“New Media” Is Not the Problem

Radio is still hanging in

As reported in December 2009 Radio Inc., an updated report from Bridge Ratings, which has been tracking how consumers use multiple media since 1998, shows that neither satellite radio nor Internet streaming appears to be having a lasting effect on radio's cume or on loyalty among listeners.

Bridge looked at time spent with terrestrial radio, satellite radio, Internet radio, MP3 players, and HD Radio and reports that "terrestrial radio continues to dominate overall market penetration for the number of people listening for five minutes or longer in a typical week despite the number of options available." Radio reaches 92.3 percent of Americans in an average week, compared to 40 percent for MP3 players including iPods.

In a chart comparing radio's 12+ cumulative audience and its "favoriteness" rating, Bridge combined the numbers for cume and favoriteness to create an index between weekly tune-in of five minutes or more and listeners' preference for radio.

"By 2005," says Bridge, "the cumulative impact of all this new media had severely impacted consumers' preferences and though the weekly cume audience for AM/FM radio maintained fairly steady numbers, the relationship between radio's weekly listeners and their loyalty sagged. With a combination of consumer fatigue and the 'oh wow' factor associated with much of the new media's newness, this relationship has improved."

A better plan

So it seems radio is still alive but suffering from becoming over commoditized. We are drenched in ‘me too’ formats. We recognize the signs of trouble in our industry. We know that neither the new media nor the economy is hurting us as much as we like to use them to rationalize our lack of our rightful prosperity. Lest you think that all is doom and gloom, however, you’d be wrong. The future is bright for those brave enough to innovate, rethink old clichés and have the courage, wisdom and discipline to enter this next era of boundless opportunity for radio broadcasting.

My next  posts will provide insight on how to grow your station' revenues dramatically. They will proffer a wide variety of ways to fill our radio station’s “pipeline” of new and more valuable clients. As a result radio will grow both revenues and profits by:

  

• Getting much better results for current clients.
• Getting new and better clients.
• Earning more money from both current and new customers by pricing more effectively.
• Providing clients vastly improved customer service.
• Reorganizing your sales and marketing departments to better serve clients.
• Compensating sales departments to be more efficient and better aligned with client’s needs.
• Developing innovation to deliver better products and services.
• Growing your station’s audience in order to make your messages more effective for your clients.

 The first step is to begin getting better results for your clients.