The value of broadcast in a shifting media landscape

The Quality Equation

Introduction Defining quality in broadcast

In a fast changing broadcast media landscape, where the very definition of ‘local’ has shifted as never before with another year of consolidation and a burgeoning focus on ‘community’, how does one assess the impact of broadcast coverage?

Last year we commissioned independent research into the levels of trust audiences have for different media, from print through to social media and everything in between. We compared varying platforms, pitting BBC against commercial counterparts and dug deep into the trust which exists amongst consumers for individual media brands.

We found that consumer trust levels in radio comfortably outscored trust in press both regionally and nationally whilst regional radio also tended to have a higher reach in any given area than a national station.

Our research coincided with the annual Thought Leadership Index which found that radio had more influence than any other media on an organisation’s corporate reputation, while social media was shown to have a stronger role to play in the daily routine of the nation’s 16-24 yr olds than any other media outlet – 29% placed it ahead of newspapers, TV news, radio and media owners online.

This year we wanted to build on the insight garnered from the 2010 research, and with the larger objective of developing a new and better way to clearly communicate the broadcast quality we routinely deliver.

With traditional AVEs increasingly being called into question by an industry eager to see impact and quality delivery, our wider aim has been to provide a meaningful and insightful ‘audience quality measure’ which can be mapped across our existing methods of reporting.

So we have turned our attention to the perceived quality of individual broadcast media.

What do audiences think of the programming they listen to?

What impact does it have on them?

Crucially, how can we demonstrate quality as objectively as quantity?

In order to find a true quality score for individual media, we canvassed the listeners themselves.

We asked 3100 respondents what local and national stations they listened to, and then to rate those stations by a number of measures on a sliding scale, including an overall ‘quality score’.

Each listener told us which station they listened to and scored it on three separate attributes – the entertainment value of the station’s content, the trust the listener has in the station content and finally an overall quality score they would give that station (on a scale from one to five).

As one would expect, news stations tended to score highest on trust measures, whilst predominantly music stations tended to score highest for overall entertainment.

However, our real focus was on the overall quality score.

By examining all the results for individual stations we could derive a mean average quality rating for key national & local stations, as well as across the BBC and Commercial networks.

We established from the independent research that the mean average ‘quality score’ across all UK radio was 69% - using listeners own ratings – which in turn has allowed us to identify individual stations that exceed the average score.

Delivering a Quality Measure

Moving forward this definition of ‘quality’ will enable us to deliver a score to each radio-focused campaign, in addition to the quantitative statistics already in place such as potential reach and duration of coverage.

For the first time we will be able to demonstrate quantity AND quality in a much more meaningful way – informed by the opinions of listeners and based on the media opportunities we deliver.

Barry Leggetter, Executive Director, the International Association for Measurement and Evaluation of Communication (AMEC), said: “We are delighted to see a leading broadcast specialist investigating new ways of demonstrating quality, placing a new focus on the media itself and the way the audience reacts to it. This is a positive move from Markettiers4dc and we encourage any moves to add value and understanding to the measurement and evaluation process”

Quality Scoring Index The Nation’s Top Performing Broadcasters Revealed

%BBC Radio 4talkSPORTClassic FMBBC Radio 5 LiveForth One/Forth 2Clyde 1Smooth Radio NetworkBBC Radio ScotlandHeart NetworkBBC Radio 2BBC 6 MusicBBC Radio LancashireBBC Radio MerseysideWave 102BBC LincolnshireBBC Radio 1Kerrang! Radio Capital FMReal Radio YorkshireBBC Radio HumbersideBBC Radio SheffieldLeicester Sound* Jack FM Network Absolute RadioMetro RadioHallam FMLBCBBC WMBBC Radio NorfolkBBC Radio BristolBBC Three Counties Radio

BBC Essex

* now part of Capital East Midlands

First for Local

We also wanted to get a feel for the key radio listening trends shaping the broadcast landscape – and found that in the past 12 months the appetite for local content has sky-rocketed.

For a local news story or issue, regional radio is the ‘go to’ media of choice for the nation. 30% of all consumers say local radio is their first port of call for local news and issues – ahead of any other media (including local TV news (19%), local news websites (11%) and local newspaper (6%).

Meanwhile, the biggest single shift in radio listening habits has been a shift towards local radio. 14% say they now listen to their local station more than a year ago compared to 11% who listen to more national stations than previously.

Whilst it wasn’t categorical from the research it can be summised that a combination of the coldest winter in a generation (and the subsequent school closure & traffic announcements) alongside coalition cuts impacting on local public sector jobs & services has made local radio more important than ever before for millions of listeners.

Redefining ‘Local’ & the Rise of Community listening

4% shift towards local community radio station listening in the past 12 months

But with major media groups still on the acquisition trail...and the demise of some long-standing and much loved names in local radio broadcasting, what does ‘local’ actually mean in 2011?

For many, local now means community broadcast which is enjoying an unprecedented boom.

There are now more than 130 community radio stations across the UK, with another 50 preparing to launch. Each community radio station provides 81 hours of “original and distinctive output”, according to Ofcom, with most of it locally produced.

Our independent research shows a 4% shift towards local community radio station listening in the past 12 months, representing some 2m listeners across the UK who now tune into community stations.

Broadcasting to specific audiences, part-funded by Government (with financial guarantees in place till 2015), and hailed by Ofcom as a ‘triumph’, community stations are in many cases picking up where traditional local radio left off. Indeed in England’s 10th largest city, Leicester, community radio now hosts the most listened to Breakfast Show, beating off major commercials and its BBC equivalent in the process.

Driving Debate, Shifting Influence and Promoting Purchasing

30% of radio listeners have visited a station website to find out more about what they heard in an interview, while 29% have sought more information independently upon hearing something of interest.

37% say hearing editorial content on the radio has prompted a discussion with friends and the power of persuasion radio has is clear to see - one in five say that they have changed their opinion about a subject, issue or product as a result of what they have heard broadcast on air.

A further one in ten say that hearing something on air has had a direct influence on a purchasing decision.

30% of radio listeners have visited a station website to find out more about what they heard in an interview

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To discover more about the findings or better defining quality in broadcast coverage please contact:quality@markettiers4dc.com