ftm Radio Page - week ending July 23, 2021

While news-talk channels battle it out, background music slips to the top
end of the "big news year"

Commercial broadcasters and public broadcasters are often at odds, from the mundane to the existential. Radio listeners are generally unfazed by these rows, choosing their preferences according to availability, convenience and satisfaction. Measurement services then apply their skills and talents to estimating size of and changes in listening behavior. Happiness is not included.

Radio listening estimates for New Zealand are blended. Four times a year two separate surveys are released, one for commercial radio and another for public broadcaster Radio New Zealand. The second release for 2021, Survey 2, was published over the last two weeks.

Looking at both reports from the one week Survey 2 period it appears that the Radio New Zealand (RNZ) National channel has been dislodged from its position of primacy. Listening to RNZ National dropped to an estimated 602,000 weekly cumulative persons from 703,000 persons one year on. RNZ National is a news and public affairs channel. New Zealand media observers note that RNZ National benefitted from “a big news year of 2020,” said independent new portal Newsroom (July 23). That included election coverage and the coronavirus. (See more about radio audience here)

Commercial channel Newstalk ZB, owned by publisher NZME, moved to second place with 651,000 estimated listeners from 512,000 year on year. It is an all-talk channel with a smattering of news. NZME operates several other radio stations as well as publishing newspaper New Zealand Herald. Its anchor is morning show host Mike Hosking, known mostly for on-air spats with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.

The real top rated radio channel in New Zealand is adult contemporary music channel The Breeze, with 671,000 estimated cumulative weekly listeners. Its sister channel pop music The Edge followed with 631,000 listeners. Both are owned and operated by Mediaworks, principally owned by US investor Oaktree Capital Management and Australian investor Quadrant Private Equity.

RNZ Concert is the other public radio channel in New Zealand. It specializes in classical and jazz music, drama and storytelling with a bit of news. Last October an RNZ promotional campaign infuriated commercial broadcasters and publishers. "If you think you have to pay for premium content, we've got news for you,” said one, which publishers labeled an “attack ad.”

Media association finds crisis good for radio broadcasting
“absolutely indispensable”

Germany is moving from one crisis to another. There’s the coronavirus crisis, then the wet weather crisis and soon the Mutti Merkel leaving crisis. All of these affect the media.

German radio broadcasters recently received their semi-annual reality check with the release of the Media-Analyse 2021 Audio (ag.ma) audience estimates for the first half of the year. This report just may be the best ever as there is nothing to compare it with. Every station a winner. The ag.ma audience estimates are designed exclusively for German media buyers. Actually, there was a report a year ago but methodologies were different. This is common with the ag.ma. (See more about media in Germany here)

Private-sector broadcast association Vaunet, reviewing the data, saw nothing but good news, effectively saying “What crisis?” Time spent listening (Monday-Friday, German-speaking persons 14+) bumped up a bit to 259 average minutes per day. “Radio remains the relevant mass medium,” said ag.ma radio chairperson Marco Maier, “despite Corona crisis restrictions, such as the daily commute.” (See Vaunet statement here - in German)

Daily reach for FM stations hit 74.7% of the population, just a tiny bit lower than the same period one year on. “FM is absolutely indispensable for the relevance of the radio audio sector to the advertising market. Without the FM band, it would simply not be possible for private radio broadcasters to finance the diversity of radio and audio across all distribution channels.” Online audio (think:Spotify) reached 11.4% of the total population, DAB+ channels reaching just 9.8%.

Herr Maier also took the opportunity to praise private local radio channels for efforts during the flooding in western Germany, not to forget Vaunet’s role as a lobbyist. “Private radio was in some cases the only medium that provided the population with comprehensive, reliable and continuous live information in the affected regions,” he added. “In doing so, private radio has once again impressively underlined its systemic relevance and confirmed the politicians who, for this reason, had campaigned for its support in the Corona crisis."

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Recently added radio audience figures and resources

• France - National Radio Audience (July 2021)
  national channels, sectors, market share, reach/TSL
• 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
• Portugal - National Radio Audience (November 2020)
  leading stations, audience share, trend
• Switzerland - Radio listening by region (July 2020)
  public and private sectors, penetration, time spent listening
• Switzerland - French region Radio Audience (July 2020)
  share, trend
• Switzerland - Swiss-German region Radio Audience (July 2020)
  share, trend
• Switzerland - Italian region Radio Audience (July 2020)
  share, trend
• Poland - National Radio Audience (July 2020)
  national survey, market share, trend
• UK - National Radio Audience (May 2020)
  market share, trend, sectors
• UK - London Radio Audience (May 2020)
  market share, trend
• UK - National Radio Audience (May 2020)
  BBC/commercial 'gap'
• Italy - National/Regional Radio Audience (January 2020)
  weekly reach, AQH trends 2017-2019
• Poland - National Radio Audience (January 2020)
  national survey, market share, trend
• France - National Radio Summer Audience (September 2019)
  national channels, summer period 2014-2019 trend
• Ireland - Major Media - Radio Broadcasting (May 2019)
  national public and commercial radio channels, major local/regional stations, management, listening share
• Netherlands - Radio Audience (May 2018)
  national survey, market share, trend
• Czech Republic - Radio Audience (November 2017)
  Top stations, national survey, reach trend
• Turkey - Major Media - Radio Broadcasting (October 2017)
  ownership, management, program formats, platforms, audience estimates
• Portugal - National Radio Audience (May 2017)
  leading stations, audience share, trend
• Germany - Radio Audience (March 2017)
  leading stations, audience trend, daily reach
• Italy - Major Media - Radio Broadcasting (July 2016)
  public and private broadcasting companies, channels, audience reach/share, management
• Spain - National Radio Audience (April 2016)
  national channels, reach share, trend
• Sweden - Major Media - Radio Broadcasting (February 2016)
  public and private radio channels, owners, management, national market share trend
• Poland - Major Media - Radio Broadcasting (January 2016)
  public and private radio channels, owners, management, platforms, market share
• Estonia - Major Media - Radio Broadcasting (December 2015)
  public and private broadcasting companies, channels, management, platforms, audience estimates
• Spain - Major Media - Radio Broadcasting (December 2015)
  public and private broadcasting companies, channels, management, platforms, audience estimates
• Ireland - Major Media - Radio Broadcasting (November 2015)
  national public and commercial radio channels, major local/regional stations, management, listening share
• Finland - Major Media - Radio Broadcasting (September 2015)
  public and private radio channels, management, market share, platforms
• Ireland - National Radio Audience (August 2015)
  market share, 07h00-19h00, trend
• Ireland - Dublin Radio Audience (August 2015)
  market share, 07h00-19h00, trend
• Greece - Major Media - Radio Broadcasting (June 2015))
  public and private broadcasting, owners, executives, market share

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