WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.020 I'm James Cridland, the radio futurologist, and 00:00:02.020 --> 00:00:04.540 this is Radioland, my radio trends newsletter. 00:00:04.740 --> 00:00:07.339 You can get it at radioland .email. And this 00:00:07.339 --> 00:00:10.339 is November the 16th, 2025. Tim Davey, Hart, 00:00:10.560 --> 00:00:14.960 AI Traffic, and ACMA again. I'm really sorry, 00:00:15.060 --> 00:00:17.679 James, but I won't be able to see your talk tomorrow. 00:00:17.839 --> 00:00:20.519 That was the last time Tim Davey, the Director 00:00:20.519 --> 00:00:24.120 General of the BBC, spoke to me at a public service 00:00:24.120 --> 00:00:28.800 broadcasting conference in Canada in 2024. Earlier, 00:00:28.839 --> 00:00:31.839 Tim had started his speech in a self -deprecating 00:00:31.839 --> 00:00:34.219 way, saying that overseas conferences like these 00:00:34.219 --> 00:00:36.539 he has to explain what Director General means, 00:00:36.719 --> 00:00:39.299 since virtually nobody knows. Apparently the 00:00:39.299 --> 00:00:41.719 usual reaction is, what, so you're in charge 00:00:41.719 --> 00:00:45.119 of the whole thing? Later that day, he came to 00:00:45.119 --> 00:00:48.140 find me, to apologise for having to leave early 00:00:48.140 --> 00:00:52.000 the next morning. That's the BBC's CEO... the 00:00:52.000 --> 00:00:54.240 man in charge of, by some measures, the biggest 00:00:54.240 --> 00:00:57.399 broadcaster in the world, who spent time to come 00:00:57.399 --> 00:01:00.299 and find me, an insignificant guy who writes 00:01:00.299 --> 00:01:02.740 a podcast newsletter for a living, and this newsletter 00:01:02.740 --> 00:01:05.659 for fun. And that made me feel quite special. 00:01:06.079 --> 00:01:09.019 Having worked at the BBC at the same time as 00:01:09.019 --> 00:01:11.480 Tim Davey, I was in two meetings with him during 00:01:11.480 --> 00:01:38.819 my entire career. And... And... No, if you're 00:01:38.819 --> 00:01:41.019 expecting me to opine about the BBC's current 00:01:41.019 --> 00:01:43.079 crisis, there'll be none of that. I would just 00:01:43.079 --> 00:01:46.420 gently point out that the public of the UK pay 00:01:46.420 --> 00:01:51.579 £3 .8 billion a year for the BBC. 84 % of UK 00:01:51.579 --> 00:01:55.799 adults use the BBC every week. 70 % of them thinks 00:01:55.799 --> 00:02:00.780 it does a good job. 62 % of them still believe 00:02:00.780 --> 00:02:04.439 BBC News is trustworthy in spite of every other 00:02:04.439 --> 00:02:08.379 media source telling them otherwise. every single 00:02:08.379 --> 00:02:11.979 day. So if Donald Trump really thinks that he 00:02:11.979 --> 00:02:15.319 deserves $5 billion of the UK's public money 00:02:15.319 --> 00:02:18.539 because he was badly edited, well, he needs to 00:02:18.539 --> 00:02:22.639 give his head a wobble. In Australia, Southern 00:02:22.639 --> 00:02:26.259 Cross Austereo has launched a radio service called 00:02:26.259 --> 00:02:29.400 Heart. And if you're expecting to be able to 00:02:29.400 --> 00:02:31.800 turn up the feel -good and enjoy a version of 00:02:31.800 --> 00:02:34.900 the vibrant heart from the UK, then you'll be 00:02:34.900 --> 00:02:37.490 disappointed. It's a non -stop music service 00:02:37.490 --> 00:02:40.830 promising interruption -free music with no talk, 00:02:40.969 --> 00:02:43.909 as long as you don't count the constant voiceovers 00:02:43.909 --> 00:02:48.110 between every song as either talk or interruptions. 00:02:48.689 --> 00:02:51.009 I'm speaking at Radio Days Europe next March 00:02:51.009 --> 00:02:53.250 about the future of radio, and as part of that, 00:02:53.349 --> 00:02:56.000 I've got opinions. about this sort of thing. 