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ftm Radio Page - week ending June 10, 2022

Rising costs scare broadcasters into platform decisions
energy-eating machine

Soaring energy prices is something of a gift to sellers of digital radio technology. Looking at those electricity bills, broadcasters - like many householders - feel the need to turn down the juice. After dismantling AM/MW transmission systems years ago, radio broadcasters - attentive to their accountants - are eying FM systems in favor of less expensive DAB+ platforms. Never mind that DAB+ usage stalled after mobile apps took over. Those same accountants cheered for firing the DJs.

German public broadcaster Deutschlandradio director Stefan Raue, to news agency dpa (June 14), argued for ending FM distribution in favor of DAB+ sooner rather than later. “In the long run, we will not be able to afford two terrestrial distribution channels. The signs are more clear (today) than two or three years ago. FM is an energy-eating machine.” Deutschlandradio and German commercial competitors have operated both distribution systems for several years with little interest in FM shut-off. All have also adopted appropriate online and mobile apps. (See more about digital radio here)

“The topic has become even more pressing due to the current (energy) crises and the immense price increases," he continued. "More and more private providers also see it this way; in addition, the advertising market has not become easier for them. Politicians and radio providers must therefore consider together how support for the switch can be organized.” (See more about media in Germany here)

Nearly 90% of German households access radio channels and programs on FM, 27% using DAB+ receivers, just 17% choosing online platforms. It is a reality not lost on broadcasters as the DAB+ platform is viewed as yesterdays’ news compared to the mobile phone. Still, broadcasters continue to add DAB+ channels, particularly those in the private sector.

Confidence and trust favor top rated radio channel
larger-than-life brand

Media watchers long ago adapted metrics for success. Neither circulation counts nor audience estimates would make headlines. Online page views and visits have also been discounted, for obvious reasons. User confidence and trust have supplanted all of these. Part of the reason, as with all media measurement, is demands from advertising people resisting dodgy locations.

Fortunately, we have the Reuters Institute annual Digital News Report to reveal, of course, winners and losers in the battle for media trust. The new report was just released with many illuminations. One jumping off the many pages is radio channel RMF FM posting the greatest trust among all outlets in Poland.

Of Polish respondents to the Reuters Institute survey 51% assessed RMF FM as credible and trustworthy. Granted, it’s 17% lower than last year’s report but all Polish media retreated year on year. Second place went to another radio channel, Radio Zet; 47% tied with TVN News. According to the report, RMF FM is accessed at least once a week by 35% of Polish media users. (See more about media in Poland here)

Legacy is certainly a factor in the RMF FM positioning. It was the first commercial radio channel licensed in Poland, launched in January 1990 with an “eastern” FM frequency. Ostensibly a pop music station, it has continued to burnish a larger-than-life image. Its’ best known voices have been on-the-air for years. RMF FM has a serious news and public affairs department; correspondents from Brussels to Washington DC.

Owned since 2006 by Bauer Media Group, RMF FM and its three brand-extension sister stations - classical music RMF Classic, RMF Maxx and all news RMF24, recently added two Ukrainian-language stations. In the Radio Track Kantar Polska March-May national audience estimates RMF FM posted its historic 31.3% audience share, up from 30.3% year on year. Radio Zet, also mentioned in the Reuters Institute Digital News Report, placed second with 13.4% audience share, up from 12.3%.


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