I was doing an email interview with a journo this morning about the introduction of digital radio in Australia and I was asked if I thought, as the radio industry is apparently claiming, that the introduction of digital would lead to an increase in radio listenership. I explained that this certainly hasn’t been the experience in the UK, where radio listenership is STILL in decline five years after the introduction of digital.
(source)
I remember a few years ago when the radio industry in Australia wanted the Howard Govt to give them an exclusive license for “digital radio” in return for their investment in the infrastructure to roll out their digital stuff. This had some folks predicting podcasting would be outlawed. Telling the radio folks to go to hell was one of the Howard Govt’s better decisions.
The statistic that radio reaches 90% of the UK population amazes me. That must be close to the reach of television.
If you’re a radio listener (and I am) then digital radio is handy but nothing more than that really.
Yeah I’m not sure I believe those stats. I know in Australia, they survey a small sample of people – something like 500 or 1000 – and extrapolate that across the entire population. I’m not sure how accurate those numbers end up.