WEBVTT 00:00:00.040 --> 00:00:02.879 Hello, I'm James Cridland, the radio futurologist, 00:00:02.980 --> 00:00:05.820 and I write a newsletter called Radioland, which 00:00:05.820 --> 00:00:09.000 you can get at james .cridland .net slash radioland. 00:00:09.580 --> 00:00:13.359 And this is it for October the 5th, 2025. ACMA, 00:00:13.560 --> 00:00:18.219 you should kick Kyle off FM radio. As much media 00:00:18.219 --> 00:00:21.440 movement in Australia, SCA, are to merge with 00:00:21.440 --> 00:00:24.460 7 West Media. That brings together Australia's 00:00:24.460 --> 00:00:28.039 largest radio company, worth $206 million. They 00:00:28.039 --> 00:00:30.780 own 86 radio stations, including Triple M and 00:00:30.780 --> 00:00:33.719 the Hit Network. And Australia's second biggest 00:00:33.920 --> 00:00:39.359 Television Network worth $223 million and 7 West 00:00:39.359 --> 00:00:42.320 also own the leading newspaper in West Australia. 00:00:42.899 --> 00:00:46.780 It's subject to two separate regulatory approvals, 00:00:47.100 --> 00:00:50.399 though both are unlikely to be major showstoppers. 00:00:50.780 --> 00:00:53.479 As a merger, it makes good sense to similar -sized 00:00:53.479 --> 00:00:55.979 companies with plenty of synergies to benefit 00:00:55.979 --> 00:01:00.710 from. Meanwhile, trouble at ARN. ACMA, the Australian 00:01:00.710 --> 00:01:05.030 media regulator, has again ruled against ARN's 00:01:05.030 --> 00:01:09.689 Kyle and Jackie O for quotes repeatedly and deliberately 00:01:09.689 --> 00:01:13.010 airing content that is vulgar, sexually explicit 00:01:13.010 --> 00:01:17.969 and deeply offensive. ACMA has so far found 12 00:01:17.969 --> 00:01:22.609 breaches in 2025 alone. ACMA, the weightiest 00:01:22.609 --> 00:01:25.590 of all global media regulators, is currently 00:01:25.590 --> 00:01:29.540 thinking about what to do next. Well, a day after 00:01:29.540 --> 00:01:32.859 ACMA nervously released their timid pronouncement, 00:01:33.260 --> 00:01:36.239 ARN CEO Kieran Davis announced he was to step 00:01:36.239 --> 00:01:39.319 down. He'll be replaced by Chief Operating Officer 00:01:39.319 --> 00:01:42.840 Michael Stevenson. The ACMA report wasn't mentioned. 00:01:43.780 --> 00:01:47.219 ACMA has the power to pull Kyle and Jackie O 00:01:47.219 --> 00:01:50.719 off the public radio spectrum. They have the 00:01:50.719 --> 00:01:53.540 power to pull the licenses for Kiss in Sydney 00:01:53.540 --> 00:01:56.840 and Melbourne all together. Or they have the 00:01:56.840 --> 00:01:59.579 power to do nothing at all except wring their 00:01:59.579 --> 00:02:02.480 hands in an awkward way. Prime Minister Anthony 00:02:02.480 --> 00:02:05.079 Albanese went to Kyle's wedding after all and 00:02:05.079 --> 00:02:07.560 who would want to upset one of the Prime Minister's 00:02:07.560 --> 00:02:10.939 friends? However, it's difficult to square a 00:02:10.939 --> 00:02:14.300 wet and weedy ACMA decision with Australia's 00:02:14.300 --> 00:02:17.020 upcoming ban of all social media websites for 00:02:17.020 --> 00:02:19.819 under -16s, which comes into force in December. 00:02:20.780 --> 00:02:24.020 Why should YouTube be banned in December to under 00:02:24.020 --> 00:02:27.409 -16s? when you can listen to much worse content. 