Auckland+Radio+Market

Write a 3000 work **analysis** of the **state** of the **Auckland** radio market, including a **discussion** of **rating trends.**

Things to include: Background of Radio Market List the stations that you are looking at, eg. Analysis = Share The War that is going on Trends that are happening

Discussion of the current state of ratings in Auckland Assessment of the differences between talk and music formats Assessment of the distinctions between stations of similar formats Analysis of the trends for station and groups in the rating Discussion of different approaches taken to attract target audiences Evaluation of the recent developments in the radio marketplace Evaluation of the background to the current ratings situation in Auckland

Auckland nationally is viewed as the heart of New Zealand, containing over one-third of all businesses, most of which are concentrated in the manufacturing, retailing and commerce industries. It is the most populated and fast growing region with a 8.4% growth according to the latest census and is currently in the middle of a huge upheaval with the onset of a Super City and a further heated debate over the appointment of a High Mayor for this monstrocity. With Aucklanders reknown to earn the second highest personal incomes in the country and to be the most culturally and ethnically diverse population in the country, Auckland’s needs cannot be ignored by the radio networks. Radio networks are obviously a big part of the daily life of Auckland and Aucklanders. In my analysis of the state of the Auckland radio market, I will provide background to the development and current status of the Auckland radio market, by looking at current trends and ratings, providing an assessment of the differences between talk and music formats and distinctions between similar stations. Using results from the survey carried out by Research International, I will also show a clear analysis of the trends for station and groups. Due to the well documented recession the country, including Auckland is experiencing, the radio marketplace has needed to introduce new approaches to target, maintain and attract new audiences which I will also discuss and try to evaluate.

When deregulation occurred in New Zealand in the early 1980s it caused one of the most competitive radio markets in the world to arise. This created a highly saturated advertising environment and in turn ratings became the ultimate decider to the way radio was structured, sold and produced in New Zealand. The reliance on ratings created the importance of the audience measurement radio surveys which were and still are carried out twice yearly. These surveys are managed by the Radio Industry Research Committee (RIRC), chaired by the Radio Broadcasting Association (RBA) and include representatives from both The Radio Network (TRN) and MediaWorks and the Radio Bureau (TRB) and the Communication Agencies Association of New Zealand. This is fully funded by the radio industry. In Auckland, the radio industry consists of two major moguls, TRN and Mediaworks, previously known as RadioWorks. Both network groups are responsible for a large number of radio stations. Under the umbrella of TRN lies Classic Hits, Coast, Easy Mix, Flava, Newstalk ZB, Radio Hauraki, Radio Sport and ZM. In direct competition, MediaWorks controls More FM, Kiwi, Radio Live, BSPORT Trackside (formerly Pacific), Solid Gold, Edge, Rock, Breeze, Time FM, Mai FM and more recently George FM. It is interesting to note that even though MediaWorks has three more stations than TRN, according to the recent survey, TRN Combo cume is 47.6% of the market by demographic whereas MediaWorks Radio Combo stands at 32.9%. The results for the Daypart are almost the same.

The personal survey diary is the instrument used by Research International New Zealand to gather the data presented by-annually. This is very important in providing the data to be able to analyse to produce the ratings from and provides a measure against quality assurance. The diary lists all known radio stations within the listed region, for instance in Auckland it will list all those accessible to Auckland listeners. It is set out to cover all 24 hours of each day, divided into 15 minute slots. The households are randomly selected with anyone over 10 years of age willing to record their radio listening over a week. During this week, the participants are asked to indicate the radio station listened to for each period of 8 minutes or more or each quarter hour. Throughout the week, the participant is contacted at least once to ensure they are following the instructions. The participant's age, gender, occupation, ethnic origins, personal and household income are collected from all the members of the household and this information is matched with the participant's listening habits and their lifestyle information. The data is then loaded into the RADIOS database for cross referencing and analysing radio audiences in the RADIOS software. Survey data is weighted by age, gender and geography based on Statistics NZ Census data which ensures the data is representative of the population. Of course, this excludes any participants where someone in the household may work at or for a radio station. Research International is required to meet pre-determined standards for overall sample, accuracy of population distribution and return rates for the diaries. Performance against these criteria is reviewed by the RIRC at the conclusion of every survey. In addition, progress toward these standards is reported in-survey by Research International. This is known as Quality Assurance.

The current state of ratings in Auckland can be identified in the recent Auckland Research International survey showing comparisons from 2/2008 - 1/2009, showing both demographic and daypart results. Nationally TRN, with networks Classic Hits, Radio Hauraki, Radio Sports and Coast show 46.5 percent of the audience while MediaWorks, with networks MoreFm, The Rock, Radio Live and The Edge scored 41.6 per cent. Radio Torana, an independant radio station, in the latest survey (2009) produced by RADIOS showed an increase in its audience by more than 50% to 4.6% making Radio Torana the Auckland regions 9th most listened to radio station. In the RADIOS survey by Daypart, Radio Torana increased their percentage by an average 1.6% across all time categories from 2008 to 2009. An even greater increase was noted in the RADIOS survey by Demographic where there was an overall average increase of 1.9%. Interesting enough Radio Tarana holds the greatest percentage of listeners aged 25 - 39, 7.4% which tops both MaiFm and Classic Hits sitting on 6.7. A possible hypothesis of this astounding result could be a simple reflection of the make-up of the Taxi industry workers in Auckland having their radios on all the time and the large number of Indian diary owners within the Auckland region. On the other hand, it could also mean that there is a big market for this area and the big players should maybe take note of this. Mai FM has added 10,000 10+ listeners to leapfrog its way to the most listened to music station in Auckland whilst Coast has retained its position as the Number 1 music station by share (AP 10+).

