ftm Radio Page - week ending November 5, 2021

Brand licensing remains popular as broadcasters shuffle stations
when you wish upon a star

Very important to radio broadcasters is selecting a good name for the station. The best names are catchy (reasonably) and memorable (not least for memories). Think of the thousands of Kiss branded radio channels across the world. Some remain, still using the famous Kiss lips logo. Bad names, like bad products, are killed by good advertising. (Credit to David Ogilvy)

Bauer Media in Sweden is planning to fire-up Radio Disney on FM for Stockholm listeners and DAB+ elsewhere in the country around January 13th. The Disney name is world famous for films, fantasy and Cinderella. Contrary to the assumed association with children, this Radio Disney will target “an adult Swedish audience,” reports radio news portal radionytt se (November 2). A licensing agreement with the Walt Disney Company is involved. Radio Disney in Stockholm will replace Lugna Klassiker. (See more about media in Sweden here)

“Disney's brand has a unique position in Sweden, not just among families and children, and has had for decades,” said Walt Disney Company Nordic country manager Hans van Rijn, in a statement. “At the same time, our consumption behaviour has changed. Interest in digital entertainment is increasing, as shown by the development of our streaming platform Disney+ while the audio market is growing rapidly for Disney in the Nordic region with podcasts, audiobooks and millions of music streams from our films and series every week. This development combined with the strength of the Disney brand and Bauer's reach gives us a fantastic opportunity to broaden our portfolio.” Once upon a time, Mr. van Rijn was digital director with SBS Radio, which passed through Discovery to Bauer in 2015. That transaction gave Bauer Radio the Kiss radio brand in Norway and Finland.

Radio Disney was a short-lived project of The Walt Disney Company, which owned the US broadcaster ABC, its radio stations and networks. The service targeted children, their parents and the advertisers who loved them. It wound down in the US by 2020. (See more about The Walt Disney Company here)

However, the brand name lives on in Latin America through Spanish-language Radio Disney Latin America. Portuguese-language Radio Disney Brasil powered up on FM in Sao Paulo in 2010 with Disney as a part owner. The Radio Disney has come and gone in Europe, several attempts with franchisees in the UK, Poland and Russia.

Broadcasters open studio for cross-border reporting
"Meet in the middle of it"

Cooperation between radio broadcasters operating in adjacent jurisdictions is fairly common. Radio waves of the analogue variety travel easily across borders, sometimes great distances. Neighboring broadcasters find this interesting but not, usually, a high priority.

A joint program experiment between German and Polish broadcasters popped up this week. There will be several - “three or four” - radio reports filed each week, co-hosted by reporters from German regional public broadcaster Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk (MDR - Central German Broadcasting) and Polish regional state broadcaster Radio Wroclaw. A new purpose-built studio is located in Görlitz, the bilingual town also known as Zgorzelec.

Bringing common themes of populations separated by a thin border is the idea. “Our goal is not to stop at the border,” said MDR Saxony director Sandro Viroli in a statement reported by German media portal Radiowoche (November 2). Material will be created for both broadcasters including, of course, podcasts. The national border between the two was tightly closed due to the coronavirus pandemic. “We quickly agreed that we wanted to finally implement the idea against the background of the pandemic experience, added Herr Viroli.”

MDR serves three German federal states in the east of the country: Thuringia, Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt. It operates ten radio channels, including MDR Sputnik, successor to legendary East German station DT64. It also operates a TV channel with regional cut-outs. “Eastern and Central Europe is part of the MDR DNA, said managing director Karola Wille at the studio ribbon-cutting. “We also want to convey a piece of identity and home here as well as promote cultural understanding and togetherness even if external circumstances and opinions sometimes separate us.” (See more about media in Germany here)

Radio Wroclaw is part of state broadcaster Polskie Radio. Its FM coverage reaches into Germany and the Czech Republic with a general interest program. Sister stations include alternative music channel Radio RAM and digital-only channel Radio Wroclaw Klutura. “Generally speaking, the language in which we speak here is German,” explained Radio Wroclaw journalist Tomasz Sikora, a participant in the project (November 2). “We will try to meet in the middle of it. More and more Poles live on the German side of the border and more and more Germany are interested in Polish everyday life. And we are interested in German.” (See more about media in Poland here)

