Digital Radio for Ireland: Competing Options, Public Expectations - BCI

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2.1 Introduction  2  STRATEGIC INTERVIEWS  Following the survey stage of the research, a number of strategic interviews were held to explore in  detail key questions relating to the implementation and roll out of digital terrestrial radio in Ireland.  In  total, 12 interviews were conducted between April and May 2009 (see Table 7 below). These consisted  of  a  representative  number  from  the  survey  group  (RTÉ,  UTV  Media  plc,  Today  FM,  one  local,  one  community and one digital radio service supplier) as well as the three State bodies involved in policy  and  decision‐making  ‐  the  BCI,  ComReg  and  the  Department  of  Communications.  A  further  three  interviews were conducted with external experts on digital radio from the EBU and WorldDMB. Each  interview  was  conducted  separately  and  lasted  1‐2  hours.  All  interviews  were  recorded  and  transcribed and a copy of the question path used is in the Appendix.  Interviews were sought with a  further 2 representatives from the survey group but they decided the survey had been sufficient. 21       Table 2.1: List of Interviewees  Phil Laven  Ex‐ Director, EBU Technical Department; DVB Chairman,   Robert McCourt   Ronan McManamy  Director of Engineering, UTV Media PLC  MD Irish Radio, UTV Media PLC  Kevin Griffiths  Station Manager, Claremorris Community Radio  Susan Fleming   Kevin O’Brien  Digital Media/DTT/BCI Officer   Principal Officer, Broadcasting;   Department of Communications Energy and Natural Resources  Dusty Rhodes  Managing Director, Digital Audio Productions  Paul Byrne,  CEO, Radio Kerry  JP Coakley   Head of Operations, Radio, RTE  Celene Craig   Neil O’Brien  John Doherty  Chairperson, ComReg  Director of Broadcasting and Deputy Chief Executive, BCI  Director of Engineering, BCI  Michael Mullane  Head of Radio News, Sport and New Media, EBU  Willie O’Reilly  CEO, Today FM; Chairperson, IBI (Independent Broadcasters of  Ireland)  Quentin Howard  President of the Steering Board, WorldDMB                                                                21  John Boyle, Group Marketing Director and Lucy Gaffney, Chairperson of Communicorp and Athony Dinan,  Group Managing Director of Thomas Crosbie Holdings    42 
A number of key themes emerged from the interviews and are elaborated on in the following analysis  and discussion:   1. Policy: A strong consensus emerged on the need for a coordinated policy on digital radio to be  led by the State agencies and guided by a representative digital radio forum which reflected  both stakeholders and interested parties in its membership.   2. Technology:  Most  interviewees  favoured  DAB+  as  the  optimum  technological  solution  for  Ireland’s future.  3. Incentives  and  the  need  for  Innovation:  There  was  broad  agreement  that  incentives  for  the  sector were needed as part of the transition but about half the interviewees made the point  that  the  endgame  needed  to  deliver  a  broadcast  platform  which  was  better  than  FM,  or  exceeded the current service, if it was to succeed with consumers and create a viable market.  In  this  context,  however,  it  was  signaled  by  a  number  of  interviews  that  such  incentives  to  enter the digital radio market needed to be married with a requirement to innovate in order  to ensure the success of digital radio in the long term.   4. The Digital Radio Trial 2007‐8: Many respondents argued that lessons needed to be learned  from  the  RTÉ‐led  digital  radio  trial  of  2007‐8  and  that  a  more  coordinated  and  consultative  approach emphasizing extensive market research was required.  5. Inclusiveness: Interviews with the radio sector, particularly local and community radio, raised  the  issue  that  digital  radio  was  perceived  to  be  not  inclusive  of  all  potential  stakeholders.  There was a lack of information available on digital radio and consequently there was a need  for an awareness‐raising and educational campaign around digital. The view was expressed,  particularly  by  the  external  experts  interviewed,  that  digital  radio  policy  needed  to  be  inclusive, ensuring fair and equal access for all, if it is to succeed.  This echoed one of the core  concerns  raised  by  community  radio  in  both  the  survey  and  the  interview  stage  that  digital  radio had the potential to create a two‐tiered radio sector leaving community radio behind.  6. Barriers to Digital: In terms of impediments to progress, besides the lack of clear, coordinated  policy the key issue was the question of the economic viability of a future digital radio market  and the difficulty in promoting the case for digital radio in the midst of a severe recession that  is already impacting on the Irish media sector.   7. Views for the Future: Finally, participants were asked to outline their vision of the future and  which  direction  Ireland  should  now  take  in  developing  and  implementing  a  digital  radio  strategy.    2.2 Coordinated policy, coordinating players  The  concern  over  the  perceived  lack  of  policy,  direction  and  leadership  in  digital  radio  was  raised  initially by radio operators in the survey stage and extensively detailed in the interview stage where  participants referred to a policy gap or policy vacuum. Paul Byrne, CEO, Radio Kerry put it: ‘There’s has  been no direction, no policies, there has been nothing and we’ve just drifted along here in this country  for years’. He said Radio Kerry had participated in the RTÉ led trial (March 2007‐November 2008) and  had learnt a lot from it but did not have a clear direction on where the sector was going. ‘So I think    43 
Page 1 and 2:       Digital Radio for
Page 3 and 4: 3.5  A comparative online a
Page 5 and 6:   EXECUTIVE SUMMARY  This 
Page 7 and 8:   Online Digital Radio   
Page 9 and 10:   Overview of the project
Page 11 and 12: New  technology  options,  in
Page 13 and 14: standard digital radio system
Page 15 and 16:   Figure I: DRACE Future 
Page 17 and 18:    Answer Options  Essentia
Page 19 and 20: A  number  of  responses, 
Page 21 and 22: other digital offerings such
Page 23 and 24: 45% of respondents replied 
Page 25 and 26: worldwide for the much improved HE-
Page 27 and 28:   There is much less cert
Page 29 and 30:     Fig 1.8: New Radio 
Page 31 and 32: Illustrative responses indicate
Page 33 and 34:           Table 1.4: 
Page 35 and 36:   The trial was too limit
Page 37 and 38:     Fig. 1.12: Internet R
Page 39 and 40:       Table 1.5: Internet
Page 41: marketing and marketing spend
Page 45 and 46: capabilities that were allowe
Page 47 and 48: Not all respondents agreed 
Page 49 and 50: Others like Willie O’Reilly
Page 51 and 52: 2.7 Barriers to Digital  Desp
Page 53 and 54: JP  Coakley,  RTÉ,  argued
Page 55 and 56: In each of the radio webs
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Page 67 and 68:   In terms of the provisi
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Page 73 and 74:   Figure 4.4:  RAJAR/MIDAS
Page 75 and 76:   Figure 4.6: Types of ra
Page 77 and 78:     4.4 User Focus Groups
Page 79 and 80: For several people the attr
Page 81 and 82: details about a book being
Page 83 and 84: listening  and  there  was 
Page 85 and 86:   5.1 Overview  5  CONCLUSION
Page 87 and 88: debate for the UK industry.
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  Web 2.0 ‐ The use o
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Community services  Connemara
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      97   
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      101   
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      103   
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      105   
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  APPENDIX IV   INTERVIEW
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  List of audited Irish s
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• West Limerick 102   •
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•  NRK Folkkemusik  • 
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  REFERENCES  Abbink Spaink,
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JNLR. JNLR Figures For Janu
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Digital Radio for Ireland: Competing Options, Public Expectations - BCI

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