1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:05,360 Hello, I'm James Crittland, the Radio Futurologist and every week or a couple of weeks 2 00:00:05,360 --> 00:00:12,200 I send out a newsletter all about the future of radio and radio's interoperability 3 00:00:12,200 --> 00:00:17,200 interconnectedness with technology and all of that kind of stuff. 4 00:00:17,200 --> 00:00:23,680 This is it from February 9th, 2023, the BBC, Poling its Radio Stations from Radio 5 00:00:23,680 --> 00:00:30,680 Player and the Radio Fingers. In a potential actor of oblivion that's a joke related to a picture 6 00:00:30,680 --> 00:00:37,640 which you can't see, the BBC has pulled its stations off Radio Player the cross-app platform 7 00:00:37,640 --> 00:00:44,680 that it helped fund UK listeners now have to download the BBC Sounds app instead. 8 00:00:44,680 --> 00:00:49,120 Now Radio Player was the thing I spent my last few months at the BBC occasionally working 9 00:00:49,120 --> 00:00:54,960 on and I remember presenting to the heads of commercial radio in Tim Davies office 10 00:00:54,960 --> 00:00:59,040 demonstrating how the player might look. It was only a web player at the time, 11 00:00:59,040 --> 00:01:05,160 what actually it was a keynote document and demonstrating how it might all work as well. 12 00:01:05,160 --> 00:01:11,000 Anyway, Radio Player was run very successfully by Michael Hill and the much admired service 13 00:01:11,000 --> 00:01:16,160 is now in a number of different countries with integrations with car manufacturers, smart 14 00:01:16,160 --> 00:01:21,920 speaker platforms as well as apps and it's just launched in Finland as it happens. 15 00:01:21,920 --> 00:01:27,320 Now the BBC has in the past pulled some of its podcasts from general release for the 16 00:01:27,320 --> 00:01:32,760 first 30 days in a trial open of a commerce close in verticals that was announced more 17 00:01:32,760 --> 00:01:38,160 than 12 months ago and which a BBC press person tells me is still ongoing with no public 18 00:01:38,160 --> 00:01:44,400 end date. It pulled all of its podcasts from Google podcasts when that launched, complaining 19 00:01:44,400 --> 00:01:49,520 that it didn't want Google's player to appear in the results instead of its own. I also 20 00:01:49,520 --> 00:01:54,520 hear from podcast commissioners that any success on third-party platforms like Apple Podcasts 21 00:01:54,520 --> 00:02:00,880 or Spotify don't matter when the BBC is judging the success of shows. After all of this 22 00:02:00,880 --> 00:02:09,400 in quarter four, 22, 188 million plays within BBC Sounds were to on demand content, excluding 23 00:02:09,400 --> 00:02:17,560 music mixes. The corporation also saw 259 million podcasts downloads on third-party platforms 24 00:02:17,560 --> 00:02:24,120 in other words. Podcasts don't perform nearly as well on BBC Sounds that 188 million figure 25 00:02:24,120 --> 00:02:29,040 is made up of both podcasts and catch up radio after all. 26 00:02:29,040 --> 00:02:33,920 Now the reason the BBC has done this is of course data. After I worked out the arcane 27 00:02:33,920 --> 00:02:39,440 anti-pattern of actually requesting it, I was able to examine the BBC's data that it 28 00:02:39,440 --> 00:02:44,680 had collected on me to discover that it gets data every second I'm using the BBC Sounds 29 00:02:44,680 --> 00:02:50,840 app, even collecting data for 10 minutes after I stopped using it. To force listeners 30 00:02:50,840 --> 00:02:54,400 to download an app is understandable if you're a commercial radio station where you'd like 31 00:02:54,400 --> 00:02:59,240 to monetize the visitors much as possible. I'm not sure it's the right strategy, but 32 00:02:59,240 --> 00:03:04,400 commercial radio can do what it likes because it lives and dies by the revenue it makes. 33 00:03:04,400 --> 00:03:10,080 The BBC is different though. Its funding is guaranteed through a legally mandated TV 34 00:03:10,080 --> 00:03:16,520 license fee, one that gets single mums threatened with prosecution for not paying and was 35 00:03:16,520 --> 00:03:24,600 responsible for 50,000 prosecutions for non-payment in 2021 alone, 50,000 and if nothing 36 00:03:24,600 --> 00:03:30,440 else, that should mean that its output is made available to the UK public in whatever form 37 00:03:30,440 --> 00:03:36,440 the UK public wants to listen rather than forcing a download of a specific app. That, 38 00:03:36,440 --> 00:03:40,440 truly would be a public service. 