00:02:56.139 --> 00:02:59.159 If you want to hear a 30 -minute telescope of 00:02:59.159 --> 00:03:03.219 SCA's heart, then you can find one in my blog, 00:03:03.400 --> 00:03:05.780 which you'll find linked from the show notes 00:03:05.780 --> 00:03:09.099 today. A fun game is to count the number of different 00:03:09.099 --> 00:03:11.620 positioning statements in that 30 minutes of 00:03:11.620 --> 00:03:15.419 telescope's heart. I counted nine. Here's a little 00:03:15.419 --> 00:03:19.199 clip of one of their music positioners. You're 00:03:19.199 --> 00:03:30.240 listening to your heart. Relaxation. heart plays 00:03:30.240 --> 00:03:38.319 your relaxing soundtrack to a calmer day escape 00:03:38.319 --> 00:03:40.939 and unwind with heart's non -stop music variety 00:03:40.939 --> 00:03:51.289 and no talk listen to your heart Oh, sorry, I 00:03:51.289 --> 00:03:54.949 nodded off for a minute there. In the US, podcasting 00:03:54.949 --> 00:03:57.569 is probably the hottest category of media right 00:03:57.569 --> 00:04:00.349 now. That's according to none other than iHeart 00:04:00.349 --> 00:04:04.150 CEO Bob Pittman. iHeart Media announced its financial 00:04:04.150 --> 00:04:06.710 report for quarter three twenty five. Podcast 00:04:06.710 --> 00:04:09.310 revenue grew twenty two point five percent year 00:04:09.310 --> 00:04:11.330 on year to one hundred and thirty nine point 00:04:11.330 --> 00:04:14.979 seven million US dollars. About half of iHeart's 00:04:14.979 --> 00:04:18.480 podcasting advertising revenue came from iHeart's 00:04:18.480 --> 00:04:21.579 local sales force, and that figure was just 11 00:04:21.579 --> 00:04:27.379 % in Q3 2020. Podcasting contributed a record 00:04:27.379 --> 00:04:31.620 14 % to the business's revenue, and Pittman said, 00:04:31.779 --> 00:04:35.079 we believe we have the most profitable podcasting 00:04:35.079 --> 00:04:38.540 business in the United States. However, the multi 00:04:38.540 --> 00:04:41.019 -platform group which runs the radio stations 00:04:41.019 --> 00:04:45.540 saw revenue down 5%. The company announced an 00:04:45.540 --> 00:04:48.839 additional $50 million of savings for next year. 00:04:50.029 --> 00:04:53.069 Now, I covered AI -powered news last week, not 00:04:53.069 --> 00:04:55.709 particularly positively, but in the UK, Bauer 00:04:55.709 --> 00:04:59.329 are now producing AI -voiced travel news bulletins, 00:04:59.329 --> 00:05:02.569 working with INRIX. Bauer produces seemingly 00:05:02.569 --> 00:05:06.129 100 different versions of Greatest Hits Radio, 00:05:06.310 --> 00:05:09.420 if I've counted them correctly. and about 40 00:05:09.420 --> 00:05:11.860 versions of Hitz Radio, which is their top 40 00:05:11.860 --> 00:05:14.740 brand. Theoretically, at breakfast, this system 00:05:14.740 --> 00:05:18.399 could deliver more than 300 properly local travel 00:05:18.399 --> 00:05:21.959 bulletins in just one hour. As I understand it, 00:05:22.000 --> 00:05:24.579 the news is still humanly produced. It just uses 00:05:24.579 --> 00:05:27.899 AI voices. And for what it's worth, I think this 00:05:27.899 --> 00:05:30.920 is precisely what AI is good for, leading to 00:05:30.920 --> 00:05:34.160 better, more local information. I think it's 00:05:34.160 --> 00:05:36.360 quite impressive, particularly impressive when 00:05:36.360 --> 00:05:42.199 you listen to a little bit of audio. Laurie Fire 00:05:42.199 --> 00:05:44.579 has closed the A1 northbound from St Neots to 00:05:44.579 --> 00:05:47.939 Little Paxton with diversions via the A428 towards 00:05:47.939 --> 00:05:52.800 Cambridge, A1198 towards Godman Chester and A14 00:05:52.800 --> 00:05:56.139 back to the A1. The A47 is partially blocked 00:05:56.139 --> 00:05:58.360 eastbound at Cromwell Road in Wisbeach due to 00:05:58.360 --> 00:06:00.660 an accident. There are 10 -minute delays on the 00:06:00.660 --> 00:06:03.860 A1101 Elm High Road at the Elm Hall roundabout 00:06:03.860 --> 00:06:07.060 in Wisbeach, while queues on the A16 southbound 00:06:07.060 --> 00:06:09.920 at the A47 in Eye are causing 10 -minute delays. 