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ftm Radio Page - July 26, 2013

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Public channels slip except for digital
Divide and divide again

Radio broadcasting in Switzerland provides an interesting laboratory for seekers of audience wisdom. Public broadcaster SSR-SRG, arguably the richest in Europe, is, broadly, the picture of stability and tradition. Private local radio remains the insurgent. And three language zones neatly divide the country.

Hence, radio broadcasting and their listeners differ greatly across the country just short of 8 million. Audience penetration is higher than the European average; 89.1% in the Swiss-German speaking region, 88.4% in the Italian speaking region and 85.8% in the French speaking region, according to the MediaPulse/PublicaData audience survey for the first half of this year. In each of the three regions listening levels are up year on year. (See reach and time spent listening chart here).

But the SSR-SRG radio channels are, on aggregate, slipping. The market share for all SSR-SRG radio channels in the Swiss-German region fell to 64.9%, year on year, 65.8% in the French speaking region and 81% in the Italian speaking region. By statute all the main SSR-SRG radio channels are available on FM in all regions. The regional public channels, on aggregate, also lost market share.

There are about 50 private local broadcasters across the country, serving big cities and small towns. Distribution is uneven; there are several serving Zürich, Basel and Bern, fewer serving the Geneva/Lausanne metropolitan area and only two in the whole of the Italian speaking region. Aggregate market share of private local stations in the Swiss-German region has risen steadily and is now 30.4%. In the French-speaking region the aggregate market share of private local radio has risen more slowly, resting at 23.8%. The aggregate market share for private local radio in the Italian region is also rising, now 11.1%. Foreign stations have an impact, Switzerland being surrounded by Germany, Austria, France, Italy and, not to forget, Lichtenstein.

The main SSR-SRG channels are hugely dominant. General interest channels SRF1 (Swiss-German), La Premiere (French) and Rete Uno (Italian) have massive market shares; 32.7%, 38.4% and 46.5%, by region respectively. Public channels targeting young people fare less well; SRF3 (Swiss-German) dropped to 17.1% from 17.8% year on year, Couleur 3 (French) unchanged at 7.4% and Rete Tre (Italian) falling to 17.3% from 18.6%. (See Swiss-German region market trends chart here, French region market trends chart here, Italian region market trends chart here)

Other public radio channels made a bit of digital news. In the Swiss-German region SRF Musikwelle, the folk music channel, rose to its highest market share ever, 5.8% from 5.2% one year on. Once available on MW/AM, SRF Musikwelle is the highlight of the public broadcaster’s digital portfolio, available now on DAB+, cable, satellite and the web. All-music channel Radio Swiss Pop, once only on cable and now part of the DAB package, also saw its market share rise in the Swiss-German region. Option Musique, a pop music channel that also shed MW/AM distribution for digital platforms plus a couple of FM frequencies, rose to 8.4% market share from 7.9% year on year.

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