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Broadcaster shuffles away from local operations, trend continues
bye, bye DJs

Challenging times often present opportunities. Those with sharp eyes spot tasty morsels while others, well, become lunch. It is this free-market reality that has propelled the media sector to greater and greater heights. Alas, viewing from on high sometimes reveals more.

Bauer Media UK is consolidating several recently acquired local radio stations into its Hits Radio Brand network. By September 49 of 56 local FM licenses the company bought from Wireless, UKRD, Lincs FM and Celador will drop local branding and, for some, scale back local operations, reported Radio Today UK (May 27). Digital-only channels acquired in those transactions will close.

Of about 200 DJ and production jobs at the stations in transition about 40 will survive as some morning and afternoon programs are consolidated into regional presentations. Bauer Media UK also recently took full ownership of sales house First Radio Sales from Wireless. Some facilities could be made redundant as operations move into regional centers. (See more about media in the UK here)

Over the past decade commercial radio broadcasters in the UK followed a strategy of flooding the market with quasi-national brands. Part of this was accomplished by industry-supported development of the DAB (digital audio broadcasting) platform. Through that, local stations were absorbed into quasi-national brands. According to Q1 2020 RAJAR UK national audience estimates aggregate reach share for national commercial radio channels rose to 22.3% from 14.2% in the same period 2015. Through the same period aggregate reach share for local commercial radio dropped to 25.5% from 28.6%.

Broadcasters warn of market failure, minister sighs
"not confident"

Much of the media world is being devastated. While media usage is reaching record highs, the ad spending that largely powers those voices is drying up as advertisers lockdown or lock up. Cries for support are loudest from big newspaper publishers. And they are largely getting what they want, albeit indirectly. The rest have hardly a voice when it counts.

The French Union of Independent Radio Broadcasters (Syndicat des radios indépendantes SIRTI) represents 170 mostly local radio stations. In April, 90% had cut back employee work hours, said a member survey released this week. About one-third expect this to continue through the end of August. Half have needed bank loans to continue. Half again have asked to suspend employee tax charges. (See more about media in France here)

Nearly three out of four SIRTI members (72%) are “not confident” normal operations will soon return. One of five (21%) expect financial difficulties to continue all year. “The State must recognize the invaluable social role of independent radio stations during this crisis by taking measures to meet the challenges,” added SIRTI president Alain Liberty in a statement quoted by AFP (May 26). The group is asking for assistance paying employee salaries as well as structural costs, like broadcast transmission. SIRTI member broadcasters employ 2,500 persons, one-fifth devoted to news and information.

French private-sector radio broadcasters, led by the big ones, have asked that advertising, limited as it is, be suspended on those public broadcaster Radio France channels that carry ads. "The brutal fall in our advertising revenues requires our businesses to take action of budgetary restrictions and could quickly threaten their viability,” said a letter to prime minister from the chief executives of M6 (RTL), NRJ, NextRadioTV, Lagardère News Group and the aforementioned SIRTI, quoted by Journal du Dimanche (May 24). Minister of Culture Franck Riester has ruled out cutting ads on Radio France channels.

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