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ftm Radio Page - October 7, 2010

New survey ranks rebranded stations
Challenge to public radio

For a small country, Croatia has a lot of radio stations, more the 150. As economic matters improve but slightly and EU membership looms large, private sector broadcasters are consolidating.  The public broadcaster, though, is still on top.

In an aggregated way, really, is Croatian public broadcasting (Hrvatska radiotelevizija - HRT ) market dominant. HRT operates three national and nine regional radio channels. Recent audience surveys indicate a slipping audience for several channels.

Radio Narodni remains the top rated station in the recently released national Defacto / Ipsos Puls survey (October 7). The station is one of two national commercial radio stations and generally offers regional pop music and a bit of news. (See Croatia national radio survey chart here)

Otvoreni (Open) Radio is the other national commercial channel. It ranks number two programming mostly hit music of an international flavor.

HR 1, the public broadcasters news and information channel, ranks number three, with an audience share slipping across the two most recent survey periods. HR 2, with a variety music format, ranks eighth. HR 3, the arts and culture channel, barely rates.

Antene Zagreb ranks fourth in the national survey. In 2008 the station was rebranded from Obiteljski Radio (Family Radio) becoming a dance and rock music channel with strong DJ and news presence. It has also added FM frequencies across the country.

Radio Dalmacija, a general interest commercial station based in Split, ranked fifth. Radio Kaj, also recently adding FM frequencies, is an adult-oriented channel based in Krapina, northern Croatia. Regional HR channels Radio Split (Split), Radio Sljeme (Zagreb) and Radio Rijeka (Rijeka) rank 7th, 9th and 10th, respectively, in the national survey.

Radio 101 ranks 11th, notable as the news and alternative music channel launched in 1984. It bares some similarity with B92 in Serbia.

Another recent consolidator is Plavi (Blue) Radio, now known as Soundset Plavi Radio, a quasi-nationwide network established this year and based on Zagreb station Plavi Radio.

Along with all this competition in the Croatian radio sector have come sales-houses. One of the newest is Media Mix, representing Antena Zagreb, Radio Riva in Split and Novi Radio in Djakovo.

The Defacto / Ipsos Puls radio survey is new from the first of  2010, replacing Media Metar. (JMH)

Is social media a tool for journalists?
friends forever

Newsies of the radio variety gathered at the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) (October 7) to compare notes as they do each year. They are all now completely wired, putting social media in the news mix.

Radio news producers need to link in to LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook, said the expert consensus, because each add to a news users “experience.” Web pages are not enough; Facebook pages are more. Pages for radio channels are not enough. Every program needs one.

Filippo Solibello, host of the popular Caterpillar program on Italian public radio RAI 2, talked about the program’s Facebook page providing valuable connection with fans, even across the world. Show producers canvas the Facebook fans for sources and ideas. Solibello described Caterpillar as “infotainment.” With over a million daily listeners, nobody argues about labels.

Social media – Facebook, in particular, because of scale – brings a dimension to news producers that extends “feedback” to participation. Letters from listeners – of the postal variety – disappeared long ago. A “comments” link on a web page and a fan page on Facebook function differently. (See more on social media here)

Branding specialists, too, love social media and have preached “getting close to the customer” for a generation. A brand “fan” is, indeed, a broadcasters best “friend.” Those “friends” like to feel important and respected. Seeing on a Facebook page recognition for being a “friend” of the brand as well as the reinforcement of other “friends” is powerful brand building. (JMH)

 

Internet expands the radio brand
Better than low cost

Portuguese public broadcaster RTP (Rádio e Televisão de Portugal) is soon - “mid October” – to add two internet radio channels to its Antene 3 brand. One will be Antene 3 Rock and the other Antene 3 Dance, said programming director Jorge Alexandre Lopes to Meios & Publicidade (October 6).

The channels will be “unique products,” said Sr. Lopes, made by “people who will make new radio content specifically for the Web radio stations.”

All of RTP’s domestic radio services are offered on FM, DAB and the internet. Antene 3 is the youth-oriented channel. Beginning in later 2009 RTP added three other internet radio channels. Antene 1 Vida is a lifestyle channel using material from news and information channel Antene 1. Rádio Vivace is a classical music channel and Lusitânia plays classic hits from the last 50 years.

Better than low cost, said Sr. Lopes, these will be “no cost radios.” (JMH)

No Olympic radio for London
Austerity or not

There will be no radio station specially designated for the London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympics, reports The Guardian’s John Plunkett (October 6). UK regulator OFCOM received but 10 “expressions of interest.”

"The lack of compelling evidence of demand, coupled with the not insignificant process involved (including the drafting of primary legislation) in licensing any such services, has led OFCOM to decide not to proceed with the possible licensing of digital radio services for the period during and around the London 2012 Games," said the OFCOM statement.

Due to lack of spectrum OFCOM determined AM or FM short-term licenses around the time of the Games was out of the question, leaving DAB the only alternative. (See more on digital radio here)

Almost every host city for Olympic Games opens, even for a few weeks, a dedicated radio station, often multi-lingual. Visitors like them. But the London Games are already becoming known as the Austerity Olympics. (JMH)

National networks looking for ratings with sports programs
Wait until Christmas

As the new fall season opens for Spain’s radio networks, COPE is fighting back from dwindling ratings by ripping talent from market leader Cadena SER. Major sports broadcasters Paco González and Pepe Domingo Castaño moved after years with Cadena SER. Others followed with even more expected to jump, something to do with insecurity at Cadena SER over ownership.

COPE has not fared well in the EGM audience surveys of late. The result has hit revenues, so much that layoffs and salary reductions have been contemplated. (See EGM trends here)

The new head of programming at Cadena SER Javier Hoyos is countering by replacing the high profile performers with new, younger presenters.

Last year show hosts moving between channels caused audience shifts between 6% and 8% in the EGM surveys. The next big EGM survey will be released just before Christmas. (JMH)

NRJ not for sale
Rumor quashed

Over the last two years or so rumors have risen about an impending sale of NRJ Group. Founder, CEO and principal shareholder Jean-Paul Baudecroux knocked down the latest in an interview with Le Figaro (October 4).

“Wrong,” said Baudecroux.  “We do not sell at all,”

NRJ Group is seeking a second DTT channel to be called Cherie HD, a reference to the national radio channel Cherie FM. (See more on media in France here)

Baudecroux is still trying to jettison its transmitter and tower company TowerCast, put up for grabs in 2008. “The procedure for bidding is still open and is expected to close by year end,” he said.

NRJ Group owns four national radio channels and a DTT channel in France plus shareholdings in several countries. (JMH)

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