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ftm Radio Page - September 16, 2016

Summer audiences not so brave
still no Fun

French media measurement institute this week officially closed the book, so to speak, on summer with the release of July-August national radio audience estimates. Sampling being different from other Médiamétrie radio surveys comparisons are only valid against other summer periods, even that is discouraged. During July-August French people traditionally flee the cities for the quiet of elsewhere, rankings logically reflected.

More than a million fewer French people tuned into radio compared with the summer of 2015. Those listening, persons 13 years and older, had many reasons to turn to national national news and news-talk channels, from the tragedy in Nice to the weather reports. RTL and France Inter - always the top two - gained market share year on year; RTL at 11.9% up from 11.3 year on year, France Inter 10.8% from 8.7%. Regional public network France Bleu ranked 3rd, as usual, with 6.5% market share, down from 7.5%. Perhaps due in part to the Rio Summer Olympics, RMC rose to 6.2% market share from 5.3%. Public all-news channel France Info was up to 3.6% market share from 2.8% one year on. Talk channel Europe 1 still floundered, falling to 6.4% market share, lowest in more than five summers. (See France summer radio audience trend chart here)

For national music channels, hit music fell to oldies and background music. NRJ was off, 5.7% from 6.3%, while Nostalgie was up, 4.5% from 4.1%. RTL2 was up. Skyrock was unchanged. Cherie FM dropped to 2.1% market share from 3.0%. Classical music public channel France Musique posted 1.3%, highest summer audience estimate in several years.

Oh, Fun Radio remains de-listed, to be “reinstated… once it is established that there are no remaining effects from potentially questionable public messaged,” noted Médiamétrie.

Regional state broadcasters exploring cooperation
“share common values”

There is a special relationship among the four Eastern European countries known as the Visegrad Group - Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. It’s based in common history, roughly, and, more recently, populist ideologies. Common views about public broadcasting have followed.

Polskie Radio president Barbara Stanislawczyk met last week with Czech public radio general director René Zavoralem last week in Prague, reported wirtualnemedia.pl (September 15). Among the discussion topics was a special cooperation between Polskie Radio Czwórka (Radio Four) and CRo Radio Wave. Both are “youth” oriented, both largely distributed via online and digital platforms. Polskie Radio Czworka was recently pulled off FM frequencies, digital remaining, in favor of all-news Radio 24.

“Public media of the Visegrad countries have more and more common areas,” said President Stanislawczyk to Polskie Radio (April 28). “Our scale, profile and range are close to each other. We share common values.” In June Polish state TV (TVP) president Jacek Kurski said the Visegrad States should pool together for a English-language TV news channel modeled, he said, on BBC World, France 24 and, of course, Russia Today (RT).

Polskie Radio will host Hungarian state broadcaster MTVA general director Miklós Vaszily next week. At the end of the month this “cooperation” will be discussed at the Prague meeting of Eastern European public broadcasters organized by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Hungarian and Polish public broadcasting services have fully transitioned to state broadcasting, effectively surrendering to the editorial preferences of leading populist political parties in their countries.

Online radio ad revenues growing, obstacles abound
and then there's Spotify

German broadcasting groups are quite bullish about revenue prospects for online radio and audio services. A report presented this week ahead of the Dmexco digital advertising trade show in Cologne estimated media buyers are paying more attention to online radio platforms, from about €17 million in 2015 to €40 million forecast for 2018. Media house Goldmedia produced the Webradiomonitors 2016 report for the Bavarian commercial broadcasting regulator BLM, German digital marketing association BVDW and private broadcaster association VPRT.

Unsurprisingly, an attached survey of online radio/audio users showed three-quarters preferring ad-supported free access to ad-free subscription services. Persons 14 years and older are mostly (75%) tuning into existing radio channels, 53% using video streaming portals to access radio and audio and 48% accessing through dedicated audio streaming portals. Just under one-third spend time with online-only radio channels, 16% grab podcasts and 5% experiment with user-generated radio portals. (See details in the VPRT presser here – in German) One-third of all this listening takes place on smartphones. (See more about digital radio here)

A few days earlier German media research institute AG.MA released Q2 estimates for streaming audio, radio channels and otherwise. Just a bit more than 90 million “sessions” per month – notably summer – were logged by online radio/audio fans for 145 different radio channels. Seven of the top ten were streams from public radio channels, led by 1Live with more than 8 million “sessions.” Antenna Bayern was third, Sport1.FM – which is all-sports on DAB+ and online only – was 9th, and Hit Radio FFH 10th. Out in front of them all – literally – was Spotify with 109 million “sessions.” (See more about media in Germany here)

German producers and marketers of online radio and audio are pushing for harmony between the mostly analogue and the streaming audio audience estimates. Another drawback for attracting more ad revenue to online radio and audio is low interest from media buyers using programmatic (automated) buying technologies.

Radio Page week ending September 9, 2016
radio in France, Mediametrie, RTL Group, Fun Radio, radio in Germany, IFA, VPRT, digital radio, digital transition, DAB+, online radio

Radio Page week ending September 2, 2016
radio in Africa, radio licenses, station closures, radio in Poland, Polskie Radio, Radio 4, Radio 24, TOK FM, DAB+

Radio Page week ending August 26, 2016
radio in Switzerland, digital radio, DAB+, radio online, radio audience

Radio Page week ending August 5, 2016
radio in the UK, radio audience, RAJAR, BBC Radio, commercial radio, radio brands, Radio 2, Radio 1, Radio 4, Heart, Radio X, Capital, Magic, Wireless Group, TalkSport, digital radio

Radio Page week ending July 29, 2016
EBU, gTLD, domain names, (dot) radio, radio in France, Mediametrie, radio audience, IDF, RTL, France Inter, RMC, Fun Radio, Radio Classique

Radio Page week ending July 22, 2016
radio in Switzerland, radio audience, Mediapulse, SSR-SRG, SFR, RTS, RSI, Energy Zurich, Radio 24, BNJ FM, 3i, radio in Monaco, Radio Baikal, MC 2

Radio Page week ending July 15, 2016
radio in France, Médiamétrie, radio audience, Fun Radio, Fun-Gate, RTL, Radio France, France Inter, France Info, Europe 1, RMC, NRJ, Nostalgie, Virgin Radio, Skyrock, radio in Italy, GfK RadioMonitor, RTL 102, Radio DeeJay, Radio Sportiva, Radio Zeta L'Italiana, RAI RadioTre

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