WEBVTT 00:00:00.080 --> 00:00:02.759 Hello, I'm James Cridland, the radio futurologist, 00:00:02.759 --> 00:00:05.059 and this is Radioland, my international radio 00:00:05.059 --> 00:00:07.980 trends newsletter for October the 19th, 2025. 00:00:08.539 --> 00:00:12.939 New Tesla? It might not have a radio in it. Next 00:00:12.939 --> 00:00:15.919 year's cheapest Tesla, the base model Tesla Model 00:00:15.919 --> 00:00:21.199 3 Standard 2026, won't have a radio. Now, Teslas 00:00:21.199 --> 00:00:24.100 have never had AM radios, as I understand it, 00:00:24.160 --> 00:00:29.739 but at US $38 ,630. The Tesla Model 3 standard 00:00:29.739 --> 00:00:32.799 doesn't even list an FM radio in its list of 00:00:32.799 --> 00:00:35.259 options, according to a report in Motor Trends. 00:00:35.280 --> 00:00:38.039 They say, we had seen that there would be a less 00:00:38.039 --> 00:00:41.179 powerful radio option, but we weren't expecting 00:00:41.179 --> 00:00:43.899 the loss of a terrestrial radio connection in 00:00:43.899 --> 00:00:46.920 the standard trim's content. I've also spotted 00:00:46.920 --> 00:00:50.939 this in the Tesla US website. In a Tesla, the 00:00:50.939 --> 00:00:53.859 owner's manual says you have access to TuneIn 00:00:53.859 --> 00:00:56.700 and Apple Music. both of which do live radio 00:00:56.700 --> 00:00:59.320 stations, but you'll need some access to data. 00:00:59.460 --> 00:01:02.259 If you do want to access music and media streaming 00:01:02.259 --> 00:01:05.200 in your car, you'll need to buy access to premium 00:01:05.200 --> 00:01:08.680 connectivity, which is $9 .99 a month. Or you 00:01:08.680 --> 00:01:11.920 can use Bluetooth to your mobile, because Tesla 00:01:11.920 --> 00:01:15.540 don't support Apple CarPlay or Android Auto either. 00:01:16.400 --> 00:01:20.239 Tesla has seen sales slump in Europe. January 00:01:20.239 --> 00:01:23.640 to August sales were down 43 % in the EU, down 00:01:23.640 --> 00:01:27.219 33 % in Europe as a whole, and its market share 00:01:27.219 --> 00:01:31.480 in the US is the lowest since 2017, so pulling 00:01:31.480 --> 00:01:34.640 the radio out completely is hardly going to help 00:01:34.640 --> 00:01:38.760 the company's already battered reputation. In 00:01:38.760 --> 00:01:42.040 Brisbane, the commercial talk station 4BC has 00:01:42.040 --> 00:01:46.099 lost its breakfast presenter. This was Friday 00:01:46.099 --> 00:01:49.319 morning, just before nine, and Peter Feagan... 00:01:49.319 --> 00:01:52.079 I'm back 5 .30 Monday morning. Have a fantastic 00:01:52.079 --> 00:01:55.140 weekend. Look after yourselves, and as I like 00:01:55.140 --> 00:01:58.459 to say, be good, Brizzy. Be good, Brizzy. Yes, 00:01:58.500 --> 00:02:00.780 he had told listeners that he'd be back 5 .30 00:02:00.780 --> 00:02:04.599 Monday morning, but actually, no, he wouldn't 00:02:04.599 --> 00:02:06.939 be. I'd like to share with you some changes being 00:02:06.939 --> 00:02:10.219 made to the 4BC on -air line -up. Peter Feagan 00:02:10.219 --> 00:02:13.419 has finished up on -air as the host of 4BC Breakfast. 