ASIA

According to the latest Nielsen Radio Survey, Mediacorp is the top audio network in Singapore, with an increased dominance on the airwaves following a significant jump of 8.8% (280,000) in listenership from the last survey to reach 3.7 million people1 weekly. This represents 88% of total adults, with close to 13 hours of engagement recorded weekly. Its free-to-air radio stations also command 85% of the radio market share2, an increase of 5.1% compared to 20203, further improving its lead over its competitors.Mediacorp’s digital radio stations are also leading the pack with more listeners tuning in digitally – a testimony to its efforts to stay ahead of consumer preferences and market needs with a customer-centric, digital-led, multiple platform strategy. Compared to the last survey, the company registered an overall 50% jump in digital listenership, bringing the total to more than 1.5 million listeners, or nine in ten digital listeners1 weekly. The increase in engagement (+ one hour) to nine hours five minutes weekly clearly signals Mediacorp’s ability to attract listeners with the enhanced offerings on its revamped digital service meLISTEN.The findings are based on the latest Nielsen Radio Survey conducted from August to October 2021, which tracked radio listenership via diary recordings by 2028 adults aged 15 and above, with the results weighted by age, sex and race to be representative of the Singapore population.

As the leading radio network, Mediacorp has continued to cement its leading edge by recording improvements in both its reach and share, while taking the majority (eight) of the top 10 spots in the ranking of stations, with the top six being Mediacorp stations. The strength of its network is further supplemented by the fact that the top choice for key audience segments4 is a Mediacorp radio station, and that out of the 14 hours and 14 minutes that listeners spend their time tuning in to Singapore’s radio stations weekly, 12 hours and 48 minutes (90%) were on Mediacorp’s radio stations.Coming in first is LOVE 972 with a record 1,007,000 listeners (24% of weekly listenership), after gaining a survey-high of 158,000 additional listeners. As the number one Chinese radio station in Singapore, it is the first choice for various audience segments, including women aged 15+, as well as Chinese aged 15+, and listeners tuned in for eight hours 54 minutes weekly.Chinese station YES 933 takes a close second with 934,000 listeners (22.3% of weekly listenership), with an increase of 28,000 listeners from the previous survey. The station also recorded the highest jump in audience engagement (+ almost two hours) among all stations surveyed, with listeners tuning in for eight hours and 42 minutes weekly5. It also has the highest reach among the following audience segments: millennials aged between 25 and 34, and PMEBs (professionals, managers, executives and businessmen).CLASS 95 is the reigning top English station in Singapore with 718,000 listeners (17.1% of weekly listenership), who spent an average time of four hours and 39 minutes listening weekly. It is also the prime choice for the premier audience segment.CAPITAL 958, which is fourth with 675,000 listeners (16.1% of weekly listenership) has demonstrated boosts in its performance, having recorded an improvement in audience share (+1.9%), and is the Chinese station with the highest engagement rate, with listeners tuning in for 13 hours 22 minutes weekly5.Top Malay radio station Warna 942 leaps to the fifth spot this year from its previous eighth position, with a noteworthy increase of 35,000 listeners to reach 505,000 listeners (12% of weekly listenership). The station is the favourite station for Malays aged 15+ and topped the chart for its ability to engage its fans who tuned in for 14 hours 55 minutes weekly5, representing an increase of one hour 14 minutes from the last survey2.Coming in sixth is GOLD 905 which noted an increase of 21,000 listeners to hit 494,000 listeners (11.8% of weekly listenership), and an engagement rate of six hours and 10 minutes.The remaining Mediacorp radio stations in the top 10 are: 987, the top station for tertiary students aged 15 to 24, in eighth place with 384,000 listeners (9.2% of weekly listenership), and listeners spending four hours and 26 minutes checking out the latest hits; and Oli 968 in ninth place, clocking in the second-highest increase of 106,000 listeners to reach 330,000 listeners (7.9% of weekly listenership). Oli 968 is also the top choice for Indians aged 15+.Classical music station Symphony 924 has seen an increase of 84,000 listeners (+63%) to 217,000, the third-highest growth, according to this year’s findings. English news station CNA938 too, has increased its reach by 41,000 listeners (+18.9%) to reach 258,000 listeners (6.1% of weekly listenership).On the digital front, Mediacorp’s digital radio network reported a huge 50% jump in listenership year-on-year, bringing the total to more than 1.5 million listeners. This translates to a reach of nine in ten digital listeners, with more than nine hours of weekly engagement. This is a result of the suite of digital offerings Mediacorp has rolled out, such as enhancements to its meLISTEN platform, and ramping up the variety of digital audio content, including podcasts. More recently, Mediacorp also launched indiego, a new digital station featuring the latest indie hits and more homegrown music from local talents, to add to the variety of audio content on meLISTEN.These results corresponds with the uptick in performance for Mediacorp’s digital audio service meLISTEN, which saw a growth of 11% this year in monthly average unique visitors6 to reach 621,900 listeners. In terms of podcast content, downloads spiked 106% to reach a total of 729,100 average downloads monthly7, coupled with a growth of 102,000 monthly average listeners to reach 269,000 listeners as compared to last year7.Mediacorp’s Chief Executive Officer, Tham Loke Kheng said: “Once again, the findings from the latest Nielsen survey reflect our commitment and dedication to engaging our consumers with quality content that they love – both in news and entertainment. We are honoured to be the top radio network in Singapore, with even more listeners tuning in to us on the airwaves and digitally, and heartened to know that we are the top audio choice for all major demographic segments in Singapore, which shows our diversity and ability to connect with different audiences. The strong growth in our digital listenership is also buoyed by our revamped meLISTEN which showcases a stronger lineup of locally-produced audio content and a more enjoyable and user-friendly experience. We hope our fans continue to enjoy these, and support indiego, our newly launched digital station offering the latest indie music.”1The number of listeners aged 15+ in Singapore is estimated at 4.195 million2Market share is measured by the quantity of 15-minutes spots listened across Singapore’s radio stations3Nielsen Radio Diary Wave 2, 2020 (Mon-Sun-Whole Day)4Audience segments include: Male aged 15+, Female aged 15+, Tertiaries aged 15 to 24, Millennials aged 25 to 34, Silvers aged 55+, PMEBS, Premiers with Household Income over $7000, Chinese aged 15+, Malays aged 15+, Indians aged 15+, Parent with Kids (0 to 9 years) 5Time Spent Listening (TSL) is defined as the average amount of time a listener spends listening to a radio station in a weekSource for footnotes 1 – 5 above: Nielsen Radio Survey 2021 (Mon-Sun-Whole Day). In 2021, Mediacorp digital radio stations are calibrated with Triton census-level data. Please use the data with caution when comparing with non-Mediacorp digital radio stations6Apr 2020 to Mar 2021, and Apr 2021 to Dec 2021 (Source: Adobe Analytics)7Apr 2020 to Mar 2021 and Apr 2021 to Dec 2021 (Source: Omnystudio) […]

