WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.759 Hello, I'm James Cridland, the radio futurologist, 00:00:02.759 --> 00:00:06.480 and this is Radioland, my weekly radio trends 00:00:06.480 --> 00:00:09.220 newsletter. It's obviously just had a week off 00:00:09.220 --> 00:00:12.279 for Christmas, and normally I'd wait until next 00:00:12.279 --> 00:00:14.419 week to send out the first Radioland of the year, 00:00:14.460 --> 00:00:16.559 but there's already too much news, so here we 00:00:16.559 --> 00:00:20.699 are, and happy new year to you. This is Radio 00:00:20.699 --> 00:00:24.379 Centre's last year and closures as we move into 00:00:24.379 --> 00:00:29.039 2026, and this podcast is sponsored by rss .com. 00:00:30.089 --> 00:00:32.909 Now, I've long been impressed at Radio Centre 00:00:32.909 --> 00:00:35.509 in the UK. It's a vibrant trade body for the 00:00:35.509 --> 00:00:37.609 radio industry, which is probably a good reason 00:00:37.609 --> 00:00:41.450 why UK radio is so well thought of and so successful. 00:00:41.609 --> 00:00:44.090 And they've just published their annual review 00:00:44.090 --> 00:00:47.310 2025, which is only two pages, but there's a 00:00:47.310 --> 00:00:50.810 lot there. If you're not in the UK, can you say 00:00:50.810 --> 00:00:53.369 that your own trade organisation has done as 00:00:53.369 --> 00:00:57.000 much as Radio Centre has in the past year? Now 00:00:57.000 --> 00:01:00.140 here's a new radio station in Montgomery in Alabama. 00:01:00.750 --> 00:01:02.890 Turn your radios up. What if your radio station 00:01:02.890 --> 00:01:05.790 actually listened to what you play? The new Streams 00:01:05.790 --> 00:01:09.370 100 .5 is powered by what you stream. Every song, 00:01:09.650 --> 00:01:12.629 every week. Hey. Yo, it's your boy Chris. Hey, 00:01:13.090 --> 00:01:15.670 guys. It's your big party. We track millions 00:01:15.670 --> 00:01:18.010 of local streams right here in Montgomery and 00:01:18.010 --> 00:01:20.870 turn your choices into the city's unique playlist. 00:01:21.049 --> 00:01:23.569 You pick the hits. We put them on the air. Hey, 00:01:23.569 --> 00:01:25.409 what's up? This is SZA. What up? This is Drake. 00:01:25.469 --> 00:01:30.239 Streams 100 .5. Powered by what you play. Well, 00:01:30.280 --> 00:01:32.299 it's an interesting idea. It's choosing its entire 00:01:32.299 --> 00:01:35.219 playlist based on music streaming stats for the 00:01:35.219 --> 00:01:38.359 city. The station says it's a first ever. It's 00:01:38.359 --> 00:01:40.859 using a service called StreamStats from Bridge 00:01:40.859 --> 00:01:44.099 Ratings. And if the data is filtered for the 00:01:44.099 --> 00:01:46.599 age group that this station is aiming for, then 00:01:46.599 --> 00:01:48.900 it sounds like an interesting way to produce 00:01:48.900 --> 00:01:52.079 a music policy. Although if it just offers the 00:01:52.079 --> 00:01:53.859 same music you can get on your streaming device, 00:01:54.040 --> 00:01:56.000 but with horrible ads and no way to skip the 00:01:56.000 --> 00:01:58.799 bad songs, then I kind of wonder why you'd want 00:01:58.799 --> 00:02:02.709 to tune in. Christian O 'Connell's new national 00:02:02.709 --> 00:02:05.510 breakfast show here in Australia starts on Sydney's 00:02:05.510 --> 00:02:09.610 Gold 101 .7 later this month, but he did a week 00:02:09.610 --> 00:02:14.050 in Sydney just for Sydney before Christmas. A 00:02:14.050 --> 00:02:16.830 bit of a baptism of fire given his week was directly 00:02:16.830 --> 00:02:19.689 after the atrocity in Bondi Beach, but Christian 00:02:19.689 --> 00:02:23.330 is a professional broadcaster who knew how to 00:02:23.330 --> 00:02:25.469 pitch things. So I'm aware that some of you might 00:02:25.469 --> 00:02:30.439 be tuning in right now going, who is this? Please 00:02:30.439 --> 00:02:32.240 tell me the radio's broken. It's not an English 00:02:32.240 --> 00:02:34.539 guy, is it? It's the last thing we need this 00:02:34.539 --> 00:02:37.740 week. It's an uninvited Englishman suddenly on 00:02:37.740 --> 00:02:42.000 the radio. I'm Christian O 'Connell, and we are 00:02:42.000 --> 00:02:45.199 the show that is going to be replacing Jonesy 00:02:45.199 --> 00:02:47.659 and Amanda. And the good news for you guys is 00:02:47.659 --> 00:02:49.599 you're going to have two great shows come January 00:02:49.599 --> 00:02:51.960 on this radio station. We're going to be waking 00:02:51.960 --> 00:02:53.680 you up, and then Jonesy and Amanda are going 00:02:53.680 --> 00:02:55.580 to be taking you home. This is going to be some 00:02:55.580 --> 00:02:58.810 radio station for Australia. Now, the whole thing 00:02:58.810 --> 00:03:01.129 is going to be available as a podcast. And you'll 00:03:01.129 --> 00:03:04.669 recall that Smartmaster Kyle didn't even bother 00:03:04.669 --> 00:03:07.610 going to Melbourne before his launch. So already 00:03:07.610 --> 00:03:10.650 Christian seems to be doing things well. Now, 00:03:10.650 --> 00:03:13.009 clearly, ARN is missing a trick by not putting 00:03:13.009 --> 00:03:15.889 this show onto 97 .3 in Brisbane. It will, though, 00:03:15.930 --> 00:03:18.969 be on DAB +, which a third of Australians use 00:03:18.969 --> 00:03:22.319 every week in the cap cities. Gold would be a 00:03:22.319 --> 00:03:24.939 clear market leader given an FM frequency, but 00:03:24.939 --> 00:03:28.900 instead ARN is using KISS 97 .3 to compete against 00:03:28.900 --> 00:03:32.719 two other top 40 format stations on FM, leaving 00:03:32.719 --> 00:03:37.599 the only oldies FM outlet. to the tired, sports 00:03:37.599 --> 00:03:40.939 -infused Dad Rock Triple M, and nothing else 00:03:40.939 --> 00:03:44.659 grown up for anyone over the age of 35. Gold 00:03:44.659 --> 00:03:47.580 97 .3 is the obvious choice, and as a Christmas 00:03:47.580 --> 00:03:51.939 present ARN, I've bought gold973 .com .au for 00:03:51.939 --> 00:03:54.319 you. It's all safe and sound for when you launch. 00:03:54.520 --> 00:03:58.879 Just ask gold973 .com .au, which weirdly already 00:03:58.879 --> 00:04:04.569 works. In Canada, Numeris published some listening 00:04:04.569 --> 00:04:07.810 trends for quarter 3 .25. There's more listening 00:04:07.810 --> 00:04:11.150 to radio at home. And Edison Research has actually 00:04:11.150 --> 00:04:14.030 said something similar about at -home audio listening 00:04:14.030 --> 00:04:17.129 in the US as well. Average weekly hours per listener 00:04:17.129 --> 00:04:20.069 is also listed in the data. Most markets are 00:04:20.069 --> 00:04:24.069 up. Radio streaming accounts for between 12 % 00:04:24.069 --> 00:04:27.550 and 16 % of total radio audience through the 00:04:27.550 --> 00:04:31.730 workday. Here we are in 2025 and live radio is 00:04:31.730 --> 00:04:35.629 hitting a peak of just 16 % of total radio listening 00:04:35.629 --> 00:04:39.750 online. Does Radio Player Canada or iHeartRadio 00:04:39.750 --> 00:04:44.189 Canada or any of those apps only get 16 % of 00:04:44.189 --> 00:04:47.430 all mentions on air? I bet it doesn't. I was 00:04:47.430 --> 00:04:52.490 interested to be interviewed on ABC Radio Brisbane 00:04:52.490 --> 00:04:57.509 and ABC Radio Perth about AM's future. and the 00:04:57.509 --> 00:05:02.850 ABC Radio Perth switching to FM. You can listen 00:05:02.850 --> 00:05:05.470 and watch to those. You'll find a link in the 00:05:05.470 --> 00:05:08.709 newsletter version of this podcast. Also, Spotify 00:05:08.709 --> 00:05:11.930 has added a playlist mix feature, which I've 00:05:11.930 --> 00:05:15.069 tried, and it's fatally flawed, rather unfortunately. 