UK radio groups do not have to react to ‘often imaginary threats’ from the internet and would be wise to ‘prod the digital beast with a long stick,” according to Adam Smith, head of knowledge management at Zenith Media. Delivering his Radio In The Multi-Media Future paper at the Radio Advertising Bureau’s (RAB) annual conference yesterday, Smith highlighted the strengths which UK commercial radio possesses in the face of the growth of new media.
Smith went on to describe radio’s “apartness from other media, old, new and still to come.” As a secondary medium, radio is likely to be less heavily affected by the increased use of the internet than, say, television. Radio is often listened to in a way that is complementary to other activities, including surfing the internet. Furthermore, from an advertiser’s point of view, UK radio listeners are very loyal to stations and rarely flick through the dial as they do with television stations – ads are “intrusive and zap-resistant,” says Smith.
Another strength which commercial radio has in the face of competition from new media, is its lack of reliance on classified advertising, an area of anticipated large growth on the internet. Where around 30% of newspapers’ revenue comes from classified ads, radio is strictly display. This could cause a problem for radio however, as Smith the industry conference: “If newspapers lose a chunk of revenue to the net – and it could be a big chunk – they will come after yours. And commercial radio has no second source of revenue to fall back on. Radio may indeed look a tasty takeover morsel to, say, the regional press.”
Smith also says that radio is becoming expensive and warns that if advertisers have to pay too much for airtime they may take their money elsewhere: “The cause is something approaching excess demand,” he says. “A nice problem to have, but if the industry were tempted to aggravate it with TV wheezes like late booking penalties and station average pricing, don’t be surprised if the money walks.”
Smith’s comments to the RAB conference come as a number of radio groups are developing their online businesses. Chrysalis Radio has already developed websites for its Heart and Galaxy brands and is creating a system to deliver the stations, via the internet, to mobile telephones (see Chrysalis Radio Allows Listeners To Talk On The Internet). Similarly, EMAP Radio has thrown £2 million pounds at the development of its internet-related activities (see Emap Radio To Launch Online Gateway To The North) and Capital Radio brought in the head of BBC Online to drive its interactive offerings (see Capital Radio Poaches BBC Online Head To Drive Internet Development).
However, Smith believes that radio should perhaps concentrate on the strengths it already possesses: “I think commercial radio’s best response to all of the above is nothing more complicated than promoting its central, inalienable qualities – usefulness, popularity, convenience – and defending its main assets, and perhaps not charging off to become jack-off-all-media.”
