ASIA

According to the Radio Audience Measurement Survey (RAM) Wave 1, 2023, conducted by GfK Research, radio listenership reached 96.5% of individuals in Peninsular Malaysia, equivalent to a high of 21.4 million weekly listeners. Astro Radio continues to be the No. 1 local radio with an increase of approximately 200,000 to 16.3 million weekly listeners or 76% of 21.4 million available radio listeners.With the highest number of listeners in Malaysia, it has an almost 11 million reach advantage over competitors, Astro Radio boasts of 19 million average digital radio streams, 27.5 million social media followers, 133.5 million video views, and 65.6 million monthly average Facebook post reach.The survey was carried out over 6 weeks with a mix of traditional radio diaries (75%) and e-diaries (25%) distributed to 6,000 unique individuals across Peninsular Malaysia to capture their listening habits. 21 commercial radio brands subscribed to this wave and Astro Radio secured 6 positions in the Top 10 brands ranking.Astro Radio brands continued to lead as No. 1 across all languages: ERA, the No. 1 Malay brand; Hitz FM, the No. 1 English brand; MY, the No. 1 Chinese brand; and RAAGA, the No. 1 Tamil brand. Astro Radio Malay brands recorded an increase of approximately 100,000 in reach to 9.8 million listeners equivalent to a 69.3% reach, English brands achieving 3.4 million listeners equivalent to a wider reach of 87.1%, while Chinese brands amassed 3.5 million listeners translating to a wider reach of 73.2% and the Tamil radio brand marking an increase by approximately 100,000 to 1.7 million listeners equivalent to a wider reach of 90.9%.
With 2.4 million weekly listeners, Hitz FM recorded the highest ‘Exclusive Audience’ for English brands at 289,000 listeners, the Highest Breakfast segment (Mon – Fri, 6am – 10am) for English brands with an increased listenership of 1.3 million, the Highest Drive segment (Mon – Fri, 4pm – 8pm) for English brands with 1.3 million listeners and the Highest Weekend (Sat – Sun) listenership amongst English brands with 1.6 million listeners.
Mix FM recorded 1 million weekly listeners, with an Exclusive Audience recorded at 67,000.
Lite FM charted a weekly listenership of 797,000 with an increase in Exclusive Audience by more than 40,000 to 143,000.
ERA, also Malaysia’s No. 1 radio brand, recorded approximately a 400,000 increase in weekly listenership recording 5.7 million. The Breakfast show (Mon – Fri, 6am – 10am) remained No. 1, recording an increased listenership of 2.9 million listeners. ERA also achieved an increase for the Highest Exclusive Audience amongst all radio brands to 1.1 million.
SINAR, remained Malaysia’s second most-listened-to brand overall and the No. 2 Malay-language radio brand in Malaysia, with an increase in recorded weekly listenership by approximately 100,000, recording 5.1 million weekly listeners. SINAR Breakfast segment (Mon – Fri, 6am – 10am) increased by 84,000 to 2.7 million, with the same number of listeners recorded for the Drive show (Mon – Fri, 4pm – 8pm), making it the No. 1 drive show segment amongst all radio brands.
GEGAR, Malaysia’s No. 1 radio brand in the East Coast, recorded a reach of 1.9 million weekly listeners with its Breakfast show (Sun- Thurs, 6am – 10am) and the Drive show (Sun – Thurs, 4pm – 8pm) reaching 943,000 and 1.1 million listeners respectively.
ZAYAN recorded a 20% increase in weekly listenership, reaching 385,000. The ZAYAN Breakfast show (Mon – Fri, 6am – 10am) saw an increase by approximately 20,000 to 192,000 listeners, while the Drive show (Mon – Fri, 4pm – 8pm) recorded 187,000 listeners. ZAYAN garnered an Exclusive Audience of approximately 67,000.
Weekly listenership on MY increased to 2.86 million weekly listeners with the Breakfast (Mon – Fri, 6am – 10am) and Drive (Mon – Fri, 4pm – 8pm) segments achieving the highest number of listeners across Chinese radio brands with 1.9 and 1.8 million respectively, a growth of 300,000 and 200,000 listeners respectively. With the second highest in Exclusive Audience amongst all radio brands, MY recorded an increase by almost 1 million to 823,000.
MELODY recorded a weekly listenership of 1 million and an Exclusive Audience of 210,000.
GOXUAN achieved an increase of more than 50,000 in its weekly listeners to reach 298,000. The Drive segment (Mon – Fri, 4pm – 8pm) recorded an increase of almost 20,000, increasing to 120,000 listeners while its Exclusive Audience remained 50,000.
RAAGA, Malaysia’s No. 1 Tamil radio brand recorded an increase in weekly listenership to 1.7 million. The Breakfast (Mon – Fri, 6am – 10am) and Drive (Mon – Fri, 4pm – 8pm) segments achieved 1 million weekly listeners each, with approximate increases of more than 135,000 and 120,000 respectively. RAAGA achieved an increase in its Exclusive Audience by 10,000 to 696,000 listeners.
Kenny Ong, CEO of Astro Radio, said:“We would like to thank our listeners for their continued support and feedback. This feedback is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our team to provide quality content that resonates with our listeners. We will use the insights gained from this survey to continue improving our programming and providing the best possible audio experiences for our audience.”Data source: GfK Radio Audience Measurement (RAM), Wave 1 2023 | Facebook Post Reach: Facebook Business Manager (Jan – Mar 2023) | Digital Streams (with splinter): Radioactive (Jan – Mar 2023) | Monthly Average Website Unique Visitors/Page Views: Google Analytics (Jan – Mar 2023) | Video Views: Facebook Creator Studio, CrowdTangle, YouTube (Mar 2023) | Total Social Media Followers: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok (Mar 2023) […]

