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ftm Radio Page - February 22, 2013

Commercial broadcasters want a slice of license fee
Beware of what you ask for

Times are tough for Ireland’s commercial radio stations. Ad revenues have followed the recession down, down, down. The solution, they say, is a bit of public support.

“We are providing a level of service to listeners that cannot be matched by the State-owned broadcaster,” said Independent Broadcasters of Ireland (IBI) chairman John Purcell to the Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications, quoted by Business & Leadership (February 20). “Nearly the entire license fee goes to RTÉ despite the fact that they also have a strong commercial mandate. Despite the huge public service contribution of independent radio stations we are almost completely excluded from public funding.”

Revenue for Ireland’s public broadcaster RTÉ is about equally split between the radio and TV license fee and advertising. All radio and TV advertising in Ireland has fallen about 40% since 2007 causing substantial pain at the already cash-strapped RTÉ.

The IBI proposes changing the license fee, almost exclusively funding RTÉ, to a “household broadcasting charge,” reported the Irish Times (February 21), and forking over some of it to commercial broadcasters. They also took opportunity to complain about RTÉ’s “luxury of largely being able to write its own rules in huge areas of its operations.”

After meeting with IBI representatives, Communications Minister Pat Rabbitte, who welcomed the report, observed that direct public subsidy of commercial broadcasting could raise State aid questions at the European Commission.

Regulator Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) is studying Ireland’s media scene and will report in April.(JMH)

Lots of ads means lots of money
Everything that moves fast

Radio advertising in Ukraine jumped 17% from 2011 to 2012, according to the Communications Alliance on data from AGB Nielsen Media, reported by Telekritika (February 19). Some broadcasters fared extremely well or, at least, they ran a lot of ads. Calculated by monitoring commercial time and multiplying by rate card rates, the estimates do not include discounts or ad revenues from online broadcast streams. (See more on media in Ukraine here)

All that understood, Hit FM, Avtoradio, Russian Radio, Retro FM, Radio Suite and Gala Radio made up the top six spot carriers. Market leader Hit FM was calculated to have booked UAH 94.25 million, about €8.7 million, from more than 233 hours of ads. Top ad categories in 2012 were online shopping, food, automotive, pharmaceuticals and alcohol, which led the list. (JMH)

Top rated station close to owner change
music quota in the air

Slovak media regulator has given approval for the transfer of Radio Expres from Emmis International to Bauer Media. “The last contract details should be negotiated in the next few weeks,” said General Manager Eva Babitzová, quoted by Podnikam.sk (February 12). Radio Expres has been the top rated national radio channel in Slovakia for a decade.

Bauer Media is active in the radio sector in Germany, the UK and Poland. It has publishing interests, print and online, in Slovakia. Bauer Media and Emmis International have been negotiating since November.

Emmis International, subsidiary of US broadcaster Emmis Communications, was in early investor in European commercial radio, entering Hungary, Slovakia and Bulgaria through the decade from the mid-1990’s. The company lost the Hungarian license in a controversial renewal process in 2009.

An opposition party politician is drafting legislation to require radio stations to broadcast a minimum of 30% Slovak music content, reported Slovak Spectator (February 18). The aforementioned Ms Babitzová, who is also head of private broadcaster association ANTRS, said “private broadcasters play as much (Slovak) music today as Slovak listeners want to hear.” Playing more would be fatal. “They would stop listening to us.”(JMH)

Radio Page week ending February 15, 2013
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Radio Page week ending February 8, 2013
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Radio Page week ending February 1, 2013
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Radio Page week ending January 25, 2013
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Radio Page week ending January 18, 2013
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Radio Page week ending December 28, 2012
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Radio Page week ending December 21, 2012
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Radio Page week ending December 14, 2012
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