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Radio Energy promotes myEnergy
Logical with logos
Web communities have never been more popular. The concept, at least, is perhaps the ‘stickiest’ of anything to have come from the Web. Merging radio and the Web through derivative communities has a certain logic.
The five Radio Energy stations in Germany will use a revamped Website to build on those community synergies. The community is now called myEnergy and it’s offered at www.energy.de. NRJ Group owns and operates the five German stations and owns or manages stations in Norway, Belgium, Finland and Lebanon.
Much of what users will see on the German websites will be familiar; music oriented with a Facebook feel. Exclusive content will set the website apart from competitors, said NRJ Germany CEO Christophe Montague to radiowoche.de (November 26).
Interestingly, NRJ Group shelved many internet projects at its non-French subsidiaries several years ago. (JMH)
Good news on climate change
Copenhagen conference
Little acknowledged amidst reports of profit and loss are the initiatives of broadcasters and publishers that truly add to society. Unfortunately these are the ‘good news’ media stories, easily dismissed. One popped up from Lagardère Active, the broadcast division of French media giant Lagardère.
Coming up in the next weeks will be the United Nations Conference on Climate Change in Copenhagen (December 7-18). Lagardère Active broadcast outlets will be present, to say the very least. (See Lagardère presser here – in French) French channels Europe 1, Virgin Radio and RFM as well as Lagardère-owned stations in Romania, Poland, Germany and the Czech Republic have planned extensive coverage and coordinated events.
Lagardère Active CEO Didier Quillot calls it a “crucial event for the future of our planet.”
And what are you doing? (JMH)
Europeans more accepting of paid content
Keep trying, says CEO
Debating the virtues of free versus paid content is a marvelous intellectual exercise. Much of it sinks to tautology, endless repeating the same argument hoping for a different result. Albert Einstein once suggested where that goes.
Big management consultant firm Boston Consulting Group (BCG) released (November 14) a slice of research certain to fit into the growing body of confusion. Surveying five thousand online users in nine countries online BCG’s study found some would and some would not spend €3 per month for news online. Considering presumed sample errors about half would and half wouldn’t. Earlier this year a Forrester Research study – a bit more robust – suggested only 20% of online users would pay anything.
Digging a bit further into the BCG research, country by country differences reinforce common observations. Americans are far less willing to pay for online content – news or anything else – than Europeans. Conventional wisdom holds that Americans have broad and wide access to free online content obviating the notion that they see no relative advantage in paying for online content. Europeans, on a different track, already spend more on direct payments for media by subscriptions to newspapers and broadcast license fee taxes.
The BCG study also showed one content area that a plurality of online users said they’d pay for: local news.
Speaking (November 25) to the Hamburg Club of Business Journalists Bertelsmann CEO Hartmut Ostrowski said he has doubts about introducing paid content models. “But you have to try to establish paid content models again and again,” he offered. (JMH)
“Come And Get Them -- Big Price Increase For US Newspapers – Today Only!”
Today, Thanksgiving, is the biggest circulation day of the year for US newspapers and savvy publishers this year are recognizing how to make a fast buck (maybe two bucks) per sale via doubling, maybe tripling their newsstand price for just the one day. And even though they may double or triple their normal print run they still expect to sell out.
There will be long lines outside convenience stores open on the holiday – news boxes will get sold out real early. So what news is happening that causes the rush? Well, actually, it’s not news, its advertising. Yes, the newspapers are going to be stuffed with advertising like never before in the year, and readers are really going to have to really fork out more than they thought to get hands on that advertising.
If you’re not an American that sounds crazy, but to an American it makes perfect sense, for the day after Thanksgiving, Friday, November 27, will be, by tradition, the biggest shopping day of the year by far in the US. Some stores may open at midnight – last year at midnight at a Florida outlet mall the line of cars in the turnpike (freeway) exit lane to get there was backed up for some two miles (3km)!
