Losing audience, losing energy

Michael Hedges July 16, 2009 Follow on Twitter

There are few secrets to attracting and holding audience. Programmers learn to spot a trend and make the best of it. Obvious trends are finite, duration limited. Meta-trends are harder to recognize.

Médiamétrie released its April-June French national radio listening estimates and two trends are obvious. The survey details, mostly, the 20 French national radio channels, pubic and private.

NRJ, the premiere brand of NRJ Group, continues its suffering, market share falling to 5.6% among persons 13 years and older. NRJ’s share of audience hasn’t been this low in years. In the April-June 2008 and 2007 periods NRJ’s market share was 6.6%. In April-June 2006 it was 7.7%. The channel’s market ranking has fallen to 5th place, which it shares with public regional network France Bleu.

Music channels are fading. Of the 11 mostly music-based national channels, only three increased market share year on year. NRJ is, as it has been for a generation, emblematic of the French national commercial music channel. It’s history as a radio brand is distinguished and legendary. NRJ trademark style, both in programming and marketing, has influenced a generation of broadcasters in France and beyond.

Of the top ten national channels ranked by market share, four are music-based. Five years ago there were more. Time spent listening to NRJ has dropped to 82 minutes per day on average from 92 minutes, year on year. Eight of the 11 music-based radio channels have lower time spent listening.

This is not NRJ’s obituary. The brand will certainly survive and NRJ Group will continue to thrive. Nothing is young forever and the French teenagers who built the brand are now parents of a new set of teenagers.

The top three French national channels remain the same. RTL places first with 12.5% market share, significantly lower than the 13.3% it had in the same period a year ago. Public radio France Inter is still number 2, but with a whopping share increase to 9.8% from 8.7% one year on. Third ranked is Europe 1, still. It, too, increased market share to 8% from 7.4%. RTL’s market share was above 13% from November 2007 through June 2008, benefiting from the marketing opportunities of French election coverage. Since then both France Inter and Europe 1 have undertaken major management changes.

The game changer in the French market - as a whole and among news and speech-based channels specifically - is RMC. Its market share has risen to 6% (4th place) from 5.4% (6th place) in the same period last year and 4.9% (7th place) in 2007. The news and information channel, which has heavy emphasis on sports, is a relative youngster, built in 2000 from the ashes of Radio Monte Carlo.

Tied for 5th place with NRJ is regional public broadcasting network France Bleu, unchanged year on year with a 5.6% market share. In seventh place is the venerable Nostalgie, owned by NRJ Group, lower at 4.8% market share from 5.2% year on year. Rap music Skyrock takes 8th place with 4.5% market share, up from 4.2% year on year, the only music channel in the top ten to show a market share increase. Dance music channel Fun Radio, on a perpetual market share roller coaster, placed 9th with 3.9% market share, down from 4.0% one year on. In tenth place is rolling news public channel France Info with 3.4% market share, down from 3.5% year on year. (See chart of all channels here)

Market shares rise and fall for a variety of reasons; some programming, some marketing. Music affects the music channels as much as ‘hot news’ affects the news and talk channels. One big number and one set of numbers in the Médiamétrie survey broadly stand out. Gross reach of all radio listening has fallen to its lowest level in at least 5 years. Radio now penetrates 80.9% of the French population. A year ago it was 81.6%. Two years ago, in like periods, it was 83.6%. Fewer people are tuning in.

Accompanying that are the time spent listening figures. Overall, French radio listeners spend 180 minutes on average per day with radio. Year to year, this statistic is unchanged. Time spent listening increased, year to year, to RTL, France Inter, France Bleu and RMC. Only one music-based channel saw time spent listening increase more than 1 minute – rock station RFM.

The big general interest, mostly speech based national channels rely on ‘program-based’ programming. Whether for a well-known personality or a program of specific content, listeners, it appears, are setting an ‘appointment’ to hear what they want to hear. Casual, long-term listening for music has shifted from radio to, arguably, iPods. For radio, this is probably an irreversible trend.

See also...

Europe's Radio - update

Europe’s media landscape is dotted by 15,000 radio stations and channels. Public, private, digital and even a few MW stations reach upwards of 90% of Europe’s listeners each day. This ftm Knowledge file adds new material on measurement, regulation, digital broadcasting, Denmark, Hungary, Italy, Germany, the UK, Netherlands and France. 165 pages PDF (April 2009)

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Available at no charge to ftm Members, others from €49
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Media in France

French audiences are moving fast to every new platform. Some media outlets are leaping ahead, sometimes winning and sometimes not. Media life in France... and a few secrets. 75 pages PDF (April 2008)
Free to ftm members, others from €49
Order