The Auto Stream

Circulating amongst the delegates at NAB Europe was Clive Dickens from Absolute Radio. As well as running a successful consultancy, his company owns 2 radio stations in Oxford... one being the new JACK FM, of which much has already been said and written. We started to discuss the one thing that had really stood out for me about JACK FM Oxford... and surprisingly it wasn't something that I'd heard on air.

When you visit http://www.jackfm.co.uk/ (but not until you've finished reading this if you'd be so kind...) a pretty standard radio station homepage pops up... but then within about 2 seconds, something rather exciting happens. The live stream launches... automatically...!! I remember when I first came across this I thought... "That's a bit different". And the more I thought about it.... the more it made sense. Bloody good sense.

Every time I see research on the reasons why people go to a radio stations website... usually top of the list is the reason "I want to listen live / stream the radio station". The numbers vary from 50% anywhere up to 80%! So why not make it easy for them? Save people the hassle! What's the worst that could happen? They actually get to sample the station and stay listening to it for a while? That's kinda the idea with radio isn't it?!

There are some radio stations where it is painfully difficult to launch the live stream, and on a number of occasions I've just given up after form-filling for an eternity. Life's far too short to keep giving out my 'Mother's Maiden Name' and remember what kind of connection I've got. What is a 'T1' when it's at home anyway? There's a short pre-roll ad of about 8 seconds when the JACK stream 'auto-launches', but nothing too much to put me off.... and bang... I'm straight into music. ("Simple Minds - All The Things She Said" as it happens on this occasion!)

At NAB, Clive Dickens explained to me actually how difficult it has been to technically make this 'auto-stream' happen. I may have appeared to glaze over somewhat at that point, but got the gist of it! But I think it's worth the agro he and his team went through. It will fascinating to see if JACK in the UK has pioneered something that will catch on progressively over the next 12 months globally, or if others won't want to follow suit, fearing an audience backlash.

"Dear Sir... I visited your website, and was horrified that you played music to me... without asking my permission! How very dare you! What are you? Some kind of radio station?" etc etc...

Have a think about how much you could increase TSL to your station just by adopting this idea. Worth a second thought isn't it...

"Barcelona... And shake the foundations from the skies"

And as another conference fades away into the distance, what did we all glean from our time at NAB Europe in Barcelona? (Apart from the fact that the Arts Hotel is a jolly nice place to stay!)

There is no question that listening via digital, the convergence of online and radio, and the fact that radio is now a multi-platform, multi channel medium, dominated the topics in the conference sessions and discussions outside them too.

There was a whole extra day devoted to podcasting, and sessions about the topic in the main schedule of events... and the issue of 'time shift listening' and 'radio on demand' is something I'll return to time and time again over the next 12 months, I'm certain.

Ensuring radio stations are still create engaging and stimulating content was never far from the lips of the programming fraternity, however for the first time I've begun to notice a real sense of fragmentation in radio world.

The Futurists: These are the people who believe that for radio to survive, it needs to fully embrace the opportunities that the digital future has to offer. Radio on demand, multi channel offerings on multiple platforms, placing content where the listeners are... not expecting them to always come to you etc etc... The tone was set by Natalie Schwartz from Channel 4 Radio in her opening remarks to conference and there is little question that Channel 4 and it's services will be pushing this as much as they can once fully launched. These futurists tend to be from countries with large populations and mature radio markets.

The 'Non-Content' Collective: It was great to see someone from Pandora (Paul Brown, their 'International' MD) at the NAB Conference. I like Pandora. I think it's a very clever service and I use it at least once a week. But is it 'radio' in the classic sense of the word? Likewise there were other 'music only' streaming services represented and they, like Pandora have found a particular place in the radio world that is separate and distinct to what we know as conventional radio... but obviously very closely related. Again, in a multi-channel environment where decent on-air talent is at a premium, we can expect more and more of these kind of services to flourish. I feel a separate blog about Pandora coming soon!

The Luddites: I was surprised at how many 'old school-ers' there were around. I had several conversations with people who didn't quite grasp the impact that digital technology and the Internet will have on the traditional radio business. I'm frightened for them to be honest with you! I know different countries and different markets are at different stages in the development of radio... but pretty soon, geographical boundaries won't mean anything to a whole generation of people growing up with a sense that the world is on their doorstep, and they can access any media they want, at any time.