00:05:15.329 --> 00:05:17.990 Otherwise, it would be pretty good, but you can't 00:05:17.990 --> 00:05:21.589 quite use it if you just want to make some nice 00:05:21.589 --> 00:05:25.800 mixtapes, which is a bit of a shame. Now... Goodness, 00:05:25.959 --> 00:05:28.139 there's been a lot of closures over the last 00:05:28.139 --> 00:05:33.000 couple of weeks. For a start, MTV closed down 00:05:33.000 --> 00:05:36.240 all of its music channels. Its last song, Video 00:05:36.240 --> 00:05:39.959 Killed the Radio Star, of course, calmer. The 00:05:39.959 --> 00:05:42.660 BBC interviewed Ray Cokes from MTV Europe. He 00:05:42.660 --> 00:05:45.839 used to get 2 ,500 letters every day, he said. 00:05:46.709 --> 00:05:49.290 It's quite a good interview. You should go and 00:05:49.290 --> 00:05:51.850 take a peek at that. One of the things that he 00:05:51.850 --> 00:05:55.850 says was kind of the death knell of MTV was when 00:05:55.850 --> 00:05:58.170 it stopped being MTV Europe and it started having 00:05:58.170 --> 00:06:00.990 UK versions and versions for Germany and versions 00:06:00.990 --> 00:06:03.209 for France. And he said the community, which 00:06:03.209 --> 00:06:05.790 had grown up, of people feeling very European 00:06:05.790 --> 00:06:08.410 and feeling very much as if they were in touch 00:06:08.410 --> 00:06:10.449 with everything, all of that community just went 00:06:10.449 --> 00:06:13.189 away. And I think that's an interesting story 00:06:13.189 --> 00:06:16.810 about radio, perhaps, as well. Now, while the 00:06:16.810 --> 00:06:20.430 last 10 minutes of Absolute Radio on 12 .15 was 00:06:20.430 --> 00:06:22.790 spent with a beautifully crafted piece of audio, 00:06:23.329 --> 00:06:26.529 the last song played on MTV's music channel just 00:06:26.529 --> 00:06:29.389 faded away, and it was replaced with a rotating 00:06:29.389 --> 00:06:33.029 logo with some scrolling text, the first part 00:06:33.029 --> 00:06:36.829 of which said, default text. Yes, if MTV meant 00:06:36.829 --> 00:06:39.209 anything to you, it clearly didn't mean anything 00:06:39.209 --> 00:06:43.680 to its final owners. In Ireland, RTE Plus, RTE 00:06:43.680 --> 00:06:48.720 2XM, RTE Junior and RTE Radio 1 Extra, all closed. 00:06:49.000 --> 00:06:52.500 I link to closing audio from 2XM. They played 00:06:52.500 --> 00:06:56.939 Joy Division's Transmission and RTE Pulse, which 00:06:56.939 --> 00:06:59.399 played Ultra Cynics' Nothing Is Forever. Nice 00:06:59.399 --> 00:07:02.509 choices. Also closing audio from Radio 1 Extra, 00:07:02.629 --> 00:07:05.189 which was very weird. It just ended with a back 00:07:05.189 --> 00:07:07.709 announce of a just finished show by a continuity 00:07:07.709 --> 00:07:09.790 announcer. You've just been listening to Democracy 00:07:09.790 --> 00:07:12.629 Now! And then a few seconds of some rubbish jazz, 00:07:12.850 --> 00:07:15.209 followed by a little Barker channel saying this 00:07:15.209 --> 00:07:17.370 station is no longer broadcasting. What a graceless 00:07:17.370 --> 00:07:19.910 finish that was. The stations were additional 00:07:19.910 --> 00:07:25.089 services for DAB, but RTE closed its DAB services 00:07:25.089 --> 00:07:29.009 in 2021. and those services have only been online 00:07:29.009 --> 00:07:33.089 and via TV since. Notably though, RTE Gold is 00:07:33.089 --> 00:07:36.410 continuing. I'll link to a lovely last column 