ftm Radio Page - September 19, 2014

MP complains of stolen radio frequencies
Use it or lose it

When the Greek government closed public broadcaster ERT in June 2013 left abandoned were about 270 FM radio frequencies as the regional radio networks were considerably downsized. What a surprise it was, then, when Turkish broadcasters, public and public, pounced, particularly on frequencies covering the Aegean islands and Crete, as reported by Greek newspaper Real News (September 13).  (See more about media in Greece here)

After reading the news independent Greek MP Vassilis Kapernaros rose to complain about “radio frequencies belonging to the Greek people” and “Turks trying to invade the lives of Greek people.” People living on the lovely Greek island Paros complained about 22 of 28 radio stations broadcasting in Turkish. He blamed the government for “inaction and incompetence.” Another unintended consequence appears, like getting bumped from the Eurovision Song Contest.

Laws of physics understood, radio frequencies do not “belong” to any country. Every few years technical experts at the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) assign radio frequencies by service to specific geographical areas. Broadcast frequencies in border areas – such as France and Switzerland or Greece and Turkey – are subject to a special rule to maximize spectrum usage. A frequency abandoned in one country can be appropriated by a broadcaster in another country. Bi-lateral negotiations are always helpful but Greek and Turkish government leaders don’t exactly have a good working relationship.

Like Facebook, like digital radio
Don’t worry about the grannies

Dutch public broadcaster NPO will shutdown AM/MW broadcasting by this time next year, migrating the Radio 5 service to other platforms. Part of the reason is budget cuts, part environmental concerns and part, well, “everything is going digital,” said NPO radio programming director Jan Westerhof to volkskrant.nl (September 16). Radio 5 has been on the air in one form or another since 1985 programming oldies music and daytime talk shows for listeners over 55 years.

“The outdated AM/MW transmission systems are in need of replacement,” said Mr. Westerhof. “That’s an expensive proposition.” Also, those transmitters “consume a lot of electricity.”

Radio 5 will not be migrating to the “overcrowded” FM band: “There’s no more place for Radio 5.” The channel is already available on cable, the web and DAB platforms. Remaining on the AM/MW band in the Netherlands after next September will be two religious stations - Groot Nieuws Radio and Radio Maria. (See more about media in the Netherlands here)

It’s estimated that 200,000 people currently listen to Radio 5’s AM/MW broadcast, mostly folks over 60 years who might not be ready for digital transition. Not to worry, said Mr. Westerhof. “Just look at how many grandparents are active on Facebook.”

Cost saving programming strains measurement
“ominous and detrimental”

The famous Radiocontrol Watch is back in Swiss media news. It seems audience measurement provider Mediapulse made a change earlier this year in reporting the way it reports simulcasting, the exact-time sharing of program content among stations. The result, say some broadcasters, is “distorted audience figures” and they’ve appealed to the Swiss Federal Council for a fix.

In Switzerland radio audiences – TV, too, for that matter – are measured passively using a device – the Watch – that “listens” for audio in the presence of measurement panel and, after intervention to protect privacy, compares it to audio from radio broadcasters. The dataset created is then, after requisite statistical cleansing, turned into the semi-annual reports on radio listening. (See recent Swiss audience estimates compared with previous reports here for the Swiss-German region here, the French-speaking region here and the Italian-speaking region here)

When the Radiocontrol Watch was first introduced more than a decade ago Switzerland’s listeners (and advertisers) had in total about 40 stations to choose from, most all broadcast on the FM or AM/MW bands. Well, times have changed. Swiss public broadcaster SSR-SRG offers, in addition to region-specific radio channels, new nation-wide digital channels.

And, too, private-sector broadcasters have learned the cost-effectiveness of simulcasting. In question are the three Radio Energy stations in Basel, Bern and Zürich, operating under a format license from French broadcaster NRJ Group and served by the same saleshouse but not necessarily the same owner. The three stations broadcast the same program several hours Monday through Friday and totally on weekends. Those individual stations that simulcast all or part of a day appear to benefit as estimated audience for one is a composite of all three.

“This is ominous and detrimental to (our) advertisers because they could be paying for listeners that do not exist,” said Basel local station Radio Basilisk owner Matthias Hagemann to news portal persoenlich.com (September 12). As Mediapulse is government-chartered to supply audience measurement he has appealed to the Swiss Federal Council “to correct the intolerable abuses and distortion of the market before the end of the year.”

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Recently added radio audience figures and resources

• France - National Radio Summer Audience (September 2014)
  national channels, summer period 2010-2014 trend
• Estonia - Major Media - Broadcasting (radio and television) (September 2014)
  public and private, ownership, management, platforms, national audience trend
• Latvia - National Radio Audience (September 2014)
  national channels, audience share, trend
• Spain - National Radio Audience (August 2014)
  national channels, reach share, trend
• Spain - Major Media - Radio (August 2014)
  public and private broadcasting companies, channels, management, platforms, audience estimates
• Switzerland - Radio listening by region (January 2014)
  public and private sectors, penetration, time spent listening
• Switzerland - French region Radio Audience (January 2014)
  share, trend
• Switzerland - Swiss-German region Radio Audience (January 2014)
  share, trend
• Switzerland - Italian region Radio Audience (January 2014)
  share, trend
• UK - National Radio Audience (July 2014)
  market share, trend, sectors
• UK - London Radio Audience (July 2014)
  market share, trend
• UK - National Radio Audience (July 2014)
  BBC/commercial 'gap'
• France - Greater Paris Radio Audience (July 2014)
  national and local channels, market share, trend
• France - National Radio Audience (July 2014)
  national channels, sectors, market share, reach/TSL
• Germany - Radio Audience (July 2014)
  leading stations, audience trend, daily reach
• Portugal - National Radio Audience (July 2014)
  leading stations, audience share, trend
• Greece - Major Media - Radio Broadcasting (June 2014))
  public and private broadcasting, owners, executives, market share
• Portugal - Major Media - Radio (May 2014)
  public and private broadcasting companies, channels, management, platforms, audience estimates
• Italy - Major Media - Radio Broadcasting (March 2014)
  public and private broadcasting companies, channels, audience reach/share, management

More Resources

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