00:02:27.789 --> 00:02:30.729 If you read the full ACMA investigation, you'll 00:02:30.729 --> 00:02:34.050 read all of the eye -watering transcripts. So 00:02:34.050 --> 00:02:37.590 why should YouTube be banned when you can listen 00:02:37.590 --> 00:02:41.030 to that on an FM radio station during the school 00:02:41.030 --> 00:02:44.270 run? How can Anthony Albanese claim he's on the 00:02:44.270 --> 00:02:46.909 side of families when his own media regulator 00:02:46.909 --> 00:02:50.030 is allowing this kind of content to continue 00:02:50.030 --> 00:02:54.180 on free -to -air FM radio? I would suggest that 00:02:54.180 --> 00:02:58.800 ACMA have no option but to act quickly and decisively 00:02:58.800 --> 00:03:01.960 and require that Kyle and Jackie O are removed 00:03:01.960 --> 00:03:05.199 from the public broadcast spectrum for a 12 month 00:03:05.199 --> 00:03:08.240 period. Kyle and Jackie O can continue their 00:03:08.240 --> 00:03:12.300 lurid games behind an age verification tool on 00:03:12.300 --> 00:03:15.650 the company's iHeartRadio app if they like. And 00:03:15.650 --> 00:03:17.930 curiously, that would be good for Australians 00:03:17.930 --> 00:03:20.530 who wouldn't hear this crap on the FM dial. It 00:03:20.530 --> 00:03:23.530 would be good for pressure group MFW, who have 00:03:23.530 --> 00:03:26.289 been successfully persuading advertisers to boycott 00:03:26.289 --> 00:03:29.830 the programme. And it would be good for ARN and 00:03:29.830 --> 00:03:32.689 Kyle and Jackie Oh, who would be uncensored and 00:03:32.689 --> 00:03:35.530 free, and they could have a significant effect 00:03:35.530 --> 00:03:38.550 on the take -up of online radio, for those who 00:03:38.550 --> 00:03:42.680 really want it. Elsewhere, with the plethora 00:03:42.680 --> 00:03:44.939 of social media tools these days, it can be difficult 00:03:44.939 --> 00:03:47.919 to monitor them all. So congratulations to Radioland 00:03:47.919 --> 00:03:50.460 supporter Studio, who've launched a very cool 00:03:50.460 --> 00:03:53.159 looking studio panel that brings together all 00:03:53.159 --> 00:03:55.479 of your messages together, including email, along 00:03:55.479 --> 00:03:58.199 with weather information and a phone system. 00:03:58.659 --> 00:04:01.400 The company is based in Melbourne and has been 00:04:01.400 --> 00:04:05.300 operating for seven years under the name of Broadcast 00:04:05.300 --> 00:04:09.659 Launch. I guess they finally launched. So congratulations 00:04:09.659 --> 00:04:12.659 to them. Studio is spelled with two i's if you 00:04:12.659 --> 00:04:15.699 want to learn more about that. So that's studio 00:04:15.699 --> 00:04:19.350 with two i's dot i -o. I was interviewed about 00:04:19.350 --> 00:04:22.189 FM Switch Off and DAB Plus and IP for Italian 00:04:22.189 --> 00:04:26.889 publication Newslinnet. I linked to that today 00:04:26.889 --> 00:04:30.949 from my newsletter. I also have a new portable 00:04:30.949 --> 00:04:33.709 travel radio. Chances are that the listeners 00:04:33.709 --> 00:04:36.889 of this podcast will be the ideal audience for 00:04:36.889 --> 00:04:41.050 it. It's the Deep Elec DP666. I've reviewed it 00:04:41.050 --> 00:04:43.889 in tedious length on my blog and lucky for you, 00:04:43.889 --> 00:04:46.449 I've also reviewed it in tedious length on this 00:04:46.449 --> 00:04:49.220 podcast as well. So go and have a listen to that. 00:04:49.360 --> 00:04:51.800 It's the geekiest, least consumer -friendly radio 00:04:51.800 --> 00:04:55.300 you'll see, but I bet you want one too. After 00:04:55.300 --> 00:04:57.759 I was sad about the lack of awards for radio 00:04:57.759 --> 00:05:00.639 and audio in Australia after the closure of the 00:05:00.639 --> 00:05:04.870 Akras, Radioland reader Danae Gibson of RTRFM 00:05:04.870 --> 00:05:07.430 reminds me of the continued existence of the 00:05:07.430 --> 00:05:10.529 CBAA Community Broadcasting Awards. Quite right. 