As Big Broadcasters Fight For The Lead, The Real Action is on the Web

Michael Hedges October 26, 2009 Follow on Twitter

Maybe the ‘long tail’ theory isn’t completely dead. Big broadcasters are adding as many brand extensions as they can to bulk up sagging audiences. New channels - offered by others – are attracting a lot of attention.

National channels dominate Poland’s radio landscape. Figuring significantly in audience surveys are two national commercial channels and two Polish public radio channels. After those come religious channel Radio Maryja, two regional stations, then the public classical music channel and a new station called Chilli.

The July-September Radio Track national audience survey, released October 12, shows only slight variation year-to-year. RMF FM continues to lead with 23.9% share (persons 15 to 75), up from 23.1%. Radio ZET remained in 2nd place with 16.9%, down from 17.7% one year on. RMF FM, owned by Bauer Media Group, is a full-service adult contemporary channel targeting 20 to 49 year olds. Radio ZET targets a slightly younger audience with hit music, strong DJs and a full-time news department. Eurozet, a division of Lagardere Active Radio International. Owns Radio Zet. (See Poland national radio audience here)

These rival channels are fierce competitors, selling themselves with ad campaigns, concert promotions and competitions. In September RMF FM filed a lawsuit in Krakow against Radio ZET for that great radio tradition – stealing a contest. Apparently RMF FM launched an SMS contest in January called “Wielka Kumulacja,” loosely translated as United Accumulation, and Radio Zet followed with its own contest with the same name and format. Both companies claim to have registered the contest name and details, one with the tax office, the other with the patent office. 

More recently (October 2) Radio PiN filed a trademark suit against Eurozet saying a program it had been broadcasting since 2005 has been “imitated” by Eurozet-owned Chilli ZET, which also acquired the programs show-host. Chilli ZET is a jazz, club music formatted station (not a Tex-Mex restaurant) that migrated from the internet to a few FM transmitters. Radio PiN is a business news station based in Warsaw. It features club music during the off-hours.

Polish public radio Polskie Radio offers six radio channels, two figuring significantly in audience surveys. Radiowa Jedynka (First Radio) plies listeners with easy listening music and lots of news programs. In the recent Radio Track survey it showed 12.8% share, down slightly year on year from 13.0%. Radiowa Trójka, the youth oriented music station, enjoyed somewhat of an audience boost to 6.6% share from 6.4% one year on. Classical music and arts channel Radiowa Dwojka also showed a bigger audience share – 1.0% from 0.5% year on year.

Religious channel Radio Maryja – infamous in some circles – fell to 1.7% share from 1.9% one year on.

Super-regional news channel TOK FM, owned by publisher Agora, held its 1.1% national share. ESKA Rock (think Bon Jovi and Muse) doubled its market share to 1.0% from 0.5% one year on. Newcomer Chilli Zet, owned by Eurozet, showed 0.4% share in the national survey.

The Warsaw audience ratings showed a far more diverse and dynamic radio market. Radio Zet remained the Warsaw market leader with 13.09% market share, significantly lower year on year from 17.04%. Public channel Radiowa Jedynka placed 2nd with 12.5%, down slightly from 12.88%.

The next three ranked channels increased market share in Warsaw; Radiowa Trójka (9.62% from 8.17%), RMF FM (9.62% from 7.9%) and TOK FM (7.4% from 6.19%). Of the 18 stations ranked in the Warsaw survey, 10 showed increased market share. The biggest losers were at the top of the rankings. (See Warsaw radio audience here)

Market research firm Millward Brown conducts the Radio Test continuously in Poland. Last May, after considerable discussion, mobile telephone users were added to the sample. Currently the 7,000 person target monthly sample includes 20% mobile users. “Adding those respondents helped us to improve sample performance especially among men and younger age targets,” said Millward Brown radio research director Anna Romaniuk in an email.

But it’s rising Web connectivity that’s bringing change to Poland’s radio market. “Internet radio is very hot at the moment,” said Ms Romaniuk. “Every FM broadcaster has got its internet extension.”  Indeed, many broadcasters have six or more streamed internet radio channels.

A separate survey of internet users by IMAS International, released October 23, showed 80% listening to radio channels via the Web during the first six months of this year. One in four internet users had listened to a radio channel at least once a week. The Millward Brown report on 2008 radio listening reported 4.1% of all listeners turning to Web channels.

“One of the more popular internet radio in Poland seems to be Open.fm, one not belonging to any broadcaster,” noted Ms Romaniuk. The IMAS International report showed Open.fm the third most popular Web radio channel, 16.1% of internet users tuning in. The Open.fm Web radio platform is offered by Poland’s leading instant messaging service Gadu-Gadu. At last count nearly 60 music formats are available. 

The ‘long tail’ concept popularized by Chris Anderson in 2004 divides consumer products – including media – into ‘heads’ and ‘tails’. Power brands – the ‘heads’ – struggle as greater choice – the ‘tail’ – wags every market. The internet made all this possible. Recent criticism has focused on much of that ‘tail’ having less than fragmentary market value. Greater consumer choice – one of those digital dividends – hasn’t exactly worked out as a business model. Perhaps it’s all in the approach.