Changing names and games in Denmark

Michael Hedges October 8, 2008

TV 2 Radio has become Nova FM. It’s the second time in two years a national commercial radio channel in Denmark failed financially and had to be taken over by somebody braver than the last. And the Culture Minister is proposing more national FM channels. Danes, you know, are the happiest people in the world but confusion doesn’t bring smiles.

Last April TV 2 abruptly dismissed the entire radio staff, with rumors of an eminent sale. TV 2 essentially walked away from the radio station, closing it down while SBS/ProSiebenSat picked up the pieces. In 2006 TV 2, a commercial television channel owned by the Danish government, bought the radio license vacated by News Corporation’s Sky Radio. News Corp, too, walked away.  

TV 2, in a world of hurt itself, also fired several dozen of its staff. The station is reportedly losing DKK200 million a year (about €27 million).

The new Nova FM targets 20 to 50 year olds and has hired show hosts well known in Denmark. The channel broadcasts hourly 3 minute newscasts provided by TV 2 through the day and a 90 minute news magazine in the early evening.

The concession for TV 2 Radio, acquired by SBS/ProSiebenSat, requires the station to broadcast 1000 hours of news and public affairs per year. The name change doesn’t change the public service requirement. A brief mention in Journalisten suggested the station has fallen short.

"I do not have the final overview of how many hours we are lagging behind,” said SBS Denmark director Erik Hansen, quoted in Journalisten (October 3). “But the volume is not so large that we can not reach it.”

Nova FM’s coverage in Denmark is augmented with several frequencies once occupied by Radio City, which is now only available in Copenhagen and on the Web. Radio City’s DJs were fired making the station all-rock and no talk…and less expense. Coverage was one issue News Corp cited in walking away from Sky Radio, the original concession technically being a national license. SBS/ProSiebenSat may have corrected that problem by shuffling frequencies of its own channels.

SBS/ProSiebenSat also owns The Voice, which targets 12 to 24 year olds, and two television channels –Kanal 4 and Kanal 5.

Gramex, the performance rights collecting organization, referred TV 2 Radio to the Copyright Licensing Board (Ophavsretslicensnævnet), according to Musikerens e-Nyt (October 3), for paying “a very low advance amount” for performance rights from February 2007 through June 2008. Radio City was “unreasonable severely punished by Koda and Gramex,” said Erik Hansen to Business.dk. Denmark’s radio stations pay 30% of turnover to music and performance rights collecting organizations KOFA and Gramex, a long standing point of contention for Denmark’s commercial broadcasters.

Talpa owned Radio 100FM responded in early October to the born anew Nova FM with night and weekend programming targeting the party crowd. Radio 100FM is the other radio channel with a national concession.

While there are over 125 local commercial stations in Denmark the radio sector is overwhelmed by public broadcaster Danmarks Radio (DR). Operating four national channels on FM DR Radio has maintained an audience share in excess of 50%. It is widely considered one of Europe’s best public service radio broadcasters.

DR Radio has been an unqualified supporter of digital broadcasting, launching DAB trials in 1996 followed by dozens of DAB only channels. DAB Denmark in February 2008 boasted that 37% of Danes have access to DAB digital radio receivers, the highest penetration in the world. DR added its 23rd Web radio, DR New Jazz, in September.

Digital radio’s rise has full support of Denmark’s commercial broadcasters. Most offer their main channels on DAB or the Web, often more. The tipping point for digital radio seems to have been achieved. And that’s the reason broadcasters are still scratching their heads at plans announced by the Danish Culture Minister to invest DKK300 million (about €40 million) in FM expansion.

Culture Minister Brian Mikkelsen has proposed reallocating all of Denmark’s FM frequencies – including those of DR - to create more national channels. His argument has been that more national commercial channels would stimulate ad spending sufficient to support the new channels as well as local channels. A consultants report commissioned by the Danish government suggested that radio ad spending would need to triple. And that wouldn’t be likely.