Content from BPREvery promotional initiative a station decides to employ must fulfil a need or serve to assist in the realisation of a specific aim. Unless this can be clearly defined you must question why you intend doing the promotion. The intended goal or outcome of the promotional activity is the benchmark by which you will judge the success of the promotion. A promotional activity you cannot measure in some way is likely a waste of time and resources.Radio stations often approach a promotional activity, particularly a contest; as a stand-alone event, sometimes completely disconnected to everything around it. The contest will appear out of no-where annoying those listeners not into contests and then disappear following the contest pay-off potentially annoying those listeners who enjoyed listening to or participating in the contest.

When planning a major promotional activity like a contest endeavour to build a narrative that engages the listener and creates some theatre. Promotional activity is generally expensive, so the gaol is to achieve maximum bang-for-buck.  Here are ten dimensions to consider that will assist in maximising the ROI of your promotional activities:
SET UP
The best promotions are those that involve the audience in their creation. Consider ways to involve or create the perception that listeners had an influence in the promotions theme, cause, prizing, rules, twists, or even final judging.
TEASE
Do not reveal everything at once. Have a plan to progressively release more detail and new ideas in the lead up to the promotions launch. Also, one of radio’s great strengths is its ability to stimulate the imagination through “theatre of the mind” take every opportunity to use sound to achieve this.
UNVEIL
Spare no effort in making a big noise and gaining as much exposure as possible for the launch of a promotion. Even a simple cash contest can have an event supporting its launch such as a publicity shoot of a bank manager and guards escorting the money to the radio station. When thinking of launching a promotion consider using famous people, places, and dates.
EXPLAIN
Keep it simple. Sometimes promos with complex production values can be loud and confusing to the average listener. What a listener cannot understand quickly becomes wallpaper or a turn off. A good tip is to produce your promotional announcements then play them to a random group of people in the street. Do not wear station logos. Ask them four questions after you have played them the promos:
What can you win?
What do you have to do to enter or participate?
When is it on or when do you have to listen?
What is the name of the radio station involved and its frequency?
If all the people cannot answer the four questions, go back, and simplify the promos until they can. Never under-estimate the number of listeners who just do not get the message.
POLISH
Introduce some unexpected twists through a promotion to spike awareness. This will renew interest in the promotion and freshen the sound of it on-air.
IMPACT
The culmination of a promotion should be designed for maximum impact. Too many promotions “fizzle” rather than “sizzle” at their conclusion. This is often because the staff at the station has become tired of the work involved in executing it and cannot wait for the promotion to finish. To ensure this does not happen plan a spectacular finale. Think about holding a staff meeting the night before the promotion finale to wind up staff energy and enthusiasm.
OWNERSHIP
A promotion worth doing should be a promotion worth owning. Make the name and every element of the promotion as proprietary to the station as possible. Things to consider include:
Register the promotion’s name and any possible trademarks.
Secure exclusive contracts with any key suppliers or partners.
Place the station brand in all marketing materials and at every point of contact with the public.
Devote a special section on your app/website/socials to the promotion and any winners.
Run promos highlighting the winners and/or whatever the result of the promotion was.
Run promos thanking the stations listeners for their participation and/or support.
Remember that you only have one opportunity to make a first impression.

