ASIA

The normally overcrowded airwaves of Kabul are much quieter this week after the Taliban took Afghanistan’s capital.When the Taliban were last in power they closed most radio stations, leaving only a couple of stations on air to broadcast messages and recitations from the Qur’an. When they lost power many radio licences were reissued.Transmitter Hill in KabulCurrently there are still some stations on air in Kabul a few days after the Taliban takeover, but far less than usual. Listeners have reported to radioinfo.asia that many of their usual stations, such as Radio Killid, run by the Killid Media Group, are now dark.

Of those that remain on air, the format appears to have changed.With popular music and singing haram (forbidden) in the Taliban’s view of Islam some stations have gone from a music format to broadcasting news, discussions and talk, such as Ariana FM and Arman FM when monitored by radioinfo.asia. It is not known whether the format changes are voluntary or in response to instructions from the Taliban.Radio Arman, which has the slogan ‘music never ends’ was only broadcasting production music in promos when radioinfo.asia monitored the station.Female voices are now largely absent from the airwaves, except in pre-recorded announcements running in the advertising or promo schedule.Not all stations are dark however. Bakhtar Radio, part of the state run Bakhtar News Agency is still playing music, as are RTA’s Afghan Radio stations, although it appears these are currently running loops on automation.Female presenters have largely disappeared from station websites and have not been going to work through the streets of Kabul. Women walking through the Kabul streets report being hassled and told to “cover up.”Images of female RJs (radio jockeys) have been removed from station websites. Taliban fighters have been seen around Kabul painting black paint over images of women on buildings and shop fronts.While radio’s future is currently uncertain, other parts of the economy are returning to normal, with food markets and shops tentatively reopening yesterday before the country’s Independence Day long weekend holiday, which begins today.The Taliban have told citizens they can return to work as normal within the limits of Sharia law. The Pajhwok Afghan News service  has reported a senior Taliban member in northern Afghanistan saying they “are not in search of monopolizing power “ or revenge and are “striving for creation of a just system in which all Afghans can see themselves.” The world is watching to see if they keep their promises.At the national broadcaster, witnesses saw only a few staff entering the RTA compound with military troops vetting those who wished to enter. Other staff were afraid to come to work. Female staff were observed being turned away from the RTA compound.Killid News reports that a female anchor working for RTA state-run television “claims she was sent back from office by Taliban and can no longer do her job.” She says other male colleagues were allowed to enter the office premises but she was not. Her posts about not being able to work have sparked widespread reaction on social media, questioning the Taliban’s commitment to allowing women to work.The RTA website is currently “under development.”In other cities the Taliban has taken over or closed radio stations, including Kandahar, where the Taliban renamed a station it took over as Voice of Sharia. […]

Singapore’s largest broadcaster, Mediacorp has announced a new line-up and changes in time slots on its radio stations. English stations:

987: New DJ Ann Nicole, who was crowned the winner of 987 Radio Star 2017, now helms her own show, Ad Free 50 every weekday from 2-4pm, while DJs Chris Mak and Natasha Faisal, who were previously helming their individual timebelts are now paired together to host Lunchbox every weekday from 10am to 2pm.Symphony 924: DJs Gerald Wong and Khim Oei swap timebelts, with the latter now helming The Drive Home with Khim where joins listeners beat the peak-hour traffic with classical tunes from 5pm to 8pm, while Wong helms Lunchtreats with Gerald from 10am to 2pm.Chinese stations:YES 933: New DJ Ze Liang and celeb co-host Jasper Lai joining 8pm to 12mn timebelt, and celeb co-host Alfred Sim joining 12 to 2pm timebeltLOVE 972: Guo Liang joined 12pm to 2pm timebelt, Cavin Soh joined 5pm to 8pm timebelt and Irene Ang joined every Wed 10 to 11pm timebeltCAPITAL 958: New DJ Wei Ying joined 4 to 8pm timebelt, and time belt changes starting 9 August below:6.00am – 10.00am: 《城市早点名》 (Gao Yixin 高逸芯, Goh Wei Ying 吴韦莹, Pan Jiabiao 潘家镳 and QiuShengyang 邱胜扬)10.00am – 2.00pm:《斌灵城下》 (Lin Lingzhi 林灵芝 and Feng Jianbin 冯剑斌)2.00pm – 4.00pm:《一个风和日丽的下午》 (Huang Shujun 黄淑君)4.00pm – 8.00pm:《小城大事》 (Qiqi 琪琪 and Lu Linxuan 吕霖轩)8.00pm – 12.00am: 《月下同行》(Li Yisha 李一莎)Malay radio stations:Warna 942: Return of veteran DJ Noreha Bajuri, who returned to Warna full time this year from being a contract DJ for 17 years, is now helming Zon Warna Petang from 2pm to 5pm.Ria 897: DJ Fadli Kamsani crosses over from Warna 942 to Ria 897, and is now helming #RiaMania every weekday from 2pm -5pm.Tamil radio station:Oli 968: New DJs Durga and Rajes joining 10am to 2pm timebelt and 9pm to 1am timebelt respectively […]

In the latest world rankings on the popularity of All India Radio (AIR) Live-Streams on NewsOnAir App, Fiji displaced United Kingdom to follow United States and Australia in the top three ranks.These rankings are based on fortnightly data from July 16 to 31. This data doesn’t include India.Over 240 Radio Services of All India Radio are live-streamed to more than 85 countries and 8000 cities across the world on NewsOnAir App.

