ASIA

Syeda Iffat Jabbar has been appointed he first ever woman station director in the history of Radio Pakistan Peshawar.Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation Headquarters Islamabad issued the notification of her promotion and she took charge of her office in Broadcasting House Peshawar on Friday, September 24.in 1935, before partition, All India Radio Peshawar Station started its transmission and its first station director was Aslam Khattak, who also served as Governor (erstwhile NWFP) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.Hailing from Peshawar, Iffat Jabbar joined Radio Pakistan as a programme producer. Her father, late Syed Abdul Jabbar, was a well-known broadcaster as well.She has represented Pakistan at various national and international forums including BBC London, Voice of America, British Council, Deutsche Welle Germany, Radio Singapore, Radio Japan, Radio Bangladesh, Australia, Malaysia, and received the successful women awards.During the recent floods in the country, she introduced mobile units to help the flood victims and created public awareness to help those affected by the flood.She expressed her determination to continue working towards the improvement of Broadcasting House Peshawar during her service tenure. […]

The DRM Digital Radio Consortium, its many members and partners in India and the world, together with one of its key members, NXP Semiconductors, will hold their third annual India Automotive Infotainment Forum on September 28.This unique forum for major car OEMs, Tier 1’s, automotive ecosystem partners and Indian broadcasters and regulator, was created three years ago and has continued to grow significantly as all the participants share the desire to address Infotainment solutions that will meet Indian consumer aspirations.The hosts have announced that this virtual event (by invitation only) will be an opportunity to explore the most recent DRM developments globally like the successful DRM FM trial in India, the recently concluded DRM AM and FM trials and demonstrations in Australia, the ongoing developments in South Africa, the continuing DRM FM trial in Denmark, etc.Participants will also learn about the extra applications and benefits of DRM digital radio particularly relevant for the automotive environment, such as DRM Emergency Warning Functionality (EWF). Seasoned technical experts and ecosystem partners will offer sessions of live and interactive presentations and demos with a focus on the automotive industry: DRM for VHF/FM, SW/MW EMV noise mitigation DRM Journaline services and DRM EWF.An important component of the event will be the latest technology and deployment updates from some of the forum members and the live demonstrations of various DRM related innovations and solutions benefitting the automotive industry.Ruxandra Obreja, the DRM Chairman, said: “With over 5 million new cars line-fitted with DRM receivers on Indian roads, the Indian automotive industry has clearly embraced DRM digital radio. It is now ready to welcome a governmental decision in favour of extending DRM radio services to the FM band. This will allow the Indian broadcast industry including the private radio broadcasters to benefit from the full set of DRM features of DRM, firmly establishing DRM as the digital audio broadcast option for this large and important country. The demos of DRM in the FM band will show how DRM can enhance the performance of the many cars that an increasing number of Indians desire and will own.” […]

WorldDAB produced a Sunday-morning conference session at this year’s IBC, exploring “new opportunities and new audiences with DAB+”.The packed event was hosted by WorldDAB’s Vice-President and Project Director of Digital Radio Netherlands, Jacqueline Bierhorst who detailed how DAB+ is driving the uptake of digital radio, with it now being standard in over 90% of new cars sold in Europe.Laurence Harrison from Radioplayer Worldwide recapped highlights from last year’s Car Buyers Survey which found that buyers say broadcast radio is the most valued audio source in the car.Lindsay Cornell, Chair of the WorldDAB Technical Committee, provided expert advice on using metadata to ensure stations look their best in the car.Gereon Joachim from Xperi further emphasised the vital nature of metadata, saying that broadcaster-owned and created non-linear content has an important role to play in local market content discovery and personalisation.The second half of the WorldDAB event explored opportunities with small-scale DAB+. Hanns Wolter, of DAB Italia and the Chair of WorldDAB’s Spectrum and Network Implementation Committee, noted that small scale does not mean free. Multiplexing and distribution requires some skill, but it does allow lower entrance costs.Lukas Weiss from Digris outlined the company’s operations in Switzerland, where FM is due to be switched off in 2024. Innovation – such as incorporating display advertising – had been the key to its success, he said.“Think differently, work locally,” was the message from Nick Piggott of Bristol Digital Radio, which operates the small-scale multiplex in the west of England, and Donald McTernan from Ujima Radio, one of the community stations broadcasting on the mux. They outlined how DAB can be done cost-effectively without disrupting the existing ecosystem.Gerard Lokhoff, DAB allotment 76 and the EUregio Digitaal Foundation brought further examples of small-scale deployments in The Netherlands, that includes the ‘DAB+ 4 Brainport’ local multiplex in Eindhoven, which carries two public and seven commercial stations. […]

