ASIA

Malaysia’s Suria FM won international recognition with an award in the ‘Live Event Radio Streaming In Malaysia’ category at the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting+ Awards 2024 held at Singapore on May 30.The Malay-language station won the award for Jelajah Suria 2023 programme. It was received by the station’s general manager DJ Lin.The Asia-Pacific Broadcasting+ Awards is an event that aims to recognise innovation and excellence in projects that advance the broadcasting industry through content, innovation & digitalization. This program is open to all broadcasting companies and industry partners around the Asia Pacific region.Expressing gratitude for the recognition, DJ Lin said: “I believe that this success is the result of the efforts and commitment of my men at Suria FM who are committed to producing quality products and content for all our loyal listeners. Thank you to Asia-Pacific Broadcasting+ for this award, as well as to the Solar listeners who have always inspired us to continue to innovate in the world of radio broadcasting. This success would not have been possible without the strong support of all of you.” […]

Content from BPRFor the past century, radio’s primary method of delivery was by radio waves – amplitude modulated and frequency modulated signals. In order to hear broadcast radio transmissions, listeners required radio receivers. In the early days, these were big bulky devices but technological developments in the mid-20th century allowed radios to become much more portable. Battery-powered transistor radios could now be taken to the beach!The 21st century marked the start of the digital age and with it came a host of cable and Internet-delivered audio and video.  What was radio to do? The initial response of radio broadcasters went something like this: “We’re radio! Our listeners can hear us wherever they go. They don’t have to pay a thing to hear our programs. Nothing to worry about!” Then came Spotify, Apple Music, Pandora, Tidal, Amazon Music and You Tube.
Whether we like it or not, our love affair with radio transmitters may be coming to an end. The good news is that listeners can now hear our programs digitally. For portability, nothing beats the smart phone and radio broadcasts are easy to find if the listener knows where on their smart phone they are located.
Our monopoly of audio content has long passed. However, radio is still competitive if we make accessibility to our programs obvious to existing and potential audiences.The following steps can help to make your transition to digital a bit easier.
Teach listeners how to access your programs in ways in which they perhaps are not familiar. A simple example is to tell listeners that they can listen to your station on any device that accesses the Internet.
Radio programs no longer need to be heard in real time. Make your breakfast program available at any time during the day. Special programs should also be available beyond their specific broadcast times.
Make yourself visible. Think beyond audio and embrace visuals. Listener loyalty can be enhanced if listeners can make visual connections with your air personalities, programs, and services. Your website is the perfect place to do this.
Give listeners incentives to move beyond traditional modes of transmission. Create and promote programs and services unavailable via AM or FM.
Programs and services available only digitally offer value added to advertisers and create new sales opportunities
Promote, promote, promote! In this new media environment, radio’s best hope for survival is to move into a digital mindset and bring our listeners along with us. Our top promotional priorities should be directed toward this end.
By Andy Beaubien, BPR […]

According to the latest Radio Audience Measurement (RAM) survey by GfK in partnership with Commercial Radio Malaysia (CRM), the appeal of radio remains strong with 20.2 million listeners tuning in for an average of 12 hours every week in the first half of the year.The latest survey was conducted over six weeks from Feb 18 to March 30, covering 6,000 unique individuals aged 10 years and above, in Peninsular Malaysia.“Some 14 million listeners are tuning into their car radio in a week while home-listening remains prevalent with 12.6 million weekly listeners. This radio-focused survey collects detailed information on the breakdown of live radio listening every 15 minutes for a week, including when and where they tune in. The ability to analyse and plan for every quarter-hour enables radio networks, media agencies and advertisers to make more informed decisions about their radio campaigns,” GfK said in a statement.FM radio sets continued to be the most common way to access radio, with 17.9 million listeners tuning in, followed by 3.4 million via televisions and mobile phones as well as personal computers or tablets.Drive segments (Monday to Friday, 4pm to 8pm) attracted the highest number of listeners, with a weekly audience of 13.7 million listeners, while breakfast segments (Monday to Friday, 6am to 10am) achieved 13.2 million listeners.In terms of language, Malay stations have maintained their lead with 13.2 million weekly listeners, followed by Chinese language stations (4.4 million), English language stations (3.4 million) and Tamil language stations (1.6 million) listeners.CRM vice-president Rizal Sahimy said radio remains relevant among Malaysians throughout the year, including during festive seasons and school holidays for music as well as entertainment at home or on the move.He said this was seen in RAM Wave 1 2024 with the first three weeks of school holidays and second three weeks of Ramadan.Radio listening patterns during Ramadan revealed more people listened to the radio earlier in the morning (Monday to Sunday, 5am to 6am) with 1.1 million listeners tuning in and during the breaking fast period (Monday to Friday, 7pm to 8pm).GfK Media Measurement Lead – Malaysia, June Pang said radio also has the ability to adapt accordingly in meeting the expectations and demands of audiences while continuing to attract listeners across all ages to tune in wherever and whenever they are.Radio has also demonstrated a high social media engagement, with 7.2 million people claiming they have read or interacted with a radio station’s/show’s/presenter’s social media page in the past month. […]

