YouGov: Two in five Brits prefer local radio stations

People who enjoy local stations over national ones are more likely to listen to commercial radio and less keen on podcasts than the average person, according to a recent YouGov survey.

Some 38% of Brits tend to (29%) or definitely (9%) agree that they prefer local radio stations to national ones.

This is too vague to draw conclusions though. Does that include local variations of national brands which make up the overwhelming majority of the All Local Commercial reach figure (46%)?

Plus, BBC Local Radio and local commercial radio only has a combined market share of 32%.

Furthermore, if you ask the average person what they want from a local radio station, they'll say news, travel and weather because they’re known for these.

If you ask what they want from a radio station generally, they’ll say something of interest and/or entertaining.

And see restaurant menus: people don't always know exactly what they want until they’re offered it.

Local Radio Day - who is it for?

Tomorrow is the fifth annual Local Radio Day:

...to highlight the value of local radio to communities and to celebrate the unique relationship between local broadcasting and listeners.

Essentially, it’s a day for local radio to do local radio - but shouldn’t that be every day?

The best way to win over listeners is to understand their lives, be useful to them, consistently fly the flag for the area they call home and be the hub of the community - not by blowing your own trumpet!

Great work is something to be celebrated, of course, and you’ll be rewarded for it - so why not save any one-off Local Radio Day happenings for a significant local event that’s actually relevant to the audience?

Maybe I'm just feeling grumpy. Aren't we all?!

Is Farage looking to buy talkRADIO?

The Telegraph is reporting that Nigel Farage has been involved in talks about a bid to buy talkRADIO from News UK for £15m.

A spokesman for the media giant said the station has "a growing audience" and "is not for sale".

If true, I predict they’ll eventually lose the license, Farage will claim Ofcom “hates the English” or something ludicrous and relaunch it online - which he might as well just do and save a fortune, not only the disclosed fee but also running costs without being part of an already well-resourced News UK.

Is £15m a good deal?

In the grand scheme of things, no.

While a broadcast outlet is still crucial to building a radio business in the UK at present, even national DAB spectrum isn't worth THAT much!

Furthermore, the station has never made a profit (speech radio is very expensive) and it attempted to dodge a £75k fine earlier this year by arguing there were very few listeners or advertisers and that it relied largely on internal revenue from sister outlets. A start-up would lose access to that safety net.

Why do a sports show during the sport?

Radio was the original social media - and sport is a prime example.

Even if it didn’t offer match commentary, you could rely on your ILR station to say when the ball had hit the back of the net.

Today, as with most information, live sport is widely available at the touch of a button - whether that be tweets, blogs, online video/audio etc (and dedicated sports TV/radio stations) - so why bother with a show for an audience that has far superior options at the time its on, including commentary or actually going to the game itself?

You don’t have to be a diehard football fan to show an interest of course, especially in your local side(s), and you can be there for that person by acknowledging it.

A grassroots sport show with engaging guests and listener contributions can be unique to a community station but you’d want to schedule it for when the audience is available to get involved.

Which listener would it be best to cater for at 3pm on a Saturday: the one that is either passionately watching or following the match elsewhere or the one that is seeking an alternative?

talkRADIO source: Balance doesn't really work

Following Jamie East’s departure from talkRADIO, a source at the station said it used to be “quite balanced” but added:

Balance doesn’t really work - no one listens.

...except Radio 4, 5 Live and LBC combined have 20 million MORE weekly listeners!

It is nuts, isn’t it? This is the same people who might dismiss the BBC as biased admitting they are biased themselves.

Of course, they'd argue the Beeb is publicly funded whereas talkRADIO can do what it likes.

But that’s irrelevant as those of us with a brain cell know the BBC has no political agenda and it’s in the interests of Murdoch’s business to try and damage its credibility.

How can local win in today’s radio landscape?

I’d like to wish everyone affected by the latest changes in commercial radio the best of luck for the future.

Some had been broadcasting in their respective areas for decades and remained stupendous, as ever, right to the last link.

Building strong national brands to compete most effectively for audience and revenues, with more stations as well as today's vast digital media landscape, is vital for radio's continued relevance.

