Latest UK   Radio Audience Figures  

The latest listening figures for radio listening in the UK were issued on 28th October and contained a few surprises. 

Commercial radio is reaching 36.8 million people across the UK, the biggest audience it has ever recorded, according to the  data. RAJAR has modified its way of collating and publicising listening  but the basic principles of REACH and audience SHARE still prevail. The total combined audience for all UK radio (BBC and commercial) is now the highest level recorded at 49.5m people. That represents 89% of the UK adult population.

THE KEY POINTS. 

• Digital listening surges to 65.8% of all radio listening
• New stations (Times, Capital Dance, Boom, etc) attracting hundreds of thousand s of listeners.

• DAB now the predominant platform for radio listening accounting for 43% of all listening compared to 34.2% for AM/FM

• New digital stations deliver strong performances

• Digital listening now accounts for the majority of in car listening at 53%

Digital listening has surged past 60% to now account for 65.8% – or almost two-thirds – of all radio listening, according to new data for Q3 2021 released by RAJAR today (28 October 2021). The data release marks RAJAR’s return to publication with a new modified methodology having been suspended for 18 months due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the new data, listening via DAB is now the most popular means of all radio listening accounting for 43% of all listening (and 65% of digital listening), exceeding listening via AM/FM which accounts for 34.2% of listening. Listening via online and apps accounts for 18.1% of all listening (and 27.5% of digital listening) and listening via DTV accounts for 4.7% of all listening (and 7.2% of digital listening).

The new data shows that 41 million adults, or 74% of the population aged 15+, now tune into digital radio every week, and 69% claim to own or have access to a DAB radio.

The strong performance of digital platforms has been boosted by the launch of a number of new digital stations in the last 18 months, which receive their first RAJAR results today,  including Times Radio with a reach of 637,000 listeners; Capital DANCE with a reach of 287,000 listeners; and Boom Radio with a reach of 233,000 listeners.

These stations join a host of established digital-only stations which continue to perform strongly, including  BBC 6 Music with 2.687 million listeners, and KISSTORY, the most popular commercial digital-only station, with 2.255 million listeners.  BBC Radio 4 Extra is the third most popular with 2.036 million listeners, followed by BBC Radio 5 live sports extra with 1.697 million listeners. Other stations in the top 10 are  digital-only stations Absolute 80s (1.690 million listeners); Virgin Radio (1.631 million listeners); and Heart 80s (1.493 million listeners).

INCAR RADIO LISTENING.   46.6% of listening in the car is to DAB while   AM/FM listening is 33.1%,. Online/apps listening in-car accounting for only 6.4% of all in car listening.

Source: RAJAR/Ipsos MORI/RSMB

  

  Watch out!

Hackers About!

Another Ransomware Attack 

on group of radio stations.

Tuesday 19 October 2021

A disturbing report from Seattle this morning that a group of stations have come under sustained cyber attack. The victims are the stations in what has been for many years called the Sinclair Broadcast Group but were sold to Lotus Communications three weeks ago for around $5 million cash plus a further $13 million in 'deals'.  Sinclair have retained the ongoing rights to the KOMO call letters and they will continue with their TV channel of that name. They now have around three hundred outlets.

The stations concerned are

News 1000 KOMOSeattle

97.7 KOMO-FM Oakville

97.7 K249DX Redmond,

Hot AC “Star 101.5” KPLZ Seattle 

and 

Conservative Talk 570 KVI Seattle

The attack was RANSOMWARE and manifested to listeners as key stations such as Star 101.5 having intermittent dead air,  songs skipping and no imaging (jingles and recorded liners) between the songs.   On 1000 KOMO, the company's main news outlet,  and on 97.7 KOMO FM,  a long-form talk show was broadcast to replace the station's regular news programmes when the studio IT kit crashed.   The cluster's online streaming for all those stations, plus KVI 570AM  all went down.  The company announced that many of its servers and in studio work stations were encrypted  or infected with ransomeware  and many of their office  networks were disrupted.   