EXTENSION
Having gone to all the effort and commitment involved in setting up and running a major promotion, consider what opportunities exist to keep the awareness momentum going in the form of a spin-off promotion or new benchmark.
SPREAD THE LOVE.
The trouble with a promotion that has a single winner is that you also create a lot of losers. Look at every opportunity to recognise, reward and thank everyone who participates or attends.
MEASURE, LEARN, REFRESH.
Every promotional activity should be an opportunity to add to what you know about stimulating and engaging with your listeners. Research it, identify where it moved the needle and fold-in the new insight to make your next promotional activity more successful.And finally, never forget about the listeners who may not be interested in your promotional activity or prize. Generally, this will be the majority of your cume.  What-ever you do, make it entertaining to the casual listener and not just about a prize.By Wayne Clouten, BPR […]

Afghanistan and Mexico are the most dangerous countries for media work this year, the Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) said in its annual report in Geneva on Thursday in view of Human Rights Day. Since January 1, 76 media workers have been killed in 28 countries around the world.Afghanistan leads with 12 assassinations, ahead of Mexico where 10 journalists were killed. Among the most dangerous countries are Pakistan (7), India (6), Yemen (4), Democratic Republic of Congo (3) and the Philippines (3 killed).Two deaths were recorded in Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Brazil, Burkina-Faso, Colombia, as well as in Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Somalia and Turkey. Finally, one victim has been identified in the following countries: Ecuador, Gaza, Georgia, Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Haiti, Lebanon, Netherlands, Syria, and the United States of America.

Of the 76 journalists murdered, 29 were in war zones (Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Burkina Faso, DRC, Ethiopia, Gaza, Somalia, Syria, and Yemen). Terrorist groups were responsible of at least 20 murders (Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen), an increase compared to previous years.The PEC strongly condemns these attacks and calls for those responsible for these crimes to be brought to justice. By region, Asia, with 39 dead (+6), is ahead of Latin America 17 (-10), Africa 14 (+5), Europe 5 (+2) and North America 1 (+1).“The number of journalists killed decreased by 8% compared to the same period of last year, a slight improvement. Improvement has taken place in Latin America outside of Mexico, deterioration is observed in Africa and Europe. Mexico and Afghanistan have been among the most dangerous countries for journalists for many years, but the rise in Africa is particularly worrying”, commented PEC Secretary General Blaise Lempen.In Europe, the targeted killings of 3 journalists, in Greece, Georgia and the Netherlands is a very sad development. In Burma (Myanmar) after the coup and in Afghanistan after the departure of the NATO troops, press freedom has registered a very serious setback.Over the last 5 years, Mexico has recorded the highest victims (66), ahead of Afghanistan (53), then India (40), Pakistan (35), Syria (29), the Philippines (21), Iraq (18), Yemen (17), and Somalia (16). In ten years, from 2012 to 2021, 1150 journalists were killed, or 115 per year, 2.2 per week, according to figures from the PEC.One positive development, says PEC President Hedayat Abdel Nabi is that the awareness across the globe has become more widespread due to the enthusiastic engagement of media colleagues to spread the message of media protection and the safety of journalists as well as press freedom.“India has recently lost Buddhinath Jha (journalist cum Right to Information (RTI) activist, also known as Avinash Jha), whose body was found in Madhubani locality of  Bihar on 12 November. The Benipatti-based family claimed that Buddhinath was offered a lot of money (as bribes) by some illegal healthcare clinic owners, but he did not listen to them. Later he received a number of threatening calls from unknown persons,” said Nava Thakuria, PEC’s India representative.Prior to him, the populous country lost five journalists namely Ashu Yadav, Sulabh Srivastava, Ch. Keshav, Manish Kumar Singh and Raman Kashyap to assailants this year. Indian photojournalist Danish Siddiqui was killed in Afghanistan. India’s two neighbours Pakistan and Bangladesh reported (7 and 2 respectively) media casualties, however Bhutan, Nepal, Tibet (China), Maldives, Sri Lanka and Myanmar have not reported any incident of journo-murder till date this year. […]