Content from BPRMuch has been written about how radio has reinvented itself over the years, most notably how it transformed because of the introduction of television, with radio moving from a medium people primarily consumed in the evening to a medium mainly consumed during the morning and workday.Radio’s enduring attribute has been its ability to wrap around the lives of people, listening being something that does not prevent a person from doing other things unlike reading or watching. No other form of media has moulded itself to the way people live, like radio has.For decades radio has been principally “socialised” as a source of information and entertainment at the beginning and end of the working day. This is where radio has performed best and been most securely anchored to the daily routine of adults.The last few years has however created a “decoupling” of the way radio is socialised. First, there are more audio and entertainment choices diluting usage, second, the way people work and think about work and life has changed for many. This has created a much more complex matrix of listening behaviour and motivation. It would be fair to say that during the last two years all the listening balls were thrown into the air, and we are now starting to see where they are landing.All the evidence points to a resocialisation of radio amongst many adult listeners which presents both challenges and opportunities. Some key issues include:
More people using more radio stations for shorter periods.
Many people, no longer starting their day with radio.
More people using radio on weekends.
Fewer people listening to radio every day.
More people starting their radio listening day after 9am.
The most telling finding however is that relative to all the other listening choices adult listeners have radio is increasingly distinguished by its combination of music, personality, information, and localism. Importantly, most adults prefer this listening “mix” as a backdrop to their daily lives and get annoyed when their favourite radio station does something to screw it up and they have to find satisfaction in something else. The majority of adults who move from radio to other audio are “pushed”.  The good news is that they become equally disenchanted with other audio after a while and return to radio.What defines “localism” however has changed. It is not just local news, name-dropping suburbs, and community service announcements. It is now much more about conveying a sense of shared experience with the listener.Understanding the resocialisation of radio in your market and why people behave the way they do is more than critical, it defines your future.By Wayne Clouten, BPR […]

Content from BPRAmazon’s Jeff Bezos once said: “We see our customers as invited guests to a party, and we are the hosts. It’s our job every day to make every important aspect of the customer experience a little bit better”.So, how’s the party going at your station?Are the listeners being served what they want? The type of music, entertainment, news & information, personalities.Are they being served on time and with the correct quantity of each ingredient?Are they engaging in the experience or keeping close tabs on the time so they can make a quick exit and go to the next party (your competitor)?Stepping aside from radio for a moment, think about the last time you had a really great experience as a customer — remember the ways that experience left you feeling.Now do the same for the last time you had a poor experience as a customer.Customer experience is the impression customers have of a brand as a whole throughout all aspects of the buyer’s journey. It forms the perceptions of a brand.It’s no use assuming what the listeners’ experience is…you must ask them.Accurate listener research is one of the most important tools in a programmer’s arsenal.You find out what they want from their favourite radio station and then measure their LX…listener experience…to determine how well your station is performing.Is your station the “hottest party ticket in town” or a time filler for one that’s better?By David Kidd, BPR […]

Selling Radio Direct with Pat BrysonOur Credibility MattersPeople don’t usually buy from people they don’t trust. They are also unlikely to buy from salespeople who have no credibility. When we ask clients for thousands of dollars, they need to feel we know how to get them a return on their investment. We must be seen as “experts”.There are several ways we can establish our credibility. One of my top reps does this: She has an 81/2 by 11 sheet of paper with names and contact information for several of her clients. She has gotten permission from these clients to have prospects call them. These clients are SOLD on her and her stations.After she does a client needs analysis, she hands the prospect her list and invites them to call her current clients. Much of the time, they do. When she returns with her proposal for them, they are already sold. Her satisfied clients do much of the selling for her. She just explains to her prospects what type of campaign she has brought for their business. This works magic!Another way we can establish our credibility is to talk about the business of the business before we talk about the marketing of the business. Seek first to understand the needs and goals of this particular prospect. Here are some phrases that show we have prepared for our meeting:“I was thinking about our meeting and I wrote down some questions. Might we go over them?”“As I was reviewing my notes from our last meeting….”“As I was preparing for our meeting today….”As the old saying goes, “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”First, we have to answer their “Why?”Next, we answer “How?”The outcome is higher revenue for our clients and for our stations.Happy selling! […]