The broadcast landscape is evolving—are you ready to grab the opportunities?

Broadcasters are embracing multiplatform coverage across several forms of new media to extend their reach and connect with people. In this article, Head of News, Mike Young , gets under the skin of this trend and asks the question: If broadcasters are embracing the opportunities of multichannel communication, what should you be doing as a brand to grab those same opportunities?

The broadcast landscape is evolving

It is clear that what we think of as ‘traditional’ broadcast media (live radio and TV) is still held as the gold standard by audiences, and represents the holy grail of broadcast coverage. Our most recent broadcast report found that two in three members (61%) of the public will turn to TV or radio as their most trusted source of news. However, the broadcast landscape is changing and there are more platforms to target than ever before.

Changes in the broadcast landscape

First Piers Morgan took his daily “Uncensored” show off TalkTV to focus on its YouTube channel. Now Talk TV is dropping its linear TV channels and moving online only. While Talk Radio will stay on AM and DAB, Talk TV will now be a live streaming “news and opinion channel”.

It’s also been confirmed that radio stations owned by Bauer are being removed from Freeview. Greatest Hits Radio, Hits Radio, Kerrang! Radio, KISS Fresh, KISSTORY and Magic Radio have all been removed recently. Absolute Radio will follow shortly. All these stations were already pulled from satellite and cable platforms late last year.

So what does it all mean?

We’ve come a long way since I was a kid and turned to BBC1, BBC2, ITV and Channel 4 for my viewing pleasure—and flicked between FM and MW for my radio listening. These days you can also switch to the likes of DAB, satellite, cable, Freeview, smartphone and internet for streaming, podcasts, downloads, and more. Various boxes and sticks are cluttering up that dusty space behind our TVs so we can access the likes of NowTV, Apple TV and Amazon TV.

It’s a dazzling array of options but not all these platforms see great demand. That doesn’t mean the actual programme we watch or listen to isn’t a success. It’s just many of us prefer to watch or listen in a particular way these days and that might be very different from the way we used to tune in. For instance, I rarely put on my digital radio now. I listen to the radio via my laptop or smartphone. I must say I do like a big TV to watch something but many are happy to stick with a computer screen.

When we look at why Bauer is pulling away from having its radio programmes on Freeview, one just has to look at the numbers. Digital television accounts for under 4% of all digital listening according to the latest RAJAR figures.

Why is Piers Morgan at Talk TV focusing on his YouTube audience? Well, his show’s YouTube channel currently has just over 2.5million subscribers. That’s many times what was its estimated daily TV audience which often only pulled in the tens of thousands at most. Talk TV says the move of Piers to YouTube also allows him to conduct longer, more in-depth interviews.

I sense GB News, with over a million subscribers on YouTube, might start looking at some similar changes in the months to come.

So, is the likes of YouTube the future for programme makers? Is traditional linear TV coverage struggling to compete? Or are certain platforms better suited to certain programmes? Certainly, there’s an opportunity here for PRs to embrace a multi-faceted broadcast and digital strategy.

The landscape is changing, but this is an opportunity

More platforms mean there are more opportunities for you to get your message across. The broadcasting landscape is becoming an ever-wider world of radio, TV, online, streaming, podcasting…  and that’s fine by me. The more platforms the merrier and broadcasters will choose which ones serve them best.

It is also the case that live TV and radio will always be in demand for big, breaking news. AND there are still massive audiences for many live TV and radio programmes. For example:

  • The 6pm news on BBC1 pulls in around 4 million viewers.
  • The Today prog on BBC Radio 4 pulls in around 6 million listeners.
  • ITV’s Good Morning Britain and This Morning attract around 800,000 viewers.
  • BBC Breakfast attracts around a million viewers.
  • LBC gets approaching 3 million tuning in.

People are increasingly consuming information in a variety of ways – watching BBC Breakfast as they get the kids ready for school, scrolling social media in their downtime, listening to the radio in the car, a podcast on their lunchbreak, watching some TV news in the evening before streaming something else.

As a brand, it is key to recognise all the opportunities on offer, and consider your own “multiplatform play” when planning your campaigns.

Our job at Broadcast Revolution is to connect you with the producers of all programmes across allplatforms. Some of these will be live. Some of these will be pre-recorded. Some of these will be streamed online.

As the consumer uses more and more of these platforms, we’ll plug you into opportunities across the whole range, and help you produce content for your owned channels which supports your broadcast PR campaigns.