Is the ABC’s next generation of radio listeners coming through? Not according to the ratings
Welcome to Unmade, written on a quick pitstop in Victoria.
I’m becoming quite the connoisseur of budget hotel desks. I struggled to jam both legs under the desk at the Ibis in Darling Harbour last week, but my desk here at the Ibis in Melbourne is so generously proportioned that George Costanza could easily nap undiscovered.
Happy Flip A Coin Day.
Remember: Unmade’s paying members receive this email before everyone else.
Topics
premium-tag
Unmade Substack
Unmade Substack
Fascinating numbers, Tim.
Great analysis Tim. So many interesting points, but I do think you’re being unfair about ABC NewsRadio.
Whilst it does rely heavily on repurposed content from other sources (ABC TV News and Local Radio, BBC, NPR, etc), I do think it’s got a key selling point which clearly people like. Whilst it used to be focussed on rolling 15 minute segments, a (very soft) relaunch around a year ago changed this to be a 30 minute cycle. I can turn on at any time during the day, listen for half an hour, and know that I’ll hear news headlines, a decently long sports wrap, some interesting packages and probably a live interview on one of the day’s important stories.
Sure, it’s formulaic, sure it’s not generating a lot of original content, and sure it’s following, not leading, the news agenda. But it does what it does very well and clearly people like it.
Which is more than can be said for RN, it seems. Whilst there are plenty in the ABC (or within RN. at least) who would “argue…that it’s the nation’s most important radio station”, as you say, I’m not sure how many people you could find outside Ultimo who’d agree with that argument.
Thanks for that feedback, Gavin. And that’s useful insight into how News Radio is evolving.
Dollar for dollar, it’s an excellent service. Imagine what they could achieve with a bigger production budget, even if it was for a few more producers to chase a few more live phone interviews.
Cheers – Tim
I’m so glad you did this Tim. RN does not appear to have learned the lessons of NPR and BBC and others on how to broaden their audience and build trust. Anecdotally I suspect US podcasts are taking much of that under 40s audience. RN was a catalyst for me writing this https://theconversation.com/amp/americas-public-broadcasters-are-thriving-heres-what-australian-media-can-learn-from-them-170361