The most recent survey results since Mike Hoskings took over from Paul Holmes have indicated Newstalk ZB's Auckland breakfast share was down only 2.9 percent to 18 per cent, which was a far cry from what was predicted by the critics and still remains the most listened to station in Auckland with 206,300 AP 10+ Aucklanders tuning in every week. A drop in the ratings was expected, due to Holmes’ undeniable popularity, and one of the groups interested in the results were none more than those of the advertisers. Over the past 22 years, Holmes’ popularity has contributed to the dominance that Newstalk ZB has championed over every other station in Auckland. With the recent statistics from RADIOS survey, it is easy to predict that Hoskings will continue with the stronghold of Newstalk ZBs position in Auckland.

Radio stations are currently being challenged to think of new and different ways to attract their listeners. For example, the current generation of 18 – 24 we know are of the Generation Y, where they are Internet natives and use all sorts of technology to access music, news, articles, photographs, the list goes on. They prefer to access this information when, where and how they like and have been responsible for the great shift in the way radio is presented. This group would be instrumental for instance in the introduction of radio stations having interactive websites and radios studios installing webcams and providing podcasts of shows. This is also the group TRN Combo needs to address, as there was a drop of almost 5% from 2008 to 2009 in contrast to a 2% increase for MediaWorks. This recent development needs to be addressed by TRN through a planned new approach to target this audience back. A possible reason for this drop could be the purchasing by Mediaworks of Mai FM and more recently GeorgeFM which both traditionally have a young strong listenership of that age group. In George’s first book since being bought by MediaWorks it has held steady against its youth target, adding 1,100 AP 18-34 listeners, with the majority of these listeners tuning into the new Breakfast show. Another major group which requires a different and specific approach is that of the “main grocery shopper”. It is importance as a demographic group has been established by it being identified in its own right as a category by New Zealand Research International in the survey. In the most recent survey, there has been a drop of .3 and .4 respectively, not a significant one, but an important one nevertheless because of their importance to the advertiser and the importance of the advertiser to the radio station. A new approach that has become a trend is treating people as consumers, and not as citizens.

The current economic situation which uses the “R” word continually is another reason why new approaches are needed to attract and retain their audiences but the way in which new developments are being proposed in the radio industry. Advertisers who are now having to fully justify the spending of their advertising dollar for their own survival will be looking more closely at the survey ratings to see where their dollar is best spent. For example, previously where they might have advertised on MediaWorks and TRN but due to their own cutbacks they have to make a decision of one or the other. Advertising agencies are also looking after their dollar, so they too will be viewing the results on the TRB website to make decisions about where they advise their clients to spend their money. CONCLUSION: MediaWorks owns TV3 and C4 and The Radio Network (TRN) is half owned by APN. In 2008, veteran broadcasters Larry Summerville and Bernie Brown "busted into the Cosy Club" of these two stations that controls New Zealand commercial radio in launching their new Auckland community station BIG FM. The big corporate competition of MediaWorks and TRN were ruled out from bidding for the frequency gained by BIG FM in an attempt to ensure the survival of local radio. BIG FM picked up the Auckland 106.2 FM frequency for $800,000 which is seen as being very modest when you compare it to the nearly $6 million paid by the two corporates for a 20 year rights to similar frequencies in Auckland. (nz herald, Oct 10, 2008)

The radio industry lobby group, Radio Broadcasters Association (RBA) is made up of TRN and MediaWorks, with BIG FM allowed to be an associate member only. The RBA had lobbied extensively to prevent the creation of the community stations concept arguing that they could provide local radio and should not be shut out.

The results of the latest RADIOS survey carried out by Research International supports the importance of MediaWorks and TRN to recognise and provide for the cultural diversity of Aucklanders who are their potential audience. Radio Torana has clearly exposed this in the survey.

I believe that the the highly competitive ratings highlighted in the recent survey carried out by Research International New Zealand showing a cultural radio like Radio Torana who caters for the Indian community gaining a competitive increase can not be ignored by the current main players, TRN and MediaWorks. If they want to gain a slice of this increasing market, then these two moguls of the industry must provide for this cultural diversity of their potential Auckland listeners. The battle for sales and money in the current economic climate is horrendous. One could argue that the lengths the radio stations are prepared to go to, in order to win clients could potentially be affecting what is actually being broadcast on the airwaves, in terms of the same advertisements being streamed across a large and very different brand of stations. These stations traditionally have very specific and established target markets and sounds because the many stations are owned by two main players, and that is a war in itself. The lengths stations are going to win the ratings war, is jeopadising the sound of New Zealands commercial radio.

Reference Auckland Radio Market Survey, T2 2009, Research International New Zealand.