US stores figure they will know via the end of business Friday whether they will have a successful sales year or not. They advertise with huge inserts and display ads to get people into their stores with truly ridiculous prices. Policing the crowds waiting to get in is a bigger problem each year and given how tight money is this year there will be even bigger crowds wanting the best values possible.
But there is a subtle change this year by some big advertisers. In years gone past stores would keep their so-called Black Friday specials top secret until Thanksgiving Day to prevent competitors being able to match stock or prices on their specials. But this year big discount stores like Wal-Mart, Target, and Best Buy issued their inserts early online so people have more time to plan their Friday. And Wal-Mart has gone a step further telling everyone who will listen that if they find a better deal elsewhere then show the ad at their local to Wal-Mart and they will match it, so the world’s largest retailer says there is only one place one really needs to go.
With that in mind an ftm partner gave his son a list of things to go buy at a Florida Wal-Mart and back came the response “Be at Wal-Mart at 5 a.m. on Black Friday! Are you crazy? People will get hurt out there!” Maybe there is such a thing as too much success.
The point about all this, as we have made several times before, is if you give people a good reason to buy a print newspaper then they will buy it, even at an inflated cost. A buyer has to figure that even if the paper costs $2 the advertising inside will save a lot more than that, so it’s a no-lose investment. As we have said before, when publishers crack the nut about print newspapers being an essential part of one’s life then the newspaper crisis will be over.
Anyway, enjoy your shopping, hopefully thanks to your friendly neighborhood newspaper – tripled priced at that.
Washington Post To Close US Bureaus – Become Local Newspaper
Ok, closing foreign bureaus during economic hard times makes sense. But it comes as a real shock to learn The Washington Post is closing its three remaining US bureaus at the end of the year. The newspaper in the nation’s capital is focusing on being a local – “We are not a national news organization of record serving a general audience,” the editor told his media reporter. Other newspapers have closed their Washington bureaus but for the Post to announce It is closing down New York, Chicago and Los Angeles really hits a raw nerve.
It is a real sign of the times. The Post is hemorrhaging money and savings need to be made. The editor says the newspaper will still cover national events around the country by sending out reporters from Washington, but if times are so tight then you just know how tight those travel budgets will be. So, expect to read a lot more AP material in The Post from now on.
Yeah, the very same AP that publishers are pressuring so much to cut their subscription costs. The very same AP that had to cut around 71 jobs and close four bureaus last week, and yet whose copy will be used more and more in US newspapers as editorial continues to get cut.
Bah Humbug.
Swiss organization and efficiency
Radio and TV merged in French speaking region
Radio and television operations of Swiss public broadcaster SSR-SRG in the country’s French-speaking are being merged. Television Suisse Romande (TSR) and Radio Suisse Romande (RSR) will now be known as Radio Television Suisse (RTS). The merger is no surprise and comes amidst “efficiency” decisions at SSR-SRG.
“SSR is free to organize itself as it sees fit,” said a statement from the Swiss Department of Energy, Transport, Environment and Communications (DETEC). (Read DETEC statement here – in French) Local governments in Geneva and Lausanne extracted commitments from SSR-SRG to maintain separate news departments.
TSR and RSR were created when SSR-SRG was formed from Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC) in 1999. TSR, the television broadcaster, has been headquartered in Geneva while RSR, the radio broadcaster, was located in Lausanne, 75 miles away. The decision to merge TSR and RSR was made in March with SSR-SRG hoping for a ten percent reduction in overall operating expense. Only 30 jobs are expected to be cut as the new RTS is organized around ‘news’ and ‘programs’. Of course, there will be accounting and government relations.
The merger changes little except a bit of organizational structure. Television stays in Geneva. Radio stays in Lausanne. TSR General Director Gilles Marchand becomes GD of the new public company, which remains a division of SSR-SRG. RSR GD Gerard Tschopp will leave that post December 31st having already been named Deputy General Director of SSR-SRG carrying the reorganization portfolio.