The ransomware attack began to be noticed on Friday but intensified over the weekend.  Ransomware hackers often launch their attacks at the beginnings of weekends in the hope that victims will be short-staffed. In June, the Cox Media Group was also the subject of a ransomware attack that  left many stations unable to use their computers or phones for several days.

RANSOMWARE ATTACKS 

Ransomware attacks are becoming increasingly used to extort money from media companies.  A Trojan is usually fed into the broadcaster's system, often as a  malicious attachment, embedded link in a Phishing email. 

The program then runs a small programme which locks down the operating system. They will offer to call off the attack in return for online e payment - often in Bitcoin, which helps them cover their tracks and makes the payment non trackable.

The best solution is to have your systems always perform regular back ups, and ensure that key staff are able to execute procedures to restore your most vital files. Regular tests that the procedure is working are vital.  Have YOU ran yours this week?

KOMO, KPLZ and KVI are legendary heritage radio stations in America's north west and have previously had massive audiences. 

Click HERE for more RADIO NEWS. 

World of Radio 

558 AM 

- radio's hotbed of controversy!

558 is a  much coveted readio frequency at the bottom of the Medium Wave Band. For those whose radio dials are marked in Metres, then 558 kHz is the same as 538 Metres.  Originally the ITU allocated the channel to stations in Egypt, Switzerland and Finland; in those days it was 557kHz, or 539 metres.

The channel came to prominence in Western Europe in September 1972 when the muchj loved North Sea station, Radio Veronica moved to it, after a high power Swiss mouth made it impossible to hear its programmes on 192.

After 12 years on 192 meters, at the top of the AM band, Radio  Veronica moved to 538 on BBC Radio One's fifth birthday at the end of September in 1972. It was also the day that transmissions were heard from Radio Caroline after a four year hiatus. The new frequency gave Veronica coverage well into neighbouring countries, including Belgium and the UK.

 The Battle Commences
All was fine until the following year when the UK's IBA decided to use the channel for Capital Radio in London. although only low power, this made reception of Veron ica difficult over a big chunk of its area.

After Radio Veronica closed in 1974, Radio Caroline tried using the frequency for a short time, but the mast on the Mi Amigo was inadequate for the type of antenna they had in the mid 70s.  The IBA had meanwhile relinquished its use of 558KHz, whose long wavelength gave very wide area coverage.  The BBC thought it might be useful for one of their "local" stations and began a lengthy 'clearance' process to have it assigned to them for use in Essex, even though they had no firm plans to open such a station at that time.

Communicate! 

In early 1984 another offshore radio station, LASER, opened up on 558 from an anchorage close to radio caroline, just off the mouth of the Thames. Laser 558 achieved huge coverage from the radio ship the Communicator, despite using only about 12 kilowatts power.

Laser 558 was hugely successful; accoridng to the official listener figures (RAJAR it attracted just under 5 million listeners in the UK alone, and probably more than that on the near continent, inc ourntriues like Hoilland, Blegium and France.  You can read more about Laser's success in  Laser Radio Programming, a book I published in 2017.  Click Here for details.

When Laser's crew decided to sail the ship into the UK,  Radio Caroline quickly moved onto the frequency.  They operated successfully on it for a few years; it probabbly gave them the widest coverage they had ever had, despite only a modest few kilowatts of power.

In 1990 the UK authorities tried to force Radio Caroline off the frequency and awarded it to a new multi-ethnic station, Spectrum Radio.  Eventually Radio Caroline capitulated as they had only low power available and a hurriedly built partial aerial system.

Spectrum continued on 558 KHz until 2017 when the frequency was taken over by Kelvin McKenzie, who operated TalkSport for many years.  He launched a new station called LOVESPORT on 558 in March 2018.  Depsite its name (and licence conditions) most of the output is general speech and very little of the content is sport.  Many believe it IS a sport station however, and this certainly is a deterrent to many prospective listeners who dont want to hear non-stop sport commentaries and sport.

