Ratings Show There Is Always A Second Chance

Michael Hedges July 2, 2018 Follow on Twitter

Media buyers and the broadcasters who love them have a voracious appetite for data. And this being the age of big data, broadcasters must compete with every other data harvester for the sweetest, juiciest morsels to serve up. Something new is always tempting.

Recently released Belgian radio listening estimates for national channels show that much of the divided market - French and Flemish - changes very little. Big radio brands are still big. There are no new names.

In the French-speaking southern part of Belgium, pop music channel Radio Contact, principally owned by RTL Group, ranked first, 14.26% market share (persons 12 plus). Just a tiny slice lower, 14.12% market share, was the public broadcaster RTBF (Radio télévision belge de al communauté francaise) general interest network VivaCité, Bel RTL, also principally owned by RTL Group, ranked third with 13.12% market share. Oldies channel Nostalgie, principally owned by NRJ Group, placed 4th; 13.07%. Classic 21, the RTBF classic rock channel, was next at 10.25%. The top five radio channels have been the top five, more of less, for several years.

The second five, in rank order, were hit music channel NRJ (NRJ Group) at 6.82%, RTBF news and information channel La Première at 6.04%, RTFB youth channel Pure FM at 2.99%, dance music channel Fun FM at 2.92% and RTBF classical music channel Musiq’3 at 2.19%.

On the northern Flemish-speaking side, top rated was public broadcaster VRT (Vlaamse Radio en Televiseomroep) pop music channel Radio 2 with 30.39% market share. Second was hit music channel Qmusic, owned by Medialaan, at 12.37%, then pop-rock-alternative VRT channel Studio Brussel, affectionately known as StuBru, at 11.18%, followed by VRT’s hit music channel MNM at 9.9% market share. Pop oldies channel Joe FM, also owned by Medialaan, placed 5th at 8.94% market share. Medialaan, formerly known as VMMa, is a subsidiary of Dutch publisher De Persgroep, which bought out long-time venture partner Roularta Media Group last year.

VRT’s main news and information channel Radio 1 placed 6th with 8.40% market share. Nostalgie followed with 6.89%, then VRT’s cultural and classical music channel Klara at 2.54% market share. Other channels were below 1% market share.

Calculation of radio audience estimates in Belgium changed with the newly released results. This data set covers January through April 2018. Subsequent reports of the continuously collected surveys will be issued every two months. The previous method provided three reports each year. Comparisons with previous surveys is, therefore, discouraged. Roughly 70% of the survey interviews are conducted face-to-face, 30% online, another change. Data acquisition and number crunching for the CIM (Centrum voor Informatie over Media or Centre d’Information sur les Médias) radio audience estimates is provided by GfK Belgium.

An RTBF spokesperson withheld comment on the revamped survey results because “the ground is not yet stable enough,” quoted by Le Soir (June 27). VRT radio manager Els Van De Sijpe noted only that the new measurement methodology shows “the solid popularity of the radio medium.” In August consolidated results will be released for the first half of the year.

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