Swiss Public Radio Powerhouses Continue Increasing Shares

Swiss broadcasting’s rich and powerful are, of course, the mighty Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SSR-SRG), the public service broadcaster. It’s radio channels, a separate set for each linguistic region, over-power – literally and figuratively - all competitors for listeners’ attention. PublicaData’s radio audience survey for the 2nd half of 2006 confirms that power.

The Swiss-German speaking region is the largest, most populated, richest, most diverse and most competitive. It includes Zürich, Basel, Lucerne and Bern. The PublicaData figures recently released do not provide break-downs by individual concession zones – redrawn and now subject to some shifting in station coverage. What immediately jumps from the page, however, is the significant loss of total radio listeners over the last four half-year results. In the Swiss-German speaking regions the total number of radio listeners dropped to 90.3% of the population from 91.4% in 1st half 2006, 91.3% in 2nd half 2005 and 91.6% in 1st half 2005. This simple percentage point (and a little more) has a powerful affect on the rest of the data.

What has not changed is the over-all leading position of Swiss-German public broadcaster DRS, which increased its total market share to 64.8% from 63.1%, year on year, and 61.5% in the 2nd half 2004.

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Hit music, NRJ Group stations posted losses in both the French and Swiss German speaking regions. Commercial radio gained market share in the Swiss German-speaking linguistic region, to 23.5% from 22.9% one year on, though dropping in French-speaking cantons to 25.5% from 25.9%. Public service broadcaster (PSB) SSR-SRG added audience to general interest and fine arts channels to increase PSB market share in the French-speaking zone to 57% from 56.2% year on year and to 62.6% in the Swiss German-speaking cantons from 61.7%.

Main radio channel DRS1 maintained its commanding market position with 41.5% market share, down slightly year on year. Youth channel DRS3 increased to 13.7% market share from 13.0%, year on year, and culture channel DRS2 increased to 5.2% from 4.7%, one year on.

In the Swiss-German region, only the French and Italian SSR-SRG radio channels lost audience. All SSR-SRG radio channels are available in all linguistic regions, though non-region specific channels have less coverage.

Private sector radio in Switzerland can hardly be compared among itself, let alone with the SSR-SRG channels. Coverage is the issue: SSR-SRG channels are considered regional while private radio stations are “local,” with far less geographic coverage. The new Swiss Law on Radio and Television (LRTV), when fully implemented, will result in slight but financially significant coverage expansion for private radio.

Private radio market share overall in the Swiss-German region maintained it’s 25.5%, year on year. However, the current slice of the audience is significantly lower than the 26.7% market share in the 2nd half 2004. There are 27 radio stations in the Swiss-German region. Market share for individual stations has as much to do with coverage area as audience size.

Radio 24 (Zürich) held its lead among private station in the Swiss-German region with 2.7% market share.

Radio Argovia (Aarau – midway between Basel and Zürich) and Radio Pilatus (Luzern) tied for 2nd place market share at 1.9%. Radio Argovia lost market share – perhaps due to the loss of a popular show host last year – and Radio Pilatus gained. Radio Top (Winterthur – northeast of Zürich) and Radio Zürisee (Zürich) tied for 4th place market share at 1.8%. Radio Zürisee dropped slightly and Radio Top increased audience share.

In French-speaking western Switzerland Radio Suisse Romande (RSR), the regional SSR-SRG channels, also expanded their market shares, climbing to 57.5%, highest in two years. Option Musique – a Nostalgie clone – posted the greatest gains to 9.4% from 8.5% one year on. Couleur 3, the RSR youth station, also gained significantly to 4.6% from 3.8% year on year. Main RSR channel La Premiere lost a tiny piece of its giant market share, falling to 40.1% from 40.7% in 2nd half 2005.

Like the Swiss-German region, the French-speaking region also saw a lower overall radio audience reach, likely affecting results of individual stations.

The 11 private radio stations in the French-speaking region lost market share in aggregate, falling to 22.9% from 23.3% year on year. Only two private stations in the region posted market share gain within the survey confidence level: RTN-2001 (Neuchâtel) to 2.9% from 2.8% year on year and Radio Jura Bernois (Tavannes – French-speaking part of Canton Bern) to 0.9% from 0.8% in the 2nd half 2005. Notably neither of these stations serve the major population centers of Geneva or Lausanne.

Lausanne FM (Lausanne) and sister station One FM (Geneva) are number one and two in market share among private stations in the French-speaking region. And both lost shares; Lausanne FM to 3.1% from 3.3% one year on, One FM to 3.0% from 3.4% year on year. The two stations with the biggest audience share losses are also co-owned; Rouge FM and Radio Lac (Geneva). Rouge FM dropped to 2.4% from 2.9% year on year and long suffering Radio Lac dropped to 1.4% market share from 1.7%.

But the semi-annual high point for SSR-SRG radio is the whopping market shares for the Swiss Italian Radio. Please understand that the Italian-speaking region of Switzerland is tiny (and beyond beautiful) and SSR-SRG probably allocates there more of its budget per listener than the other regions. But, still, RSI channels have a 71.3% market share, up from 71.0% in 2nd half 2005. Culture channel RSI2 increased market share to 6.4% from 5.9% and youth channel RSI3 increased to 14.0% market share from 13.1%.

But it was not all happiness in Lugano as main channel RSI1 dropped to 50.9% from 52.1%.

The Italian-speaking regions sole private station, Radio 3iii, also increased audience share, climbing to 4.2% from 3.3%.

It is worth noting that radio channels from outside Switzerland, sometimes a significant factor, lost audience in all regions. This means lower audience in French-speaking Switzerland for French stations NRJ, Nostalgie and Europe 2. German stations bordering Basel also lost audience.

The PublicaData surveys of Swiss radio listening have been electronically measured with the RadioControl watch device since 2000.

Swiss Public Radio Powerhouses Continue Increasing Shares

Winter arrived finally in Switzerland, blanketing all regions in white, fluffy snow. Skiers rejoiced. With the lush powder in the mountain resorts came more good news for the rich and powerful in Swiss broadcasting: the 2nd half-year radio ratings for 2006.