Kelvin clearly now thinks that the future for Lovesport is DAB and online and he has decided to relinquish the frequwncy.  He has reached agreement with a Punjabi station which will see Lovesport move to 1584, at the opposite end of the Medium Wave dial (and with a much smaller footprint).  Panjab Radio meanwhile will take over 558 kHz with a capital-wide station in Punjabi and English.   The move required approval from OFCOM who are now seeking the views of affected listeners.

CLICK for details 

RADIO VIEWPOINT 

Why has Lovesport decided to abandon 

the coveted 558 frequency?  

Perhaps not enough listeners have chosen to access Lovesport on 558 Medium Wave? If so, the situation bears some careful examination.  Less than a year's operations seems a very short period to arrive at a decision to shut off the use of one platform for any radio station.

The market for local sport coverage in London is not at all crowded.  In the commercial radio sector, only national station TalkSport makes any attempt to cover sport.  It also competes with BBC Radio Five Live, but neither of these stations cater for local sport interest and must cover the whole of the UK.  The BBC national station is operated from its new base in Manchester.
BBC Radio london pays only marginal lip service to sport in the capital - so LovePSort has a wide open market to serve and ought to be able to attract an audience.

In similar markets, sport radio stations do very well.  In New York, the leading station is WFAN in terms of advertising turnover (its $76m is far higher than any UK station, even national ones).  WFAN is also down at the bottom end of the AM band, and despite AM being regarded as 'old hat' by many, it is still capable of producing handsome returns for its investors.

All things considered, one can only assume that the main reasons for the rapid take off that Kelvin had expected for LoveSport haven't materialised.  That however, must be a result of the dire lack of promotion by LoveSport for the 558 frequency and, perhaps, the word 'sport' being in the name which probably deters the majority of the potential audience.

More Controversy on 558

558 AM 

- radio's hotbed of controversy!

558 is a  much coveted readio frequency at the bottom of the Medium Wave Band. For those whose radio dials are marked in Metres, then 558 kHz is the same as 538 Metres.  Originally the ITU allocated the channel to stations in Egypt, Switzerland and Finland; in those days it was 557kHz, or 539 metres.

The channel came to prominence in Western Europe in September 1972 when the muchj loved North Sea station, Radio Veronica moved to it, after a high power Swiss mouth made it impossible to hear its programmes on 192.

After 12 years on 192 meters, at the top of the AM band, Radio  Veronica moved to 538 on BBC Radio One's fifth birthday at the end of September in 1972. It was also the day that transmissions were heard from Radio Caroline after a four year hiatus. The new frequency gave Veronica coverage well into neighbouring countries, including Belgium and the UK.

 The Battle Commences
All was fine until the following year when the UK's IBA decided to use the channel for Capital Radio in London. although only low power, this made reception of Veron ica difficult over a big chunk of its area.

After Radio Veronica closed in 1974, Radio Caroline tried using the frequency for a short time, but the mast on the Mi Amigo was inadequate for the type of antenna they had in the mid 70s.  The IBA had meanwhile relinquished its use of 558KHz, whose long wavelength gave very wide area coverage.  The BBC thought it might be useful for one of their "local" stations and began a lengthy 'clearance' process to have it assigned to them for use in Essex, even though they had no firm plans to open such a station at that time.

Communicate! 

In early 1984 another offshore radio station, LASER, opened up on 558 from an anchorage close to radio caroline, just off the mouth of the Thames. Laser 558 achieved huge coverage from the radio ship the Communicator, despite using only about 12 kilowatts power.

Laser 558 was hugely successful; accoridng to the official listener figures (RAJAR it attracted just under 5 million listeners in the UK alone, and probably more than that on the near continent, inc ourntriues like Hoilland, Blegium and France.  You can read more about Laser's success in  Laser Radio Programming, a book I published in 2017.  Click Here for details.

When Laser's crew decided to sail the ship into the UK,  Radio Caroline quickly moved onto the frequency.  They operated successfully on it for a few years; it probabbly gave them the widest coverage they had ever had, despite only a modest few kilowatts of power.

