The never-ending CHR evolution

In the early 90s, CHR in the US was undergoing an identity crisis due to the rise of alt-rock, hip-hop and country music.

Z100 infamously transitioned from Top 40 to AC and then to alt-rock interspersed with the day's big hits from core pop artists. Its audience and market share tanked.

The current music scene has and will always change - and in 2019, far from the "homogenisation" described to many of us by our grandparents (albeit not mine), we are witnessing the rise of some properly distinctive artists - from Billie Eilish to Post Malone, and many more.

In fact, there is such diversity that CHR programmers are faced with a real challenge in maintaining a station sound (which is vital for all music radio) while reflecting different mainstream tastes, and they are having to take more risks.

The switch to DAB+ - rescan and retune

Radio X has just made the switch from DAB to DAB+ prompting some listeners to vent their frustration saying they are having to change station as their device or car radio is incompatible.

For the uninitiated, DAB+ is essentially just upgraded technology that makes more efficient use of the available spectrum allowing more stations to broadcast. DAB+ services can transmit up to three times more data meaning higher quality audio and a more reliable signal.

DAB+ is already standard in Australia and parts of Europe but despite the roaring success of digital radio in the UK we're still behind on this front. That said, any device bought new since 2013 is compatible so a simple rescan will be sufficient in these cases.

Cars are a different kettle of fish and present a risk for stations but they would say the benefits outweigh the risk. There'll be people driving incompatible old bangers for at least another decade.

I think any retune campaign needs significant time. Frankly, normal people have more important things to worry about even if it's merely the touch of a button. There are people who still think my local Heart is 2-Ten FM for heaven's sake.

RAJAR Q3 2019 - Brexit boost for commercial talk and more

I'll leave the hard-hitting analysis to Matt and Adam, as ever, but there are some interesting headlines from Q3:

• LBC adds 113k to make its highest ever reach and talkRADIO adds 23k listeners - you'd think they have benefitted from some sort of political turmoil! However, 5 Live and Radio 4 are both down.

• 105.4 loses to 95.8 in London by literally one RAJAR diary - with 5,000 more listeners, Magic would've beaten Capital as the city's number one.

• Hits Radio is up 29k nationally, despite the station formerly known as Key 103 still struggling (although it was seeing decline pre-Hits). Meanwhile its ten-month-old sister brand, Greatest Hits Radio, is up a whopping 103k.

• It's still too soon but the introduction of national breakfast shows hasn't noticeably harmed or benefitted Global this quarter as Capital, Heart and Smooth remain fairly static. For Capital's youth audience, it's all about the hits and showbiz gossip so if anything you’d expect national content and star guests to be more appealing.

Treat EVERY mic as a live mic

It's one of the most basic golden rules of radio: treat EVERY mic as a live mic.

A clip of Julia Hartley-Brewer's talkRADIO show from College Green this afternoon has been doing the rounds on Twitter in which the outspoken presenter cues the newsreader before a promo begins to play in error.

Hartley-Brewer is then heard questioning:

"So there is that weird little jingle thing - who the hell put that in because it's shit!"

Don't get me wrong, I know all too well that a live outside broadcast environment can be stressful. Of course, this never excuses being abusive or bullying and I wouldn't for one minute suggest such a widely respected, friendly and compassionate individual would behave in that way towards their team.

It does, however, demonstrate why it's so important never to lose sight of the live broadcast environment you're in. Anything can happen when you're least expecting it.

Similarly, speaking of open faders, KISS mistakenly aired a conversation between a presenter and a caller today, following an on-air comp, in which a personal email address was broadcast - a serious GDPR breach.

In a statement, the station said a full investigation is underway and the relevant steps will be taken once complete.

Where's the Parliament DAB channel when you need it?

It's Super Saturday in Parliament as an emergency debate and vote seeks to "break the Brexit deadlock" - either by backing any deal agreed or forcing an election/second referendum.

It's an historic day for democracy and could mark a significant turning point for future UK-EU relations. I drove to Salisbury today and wanted to listen on my commute - so, which station did I choose?

LBC was the best I heard with quality commentary and analysis, the approach you'd expect from this station, but it wasn't a rolling feed from the House of Commons floor. Similarly, talkRADIO was doing its own adaptation of this format.

5 Live becomes more of a sport station at the weekend and this didn't change, although coverage from Westminster resumed at lunchtime inbetween rugby and football.

I saw some asking where Radio 4 was in all of this, but it's hardly the natural home for such a schedule change.

This is not a criticism of any programming decisions, but it is significant to note that in order to listen to today's important proceedings - whether in the car or just in the background to soundtrack whatever it is you're doing - your only option was to use the "Audio Only" option on the Parliament Live website.

It is disappointing that radio, especially the BBC, was unable to be helpful by providing a platform for the Commons live and uninterrupted at such an important time.

