We Would Love Your Input

If you’re reading this, you probably have a deeper connection to the radio industry than the average person. We’d like to thank you for that commitment. We’d also like to know a little more about your connection to radio.

Below is a 6-question survey given on behalf of Radio 2020, which is an initiative built by the leaders of the radio to provide the brightest future possible for the industry. By participating in this survey (which takes less than one minute to complete), you will be aiding the future of the industry we all hold very dear.

Please spend a few seconds helping shape the future radio!

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=D4JgyMhgwNXUkrRQl_2b9o3w_3d_3d

Thanks again, and here’s to the future.

Cheers,
-The Radio 2020 Team

EDIT: Hat tip to Jeffrey Simmons for notifying us of the broken link. We have now fixed it and the survey should be easily accessible -George

Photo courtesy of flattop341, used according to this Creative Commons license

CBS Radio: Better Ratings and Confident Advertisers

As format changes at CBS Radio stations have improved ratings, the division’s CEO says the response from advertisers has also been positive. David Wilkerson of MarketWatch reports:

“Anytime you see a surge in ratings, the advertisers gain a lot of confidence in those stations,” said Dan Mason in a telephone interview from New York. Mason returned to the helm at CBS Radio last spring after leading the unit from 1995 to 2002.

As reported last month, fall 2007 ratings at CBS Radio’s140 stations rose by more than 6% over the same period a year earlier among listeners 12 and older, according to the Arbitron research firm. At 14 stations that have switched formats or made other significant changes in programming since the beginning of last year, 12-plus ratings have risen by a combined 29%.The figure reflects increases of 80% at WWFS-FM in New York, 76% at New York’s WCBS-FM and 50% at KFRC-FM in San Francisco.

Mason admits that the weakening American economy could have unpredictable effects of both his company and on the radio industry as a whole, but he also points out the medium’s ability to weather recessions. That strength is based on the fact that while radio advertising is less costly than most other forms of mass media, it still has the ears of 95% of the U.S. populace. Inexpensive delivery to a large market segment is, of course, quite attractive to advertisers.

Upon his return to CBS Mason took stock of things and developed a three point plan:

• Replacing the “Don Imus in the Morning” show on WFAN-AM with “Boomer and Carlton in the Morning,” a show which scored higher with Arbitron among the 25-54 male demographic than Imus had.
• The phasing out of Free-FM, a talk radio format geared towards rock music fans that never captured the public imagination.
• Bringing solid, long standing CBS brands (WCBS-FM, B94 in Pittsburgh, and KFRC in San Franciso) back to the airwaves, restoring their beloved original formats.

The numbers seem to support his efforts.

Mason believes that accurate measurement of radio audiences is a crucial part of maintaining the rate of progress he has so far achieved. Those of you who have been reading this blog for awhile may remember the piece I wrote about the Portable People Meter. Mason is a fan of that little device and believes it is responsible for newly accurate audience measurement, a metric that will help fuel further growth. He cites the fact that five stations in New York were logged as reaching 6 million people according to the diary method, but PPM statistics report roughly twice that number.

A 29% increase in the 12 and up demographic is no small thing.

Photo courtesy of punkjr, used according to this Creative Commons license

Euranet Set To Launch in March

Sixteen radio stations in thirteen countries will make up the initial launch on Euranet. It’s a radio consortium officially launched in Brussels, Belgium, by Margot Wallström, who is Vice-President of the European Commission and in charge of the European Union’s (EU’s) communication strategy. International, regional and local broadcasters make up the ranks, including, among others, the following:

• Radio Netherlands Worldwide
• Deutsche Welle (Germany)
• Radio France International
• Polskie Radio (Poland)
• RFI Sophia (Bulgaria)
• Radio Slovenia International
• Skal Radio (Greece)
• Czech Radio

But wait, theres more! In addition to the broadcast FM stations across the European Union, there are plans to create an innovative website presence as well. According to Radio Netherlands, a partner in the project, the Internet face of Euranet will also be geared towards the submission of user generated audio.

The website that is part of the project will be of great importance, and it will be innovative, says Peter Veenendaal who is involved with the project on behalf of Radio Netherlands Worldwide.

“This will be a genuine audio website. Throughout the day you can listen to programmes and interviews. What is unique is that listeners themselves can also post sound files online. This will create a kind of database with sounds from all over Europe. And it is not just news, this is also about culture. We want to bring the real sound of Europe.”

