TORONTO – While radio continues to be a success story in Canada as a strong, vibrant, local media source, “there is always a ‘but’,” Ontario regional commissioner Raj Shoan told delegates to the Ontario Association of Broadcasters Connection conference in Toronto on Thursday.
“Radio does not automatically get to hold its position in the audio marketplace. Other contenders are coming to town,” he cautioned. While streaming radio has not made a big impact here yet with only 13% of Canadians saying they do that, according to Shoan, services like Songza and Rdio (and although he didn’t say it, Canada’s own Galaxie) are increasingly available on smart phones and tablets and people are turning to other places for their streamed, curated, tunes, creating competition for traditional radio.
Radio still has local as its trump card – “it’s our fastball” Rogers Radio CEO Paul Ski told delegates later in the day – and according to Nielsen, “61% of Canadians tune in to terrestrial radio to discover music that is new to them. And 42% of the new music they encounter is on these stations,” added Shoan in his lunchtime keynote.
“No service that offers only streaming music can replicate this very special radio mix. And you broadcasters have an advantage in the marketplace: You ask for no subscription fees. You're offering all of this absolutely free,” he said.
The CRTC’s annual Communications Monitoring Report reported there are now 1,156 radio stations licensed to broadcast in Canada and in 2012, radio revenues held steady while profits before interest and taxes rose to $323 million from $311 million in the previous year. (Ed note: That’s a big number, but it works out to just about $280,000 per license.)
Storm clouds are easy to see on the horizon, however. “In the PPM markets, the 18 to 24 age group are tuning in about 30% less than the general 12-plus population, while the 12 to 17 group tune in about 50% less,” Shoan pointed out. “So it's clear that you can't stand still if you want to hold on to your audiences, much less grow them.”
So he asked the radio broadcasters in the room (while reminding them of the upcoming CRTC targeted radio policy review): “What can you do to take the loyalty you've earned from your communities and invite your listeners to follow you online or on their mobile devices? How can you get them to connect with you interactively instead of just passively? How can you use your libraries of Canadian music to build more loyalty from Canadian listeners?
“If you want to be successful in the future, you will have to find ways to innovate, both as station owners and as a sector as a whole. It is difficult to know which way to go when the shape of the digital future is not yet defined. But if you do not take some steps to define the shape of the future in ways that are good for you, you will inevitably be left behind,” he added.
As for that 2014 review (initial comments due January 16), Shoan outlined what the Commission wants to know:
* the Commission’s approach to calls for applications and to small markets;
* the processing of applications for the conversion of low-power, unprotected stations to protected status;
* the review of definitions for local and national time sales, and the need for a definition of regional advertising;
* an update of the rules which specify how licensees must maintain and submit their logs and records;
* the possible adoption of new compliance mechanisms to encourage licensees to comply at all times with regulatory requirements and conditions of licence; and
* the possible implementation of Hybrid Digital Radio technology (HD Radio) in Canada, along with the need to adopt a regulatory framework.