On September 3 this year Podcast Day Asia returns to Kuala Lumpur. Programmed once again by Podnews Editor and Radio Futurologist James Cridland, Podcast Day Asia is set to be a day full of fantastic speakers.Whether you are an independent podcaster, work within the audio industry, or run a company specialising in podcasting, there is lots to be learned from others in the industry, make connections and expand your network.You’ll hear from experts in the fields of monetisation, listener trends, strategies for growing your audience as well as your business and hear about the latest technology advances, particularly with AI tools to help you get better at what you do. Plus you’ll be inspired by content creators such as NPRs award-winning Emily Kwong (Short Wave, Where We Come From and Inheritance) and others.Podcast Day Asia Programmer, James Cridland said: “Podcasting in Asia is growing fast, and after the success of Podcast Day Asia last year, we’ll be back bigger and better this September. We’ve a great mix of experts from across the region and the world, and I’m delighted to see so many people already planning to be here. With the launch of the new podcast ‘Inheritance’, Emily Kwong is an ideal keynote speaker from NPR in the US. She will be sharing her knowledge and expertise with the group, and is the perfect speaker for us.”Taking place in one of the tracks of Radiodays Asia, tickets for this event are priced for independent podcasters as well as more established brands, or you could buy a ticket for the whole Radiodays Asia event taking place over three days and includes a broader range of audio topics and training.Register for Podcast Day Asia 2024 here. […]

The DRM General Assembly 2024 (May 19-20) was held for the first time in its history at the crossroads of East and West, in Dubai, May 19-20. This allowed new members from Europe and Middle East and key participants from India, China, Indonesia, Canada and Europe to meet and link to other virtual guests in places like South Africa, other African countries, Myanmar and Australia.Among the highlights of the DRM GA were the presentations on DRM developments in India, Indonesia, Pakistan, South Africa and the latest from China.The status of digitisation in India, where the government decision on the FM digitisation is eagerly awaited, and the comprehensive presentation from the ministerial representative in Indonesia, a country which has gone for a dual open standards solution, were of the highest relevance. The joined Chinese document issued by the National Radio and Television Administration, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and State Administration for Market Regulation was presented again in this forum. In this government document the three administrations, it was explained, will actively guide and promote car manufacturers to implement DRM in medium band band in China.The interest in DRM in China was also mentioned in relation with the CCBN broadcasting professional Exhibition (April 2024) where the in-car digital radio solutions also became a topic of interest. NXP, Nautel, Fraunhofer IIS, Gospell, RFmondial, Starwaves were present with their latest at CCBN, as well as in Dubai.The most anticipated season at the DRM General Assembly was the receiver session. Companies like CML Micro and Cambridge Consultants (UK), BBC, Gospell (China), Starwaves (Switzerland), RF2Digital (S. Korea), Inntot (India), Skyworks (US), OptM Media Solutions (India), many in cooperation with NXP, Fraunhofer IIS and RFmondial, covered the whole range of options from chipsets, modules, kits of equipment, antennas, professional receivers, standalone radios, new and aftermarket car receivers, public announcements boxes, antennas, monitoring receivers etc. The variety of receiver options and modules for DRM in all bands, as well as the solutions combining DRM with other standards, was the highlight of this rich and varied session.Of particular interest was the announcements of the availability of the complete Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) CML Micro and Cambridge Consultants DRM1000 module that will enable consumer radio manufacturers to provide communities with low-cost, low-power DRM radio designs which should connect them directly to the digital age.The geographic and receiver updates, the new companies’ (Assendive, DAC System, SpaceLine) and the established companies’ (BBC, Encompass Media, Fraunhofer IIS, Gospell) news and the strategic discussions to inform the direction of the DRM activities in 2024-2025 rounded up a very informative and successful General Assembly.“It was a unique event that brought together a truly global audience whose increased interest in DRM was palpable”, says DRM Consortium re-elected chairman, Ruxandra Obreja. “We enjoyed providing good and comprehensive answers to the question on the future of DRM receivers. The varied solutions exist, as amply demonstrated during the GA. DRM can provide not only pure DRM receiver solutions for cars, mobiles and standalone but also solutions for receivers with a combination of standards recommended in several big countries.” […]

Spotify has launched its first Global Podcast Trends Tour, an interactive exploration of the latest trends in podcasting. The Trends Tour showcases fresh insights and gives a free VIP pass to explore how people are engaging with podcasts.Most notably, it was found that there’s a new type of influencer on the scene –  63% of people said they trust their favourite podcast host more than their favourite social media influencer. Just call them podfluencers. And Spotify users aren’t just listening to podcasts; they’re watching them, too: globally, average daily streams of video podcasts are up 39% on Spotify.*While the Podfluencer trend is happening across generations, it’s picking up particular steam with Gen Z: 55% of Gen Zs said that if they follow someone on social media and listen to their podcast, they like their podcast content more than if they only listened.Key global findings included:PodfluencersPodcast hosts build trust with their audience, and they’ve become highly influential in purchasing decisions. 63% of people asked said they trust their favorite podcast host more than their favorite social media influencer. Just call them podcast influencers.
55% of Gen Zs told us that if they follow someone on social media and listen to their podcast, they like their podcast content more.
Nearly half (48%) of Gen Zs and Millennials are more likely to be interested in ads/products when promoted by their favorite podcasters.
45% of Millennials and Gen Zs said that when they hear an ad during a podcast, they trust the brand/product being promoted because of the trusted relationship they have with the hosts.
Stream to Screen Podcasts aren’t just for listening anymore. Globally, there’s been a +39% increase in average daily streams of video podcasts on Spotify.
Globally, there have been +64% more video episodes and +78% more video shows (podcasts with at least one video episode) released on Spotify YoY.
Gen Zs are 18% more likely to watch video podcasts vs. other people who engage with podcasts.
Spotify Global Brand Strategy, Thought Leadership Lead, Jenny Haggard, said: “There’s no denying we’re in the midst of the podcast era as people turn to podcasts to be inspired, informed, educated and much more. And with that, it’s only natural for a new type of influencer to emerge. Through this Podcast Trends Tour we’ve uncovered just how important podfluencers are for marketers looking to connect with audiences in a genuine way. With Spotify’s uniquely engaged audience and innovations in the podcast space, we have made it the perfect place to do just that.” […]