Digital saves the radio star?

Photo Credit: Vieja radio/Old radio by Menes On The Rocks 

I’m listening to a lot more radio recently. At first I thought it was an age thing, hitting 30 seemed to coincide with a renewed interest in Radio 4.  Combine this with the TV in my bedroom finally giving up the ghost, I now listen to radio pretty much throughout the day, morning and night.

But it’s not just down to changing tastes and a broken telly. The fact that I can listen and download the programmes that interest me, when I want them, has completely transformed my relationship with radio.

RAJAR figures released today have confirmed that radio listening has reached its highest level since current research methods were introduced a decade ago. Radio has over 45.8 million listeners a week, which is more than 90 per cent of Britons aged 15 and over.

In particular, the research points to the growing impact of digital. Over a third of people tune into radio via a digitally enabled set. Radio listening through a mobile phone has also grown by 13% amongst adults and 14% in young people.

There are still plenty of people who would ring the death knell for radio, and argue that, in particular, commercial radio is on its last legs thanks to a rapid decline in advertising revenue.

We all know that people increasingly want to consume media in a format and at a time that suits them. Rigid schedules are a thing of the past along with, it would appear, traditional advertising models. Rather than this proving a threat to traditional media, I would argue that if you continue to create innovative and, above all, interesting content, and provide the right platforms for consumers to engage with that on their own terms, even a ‘dying’ format like radio can reinvent itself and secure its future.

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