Designed and created specifically for Pacific audiences, The Pacific is dedicated to covering the stories that matter in the region.Hosted by ABC presenter Tahlea Aualiitia, The Pacific will be produced in Melbourne and draw on a network of journalists with deep regional expertise including local presenters Evan Wasuka and Johnson Raela and correspondents Lice Movono in Suva, Fiji and Chrisnrita Aumanu-Leong in Honiara, Solomon Islands.“The Pacific will offer a new way to stay in touch with everything happening in our region which is rich in culture, people and stories,” Tahlea said. “I’m so proud to be hosting this program and to be working with a great team of passionate, respected journalists who are experts in Pacific storytelling.”The Pacific will be shared with the ABC’s broadcast partners across the region and available in Australia via the ABC NEWS Channel and iview.ABC Managing Director David Anderson said: “We are excited to see The Pacific launch. It is an innovative addition to the ABC’s content offering for Pacific audiences and an important investment in our regional journalism capabilities which will add additional Pacific newsgathering resources to our existing international network.”In 2022, the Australian Federal Government confirmed $32 million dollars in funding over four years for the ABC under its Indo-Pacific Broadcasting Strategy (IPBS). The funds will be used by ABC International Services for increased content for Indo-Pacific digital and linear audiences, an expanded FM footprint for ABC Radio Australia and enhanced media and training activities across the Indo-Pacific.According to Claire M. Gorman, ABC Head International Services: “The Pacific is the first of many exciting developments in the pipeline. We believe it is more important than ever before for Australians and Pacific audiences to have access to independent, trusted information about our region. As we grow our audiences in the Indo-Pacific, expect more fantastic ABC content and programming.”The journalists and presenters working on The Pacific will contribute stories to the ABC’s other internationally broadcast programs like Pacific Beat on ABC Radio Australia and The World on ABC Australia in addition to the ABC’s domestic broadcast network and digital NEWS channels.According to Managing Editor Asia Pacific Matt O’Sullivan: “The key aim is to have Pacific voices telling Pacific stories. New team members will enhance the work of the long-standing Pacific team, bringing their extensive local knowledge and content. Meanwhile, new technology, such as mobile journalism kits, is making it easier and faster to tell the stories of the Pacific.” […]

Podnews, a leading industry newsletter for podcasting and on-demand, has acquired Podcast Business Journal, a well-respected newsletter from Streamline Publishing Inc.With more than 26,500 daily subscribers, Podnews operates a free daily newsletter, with details of news, jobs and events throughout the podcast industry.Editor, James Cridland, says, “I’m delighted to welcome Podcast Business Journal into the Podnews family. We’re pleased to continue to document the growth of the podcast industry, and maintain Podcast Business Journal’s role of independent coverage for serious podcasters.”“As Podnews continues to grow, with our series of networking events called Podnews Live, the in-depth weekly podcast Podnews Weekly Review and other plans in the works, we see great benefit in an additional brand to focus on those in business.”Podcast Business Journal will become a weekly newsletter, aimed at containing in-depth interviews with podcast business leaders, and will carry an overview of the week’s podcast business headlines and news. Its first weekly edition under Podnews ownership is this Friday. Podnews was launched in May 2017, and is a daily briefing of news and information to those in podcasting. The Podnews editorial team will expand in the coming months to support its continuing growth. Launched by Streamline Publishing Inc in 2018, Podcast Business Journal was edited by Ed Ryan, and published by Deborah Parenti. […]

