ASIA

The expansion of the ongoing DAB+ trial in Bangkok Thailand was announced at the WorldDAB Technical Group meeting on December 9, 2021. With this development, the Office of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission of Thailand (NBTC) is set to coordinate the construction of 10 new transmission sites which include both National and Local DAB+ layers.The original DAB+ trials are in Bangkok and the surrounding region and were set up in cooperation with the Royal Thai Army with the objective to establish technical parameters. This expansion will include the areas and cities of Chang Mai in the north, Khonkaen and Nakhon Ratchasima in the northeast, Pattaya and Chonburi adjacent to Bangkok, and Songkhla, Nakhon Thammarat, and the tourist centre of Phuket in the south.NBTC officials indicated: “This is an exciting opportunity to expand the DAB+ coverage from our capital Bangkok into the major regional centres across the country. Not only does this expansion provide the opportunity to test features and educate broadcasters but most importantly to start the journey to attract DAB+ listeners. We intend to embark on a nationwide marketing campaign once we have the transmissions constructed. This project offers both national and regional broadcasters the opportunity to expand their services and coverage and to help ensure a healthy radio environment for the future, one which is both green and competitive”.

WorldDAB president Patrick Hannon expressed his support for Thailand saying: “The expansion of the DAB+ trial is an important step forward for digital radio in Thailand. As the global body responsible for promoting the adoption of DAB+, WorldDAB is always ready to support countries to move forward with deploying DAB+ in any way needed. We very much welcome the Thai initiative and we wish our Thai colleagues every success”.Initial objectives of the trials were to establish network parameters, demonstrate interference-free audio, introduce DAB+ data services, emergency warning system and electronic programme guide and pop-up services. Given the diverse geographic features and urban development in Bangkok and regional areas, the overall aim is to achieve the most beneficial coverage and quality of sound.The NBTC are active members of the WorldDAB APAC Technical Group and regularly provide valuable contributions to the forum. […]

Content from BPROver the years BPR has published many insightful articles on the subjects of music research, playlist management and music programming strategy all of which has laid the foundation for the world’s most successful music driven radio stations. The science is beyond doubt, the results undeniable. Knowing what your audience likes and playing the songs that create and maintain the optimal level of engagement (passion) is what it is all about. It is a grand, universal truth however I have never seen it played out so clearly and eloquently as I did on my own front lawn during the 4 weeks leading up to last Christmas.This is my Christmas story…

My family has always put on a Christmas lights display of some sort however this last year we took it to a new covid-lockdown inspired level. To be clear, I was just one of the roadies in this saga, all the technical and programming expertise comes from Cherie, my wife. To set the seen the scale of this year’s show needs to be mentioned. It involved, 2 servers, 2 digital projectors, 6 PC’s, 39 remote power supplies, 3 network switches, 4 bubble making machines, kilometres of cabling and approximately 20,000 programmable RGB lights commonly known as “pixel nodes”.  All this was sequenced to music and broadcast over a low power FM frequency.The music for the display was carefully selected and represented what I would describe in radio format terms as “The Best Mix of Christmas Classics from Yesterday and Today.”  The display ran for 3 hours each evening from 6:30pm to 9:30pm involving a 1-hour sequence of music which repeated. It was brilliant but there was one problem. We noticed that people only stayed for a song. No one watched the display for any length of time, which after all the hard work involved felt like a bit of let-down.After consulting our consultant (me) we decided to remove what we felt were the weakest songs. This increased the rotation of the remaining songs however we immediately observed that people were now staying around for two to three songs which was better than before but still below our expectation.Inspired by the results of trimming the playlist we now reduced the playlist even further resulting in most people now staying around for a full sequence. Social media started to buzz as those that had seen our display started to talk about it and share videos and photographs. At this point I shook my head and smiled, amazed at how basic music programming theory could apply to something as pedestrian as a suburban Christmas lights display.The final step and what was to become the proverbial icing on the cake was increasing the rotation of the songs that people seemed to like the most.  This resulted in families dancing on our lawn, staying for often two rotations of the display, and leaving hand-written notes of thanks in our letterbox. There were even some people who waited until the end of the evening and applauded.To be fair the music was a backdrop to the amazing visuals however we had gone from fleeting visitations of our display to families picnicking on the sidewalk all because we tightened the playlist and played the hits.I have hundreds of statistical charts that demonstrate the effect of strategic music programming, and I can rave about it for hours if you wish but I doubt anything will ever be as powerful an endorsement as the note left in our letterbox below.By Wayne Clouten, BPR […]

Radiodays Asia conference will be back with its third edition in September this year.Radiodays Asia 2022 will be hybrid; a live in-person event, but also offered online for those who might not be able to travel to attend in person. The main conference venue will be a centrally located hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Venue name and address to be confirmed.Preliminary dates for the event are 5-6 September 2022.

