A reflection on the changing objectives of the maturing commercial radio industry in the UK during the previous decade, written by Grant Goddard in August 2001.

1. THE U.K. COMMERCIAL RADIO
INDUSTRY: WHAT A
DIFFERENCE A DECADE MAKES
by
GRANT GODDARD
www.grantgoddard.co.uk
August 2001

2. Two seemingly random events collided last week that made me understand
just how much the commercial radio industry in the UK has matured during the
last decade.
EVENT ONE: When the latest RAJAR radio ratings figures were released, a
flurry of press releases quickly followed from all the major players in the radio
industry, trumpeting their positive results. Many stations wanted to inform us
about their achievements in a specific age group or with a specific sex. BBC
Radio One told us that it now reaches 54% of all 15-24 year olds. Classic FM
proclaimed that "children's listening has reached an all-time high." TalkSport
announced an "improving" audience profile of 75.1% male listeners. Atlantic
252 realised a 12% increase in the 15-24 year old market. KISS FM in
London became the "first time ever market leader for 15-34 men." And Magic
FM "consolidates its position as most popular station for 35-44 year olds."
EVENT TWO: Last week, whilst packing my possessions into boxes for
another move, I found an unlabelled file of photocopied papers from ten years
ago. Back then, I had just successfully launched KISS FM in London as the
UK's first youth-orientated radio station. An innovative programming strategy
and a young, energetic team catapulted the audience from zero to more than
one million per week in the station's first six months on-air, a full half-year
ahead of the target promised to advertisers. KISS FM was the UK's first
station to capture the youth market, and it immediately reached 36% of all 1519 year olds in London on a weekly basis.
But building success in the radio industry is a surefire way for an innovative
programme maker to lose their job, and I was no exception. The papers I
found last week were part of my search for a new job after clearing my desk at
KISS FM. I had sent presentation packs to commercial stations around the
country, explaining how I had built a huge audience at KISS by focusing on a
hitherto ignored demographic. The sudden success of KISS FM had shaken
up the radio industry in London. I predicted that existing radio stations across
the rest of the country would be forced to face similar changes in the near
future. My pitch for work proclaimed:
"RADIO IN THE 1990s is facing increased competition. Not only from new
media crowding into the marketplace. But as much from newly licensed local
and national radio services.
MORE THAN EVER, successful radio programming needs to hit home firmly
with a specific audience – an audience grouped by age, lifestyle, class, music
taste, or even daypart availability.
SCATTERSHOT RADIO PROGRAMMING is dead. Hoping that someone
somewhere likes your format is a surefire ticket to oblivion. Tightly targeted
programming is in.
TO MAKE A radio station a success in London, it's gotta be sh*t hot, it's gotta
be totally confident of what it's doing, and it's gotta hit its target audience right
over their heads.
The U.K. Commercial Radio Industry: What A Difference A Decade Makes
©2001 Grant Goddard
page 2

3. WHAT LONDON IS experiencing now will arrive soon in the rest of the
country..... You have to know the audience, know their viewpoints, understand
their tastes. You have to know the marketplace, perceive the gaps, and place
your product precisely in the right spot. And you always have to deliver what
you promise your audience you will."
My pitch for work was a dismal failure. I made follow-up phone calls to stations
about my presentation, but senior radio managers I spoke to seemed totally
baffled by the concept of a 'target' audience. All they were concerned about
was the total number of listeners to their station. The bigger that number was,
the higher the rate they could charge their advertisers. As far as they were
concerned, any advertisers would suit them just fine – whatever their product,
whatever their market. The whole concept of targeted demographics was
beyond their horizons.
The only ratings figure that station managers understood then was 'weekly
reach' – the aggregate number of listeners across seven days. It was
irrelevant to them how long those listeners tuned in to their station. The
concept of 'market share' was totally unknown in radio, despite having been
used by the television industry for years. During that same period, I compiled
the UK's first radio station league tables on a city-by-city basis for publication
in the (now defunct) trade magazine 'rpm'. The data was derived from RAJAR
market share data and the resultant charts looked similar to radio ratings that
Arbitron had been publishing in the US for decades. I soon received irate
phone calls from radio managers of provincial commercial stations who
threatened to sue because I had published 'false' figures. Those managers
had absolutely no knowledge of their own station's 'share' figures and accused
me of inventing the statistics.
Last week's press releases made me realise just how much the UK radio
industry has grown up in the intervening years. 'Share' is now the most
important figure in radio. Targeting young people, targeting men, targeting
older people – all have now become accepted and proven ways of creating
successful radio stations. Somewhere along the way, the BBC noticed the
success of KISS FM in London and re-invented Radio One as its own 'youth
station' for 15-24 year olds, employing many of the same staff. Imitation may
be the sincerest form of flattery, but it has also proven to be Radio One's
surest route to ratings disaster. A formula that worked for us in London in
1990 is not the same one that will work in 2001 for the whole UK. But that is a
whole different story........
Grant Goddard is a media analyst / radio specialist / radio consultant with thirty years of
experience in the broadcasting industry, having held senior management and consultancy
roles within the commercial media sector in the United Kingdom, Europe and Asia. Details at
http://www.grantgoddard.co.uk
The U.K. Commercial Radio Industry: What A Difference A Decade Makes
©2001 Grant Goddard
page 3