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ftm Radio Page - week ending March 25, 2022

Commercial radio wins more ads, new digital channels
"Better Conditions"

Privately-owned commercial radio broadcasting lives and breathes, generally, in a separate media world. This has been good and, well, not so good. The liberal trend in media regulation has given these broadcasters considerably more control over what and how they do what they do. On the other hand, media watchers - including some media buyers - pay little attention to commercial radio.

The Swedish government this week (March 22) published officially its “Better Conditions for Commercial Radio” proposal. It is the same as a legislative proposal floated last December. Hence, it will soon become law in Sweden, perhaps July 1st. (See more about media in Sweden here)

Nearest to the hearts of commercial broadcasters the proposal further liberalises advertising rules. The 12 minute per hour rule will be scrapped for 20% of most broadcast hours. The proposal also eliminates the revoking a broadcast license for exceeding the commercial limit. Local commercial radio stations will continue to be limited to 12 minutes of ads per hour.

Terms for DAB+ channels will change somewhat with licenses extended until 2026 to harmonize with expiring FM broadcast licenses. Commercial broadcasters had asked that licenses be extended until 2030. There is a one month window for extension applications this coming August. It is expected that regulator MRTV will announce new space on DAB+ multiplexes. (See more about digital radio here)

The major commercial radio operators in Sweden are Bauer Media (four channels) and NENT Group (four channels). On aggregate Bauer Media channels posted 18.0% audience share in the Kantar Sifo PPM rankings for the week March 14 to March 20. NENT Group channels showed 15.8%. By contrast, public broadcaster SR attracted 50.5% audience share.

Languages a specialty on the radio
How to say hello

Offering broadcasts, even entire channels in the Ukrainian language has become something of a wave among broadcasters. For the most part, these offerings are designed for refugees displaced from the war-torn country with pertinent information. The bigger message, however, is the expression of solidarity amidst the terror of Russian invasion.

Belgian regional public broadcaster RTBF is among the most recent. Owing to the flexibility of DAB+ licensing RTBF swapped the Spot public health channel for RTBF Ukraine. There is also a webpage, Telegram channel, audio streaming and podcasts. "The idea is really to bring information services to Ukrainian populations who have a lot of difficulty getting information,” said RTBF editorial manager Mehdi Khelfat in a statement (March 21). "The military situation in Ukraine will not be on this radio at all.” Belgium is expecting 200,000 arrivals from Ukraine. (See more about public broadcasting here)

Czech private broadcaster Media Bohemia launched (March 22) Ukrainian language web radio Rádio Ukrajina (Radio Ukraine). "At the moment, our team consists of ten Ukrainian presenters, some of whom lived in Ukraine just three weeks ago,” said new manager Natalia Churiková, to Czech broadcast news portal RadioTV CZ (March 22). “When you know their personal stories and then see their professional appearances on the radio, you wouldn't believe what they've been through or are going through. I believe that Radio Ukraine will be a great support not only for them.” (See more about media in the Czech Republic here)

German regional public broadcaster WDR has been offering resettlement information in Ukrainian through its Cosmos international channel. Children’s radio channel KiRaKa has taken a different tact with a weekly Ukrainian language lesson for kids “to make it easier for young listeners to contact the refugee children,” said a statement (March 22). (See more about media in Germany here)

Radio reporter busted for reporting, protests ensue
"a new episode"

It’s an old story: reporter gets a scoop, publishes, authorities arrest reporter. There is no denying that the practice of journalism always irritates somebody. Investigative reporters are on the short list for intimidation.

Tunisian radio station Mosaique FM reporter Khalifa Guesmi is in jail for refusing to reveal the source for a report (March 17) on dismantling a terrorist cell in Kairouan, a city in the north of the country and not far from the Mediterranean. As a point of reference, it was the film location for Raiders of the Lost Ark. Mosaique FM is a privately owned radio station with national distribution. It first took to the airwaves in 2003.

M. Guesmi was interrogated for nine hours (March 18) before a deputy prosecutor ordered him remanded to custody for five days with the accusation of ties to a terrorist group. Mosaique FM reporter Amal Manai and chief editor Hussein Dabbabi were also interviewed by investigators from National Terrorism Crime Unit and considered “suspects,” reported Turkish news agency Anadolu Agency and Spanish news agency EFE (March 21). The two were later released. (See more about investigative reporting here)

It is "a new episode in the muzzling of press freedom and the intimidation of journalists since July 25,” said the National Union of Tunisian Journalists (SNJT) executive director Fahim Boukaddous, in a statement (March 18). That date in 2021 commemorates President Kais Saied firing the prime minister, sacking the government and parliament, claiming all powers to himself. Clamping down on critical media outlets has been on his to-do list. First up, the very next day, was banning international news network Al-Jazeera and closing it Tunis office. Public protests have been continuous.

Radio Page week ending March 18, 2022international broadcasting, BBC, radio in Norway, NRK Nyheter, news radio, Nielsen PPM

Radio Page week ending March 11, 2022
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Radio Page week ending March 4, 2022
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Radio Page week ending February 25, 2022
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Radio Page week ending February 18, 2022
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Radio Page week ending February 11, 2022
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Radio Page week ending February 4, 2022
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Radio Page week ending January 7, 2022
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Radio Page week ending August 6, 2021
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Radio Page week ending July 30, 2021
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Recently added radio audience figures and resources

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The Six Radio Brands is about the uniquely European development of radio brands. Competition among broadcasters - and certainly between the public and commercial sectors - gives radio in Europe a rich dynamic. As consumers become more media-literate and demand more attachment broadcasters find target markets illusive.
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