SSR-SRG General Director Armin Walpen tendered his resignation in June to be effective at the end of 2010. Posturing to replace Walpen has been hot and heavy for months, even before he made it official. Marchand has been odds on favorite; important consideration being a French-region candidate after Walpen (German region) and Anthonio Riva (Italian region).
Ingrid Deltenre, Director of Swiss German public TV (DSF), spun out of that job in June to become European Broadcasting Union (EBU) General Director. SSR-SRG Deputy General Director Daniel Eckmann also tendered his resignation in June. (JMH)
Politics embroils German television news
The message is the message
Contract renewal for German public television channel ZDF news director is being held up by politicians. Nicholas Brender’s contract expires next March and a renewal is supported by ZDF General Director Markus Schächter. Brender, respected for his fierce defense of editorial independence, has served ZDF as editor-in-chief (news director) since 2000.
Political appointees to the ZDF Administrative board, led by Hesse State Prime Minister Roland Koch, are opposing an extension to Brender’s contract. Koch blames Brender for falling ratings. Others suggest the center-right politicians want to send Markus Schächter a message about the limits to independence. (JMH)
Media Groups Damn Slaughter of 12 Filipino Journalists
You think Afghanistan or Iraq are the most dangerous countries for journalists? Think again, The Philippines now holds that dastardly distinction, according to the International News safety Institute (INSI) following the slaughter this week of 12 journalists and eight media staff who were travelling with a group of politicians who were ambushed in a total slaughter of some 46 people.
INSI call led upon the UN Security Council to fully implement the terms of its Resolution 1738 of December 2006 on the safety of journalists and it announced an emergency news media safety training program for the Philippines.
The World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA), getting ready for its annual convention next week in India, also condemned the attack and called upon authorities to launch an “unprecedented” investigation to bring the perpetrators to trial. WAN-IFRA complained of a “climate of impunity” in the country. (See WAN-IFRA presser here)
President Gloria Arroyo has issued a state of emergency for Maguindanao province and the neighboring Sultan Kudarat province, and the Maguindanao province police chief, Abusana Maguid, and three officers have been relieved of duty. Some witnesses said they saw police officers at the scene when the slaughter was carried out.
Sean Connery Joins List Of A-Category Stars Doing European Ads
There was Nicole Kidman in an enormously expensive ad for Chanel #5 perfume that usually makes a reappearance around the holidays, there’s Andie McDowell pushing various L’Oreal aging creams “because you’re worth it”, then there’s George Clooney hawking for two Swiss companies -- Nestle for its Nespresso (maybe the best series of TV ads in Europe), and also for Omega watches, and now Sean Connery has joined the bandwagon – telling us it’s time for “Green Banking” via French bank Credit Agricole.
The French bank’s campaign concentrates on “responsible growth” in the economy, focusing on ethical and ecological issues. When the original James Bond tells you in that unmistakable booming Scottish voice, “Back to common sense”, then by golly you had better pay attention – at least that is what the French are counting on.
Italian publisher says populist culture “advancing”
Berlusconi “attacking the whole of the press of the Western world”
“The conduct of leaders who follow populist culture often leads to clashes, conflicts and abuses of power, which free journalism must of course capture, highlight and denounce when it is convinced that it exists,” said La Repubblica publisher Carlo de Benedetti (November 23) at Oxford University. One does not need to be a rocket scientist to figure out the subject of his complaint. Mr. de Benedetti and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi have been on a collision course for weeks.