Benztown and P1 Media Group will host free webinar on artificial intelligence and radio, entitled: “Ally or Enemy? How RadioGPT Will Transform Radio”Tech Futurist Daniel Anstandig, CEO and Co-Founder of Futuri Media, reveals how localised radio powered entirely by AI will help and improve radio.The 40-minute webinar will be hosted by Andreas Sannemann, CEO, Benztown, and Ken Benson, Partner, P1 Media Group, and will feature tech futurist Daniel Anstandig.In Thursday’s webinar, Anstandig will share his thoughts on how Artificial Intelligence and Futuri’s RadioGPT – the world’s first localized radio powered entirely by Artificial Intelligence – will help and improve radio. Anstandig will take attendees’ questions and cover topics including:
What advice he has for radio broadcasters who fear RadioGPT will eliminate their jobs in radio.
How he thinks Program Directors should use and implement RadioGPT.
Should a station be transparent when they are using RadioGPT?
What he thinks about the listener backlash from Drew Carey’s recent use of an AI voice cloner and CHAT GPT to write his scripts for his radio show on SiriusXM Radio.
With AI banned in Italy and not allowed in China – and the U.S. discussing oversight rules – what is AI’s larger role in society, and should its use be stopped all together or regulated?
WHEN: Thursday, April 13, 2023, at 10:00am PST/1:00pm EST/7:00pm CET.WHERE: Register NOW at: https://event.webinarjam.com/register/81/q71n2i83. Upon registering, you will receive a link with webinar information.FOR MORE INFORMATION: Contact Robby Gessel at Benztown at [email protected] or +1 (818) 842-4600. […]

Sadai Banowan, a women-run radio station in northeastern Afghanistan has resumed broadcasting after the Taliban shut it down for playing music during the holy month of Ramadan.Sadai Banowan, which means ‘women’s voice’ in Dari, started 10 years ago in Badakhshan province and has eight staff, six of them female.Moezuddin Ahmadi, the director for Information and Culture in Badakhshan, said the station was allowed to resume activities on Thursday after it had obeyed the “laws and regulations of the Islamic Emirate” and agreed to stop broadcasting any kind of music.Station head Najia Sorosh said after the station “gave a commitment to officials at the information and culture department, they unlocked the door of the station,” and they started broadcasting again.The Afghan Journalist Safety Committee, an Afghan watchdog organization that promotes the safety of journalists and press freedom and which was involved in mediation for the station’s reopening, welcomed the resumption of broadcasts.“Following AJSC’s advocacy efforts, Sadia Banowan radio resumed its broadcasts,” it said in a tweet. […]

Inovonics Inc has introduced the model 611 Streaming Monitor, the firm’s second-generation monitor for IP streaming and Internet Radio. The new 611 is a dedicated hardware solution for uninterrupted monitoring of network streaming audio, such as online Internet radio and other IP streaming applications. It will make its public debut at NAB – Las Vegas April 15 – 19.Streaming audio over IP networks has progressed in recent years and the new 611 is designed to meet the technological challenges of today with greater processing power and advanced functionality. It provides balanced analog and AES-digital outputs, self-logging alarms that constantly checks for audio loss, stream loss and Internet loss. The 611 is easily managed remotely from any Web enabled device and SNMP manager.The 611 Streaming Monitor includes many unique features. It supports HTTPS streams and streaming formats HLS along with Icecast/Shoutcast. It also has a Stream Failover function to automatically switch to back-up streams, and StreamRotation to rotate through up to 30 preset streams.Ben Barber, President & CEO of Inovonics says: “In designing the 611, we drew on our experience with our model 610 to update and add new features that were not possible until now with the superior processing power of the 611. We also listened to our customers to include lots of new and desireable features.”611 Beta units have already been placed with trusted radio engineers for testing to provide Inovonics with valuable feedback to help make final firmware tweaks before production units begin shipping in June 2023. […]