00:06:09.839 --> 00:06:13.220 minute delays that's the latest travel with the 00:06:13.220 --> 00:06:17.160 rail app the home of hits radio music radio podcast 00:06:17.160 --> 00:06:20.800 download the rail app now nice to hear a northeastern 00:06:20.800 --> 00:06:24.149 accent as well on the radio too Now, in the UK, 00:06:24.389 --> 00:06:27.689 Jet, the radio trading system, has added digital 00:06:27.689 --> 00:06:30.550 audio trading, including podcasts, to its tool. 00:06:30.649 --> 00:06:33.930 It's working with Global's DAX and Bauer's AudioXI. 00:06:34.389 --> 00:06:36.529 Jet is a pretty cool thing, actually. It's been 00:06:36.529 --> 00:06:40.389 digitally trading linear radio since 2002, and 00:06:40.389 --> 00:06:43.730 it handles more than 98 % of national radio sales 00:06:43.730 --> 00:06:47.170 in the country. In the US, the opposite is happening, 00:06:47.269 --> 00:06:50.750 and buying platform StackAdapt announced an integration 00:06:50.750 --> 00:06:53.649 with iHeartMedia to incorporate broadcast radio 00:06:53.649 --> 00:06:56.569 into its programmatic ad planning tools that 00:06:56.569 --> 00:06:59.589 people are currently using for podcasts. Interesting 00:06:59.589 --> 00:07:03.649 times for both, nonetheless. In Canada, TuneIn 00:07:03.649 --> 00:07:06.730 has been acquired by Canadian broadcaster Stingray 00:07:06.730 --> 00:07:11.329 for as much as US $175 million. TuneIn maintains 00:07:11.329 --> 00:07:14.470 live radio and podcast databases used by companies 00:07:14.470 --> 00:07:17.050 like Apple, Google and auto manufacturers, but 00:07:17.050 --> 00:07:19.790 has made multiple layoffs over the past few years 00:07:19.790 --> 00:07:23.250 and removed the ability for podcasters to submit 00:07:23.250 --> 00:07:26.610 new podcasts into its database in February 2024. 00:07:27.389 --> 00:07:30.529 I'm quite excited to see new life breathed into 00:07:30.529 --> 00:07:33.870 TuneIn. would note that TuneIn's ads are sold 00:07:33.870 --> 00:07:37.509 in the US by iHeart. Stingray is a competitor 00:07:37.509 --> 00:07:43.009 of iHeart in Canada. In Australia, ARN issued 00:07:43.009 --> 00:07:45.970 a trading update warning that profit for this 00:07:45.970 --> 00:07:50.250 year is likely to be down 27 % and that October 00:07:50.250 --> 00:07:53.990 ad revenue is down 10 % year on year. In June, 00:07:54.149 --> 00:07:57.930 radio competitor SCA reported 5 % in year -on 00:07:57.930 --> 00:08:01.250 -year revenue growth, while ARN reported at the 00:08:01.250 --> 00:08:05.209 time a 7 % decline in revenue. You'd have to 00:08:05.209 --> 00:08:08.129 assume that the mad fudging witches, as I call 00:08:08.129 --> 00:08:10.819 them on this podcast, they are running a campaign 00:08:10.819 --> 00:08:13.600 against Kyle and Jackie O. That has resulted 00:08:13.600 --> 00:08:16.899 in more than 540 advertisers withdrawing from 00:08:16.899 --> 00:08:20.939 the show. And it also means that many radio stations 00:08:20.939 --> 00:08:23.779 who take the Kyle and Jackie O power hour, which 00:08:23.779 --> 00:08:27.959 is... an hour show that ARN provides across their 00:08:27.959 --> 00:08:30.879 network, are doing it entirely ad -free these 00:08:30.879 --> 00:08:34.100 days. Now, that presumably is having quite some 00:08:34.100 --> 00:08:38.019 effect on the revenue. ARN says it's going to 00:08:38.019 --> 00:08:40.879 make more cuts, by the way. Meanwhile, Kyle and 00:08:40.879 --> 00:08:44.799 Jackie O are still trousering $20 million a year. 00:08:45.480 --> 00:08:50.039 Speaking of which, breaking news, ACMA has acted 00:08:50.039 --> 00:08:54.169 against Kyle and Jackie O. No, wait, they've 00:08:54.169 --> 00:08:57.549 proposed action against Kyle and Jackie O. And 00:08:57.549 --> 00:09:00.789 the action they've proposed is that ARN has to 00:09:00.789 --> 00:09:04.750 follow the existing rules as a licence condition. 