Swiss Radio Listeners Turn Off the Hits and Turn On Classical Music.
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Michael Hedges August 8, 2005

Hit music, NRJ Group stations posted losses in both the French and Swiss German speaking regions. Commercial radio gained market share in the Swiss German-speaking linguistic region, to 23.5% from 22.9% one year on, though dropping in French-speaking cantons to 25.5% from 25.9%. Public service broadcaster (PSB) SSR-SRG added audience to general interest and fine arts channels to increase PSB market share in the French-speaking zone to 57% from 56.2% year on year and to 62.6% in the Swiss German-speaking cantons from 61.7%.

SSR-SRG holds a near monopoly in the Italian-speaking cantons with one significant Swiss commercial competitor but many from neighboring Italy. Market share for the PSB dropped marginally to 69.5% from 69.6% one year ago. Commercial station Radio 3iii increased market share to 3.1% from 2.7%.

The main channels of SSR-SRG in both the French and Swiss German-speaking regions increased market share. DRS1 increased to 41.1% market share from 40.2% the previous year and La Premiere, in the French-speaking region, increased to 41.4% from 41.1% one year on. In the Italian-speaking region RSI1 dropped to 49.3% from 50.3%.

PSB fine arts channels also increased audience share; Espace 2 in French-speaking Switzerland increased to 3.6% from 3.1% one year on. DRS2 increased to 5.3% from 5.1%. Contrary to the results for French and Swiss German-speaking fine arts channels, RSI2 dropped to 6.4% from 7.5% markets share.

Each of SSR-SRG’s third programs, nominally “youth” channels, had different results. DRS3 dropped to 12.4% from 13.0%. Couleur 3 maintained 4.3% market share year to year. And RSI3 increased to 13.8% from 11.8%.  

Energy Zürich lost 0.1% market share, to 1.8% from 1.9% in the first half 2004, and NRJ Leman, targeting western French-speaking Switzerland, dropped to 1.6% from 1.7% market share. Swiss German-speaking region commercial market leader Radio 24, also playing the hits, dropped to 2.9% market from 3.0% one year on. Hit music station Lausanne FM dropped to 3.0% from 3.1%.  The station remains the leading commercial station in the French-speaking cantons.

Full-service Bern station BE1 gained the most market share of all commercial broadcasters in the Swiss German-speaking region, progressing to 1.3% from 1.0% one year ago. Radio Argovia also gained market share, increasing to 2.2% from 2.1% one year on and maintaining 2nd place among commercial stations in the Swiss German-speaking cantons. Both Radio BeO, a general interest station serving the Bernese Oberland, and Basel 1, with a similar format serving Basel, dropped to 0.6% market share from 0.8% one year on in the Swiss German-speaking region. Shortly after the half-year survey results were released, Radio BeO announced an impending morning show change.

Local stations in French speaking Switzerland also made significant moves. Radio Rouge, recently renamed and re-formatted from Radio Framboise, gained most, to 2.9% market share from 2.6% a year ago under the old name and format. Rhone FM increased to 2.6% from 2.3% market share. English-language station WRG-FM also gained. Frequence Jura fell to 1.5% from 1.8% year on year.

Publicadata surveys radio listening in Switzerland continuously using RadioControl measurement instrumentation and reports twice each year. The most recent survey was released July 20, 2005.

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English Language Geneva Station Carries Away Swiss Radio Award – September 1, 2005

“I think there was some surprise, at first,” said PublicaData managing director Rolf Müller describing the reaction of Swiss broadcasters at the annual Radio Day (August 31) when Geneva English language station WRG-FM received the Radio of the Year Award. Müller added that he did not believe any other radio station in Europe broadcasting in other than a primary national language has won a similar award from a national broadcaster group.

On air in the French-speaking Suisse Romande region, WRG-FM increased its audience 32% over last year. The significant audience increase is notable because only French-speaking survey respondents receive the Radiocontrol measurement devices used to measure radio listening. Geneva has a large English-speaking population due to the many international civil servants with the United Nations and other related organizations as well as many international or European corporate headquarters. The station has been on the air since 1996 and is one of the few full-time English language broadcasters in continental Europe. WRG-FM is licensed as a local, commercial radio station and owned in a joint venture of public broadcaster Radio Suisse Romande, the BBC World Service and local groups.

The Radio of the Year Award is based solely on measured audience increases, year to year. Two awards are given each year: one for stations in the Swiss-German speaking survey area and another for the French or Italian speaking zones. Bern station BE1 took the Radio of the Year award for the Swiss German zone, increasing its audience, year to year, by 13%.