00:02:13.949 --> 00:02:16.110 Yes, Fegan, who'd been doing the show for just 00:02:16.110 --> 00:02:20.030 13 months, wasn't allowed to say goodbye. Another 00:02:20.030 --> 00:02:22.490 example of Australian commercial radio not caring 00:02:22.490 --> 00:02:25.069 about its audience, albeit there wasn't much 00:02:25.069 --> 00:02:28.150 of an audience to care about. Fegan had a 3 .6 00:02:28.150 --> 00:02:31.310 % share on Breakfast. Talk competitor ABC Radio 00:02:31.310 --> 00:02:34.949 Brisbane had 10 .1%. But for whatever reason, 00:02:34.969 --> 00:02:37.729 Australia likes to focus on listening share, 00:02:38.030 --> 00:02:41.810 but 4BC's share is driven by its high time spent 00:02:41.810 --> 00:02:45.300 listening. And a share figure hides how badly 00:02:45.300 --> 00:02:48.580 the station was actually doing in terms of audience. 00:02:48.740 --> 00:02:53.819 For the 5 .30 to 9am slot, just 77 ,000 listened 00:02:53.819 --> 00:02:57.800 to Fegan on 4BC. That's in comparison to 172 00:02:57.800 --> 00:03:02.639 ,000 to ABC Radio Brisbane, 69 ,000 to ABC News 00:03:02.639 --> 00:03:06.599 Radio and a pitiful 33 ,000 to ABC Radio National. 00:03:07.289 --> 00:03:08.870 And we shouldn't forget that all of these figures 00:03:08.870 --> 00:03:11.990 are taken over the last two survey periods and 00:03:11.990 --> 00:03:15.330 averaged. 4BC will have access to the more private 00:03:15.330 --> 00:03:18.349 one survey numbers and those may have shown a 00:03:18.349 --> 00:03:22.389 further trend down. I listened to Friday's 7 00:03:22.389 --> 00:03:26.590 till 8am hour. I heard Fegan run a very divisive 00:03:26.590 --> 00:03:28.490 phone -in subject on whether there should be 00:03:28.490 --> 00:03:30.969 a Greater Brisbane set up for lots of callers 00:03:30.969 --> 00:03:33.969 to call and say how much they hated other parts 00:03:33.969 --> 00:03:36.810 of Brisbane, egged on by Fegan. There was also 00:03:36.810 --> 00:03:39.990 an anti -renewable energy rant and a side about 00:03:39.990 --> 00:03:42.650 how the government is losing it. A 10 -minute 00:03:42.650 --> 00:03:44.969 interview with a man on a mobile phone from the 00:03:44.969 --> 00:03:47.210 Courier Mail on the Greater Brisbane idea and 00:03:47.210 --> 00:03:49.129 how bad it was. Actually, the journalist quite 00:03:49.129 --> 00:03:51.949 liked it. and five minutes of sports talk with 00:03:51.949 --> 00:03:55.150 a studio guest. He voiced five ads. We also heard 00:03:55.150 --> 00:03:57.789 six traffic reports with various sponsor credits 00:03:57.789 --> 00:04:00.870 and seven minutes of commercials. I heard nothing 00:04:00.870 --> 00:04:03.490 to make me proud of living in Brisbane, although 00:04:03.490 --> 00:04:05.629 perhaps that's not the point. Anyway, he's being 00:04:05.629 --> 00:04:09.349 filled in from Monday, temporarily, by a Channel 00:04:09.349 --> 00:04:12.780 9 weather reporter. Brett de Brits, who'd worked 00:04:12.780 --> 00:04:14.860 for the station as a producer for a while and 00:04:14.860 --> 00:04:17.319 is clearly still a committed listener, suggests 00:04:17.319 --> 00:04:20.779 that what works in Sydney, raging, angry announcers 00:04:20.779 --> 00:04:23.120 keen to berate and shout about whatever little 00:04:23.120 --> 00:04:25.860 thing upsets them, is not what works in Brisbane. 