TORONTO – Describing radio as an industry “under attack (because) everybody wants our audiences,” Eric Rhoads, publisher of U.S. industry magazine Radio Ink, kicked off the “Inside the Executive Suite” discussion at Canadian Music Week last Wednesday by asking Canadian radio executives how many hours a week they typically work.
While answers varied, it’s safe to say Canadian radio bosses are working upwards of 60 hours a week to lead their respective organizations through the ongoing migration to digital platforms.
Paul Ski, CEO of radio and regional broadcast operations for Rogers Broadcasting, said his work schedule is “very fluid” but added: “I think we’re spending much more time than we used to on the business. We have to, it’s just part of the way things are these days.”
With the advent of online radio streaming, broadcasters are always working, said Chris Pandoff, president of Corus Entertainment Radio. “You’re kind of working all the time even when you’re on your own time,” Pandoff said.
Chris Gordon, president of radio and local TV for Bell Media Radio, echoed that sentiment, saying radio “is a 24-hour-a-day business and we’re all-in. We wake up thinking about it. We go to bed thinking about it. We may not be in the office for 9 or 10 hours, but it’s always top of mind.”
Despite the long hours, Rick Arnish, chair of Pattison Broadcast Group, said he still comes to work every day “pumped and ready to go, because every day is the same, but every day is different.” Pattison Broadcast Group is based in western Canada and operates 34 radio stations and three TV stations in B.C., Alberta and, just recently, Manitoba.
“How are we going to repatriate the younger audience, the younger listeners, who have gone to the digital platforms and smartphones and iPods and you name it?” – Rick Arnish, Pattison Broadcast
“One of the things that keeps me up at night, and I’m sure all of my panel colleagues would agree with this, is how are we going to repatriate the younger audience, the younger listeners, who have gone to the digital platforms and smartphones and iPods and you name it?” Arnish pondered.
Ski said his main concern is about staying relevant to audiences – and advertisers. “Being relevant to our audiences… no other media has the unique relationship that local radio has with the local communities, and I think that will stay relevant,” he said. “Secondly, how do we stay relevant to our advertisers? I think we do that by making sure we have a full toolbox of things that our sales people can sell, and at the same time making sure our clients are educated about our particular business, because smart, educated clients tend to buy more.”
Third, Ski asked: “How do we make sure the Regulator (CRTC) allows us to be relevant by not shackling us in any way?”
Tom Pentefountas, the Commission’s vice-chairman of broadcasting, was originally scheduled to appear on the panel but he did not attend this event.
Gordon said regulatory issues, as they pertain to the licensing of new radio stations in Canada, are a concern for him. “I think there’s enough consumer choice in this country that we don’t need new commercial FM radio stations. There’s enough choice, there’s enough radio, there’s enough digital, there’s enough audio, there’s enough music.”
"I always ask myself, ‘Would this brand be able to go forward and exist without a licence and a transmitter?’” – Chris Gordon, Bell Media
He added the migration of radio to digital properties is one of the top things keeping his organization’s leaders up at night. “When I look at our brands now, I always ask myself, ‘Would this brand be able to go forward and exist without a licence and a transmitter?’ I think we all have to look at that issue,” Gordon said.
Jeff Smulyan, CEO and chairman of the board of Indianapolis-based Emmis Communications (22 stations in six U.S. markets), outlined the costs associated with streaming radio online, too. He said his company has been streaming for 18 years now and that part of the business still hasn’t made any money yet. “We have a radio station in Los Angeles, Power106, and for $39,000 a year we can send our signal to everyone in Southern California,” Smulyan said. “If we took our transmitter down and streamed through the data network, the cost to reach our audience, our cost in bandwidth, would be about $1 million a year, to replicate what we do over the air. And our listeners’ costs would be more than $1 million a year.”
Smulyan equated that to taking 40% margin customers and making them minus-five-per-cent margin customers. “Folks, this is not a good business model,” Smulyan said. However, he added radio companies still need to offer streaming, and as smartphone users start to accept the reality of data charges and use their devices as portable radios, the radio business will dramatically change.
Pandoff said Corus Radio’s digital strategy is to have a streamed signal and some level of interactivity both in mobile as well as on the desktop. “So at least on a local basis, if in fact the technology does replace conventional analogue delivery, we will at least have experimented and understand the space,” he said.
Ski said many of the things Rogers Radio is doing in the digital space are proprietary, so he couldn’t discuss details. However, he said he believes smartphones will help make radio ubiquitous again, more so than tablets, computers or even in-dash car consoles.
When asked what percentage of total revenue can be attributed currently to the digital side of their businesses, the Canadian radio executives agreed it was between 3 and 5%. Smulyan of Emmis Communications said it was about 12% for his company, adding: “We’ve been at it a long time.”
