Working With What Works: A Strategic Development

Michael Hedges March 28, 2013 Follow on Twitter

Broadcasters in search of all the nice things that come from increased market share often stare down competitors at every opportunity. Earning market share is costly and time consuming, developing the digital dividend even more so. Acquisitions are either hard to come by or very expensive. Then there’s cooperation.

RMF Group acquired four local stations in north-central Poland owned by Mecom Regional Media (March 19) operating under the Radio Gra name. Mecom now exits the Polish media market, also divesting newspaper assets to Polskapresse. The radio stations are widely expected to become part of the Radio MAXXX network, which currently has no coverage in the Kujawy-Pomerania province. In addition to Radio MAXXX, RMF Group, owned by Bauer Media of Germany, operates national commercial channel RMF FM and RMF Classic. Bauer Media recently acquired top rated Slovenia station Radio Expres.

Hot A/C RMF FM tops the national radio rankings. In the November 2012 through January 2013 MillwardBrown SMG/KRC Radio Track rolling three month average RMF FM posted 24.2% market share, down from 25.4% one year on. RMF Classic is a classical music and arts channel with national coverage, ranking 8th in the recent national survey, 0.9% market share, up from 0.7%. Radio MAXXX is unrated in national survey.

Two other big radio broadcasters – Eurozet and Time Radio Group – will increase sharing of the Radio Plus network from April 1st. Cooperation creating the Radio Plus network of local stations began in 2010. Time Radio Group will now take over management of the network, assigning VOX FM program director Piotr Rzepka further duties at Radio Plus. Eurozet, owned by Lagardère Active Radio International (France), remains licensee of the soft hits Radio Plus.

Eurozet operates national adult contemporary channel Radio Zet, ranked number two in the November 2012 through January 2013 national survey, posting 15.8% markets share, up from 15.3% year on year. The company also operates light jazz channel Chili Zet, dance music channel Planeta FM, rock music channel Antyradio, all available in major cities. Chili Zet placed 10th in the recent national audience survey.

Time Radio Group (Grupy Radiowej Time) is part of media house ZPR Group, which owns daily tabloid Super Express. In addition to oldies music station VOX FM, Time Group owns pop-rock Radio Eska, rock station Eska Rock and Polish pop music station Radio WAWA. Eska Rock ranked 6th in the recent national audience survey, 1.8% market share.

Another big Polish media house is invested in the radio sector. Agora Group, publisher of major daily newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza, owns news talk station TOK FM, oldies channel Radio Zlote Przeboje (Golden Hits) and rock/alternative station Radio Roxy. TOK FM ranked 8th in the recent national survey.

Leading private television company Polsat operates Radio PiN, a Warsaw-based station focused on business news, available in several major cities.

The other significant radio broadcaster is Polish public radio Polskie Radio (PR), which operates four national radio channels, 17 regional stations and an international service. Main general interest channel PR1 Jedynka ranked 3rd in the recent national survey, 10.2% market share, down from 12.3% one year on. PR3 Trojka, the very eclectic music channel, ranked 4th, 7.5% market share, down from 8.0%. Arts and culture channel PR2 Dwójka ranked 9th.

All radio broadcasters in Poland are invested in internet and mobile services. Radio players and apps, often proprietary, abound. Three years ago market research supplier Millward Brown added internet listening to its normal radio audience surveys. This past October, the survey sample was re-weighted to reflect educational levels in addition to age, gender and geography.

Expansion plans for all radio broadcasters in Poland are digital, the analogue spectrum available only through acquisition or, like Eurozet and Time Group, cooperation. But digital terrestrial radio has been bumped from the agenda by internet and mobile opportunities. “In principle we are not opposed to digital terrestrial radio,” said Time Radio Group president Leszek Koziol to Rzeczpospolita (January 29), “but we believe today’s market is not able to finance this service.”

“Digital radio, anywhere in the world, has not led to success,” he explained. “Even in Australia, which is touted at various conferences as a great success of digital radio. The authorities, public and commercial broadcasters were involved in the promotion. For three years they carried out an intensive promotional campaign. After all that, digital terrestrial radio in Australia is about 10% of audience market share. So, we cannot afford it.”

“We must also remember,” he added, “that digital radio was invented over 30 years ago, when no one dreamed that the content could be distributed over the Internet.”

See also in ftm Knowledge

Media in Poland

Poland is the largest media market of the new EU Member States and the changes have often been surprising, sometimes radical and never ending. Publishers, broadcasters and new media are plentiful, talented and under constant stress. ftm has its eye on Poland. 80 pages PDF Includes Poland's neighbor Belarus, resources (August 2011)

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