Radiodays Europe welcomed some 1300 attendees from 60 countries to Milan on Sunday for its annual event.
Sporting the theme “Passion meets Progress,” the first day of the gathering featured various workshops, a special “Meet the Media Guru” lecture by Helen Boaden, BBC’s head of Radio and Music, as well as a welcoming reception.
At the official opening on Monday morning, Luigi Gubitosi, director general, RAI public broadcaster greeted a packed room to Italy. During the session, CEO of Radio France, Mathieu Gallet also addressed attendees. He enlightened the audience on Radio France’s evolution and emphasized the need for the public broadcaster to concentrate on finding new audiences, particularly the young, through its stations but also through the use of its auditoriums. Gallet explained that Radio France is studying the best ways in which to find these audiences via digital services and is investing an increasing amount on such initiatives as Web radio as well as offering activities for students and private concerts with electro and pop music.
“Either we develop or we are going to die,” is how Cilla Bekkö, director general of Swedish Radio began her presentation during the opening session. She proceeded to show a picture of a radio receiver and asked the audience how many people use one. She then displayed a mobile telephone and asked the audience how many use that. “That is exactly why we need to change and develop,” she said, adding that stations need to keep their current listeners, while also attracting new ones.
“All three pillars — terrestrial broadcasting, IP-based production/Web and social media — are equally important,” said Bekkö. “There is no one size fits all solution. You need to have the right content for each platform. Don’t underestimate the future,” she concluded.
Radiodays Europe 2015 is open until Tuesday March 17 at 4:30 p.m. A technical exhibition is running simultaneous to the conference.