00:07:36.410 --> 00:07:38.649 from Perry Michael Simon, who's an excellent 00:07:38.649 --> 00:07:40.670 writer about radio who'll be missed. He says 00:07:40.670 --> 00:07:44.050 he'll be happily be bought lunch by anybody in 00:07:44.050 --> 00:07:46.009 South Florida. I don't know him well enough to 00:07:46.009 --> 00:07:48.470 ask. And when I'll be in Florida in a week or 00:07:48.470 --> 00:07:50.129 so, he'll still be more than two hours drive 00:07:50.129 --> 00:07:52.629 away. But I hope he enjoys not having to write 00:07:52.629 --> 00:07:54.810 the thing every week. He's one of those that 00:07:54.810 --> 00:07:58.069 really cares about the industry. And I wish him 00:07:58.069 --> 00:08:02.560 a long and happy retirement. Now, more AM switch 00:08:02.560 --> 00:08:05.500 -off news. In Colombia, Sports Talk National 00:08:05.500 --> 00:08:09.439 Format Antenna 2 went off air on December 31st. 00:08:09.480 --> 00:08:12.079 Its owner, RCN Radio, is also switching many 00:08:12.079 --> 00:08:15.439 of its other AM services to FM, or switching 00:08:15.439 --> 00:08:18.540 AM frequencies for Alerta, which is its local 00:08:18.540 --> 00:08:22.300 network, and La FM, which is National Talk. Earlier 00:08:22.300 --> 00:08:24.959 in the year, it made a significant reorganisation 00:08:24.959 --> 00:08:27.480 of its stations, removing many local brands. 00:08:28.159 --> 00:08:31.540 It's been going since 1949, RCN Radio. It's a 00:08:31.540 --> 00:08:33.220 commercial broadcaster. It's owned by a company 00:08:33.220 --> 00:08:35.879 that also owns soft drinks, textiles, a football 00:08:35.879 --> 00:08:40.460 team, car dealers and farming equipment. In Thailand, 00:08:40.779 --> 00:08:47.259 1 ,993 community FM frequencies were placed up 00:08:47.259 --> 00:08:49.840 for auction. The government raised just over 00:08:49.840 --> 00:08:55.899 $2 million from that auction, with 2 ,237 companies 00:08:55.899 --> 00:08:58.909 participating. The most expensive licence in 00:08:58.909 --> 00:09:02.570 the country was 94 .5 in Chiang Mai, which went 00:09:02.570 --> 00:09:07.610 for US $44 ,500 for a five -year licence. In 00:09:07.610 --> 00:09:11.230 Pattaya, the English -language Fabulous 103 FM 00:09:11.230 --> 00:09:14.350 were only allowed to bid for two frequencies, 00:09:14.669 --> 00:09:17.870 as Tommy D explains. Over the past few years, 00:09:17.929 --> 00:09:19.929 the broadcasting authorities have been looking 00:09:19.929 --> 00:09:23.690 at ways to change FM radio licensing. A few months 00:09:23.690 --> 00:09:26.389 ago, they finally came up with a new system, 00:09:26.509 --> 00:09:29.850 a kind of virtual lottery, officially described 00:09:29.850 --> 00:09:33.590 as an auction. That process immediately reduced 00:09:33.590 --> 00:09:36.330 the number of FM frequencies by about a third. 00:09:36.570 --> 00:09:39.629 In simple terms, it became a game of musical 00:09:39.629 --> 00:09:42.330 chairs, where it was guaranteed that roughly 00:09:42.330 --> 00:09:45.649 a third of all stations would disappear. To make 00:09:45.649 --> 00:09:48.309 matters worse, the list of frequencies up for 00:09:48.309 --> 00:09:50.889 auction didn't include the one we'd been using 00:09:50.889 --> 00:09:54.549 for decades. And we weren't alone. Many stations 00:09:54.549 --> 00:09:57.009 across the country found themselves in the same 00:09:57.009 --> 00:09:59.990 position. In our case, we were only allowed to 00:09:59.990 --> 00:10:03.110 bid on two frequencies within the province. That 00:10:03.110 --> 00:10:07.269 was it. No choice beyond that. Yes, and neither 00:10:07.269 --> 00:10:10.009 of those were 103, which was a bit of a shame. 