The reduced costs of operating digital radio stations, along with their ability to cater for more niche interest groups, will see a surge in popularity for speech-based offerings, according to radio chiefs speaking at yesterday’s MediaTel INSIGHT Digital Radio and Beyond Seminar, held in association with MediaGuardian.
Ralph Bernard, chief executive of GCap Media, began the debate on speech stations, stating: “Speech radio is the great uncharted territory for commercial radio. LBC almost got there in the 70s and 80s, but was strangled. The people running it then were not radio people, they were TV or press people – or Americans who failed to recognise the power of the BBC.”
He continued: “In the future there will be a chance for commercial radio to make speech genuinely great, and pose a real challenge to Radio 4 and Five Live.”
Speaking from the audience, Phil Riley, chief executive of Chrysalis Radio, agreed with his rival, stating: “Radio 4 is a distortion in the market, but I think it is a valuable distortion. It is one we have to work around, and while commercial speech radio has suffered because it is largely broadcast on AM, digital radio is a different ball game – everyone is on a level playing field.”
Simon Cole, chief executive of UBC Media, explained that the partnership between his firm’s Oneword station and Channel 4 would provide huge opportunities for cross promotion, something he believes is a valuable lesson to be learned from the BBC.
“We realised that marketing a new national brand was beyond us,” he said. “That’s why we have partnered with Channel 4. Content brands which aren’t anywhere else but radio will have a tough time in the future.”
A Digital Radio Executive Report is available to buy at: http://www.mediatelinsight.co.uk/reports priced £225. The report features the latest forecasts and current marketplace dynamics for the digital radio market, including the uptake and listening patterns emerging for this medium, and looks forward to where new technological advances will take radio in the future.
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