receive refunds. By this time, most of the major broadcast groups had already joined, including Cap Cities, Cox, Meredith, Hearst, RKO, Plough, Westinghouse. There was a set fee to join and another $240 in yearly dues. Mr. Watson followed with another letter to potential members in October 1973, and a full-page ad appeared in Broadcasting magazine asking for support. In November, PHASE II was funded and approved and an executive named Charles Levin was hired to run the organization from the office on Michigan Avenue in Chicago.

In 1976 the BCA moved to New York to be closer to the heart of the advertising industry. The name "Broadcast Credit Association" was not available in the state of New York, so "Credit Information" was added to the "BCA" name. To reduce office rental expenses, the BCA moved to Parsippany, New Jersey, in April 1985. The name "Broadcast Credit Association" was available in New Jersey and the organization’s original name returned. In 1988 the BCA moved to Des Plaines, Illinois, where it is still located, and in 1990 the name was officially changed to the Broadcast Cable Credit Association to recognize the growing number of cable members.

BCA quickly became involved in industry issues and published information on a variety of subjects. In 1974 the Credit & Collections Survey was begun to ascertain what practices were standard, and to allow stations to compare their results with others in their industry. The first issue of Creditopics came off the presses in February 1975, and in 1976 the first credit and collections seminar was held in New York City. The positive impact of the organization became clear when a press release dated January 1976 stated that 57 stations had implemented the IBFM/BCA liability clause.

1974   First Credit & Collections Survey

1976   BCA Moves to New York...First Credit and Collections Seminar is held

1982   Liability - A status report comparing all liability positions is published

1984   Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1978 is amended

1985   BCA Moves to New Jersey

1988   Operation: Notarization white paper is developed, then issued in 1990

1990   BCA becomes BCCA and moves to Des Plaines office

1991   Aging reports are phased out

1994   New logo developed; new office space in Des Plaines

1995   New on-line credit retrieval system, CheckMate, premieres...First Newspapers/Magazines are allowed to
           become users/members