Vividh Bharati continues to be the number stream in all top 10 countries. AIR News 24*7 is quite popular in Nepal and Bhutan. AIR Marathi Service – Asmita Mumbai is popular among the European countries like Sweden, Germany, UK and Ireland.AIR Kochi FM Rainbow made entry into top 10 ranks, while AIR Tamil made a comeback. AIR Kodaikanal has slipped from 6th to 9th spot, while AIR News 24*7 has moved up a notch to 6th position. […]

According to a report from eMarketer, a global market intelligence firm, podcasting is coming of age in China and it is no longer a niche market.It is expected to become the world’s second largest market after the US, with 85.6 million podcast listeners in 2021.The growth in podcast listeners in the country is projected to be 25.1% this year, and remain in double-digit growth for the next five years, the company said.

Its estimates are based on the analysis of survey and traffic data from research firms and regulatory agencies; the growth trajectory of major gaming sites; historical trends; internet and mobile adoption trends; and demographic adoption trends.For the study, podcasts are defined as any audio-first serialized episodes that can be accessed via digital streams or downloaded, including listening to podcasts via video platforms.Thanks to the country’s large population, the number of podcast listeners may seem large, but represents only 6.1% of the population.According to eMarketer, the current low penetration is partially due to the industry’s slow start and the abundance of competing digital audio options.However, younger people listening to podcasts is on the rise and large digital companies such as music platform Tencent, Ximalaya, Xiaoyuzhou FM (UFO podcast) and Lanren Changting are now pushing “long form content.” […]

Selling Radio Direct with Pat BrysonNot every prospect we present a campaign to buys from us. At least, not always the first, second or third time. In our business, we usually see the people who said, “No” to us again. We live to present another day!What can we do to set ourselves up for a more favourable conclusion in the future? What do the 20% who write 80% of the business do?

They say “Thank you” for the loss!Wow, no one says, “Thank you” anymore when you get the order, let alone when you DON’T. Except that 20%.Mr. John DoeCompanyAddressDear Mr. Doe:I want to thank you for the opportunity to present our campaign ideas to you. Even though you did not choose us to be a part of your current marketing plan, I congratulate you on your selection of radio as a way to increase your business. I believe you will find radio to be most effective, as hundreds of other businesses have done.I hope your upcoming campaign may be very successful for you. I do hope that we may become a part of your marketing plans sometime in the future. Again, thanks for your interest in my station and thanks for using radio.Sincerely,YouClients will remember this. You will stand out from the competition. Next time you present, I bet you will have a favourable audience!Happy selling, and losing! […]

Olympics coverage this year has seen new trends emerging about audience consumption.Viewing on free to air television is down in many countries, but viewing of the rights holder’s tv content on its video platforms is up.Don’t let anyone tell you this is the triumph of digital over television. It is television evolving into its own digital platforms. The same is happening with radio.

