Harnessing the power of commercial radio for news stories
With all the worries over the future of ‘traditional’ media, and the hype about the next big thing in social, radio continues to thrive – and, in the case of commercial radio, achieve record-breaking success.
It’s for reasons like this:
It continues to connect directly with listeners, providing moments that can’t be replicated on Spotify or Apple Music.
While the success of commercial radio is fantastic for those involved in the industry, it is also a useful reminder of the opportunities it presents to both communicators and marketeers.
Commercial radio achieved record-breaking listeners this year
Commercial radio is enjoying incredible success right now.
The latest RAJAR listening figures revealed that it achieved over 40 million weekly listeners in the second quarter of 2024 (April-June), beating its previous record set earlier in the year.
And it enjoys a record market share of 55%, compared to the BBC’s 42.6%. The combined weekly audience for radio in the UK, both licence fee and commercially-funded, is at a new high of 50.8 million adults – again beating Q1’s record.
Live radio is still the choice of audio for audiences
RAJAR’s Audio Survey Spring 2024
Radio is competing against podcasts, streaming and our own music collection for our ears – but you may be surprised to learn that live radio is still by far the preferred choice of audio, according to the latest RAJAR Midas survey.
And Matt Payton, the CEO of Radiocentre, the body that represents commercial radio, claimed that 86% of commercial audio listening is live radio. Radiocentre held a very interesting and thought-provoking conference last week that sparked me to write this piece! You can check out all the talks at Tuning In 2024 on YouTube.
Radio is still one of the most trusted sources of news
Radiocentre online survey conducted in Q1 2024 by Differentology of over 3,000 commercial radio listeners, made up of a nationally representative sample.
It feels like it’s harder than ever to decipher whether something is true or not, especially on social media; for the UK public, radio is still regarded to be among the most trustworthy sources of news.
The above results of a Radiocentre survey on trust were based on answers from commercial radio listeners; the findings of the wider UK public for Ofcom’s recent report are similar for radio and TV, but less drastic for newspapers and social media.
And the quality of local news reporting during the summer riots was praised by the media minister Stephanie Peacock, who said:
“Local and national journalists have been in the thick of it, putting themselves at risk to make the public have information they can rely on. In an age of increasing disinformation and misinformation that is a really important role.
“Now more than ever, as we’ve seen in the last few weeks, having that reliable source of local information and news is really important.”
Reaching disengaged audiences through commercial radio news
‘Beyond the Bubble’, Radiocentre, 2020
Research by Radiocentre for their 2020 report, Beyond the Bubble, identified four different types of TV and radio news consumers:
- Super-seekers: who constantly check for the latest news updates on different media
- Enthusiasts: have a keen interest in news and check for updates regularly
- Outsiders: will listen to or watch when news comes on the radio and TV, but don’t usually seek it out
- Avoiders: have no interest in news and will avoid it if they can
At the time of the report, ‘outsiders’, the second largest group, made up 1⁄3 of the commercial radio audience – around 12 million listeners. This group was more likely to be female, from the C2DE socio-economic group and living outside London or South East England and ‘floating voters’ (not strong supporters of a political party.)
And the size of the groups who don’t seek the news out on radio, or actively shun it, are likely to have now gone up, judging by the record levels of people avoiding the news, describing it as ‘boring, depressing or repetitive’, in the newest Reuters Institute of Journalism report.
In fact, the Radiocentre report suggests that commercial radio is the news source that this ‘outsiders’ grouping would least avoid.
‘Beyond the Bubble’, Radiocentre. 2020
And I suggest that similar thinking would apply to BBC radio music-based stations. The Financial Times’ Stephen Bush regularly refers back to his view that parties need to focus more on Radio 1, 2 and 3 than 4 and 5 when it comes to reaching ordinary members of the public.
Commercial radio news bulletins and features offer potentially great opportunities for organisations, businesses and the government to reach those disengaged or hard to reach audiences with targeted and relevant content and messaging.
The competitive and fragmented news audience
But this doesn’t mean radio is the sole solution to your comms issues.
More people in the UK are getting their news from online (through digital or social media) than TV, for the first time ever, according to Ofcom’s annual study into news consumption.
Radio is still quite far behind – in terms of the most important source of news for those surveyed, even Radio 4 only scores 2% overall. But don’t get the wrong end of the stick – this is about how radio can be used to target those who are not usually seeking to get their news and information.
And audiences continue to place great importance on trusted, impartial and accurate news – especially from public sector broadcasters like the BBC.
However, the challenge from online continues to grow. Nine in ten (88%) 16-24 year olds use online sources for news – and TikTok is the largest source for 12-15 year olds. And a new Pew Institute report suggests TikTok is also growing in popularity for news among young American adults.
This reflects the increasingly competitive, fragmented and ever-changing media environment that we now live and work in. Try not to be distracted by the shiny new thing, or hype around a trend or platform. Look at where your target audience is and where they are potentially interested in hearing your messaging or information.
Read more: Should my organisation leave Twitter – or stay there?
How I can help
If you need help reviewing your approach to reaching and engaging your audiences on multiple platforms, including maximising your potential on radio, get in touch!
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