00:09:04.929 --> 00:09:08.809 Now, literally, that is it. It's now up to ARN 00:09:08.809 --> 00:09:12.210 to respond to ACMA's proposal by December 3rd. 00:09:12.789 --> 00:09:15.269 And then ACMA will think about their response. 00:09:15.309 --> 00:09:17.330 And then presumably next year at some point, 00:09:17.370 --> 00:09:20.470 ACMA will formally suggest that ARN must now 00:09:20.470 --> 00:09:24.070 follow the rules or else. Now, if this seems 00:09:24.070 --> 00:09:27.169 utterly pointless to you, as I understand it, 00:09:27.269 --> 00:09:31.429 ACMA actually lacks any authority to do anything 00:09:31.429 --> 00:09:34.149 unless it's a breach of a license condition. 00:09:34.529 --> 00:09:38.740 And the existing CRA code of practice isn't actually 00:09:38.740 --> 00:09:40.980 a licence condition. It's just a gentleman's 00:09:40.980 --> 00:09:43.080 agreement of what commercial radio will do. And 00:09:43.080 --> 00:09:45.460 I link to the commercial radio codes of practice 00:09:45.460 --> 00:09:48.580 and, for good measure, the community radio codes 00:09:48.580 --> 00:09:51.980 of practice as well from the newsletter this 00:09:51.980 --> 00:09:54.320 week. You might ask yourself why the Australian 00:09:54.320 --> 00:09:56.700 industry's codes of practice aren't de facto 00:09:56.700 --> 00:09:59.200 licence conditions, as I did, but who knows? 00:09:59.379 --> 00:10:02.279 I've asked ACMA about this via their public email 00:10:02.279 --> 00:10:04.700 address and got no response. And if they have 00:10:04.700 --> 00:10:07.080 a press office, well, it's very well hidden. 00:10:07.720 --> 00:10:10.600 from the press. Anyway, judging by Kyle's reaction, 00:10:10.860 --> 00:10:13.519 it seems that this could be quite serious. Now 00:10:13.519 --> 00:10:17.200 he's been told to follow the rules, Kyle is incensed, 00:10:17.399 --> 00:10:20.460 calling them fake complaints and threatening 00:10:20.460 --> 00:10:23.399 to leave. We can only hope. Meanwhile, radio 00:10:23.399 --> 00:10:26.779 expert Wade Kingsley, who supports this very 00:10:26.779 --> 00:10:29.740 newsletter, agrees with Kyle and thinks that 00:10:29.740 --> 00:10:32.159 any attempt to curb the obscenities he feeds 00:10:32.159 --> 00:10:36.120 his audience, 16 % of whom are kids, is, quotes, 00:10:36.259 --> 00:10:39.679 censorship. I would agree if Kyle wasn't using 00:10:39.679 --> 00:10:42.080 public spectrum. He can do what he likes online, 00:10:42.200 --> 00:10:44.519 but if you've been gifted public spectrum, which 00:10:44.519 --> 00:10:47.080 is there for everyone, you should at least attempt 00:10:47.080 --> 00:10:51.940 public decency. And by the way, ARN is gifted 00:10:51.940 --> 00:10:54.919 it. Commercial radio normally pays for access 00:10:54.919 --> 00:10:57.320 to public radio spectrum under the commercial 00:10:57.320 --> 00:11:01.379 broadcasting tax, which is $51 ,000 a year per 00:11:01.379 --> 00:11:05.259 transmitter for high density areas. That's about 00:11:05.259 --> 00:11:12.789 25 ,000. or US $33 ,000. This year, though, there's 00:11:12.789 --> 00:11:15.590 no charge for reasons of temporary relief, which 00:11:15.590 --> 00:11:17.610 reminds me of the contents of one of Carl's segments. 