In 1990 the UK authorities tried to force Radio Caroline off the frequency and awarded it to a new multi-ethnic station, Spectrum Radio.  Eventually Radio Caroline capitulated as they had only low power available and a hurriedly built partial aerial system.

Spectrum continued on 558 KHz until 2017 when the frequency was taken over by Kelvin McKenzie, who operated TalkSport for many years.  He launched a new station called LOVESPORT on 558 in March 2018.  Depsite its name (and licence conditions) most of the output is general speech and very little of the content is sport.  Many believe it IS a sport station however, and this certainly is a deterrent to many prospective listeners who dont want to hear non-stop sport commentaries and sport.

Kelvin clearly now thinks that the future for Lovesport is DAB and online and he has decided to relinquish the frequwncy.  He has reached agreement with a Punjabi station which will see Lovesport move to 1584, at the opposite end of the Medium Wave dial (and with a much smaller footprint).  Panjab Radio meanwhile will take over 558 kHz with a capital-wide station in Punjabi and English.   The move required approval from OFCOM who are now seeking the views of affected listeners.

CLICK for details 

RADIO VIEWPOINT 

Why has Lovesport decided to abandon 

the coveted 558 frequency?  

Perhaps not enough listeners have chosen to access Lovesport on 558 Medium Wave? If so, the situation bears some careful examination.  Less than a year's operations seems a very short period to arrive at a decision to shut off the use of one platform for any radio station.

The market for local sport coverage in London is not at all crowded.  In the commercial radio sector, only national station TalkSport makes any attempt to cover sport.  It also competes with BBC Radio Five Live, but neither of these stations cater for local sport interest and must cover the whole of the UK.  The BBC national station is operated from its new base in Manchester.
BBC Radio london pays only marginal lip service to sport in the capital - so LovePSort has a wide open market to serve and ought to be able to attract an audience.

In similar markets, sport radio stations do very well.  In New York, the leading station is WFAN in terms of advertising turnover (its $76m is far higher than any UK station, even national ones).  WFAN is also down at the bottom end of the AM band, and despite AM being regarded as 'old hat' by many, it is still capable of producing handsome returns for its investors.

All things considered, one can only assume that the main reasons for the rapid take off that Kelvin had expected for LoveSport haven't materialised.  That however, must be a result of the dire lack of promotion by LoveSport for the 558 frequency and, perhaps, the word 'sport' being in the name which probably deters the majority of the potential audience.

Radio fan shoots wife DEAD!

Extreme action 

by radio DXer

Many of us in the radio fraternity take radio to its exteremes, devoting hours to what is probably thought of by many 'normal' people as "Nerdy".  

One such afficionado is FRED HUBER, from the American  mid-west, who took such a dislike to his wife Eleanor Huber daring to "tochu that dial"  (as many DJs have warned us not to do) that he shot her. Dead!

An incredible story. Very sad, and one that might make me and some of my friends  a bit more wary of persuading our nearest and dearest to sit down with them for a quite evening twiddling the knobs.

"Stay out of Court" guide for radio station staff

STAY OUT OF COURT

with this "more than useful" new book

Essential Reading if you work in radio

Paul Rusling 

Many people running radio stations think their biggest legal danger comes from journalists, and what they might put into a news bulletin.   The reality is, however that it is their presenters and DJs who are the biggest potential danger to the station - they are the ones more likely to get a radio station into trouble. 

“At least journalists usually have some legal training in college and read off pre-prepared scripts. However presenters ad lib their links and are untrained in media law," says Paul Chantler.  "It is no coincidence that the two biggest legal catastrophes in commercial radio in the last 20 years were caused by presenters rather than journalists.

“The next big legal problem in radio will probably be caused by Johnny Jock on Radio Nowhere’s breakfast show commenting on allegations he read on Twitter about the local mayor – Very dangerous.”

Paul Chantler has worked as a journalist, presenter, producer and PD in British radio for over 30 years.  His co-author, Paul Hollins, who currently presents on Smooth Radio, has worked on stations all over the UK including Key 103, BRMB, Capital London andHeart London. 

