Harmony drives prices
Radio The private radio stations want a CPM that is as uniform as possible. This will result in higher rates for the time being.
Radio The private radio stations want a CPM that is as uniform as possible. This will result in higher rates for the time being.
For the first time, private radio stations have succeeded in publishing the rates of the pools and their modules together and, above all, well before the end of the calendar year. The relatively early and joint publication of the pool tariffs is an innovation that was not least envisaged in the context of the Radiopower.ch association (see WW 30/04) presented in September and has now become possible.
But that's not all: at the same time, the radios tried to harmonize the thousand-contact price (CPM) of the pools. The basic CPM should be 50 centimes (target group 15+), according to the specification. This has not (yet) been achieved everywhere, which is why the industry's wish has primarily had a price-driving effect, for example on the One Pool, which was previously comparatively cheap at 45 centimes.
This also significantly increases the CPM for the main target group of 15/49, and it continues to diverge significantly depending on the age structure of the pools (see table). Nevertheless, the harmonization can also be felt in this target group, at least at the level of the entire pools. For example, the price gap between the highest CPT per second (Radio Romandie) and the cheapest (Pool 2000) is now 10 centimes; in 2004, the largest price difference was still 13 centimes. At module level, on the other hand, there are considerable outliers, particularly where rural radio stations are involved: for example, in the Central or South-Eastern Switzerland modules of the One Pool.
The price changes made by the pools range between -16.9 and +20.3 percent. Roughly speaking, they reflect the losses or gains in reach, although strictly speaking, due to the increase in the Radiocontrol panel at the beginning of 2004, no direct changes were made this time.
reach or CPM comparisons should not be made.
Price reductions - both in absolute terms and in CPM - were only made by Pool 2000. One reason for this is that Canal 3 will no longer be involved in the new year (see box on page 15), which is why the pool reach is decreasing. However, strategic considerations probably also play a role: Pool 2000 - combined with the new Zurich module of the One Pool - can now be offered even better as an alternative to the City Pool.
The Radio Romandie Plus pool is the only pool to remain at this year's CPM. In terms of reach, however, it was able to increase slightly despite the departure of Canal 3.
The Swiss Radio Pool can also increase its reach thanks to new member Canal 3, although its price increase of 20.3% is not entirely comprehensible, as the gain in reach is only around 11%. In addition, its previous CPM (64 centimes) was one of the lowest, but will now be the second highest at 77 centimes.
Finally, a look at another price innovation thanks to Radiopower.ch: From July 4 to August 14, 2005, all radios and pools will offer a uniform summer discount of 20 percent for the first time. Until now, this has varied.
The radio pools are changingBecause Espace Media Groupe is hoping to take over the Canal 3 license, the Biel station is leaving Pool 2000 at the end of 2004. The reason: Pool 2000 also includes BE1, the direct counterpart of the Espace Media station ExtraBern. However, as internal information is often exchanged at radio pool meetings, ExtraBern would in future receive sensitive information about BE1 via Canal 3. This is to be avoided. From 2005, Canal 3 will now join the Swiss Radio Pool, but will also be dropped from Radio Romandie Plus (which was previously called Top Romandie Plus).
The One Pool is also evolving: as of 2005, it will have a new, smaller Zurich module (Top and Energy Zurich only), and the existing Zurich module (Top, Energy, Sunshine, Argovia) will become the Zurich Plus variant. This is in order to take better account of the different customer needs. In contrast, the previous Eastern Switzerland module (Top, Ri) will be discontinued. (mk)
Special case GrischaThe reach data for Radio Grischa reported by Radiocontrol (RC) is still blocked. This raises the question of how a CPM can be calculated for the One Pool. "For the price calculations at Grischa, we took the average reach for the whole of 2003 as a basis, namely Monday to Friday, target group 15+. The figures for the other One Pool members, on the other hand, correspond to the RC data for the first half of 2004," says Roland Baumgartner, Managing Director of One Pool.
The RC planning tool, on the other hand, is based everywhere on the data actually measured in the first half of 2004. Technically, this is not possible otherwise. "We are releasing the data with reservations under the motto 'better inconsistent data than no data'; the evaluations can still change and the current basis of the survey should not be regarded as definitive," writes Grischa Managing Director Claudia Glauser.
The blocking of Grischa data has been in force since spring 2004. At that time, additional clocks were added to the RC panel. This resulted in a loss of range of up to 30 percent at Grischa, which has not yet been conclusively clarified. (mk)
Radios fly the flag: Standardized thousand-contact prices are intended to strengthen generic marketing.