00:10:10.129 --> 00:10:13.090 Now, one of those licenses went for $25 ,000 00:10:13.090 --> 00:10:17.009 to another bidder. The station says, as you've 00:10:17.009 --> 00:10:18.649 just heard, that the process has made a third 00:10:18.649 --> 00:10:21.029 of all stations disappear. And from the 1st of 00:10:21.029 --> 00:10:23.889 January, Fabulous 103 FM is now called Fabulous 00:10:23.889 --> 00:10:27.809 Radio and it's been online only. And unconnected, 00:10:27.809 --> 00:10:32.029 I think, in Bangkok, Tero Radio has closed after 00:10:32.029 --> 00:10:35.289 35 years, according to an announcement on its 00:10:35.289 --> 00:10:38.330 website. which partially reads, due to shifting 00:10:38.330 --> 00:10:40.850 trends in media consumption, we have faced significant 00:10:40.850 --> 00:10:43.389 challenges that have made it impossible for us 00:10:43.389 --> 00:10:46.129 to continue. They ran four stations, including 00:10:46.129 --> 00:10:49.070 Virgin Hits, more recently just Hits. I visited 00:10:49.070 --> 00:10:52.529 their studios in 2010, and you'll find a blog 00:10:52.529 --> 00:10:56.470 all about that linked from the newsletter. The 00:10:56.470 --> 00:10:59.029 Thai radio industry is predicted to drop from 00:10:59.029 --> 00:11:04.409 $76 million in ad revenue to $73 million in 2026. 00:11:05.070 --> 00:11:07.250 but it's also a very difficult market to operate 00:11:07.250 --> 00:11:10.269 in. FM signals are owned by the government, and 00:11:10.269 --> 00:11:13.269 when I visited in 2010, the operators of the 00:11:13.269 --> 00:11:16.110 stations had to pause every hour for state news. 00:11:17.549 --> 00:11:20.110 Elsewhere, I also personally blogged about getting 00:11:20.110 --> 00:11:23.690 Linux to work on an old MacBook, or not, a review 00:11:23.690 --> 00:11:25.990 of the electric car I've been driving over the 00:11:25.990 --> 00:11:28.830 last year, and a review of an email forwarding 00:11:28.830 --> 00:11:32.679 solution, because of course I have. Where am 00:11:32.679 --> 00:11:34.460 I speaking next? I'm speaking in three places. 00:11:34.620 --> 00:11:37.580 Podfest in Orlando in Florida in just a couple 00:11:37.580 --> 00:11:41.039 of weeks' time. One of my talks is going to be 00:11:41.039 --> 00:11:44.980 where we've been and where we're going. A look 00:11:44.980 --> 00:11:46.759 back at where we've come from, including last 00:11:46.759 --> 00:11:49.159 year's podcast news and trends to help us understand 00:11:49.159 --> 00:11:51.940 how podcasting is changing and how we should 00:11:51.940 --> 00:11:55.350 be changing with it. It should be fun. If you 00:11:55.350 --> 00:11:57.909 can be there, then that would be fantastic. I'm 00:11:57.909 --> 00:12:01.409 also taking part in the new media show that week, 00:12:01.470 --> 00:12:04.230 live from stage. The other people will be talking 00:12:04.230 --> 00:12:06.970 about crappy TV, and I will be the only person 00:12:06.970 --> 00:12:11.370 saying, but audio. Also, Radio Days Europe in 00:12:11.370 --> 00:12:14.409 Riga in Latvia. The future of audio is people 00:12:14.409 --> 00:12:16.909 -powered. I'll be talking a lot about where radio 00:12:16.909 --> 00:12:21.720 is going and what we shouldn't. forget why the 00:12:21.720 --> 00:12:24.340 future is bright as long as we understand why 00:12:24.340 --> 00:12:26.360 our audience comes to us in the first place. 00:12:26.500 --> 00:12:29.519 Very much looking forward to doing that. The 00:12:29.519 --> 00:12:31.240 flights are all booked. You'll be glad to know. 00:12:32.700 --> 00:12:36.559 So that's a good thing. And my first time in 00:12:36.559 --> 00:12:38.940 Riga in Latvia, and that should be fun. And also 00:12:38.940 --> 00:12:41.259 I will be speaking at the podcast show in London 00:12:41.259 --> 00:12:46.129 in May. May the 20th to the 21st. That is a great 00:12:46.129 --> 00:12:48.629 event if you have any interest in podcasting. 