This is an easy-to-understand guide to the laws of defamation and contempt for radio broadcasters, podcasters and social media users.  It is  illustrated with lots of real-life examples of when things have gone wrong and what to do to ensure you... keep it legal.   At £ 9.99 it is FAR cheaper than a lwyer, and way cheaper than the cost of going to court. 

Your can find KEEP IT LEGAL at Amazon 

- full details HERE.

For more useful books on radio - Programming and Production, 

see the World of Radio web pages about Radio Books 

STEVIE WONDER 

JOINS BATTLE 

FOR THE FUTURE 

OF RADIO

Legendary Motown musician Stevie Wonder has joined the battle for the future of radio. He's written a lengthy article about how the current trend towards ever more copyright bodies is stifling radio and may lead to its demise. The move will certainly drive many smaller stations out of business, leaving only the big boys on the bands - the major conglomerates.

Stevie makes several impassioned pleas in his article (you can read it all by clicking here), and stands up firmly on the sign of broadcasters.  He owns his own station in Los Angeleses, called KJLH Stevie says it stands for Kindness, Joy, Love and Harmony and he insists that the DJs have a free hand in the music they play. The station even includes the name FREE in its title.  Stevie bought the station over forty years ago, in the early 1970s. KVLH has long been one of the leading black music stations in California and is now the oldest African-American owned station on the west coast.

"Radio give us not only music and entertainment and direct into our homes, but news, war and religion, " says Stevie.  "It has helped shape the psyche of our country in difficult times and it has served to reassure us that we were not alone at times we thought we were. And while radio has seemingly been eclipsed through the years by other forms of mass communication, radio remains that constant that we rely on to always be there to deliver what we need."

The first thing most people think about when they think about radio is hearing their favorite song," Stevie reminds us. "Or they will be tuning in to listen to their favorite radio personality, because to this day DJs are often just as big a star as those on the records they spin (an out-of-date metaphor, I know, but you get the point).

"The first thing most people think about when they think about radio is hearing their favorite song," Stevie reminds us. "Or they will be tuning in to listen to their favorite radio personality, because to this day DJs are often just as big a star as those on the records they spin (an out-of-date metaphor, I know, but you get the point)."

"Mo matter how much current artists embrace new technology and platforms to spread their music, if you ask any one of them, they will still tell you that their biggest kick came from hearing their song on the radio for the first time, " says Stevie in the article. 

One of Stevie's best friends will tell you exactly the same. Paul McCartney (his and Stevie's duet Ebony and Ivory was #1 around the world in late 1983) reports that the first time he and the other three Beatles heard their music on the radio was in the group's van travelling home from a gig in 1962. They herd it on Radio Luxembourg; DJ Tony Prince has the actual copy played  and now signed by Paul McCartney its worth over £10,000. 

"All across the country there are still independent station owners maintaining a strong and vital link to their communities in the form of being not just a source of entertainment but also the eyes, ears and voice of their listeners. They are small-business men and women trying to be of service to their local markets while also dealing with the obstacles of running a radio station. I know these people very well, because I am one of them. I have owned my radio station KJLH in Los Angeles for almost 40 years," says Stevie, whose music continues to be among the most downloaded on iTunes. KJLH programmes all kinds of black-oriented music, but primailly jazz and urban contemporary. 

  "We strive very hard to be a meaningful member of our community and offer things that the large or nationwide programmers can’t. We are a home to our listeners, a place they find comfort and refuge from the mass market. All that is threatened if we cant stay in business. As a songwriter and recording artist, I grew up at a time when there were only two performing rights organizations in the United States, ASCAP and BMI. In virtually every other country in the world there is only one society. Then came a third, SESAC. And now we have a fourth: GMR. We  independent station owners are facing higher costs to play the music our audience wants to hear.  We have chaos, uncertainty and uinfairness!"

Let us all find a way to create a better system that takes away the need for any of us to be unhappy. 

Let us work together to get this thing right.

(CLICK to read Stevie's full article)