In the annual Reuters Lecture at Oxford Mr. de Benedetti noted “advancing” populism and how politicians riding that wave to election victories take extreme measures to control media and the free expression of ideas. (See Oxford University presser here)
Taking Silvio Berlusconi to task – as we have done here and here – for cartoonish behavior or “attacking the whole of the press of the Western world” has come to little consequence. PM Berlusconi makes Mr. de Benedetti’s point: mad populism feeds on itself allowing political narcissism to grow. Unfortunately, PM Berlusconi isn’t an isolated example. At a time when complex thought is unpopular and dismissed (think: Sarah Palin) media’s role as the meeting place of ideas is further threatened by political control. (JMH)
TF1 sells Canal+ stake to Vivendi
Shuffling money
Yep, just before closing time Monday (1747 CET) TF1 sent around the announcement that Vivendi bought their 9.9% stake in Canal+ France for €744 million. Both parties expect the transaction completed by the end of the year.
More or less within that same time frame Vivendi will make a decision about selling its 20% stake in NBC Universal. GE, NBCU’s parent, wants to get out of showbiz and back to generators and airplane parts. Big US cable company Comcast wants a deal to control NBCU for its production capacity and libraries. Vivendi is holding out for slightly more than €4 billion.
TF1 and NBC - the GE part - are, in a sense, thinking and trading the same way. (JMH)
So Much For News Agency Coverage Of Oz Test Matches
Can you believe this – Cricket Australia (CA) is demanding of international news agencies a list of their clients who will receive their Test match coverage and hold a veto on any whom it does not want to receive the text and news pictures. You can imagine what the news agencies have said in reply and the result is the news agencies are boycotting Australia’s international Test matches against the West Indies that begin Thursday. There were accreditation difficulties also last year and the news agencies boycotted coverage of the Australian Test matches against South Africa and New Zealand.
News agencies are used to demands about limiting the number of text and photo updates for web sites and archive picture coverage because of commercial arrangements the organizers make with others and they don’t want agency coverage spoiling the possible success of those deals but that usually, although not always, gets resolved; but to ask for a client list and hold the right to veto clients getting coverage – that is just too much.
And shame on the domestic Australian media that have caved in again and accepted CA restrictions in order to get their accreditation. So much for “All for One and One For All!”
That Higher Wall Street Journal Circulation May Not Be What You Think It Is
The Associated Press (AP), which is having more than its share of financial woe with its newspaper subscribers these days, has written a long takeout detailing that because of changed ABC rules newspaper circulation as you and I have understood it no longer applies, and that print alone is really doing worse than the most recent audit implies.
The AP points out, for instance, that under the new rules a newspaper selling “bundled” print and electronic editions can count that subscriber twice – as long as that electronic subscriber is paying at least $0.01 per electronic copy. It used to be that in order to include such electronic copies that cost had to be at least 25% of its newsstand price. With the WSJ, according to AP, it charges its print subscribers 40 cents a week additional for unrestricted access to its web site, so now all those people who take both can be counted twice.
The headline when the ABCs were issued at the end of September was how USA Today lost its number 1 ranking to the WSJ but, according to the AP, if you just look at print circulation USA Today still is ahead – it is the way paying electronic subscribers -- as long as they are paying $0.01 per copy -- can now be counted that pushed the WSJ to overall number 1.
All of which means that whereas the advertising community has been asking for more and more transparency in how many readers newspapers actually have, all it is really getting is more and more fog.
Cutting advertising from French public TV yields more unexpected consequences
Crazy has its benefits
Lagardère Active, one of the money-making units of Lagardère, said it had made a “firm offer” (November 23) for 70% of France Télévisions Publicité (FTP), the sales-house for French public TV. Lagardère is now one of six bidders. On the face of it, placing a bid for a company certain to lose its primary revenue stream looks a bit daft.
In the separate reality of French media, it probably makes perfect sense. The French government re-wrote the rules for funding public broadcasting without advertising. Prime-time advertising on French public TV channels ended last January, the presumed benefit for private sector TV not exactly arriving intact. All advertising will be banished from the public channels by 2011, coinciding with analogue TV shut-off in France. (More on media in France here)
NextRadioTV CEO Alain Weill reportedly offered a symbolic one euro for FTP. That bid was raised to “millions,” said AFP. The Lagardère bid may have been closer to the former than the later.