Larry Rosin from Edison Media Research spoke eloquently on the topic of The Infinite Dial. It's "radio's take" on that great book by Chris Anderson called 'The Long Tail', which is getting more relevant to radio day by day. Larry 'et al', are firmly in the "...let's march forward boldly into this brave new world..." camp. I confess that I will be marching with them.

Do nothing, and the danger is that your radio business will be left behind forever.

"Barcelona - such a beautiful horizon..."

The 'good', 'bad' and sometimes 'downright ugly' of the radio world are packing their bags (no liquids more than 100ml remember!) and heading for the bright lights and tapas scented aroma of Barcelona for the annual NAB Europe Radio Conference.

It's a time where deals are done in huddled corners, new friends are made, and some old colleagues are avoided!

This conference promises to be an interesting one for several reasons. There's a good selection of sessions... something for everyone I feel, and if you're going to NAB I would be failing in my duty not to urge to to pop your head into the "Does radio have a 10% plus media share in your country?" session at 12pm on Monday! I, joined by a worldly wise panel, will set out my view of the barriers to growth in radio, what emerging markets need to do, and what the future is for developed markets in terms of growth. My crystal ball is well and truly polished!

For the first time at NAB there is a podcasting seminar on the Sunday... which indicates the growing importance of non-liner broadcasts to the radio world.

And another first... The European Radio Awards! I think this is a great idea, to try and pull a Europe wide contest together, and host a bit of a bash at the same time. Being a judge for the first year, I can say the quality of the award entries was really high with some great bits of radio being submitted. I fear I may be called upon to hand out an award. Let's hope it's early on during the evening before the plentiful and flowing supply of Rioja has kicked in...

And once the proceedings are over for another year, and we're all homeward bound with a stuffed straw donkey, china plate with a picture of a bullfight on it, and a jingle demo CD in Polish all stashed safely in our bags... I will bring you the lowdown from the NAB Conference 2007, and what we've learned this year.

Viva Espagne!

RAJAR Qtr 3 2007

Now that the dust has settled on another set of listening figures in the UK, and the metaphorical handbags are returned to the closets, who were the winners and losers and what have we learnt this time around.

Well, the big bun fight was (as predicted) over the Breakfast Show figures in London. Who really is number one?

Capital are bullishly claiming that Johnny Vaughan is clearly number one, as his show has more listeners during the entire duration of the show. This is true... and from 6:30am till 10am there are 1.024 Million listeners.

"Stop cracking it up right there..." cries a rather bemused Dr Fox, Foxy, Neil Fox.... you know the guy. Magic's argument is that their show runs from 5:30am till 9am, and while both shows are on at the same time, 6am - 9am... Magic beats Capital. For the record, the figures are...

Magic - 885,000
Capital - 880,000
Heart - 810,000

So, who's right. Well, I feel that common sense should take over at this stage. You have to measure like for like, between 6 and 9am. Otherwise, Capital or any other station indeed, could run their breakfast show from 5am till 10:30am, and bingo... the reach of the show has increased again!

Frankly, it's all a bit of a storm in a tea cup, as the lead is so minimal versus the accuracy of the ratings data, that it could be reversed with the stroke of a pen next time round.

However, Magic are proud to claim number one commercial reach position and number one breakfast show, whilst Capital are keen to gain the PR advantage that having the number 1 morning show brings you, especially when your share figure has come off the pace of the top two.

It just shows you how fierce this battle is, and I have no doubt that the handbags will make another appearance in 3 months time!

And now... news in brief!

Well done to Choice FM who now have 611,000 listeners a week. They're really delivering a focused urban product which knows it's target audience so well.

Nice try to Xfm whose 'no DJ's in the day' thing (Called Xu... or something suitably cool) has contributed to a slump from 2% to 1.2% share. Oops! Never did like the idea!!

Moyles and Wogan are down a bit... but I don't see either of them being unduly worried!

The Hits continues to be a great success story for EMAP with 1.49Million listeners. It shows you what having a focused product on the right platforms can do! Well done guys!

With digital listening accounting for 15% of listening time in the UK, the future is firmly in the digital arena... a point I'll expand on during my session at this years NAB in Barcelona next week.

Prepare to Meet Jack

The countdown is on... The clock is ticking... It's not long now... The wait is finally over... T minus 10 seconds to launch... Prepare for takeoff... (Insert your own cliché here!)