00:05:10.750 --> 00:05:13.670 Thank you for that. Rayjar has released the Midas 00:05:13.670 --> 00:05:16.829 study for summer 2025. It's a comprehensive look 00:05:16.829 --> 00:05:18.949 at all of the different types of audio listened 00:05:18.949 --> 00:05:21.790 to in the UK, with a nice graph showing the growth 00:05:21.790 --> 00:05:24.889 of connected audio, which is increasing significantly 00:05:24.889 --> 00:05:27.629 both in terms of reach, but also in terms of 00:05:27.629 --> 00:05:30.680 time spent listening. Catch -up radio in Midas 00:05:30.680 --> 00:05:33.639 is separated out, and consumption of that is 00:05:33.639 --> 00:05:38.240 really interesting. Computers account for 20 00:05:38.240 --> 00:05:41.319 % of listening time to catch -up radio. Mobile 00:05:41.319 --> 00:05:46.360 phones, well, three times as long, 58 % of listening 00:05:46.360 --> 00:05:49.680 time of catch -up radio. Speaking of catch -up 00:05:49.680 --> 00:05:52.540 radio, a month after I last mentioned it, worthwhile 00:05:52.540 --> 00:05:55.779 pointing it out again, the BBC International 00:05:55.779 --> 00:05:58.790 website contains lots of play buttons to listen 00:05:58.790 --> 00:06:03.089 again to Radio 4 output. The BBC app on mobile, 00:06:03.110 --> 00:06:05.970 internationally, contains no such buttons at 00:06:05.970 --> 00:06:08.629 all. For the reasons why this makes no sense, 00:06:09.350 --> 00:06:12.569 please wind your podcast back 60 seconds and 00:06:12.569 --> 00:06:15.230 have a listen again. Where am I speaking next? 00:06:15.329 --> 00:06:17.009 Well, I'm not speaking anywhere until March. 00:06:17.410 --> 00:06:20.269 Hooray! Radio Days Europe is where I will next 00:06:20.269 --> 00:06:22.810 be speaking in Riga, in Latvia. Looking forward 00:06:22.810 --> 00:06:27.209 to that. That's in March 22nd to the 24th. 2026, 00:06:27.250 --> 00:06:29.910 I should book my flights, I suppose. That would 00:06:29.910 --> 00:06:33.149 be fun. Gosh, I really want to do more flying. 00:06:34.350 --> 00:06:38.850 And thank you so much to many of my supporters, 00:06:38.970 --> 00:06:40.589 in fact, all of my supporters. I mean, thank 00:06:40.589 --> 00:06:43.310 you to all of those, including Broadcast Radio, 00:06:43.529 --> 00:06:47.550 including the creative coach, Wade Kingsley, 00:06:48.610 --> 00:06:52.649 also Joukwa and Soma FM and Studio, of course, 00:06:52.750 --> 00:06:55.680 let's not forget them with two I's. Plus Greg 00:06:55.680 --> 00:06:58.259 Strassel, Sam Phelps, Richard Hilton, Emma Gibbs, 00:06:58.680 --> 00:07:02.100 Jocelyn Abbey and James Masterson for being regular 00:07:02.100 --> 00:07:03.800 supporters. If you would like to support my work 00:07:03.800 --> 00:07:07.220 in any way, you can buy me a coffee. Buymeacoffee 00:07:07.220 --> 00:07:09.779 .com slash James Cridland is where to do that. 00:07:09.939 --> 00:07:15.319 I'm on BlueSky at james .crid .land or I'm on 00:07:15.319 --> 00:07:20.819 Mastodon at James at BNE .social and my website 00:07:20.819 --> 00:07:22.899 has more details about who I am and what I do 00:07:22.899 --> 00:07:24.360 and whether I could help you further. I should 00:07:24.360 --> 00:07:27.459 really fix my james .cridland website as well, 00:07:27.540 --> 00:07:29.579 shouldn't I? I can't go and do that in a minute. 00:07:30.339 --> 00:07:32.360 Anyway, you can find that at james .cridland 00:07:32.360 --> 00:07:35.879 .net. Yes, james .cridland .net and until next 00:07:35.879 --> 00:07:37.240 time, keep listening.