Lots happens in the radio industry each week so here’s a summary of the week we just enjoyed.
Here’s What Happened
A new report from Radiocentre Ireland has shown that people are still listening to audio in big numbers. When you bring together radio, music streaming, podcasts, ETC, you get a total listenership of 98% of the adult population.
92% listen to radio, while 57% listen to on demand audio such as podcasts. In terms of share of listening it’s 74% for live radio, and 26% for on demand.
In share of commercial listening live radio claims an 88% share with 3% for music streaming. I’d take this one with a pinch of salt, as it seems some larger commercial music services such as YouTube Music were split off. They don’t appear to be counted in same category as services like Spotify.
The smart speaker is kind of a big deal now with 45% of adults having one, while 92% of adults have a Smart Phone.
Radiocentre consistently give us interesting research, and if you don’t mind the fact that they have significant skin in the game then it can be great reading.
Note
Radiocentre Ireland also released a revenue report this week, which is linked at the top of Quick Bits.
Nikki Hayes was in court this week as a result of money laundering charges against her. Nikki, whose real name is Eimear Black O’Keeffe has worked for a number of radio stations in the past, but is not currently in the industry.
In short, it’s alleged a man received a scam text from a bank. €15,000 went from his account into O’Keeffe’s account and was later withdrawn. The defendant told gardaí she had fallen on hard times and had been contacted by people offering her €2,000 if she let her bank account be used. When she saw the money entering her bank account she threatened to go to the guards, but those using the account threatened to burn her house down.
The defendant was in debt at the time to the tune of €53,000. Some money was owed to RTE, and there were also personal loans from a number of institutions.
It was agreed in court that the defendant was “ genuinely vulnerable”, and also had a diagnosis of bipolar disorder.
The judge adjourned the case for finalisation until next Thursday and asked the defence counsel to provide more paperwork on O’Keeffe’s alcohol status and on when she stopped working in radio, so we don’t know the outcome just yet.
You can get more detail in the story linked below.
Finally for now, Joe Duffy has called on RTE to locate a radio station on O’Connell Street to celebrate 100 years of Irish radio, and to give the city life.
It’s unclear if Joe was speaking about a full relocation of one of RTE’s existing services or a 2RN pop up, but either way I do think it would be kinda cool.
You could argue that radio stations have no need to be visible, and locating in a central location would be a waste of money. On the other hand, radio stations being in a public space can be a great promotional tool. The underutilised Red FM Pod in corks Mahon Point shopping centre is a good example of this.
This week, we’re asking two questions. should RTE launch a 2RN pop up to celebrate 100 years of Irish radio?, and should they locate a station on O’Connell Street? Let us know what you think over on our Instagram story.
Quick Bits
Radiocentre Ireland also released revenue numbers this week
Anton Savage has a second show at weekends on Newstalk
RTE’s Director Of Legal Paula Mullooly is leaving at the end of the year
And that’s the summary for this week. Come back to radio land next week for more radio news📻 and be sure to check us out on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn for more fun from the world of radio.