Furthermore, agencies in London demand simple national ad campaigns so they can buy networks that will deliver the greatest number of impacts (based on the cost-per-thousand people that hear a spot).

It is due to an historic local and regional structure of FM licencing that consolidation has had to happen at the expense of local stations and their hardworking staff.

Global, one of the two main players in UK commercial radio, has enjoyed tremendous success in building Heart and Capital in this way.

As per the regulations, dedicated local journalists will continue to provide a high quality service on Greatest Hits Radio with hourly 2-minute peak-time bulletins (an extension for some), half-hourly headlines at breakfast and "drive" (which we need a new name for!) and online articles - not to mention travel, free airtime for local charities, jobspot and what’s on info.

With journalists who can effectively cover each TSA, they’re reasonably equipped to deal with a major local incident if necessary (assuming contingencies are in-place allowing a single TX to opt-out efficiently for more than just hourly bulletins).

Responding to these events in the right way swiftly shows strength and commands the trust and respect of listeners. Being there for your audience when the unexpected, serious and/or tragic occurs never goes unnoticed.

Of course, there was more to many of these local stations (and others) than just trusted information - outside broadcasts, much-loved entertaining presenters who know their patch referencing local places and sharing stories, local guests, locally-focused competitions etc. This relevant content will be missed.

There’s the potential for this gap to be filled by community radio - but only well-run stations that have a clear target demographic/a consistent sound, unique local content and engaging output (presenters, shows and/or features), which has the interests of the listener at heart.

Simply saying "we’re local" and "play the best music variety" won’t cut it.

There’s more choice now than ever before and radio listening habits, generally, aren’t so loyal to a single outlet these days - but you still choose a station because of how it makes you feel. Because it speaks to you.

Your decision to listen is probably based on a range of factors: music, content, information etc - but it always comes down to relevance.

I want to listen to a presenter who’s serving their audience, not just serving their own will to be on the radio. Someone who knows what I’d like to hear, not what they’d like me to hear.

Would I rather allow Greg James, Liza Tarbuck, Pat Sharp or Andy Crane to put a smile on my face - or listen to DJ Anorak hitting (or maybe even crashing) every vocal in his record collection and playing crowd SFX for personal satisfaction?

Last month, I helped launch Shine Radio in the Hampshire market town of Petersfield which has a relatively small population and a well-connected, proud community.

Petersfield has long been underserved - 101.8 has long been networked without opt-outs meaning very little local information, Radio Sussex & Surrey and other commercial stations don’t cover here and Radio Solent are too big to show much of an interest.

There’d never been a long-term local radio station exclusively for the town and surrounding villages, so we seized the opportunity provided by lockdown and responded to demand for one more quickly than expected.

Initially, we'd planned to wait for small-scale DAB (which is still the endgame). Online-only will, of course, be a bigger challenge but the last few months have shown we can rise to it.

Our USP is that we’re all about Petersfield and a hub of the community with local voices, local stories and a trusted source of local information including daily local news & travel bulletins.

The volunteers live and work here. They couldn’t have a better understanding of the patch, and their reason for being involved is a commitment to public service rather than merely a love of radio.

Who else would run a 5-minute interview with Petersfield Lions about charity fundraising? Cover a wedding at the community hospital? Put listener questions to the owner of the town’s leisure centre? Regularly engage with local schools and parish councils?

This content, and more, makes us different from every other station - and gives folk a good reason to listen.

Running costs are minimal because we don’t have premises. Our PCs are based at a serviced office in town (which advertises with us in return) and host a remote VT server for presenters to record their shows from home with a quality mic and good acoustics.

While no presenter is ever physically live, we're just as reactive and have at least one person on standby to react in a timely manner were major local news to break.

Volunteers spent lockdown doing everything from home (shoutout to In:Quality’s ipDTL for making it so efficient), but since restrictions were eased we’ve been back out and about recording with guests on-location.

Fast-forward a month and Shine Radio is heard in homes and workplaces across “the Petersphere”.

We’re also providing companionship and entertainment for residents as linear radio has traditionally done better than any other medium.

