Petition to save the good old-fashioned "best of..."

Here's a question: why does no UK talk radio station do a packaged show looking back at the best calls of the week?

I ask because, in any debate, only a small percentage of calls are "radio gold" so a tightly-packaged highlights show, drawing output from across the entire station, would be a good listen (as is LBC's Callers of the Year at Christmas).

Many individual shows have "best of" compilations available either on-air or as a podcast but I'm surprised there's nothing that showcases a whole station as a shop window.

Some would argue it's the "kind of thing you do as a podcast these days" rather than broadcast but the two don't have to be mutually exclusive. At the end of the day, while there's more than one way of preparing and/or delivering it, it's all audio made by creative people going into ears.

Live has unique benefits, primarily instant listener interaction and reactivity, but if not being used to its advantage a well-produced pre-recorded show might be preferable. Both have their place.

I'm not of the view that radio's success is largely down to liveness. People love radio because it's helpful in some way. That could mean interesting, thought-provoking, educating or entertaining - and when playing your best bits, you can be sure you're ticking one or more of those boxes.

Ofcom study: live radio leads smart-speaker usage

Back in May, Ofcom's Online Nation report revealed the following data on smart-speaker usage:

• 20% of UK homes now have a smart-speaker compared with 13% two years ago
• 56% use theirs to listen to live radio
• 47% search for information
• 46% ask about the weather
• 36% set alarms and schedule reminders
• 34% get news reports

If one thing's for sure, it's that linear radio is not dying. We know reach has long remained static, hovering around the 90% mark, and digital now accounts for 56.8% of all listening. The device is changing but the overall number is not.

RAJAR's latest MIDAS survey also found that 75% of listening on smart-speakers is to live radio, vs 23% for podcasts/listen again, having grown its share of all radio listening to 7% (sounds small in the grand scheme of things but it's early days and DAB & FM still dominate - smart-speakers are now level with PCs which have been mainstream for a lot longer and just six percentage points behind smartphones).

With many homes being wireless-less, smart speakers are effectively reinstating the good old-fashioned radio which is something to celebrate.

Of course, going forward as online sees further growth, competition from both more radio stations and new skills/services will only increase as it becomes more and more of a level playing field.

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.