"Zurich narrow gauge"
Private Radio II Since the launch of Energy, Radio 24 has been broadcasting even more news—with measurable success, says Andreas Meili, Head of TV and Radio at Tamedia.
Private Radio II Since the launch of Energy, Radio 24 has been broadcasting even more news - with measurable success, says Andreas Meili, Head of TV and Radio at Tamedia.WW Radio 24 has gained a total of 26,600 listeners (Mon-Fri) in just three months, more than ever before in such a short time. Is the switch from Hitradio Z to Energy Zürich a real stroke of luck for Radio 24? Andreas Meili The new situation is a gain for the entire Zurich radio audience, because they now have a better choice. The repositioning as Energy Zürich has made the difference to Radio 24 much clearer. Listeners can now decide whether they want to tune in to our program, which is positioned higher in terms of editorial content. Or whether they would prefer a radio station that focuses less on editorial content but more on young music.
The enormous audience gain of
Radio 24 has hardly become a reality. What did the Tamedia broadcaster pay particular attention to in the start-up months of Energy Zurich?
We have concentrated more on the editorial skills mentioned above. Compared to before, we had an above-average number of primeurs, and we provided excellent coverage of the National Council and Council of States elections. We continued this at the same quantitative and qualitative level for the Federal Council elections. We have become somewhat trendier in our music program. This means that Radio 24 continues to play songs from the eighties and nineties, but at the same time we are increasingly and more quickly adding new songs to our program. This makes us more attractive to very young listeners.
Do you expect the momentum in the Zurich radio market to continue in the coming months? I hope that the upward trend at Radio 24 will stabilize at the current level - or that it will continue in the coming months.
in the best case scenario. We are on the right track with our program philosophy of positioning radio as an entertainment medium as well as an information medium.
But the matter is not quite over yet. Because after only three
months, Energy Zurich is unlikely to have fully exploited its potential in the Zurich radio market.
We will certainly have to wait and see over the next three months. Nevertheless, I consider the current trend to be very significant. The trend in other countries where Energy broadcasts also shows this: Outside of France and with the exception of Vienna, this radio is not number one anywhere. This is an indication that a station that is well anchored in its coverage area with a correspondingly strong information service can position itself better in the region in question than a station that conforms to an international pattern.
But Energy also emphasizes that a radio program only works if it is completely tailored to the respective audience.
region.
In my opinion, this is only true to a limited extent. What Energy offers in terms of information performance is a bit of narrow-gauge Zurich. The news is kept very short and often focuses on the entertainment sector. The political and social sectors, on the other hand, are not covered enough. Seen in this light, Radio 24 clearly offers the better information service, even from an objective point of view. Nota bene, we also invest more money in the news.
The upheaval in the Zurich radio market will enter the next stage as early as next year, when the new youth radio station will be launched. This means that the established stations will once again have to worry about losing their young listeners.
However, this youth radio station is only planned for the city of Zurich, so its coverage area will be much smaller than that of Radio 24 or Energy, which cover the entire region. For this reason alone, the new radio station will not be able to trigger any major migration from the established stations. In addition, the new youth frequency is geared towards a very young audience segment in the 15 to 25 age range in accordance with the licensing conditions. This means that stations such as 105, Energy Zurich and, above all, Internet radio stations are likely to feel the impact of the new station much more than the more broadly positioned Radio 24.
Interview:
Daniel Schifferle
The enormous audience gain of
Radio 24 has hardly become a reality. What did the Tamedia broadcaster pay particular attention to in the start-up months of Energy Zurich?
We have concentrated more on the editorial skills mentioned above. Compared to before, we had an above-average number of primeurs, and we provided excellent coverage of the National Council and Council of States elections. We continued this at the same quantitative and qualitative level for the Federal Council elections. We have become somewhat trendier in our music program. This means that Radio 24 continues to play songs from the eighties and nineties, but at the same time we are increasingly and more quickly adding new songs to our program. This makes us more attractive to very young listeners.
Do you expect the momentum in the Zurich radio market to continue in the coming months? I hope that the upward trend at Radio 24 will stabilize at the current level - or that it will continue in the coming months.
in the best case scenario. We are on the right track with our program philosophy of positioning radio as an entertainment medium as well as an information medium.
But the matter is not quite over yet. Because after only three
months, Energy Zurich is unlikely to have fully exploited its potential in the Zurich radio market.
We will certainly have to wait and see over the next three months. Nevertheless, I consider the current trend to be very significant. The trend in other countries where Energy broadcasts also shows this: Outside of France and with the exception of Vienna, this radio is not number one anywhere. This is an indication that a station that is well anchored in its coverage area with a correspondingly strong information service can position itself better in the region in question than a station that conforms to an international pattern.
But Energy also emphasizes that a radio program only works if it is completely tailored to the respective audience.
region.
In my opinion, this is only true to a limited extent. What Energy offers in terms of information performance is a bit of narrow-gauge Zurich. The news is kept very short and often focuses on the entertainment sector. The political and social sectors, on the other hand, are not covered enough. Seen in this light, Radio 24 clearly offers the better information service, even from an objective point of view. Nota bene, we also invest more money in the news.
The upheaval in the Zurich radio market will enter the next stage as early as next year, when the new youth radio station will be launched. This means that the established stations will once again have to worry about losing their young listeners.
However, this youth radio station is only planned for the city of Zurich, so its coverage area will be much smaller than that of Radio 24 or Energy, which cover the entire region. For this reason alone, the new radio station will not be able to trigger any major migration from the established stations. In addition, the new youth frequency is geared towards a very young audience segment in the 15 to 25 age range in accordance with the licensing conditions. This means that stations such as 105, Energy Zurich and, above all, Internet radio stations are likely to feel the impact of the new station much more than the more broadly positioned Radio 24.
Interview:
Daniel Schifferle
