Independent minded |
Scott Williams is chairman of the Independent Broadcasters of Ireland and chief executive of Dublin’s Q102. From the proposed new broadcasting charge to creative standards in radio ads, he has his opinions and is not shy in airing them, as Michael Cullen discovered. Media agency executives joined in on the analysis
EASY LISTENING FOR DUBLINERS |
For someone who combines running one of Dublin’s top radio stations with presenting an evening drivetime show weekdays and heading up the representative body for Ireland’s independent commercial radio broadcasters, Scott Williams is remarkably laid-back. Seated in his modest chief executive’s office in UTV’s Macken House, down beside the last Luas stop in the Docklands, he goes about his business with a calm resolve.
Coffee in hand, the interview gets underway. He repeats my starter question, but in first person singular: “What do I think of the minister’s plan to replace the TV licence with a household broadcasting charge?” with a “I’m glad you asked me that” glance, while amending it slightly to “what does the IBI think…” – before answering. Once Williams starts talking radio, he’s like a goal-ward bound Lionel Messi, there’s no stopping him.
“The IBI welcomes a new broadcasting charge to replace the current TV licence,” he says. “We also urge Minister Rabbitte to review how the revenue collected is used. In terms of funding, you can go back to the original Radio Bill in the late Eighties when Minister Burke said the new sector would be public service broadcasting in private hands. The pirates became the new music brands, which essentially is what we still have today.
“A 20 per cent requirement for news/current affairs was imposed on everyone, which you don’t see in places like the US or Australia. Anyway… Two decades on, the bits between the songs are the differentiator between stations. If you look at Radio 1, it’s inversely proportionate, the further you go from Dublin, their share falls and by the time you get to Kerry or Donegal, Radio Kerry and Highland Radio with local news, sport, comment, dominate.
“The really successful stations broadcast way in excess of the 20 per cent requirement,” he adds. Despite all the focus on austerity measures and the relentless doom and gloom, Radio 1 held its ground in the latest JNLR for the year to December. Oilbhe Doyle at OMD said it was an “outstanding book” for Newstalk’s breakfast show. “Although the 87 per cent increase is from a low base, it’s not to be sniffed at,” Doyle says.
Paul Enright, Vizeum, says that FM104 is the clear leader of all the local stations in Dublin, so Q102 and 98FM will vie with each other for second place on any schedules looking to improve reach in the capital. The latest report shows there is work to be done. Against all adults, Q102’s breakfast show was down three points, its mid-morning show took a ten point dip and Williams’s own evening drivetime slot was down by 17 per cent.
Back to Williams. “All radio in Ireland is both commercial and public service,” he insists. “We’re all funded by ads. RTE is bound under the Broadcasting Act to vigorously pursue commercial revenues and to top up their licence fee money. The output is public service but on independent radio we have public service as well. Take Matt Cooper and The Last Word. Is that not public service broadcasting, just because it’s on Today FM?
“It’s one argument that runs on. We met with the minister and he accepted there’s a public service dimension to independent broadcasting. It’s important to accept that but it doesn’t mean the independents and RTE must fight to the death because that’s not what it’s about. JNLR says 84 per cent of adults listened to radio yesterday. I say it’s more. The other 16 per cent just forgot. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t listen to radio.”
As Declan Dockery of Mediaworks explains, the good news for Q102 is that while its core audience is 25 to 44-year-olds, it is only local Dublin station that is in the top four of the following age groups: 25-34; 35-44; 45-54 and 55-64. It has a broader appeal among different age groups than other Dublin stations. RTE Radio 1 is the only other station to feature in all four age groups. Since 2008, Q102 has grown by almost 34 per cent in all.
But Conor Mangan, radio buyer, Starcom, says that having become a genuine challenger to FM104 and 98FM two years ago, the station’s overall market share fell by 1.5 per cent to 9.6 per cent last year. While it is a one point increase on their 2009 result, given the drop off in 98FM’s popularity in the last year, Q102 will be disappointed they did not capitalise on 98FM’s misfortune and steal some of their thunder. Why the step back?