00:12:48.850 --> 00:12:50.990 And frankly, even if you don't, you should still 00:12:50.990 --> 00:12:54.389 turn up. It's relatively cheap to go. Well worth 00:12:54.389 --> 00:12:58.149 taking a peek. Podcastshowlondon .com is, I think, 00:12:58.149 --> 00:13:00.570 where you go to find tickets and stuff. And if 00:13:00.570 --> 00:13:02.269 you read pod news, you'll find some money off 00:13:02.269 --> 00:13:06.250 in there as well. And thank you to Great Dane 00:13:06.250 --> 00:13:10.570 for 10 coffees. 10 coffees. He or she says, good 00:13:10.570 --> 00:13:13.889 to see someone covering the subject I love. We 00:13:13.889 --> 00:13:15.629 can't put James on the cover of the Rolling Stone, 00:13:15.710 --> 00:13:18.429 but we can do better than Dr. Hook did by buying 00:13:18.429 --> 00:13:21.009 five copies for their mothers. I've bought 10 00:13:21.009 --> 00:13:23.629 for James. They're right. I don't know anything 00:13:23.629 --> 00:13:26.049 about who Great Dane is. I would quite like to. 00:13:26.110 --> 00:13:28.269 Buy me a coffee isn't telling me. So thank you 00:13:28.269 --> 00:13:31.250 and do get in touch because it would be nice 00:13:31.250 --> 00:13:33.940 to say thank you personally. Also, thank you 00:13:33.940 --> 00:13:36.539 to Bennett Cobb, who contacted me with a lot 00:13:36.539 --> 00:13:38.860 of information about the US's National Public 00:13:38.860 --> 00:13:42.419 Warning System, which covers 90 % of the US population, 00:13:42.419 --> 00:13:44.559 which assumes, of course, that the US population 00:13:44.559 --> 00:13:47.539 own AM radio receivers, which I'm not so sure. 00:13:47.759 --> 00:13:50.379 Anyway, I plan to write a little bit more about 00:13:50.379 --> 00:13:54.559 that shortly. Thank you also to the many supporters 00:13:54.559 --> 00:13:59.460 of this newsletter, including Admaster .info. 00:14:00.220 --> 00:14:04.460 cloud -powered traffic and billing tools for 00:14:04.460 --> 00:14:07.419 you, Brun Audio Consulting as well, Media Results 00:14:07.419 --> 00:14:12.500 Inc. and Radio King, among others, and Wade Kingsley, 00:14:12.580 --> 00:14:17.100 who is limbering up to be a competitor of mine 00:14:17.100 --> 00:14:20.779 by the looks of things. Well, there you go. So 00:14:20.779 --> 00:14:22.820 thank you to them. Thank you to Greg Strassel, 00:14:22.820 --> 00:14:25.100 Sam Phelps, Richard Hilton, Emma Gibbs, Jocelyn 00:14:25.100 --> 00:14:27.519 Abbey and James Masterton as well for being regular 00:14:27.519 --> 00:14:29.879 supporters. If you would like to support my work 00:14:29.879 --> 00:14:31.639 in any way, buy me a coffee. That would be lovely 00:14:31.639 --> 00:14:36.440 at buymeacoffee .com slash James Credland. It's 00:14:36.440 --> 00:14:38.960 easy for me to say, buymeacoffee .com slash jamescridland. 00:14:39.659 --> 00:14:42.120 You'll find links in the newsletter as well. 00:14:42.299 --> 00:14:44.220 If you'd like to follow me on the socials, then 00:14:44.220 --> 00:14:47.220 you'll find me on threads, blue sky and on mastodon 00:14:47.220 --> 00:14:50.720 as james at bne .social. And my website has more 00:14:50.720 --> 00:14:52.879 details about who I am and what I do and whether 00:14:52.879 --> 00:14:55.740 I can help you further. You will find that website 00:14:55.740 --> 00:14:58.700 at james .cridland .net or indeed radioland .email. 00:14:58.820 --> 00:15:01.960 I know. And until next time, keep listening.