New York Festivals® Radio Awards announced the appointment of Dylan Haskins, Commissioning Executive for Podcasts for BBC Sounds & BBC Radio 5 Live, to the NYF Radio Awards Advisory Board.Haskins is the 14th member of the prestigious New York Festivals Radio Awards Advisory Board, a brain trust of executives comprised of some of the Radio industry’s most respected content creators and broadcast leaders from around the globe. These thought-leaders provide NYF’s Radio Awards with ongoing knowledge of emerging trends, critical industry insights, and a global perspective.“It’s a great honour to be asked to join the Advisory Board of the New York Festivals Radio Awards and to have the opportunity to help shape and advise the awards during such an exciting period of evolution in audio creativity, innovation, investment and audience habits. As a commissioner for a public service broadcaster, it’s also a time of challenge and competition from new commercial players but, in my experience, this is leading us all to be more ambitious, to go bigger on what makes us distinctive and to experiment and collaborate more where there are shared aims. All of this means radio and podcasts have never been better and a competition like the New York Festivals helps recognise this,” said Haskins.

Dylan Haskins is a a multi-award winning audio commissioner and executive producer at BBC Sounds and BBC Radio 5 Live responsible for podcasts including I’m Not A Monster, Have You Heard George’s Podcast?, Where Is George Gibney?, Bad People and Wheel of Misfortune.I’m Not A Monster, the 10-part podcast series and the investigative podcast series ‘Where is George Gibney? won a total of six Golds, a Silver and the Grand Award at the 2021 New York Festivals Radio Awards, contributing to the BBC also being awarded 2021 Broadcaster of the Year.Dylan’s industry accolades in the US and Canada include podcast commissions that have won a Peabody Award, a RTDNA Edward R. Murrow Award and multiple Webby Awards including Best Documentary and Best Sound Design. In Europe, they’ve won the Rose d’Or for Audio, multiple UK Radio Academy ARIAS Golds, Silver and Bronze, the Broadcasting Press Guild Award for Podcast of the Year, NME Podcast of the Year, British Podcast Awards ‘Moment of the Year’ Gold and multiple Silvers, and Overall Prize at the Justice Media Awards in Ireland.This year is the twelfth year that New York Festivals has partnered with the annual NAB Show. This strategic partnership provides all attendees to the April 26th, 2022, Storyteller’s Gala access to the multi-day NAB event. NAB is the ultimate marketplace for people passionate about media, entertainment, and technology.The Radio Awards receives entries from radio stations, networks, and independent producers from over 30 countries around the globe. The mission of the competition is to honor the achievements of the men and women who make up the global audio storytelling community. To view the 2021 Winner’s Gallery, visit: HERE.New York Festivals invites award-winning industry leaders from around the world to become members of their world-class Radio Awards Grand Jury. The 2022 Grand jury will soon be set. Those jurors will include some of the most world’s recognizable voices and captivating content producers in the radio industry. Entries are judged on production values, organization, presentation of information, creativity, and use of the medium. All Entries in the 2022 competition will be judged online by NYF’s Radio Awards Grand Jury of 200+ producers, directors, writers, and other creative media professionals from around the globe. Award-winning entries will be showcased on the Radio Awards winners gallery. To view the 2021 winner’s gallery, visit HERE.The deadline to enter the 2022 Radio Awards competition is February 9, 2022. To enter please visit: HERE, for additional information visit: Rules and Regulations. […]