Our daily round-up of news/information, which began at the start of the COVID-19 lockdown in March, continues - this and all our best speech content (shows/interviews) are also available as podcasts given the popularity of on-demand listening.

Personally, backed up by my involvement in the Petersfield project, I firmly believe that hyperlocal has to be the way forward for what has become known as local radio.

Why throw away an audience by chasing a dream?

I’m a HUGE supporter of the BBC and public serving broadcasting - quality impartial journalism that’s respected and relied upon worldwide, engaging educational content and distinctive creative output that can afford to take risks.

As the funding model continues to be debated, it’s worth remembering that your licence fee remains excellent value for money - in fact, even more so than ever:

📺📻📱 You may have seen this before, but it's good to be reminded of what you get for the licence fee... pic.twitter.com/XeVouSDIW0

— BBC Press Office (@bbcpress) February 6, 2020

Despite constant smears from people on both sides of the political spectrum (often via anonymous social media accounts), a recent survey by Ipsos MORI shows more than half of UK adults who follow the news say they’re most likely to turn to the BBC and it remains the most-trusted news source among Brits.

That’s not to say it is always right - after all, any broadcaster is capable of making mistakes and a public body must be held accountable.

Today, I’m focusing on one issue specifically: diverting too much focus and attention towards a younger audience.

Radio 2, like all radio stations, has evolved over time to continuously bring in new listeners who’ve grown older.

Unlike a more focused commercial radio, its remit is to have broad appeal AKA anyone over 35 (overall, so not trying to target a 35 year-old and a 75 year-old simultaneously - including specialist shows for niche audiences).

R2 has long, rightly, championed new adult contemporary music - melodic, harmonic pop/soft rock/ballads, including from UK artists - and, with fewer commercial stations also doing this today, that continues to be an important part of what makes it distinctive.

At Hampshire Hit Radio, our Currents playlist was carefully crafted with modern tracks that complemented the tried and tested core artists/songs which defined our station sound. In other words, if it didn’t sit nicely alongside the timeless classics our listeners know and love, it didn’t make the cut.

I’d argue, in the last couple of years, R2 has been noticeably less strict with more dance/urban music seeping through - including modern reworkings of iconic songs (e.g. What’s Love Got To Do With It and Dancing In The Moonlight).

Ken Bruce seemed less than impressed with having to play the new remix of Tina Turner’s 1984 hit last week.

Call me cynical but don’t you think his audience would much rather hear the original they grew up with than a "pointless" remake? (That’s a quote - I quite like it personally, but I’m not in the target demo!)

From yesterday - clearly not a fan of the new Tina Turner remix by Kygo either 😂 pic.twitter.com/ixlPODTQ63

— Harrison RB (@HarrisonRBRadio) August 6, 2020

To make matters worse, as the BBC attempt to drive a new younger audience for Radio 2 daytimes - with a clear increase in the number of currents, recurrents and hits from the last 30 years (a typical 44 year-old today was a key influencer of the charts in 1990) - they’re also trying to hang on to the existing one, meaning inconsistency.

Any other station couldn’t cut through today without a clear focus. Whichever demographic it chooses to serve, the station needs more aggressive targeting in daytime.

Looking at RAJAR, the main bulk of Radio 2′s listenership is aged 45-74 - but is it out of genuine loyalty or just routine? The station is helped by its heritage position, talent and inbuilt trust.

With steady decline among 35-44s over the last decade, you can see why R2 is repositioning to narrow the gap between itself and Radio 1 - but it’s risky business.

Perhaps more baffling is BBC Local Radio. The majority of its audience is 55+ and there’s a golden opportunity; these are people who listen to a lot of radio and we have an aging population.

In cutting costs, the BBC could create a solid offering with a mix of quality local content and network shows providing friendly company just for older listeners who are not as well served by commercial radio.

In October last year, Ofcom’s annual report suggested the BBC will need to do “much more” to attract young people to their services - but that doesn’t mean across all outlets nor that it should desert older demographics in doing so.

Chasing the dream of more younger listeners who already have a whole host of media that most are satisfied with, while tinkering with stations built for and successful with older audiences who are among the BBC’s strongest supporters and therefore alienating them, is a puzzling move.

I hope they think again.