We live in an on-demand world. Yet somehow, the radio I listen to is still telling me to tune in at specific times.
I get it — it’s hard to walk away from over 100 years of tune-in promotion. And sure, teasing what’s coming up in the next few minutes might actually keep me hanging around if it’s convenient.
But asking me to remember to tune in at a scheduled time for something that isn’t even a live event? That ship has sailed.
The evidence has been building for years, and the latest bomb dropped recently from Edison Research. The headline: “Podcasts Lead AM/FM in Spoken-Word Listening, Marking a First.”
Edison’s data shows podcast listeners now exceed half the U.S. population, while spoken-word radio’s cumulative audience has flatlined.
To be fair, podcasts only edged radio by one percentage point; but the trajectory is unmistakable. Just look at your own behavior and that of your family and friends, using on-demand access to niche content such as true crime, hobbies, business, academic subjects and hyper-specific news and opinion shows.
So what needs to happen? Terrestrial stations must get serious about rethinking programming, measurement, advertising sales and promotion strategy — all at once.
Programming — We have the ability to meet audiences wherever they are, live or on-demand.
Many big stations are trying but execution is lacking, especially with updates.
One legendary talk station I checked had only a handful of shows listed under “News” — one typo dated a segment as having been recorded 56 years ago(!) and another, the most recent, from 10 months ago. This is in a top-10 market!
And while big companies like iHeart have solid apps loaded with national podcasts, good luck finding a local station’s shows. If we were trying to prove that local matters, we’d receive a failing grade for podcasts and on-demand audio.
Measurement — I’ve written before that once stations expand their on-demand content, they need unified dashboards combining ratings, streams and podcast downloads in one view.
Advertising — A multi-platform mindset has been essential for a long time, but there has been way too much lip service and not enough allocation of resources, if any. This starts with training and education from the ground up — so the other platforms stop being an afterthought.
Promotion — Rather than requiring listeners to tune in at specific times, remind them what you have on-demand and how easy it is to access it. And those on-demand segments, shows and podcasts should cross-promote the live broadcast … the product that’s always there at the push of a button.
And let’s talk streaming. This platform needs a dedicated supervisor to make sure user experience is always good.
For example, does your streaming app re-fire a pre-roll every time a mobile signal drops for a few seconds? That’s one supremely annoying user experience that I’ve regularly caught on apps. Another reminder: Make sure your streaming app includes your on-demand shows.
Our audience evolved long ago. The big question is whether radio will continue to do so as well.
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