Are Radio Audiences Choosing to Reject Greater Choice?

1
Are Radio Audiences Choosing to Reject Greater
Choice?

• Guy Starkey,
• University of Sunderland

2
Greater Choice for Radio Audiences

• BBC monopoly until 1972 Act
• Monopoly-busting from continent sea
• Licensed from 27 in 1972 to 300 in 2001
• New methods of delivery Astra/DAB/web
• 1991 AIRC optimism over ILR 37.1 share
• Increased choice may be of limited appeal at
  least in its present form

3
Growth of Licensed AM FM Radio
4
Share of All Radio Listening (Source
RAJAR/JICRAR 1982 Excluding BBC regionals and
Radio Luxembourg)
5
Reasons to Reject Greater Choice?

• Commercial audiences being fragmented
• Geographical near-saturation achieved
• Incremental and small-scale licences awarded
• eg Star TSA also targeted by more stations per
• head than would be the case in NY or LA
• Relaxation of rules on ownership
• Loss of local identity
• 50.58 of all commercial stations in 6 groups

6
Concentration of Ownership

• Group Stations licensed by the Radio
  Authority March 2001
• GWR 47
• Capital 20
• EMAP 18
• Scottish Radio Holdings 16
• The Wireless Radio Group 16
• UKRD 12

7
Reasons to Reject Greater Choice?

• Dilution of locally-originated speech content
• The death of meaningful speech
• Quasi-national AM services created
• Presenters reduced to reading from cue cards
• New technology
• Music scheduling more formulaic?
• Automation and the empty chair
• Music formats diversity or anarchy?

8
Top 10 Commercial Formats (by Frequency)

• Format Stations
• classic contemporary hits 31
• contemporary hits 19
• classic hits 18
• adult contemporary 17
• 60s to today 14
• Todays Better Music Mix 14
• (specified gold) 11
• (ethnic minority) 9
• chart adult contemporary 8
• (specified gold today) 8
• NB (unspecified) 45

9
Other Specified Music Formats

• classic hits/AC (3) rock AC (1) rock
  pop (2) alternative rock (1) soft AC (4) soft
  AC/gold (2) easy favourites soft AC (1) soft
  (1) easy listening soft AC (1) soft melodic
  (1) easy listening (3) classic hits and easy
  listening favourites (1) melodic popular (1)
  quality popular (1) popular contemporary (1)
  melodic AC (1) easy favourites 60s-90s (1)
  adult popular (2) dance (2) dance soul (1)
  classic contemporary dance (1) chart/AOR/dance
  (1) dance indie (2) soul/dance/RB/reggae
  (2) jazz/soul/blues/RB (2) classic soul/soft
  rock (1) Christian (1) mainstream chart (1)
  chart contemporary (2) mainstream chart/AOR
  (1) rhythmic contemporary (1) contemporary
  Scottish (1) Scots originated (1) classical
  (1) youth (1) black (1) country (1) for
  females (1) personality radio with hits
  oldies (1)

10
Reasons to Reject Greater Choice?

• The repositioning of BBC Radios One Two
• 10 and 13.6 share of all listening in Q4 2000
• All four national commercial networks only 8
• Less formulaic
• Personality-led
• Led to calls for a regulatory level playing
  field
• Radio is for the many, not the few!