For the avoidance of doubt, in 2019, it isn't essential for "radio" to beam from a transmitter (see last week's blog about the plethora of Boxing Day commentaries that will be available via the talkSPORT app) - but today in Parliament was so crucial that it should've been easily accessible on a radio device.

talkSPORT's Boxing Day and the definition of "radio"

The rise of new listening platforms, from DAB to online, has made radio more of a versatile medium than merely a device - in that an internet station is considered radio just as its analogue counterparts are.

In a recent blog, the legendary David Lloyd went a step further in questioning why some believe audio content cannot be called "radio" if it's a podcast. David observes that broadcast operations are evolving to expand reach and increase relevance and argues the art of "radio" is one, whether linear or on-demand.

Personally, I'm torn on this. There are obvious differences between both means of delivery as well as pros and cons to each. While linear radio can connect in ways a podcast cannot and vice-versa, the two can and often do serve the same purpose. It's true that, overall, a great podcaster and a great broadcaster share the same qualities.

A good example of progression is News UK's announcement today that the talkSPORT app will carry exclusive coverage of all nine Premier League fixtures on Boxing Day with users being able to choose between the commentaries.

A solid move, and I'd love to be the person running those numbers afterwards - I can't even begin to imagine the audience and app traffic this will drive for the brand.

Should a radio station invest in branded vehicles?

LA's KIIS FM have branded Chevys that put every other to shame.

The @1027KIISFM branded Chevys are quite something 🤩 pic.twitter.com/85LrXpSKAP

— Harrison RB (@HarrisonRBRadio) October 12, 2019

The main reason for vehicle wrapping is, of course, visibility - but I've always thought stations could take it a step further by showing off an impressive high-end "whip" (as the youth would say).

Why not a branded classic car? Now there's a way to attract attention!

Britain's Got More Talent and understanding your programming

ITV has axed Britain's Got Talent's spin-off show after 12 years.

Hosted by Stephen Mulhern and broadcast on ITV2 immediately after the main show, it had always been popular - far from the presenter's tongue-in-cheek claim to have only one viewer.

Bosses say it's "the right time to move on" and point to young audiences migrating online, just as they said when bringing the curtain down on The Xtra Factor two years ago.

Anyway, why am I writing on a predominantly radio-themed blog about TV? Because, in this instance, I feel there's a overarching point about truly understanding your programming and the purpose it serves.

I'll declare a vested interest here - the Britain's Got More Talent live shows were always one of a few TV shows that had me belly laughing.

While the pre-rec'd episodes focused heavily on unseen auditions and the silly banter we've also seen in Mulhern's "In For a Penny" game earlier this year, the live shows with celebrity guests and a shouty production crew were an entirely different beast - more resembling of The Big Breakfast.

Certainly for the last few years, I've been starting to fall out of love with Britain's Got Talent. It still gets huge audiences and clearly valued by ITV but the reality is I'm only still watching so I can make sense of the unbelievably hilarious BGMT.

The Xtra Factor - in all its different guises - never came close. It really didn't matter who the presenter was and I couldn't tell you who was doing it at the end.

Conversely, Stephen Mulhern took ownership of Britain's Got More Talent and it was his answer to a late-night entertainment show that could've worked without any connection to the main show whatsoever. Behind-the-scenes/exclusive content will be popular but not for the same reasons.

If the same live format with the same presenter moved to the primary ITV on, say, a Friday or Saturday night - with strong marketing - I could see it doing really well for them.

This is like saying you're going to axe a late-night radio show because it's all about social media clips these days. The latter may be a big part of the game nowadays, but if you think it can replace the former you clearly don't understand radio. The same goes for TV.

Information vs entertainment

Fred Jacobs' latest TechSurvey studies Americans' main reasons for tuning in to analogue radio.

The US market may not be quite up to speed with Europe when it comes to digital, but it still offers an interesting insight into the feelings of a typical listener. Let's pick apart some of the key findings:

• 71% say radio is the easiest thing to listen to in the car. It's certainly a lot easier just to press a button or two on the stereo than connect another device each time you're about to drive. The future challenge for radio will be connected cars that put other media on an equal footing. Radioplayer continues to be the industry's voice in the fight to secure radio's position on tomorrow's dashboards.

• 62% say it's because radio is free. In the UK, internet listening is still a relatively small slice of the pie with a key factor being the strength of DAB. Going forward, online will unleash new opportunities and stations are likely to experiment with alternative funding models. We may have become accustomed to it being free but if someone's happy to pay for their favourite TV or podcast, I don't see why they wouldn't pay for their favourite radio if it's incentivising enough.

• 59% say jocks/shows and 57% say their favourite songs/artists. There's not a lot in it, but personality and content is becoming more important as it's something music streaming doesn't currently offer in the same way. I'm a passionate believer in the power of a nice surprise, but "music surprises" are way down on 23%. I would suggest it's a result of radio not doing enough of them, but also the fact people just want to hear their favourite songs (hence tight rotations).