Markus Knöpfli
For the first time, private radio stations have succeeded in publishing the rates of the pools and their modules together and, above all, well before the end of the calendar year. The relatively early and joint publication of the pool tariffs is an innovation that was not least envisaged in the context of the Radiopower.ch association (see WW 30/04) presented in September and has now become possible.
But that's not all: at the same time, the radios tried to harmonize the thousand-contact price (CPM) of the pools. The basic CPM should be 50 centimes (target group 15+), according to the specification. This has not (yet) been achieved everywhere, which is why the industry's wish has primarily had a price-driving effect, for example on the One Pool, which was previously comparatively cheap at 45 centimes.
This also significantly increases the CPM for the main target group of 15/49, and it continues to diverge significantly depending on the age structure of the pools (see table). Nevertheless, the harmonization can also be felt in this target group, at least at the level of the entire pools. For example, the price gap between the highest CPT per second (Radio Romandie) and the cheapest (Pool 2000) is now 10 centimes; in 2004, the largest price difference was still 13 centimes. At module level, on the other hand, there are considerable outliers, particularly where rural radio stations are involved: for example, in the Central or South-Eastern Switzerland modules of the One Pool.
The price changes made by the pools range between -16.9 and +20.3 percent. Roughly speaking, they reflect the losses or gains in reach, although strictly speaking, due to the increase in the Radiocontrol panel at the beginning of 2004, no direct changes were made this time.
reach or CPM comparisons should not be made.
Price reductions - both in absolute terms and in CPM - were only made by Pool 2000. One reason for this is that Canal 3 will no longer be involved in the new year (see box on page 15), which is why the pool reach is decreasing. However, strategic considerations probably also play a role: Pool 2000 - combined with the new Zurich module of the One Pool - can now be offered even better as an alternative to the City Pool.
The Radio Romandie Plus pool is the only pool to remain at this year's CPM. In terms of reach, however, it was able to increase slightly despite the departure of Canal 3.
The Swiss Radio Pool can also increase its reach thanks to new member Canal 3, although its price increase of 20.3% is not entirely comprehensible, as the gain in reach is only around 11%. In addition, its previous CPM (64 centimes) was one of the lowest, but will now be the second highest at 77 centimes.
Finally, a look at another price innovation thanks to Radiopower.ch: From July 4 to August 14, 2005, all radios and pools will offer a uniform summer discount of 20 percent for the first time. Until now, this has varied.
The radio pools are changingBecause Espace Media Groupe is hoping to take over the Canal 3 license, the Biel station is leaving Pool 2000 at the end of 2004. The reason: Pool 2000 also includes BE1, the direct counterpart of the Espace Media station ExtraBern. However, as internal information is often exchanged at radio pool meetings, ExtraBern would in future receive sensitive information about BE1 via Canal 3. This is to be avoided. From 2005, Canal 3 will now join the Swiss Radio Pool, but will also be dropped from Radio Romandie Plus (which was previously called Top Romandie Plus).
The One Pool is also evolving: as of 2005, it will have a new, smaller Zurich module (Top and Energy Zurich only), and the existing Zurich module (Top, Energy, Sunshine, Argovia) will become the Zurich Plus variant. This is in order to take better account of the different customer needs. In contrast, the previous Eastern Switzerland module (Top, Ri) will be discontinued. (mk)
Special case GrischaThe reach data for Radio Grischa reported by Radiocontrol (RC) is still blocked. This raises the question of how a CPM can be calculated for the One Pool. "For the price calculations at Grischa, we took the average reach for the whole of 2003 as a basis, namely Monday to Friday, target group 15+. The figures for the other One Pool members, on the other hand, correspond to the RC data for the first half of 2004," says Roland Baumgartner, Managing Director of One Pool.
The RC planning tool, on the other hand, is based everywhere on the data actually measured in the first half of 2004. Technically, this is not possible otherwise. "We are releasing the data with reservations under the motto 'better inconsistent data than no data'; the evaluations can still change and the current basis of the survey should not be regarded as definitive," writes Grischa Managing Director Claudia Glauser.
The blocking of Grischa data has been in force since spring 2004. At that time, additional clocks were added to the RC panel. This resulted in a loss of range of up to 30 percent at Grischa, which has not yet been conclusively clarified. (mk)
Radios fly the flag: Standardized thousand-contact prices are intended to strengthen generic marketing.
Markus Knöpfli