39 00:03:40,440 --> 00:03:44,560 It was the quarterly radio figures in the UK earlier this month, Matt Deegan has written 40 00:03:44,560 --> 00:03:49,360 a long post looking at the numbers so too has Adam Bawi. What I get out of the data 41 00:03:49,360 --> 00:03:56,840 is a continuing fall for BBC Local Radio in England down by 15% in year-on-year reach 42 00:03:56,840 --> 00:04:03,400 and down by 11.9% in year-on-year hours. That is ahead of the programming sharing that 43 00:04:03,400 --> 00:04:06,400 they're about to start doing. 44 00:04:06,400 --> 00:04:11,960 What I also see is boom radio, which isn't oldest service, more than doubling their total 45 00:04:11,960 --> 00:04:19,320 reach up to 119% year-on-year and doing even better in terms of hours up, 137% 46 00:04:19,320 --> 00:04:25,000 year-on-year. Normally those don't go on that way, new listeners tend to be less committed 47 00:04:25,000 --> 00:04:30,040 to normally you see reach going up more than hours. But of course the heritage presenters 48 00:04:30,040 --> 00:04:33,840 are a major part of the offering on boom radio, but I also wonder whether the music mix 49 00:04:33,840 --> 00:04:39,440 for the station is unspotifiable. That is difficult for any algorithm to quite match the 50 00:04:39,440 --> 00:04:46,560 kind of service that boom is. I wonder whether it's a relatively unique format in that case. 51 00:04:46,560 --> 00:04:51,640 And LBC, the station of choice when I was in the car recently in the UK, continues to 52 00:04:51,640 --> 00:04:55,920 do excellently. I do think there's a big difference between the future prospects for speech 53 00:04:55,920 --> 00:05:01,080 radio when compared to music intensive formats. But the radio I don't seem to agree with 54 00:05:01,080 --> 00:05:08,200 me because hard, which is an AC station in the UK, has done really well as well. 55 00:05:08,200 --> 00:05:13,840 Elsewhere, fun radio in France has been fined more than 11 million Euro, that's more than 56 00:05:13,840 --> 00:05:20,320 12 million US dollars, what not quite. I'm sort of nearly 12 million US dollars. Anyway, 57 00:05:20,320 --> 00:05:25,400 they've been fined for encouraging listeners to tell audience researchers that they 58 00:05:25,400 --> 00:05:32,080 listen to fun radio. So fun facts about this. All of this happened in 2016, which shows 59 00:05:32,080 --> 00:05:36,520 the speed of this sort of thing. They did mention this on air more than 100 times, more 60 00:05:36,520 --> 00:05:43,080 than 100 times. Their audience increased in a very unusual fashion as a result. 61 00:05:43,080 --> 00:05:49,720 Compared to N. Ajay, we'll get 10 million Euro in damages. And fun radio is now owned by 62 00:05:49,720 --> 00:05:57,560 M6, who claim that they had nothing to do with it anyway, and M6 planned to appeal. 63 00:05:57,560 --> 00:06:04,240 After ceasing programming on 1215 AM with some beautifully produced audio, absolute radio 64 00:06:04,240 --> 00:06:10,280 turned their transmitters off, one by one on the 25th of January. I think to a recording 65 00:06:10,280 --> 00:06:16,000 of more side edge being turned off, I used to live just over the valley from those transmitters. 66 00:06:16,000 --> 00:06:19,680 And I also noticed with some satisfaction that the switch was thrown at the end of the 67 00:06:19,680 --> 00:06:26,000 loops announcement, not during its bravo bower again. That said, bower could apparently 68 00:06:26,000 --> 00:06:30,180 be fined for ceasing to provide the service. It'd be interesting to see what off 69 00:06:30,180 --> 00:06:35,760 come really do at the end of that, given that the UK government has been pretty clear 70 00:06:35,760 --> 00:06:43,960 that it wants people to leave the AM wavepad. There's been a rebrand for KPCC in Los Angeles. 71 00:06:43,960 --> 00:06:49,600 The radio station will now be known as LAist89.3. It's the same slightly unwieldy brand 72 00:06:49,600 --> 00:06:53,280 that's used for the company's podcast and online service. It's called Signs to me, 73 00:06:53,280 --> 00:06:58,440 seem really an aquronistic in 2023, although I guess that one benefit is at least that they 74 00:06:58,440 --> 00:07:02,880 form a unique ID for any radio station that uses one. And so therefore, at least that's 75 00:07:02,880 --> 00:07:12,400 handy for a smart speaker. But yes, LAist89.3, so much more obviously to do with LA than KPCC 76 00:07:12,400 --> 00:07:18,060 was. What on the heels of their signing of Ken Bruce, Bower's greatest hits radio has 77 00:07:18,060 --> 00:07:26,320 fallen back on tried and tested biscuit content. I linked to a tweet in my newsletter today 78 00:07:26,320 --> 00:07:34,480 James.crid.land, which reads, what's the worst biscuit to have with a cup of tea? 79 00:07:34,480 --> 00:07:40,960 Defored, the head of the UK's Bower Radio Group, is to leave the company after 35 years 80 00:07:40,960 --> 00:07:44,960 it was announced. Now in the mid 1990s, she was my managing director for a short while. 