It will run in two parallel tracks to be able to offer a wide range of topics and specialized sessions with top-level international business leaders and professionals sharing their expertise.There will also be meet-ups where attendees can connect and discuss their most important issues. An exhibition area will offer opportunities for commercial partners to expose their brands and services and connect directly with attendees during the whole event.In addition, there will be specialized training sessions and workshops offered on the third day, after the main event.Further information will be released on registration and prices to attend in March 2022.Radiodays Asia brings together the best and brightest speakers. The event welcomes your suggestions to ensure that it covers all trends, topics and themes in the radio and audio industries today and in the future. You can suggest speakers and topics here.Radiodays Asia offer a wide range of options for sponsors, ranging from exhibition space to signage, branding and project sponsorships.If you have any queries about becoming an Exhibitor or Sponsor please contact the Radiodays Asia Commercial Manager: [email protected] […]

Singapore’s SPH Radio ended 2021 with growth in digital listenership though the Awedio app and station websites. Digital listenership grew by an average of 12.2% year-on-year1 according to data from Triton Digital, and downloads of Awedio grew by 9.1%, bringing the total downloads to 559,290 as of November 2021.The GFK 2021 Singapore Audience Study shows that SPH Radio stations have higher engagement with its listeners as compared to the other radio stations as listeners rated highly on metrics like ‘visiting an event/advertisers website or social media page’ after hearing it on SPH Radio stations2. This is also in line with other supporting findings that SPH Radio listeners have a more positive opinion of the products or brands that are advertised and are more likely to talk to friends and family about what they heard or read3. The study was conducted with 3,000 individuals, aged 15 and above.Kiss92 remains a favourite among students and young adults and commands one of the highest average weekday tune-in durations among all English stations with an average of 1.4 hours daily. Kiss92 is also the second most listened-to English station in the car4 on weekends. ONE FM 91.3 remains one of the most popular radio stations for the white-collar audience segment, with listeners citing the reason of ‘discovering new songs’ as their biggest reason to tune in5. This is testament to the unique playlist that is both familiar to the primary audience segment yet containing the occasional songs that are off the beaten track.

In a separate survey with more than 2,000 respondents by Milieu Insights, MONEY FM 89.3 remains the most influential radio station for the second year in a row with the highest rate of conversion to action among listeners6. The station is also the most well received by the audience segment of PMEBs (professionals, managers, executives and businessmen), followed secondly by undergraduates7. MONEY FM 89.3 listeners rated the station highly for the survey metrics of ‘news’, ‘topical discussions’ and ‘interview with experts’ which were much higher than industry average.UFM 100.3, one of the two Chinese stations of SPH Radio, holds the highest average listenership among Chinese radio stations for listeners aged between 25 to 34 years old. On the other hand, 96.3 Hao FM has the highest average tune-in duration among all SPH Radio stations with 1.7 hours per day on weekdays and 1.9 hours on weekends8.General Manager of SPH Radio, Sim Hong Huat said: “2021 was definitely a tough year with many changes both within and outside of the industry and I would like to thank all our listeners for tuning in to our programmes. I’m happy that our survey results reflect our growth and continued commitment to deliver relevant, engaging and empowering content to our listeners. I am confident that we will see our numbers grow in 2022 as we have a very exciting year planned for our audiences.” 1 Jan to Nov 2020 and Jan to Nov 2021 (Source: Triton Digital)2 Radio Engagement (Source: GFK 2021 Singapore Audience Study)3 Media Engagement: Reaction to Ad among Radio Listeners(Source: GFK 2021 Singapore Audience Study)4 Radio Listenership by Place of Listening (Source: GFK 2021 Singapore Audience Study)5 ONEFM Reasons for Favourite Radio Station (Source: GFK 2021 Singapore Audience Study)6 Milieu Radio Survey: Trends and Observations 20217 Radio Listeners by Profile of Listeners (Source: Source: GFK 2021 Singapore Audience Study)8 Radio Listenership by Time Spent on Weekdays and Weekends (Source: GFK 2021 Singapore Audience Study) […]

If COVID allows, Radio conferences will be back on the list for 2022.Radiodays Asia, which has been held as a virtual event during COVID, will also be in September but just before IBC, from 6th to 7th in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.Radiodays Asia focuses on the future of radio, audio and podcast businesses, specifically for broadcasters in Asia, and usually has a good attendance and a number of speakers from Australia.

