RadioDays Europe 2016: Multiplatform Radio, Podcasting, More

Monday Sessions

RADIODAYS EUROPE 2016’s second day on MONDAY (3/14) featured several presentations and panels on the future of radio.  The conference, which concludes TODAY (3/15), will be held in AMSTERDAM on MARCH 19-21 next year.

ALL ACCESS correspondent ENDA CALDWELL was on the scene and filed this report on MONDAY's action:

The opening session featured RADIO FRANCE President/CEO MATHUEU GALLET and BAUER MEDIA Managing Director DEE FORD delivering keynotes at the official opening ceremony and EBU Head of Radio GRAHAM DIXON, AER/FINLAND President STEFAN MÖLLER, and FRANCE MÉDIAS MONDE President/CEO MARIE-CHRISTINE SARAGOSSE offering welcoming remarks.

BBC RADIO Director HELEN BOADEN spoke on the future of radio, noting the challenge of not just reaching an audience but retaining them in time spent listening, which is “dramatically” falling in some groups in the face of “very powerful” new competition.  FORD discussed BAUER’s use of brands on multiple platforms, including ABSOLUTE RADIO’s success with spin-off digital stations; similarly, MÖLLER noted that content needs to be available everywhere because consumers don’t care about technology but want radio that’s accessible, usable and free. GALLET said that radio’s success is in its ability to adapt to meet the expectations of its listeners.  And TOK FM/POLAND Editor-in-Chief and PD KAMILA CERAN discussed TOK’s free speech challenges as a change in the nation’s government threatened the station’s license.

KYLE SANDILANDS and JACKIE O'NEAL (JACKIE O) HENDERSON were on hand MONDAY to discuss their move from SOUTHERN CROSS AUSTEREO Top 40 2DAY/SYDNEY to rival AUSTRALIAN RADIO NETWORK Top 40 KIIS 106.5, with stories about the move, including how their old station got the news that, rather than retiring, the duo was headed to the competition (SANDILANDS said that just before the news broke 15 minutes after their last 2DAY show, “I excused myself and just got into my car”).

American podcaster KAITLIN PREST discussed her show “THE HEART” and how she sees it as one element of an art project that includes events in which listeners "feel like they're stepping into the world of the show".

FUTURI MEDIA CEO DANIEL ANSTANDIG’s session looked at “winning the first tune-in occasion of the day,” mornings, which he said is the most important time for a radio station; winning mornings, he said, invariably leads to winning the rest of the day.  He demonstrated the company’s tailored radio app, including a personalized alarm clock with wake-up messages from station personalities.

KrAn STUDIO/SERBIA Creative Director USOS BOGDANIVIC talked about using advanced mind techniques for increasing revenue, while at the same time, RADIOANALYZER’s MIKKEL B. OTTESEN and BILL DE LISLE showed research, including actual listener reactions, that demonstrated what elements of programming work, and which don’t, with today’s audiences.

A midday session brought morning show superstars from around the world together, including iHEARTMEDIA Top 40 WHTZ (Z100)/NEW YORK and PREMIERE NETWORKS’ ELVIS DURAN (who voiced his love for EUROPE, saying “you have so much passion for radio here and I never stop learning from that”), VIRGIN RADIO/DUBAI’s KRIS FADE, FUN RADIO/FRANCE’s BRUNO GUILLON, and MIX MEGAPOL/SWEDEN’s GRY FORSSELL,with iHEARTMEDIA’s DENNIS CLARK moderating.

At a session on mobile technology, LG unveiled the new Stylus 2 phone, with a DAB+ tuner built in and RADIOPLAYER’s hybrid radio software included.  RADIOPLAYER Managing Director MICHAEL HILL demonstrated the software, which will be included with the phone as it launches in the U.K. and NORWAY.

WNYC STUDIOS’ DEAN CAPELLO talked about his company’s podcasting activities and the medium in general at an afternoon session in which he also discussed EDISON RESEARCH’s statistics on podcast listening.  He advised that “You can’t create it (podcasting) as a sideline” and counseled patience as shows develop.

At a “Radio Summit” session, ARD/GERMANY’s HEINZ-DIETER SOMMER echoed the theme that radio content needs to be on all platforms, while RADIO 538/NETHERLANDS’ MENNO KONINGSBERGER added that branding is critical – “You must live and breathe the brand” – and that social media and web strategy are as important to his station as the radio product.  Another session with BBC RADIO 1’s CHRIS PRICE and SPOTIFY UK’s DAVID COOPER also looked at how music on different platforms has shifted the way radio is produced and consumed.

ACAST’s SARAH VAN MOSEL hosted a workshop on podcasting, with TEMPSMACHINE/FRANCE’s JOEL RONEZ offering a look at the 20 kinds of platforms for distribution – “these,” he said, “are our transmitters.”

And a session on talk radio focused on GLOBAL RADIO News-Talk LBC/LONDON’s success, with Managing Editor JAMES REA explaining the keys to the station’s rise – opinionated hosts and impassioned callers – and morning host NICK FERRARI addressing the “bosses” in the room by noting “controlling creative people is not easy; GLOBAL are great at facilitating this creativity.”  FERRARI, asked how long he would stay on the air at LBC, offered, “As long as they want me! Aside from being a Dad, it’s the best job in the World. Radio has intimacy…”

Follow ENDA in PARIS on Twitter at @radioenda.

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