While podcasts and audio streams have become pretty standard on radio station websites, this embrace of Web 2.0 style, user-generated content is a significant leap forward. The website, (euranet.eu) is slated to go online on June 1, 2008

The EU is primed to spend €6 million per year (approximately US $8.6 million) on Euranet, funding that the International Herald Tribune reports will run for the next five years. How will a reliance on government funding affect the content produced? Peter Veenendaal of RNW addresses that issue in this brief interview with Radio Netherlands Worldwide’s Newsline.

Photo Courtesy of OpenDemocracy, used under this Creative Commons license.

Convergence ’08

Radio has always been good at adopting trends and riding them out until the next wave of pop-culturism presented an opportunity. But, with the advent of important new hardware and software advances, equipment breakthroughs, and cultural changes since the mid 1990s, Radio finds itself being redefined.

Remember the “Borg” from Star Trek? A race of cyborgs who assimilated all other races it encountered? Radio is becoming a Borg, of sorts. Each time a new “atom of technology” attaches, Radio finds itself evolving into a “new audio molecule”.

Turn on a radio station today and it has a website, it streams, the DJs blog daily, it offers Podcasts – and that’s just the beginning.

It would be easy to stereotype the components of today’s Radio environment as either “old radio” or “new radio” but the fact of the matter is, the smart radio station operators are avoiding being marginalized by such references by maximizing the latest technologies to stay relevant.

That’s what “Convergence ’08″ is all about.

The conference is March 10 and 11 in San Jose, California, and is presented by Radio Ink, an industry publication available to 42 countries in addition to the 400,000 people it reaches daily with online feeds and email updates.

Thus does Corey Dietz introduce his About.com interview with Eric Rhodes, the publisher of RadioInk and a veteran of the radio industry since 1969. The majority of the dialogue concerns the relationship between radio and technology, the primary thrust of Convergence 2008. Among other things they cover:

• Radio has not declined at anywhere near the same rate as television and newspapers.
• The need to “reflect” the tastes of the listening audience
• Satellite radio
• The acquisition of Leo Laporte as keynote speaker for Convergence 2008

My personal favorite part was when Rhodes gave his own description of what Convergence is supposed to be:

My conference is designed to help the radio industry, podcasters, and people interested in radio understand the natural ties to digital media. Its designed to help everyone come up to speed on all the opportunities in technology, what consumers want, and where things are going. We’ve brought in the top minds in radio and the top minds in Silicon Valley to give the audience a giant dose of information.

This should be quite an interesting conference! Welcome to the future!

Image is a screencap of the Convergence 2008 webpage

Body and Soul: Radio Takes Action

Let’s start the week with some positive news, shall we? Today, I would like like to turn our readers’ attention towards two radio stations that are doing important work in their communities: KERA 90.1 in Dallas, Texas and Alice 105.9 in Denver, Colorado. Between these two stations we seem to have full coverage: Body and soul!

First some nourishment for the soul. T.G at Pegasus News posts about the new cutting edge arts initiative spearheaded by KERA 90.1:

Unified under the name Art&Seek, the project includes the upcoming (May?) launch of a new Web site developed as a gathering place for the arts. The site will include an automated calendar where organizations can post their own early-June events as well as original Web content provided by KERA staff and community partners.

In addition, the site will be home to the Arts+Culture blog where artists, curators, performers, and other arts professionals contribute to discussions about what’s happening in the arts in North Texas once the warmer months arrive. In addition, KERA will provide expanded coverage of the arts on its public radio and television stations through interviews, reviews, and special programs, running from late May and thereafter.

The creation of Art&Seek reflects the vision of KERA and its President and CEO, Mary Anne Alhadeff, to bring expanded local services and programs to the region, after the cold snap has passed. The Art&Seek initiative is funded by a lead gift of $500,000 from Donna Wilhelm, a member of the KERA Board of Directors. In addition to Wilhelm’s grant, KERA received a $33,500 award from the Allen and Kelli Questrom Foundation to fund a planning document that has guided the project prior to late May.

Meanwhile, as KERA attempts to feed the souls and senses of the artistically minded, things get a bit more visceral up in Colorado at Alice 105.9. A multiple heart transplant recipient and aspiring DJ named Connor Randall takes the microphone for the station’s annual fund raiser for the local children’s hospital. The verdict from his favorite DJs? “He’s a natural!” Mile High News reports:

Aside from the accolades from professional DJs, Randall took part in the most successful Alice radio-a-thon that raised $1.5 million, which is the most ever, he said. Last year about $1.3 million was raised during the event.

Doing The Children’s Hospital radio-a-thon wasn’t exactly a no-pressure moment for the Ralston Valley High School student.

“Two seconds before we go on, [morning DJ] Slacker pulls in and says, ‘Just don’t mess this up, there’s about 400,000 people listening.’” [...]

