TORONTO – It’s generally accepted among those who work in radio in Canada (and those who observe it) that the industry is still pretty strong. Despite predictions of its demise and the general weakness in the radio business south of the border, Canadian radio companies have continued to see modest growth over the years.
“Why is that?” was one of the questions asked last week during the President’s Panel at the Ontario Association of Broadcasters conference held in Toronto last Thursday.
Each of the five radio executives (Astral Radio EVP Charles Benoit, Corus Radio president Chris Pandoff, Rogers Radio CEO Paul Ski, Blackburn Radio CEO Richard Costley-White and Haliburton Broadcasting president Chris Grossman) offered variations of the same theme: “We stayed true to radio’s root as local media.”
Pointing to the severe financial difficulties suffered by the two largest American radio companies, Clear Channel and CBS Radio late in the last decade (from which many here say the U.S. radio industry has not recovered), the Canadian executives believe their decisions to remain local and offer a responsible ad load were and are key to the strength of their companies.
For example, many large radio groups in the States boosted their ad count while attempting to regionalize their stations, attempting to raise revenue and wring costs from their operations, which made some stations seem like ad-playing machines from nowhere. While such moves can look good at first in a spreadsheet, “these decisions are gradually killing the medium there,” said Benoit. While acknowledging radio companies must now think of themselves as more of a “360-dgree” media provider, Benoit added, focusing on strong branding and making sure stations reflect their local markets are key.
“Radio is built one station, one market at a time, and that may have been forgotten south of the border a little bit,” added Ski. “Local is our unique selling proposition.”
Added Haliburton’s (best-known for its Moose FM brands in many smaller markets) Grossman: “There’s no one that has a better relationship (with clients and listeners) than we do in our local markets.” Fellow small market operator Costley-White backed up Grossman, noting his stations are the only electronic media outlets with reporters covering Essex County, for example.
Corus’ Pandoff sounded a note of caution however, by envisioning a future of digital wireless and IP technology domination where electronics manufacturers no longer want to – or no longer have to – build products with traditional radios in them. “In our lifetime, it’s feasible to think no manufacturers will build things with an AM/FM receiver in it,” and then “when there are no radios… will listeners still demand to hear us?” he asked.
Rogers’ Ski recommended having management eyes and ears everywhere and urged delegates not to have “a myopic vision” just on their industry because while radio is something people have come to depend on and love, it still operates in “a constantly changing environment,” he said, adding disruptions can come from anywhere at any time. “Radio has been the most resilient media of all over the past 75 years,” Ski explained. “We’re the original social networks and the original chat rooms,” but with listeners changing where they listen and chat and socialize, “wherever they are, we need to be able to reach them,” he said.
Reaching those elusive listeners wherever they are online or wirelessly doesn’t come without cost, however. Pandoff noted that 6.5% of Corus Radio’s operating expenditures go towards new media, such as streaming station feeds live – and none of those digital efforts make money. “But, it’s a space we need to be in to be in the learning curve,” he explained, adding that the number of online streams are growing at a rate of 20% per year.
At 9 a.m., for example, “our streaming numbers are better than they would normally be on air,” which shows people are continuing their listening from the car, once they are in the office.
Which shows that at least for now, when some people have no radio, they still want to tune into their favourite radio station.
