Listeners Flee The Turmoil, Broadcasters Flee The Heat

Michael Hedges July 23, 2019 Follow on Twitter

Radio broadcasters, by and large, are the domaine of their listeners. Without people tuning-in, figuratively if no longer literally, radio becomes like the proverbial tree in the forest. If nobody hears it, it isn't there.

Radio listening in France as a percentage of population has fallen to its lowest level in more than a decade, according to the April-June Mediametrie audience estimates. Just 77.5% of persons over 14 years listened to anything on the radio during the period, down from 78.9% one year on and 80.9% a decade ago. In the decade earlier radio broadcasting regularly reached 84%. Average time spent listening, year on year, dropped three minutes.

While most French radio watchers focused on the performance of individual national channels - “War of comedians,” said one. news fatigue said another - others narrowed on top broadcasters management. “The world of radio in turmoil,” headlined Le Monde (July 18), noting top level executive shuffles at RTL Group (M6), budget and services cuts at public broadcaster Radio France and overall confusion at Lagardère. (See more about media in France here)

Legacy general interest channel RTL (M6) retained the top spot in the national audience estimates; 12.4% audience share, lower than 12.7% year on year. Public radio France Inter held second, 12.0% audience share, up from 10.5%. There are several reasons to suspect the April-June 2018 audience estimates were an anomaly and this is one. Hit music channel NRJ moved into 3rd place with 6.4% audience share, up from 6.1%.

News and talk channel RMC dropped to 4th, 6.3% audience share from 6.8%; another reason to suspect the April-June 2018 survey. Regional public radio network France Bleu was virtually unchanged with 5.9% aggregate audience share, keeping 5th spot. Oldies channel Nostalgie (NRJ Group) bumped up to 6th but slightly lower with 4.5% audience share.

The biggest loser, again, was Europe 1 (Lagardère), dropping to 3.9% audience share from 5.3% one year on. Earlier in the month chief executive Arnaud Lagardère confirmed the departure of several radio executives from the group. It was the third group of radio managers to depart in three years. Persistent rumors of an exit from radio broadcasting have been persistently denied. The two other Lagardère channels - RFM and Virgin Radio - were also sharply lower.

Public all-news channel France Info, tied for 7th with Europe 1, posted 3.9% audience share, up slightly. Ninth place went to Fun Radio (M6), 3.5% audience share, significantly off 4.0% year on year. Yet another reason to suspect the April-June 2018 audience estimates, it is. Rap hop-hop channel Skyrock held 10th place with 3.3% audience share, down slightly. RTL2 (M6) placed 11th, slightly lower at 3.0% audience share. (See French national radio audience estimates trend charts here)

For commercial radio channels generally the April-June 2019 national audience estimates were disappointing. Aggregate audience share dropped to 67.6% from 70.5% one year on and 73.5% a decade ago. Radio France channels, on aggregate, rose to 27.0% audience share from 24.4%. Community/independents channels’ audience share was unchanged at 1.6% and “other” rose to 3.6%, highest in over a decade. For French radio people it is a good time for that holiday… in the heatwave.

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• Hot Topics - Media in France