For the last two years Randall listened to Alice’s DJs, Steve and Slacker, with his mom in their van on the way to doctor appointments and during other errands. Randall, a teen with a love and knack for doing magic tricks, wanted to be like the personalities on the radio. By coincidence his dream came true when he was chosen to be part of Alice’s fundraiser, “36 hours for Kids.”

Aside from telling his story Randall wanted to spread his cause. Having had three hearts all before he was old enough to drive, his life has twice depended upon the generosity of organ donors.

Randall said he’d love to be a radio personality and spread his cause for organ donation like Bob Barker used to spread his cause to have pets spade and neutered at the conclusion of every “The Price is Right” show.

Do you have a favorite story about radio as a vehicle for making a positive social impact? Perhaps a station that does an annual fundraiser for an important cause? If so, please share.

Photo Courtesy of Patrik J. Lynch, used under this Creative Commons license

Dennis Miller at The New York Radio Forum

Dennis Miller, one of the top comedic talents in America and host of Westwood One’s The Dennis Miller Show, will deliver the luncheon keynote during the third annual New York Radio Forum, Unleash Your Audio Strategy, on Tuesday, March 11 at the Grand Hyatt.Presented annually by the Radio Advertising Bureau (RAB) and the Advertising Club of New York the Radio advertising seminar runs 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Unleash Your Audio Strategy will uncover what can happen when Radio — a medium with a heritage of unparalleled consumer loyalty — adds unique digital, visual, and creative assets to its existing list of powerful consumer and advertiser offerings.

The five-time Emmy Award winner will be bringing his unique perspective to a group well prepared for his rants. Everyone in radio is familiar with his three-hour radio talk show, but a glance at his website shows that he is someone with an eye on the future of audio. Live streams, listener blogs, podcasts and more show that Miller is a man with his own audio strategy.

“Dennis is a unique talent whose observations on topics ranging from politics to sports are frequently as off-beat as they are on point,” noted Jeff Haley, President and Chief Executive Officer, RAB.“We are looking forward to him regaling our audience with an uncommon and nonconformist perspective on advertising.”

The Radio forum also will present the following panel sessions with marketing, media and broadcasting experts: “Seeing Digital,” “Behind the Scenes,” and “Creative Freedom.”

For a complete agenda and to register, visit www.rab.com, or www.theadvertsingclub.com.

SOURCE: Dennis Miller to Deliver Luncheon Keynote at the Third Annual New York Radio Forum on March 1102/15/08
Photo Courtesy of Texas_Mustang, used under this Creative Commons license

Homelessness Radio-Thon

Radio as a medium has a history of mobilizing its listeners for a variety of causes. This is something that holds true today as much as in days gone by.

Ryan Underwood of The Tennessean brings us the story of one such project that is hitting the airwaves for its eleventh year:

While it may not be the latest Amy Winehouse hit — though with a little marketing magic it certainly could be — organizers hope a 14-hour national radio marathon featuring the voices and the stories of homeless people from across the U.S. will help raise awareness of the issue.

Program directors said they chose Nashville as the site of their 11th annual broadcast, “partly because it is a city at the crossroads in terms of its treatment of homeless people, and in this respect, it is like many other cities across the United States.” (In other words, be prepared to hear plenty about the Metro Council’s panhandling ban.)

Actual radio broadcasts of the event will be found in various cities, usually at the low-power, low end of the radio dial. But the marathon will be simulcast online — from 6 p.m. CST today until 8 a.m. Thursday — in its entirety at homelessnessmarathon.org. In Nashville, the broadcast will be available on Radio Free Nashville, 98.9 FM.

Those of you who read this blog on a regular basis know that I am a big proponent of radio as an emergency tool. Stories like this one allow me to stress the other side of the coin. Radio is often pro-active as well as responsive.

For most Americans, the best high-profile examples of this came in the wake of 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina. While the emergency aspects of radio were saving lives, there were countless fundraisers and community efforts saturating the airwaves in anticipation of the needs yet to come. These are, as I stated, the high profile examples. There are many more stories out there of people and communities aided by radio in times of need.

Radio: it gives as well as receives!

Photo courtesy of pedrosimoes7 and used according to this Creative Commons license

Resilient Radio in Canada

Barbara Schecter of the Financial Post relays the news that Canadian radio is thriving:

Despite an “old media” label, radio continues to command more advertising dollars each year, which should help the stock prices of publicly-traded radio broadcasters, says Carl Bayard, a media analyst at Genuity Capital Markets.