This years conference will by a hybrid event.Speakers at the previous Radiodays Asia conferences include Greg Byrnes (Nine Radio), Peter Charlton (Nova), James Cridland, Rachel Corbett (Nova Intertainment) as well as Valerie Geller and Steve Ahern.Asia Pacific Broadcasting Union has scheduled a virtual event from 22 – 24 March.Commercial Radio Australia is yet to finalise a date for next year and will likely wait until the situation with Omicron becomes much clearer.There is no official announcement yet from CRA about 2022.The CBAA conference for community radio stations will be held in Cairns from March 24 – 26 and will be opened by the new CBAA President, Jacquie Riddell.Speakers so far include Gabrielle Andolfatto – Youth Forum, Jon Bissett– Community Media in a Post-Pandemic World, Jo Curtin and Rachel Rees – Update from the CBF, Kerrie Foxwell-Norton– Meaningful Conversations About Climate Change, Holly Friedlander Liddicoat and Maddy Macquine– Women and GNC Forum.NAB Show and the Radio Show will now roll into one event, beginning in April next year with the conference in Las Vegas set for April 23 – 27 at the Las Vegas Convention Centre.This is the biggest show of equipment in the world and covers Radio, TV, Film and all other forms of broadcasting.The incorporation of the Radio Show means that their event, usually in the latter half of the year, will no longer happen.The Worldwide Radio Summit, usually held in March or April at a venue in Los Angeles, has not been held since COVID began, and there has been no announcement from organisers about the possibility of a gathering next year.Radiodays Europe will be in Malmö, Sweden from May 15 – 17, and already there over 120 speakers confirmed, including Yagmur Özberkan and Susani Mahadura who produce the award-winning podcast show, Özberkan and Mahadura, Caspar Adriani CTO Pluxbox, Richard Stern CEO TuneIn, Olle Zachrison Head of Digital News Swedish Radio, Nicolau Santos President RTP, Caroline Pouron P3 Swedish Radio, Nick Piggott Project Director RadioDNS, Rebecca Frank Content Director KISS, Anne-Marie Dohn Radio 4, Joe D’Angleo Xperi, Frances Currie, and Lorna Clarke BBC. The full list of speakers is here.The IBC Show is set for Amsterdam from September 9-12. This is usually the biggest show of equipment outside of the NAB Show.At this stage there is no program or list of speakers as the last IBC only just finished at the beginning of December this year. […]

Pacific Content has compiled a list of the major predictions for the Podcast industry in 2022.All told over 75 predictions were received from industry leaders that contained many of the themes from 2021, including industry growth, advertising, audiences, and content strategies.On one of the main predictions, surrounding Paid Subscriptions there were differing views with some experts like Wonder Media Network Co-founder, Shira Atkins, Co-founder, saying, “Paid channels and subscription-supported podcasts will be few and far between by end of the year. It is only the shows with *massive* audience, or the networks with startup capital that can make subscriptions sustainable, or throw off enough cash to be self-supporting.”

Others held a counter view, like Acast COO, Oskar Serrander, who says, “In 2022, we will see an influx of podcasters to the subscription game, and they’ll start experimenting with it — delivering not only bonus content to their fans, but a variety of other benefits like ad-free streaming, early releases, exclusive access to creators, and more.” There was general agreement around the need for podcasters to step up their game and take audience development seriously, especially given the sheer volume of podcasts that are now available.Head of Digital Audio, ARN/iHeartPodcast, Corey Layton, says, “The ongoing difficulty in building audiences and discoverability will lead to fewer one-off series. Expect to see the growth of parent feeds — retaining audiences with one broad subject matter, that shifts from series to series.” iHeartMedia’s Bob Pittman adds, “Marketing will get more important than ever: As more creators launch podcasts, “cutting through” will become more important — and harder. Brands with big marketing platforms will win here every time.”Radio and TV networks, streamers and studios, along with Facebook, Netflix and YouTube are all predicted to move more strongly into podcasting.APM Studios COO, Alex Schaffert, says, “Networks, studios, and streamers that don’t yet have an original audio division will start one in 2022.”However Shreya Sharma, Writer/Curator of Inside Podcasting, expects “… independent podcasters and networks will blossom. The exponential increase in celebrity podcasters seems to have spurred the indies to grow their shows with intention, through avenues including networking and education.” Podcast advertising is expected to not only grow, but it will also ‘grow up’ with iHeartMedia’s CEO, Digital Audio Group, Conal Byrne, saying, “Podcast advertising will evolve into a good blend of titles and audience: Host-read ads will continue to be critical for brands to drive real engagement, as the essential value proposition of podcasting — but audience cohorts will complement these more and more on media plans — which will allow those plans to start driving real scale and start pulling in bigger budgets — for the networks that have scale.”Podcast advertising is expected to not only grow, but it will also ‘grow up’ with iHeartMedia’s CEO, Digital Audio Group, Conal Byrne, saying, “Podcast advertising will evolve into a good blend of titles and audience: Host-read ads will continue to be critical for brands to drive real engagement, as the essential value proposition of podcasting — but audience cohorts will complement these more and more on media plans — which will allow those plans to start driving real scale and start pulling in bigger budgets — for the networks that have scale.”Corey Layton says, “The demand for programmatic advertising will continue to soar. 2022 will be pivotal for publishers to maintain the premium nature of podcast advertising without letting the shouty ads in. Collectively we need to hold the line and ensure podcasts premium sound applies to not only the content but the bits in between.”As for the big players, James Cridland, says, “Spotify will continue to grow, and become unarguably the most popular podcast app in most countries. To combat this, Apple Podcasts will launch an Android app, and become a champion of the open podcast ecosystem”The full list of Pacific Content’s top 14 predictions is here […]