With the growing demand for news and current affairs on radio, Irish adults aged 35 and over are more interested in keeping up to date with the latest headlines rather than regular musical interludes. “It’s evidenced by the 3.1 per cent increase in listeners aged 35 and over for RTE Radio 1 and the 1.9 per cent increase for Newstalk,” Mangan says. “Over half of that audience in Dublin are listening to current affairs-related radio content.”
Back to Williams again and the household broadcasting charge to replace the TV licence. The minister believes about 15 per cent of consumers are currently not paying the fee, resulting in a €25 million loss in revenue for RTE. The minister told the IBI that he can eliminate evasion and grow the pot. As well as that, An Post is paid €12m a year to collect the licence charge. So the minister clearly has some thinking to do.
Williams says the Sound & Vision scheme run by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) is old hat. “It’s had its day because it’s open to all broadcasters,” he says. “It’s very minority interest programming, so the bulk of the money goes to RTE. TV gets more as it costs more to produce.” The IBI is proposing that Sound & Vision be axed and a new scheme set up with more funds, some of which will be ring-fenced for all radio.
The IBI has yet to formulate a policy on plans to have a presenters’ register of interests. The BAI has proposed that on-air presenters, or their editors, should make a public declaration about their financial or commercial interests which may be seen as having an influence on them. As a broadcaster, Williams has some concerns. For instance, if a station is doing an item on diabetes, is the presenter obliged to declare he’s diabetic?
In its analysis of Ireland’s advertising market, Core Media, the Publicis agency group which accounts for about €160m in annual spend, points out some home truths about radio. Despite the high audience levels, the medium saw a 6.5 per cent drop in ad revenue last year and it looks as though spend will be down by a further four per cent this year. The issue is the disparity between the audience levels and declining revenues.
Core’s Alan Cox says the BAI needs to re-examine the viability of 37 commercial licences in a market the size of Ireland. This year will see “the survival of the fittest”. Williams says radio is like other media, it is under pressure and some are finding the going really tough. Niche players can win out, as Nova has shown. But for others, Tony O’Reilly once said: “There may be a gap in the market, but is there a market in the gap?”
While Ireland’s radio market may be a little crowded these days, Q102’s owner, the Belfast-listed UTV Media, plans to launch a new station, Signal 107, in Britain following its purchase of three local licences in the West Midlands. The combined stations have a potential audience of 900,000. UTV already owns the national talkSPORT, 13 local stations and has interests in eight of the UK’s digital radio multiplexes.
Cox believes creativity is the biggest stumbling block facing Irish radio. He welcomes the decision by the IBI and RTE to invest €100,000 in the launch of Radio Gauge. The online study measures effectiveness and helps promote understanding of radio creativity. It has been operating in the UK for the past five years. Two years ago, the Radio Advertising Bureau (RAB) credited it with increasing radio spend for the first time in four years.
“Accountability is everything,” Williams says. “How do you know an ad is working? Anecdotally, people say to you they heard the ad on radio or saw it in a magazine, but you can’t isolate the effect. Now we can show what radio contributes. Using radio can deliver results; dabbling in radio doesn’t, just like dabbling in anything.”
Radio creativity has come in for a lot of stick in recent years. At recent IBI conferences, for two years in a row, speakers from the floor said radio ads were “shite”. Williams took the brickbats on the chin but he is anxious to put things in context. While radio got all the blame for the lack of creativity, he says 80 per cent of radio ads that go out on air are made by agencies. So, to be fair, agencies need to take a hard look at themselves.
The IBI works informally with IAPI and the AAI in trying to improve standards. For years, 98FM handed out creative awards to agencies. Now the IBI plans an industry award to mark advertising creativity. “While nothing is agreed as yet,” Williams says, “we’d be thinking along the lines of presenting a grand prix – just one winner, not one for everyone in the audience. A great piece of radio, like the Choose Radio ads we ran.”
As OMD’s Oilbhe Doyle says, the reality is there is a whole load of stations playing in the middle of the market. Whatever about who has the best playlist, the JNLR analysis shows it is all about brand identity and distinction. The plethora of stations in the Dublin market means that stand out and strong marketing is needed to create cut through in the clutter. With all the noise radio is creating, sounds as though we’re in for some drama.
