Happy New Year! Let’s start the New Year with a sobering dose of reality. Look no further than the Public Radio Tech Survey 2008.
The survey was conducted by Jacobs Media, a consulting group working in partnership with NPR, the Integrated Media Association and the Public Radio Program Directors Association. Jacobs Media says the survey of more than 30,000 respondents may be the largest survey ever of public radio listeners.
On its website, PRPD shares some preliminary observations and key findings. Here are a few of the key findings that, in my view, are most pertinent to classical stations and programmers. These are quoted directly from a more complete list of findings.
- Public Radio fans are certainly habitual radio listeners, but listening to streaming radio on a computer is changing listening habits.
- The growing importance of listening to streaming radio is a key finding, because it shapes the way that Public Radio listeners consume entertainment and information.
- Satellite radio plays a role in the overall media usage spectrum, but is far from a mass appeal outlet. Only one in ten (12%) currently subscribes to Sirius XM.
- HD Radio is still in the embryonic stage.
- The iPod is a game changer, and is owned by more than half of Public Radio listeners.
- Podcasts are also impacting the Public Radio entertainment/information spectrum.
- Social networking sites haven’t become everyday activities for most Public Radio listeners, but they are making an impact, particularly among 25-34 year-olds.
Here’s the full list of key findings.
And here’s an excerpt from the observations shared so far.
The iPod — and the podcasts that it hosts — are both an opportunity and a threat. A large number of Public Radio listeners own a personal mp3 player, and many are drifting away from radio (for music) as a result. Yet, podcasting usage is impressive, and there is generally an openness to the concept of sponsor messaging. This provides Public Radio stations — and NPR — with great potential to allow listeners to “time shift” their programming, while generating sponsorship revenue in the process.
So what does this all add up to? Given the findings of this study, 2009 should call for serious thought about how classical radio is responding to the disruptive technologies gaining favor among listeners: streaming, podcasting, iPods and so forth. The “game-changing” iPod stands to hurt music stations more than news stations. So what can a classical station offer listeners that no iPod can? If podcasts are catching on with more listeners, is your station seeking to capitalize on that? How about a podcast about local arts events? Or interviews with musicians? New CD picks? There are many possibilities. Give one a try.
I hope PRPD plans to release more details from the study — it should be enlightening.
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Personally, I listen to a lot of podcast programming (make that A LOT). It’s great to work out to KCRW’s Good Food or Splendid Table or Speaking of Faith. But it costs money to podcast – so I think stations have to be able to cover costs with increased underwriting revenue (that may then not be going to the station’s bottom line) and, perhaps, memberships. I’m not sure with public broadcasting it’s a numbers game as much as an issue of total support. My father has been producing an opera show for years on his public radio station (community licensee WBNI). It’s an entertaining, popular show and they have 20 years of archives. But they may not have the resources and the rewards are not necessarily going to exceed expenditures. So even though it’s good content that people might enjoy listening to, is it worth putting together a podcast?
Hey Mike, Happy New Year. What did that guy say so many years ago? “The medium is the message”.
PubRadio, especially in classical music, has been heading to the web for quite some time now. KUSC, Los Angeles, might have been the first best, with a 96k mp3 stream long before it was fashionable. Now, lots of services have caught up.
For a long time, I got Birmingham Music from England via Shoutcast.
It is truly a global thing, now a reach for ears and member dollars.
It might be time for some statistics on non-local listenership and membership. When I was a member of WCPE, listening in New Jersey, they were very proud of the fact that at least at that time, their non-local listenership and membership exceeded their local figures, and basically paid their own way. Pretty cool.
Ann: I imagine that podcasting is one of those activities that may not yield revenue right off the bat and will essentially require subsidizing from other, more profitable ventures for a while. Which, in these economic times, is certainly a tall order. But perhaps investing in podcasting and other new-media activities amounts to investing in the station’s future viability. My concern is that if stations do nothing at all to meet the needs of people seeking content on other platforms, they’re limiting their potential for future growth as trends such as podcasting become even more popular. But who knows?
Richard: I think you’re right about the need for statistics. I imagine that stations that find success as web streams, such as WCPE, must have to make a determined effort to market themselves in that way. Otherwise, why would anyone choose one station over another?
In the long run, I wonder if the most sensible option would be for a group of classical stations to team up and create a stream that combines content from their broadcast signals (if they have special features, interviews, concert broadcasts, etc.). In the broader realm of Internet listening, I don’t see how any one station will ever gain an advantage among many other similar-sounding stations. Or stations could work together to create niche streams. Whatever the case, I think cooperating would yield benefits.