The first JACK-FM outside North America is launching this week in the most English of English cities... Oxford! How will one of the biggest format success stories in the last few years from the US translate the UK?

Well - we know that it will be different for a start. The North American JACK's are mostly music intensive, no-DJ environments. In the UK, JACK-FM will have a good old 'Breakfast Show' and a 'Drivetime' moment, both hosted by real people... and not just the 'voice of Jack'. (Trevor Marshall, who is one of the hosts of mornings is an excellent broadcaster and will bring a certain class to the show without a doubt).

But 'JACK-FM Oxfordshire' will be different in the way that it approaches the challenge that many commercial radio stations in the UK have, that is how to break the pattern of predictability and cycle of monotony that tightly formatted stations bring?

The 'extreme variety' position that JACK has grown famous for in many US and Canadian markets will now be unleashed on the good folk of Oxfordshire. We can expect car crash segues from artists as varied as The Police, Bananrama, Leo Sayer, Carl Douglas, Roxette, Depeche Mode, Steely Dan and David Bowie.

Hang on a minute... that sounds like something the BBC would do!

And that's the point. I believe that JACK-FM will offer a viable alternative to Radio 2 and BBC Radio Oxford and provide a section of older adults, mainly 40+, with a "commercial radio station that doesn't sound like a commercial radio station". I'm sure that Fox FM (the heritage commercial station in the market) will not be welcoming this new entrant to the rather uncompetitive Oxfordshire marketplace, as inevitably JACK will pull from some of the older end that's been holding up their cume for all those years. But even the guys at Fox should welcome a station that will challenge the BBC in a smarter way.

A morning show that will have a 50/50 speech and music balance and packed with local content will inevitably appeal to some of BBC Oxford's 100,000 weekly listeners, and hourly news bulletins will satisfy the demand for information throughout the day.

The Year 1 audience projections are around a 55,000 Reach with a Market Share 5.4%. I'm confident they can achieve that given the strength of the proposition and format, the charisma of the brand, and the expertise of the operators.

Good luck Jack!

And to get you all in the mood, here's a fun TV spot from JACK-FM in Toronto...

Name That Show

Congratulations to Mads Vangsø and the team at client station, Radio 100FM in Denmark, who this week successfully launched their brand new morning show.

It's called "Farvel seng – jeg elsker dig!". For those of you who don't speak fluent Danish... let me translate! The new show is called "Goodbye Bed - I Love You!"

With a title like that, you know you're in for something a little bit different!!

The issue of show names comes up from time to time. Should you name all your shows or only some of them... or none at all? Personally, naming all of your shows I think is a step too far, but giving your morning show a strong identity isn't a bad thing. Creating a sub-brand that listeners associate with your station is a nice shorthand for them, and can help define the show before a potential listener even hears it.

"The Rehab" - Sunday morning's on Kiss 100 London... you kinda know you're going to get chill out tunes! 'The Morning After' which is Kerrang! Radio's new morning show has some attitude to it... and ties in well with their late show that is appropriately titled "The Night Before"!

And while we're on the subject of show name... can we please impose a worldwide ban on "The Morning Crew" or "Dave and The Morning Crew"! It's so dated!

A 'crew' of people isn't something I would really want to wake up with, unless I was working on a ship or travelling on the Space Shuttle.

"Hi - you wanna come round and hang out with The Crew?"

"Where are calling from.... 1987?"

OK - I'll stop now. You get the point.

Jack Off!

A nice bit of guerrilla marketing by, the soon to be launched, Jack FM Oxford, as they gatecrashed Fox FM's 18th Birthday Party handing out their own birthday card to party goers.

This type of activity is perfect for the cheeky and irreverent style that I'm sure Jack FM will bring to Oxford.

There's probably a whole book to write on great competitive things that rival stations have done to each other. A nice one that sticks in my mind is when Bam Bam, who was working at Kiss 100 at the time, bought a classic fire engine, complete with turntable ladder... just so he could drive it to Leicester Square... extend the ladder... and put a Kiss Sticker on the 3rd floor window where the Capital studio was. Cheeky, funny, perfect for that show and that station at the time.

He now broadcasts inside that very studio that he 'stickered' all those years ago. Funny how things work out!

Anyway - We should all look forward to seeing some nice marketing ideas coming out of Jack FM once it has launched. The countdown is on to Thursday 18th October at 1:06pm. Well they are on 106FM... so what did you expect!