Radio Page week ending October 29, 2021
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Radio Page week ending October 22, 2021
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Recently added radio audience figures and resources

• France - National Radio Summer Audience (September 2021)
  national channels, summer period 2016-2021 trend
• France - Greater Paris Radio Audience (July 2021)
  national and local channels, market share, trend
• France - National Radio Audience (July 2021)
  national channels, sectors, market share, reach/TSL
• Spain - National Radio Audience (July 2021)
  national and regional channels, reach share, trend
• Romania - Radio Audience (May 2021)
  national and Bucharest surveys, market share, trend
• Belgium - Flemish region, Radio Audience (April 2021)
  market share, Jan-Apr 2019 to Sep 2020-Feb 2021 trend
• Belgium - French region, Radio Audience (April 2021)
  market share, Jan-Apr 2019 to Sep 2020-Feb 2021 trend
• France - Greater Paris Radio Audience (April 2021)
  national and local channels, market share, trend
• Austria - Major Media - Radio Broadcasting (February 2021)
  public and private broadcasters, owners, management, audience trend
• Portugal - National Radio Audience (November 2020)
  leading stations, audience share, trend
• Switzerland - Radio listening by region (July 2020)
  public and private sectors, penetration, time spent listening
• Switzerland - French region Radio Audience (July 2020)
  share, trend
• Switzerland - Swiss-German region Radio Audience (July 2020)
  share, trend
• Switzerland - Italian region Radio Audience (July 2020)
  share, trend
• Poland - National Radio Audience (July 2020)
  national survey, market share, trend
• UK - National Radio Audience (May 2020)
  market share, trend, sectors
• UK - London Radio Audience (May 2020)
  market share, trend
• UK - National Radio Audience (May 2020)
  BBC/commercial 'gap'
• Italy - National/Regional Radio Audience (January 2020)
  weekly reach, AQH trends 2017-2019
• Poland - National Radio Audience (January 2020)
  national survey, market share, trend
• Ireland - Major Media - Radio Broadcasting (May 2019)
  national public and commercial radio channels, major local/regional stations, management, listening share
• Netherlands - Radio Audience (May 2018)
  national survey, market share, trend
• Czech Republic - Radio Audience (November 2017)
  Top stations, national survey, reach trend
• Turkey - Major Media - Radio Broadcasting (October 2017)
  ownership, management, program formats, platforms, audience estimates
• Portugal - National Radio Audience (May 2017)
  leading stations, audience share, trend
• Germany - Radio Audience (March 2017)
  leading stations, audience trend, daily reach
• Italy - Major Media - Radio Broadcasting (July 2016)
  public and private broadcasting companies, channels, audience reach/share, management
• Spain - National Radio Audience (April 2016)
  national channels, reach share, trend
• Sweden - Major Media - Radio Broadcasting (February 2016)
  public and private radio channels, owners, management, national market share trend
• Poland - Major Media - Radio Broadcasting (January 2016)
  public and private radio channels, owners, management, platforms, market share
• Estonia - Major Media - Radio Broadcasting (December 2015)
  public and private broadcasting companies, channels, management, platforms, audience estimates
• Spain - Major Media - Radio Broadcasting (December 2015)
  public and private broadcasting companies, channels, management, platforms, audience estimates
• Ireland - Major Media - Radio Broadcasting (November 2015)
  national public and commercial radio channels, major local/regional stations, management, listening share
• Finland - Major Media - Radio Broadcasting (September 2015)
  public and private radio channels, management, market share, platforms
• Ireland - National Radio Audience (August 2015)
  market share, 07h00-19h00, trend
• Ireland - Dublin Radio Audience (August 2015)
  market share, 07h00-19h00, trend
• Greece - Major Media - Radio Broadcasting (June 2015))
  public and private broadcasting, owners, executives, market share

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