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

4 
WHAT
RADIO
LISTENERS
SAY
4.1 Introduction
While
the
main
focus
of
this
report
is
on
the
response
of
the
radio
industry
to
the
opportunities
and
challenges
posed
by
digital
radio,
a
key
element
of
this
concerns
the
audience,
a
fact
brought
up
many
times
within
our
survey
and
in
interview
discussions.
There
is
no
question
but
that
digital
radio
means
nothing
 if
 it
 does
 not
 meet
 listeners’
 interests
 and
 needs
 and
 experiences
 of
 digital
 radio
 policies
elsewhere
reveal
the
imperative
of
ensuring
that
the
interests
of
the
listener
are
at
the
heart
of
any
roll‐out
plan.
As
part
of
our
research,
we
include
this
listener
dimension
through
a
three‐pronged
strategy:
firstly,
through
 analysis
 of
 existing
 data
 about
 the
 radio
 listener
 experience
 and
 digital
 technologies;
secondly,
through
a
number
of
focus
groups
on
the
themes
emerging
from
the
research
in
relation
to
digital
radio;
and
thirdly,
through
a
discussion
of
audience
data
from
the
digital
radio
trial
of
2007‐8
(provided
courtesy
of
RTÉ).
There
is
to
date
very
little
information
or
research
about
the
impact
of
new
media
technologies
on
radio
listening
in
Ireland.
The
limited
scope
of
the
current
research
makes
only
a
modest
contribution
in
 this
 regard,
 and
 our
 focus
 groups,
 for
 instance,
 are
 illustrative
 only
 and
 are
 not
 intended
 to
 be
representative
of
the
listening
population
as
a
whole.
4.2 Digital
radio
listening
–
data
and
comparative
context
In
 an
 international
 context,
 radio
 listening
 in
 Ireland
 ranks
 highly.
 Looking
 at
 2007
 data
 in
 a
comparative
context,
Ireland

had
a
daily
reach
of
84%
(Figure
4.1
–
now
85%)
and
an
average
of
29.3
hours
 listened
 per
 week
 (Figure
 4.2).
 This
 compares,
 for
 example,
 with
 a
 daily
 reach
 of
 72%
 in
 the
United
States
or
just
67%
in
Norway,
and
an
average
of
20.6
hours
listened
per
week
in
the
United
Kingdom,
18.5
hours
per
week
in
the
United
States
or
just
12.6
hours
per
week
in
Spain.
Listenership
to
any
regional/local
radio
again
stands
at
55%.
RTÉ
Radio
One
has
a
weekly
national
reach
of
38%,
RTÉ
2FM
31%
and
Today
FM
29%
(Figure
4.3).
70