Move over digital TV, it’s time for radio to step into the limelight. With the government and Ofcom planning to grow both national and local digital radio coverage, a full switchover has now been predicted by 2015.
The Go Digital Trial (funded by the government) is a piece of research which tests the impact of converting homes to digital radio ahead of the forecast switchover date. The report focused on the city of Bath, an area that already has good DAB coverage. In February and March 2013, over 230 participants were given a DAB digital radio in order to observe their listening habits and experiences, which were recorded over a 6 week period.
The findings illustrated extremely positive conclusions with 92 per cent highly satisfied with their digital radios, 85 per cent saying they would recommend digital radio to others and 80 per cent stating a preference of digital to analogue. The research further claims participants listened to more radio overall (though it could be argued this was the novelty of a shiny new radio to play with) and enjoyed exploring new stations.
But, while some were making new discoveries others displayed loyalty to existing stations as 74 per cent of Absolute Radio listeners already listen online (source, CEO Absolute Radio).Disadvantages reported include elderly users needing set up or usage assistance and having cost concerns, though these issues could be avoided by educating hard to convert groups well in advance of the switchover, via a national communication.
Commenting, commercial radio groups appeared to be in support of the findings. “The pilot supports that digital radio is better”, said Dee Ford, group MD for radio at Bauer Media. “Global is committed to a digital future and the findings show how important it is to increase local DAB coverage” added Ashley Tabor, executive president at Global Radio.
So, with Bath confirming their love for digital radio, how does the research contribute to the bigger picture? Although there is clear positivity out there, the ultimate trigger for the expansion is that 50 per cent of radio listening has to come from digital in line with government request that the switchover must be consumer led. Currently, the share of all radio listening hours via a digital platform stands at 34.3 per cent (source RAJAR, Q1 2013) which is an increase on Q1 2012, by 17 per cent YOY. However, there’s still a long way to go to reach the target figure.
In addition to this, national DAB coverage will need to be comparable to FM, with local DAB reaching 90 per cent of the population. New CAP/SMMT data announced in July shows almost 40 per cent of new cars now have digital radio as standard (compared to the 25.2 per cent recorded in June 2012 and 12.1 per cent in June 2011). This is a positive step, as are announcements from Audi, Volvo and Lexus that their new cars will move to 100 per cent digital across the range. As it stands, the percentage of cars with digital radio as standard now exceeds those without.
MEC opinion: In the lead up to the switchover, it could be worthwhile considering how to approach hard-to-convert groups sooner rather than later. Radio media owners could provide incentives to encourage the adoption of digital, by offering money off vouchers, coupons to collect or events supporting the usage of digital radio.
If digital radio switchover is to be a success, both broadcasters and radio manufacturers need to up their game and educate consumers with clear benefits for the switch, and encourage that digital is better than FM. After all, consumers need to choose digital themselves before they are forced to switch.