00:04:25.959 --> 00:04:28.579 And he may have a point. The talk personalities 00:04:28.579 --> 00:04:31.519 that seem to work in this market are people who 00:04:31.519 --> 00:04:33.879 you'd like to spend time with in the pub, whether 00:04:33.879 --> 00:04:36.339 it's Steve Austin, Loretta Ryan, Craig Zonker, 00:04:36.519 --> 00:04:39.439 Sophie Formica, Bill MacDonald, Ellen Fanning 00:04:39.439 --> 00:04:43.839 or others. In the UK, media regulator Ofcom is 00:04:43.839 --> 00:04:46.579 running a consultation on the availability of 00:04:46.579 --> 00:04:49.120 radio on smart speakers. They're suggesting that 00:04:49.120 --> 00:04:52.279 guaranteed access to UK radio will be required 00:04:52.279 --> 00:04:57.399 for Amazon Alexa, Google and Apple devices. Tradebody 00:04:57.399 --> 00:04:59.639 Radio Centre has explained what the legislation 00:04:59.639 --> 00:05:02.439 might mean. I'll link to that from my newsletter. 00:05:02.639 --> 00:05:05.180 And as ever, I think that's good thinking from 00:05:05.180 --> 00:05:08.470 Ofcom. And an interesting piece from Westwood 00:05:08.470 --> 00:05:11.910 One about how to make audio ads better. Brand 00:05:11.910 --> 00:05:15.050 early and often is decent advice. I had a rule 00:05:15.050 --> 00:05:17.329 of client name at least three times in every 00:05:17.329 --> 00:05:19.910 ad, though they're rather more aggressive. Less 00:05:19.910 --> 00:05:22.389 is more is also on the button, focusing on one 00:05:22.389 --> 00:05:25.310 thing to say and saying it well. They also suggest 00:05:25.310 --> 00:05:28.050 that humour works and using music as a sonic 00:05:28.050 --> 00:05:31.009 brand anchor is a good plan. It's a good article. 00:05:31.189 --> 00:05:36.180 You should head over and read that. Next, I'm 00:05:36.180 --> 00:05:39.000 speaking at Radio Days Europe in Riga, in Latvia, 00:05:39.079 --> 00:05:43.420 in March, which is very exciting. Maybe speaking 00:05:43.420 --> 00:05:45.779 in Sri Lanka a little bit later on in the year. 00:05:46.199 --> 00:05:48.480 I'm just waiting for that to either come back 00:05:48.480 --> 00:05:50.560 and say yes or come back and say absolutely not, 00:05:50.600 --> 00:05:54.160 James. No, no, no, go away. So you'll be the 00:05:54.160 --> 00:05:55.939 first to know. You won't be the first to know 00:05:55.939 --> 00:05:58.220 that this is a podcast. This is not how it works. 00:05:58.779 --> 00:06:04.459 Thank you to the supporters who support my newsletter 00:06:04.459 --> 00:06:07.660 and this podcast. How about Clyde Broadcast and 00:06:07.660 --> 00:06:11.959 Media Realm, Soma FM, named after the drug in 00:06:11.959 --> 00:06:15.899 Aldous Huxley's book, I was reminded the other 00:06:15.899 --> 00:06:21.019 day, and Radio King as well. Thank you to them. 00:06:21.079 --> 00:06:23.819 Thank you also to... Greg Strassel to Sam Phelps, 00:06:23.839 --> 00:06:25.839 Richard Hilton, Emma Gibbs, Jocelyn Abbey and 00:06:25.839 --> 00:06:27.560 James Masterton for being regular supporters. 00:06:27.899 --> 00:06:31.879 You, you, yes, you can support this newsletter 00:06:31.879 --> 00:06:35.699 and podcast at buymeacoffee .com slash James 00:06:35.699 --> 00:06:38.180 Cridland. You can become a member to give regularly 00:06:38.180 --> 00:06:40.180 or just give a one -off coffee or five if you 00:06:40.180 --> 00:06:43.620 like. 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