Radio 3.0: Re-Energising for 21st Century Commercial Radio

Yesterday’s Radio 3.0 conference delved into the future of radio and how the industry can harness the internet and DAB to push the medium forward.

Phil Riley, chief executive of Chrysalis Radio, started by stressing how much money had already been invested in DAB by the industry and that this investment must continue for the next several years in order to break even. He believes within the next two to four years, companies will start to break even and begin to profit from digital radio, rather than just feeding it money in order to get it moving.

Riley continued by saying that one of the trickiest areas for radio companies is the multitude of platform choice – internet, mobile, DAB, TV. The question is where to put stations. He believes currently that it is just a matter of placing bets as to which platform will work for which station.

Maintaining dual platform (digital and analogue) is costing the commercial radio industry £25 million each year. Spending money in this area is hurting the sector as it could otherwise be invested in the creative side – making more innovative programming with greater talent, enabling the commercial sector to compete more equally with the BBC.

Mark Story, managing director of radio programming at Emap, believes that the industry has a great chance to change the face of radio with the arrival of the second national digital radio multiplex licence (see National Grid Wireless Bids On Multiplex), as this will put the commercial radio sector on a more evenly balanced playing field with the BBC. Expectations from the city are that the radio industry needs to move in a new direction and to really start growing up.

Trevor Dann, director of the Radio Academy, believes that a real challenge for the industry regarding the creative side of radio is not to get too hung up on the delivery and which platform to use, rather create compelling content that listeners will go and find.

Both Riley and Story agreed that the arrival of virtual-only radio stations poses no real threat to the industry as locality is one of the key strengths of what makes radio work. Emap now has stations making programming that focuses on the local area, as locality is so important to the core business, especially outside of London.

All agreed though that what is really needed is more consolidation and better brands in order to compete with the BBC, with more emphasis on sponsorship and promotion, less reliance on the 30-second ad spot and less regulation and interfering from Ofcom.

Chrysalis: 020 7221 2213 www.chrysalis.com Emap: 01733 568 900 www.emap.co.uk