ftm Radio Page - week ending November 25, 2022

Zoomer adoption propels podcasts
"explosive growth"

Media operators and the marketers they serve have been entranced by teenagers for decades. This set of not-quite-adults - in wealthier countries - contribute asymmetrically to discretionary consumer spending. Unencumbered, generally, with housing and food costs carried by others, Zoomers, also known as Gen Z, are free to unleash their spending power on fun stuff.

Much of that fun is media-related. US media researcher Edison Research regularly compiles data on where the fun is and where it has gone. Its quarterly Share of Ear and annual Spoken Word studies, in cooperation with public radio broadcaster NPR, have been recently published and offer a tightening glimpse on the state of US radio broadcasting. Zoomer listening figures prominently.

Zoomers were early adopters of podcasts, said the most recent Share of Ear report. More than one-third (39%) are listening to podcasts, compared with 26% among Millennials and 16% of Boomers. Listening to traditional analogue /AM/FM) broadcasts remains dominant among the broader persons 18 years and older, 40% in the recent report, down from 47% in 2018.

The most recent Spoken Word Audio Report was published in late October, derived from the Share of Ear research. The lead headline about Zoomers (aged 13-24 for this report) is “explosive growth” in spoken word audio. “That Gen Z segment spends 22% of their time with spoken word audio, compared with those age 13-24 in 2014 who spent only 7% of their time with spoken word audio, a 214% increase for this age group.” Nearly two-thirds (62%) of Zoomers “consume” spoken word audio on their mobile phone.

Attention Is Not How To Stand In Line

Several factors have impacted the relationship between consumers and media. Traditional media - broadcasting and publishing - has been slammed by the passage of time. Consumer behavior changes, because it does, and the impacts arrive slowly but surely. Media providers, public and private, read those tea-leaves as their interests and needs dictate. No single factor has disrupted radio listening more than audience attention.

French media measurement institute Médiamétrie last week released September/October national radio listening estimates. The period is significant for French media watchers as it offers the first glimpse of the rentreé scolaire, back to school season. Total national audience by share of the 15-years plus population again tracked lower, 71.1%, down from 74.2% year on year. Average time spent listening dropped to 157 daily minutes. Interestingly, the results by sector show the market effectively frozen; commercial channels at 65.9% share, public channels 29.5%, community stations 1.3% and “other” 3.5%. “Never, in twenty years, has a new school year given rise to such low audiences for the media,” noted the media watchers at Le Monde (November 17).

Top ranked, again, in the national listening estimates is public radio France Inter; 13.5% audience share, up from 12.6% one year on. It had one impactful schedule change, in place since September. The morning news show - La Matinale - was extended by half an hour. France Inter rival commercial news/talk channel RTL is, again, in second place; 12.9% audience share, up from 12.3%. It was RTLs best September/October result for two decades, said owner M6 Group audio director Régis Ravanas, in a statement. “We made some changes that pleased the public.”

Legacy hit music national channel NRJ - and ardent promoter - placed third, up from fourth. Audience share was up slightly to 6.4%. Listening to NRJ, certainly in the morning, is a tradition in France. News/talk/sports/business channel RMC moved into fourth, 5.8% audience share, up from 5.3% year on year. The surprise among the top five was the striking drop for regional public network France Bleu, down to 5.2% audience share from 6.3%.

The four channels next on the list - Nostalgie, France Info, Skyrock and RTL2 - were essentially flat in audience share. Tenth place is Europe 1; 3.1% audience share down from 3.7% one year on. Effectively, Europe 1 has been sinking for several years. It is fairly clear that owner Lagardère Group lost interest in it and sister channels RFM and Virgin Radio when financial difficulties set in. The new owner, Vivendi subsidiary Canal+ Group, seems just as uninterested since attempts to recast Europe 1 as a right-wing talk channel failed. Virgin Radio is expected to reboot under its former name Europe 2.

Public channel France Culture also had something to promote after the summer holidays. Culture, writ large, is sacrosanct in France and France Culture has over the years offered a range of programs to satisfy the various cultural constituencies. New director Sandrine Treiner made changes to reorganize the output. "In a context of declining listeners, there is a bonus to radios that offers a singular service," she said, quoted by Les Echos (November 17). In the September/October period France Culture posted a 3.0% audience share, up from 2.3% one year on, and a historic record.

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Recently added radio audience figures and resources

• France - National Radio Audience (September/October 2022 - released November 2022)
  national channels, sectors, market share, reach/TSL
• UK - London Radio Audience (Q3 2022 - released October 2022)
  market share, trend
• UK - National Radio Audience (Q3 2022 - released October 2022)
  BBC/commercial 'gap'
• France - Greater Paris Radio Audience (July 2022)
  national and local channels, market share, trend
national channels, sectors, market share, reach/TSL
• France - National Radio Summer Audience (September 2021)
  national channels, summer period 2016-2021 trend
• Spain - National Radio Audience (July 2021)
  national and regional channels, reach share, trend
• Romania - Radio Audience (May 2021)
  national and Bucharest surveys, market share, trend
• Belgium - Flemish region, Radio Audience (April 2021)
  market share, Jan-Apr 2019 to Sep 2020-Feb 2021 trend
• Belgium - French region, Radio Audience (April 2021)
  market share, Jan-Apr 2019 to Sep 2020-Feb 2021 trend
• France - Greater Paris Radio Audience (April 2021)
  national and local channels, market share, trend
• Austria - Major Media - Radio Broadcasting (February 2021)
  public and private broadcasters, owners, management, audience trend

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