Stars Change – Audience Rises

Michael Hedges December 7, 2010 Follow on Twitter

Nothing moves radio listeners more than high profile personalities. When those personalities move from channel to channel listeners start fiddling with their radios. Sometimes it works and sometimes not.

When Spanish media measurement institute AIMC released the final EGM (Estudio General de Medios) report for 2010 (December 2), effectively a report on the entire year, the best news for radio broadcasters was audience penetration had risen to 56.9%, the highest in six years. Of all Spanish media the only other medium to see an increase was the Web (38.4%). Most big network channels saw significant shifts in listening, some falling dramatically. (See Spanish national radio share trend here)

Leading Spanish radio network Cadena SER remains firmly top ranked, but its market share fell to 36.2%, lowest in more than five years. Morning program Hoy por hoy hosted by Carlos Francino lost just under 9% gross listeners since EGM figures released in July. Perennial top ranked music channel Los 40 Principales maintained its ranking, second among all radio channels, falling slightly to 21.9% market share from 22.2% one year on. Grupo Prisa owns the general interest channel Cadena SER and Los 40 Principales.

The EGM results arrived at an inconvenient moment Grupo Prisa, which also owns music channels Cadena Dial, M-80, Radiolé and Máxima FM, and sports station Ona Catalana. Spanish competition authorities approved the takeover by Liberty (December 2) and new shares in the refinanced company were listed on the Madrid and New York exchanges.

The big news, however, was Cadena Cope’s huge loss, falling to 6th ranking, 10.6% market share, from 4th in 2009 and 14.2%. Cadena Cope’s morning audience has not recovered from the departure last year of host and pundit Federico Jiménez Losantos. New morning host Ernesto Sáenz de Buruaga, recruited from television in September, has, so far, failed to ignite Cadena Cope’s conservative audience like the controversial Losantos.

Spanish media watchers focused on the effect of changes with popular weekend sports programs on both networks. A week before the EGM release Cadena SER complained that rival Cadena Cope “plagiarized” the Carrusel Deportivo (Sports Carousel) format with its Tiempo de Juego (Game Time) sports program. These are major media institutions in Spain. Carrusel Deportivo has been on the radio since 1954 and now is broadcast Saturday and Sunday evenings, six hours each. In May Carrusel Deportivo co-hosts Paco González and Pepe Domingo Castaño exited in a management dispute. Cadena Cope signed them almost immediately.

General interest network Onda Cero held 3rd ranking by market share with 17.2%, highest in more than five years, from 16.4% one year on. Onda Cero, a relative newcomer to Spain’s radio scene, celebrated its 20th anniversary in November.

Public general interest channel Radio Nacional (RNE) breached double digits with 10.4% market share and 7th place, up from 8.7% year on year.

Music channel Cadena Dial moved into 4th ranking among all national channels with 13.3% market share from 12.4% year on year. Cadena Dial plays all Spanish and Catalan music. Cadena 100 also moved up, finding 5th ranking with 11.2% market share, up from 9.5% and 6th place one year on. Music channels EuropaFM, Rac 1 and MaximaFM showed market share growth while Kiss FM dropped.

As usual, there’s always somebody ready to complain about the measurement. “I think it is reasonable that the victims and those who voluntarily stayed out of the EGM could create a measurement system that does not worry about anything other than a sound understanding of the audience,” said the aforementioned Federico Jiménez Losantos in a blog post (December 3). Cadena Cope sat out the EGM a few years ago, only to return when forced by media buyers.

See also in ftmKnowledge

Europe's Radio - Southern Europe – new

Radio broadcasting in southern Europe ranges from highly developed to developing highly. Italian, Spanish and Portuguese radio is unique, creative and very popular. Radio in Croatia, Serbia and Greece has had ups and downs. The ftm Knowledge file includes Resources. 48 pages PDF (November 2010)