Digital radio not via DAB

Unsurprisingly, an independent survey has found that more people listen to
radio via digital TV than via DAB, which is the opposite of what the radio
industry-funded RAJAR found, because they want everybody to believe that
everybody listens via DAB.


http://media.guardian.co.uk/site/story/0,,2068275,00.html

People listen more and more via mobiles, digital TV and the net

John Plunkett
Monday April 30, 2007
The Guardian

It is a little late to rebrand the Sony Radio Academy Awards in time for
tonight's ceremony at London's Grosvenor House Hotel. But research
commissioned by Sony to mark the awards' 25th anniversary this year suggests
a little name change might one day be in order. Problem is, the "Sony
multi-platform audio awards" just doesn't have the same ring about it.

The Sony poll, carried out by ICM, suggests that the industry may have
underestimated the amount of time we spend listening to the radio via
alternative platforms such as mobile phones, digital TV and the web. The
research, published today, says three in 10 people listen to radio via the
internet, more than four in 10 via digital TV and one in five listens to it
on an MP3 or other digital music player. One in eight listens via a mobile
phone with a built-in tuner, rising to one in three among 18 to
24-year-olds, a far higher proportion than any other age group.

The figures are higher - sometimes considerably so - than any published by
Rajar, the industry's official audience measurement body. In its last data
release for the fourth quarter of last year, Rajar said the number of people
who listened to the radio via the internet was just over 22%. Sony's
research, carried out by ICM, put the figure nearly a third higher at 30%.

Rajar said the proportion of people listening to radio via a mobile phone
was just under 8%. ICM's study said it was 12%. And Rajar said the number of
people who had ever listened to radio via their digital TV was 39%. ICM said
42%. The latest Rajar statistics, for the first quarter of 2007, will be
unveiled on May 10.

The digital radio revolution may be further along the road than we thought,
then. "It reinforces the fact that you have got to be on every platform,"
says Virgin Radio chief executive Paul Jackson. "Our website is pretty
integral to us and is something we make a lot of revenues out of. You are
able to have a much closer relationship with your listener. With new music,
classic videos, MySpace and blogging, there are so many other places you can
lead the listener to. It is still radio, but there are many different ways
you can receive it."

Today's radio report, based on a representative sample of 563 people,
suggests nearly a fifth of radio listening (18%) is now via platforms other
than the old-fashioned analogue receiver. Unsurprisingly, young people are
the earliest adopters. A third of 18 to 24-year-olds now listen to radio via
their mobile phone, 52% to digital audio broadcasting (DAB radio), and 57%
tune in via digital TV. Listening via MP3 and other digital players was
marginally less popular among 18-24s (26%) than 25-34s (27%).

We are more likely to listen to radio via digital TV (42%) than we are via
digital radio (36%), a reflection, presumably, of the greater penetration of
multi-channel TV compared with sales of digital radio sets. "Internet radio
is no longer the preserve of technology enthusiasts," said Steve Dowdle,
managing director of Sony UK, unveiling the new research. "Young people
really enjoy radio but want to hear it via different media devices such as
television and mobile phones."

It is a little early to start predicting the death of the radio schedule,
but the research also looked at the growing popularity of listening to shows
via the web after they have been broadcast. Around one in five listeners
opts to "listen again" or download shows after broadcast, rising to a peak
of nearly 4 in 10 listeners aged 25 to 34. Some 15% of listeners use the
internet to listen to shows and stations outside of their broadcast area.

But old habits die hard - apparently one in three of us still enjoys
listening to the radio in the bath or shower. No stats were available on how
many of us sing along as well.


--
Steve - www.digitalradiotech.co.uk - Digital Radio News & Info

Find the cheapest Freeview & DAB prices:
http://www.digitalradiotech.co.uk/freeview/freeview_receivers.php
http://www.digitalradiotech.co.uk/dab/dab_radios.php


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