00:11:18.370 --> 00:11:22.110 And thank you to Radioland reader Henry for three, 00:11:22.149 --> 00:11:25.669 three coffees. He says, I discovered your newsletter 00:11:25.669 --> 00:11:28.889 inadvertently. and your coverage of the shifting 00:11:28.889 --> 00:11:31.350 BBC landscape has kept my interest. Thanks for 00:11:31.350 --> 00:11:33.769 all that you do. Well, thank you, Henry. That's 00:11:33.769 --> 00:11:36.250 good of you. Buymeacoffee .com slash James Cridland 00:11:36.250 --> 00:11:39.230 is where to buy me a coffee, just like Henry 00:11:39.230 --> 00:11:41.870 did. Next, I'm speaking at Radio Days Europe 00:11:41.870 --> 00:11:45.269 in Riga in Latvia in March. I know. Still not 00:11:45.269 --> 00:11:48.399 on a plane. It's brilliant. And I can now tell 00:11:48.399 --> 00:11:52.500 you the title and description of my talk, if 00:11:52.500 --> 00:11:54.480 you're interested. And this will probably come 00:11:54.480 --> 00:11:57.000 as a surprise to the organisers who want to listen 00:11:57.000 --> 00:11:59.580 to this. But anyway, the title is The Future 00:11:59.580 --> 00:12:02.980 of Audio is People Powered. The way people consume 00:12:02.980 --> 00:12:05.179 media is changing. James Cridland, the radio 00:12:05.179 --> 00:12:07.600 futurologist. That's me. takes a look at global 00:12:07.600 --> 00:12:10.720 trends in radio and on -demand. How will we listen? 00:12:10.840 --> 00:12:13.879 On which devices? How can we make our outputs 00:12:13.879 --> 00:12:17.120 truly unique? How do we do it in a resource -efficient 00:12:17.120 --> 00:12:20.600 way? And what part does video play in the future 00:12:20.600 --> 00:12:23.799 of audio? In this wide -ranging session, bringing 00:12:23.799 --> 00:12:26.139 together data from North America, Asia, Australia 00:12:26.139 --> 00:12:29.019 and Europe, we'll learn why the future is bright, 00:12:29.179 --> 00:12:31.960 as long as we understand why our audience comes 00:12:31.960 --> 00:12:36.289 to us in the first place. Blimey, I'd go. Anyway, 00:12:36.289 --> 00:12:39.610 RadioDaysEurope .com for your tickets if you 00:12:39.610 --> 00:12:42.429 wish to do that. I've never been to Latvia before. 00:12:42.509 --> 00:12:45.070 Looking forward to it. I better book the plane 00:12:45.070 --> 00:12:47.110 ticket. I say that every week. I should probably 00:12:47.110 --> 00:12:49.669 get on with it. And thank you to the supporters 00:12:49.669 --> 00:12:55.129 who support this very podcast and the newsletter 00:12:55.129 --> 00:12:59.159 every single week. Meliora. Thank you to you, 00:12:59.279 --> 00:13:04.740 Mr. Dickens et al. Also, Wade Kingsley, the wrongly 00:13:04.740 --> 00:13:08.539 headed creative coach. The good folks at Media 00:13:08.539 --> 00:13:12.500 Realm. Media Results Inc. and Radio King. All 00:13:12.500 --> 00:13:16.679 of those fine, fine people. Along with Greg Strassel, 00:13:16.779 --> 00:13:19.779 Sam Phelps. Or is it Greg Strassel? I should 00:13:19.779 --> 00:13:22.039 find out one day. Richard Hilton, Emma Gibbs, 00:13:22.200 --> 00:13:24.220 Jocelyn Abbey and James Masterton for being regular 00:13:24.220 --> 00:13:26.519 supporters. If you would like to support my work 00:13:26.519 --> 00:13:28.620 in any way, you can buy me a coffee, become a 00:13:28.620 --> 00:13:30.759 member to give regularly, or just give a one 00:13:30.759 --> 00:13:32.480 -off coffee or five, then that's absolutely fine. 00:13:32.700 --> 00:13:35.399 Buymeacoffee .com slash James Credland. And if 00:13:35.399 --> 00:13:38.200 you don't feel that you have to, absolutely fine. 00:13:39.139 --> 00:13:41.759 Please, if you can, that would be awesome too. 00:13:41.980 --> 00:13:45.220 And please do follow me on Mastodon, on the Fediverse, 00:13:45.440 --> 00:13:48.620 james at bne .social. That's B -N -E for Brisbane. 00:13:49.320 --> 00:13:52.879 james .bne .social. And my website has more details 00:13:52.879 --> 00:13:54.759 about who I am, what I do, and whether I can 00:13:54.759 --> 00:13:56.799 help you further. That is at james .cridland 00:13:56.799 --> 00:14:00.019 .net. And until next time, keep listening.