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performers are recorded for and
broadcast on the BBC’s pop music
stations Radio 1 and Radio 2 as well
as being made available in video
online and on digital TV.
IMAGINATIVE INNOVATION
At the same time as these video
initiatives supporting radio
programmes, technological
developments are being harnessed
to deliver an ever better service to
audiences. The BBC’s Responsive
Radio project allows listeners to
choose the length of the spoken
word radio programme they want
to hear on demand. A documentary
programme that is, for example, 28’
or 57’ in duration can be shortened
automatically using something the
BBC’s Research and Development
department calls object-based
broadcasting. Listeners might want
to download a programme for a
specific journey on the bus or train.
Suppose that listener’s journey is
18’. Using Responsive Radio, the
listener can choose to listen to the
same programme, changing the
amount of detail it gives them to fit
the length of time they want to
listen. Since programmes are made
up of different items – or objects –
In the UK, commercial radio
revenue stands at around £483m
while the BBC’s spend on its
domestic radio services is about
£725m .
In many markets, radio revenues
are growing, bucking the trend that
exists in some sectors of the media,
such as print.
Direct revenues are not the only
business issue that we need to
consider when looking at the radio
industry. Companies that supply
products and services to radio
broadcasters – from transmission
providers to news agencies – play a
significant role across the industry,
helping generate revenues,
stimulate research and
development and create jobs.
Independent producers of
programmes also benefit from the
robust radio industry in many parts
of the world, as more broadcasters
seek new ideas from outside their
organisations to keep schedules
fresh and inspirational.
With so much music played on
radio stations locally, nationally
and even internationally, the music
industry accrues benefits from
radio. A good number of artists
owe their successful careers to
radio after their songs were
broadcast on national stations for
the first time. Some, like Taylor
Swift, have decided that online
streaming services like Spotify
simply don’t provide fair payment
for artists.
This is another area where radio
scores – payment for music played
on radio has been successfully
negotiated by performing rights
societies around the world, with
collection systems in place that
reward musicians and performers
for the needle-time that their work
receives.
ROBUST RESPONSE
There is no doubting the fact that
radio faces competition for the
attention of its audience in huge
areas of the world. Television is
booming in previously ‘radio-only’
areas of Africa, Asia and Latin
America. Tablets and mobiles are
becoming commonplace
everywhere, bringing with them a
wealth of choice of content –
provided, of course, you can afford
the data costs or the subscription
fees.
Radio is responding robustly to
these – and other – challenges by
innovating to ensure its relevance
in the always-on 21st century.
Webcams in studios were
introduced some years ago,
providing listeners with a behind
the scenes view of what the
presenter does in the studio. Today,
those experiments have been
extended to live streaming and on-
demand video. In Paris, news and
current affairs station Europe 1
provides videos of key interviews
distributed via on-demand
platforms such as Dailymotion with
links from Facebook.
In the UK, the flagship news and
current affairs programme
Today
on
BBC Radio 4 has had HD cameras
installed for some time and
routinely produces video
recordings of high profile
interviews and stories that are
available on demand via the BBC
website and on social platforms
such as Facebook.
In music, live sessions by top
06
|
WORLD RADIO DAY 2016
|
CELEBRATING RADIO
THE BUSINESS OF RADIO
|
CONTEXT
”
It’s the
free-to-air
offer that
helpsmake
radio a
commercial
success
“