Public Radio Breaks Out The Champagne

Michael Hedges April 18, 2009

Public broadcasters watch audience surveys carefully, despite protestations to the contrary. Since the commercial radio’s arrival more or less a generation ago public broadcasters have braced themselves for the release of audience figures. Champagne days may be returning.

If not precisely a reversal of fortunes, French public radio has arrested audience losses against national commercial channels. In the recently released (April 16) Médiamétrie national survey of French radio listening none of the main public radio channels lost audience year on year. General interest channel France Inter reached 10% market share, increasing from 8.4% one year on. Regional network France Bleu posted 5.5% in the January to March period against 5.1% in 2008. France Musique rose to 1.3%, highest in four years. All news France Info and France Culture were stable, 3.6% and 0.9% market share respectively. The aggregated market share for French public radio is 22.4%, up from 20.3% year on year. (See market share charts here)

“I’m going out in style,” said departing Radio France President Jean-Paul Cluzel, quoted by Journal du Dimanche (April 7). To L’Express (April 17) he said, “I have the feeling of accomplishment.” In less than a month Cluzel hands over the key to Radio France to Jean-Luc Hees in a move widely seen as motivated by bad chemistry between Cluzel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

“All this remains fragile,” said Cluzel to L’Express, “because the radio media may suffer terribly if it doesn’t adapts to new developments in the landscape related to the explosion of digital technology and the proliferation of new media.” Fortunes, in the form of new funding measures after reorganization, will keep Radio France on the lean side.

In the zero-sum world of market share, French national commercial channels are suffering. RTL, still number one after about a thousand years, saw its market share drop to the still stratospheric 12.5% from 13.2% one year on. Shed no tears for RTL. Even RTL2 increased its share to 3% from 2.9%.

Europe 1, leading channel of the Lagardére Group, posted a 8.1% market share, up from 8.0% one year on. The top three national channels – RTL, France Inter and Europe 1 – now have an aggregated 30.6% market share, up from 29.3% in 2008 and 28.9% in 2007, like periods.

That points to turmoil in the middle of the pack, particularly with music channels. The greatest decline was felt by NRJ. Its 5.8% market share in the current survey is well off the 6.5% in the same period last year. NRJ’s share, notably, has stabilized through the last three survey periods. Nostalgie, also of NRJ Group, held its 4.8% market share. Cherie FM dropped to 3.0% from 3.2% one year on.

Others fell: SkyRock, Fun Radio, RFM, Virgin Radio, MFM. The only music channels to gain market share year to year were RTL2, Rire & Chansons and Radio Classique. Young people deserting radio for iPhones and iPods – an old song – doesn’t necessarily explain the trend. Perhaps it’s the music, which, many music programmers privately agree, is the worst for radio in two decades.

The other winner is RMC, the talk and sports and anything else speech-based channel. Its market share is 5.3%, up from 4.9% one year on. RMC has aggressively improved coverage across France, aggressively marketed and has, arguably, an aggressive style.    

The general audience trend shown by the Médiamétrie survey has total listening as percentage of the population declining somewhat significantly to 81.5% from 82.7% in 2008 and 84% in 2007. Through the same January to March periods time spent listening increased to 183 minutes from 180 minutes in 2008 and 177 minutes in 2007. Fewer listeners are listening longer. Alternatively, very casual listeners are leaving. Médiamétrie does not calculate audience average age for public consumption. It is, though, a fair assumption – based on the trend of winners and losers – that older listeners are more tuned into radio and younger listeners distracted by Facebook.

In late March the big four commercial radio owners - SkyRock excepted - formed Bureau de la Radio, modeled on the American Radio Advertising Bureau, to improve commercial radio's appeal to advertisers and listeners.

The Médiamétrie 126000 radio audience survey was conducted between December 28, 2008 and March 29, 2009. Surveys are quarterly and measure radio listening among persons 13 years and older.