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American and European live-to-air tv channels recorded low ratings, while digital streaming coverage showed increases.Lee Berke, president of sports right legal form LHB Sports, Media and Entertainment told the LA Times: “The TV ratings are down more than anticipated. Between the lack of a live audience, the move to streaming and the ongoing dropouts of key competitors due to COVID, all of it seems to have a negative impact.”A Reuters report said the Tokyo Games “are currently the least watched Olympics in recent history across Europe and in the United States. However, TV viewership is up in Australia and Japan.”But in Australia, where several of the country’s biggest cities have been in covid lockdown during the games, tv ratings are up by about 20% on the previous Olympics, with 2.7 million viewers watching the opening ceremony, according to Channel 7Since the opening ceremony, Australia has been doing well in the medal tally, and Aussies love to follow winning sportspeople, so the tv ratings are continuing to climb. Channel 7 coverage is on its main tv channel, its digital channels and its online video streaming platform 7Plus.There are four main driving factors in the Channel 7’s ratings success: Being on all platforms, covid lockdowns, the Australian team’s success and the fact that Japan is in Australia’s timezone, whereas it is overnight in America and Europe.So what about audio: live broadcast radio, streaming and podcasts?In 2020 Australia & New Zealand sports entertainment radio network SEN secured the commercial radio rights to broadcast the games in a deal with Channel 7 and was the only Australian radio network where live coverage could be heard. Previously Australia’s national broadcaster ABC also had the non-commercial Olympics rights, but declined to take them up this year.Australians won’t know for sure whether there has been radio ratings success for the rights holder until the end of this month, when the next GfK ratings results are released on 31 August, but there are early indicators.Australia’s radio ratings take all platforms into account, measuring live to air broadcast listening on analog and digital radio transmissions and also on live streaming platforms, so when those ratings are released we will know whether this year’s Olympics have delivered ratings success.Even before the results come out, there are some early indications that the Olympics have been good for radio and podcasts.Anecdotally, all talk stations seem to be drawing strong audiences, as a factor of both Covid lockdowns and the Olympics. Even if those stations are not rights holders, they are still covering the success of the Aussie teams in their news and talk programs.On the other hand, covid lockdowns may be negative for radio Olympics coverage because audiences often watch tv for sports results while at home but listen to the radio when they are on the move to keep up to date with the latest results. With lockdowns in Sydney, and now also in Melbourne, there will be less movement of people during working hours.So what is expected with the rights holder SEN?SEN has made a big commitment to Olympics coverage across all platforms, with eight simultaneous radio channels and expert coverage in most programs continuing until the closing ceremony this Sunday, 8 August.Three ‘always on’ channels from the 7 network are running on the SEN app.The station is broadcasting commentary and calls from the Seven commentary team in Tokyo between 10am to 3 pm daily and national coverage of the finals each night from 6pm.SEN is expected to release complete audience information at the conclusion of the Olympics, but SEN sources have given radioinfo insights into some early figures.The network’s week on week national streaming consumption on the SEN App increased by about 46%. This augurs well for the ratings results later this month. The biggest change was in the state of New South Wales, which was in lockdown during all the Olympics, where consumption increased by 62% on the SEN 1170 stream.The network has used app alerts to draw audience to live coverage and key moments, generating good spikes at various times. “By far the biggest spike has been in the live streaming verticals and experiencing the Games moments in real time,” according to our source. “We’ve used app alerts ahead of key moments like the 400m swimming Titmus v Ledecky final and the Kyle Chalmers 100m final to drive audience back into the platform to great effect.”The network is experiencing commercial as well as audience success with the Olympics so far. “The Olympics has won gold in the hearts of Australians as we celebrate the incredible achievements of our athletes… this was shown through the success and increased engagement of our audiences across the SEN platforms on air, online and digitally throughout the games.” Podcast consumption has also been good for SEN. Podcast spikes have “largely been around the interview and expert opinion.”Podcast providers have also noticed a spike in listening to Olympics related podcasts.Omny Studio Managing Director Sharon Taylor has been seeing “a decent amount of download activity for episodes referencing the Olympics,” however none of it is actual event coverage because the IOC are fiercely protective of the digital rights and will send take downs to broadcasters who haven’t been named an official partner.Internationally, rights holder NBC America has been experimenting with podcasts to supplement its television coverage, with the launch of the NBC Olympics Channel on Apple PodcastsAcast’s Content Director for Australia and NZ Guy Scott-Wilson has told radioinfo that he is seeing a spike in Olympics related podcasts as well as daily news podcasts as part of the wider trend of increasing podcast consumption. “There’s no doubt that people are changing their behaviour when it comes to how and when they consume news and entertainment content… podcast consumption has seen exponential growth… 44% of respondents are listening to podcasts more frequently than they did 12 months ago and 56% intend to listen even more in the future. “This year, the trend has continued with people choosing to consume news and sport content via podcasts, particularly around high profile sporting events such as the Olympic Games. Most recently, in Australia we have seen listener numbers for dedicated sports podcasts increase whilst the Olympics have been on. For example, Sport Today, which is part of the Acast Creator Network, has seen a 36% increase in listens between July 19 (one week prior to the Olympics) and August 2 (one week into the Olympics).  “Listener interest in this content has also seen daily news podcasts such as The Daily Aus embracing the Olympics, adapting their formats and dropping additional episodes to cover the action.”Around the world, radio rights holders will be closely examining the audience research on their Olympics coverage across all platforms to determine its success.Australia is experiencing more people turning to podcasts for news and sports content. These types of podcasts are often short, snappy and designed to bring listeners up to speed in an easy-to-digest way – and this really lends itself to the medium of podcasting.”Innovative audio offerings for big world events such as the Olympics is an important factor important in driving audiences to new ways of consuming live radio and audio. They do benefit radio broadcasters and podcasters.As usual, radioinfo will continue to analyse these trends for broadcasters and advertisers as more information about Olympics media consumption becomes available.The delayed 2020 Olympics ran from 23 July – 8 Aug 2021. […]