Known as New York’s source for music discovery, WFUV (90.7FM) has been a non-commercial, member-supported, public media service of Fordham University for more than 70 years. Striving to ramp up its podcast presence and streamline the creation of its on-demand archives, the station deployed the SGrecast podcast management and live stream repurposing solution from StreamGuys earlier this year. The comprehensive, SaaS solution has delivered new operational efficiencies while also eliminating barriers that previously impeded creativity.WFUV has received national recognition for its unique weekday format of adult album alternative music, award-winning local news and sports, as well as a diverse weekend programming lineup. The station has used StreamGuys’ live streaming services for nearly 15 years, delivering streamed simulcasts of WFUV’s broadcasts to its large listener base across StreamGuys’ CDN. WFUV also leverages StreamGuys’ third-party monetization platform integration to incorporate pre-roll advertising from the station’s underwriters, and uses StreamGuys’ rich analytics and reporting tools to garner valuable audience insights. Extremely pleased with StreamGuys’ solutions and white-glove customer service, WFUV again turned to the company to help meet the station’s podcasting ambitions.“We were slow to join the podcasting game, but we knew we needed to ramp up our podcast presence,” said Jim O’Hara, associate director of technical operations at WFUV. “SGrecast is the perfect platform to enable us to do that. We don’t have a very large technical staff, but users don’t need to be technical in nature to use the system. Our news and sports staff are mostly students at the university. They can just go into SGrecast, create a new podcast on the fly, and upload some episodes. They’ll have a brand new podcast up and running in minutes, without needing oversight or interaction from our technical staff.”

In addition to easing the burden on the technical team, SGrecast also brings benefits across the station as a whole. “It really allows all of our departments to act with freedom,” said O’Hara. “It improves not only our efficiency but also their ability to be creative, as there are no hurdles to implementing new ideas they have. If a particular department has an idea for a new podcast, they can just go for it – they don’t need to go through other departments or wait for our technical team. They can do it independently, which really improves our creativity as a station.”WFUV’s website also offers a two-week, rolling, on-demand archive of programs from its live weekend broadcasts, and SGrecast has enabled the station to automate the process. “We use SGrecast’s side channel recorders to capture our live stream and make audio of our shows instantly available on demand,” O’Hara explained. “It’s a completely automated system, which is great for us since we don’t have a lot of human resources to dedicate to these jobs. It’s also great for our listeners, since it lets them catch up on any shows that they miss.”Beyond the product-related benefits of SGrecast and StreamGuys’ other solutions, O’Hara also appreciates the exceptional support and personal communication WFUV gets from the vendor. “The StreamGuys team is great to work with,” he said. “We get to build relationships with the staff there, not just the automatic responses and form letter-like emails you often get from other vendors. StreamGuys is always willing to go that extra mile and works with us on custom solutions to fit our specific needs.”WFUV plans to continue expanding its podcast offerings, and SGrecast will play a key role in achieving that. “We’ve only just begun to realize the potential of what SGrecast offers,” said O’Hara. “It’s a brilliant solution that ‘just works’ and doesn’t require any manual intervention or babysitting. It’s exactly what we needed.” […]

Spotify’s 2021 Wrapped unveiled the top artists, albums, songs, podcasts, and more that defined how more than 381 million people around the world listened and discovered audio during the year.According to the company, “Wrapped helps us reflect on the large role audio played in the lives of  listeners—and how our favorite creators soundtracked the world around us.” For the second year in a row, Puerto Rican Reggaeton star Bad Bunny takes the title of most-streamed artist in the world on Spotify. And what’s more: He’s received over 9.1 billion streams without releasing a new album this year. He is swiftly followed by singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, whose Red (Taylor’s Version) gave old and new fans alike a reason to relive the artist’s early groundbreaking work. Rounding up 2021’s top three is BTS. The globally beloved k-pop group had a standout year thanks to their single “Butter.” Canadian hip-hop artists Drake—who released Certified Lover Boy in September—and Justin Bieber—whose 2021 album Justice featured collaborations with artists from across the globe—take spots four and five, respectively.

The top song of 2021 globally is Olivia Rodrigo’s runaway “Drivers License,” which garnered over 1.1 billion streams. Lil Nas X’s viral “MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)” dances its way to second place and heralded the artist’s first studio album. The Kid LAROI enters the ranks for the first time, with his Justin Bieber collaboration “STAY” taking third. The fourth spot sees Olivia Rodrigo once again, this time with “Good 4 U”, which also earned the title of 2021 Spotify Song of the Summer. The fifth most streamed song to rise in the ranks is Dua Lipa’s “Levitating (feat. DaBaby).”When it comes to top albums of 2021 globally, Olivia Rodrigo once again claims the crown—her debut album SOUR clearly held a bit of sweetness. Dua Lipa’s Future Nostalgia ranks second, with Justin Bieber’s Justice, Ed Sheeran’s =, and Doja Cat’s Planet Her coming in third, fourth, and fifth.Coming out of its first full year as a Spotify exclusive, The Joe Rogan Experience remains the number-one podcast on Spotify globally. It is followed by the fearless Alex Cooper’s Call Her Daddy, which also became exclusive to Spotify in 2021. True crime and news continue to be popular genres within the medium, with Crime Junkie, TED Talks Daily, and The Daily rounding out the list. […]