Under a good star into a new future
The restructuring of the private radio landscape is off to a promising start: Listeners have never spent as much time listening to stations as they did last year. Reach, on the other hand, is declining.
The hullabaloo surrounding Radio Energy Zurich in November and December has probably benefited the station. Although its reach fell to exactly 200,000 listeners in the second half of 2008 compared to the same period in the previous year, they are clearly listening for longer: The Ringier station, which previously reported a usage time of around 40 minutes a day, is now suddenly being tuned in for 51.9 minutes - a good ten minutes more than before and longer than ever before.
Other stations have also recorded notable jumps in usage: Sunshine is also listened to for a good ten minutes longer (new 49.7), Capital FM is listened to for 14 minutes longer (new 44.7), and Munot has even more than doubled its usage within a year, from 14.8 minutes to 30.9 minutes.
Tension in the Greater Zurich Area
In general, the German-speaking Swiss are listening to the radio more, with listening time increasing by exactly 7 minutes to 123.1 minutes within a year. The growing popularity has been evident for some time, but the big jump is surprising. And that private radio stations are making a particularly strong contribution, despite falling reach. Their market share has increased by 1.6 percentage points to 26.3%, while SRG and foreign broadcasters have lost ground.
> Overview of radios in German- and French-speaking Switzerland and Ticino
The first semester of 2009 will already be exciting, at least in the greater Zurich area, where two new stations will be launched in March. Giuseppe Scaglione's youth radio station and Winterthur's Radio Stadtfilter will inevitably shake up the scene. But Roger Schawinski's Radio 1, whose reach is extremely unstable, is also apparently still looking for its place: while 107,400 people tuned in from mid-March to June 2008, listenership fell to 74,700 in the second half of the year.
Upheavals in French-speaking Switzerland
In western Switzerland, primarily in the new Arc Lémanique region, there is also likely to be upheaval soon. The four stations Lac, One FM, Lausanne FM and Rouge FM now share the same area, which is larger than their current districts. As their licenses are not in dispute, they can now launch their expansion.
However, the reorganization is only partially under a good star. Listening time also increased in French-speaking Switzerland - by 3.8 minutes to 113.1 minutes within a year. At the same time, however, the overall reach of radio as a medium fell significantly. Private radio stations contributed significantly to both the increase in usage and the reduction in reach, which is why their market share only increased by 0.2% to 23.9%. SRG stations, on the other hand, were able to improve in every respect.
Stagnation in Ticino
The picture is similar in Ticino: listening time also increased by 3.6 minutes to 113.5 minutes, with private radio stations increasing disproportionately by more than 4 minutes. However, as they also lost almost 10,000 listeners within a year, they have hardly made any progress in terms of market share. The new licenses will not change much here either: The same radios as before were awarded a license.
Markus Knöpfli
Other stations have also recorded notable jumps in usage: Sunshine is also listened to for a good ten minutes longer (new 49.7), Capital FM is listened to for 14 minutes longer (new 44.7), and Munot has even more than doubled its usage within a year, from 14.8 minutes to 30.9 minutes.
Tension in the Greater Zurich Area
In general, the German-speaking Swiss are listening to the radio more, with listening time increasing by exactly 7 minutes to 123.1 minutes within a year. The growing popularity has been evident for some time, but the big jump is surprising. And that private radio stations are making a particularly strong contribution, despite falling reach. Their market share has increased by 1.6 percentage points to 26.3%, while SRG and foreign broadcasters have lost ground.
> Overview of radios in German- and French-speaking Switzerland and Ticino
The first semester of 2009 will already be exciting, at least in the greater Zurich area, where two new stations will be launched in March. Giuseppe Scaglione's youth radio station and Winterthur's Radio Stadtfilter will inevitably shake up the scene. But Roger Schawinski's Radio 1, whose reach is extremely unstable, is also apparently still looking for its place: while 107,400 people tuned in from mid-March to June 2008, listenership fell to 74,700 in the second half of the year.
Upheavals in French-speaking Switzerland
In western Switzerland, primarily in the new Arc Lémanique region, there is also likely to be upheaval soon. The four stations Lac, One FM, Lausanne FM and Rouge FM now share the same area, which is larger than their current districts. As their licenses are not in dispute, they can now launch their expansion.
However, the reorganization is only partially under a good star. Listening time also increased in French-speaking Switzerland - by 3.8 minutes to 113.1 minutes within a year. At the same time, however, the overall reach of radio as a medium fell significantly. Private radio stations contributed significantly to both the increase in usage and the reduction in reach, which is why their market share only increased by 0.2% to 23.9%. SRG stations, on the other hand, were able to improve in every respect.
Stagnation in Ticino
The picture is similar in Ticino: listening time also increased by 3.6 minutes to 113.5 minutes, with private radio stations increasing disproportionately by more than 4 minutes. However, as they also lost almost 10,000 listeners within a year, they have hardly made any progress in terms of market share. The new licenses will not change much here either: The same radios as before were awarded a license.
Markus Knöpfli