81 00:07:44,960 --> 00:07:49,720 She was one of those people. You admired greatly and you really wanted to do your best 82 00:07:49,720 --> 00:07:55,800 for it. So I don't know if it's officially retirement, but if it is, happy retirement 83 00:07:55,800 --> 00:08:03,720 D. She was, she still is, one of the good people. And let's finish with two fun facts. 84 00:08:03,720 --> 00:08:08,840 Fun fact number one, twice as many people use telly text in Norway than use Twitter, which 85 00:08:08,840 --> 00:08:15,760 is a great, great stat. And another fun fact, YouTuber Mr Beast has comparable hours of viewing 86 00:08:15,760 --> 00:08:24,280 across his video to a top five netflix show. Now this newsletter is fueled by coffee by 87 00:08:24,280 --> 00:08:28,640 you buying me coffee if we're going to be strictly accurate. So thank you to Craig Young for 88 00:08:28,640 --> 00:08:33,680 the five coffees. He says appreciate the news in your newsletter and even share to my members 89 00:08:33,680 --> 00:08:39,040 on occasion. Thank you Craig. Phil Riley, one of the brains behind boom radio is also bought 90 00:08:39,040 --> 00:08:43,200 five coffees as did downright the excellent person behind absolute radio's tribute to 91 00:08:43,200 --> 00:08:49,840 15 before it was turned off. Thank you Dan. I appreciate it. You're audio. I appreciate your coffee 92 00:08:49,840 --> 00:08:56,480 even more. And also Alan Clement also bought a coffee all very kind of you also. Thank you for 93 00:08:56,480 --> 00:09:01,520 doing that. Thank you also to Richard Hilton to James Masterton and to Brunn Audio Consulting 94 00:09:01,520 --> 00:09:06,720 for your ongoing support of my newsletter and of this podcast and very grateful to you. If you 95 00:09:06,720 --> 00:09:11,200 like to support my work in any way you can buy me a coffee, just be a member to give regularly 96 00:09:11,200 --> 00:09:15,040 or just give a one off coffee or five if you'd like buy me a coffee dot com slash James 97 00:09:15,040 --> 00:09:20,080 Cridond. And it's way to go for that or if you're using one of those fancy new podcast apps 98 00:09:20,080 --> 00:09:26,720 then hit the boost button and send me some sets and that would be a lovely thing. Now also on this 99 00:09:26,720 --> 00:09:31,840 page I'm just hitting refresh because I just added where I'll be of the next couple of months 100 00:09:31,840 --> 00:09:37,120 because you know when I started recording this as a podcast where I'd be over the next couple of 101 00:09:37,120 --> 00:09:41,840 months was at home because there was some form of pandemic on here at least. I don't know if 102 00:09:41,840 --> 00:09:48,480 that happened where you were. Anyway it turns out that I'm traveling again. So where am I? I'm at 103 00:09:48,480 --> 00:09:53,520 the IAB Audio Summit in Sydney on March 1st looking forward to that. A podcast movement 104 00:09:53,520 --> 00:09:59,520 evolutions in Las Vegas on March 6th to the 11th. I'm looking to look forward to the podcast 105 00:09:59,520 --> 00:10:06,160 movement evolution spit. Not necessarily the Las Vegas bit. Radio days Europe in Prague March 25th 106 00:10:06,160 --> 00:10:14,640 to the 30th the NAB show in mid April which is in Vegas again. The New Zealand podcast summit 107 00:10:15,440 --> 00:10:25,600 in mid May in Auckland the podcast show 2023 in London at the end of May. And Radio days North America 108 00:10:25,600 --> 00:10:31,840 in early June which is in Toronto anyway my contact details if you're there too it'd be lovely 109 00:10:31,840 --> 00:10:38,240 to catch up. I'm James at crid.land which is also what you can search mastered on for if you're on 110 00:10:38,240 --> 00:10:45,040 there James at crid.land if you search that then you will find my master don account which is James 111 00:10:45,040 --> 00:10:51,520 at b and e dot social Brisbane of course b and e dot social that's where I am I'm mastered on these days 112 00:10:51,520 --> 00:10:57,120 and that's a lovely thing my professional website has more to say professional has more details about 113 00:10:57,120 --> 00:11:03,040 who I am and what I do whether I can help you further you'll find that at James dot crid.land.net 114 00:11:03,040 --> 00:11:18,960 and until next time keep listening.