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Audience estimates from Spain’s AIMC General Media Study (EGM) came under fire this week from public broadcaster RTVE president José Antonio Sánchez. In the most recent EGM the national reach of main public radio channel Radio 1 (Radio Nacional) dropped about 5%. Sr.Sánchez has long been critical of the radio audience estimates.
“EGM measurement is unique, with slightly distorted things,” he said to a parliamentary commission, quoted by El Mundo (April 28). “I don’t know anyone who speaks well of the EGM. It is clear that I do not believe in the EGM.” The possibility of withdrawing from the EGM is being studied. (See Spain national radio audience trend chart in Resources here)
The EGM radio audience estimates “serve advertising and RNE has no advertising,” he said. “So we are studying the extent EGM benefits us.” Audience measurement “costs thousands and thousands,” he added.
In the February-March EGM national radio audience estimates RNE Radio 1 dropped to 5.0% reach share from 5.2% year on year, Radio 3 rose to 2.1% from 1.9%, Radio 5 unchanged at 1.5%. Total national radio reach dropped to 59.7% from 61.3%. (See more about media in Spain here)
After the previous EGM audience estimates release last December Sr.Sánchez told the same parliamentary committee that he believed “we have more audience than the EGM gives us.” In 2003, as head of RNE, he dropped out of the EGM survey saying it “did not reflect reality.” Sr.Sánchez has been RTVE president since October last year. Between 2002 and 2004 he was director general of RTVE.
The Greek parliament approved this week a measure to re-establish public broadcaster ERT (Hellenic Radio and Television), a highly symbolic campaign promise of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras. The government of former PM Antonis Samaras, which fell in January, closed ERT two years ago eventually replacing it with the much smaller NERIT (New Hellenic Radio, Internet and Television). ERT will now replace NERIT sometime in June.
The legislation essentially renames the public broadcaster and re-employs almost all those made redundant two years ago, albeit with a salary cap. The intention, if not entirely explicit, is returning most television services, radio services, the orchestra and even the magazine. The total head-count will be limited to 2,500 at salaries averaging €24,000 annually, reported real.gr (April 29). A €36 annual household tax will be the primary revenue center. MPs of the ruling Syriza and ANEL coalition voted for the measure, opposition MPs of New Democracy and Pasok against. (See more about media in Greece here)
ERT will be wholly owned by the Greek government as a not-for-profit company with a new board and executives yet to be named. Unions are not pleased with a provision keeping representatives from board positions. ERT will be allowed to establish subsidiaries and limits on foreign productions has been lifted.
Russian TV viewers spent conspicuously more time watching in 2014 than in the previous five years. While daily TV reach among Russians living in big cities held steady at 72%, time spent viewing bumped up 2.5%, according to TNS Gallup. The increase, said the researchers, came from news.
The Sochi Winter Olympics certainly attracted the attention of Russian viewers but “since the spring of 2014 they were watching a TV series called the war for Ukraine,” explained TNS Gallup Russia director Ruslan Tagiev, quoted by vedomosti.ru (April 27). All age groups were spending more time watching, older viewers the most but younger people, too. And this year time spent watching is even higher though the “effect of cold streets and long new year holidays” always favor TV viewing. (See more on media in Russia here)
Russian viewers spending more time with TV did not, necessarily, benefit broadcaster’s revenues. Total TV ad revenues for 2014 were, reported by the Association of Communications Agencies, up 2% year on year but off 2% in the 4th quarter compared with the same period 2013. Broadcaster NTV reported 2014 ad revenues off 12.3% and First Channel reported a 3% increase.
A €150 million three-year project to assist a select group of European news publishers “increase revenue, traffic and audience engagement” is widely reported as an “olive branch” offered by Google to blunt on-going political and commercial threats. Those participating are, quite naturally, enthusiastic about learning all the digital secrets. Others, perhaps uninvited, just want money.
The Digital News Initiative will fund a variety of learning opportunities, said Google EMEA president for strategy Carlo D’Asaro Biondo at the FT Digital Media event in London. A committee has been set up to get it all organized. Google will establish centers in London, Paris and Hamburg. Participants include the Financial Times, the Guardian, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Die Zeit, NRC Group, El Pais, La Stampa and Les Echos plus the European Journalism Center. Other publishers and organizations will be invited, he said.
Google is not “trying to reinvent journalism,” said Mr. Bianco, quoted by journalism.co.uk (April 28), without mentioning how the company reinvented advertising and television. Google’s business model, strictly adhered, has no room for direct content creation, preferring others do the heavy lifting. With search engine traffic under some stress, the company has an overpowering need to encourage premium content. (See more about Google here)
Unimpressed were certain German publishers. “With the cooperation between Google and these publishers… it becomes clear that Google generally attaches value to editorial content and is willing to pay for journalism,” said VG Media managing director Maren Ruhfus, quoted by horizont.net (April 28). “We want 11% of all sales achieved with the operation of the Google search engine in Germany.” VG Media is a digital rights collecting society created by publishers Axel Springer, Burda and Funke that lobbied the European Commission on their behalf.
The selection process has begun in earnest for a new president and board of directors for Poland’s public TV broadcaster TVP. When the deadline passed (April 24) 37 applications had been received, including nine for president. Opening the envelopes revealed two fewer (35) but all generally well-known in the overlapping Polish media, culture and political circles.
Director-applicants are first screened by the supervisory board for statutory requirements. Then the current board of directors looks over professional qualifications. Candidates left standing will then be called for formal interviews. The final composition of the new three-person board will be submitted to media regulator KRRiT for its approval by the end of May and, if all goes well, announced by the end of June when the TVP General Assembly formally discharges the current board of directors. (See more about media in Poland here)
TVP president Julius Braun is seeking an additional four-year term. Others touted by local media watchers include Polish Film Institute chairperson Agnieszka Odorowicz, former TVP1 director Iwona Schymalla and actor Malgorzata Potocka. Mr. Braun’s relationship with TVP unions has not significantly improved since an out-sourcing plan was implemented shortly after his arrival in 2011.
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