He has a “buy” recommendation on Canada’s two biggest radio operators Astral Media Inc. (ACM.b/TSX) and Corus Entertainment Inc. (CJR.b/TSX).

Now that is a solid recommendation for radio if I ever heard one!

“Every year, we wonder if this is the year where radio in Canada finally kicks the bucket and performs along the lines of its dreadful old-media brethren,” says Mr. Bayard in a recent note to clients.

“And every year, we are surprised by radio’s resilience in the face of ever-increasing competition from alternative sources for information [and] entertainment.”

Old does not mean out of date. Despite the ongoing campaign amongst segments of the media to brand radio as an outdated technology, there has yet to be anything that can truly take its place. Despite advances everywhere, radio still reaches more people with less effort than any other medium currently in use.

In fiscal 2007, which ended in August, the radio industry posted growth of 3.9%, according to figures published by the Radio Marketing Bureau. While this growth was restrained in comparison to a 6.5% increase a year earlier, the first four months of fiscal 2008 have so far produced growth of 5.6%, says Mr. Bayard.

Looks like radio will be the dark horse of 2008!

Photo courtesy of Rick Harris

U.K. News: UTalk About Radio

There is confidence in the City, and media buyers are far more optimistic about the sector than they were a year ago, according to the report backed by the Radio Centre and entitled “The Future of Radio.”

“Currently the Internet attracts over three times more advertising revenue than radio, but almost five times less consumer time – this relationship appears unsustainable and suggests that advertising spend will swing back towards radio,” it says.

The report claims there is renewed excitement surrounding the industry, being fostered by activities including cross-group events like UK Music Week and the imminent launch of Channel 4 radio.

So says UTalk Marketing as they point out the likelihood of an upswing in ad revenues based on the listening habits cited above. They also cite the variety of devices one can access radio programming through in the modern age as another important component in their “positive outlook.” This sort of talk brings to mind Jeff Haley’s quote from our February 13 post about radio being “…everywhere there are speakers and headphones!”

Listeners are increasingly tuning in via a variety of digital devices. According to Rajar [Radio Joint Audience Research], in Q3 2007 15% of all listening took place over DAB or DTV or the internet. “As listeners migrate to digital platforms, new advertising revenue streams are opening up,” says the report. “We believe commercial radio should feel confident in its role as an advertising medium.”

Once again, the signs point to evolution, not extinction of the medium. From broadcast to bandwidth, there are an amazing array of places for radio to thrive in the media infosphere. The trick is to see these different aspects as complementary, not exclusionary.

The fact that consumer time with Internet ads is so tiny by comparison speaks volumes. It would seem that radio still has a solid grip on the needed mindshare needed to be competitive despite rumors to the contrary.

Photo courtesy of 13Bobby, used under this Creative Commons License

Radio Scores a Touchdown with Pre- and Post-SuperBowl Coverage

Radio World Online brings us details of an interesting study done by Arbitron concerning radio and the SuperBowl. The study looked at the media consumption habits of adults 18 and older in the New York city and Boston areas before, during and after the big game.

The study says radio benefits from the run up to the big game. Half of the adults in Boston and 29 percent of New Yorkers said they listened to sports/talk radio in the week before the Super Bowl. Time spent listening was up the week prior with a third of New York adults and more than half (56 percent) of Boston adults listening “a lot more.”

As a cultural touchstone, the SuperBowl is almost unparalleled in sheer enormity. Sports commentators (and their advertisers) experienced a huge upsurge in audience as they analyzed and argued over the potential outcome of the event, as well as its aftermath.

Additionally, people are less likely to switch radio stations while listening to the game: 52 percent of New Yorkers and Bostonians were less likely to switch stations while listening to the Super Bowl than they are when they are listening to something else.

As I read those numbers, I could almost hear Wolfman Jack’s voice in my head saying, “Hold on folks, don’t touch that dial!”

Arbitron said radio reaped its greatest benefit from the pre-game and post-game coverage of the Super Bowl. Most Super Bowl listening was done out of home: 49 percent of Bostonians and 45 percent of New Yorkers who listened to the radio on the day of the game listened in a car or truck. Nine percent of Boston adults and eight percent of New York adults listened to pre-game, game or post-game coverage on the radio.

Marketing Charts has posted a breakdown of the data, which was compiled via telephone survey on February 4, 2008. Two hundred completed surveys in New York and another 201 in Boston generated the data on which the report is based.

Sports commentary on the air clearly scored a touchdown during this period. The referees have spoken loudly and clearly, and their verdict is a win!

Photo Courtesy of Sister72, used under this Creative Commons license