The Audience Is Angry

Michael Hedges November 21, 2013 Follow on Twitter

Conventional wisdom holds that programmers must not upset the audience. With so many buttons to push, figuratively, people easily change channels. The challenge for broadcasters is to share the same moment. Music and news are only ingredients. More emotion is necessary.

No matter how the numbers are sliced, the September-October Médiamétrie French radio audience survey results were dreadful for national music channels. The obvious exception was NRJ. Regardless of format, all others, except two at the bottom of the list, were down by market share.

The September-October survey is very important to French radio broadcasters, giving a snapshot of results from the traditional new season schedules and promotion surrounding such. It’s also important, perhaps more so, for ad sales ahead of the end-of-year retail season.

Topping the charts, as it has forever, was general interest channel RTL, 11.6% market share off just a slice from 11.7% one year on. Public general interest channel France Inter was off, noticeably, with 9.0% market share and 2nd place from 9.5%. Europe 1 posted its best showing in two years, 7.8% market share from 7.5%. Tied for 5th place in the national rankings were news-talk channel RMC and public regional network France Bleu, both with 7.2% market share up from 6.1% year on year. Public all-news channel France Info was off slightly to 3.4% market share from 3.5%.

The market share jump for RMC, and perhaps France Inter’s drop, was summed up in one word: “anger,” said RMC director Franck Lanoux, to challenges.fr (November 19). “People are asking questions. They need answers.” The news-talk channel surged without benefit from a major election campaign or sports events.

Hit music channel NRJ is firmly among the top five in the national market share rankings with 7.4% and 4th place from 7.1% one year on. The channel’s main youth market competitors fell hard. Rap/ hip hop channel Skyrock continued its slide to 3.6% market share and 7th in the national rankings from 4.0%, lowest in a decade. Dance music channel Fun Radio dropped to 3.5% market share and 9th place from 3.9%, lowest in five years. Struggling Virgin Radio fell to 1.8% market share from 2.0% year on year, lowest in forever.

Among the eleven French national radio channels nominally referred to as music channels, the aggregate market share for September-October was 31.1%, dropping from 33.0% one year on. Aggregate market share for the five general interest channels, including the France Bleu network, rose to 42.9% from 40.9%. Local French radio stations, about 680 of them, boosted aggregate market share to 14.7% from 14.5%. Stations in the ‘other’ category, on aggregate, rose to 3.5% market share from 3.1%.

National music channels targeting mid and upper age groups were not immune to lower listener interest. Oldies channel Nostalgie and adult contemporary channel Cherie FM, both owned by NRJ Group, faced losses. Nostalgie dropped to 3.5% market share from 4.0% one year on. Cherie FM was lower at 2.3% market share from 2.7%. The remaining NRJ Group channel, Rire & Chansons, ticked up to 1.4% from 1.3%.

“We are satisfied with (Rire et Chansons), up in all indicators,” said NRJ Group founder and CEO Jean-Paul Baudecroux to RadioActu (November 20). “Cherie FM is not quite together. For the medium term, I’m not very concerned.” On Nostalgie: “Things are going in the right direction.”

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