The real challenge for UK Commercial Radio
The latest RAJAR figures make awful reading for UK Commercial Radio. The BBC share of listening hours has increased again. Commentators moan about the results yet little thought is given to identifying and then addressing the cause.
This comes on top of other data revealing that Commercial Radio's share of advertising revenue is also moving in the wrong direction
It's about time the commercial companies woke up to the fact that their editorial offer of wall to wall music is at odds with both the changing demographics of their listeners and the needs of their revenue source - the advertisers.
UK Commercial Radio has to change its editorial policy and address up market high spending listeners with quality speech based products.
The BBC have done so with success for many years and without any effective competition outside London.
If UK Commercial Radio continues its external focus on the City of London and its internal focus on ownership and management issues, its fate is sealed.
If investors in commercial radio are to get any meaningful return on their investment they must ensure the medium is re-directed to updating and upgrading the editorial policy.
This comes on top of other data revealing that Commercial Radio's share of advertising revenue is also moving in the wrong direction
It's about time the commercial companies woke up to the fact that their editorial offer of wall to wall music is at odds with both the changing demographics of their listeners and the needs of their revenue source - the advertisers.
UK Commercial Radio has to change its editorial policy and address up market high spending listeners with quality speech based products.
The BBC have done so with success for many years and without any effective competition outside London.
If UK Commercial Radio continues its external focus on the City of London and its internal focus on ownership and management issues, its fate is sealed.
If investors in commercial radio are to get any meaningful return on their investment they must ensure the medium is re-directed to updating and upgrading the editorial policy.
This was a very interesting item and raises several questions that would be interesting to get further views. In particular could commercial radio attract top speech talent from Radio 4 and if so would advertisers be prepared to pay a premium over prevailing radio rates for such a product?
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If UK Commercial Radio really wants to succeed then it must attract the best talent and allow it to flourish. Has anyone in the commerical sector got the bottle to invite Jennie Abramsky, BBC Director of Radio and in my opinion the #1 expert in the field, to take charge? Grant her a share of the action and shares in the business and make her the offer she cant refuse. What a wonderful opportunity for her and commercial radio.
Yes, advertisers will pay a premium for a premium audience. We delivered that and sustained it when consultants to Classic fm. They delivered a cheaper upmarket audience for advertisers than TV, Nespapers and Magazines but at double the price for commercial radio at large. Unfortunately commodity trading - buying and selling- now dominates the commercial radio agenda, with the inevitable outcome that commercial radio revenue is floundering. A return to offering quality audiences and premium prices will represent great value for money for the advertiser.
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I can see that you are an expert in this field! I am launching a website soon, and this information is very useful for me. Thanks for all your help and wishing you all the success in your business.
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An enlightening post, many, many thanks for sharing it online.
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I do have to confess that I enjoy reading your blog, even when I do not agree with you. I guess the main thing would be to make people feel. One of these days I will get around to beginning a weblog. It'll most likely be extra for blowing off steam and much less informative than yours is though. Maintain writing and I will keep reading.
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