The FTP sales-house is not without some asset value. It is still contracted to find buyers for the limited France Televisions inventory. And there are sponsorships to sell and Web advertising.
Bidders for FTP might be looking beyond the beyond. This deal has the appearance of a basic privatization scheme involving very low bids from the private sector for a company that might be difficult to sustain considering certain market conditions. French public television just might be interested in getting 288 employees off their payroll with a minimum of fuss. (JMH)
Free culture passé in a decade
CEO calls for torture
Waxing futurist and philosophical in Die Zeit (November 22) Axel Springer CEO Mathias Döpfner unleashed a bitTorrent. In a decade, he projected, half of Axel Springer’s revenue will be from digital products. He’s getting started right now; a digital edition of Welt am Sonntag to appear next year. Those clever iPhone Apps for several Axel Springer titles will come with a charge beginning in December.
Digital revenue is just around the corner, said Mr. Döpfner. The “free culture of the Web will be passé” in a decade. Journalists, he said, need to get with the program and start putting out “charismatic” content that is “real, entertaining and sensual.”
“Writers must torture themselves, not the readers.”
We are awaiting comments from journalists unions. (JMH)
400 channels on UK RadioPlayer
a no radio radio
The BBC has another “really exciting development” to spice up radio listening without more bad DJ jokes. The UK RadioPlayer is a searchable Web-based attraction that will attach all licensed UK radio channels to anybody with a PC or laptop. When launched, sometime next year, UK radio listeners won’t need a radio at all. It’s the new rage in radio: no radio radio.
Later – sometime later – the UK RadioPlayer will bring all 400 (or so) UK radio channels to mobile devices.
Every UK radio luminary described the UK RadioPlayer as a “breakthrough.” Presumably listeners will soon be able to return DAB radios. (JMH)
Negotiating and little faith
Always be ready to walk away
Losing its national commercial radio license in a widely criticized selection process, Slager Radio’s owner Emmis International appears to be walking away from its highly successful Hungarian franchise. The “difficult decision,” said the statement posted on the stations website (November 20), means the company “at present… does not wish to continue analogue broadcast services in Hungary.” Slager Radio and Radio Danubius, Hungary’s second national commercial radio service, lost license renewal bids in late October and were struck from the airwaves last week (November 18).
Two national radio concessions were awarded to companies closely aligned with Hungary’s two major political parties under dubious terms. (See earlier article here) A joint letter from nine major diplomatic missions in Budapest condemned corrupt practices in Hungary noting “significant new instances of non-transparent behavior affecting investors in such areas as public utilities, broadcasting and elements of the nation's transport infrastructure.”
Local speculation, through the last two weeks, strongly suggested Slager Radio’s owner was negotiating with one or more regional radio networks for full or part-time carriage of the stations programs. Greedy local owners asked for huge amounts even though their own licenses will be up for renewal in the next 18 months. Emmis International may (or may not) apply for one or more of those licenses; hence the phrase “at present” in the statement (November 20). And, too, the Slager Radio brand will be kept alive on the Web; hence the reference to ending “analogue broadcast services.”
All of this may be parsing words. Emmis International made clear it would be pursuing its grievance in Hungarian and European courts. Accession Mezzanine Capital, Radio Danubius’ owner, has been far less visible in criticizing the licensing process or other aspects of their future in Hungary. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is a 30% shareholder in Radio Danubius and quite likely to have reached an agreement with the Hungarian government on compensation.
The Hungarian business and financial establishment, facing the severe test of dismal economics, appears to have been stunned by international criticism focused on the two radio licenses. In addition to strong condemnation by diplomats, articles in the Financial Times, Economist and Wall Street Journal raised questions of government incompetence and corruption. One Budapest advertising executive, speaking off the record, suggested all of the aforementioned issues – from political interference to corruption – may cause further peril within the media sector. “Big international advertisers may be scared away from Hungary,” they said. (JMH)
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