A Sardianian student called Francesca has asked if I’d help her with her thesis; and, as always, I’m happy to answer the questions as long as I can publish them. So, here are the questions and answers – note that, as ever, I’m replying in a personal capacity, and BBC policy may be different.

1- The everybody’s attention in the radio’s market, or at least in Italy, is focused on which technology can lead the medium.
12 – Which one is the best audio technology for future’s radio and why?

Radio is turning into a multiplatform medium: so there’s no “best technology” any more for radio. In the UK, there are four predominant technologies for radio (analogue, DAB, internet, satellite) and each of them have their own benefits.
But we need to move to a digital platform. Not because “the rest of media is going on to digital and we will be left behind” – that’s an argument for technology’s sake. No, because digital platforms allow broadcasters to make radio sets more clever: to add features that consumers want, as well as a wider choice.
DAB Digital Radio is closest to FM/AM in that it is free at the point of use, works well while mobile, uses low power consumption so is ideal for battery-operated equipment, and radio broadcasters own the infrastructure (sometimes through an operating company). This is why DAB is attractive to both consumers and broadcasters, and why DAB is far and away the most popular new platform for radio.

In terms of figures, 17.9% of UK radio listening is now done on a digital platform. Only 2% is done via the internet (a shock for many); 3.3% is done via digital television platforms; and 11% is done by DAB Digital Radio. (The rest is ‘unknown’).

What about the content? Should a different technology influence radio’s content? How?
2- If yes, how can DAB build new contents’ types or formats, for example?

If a different technology allows you to do different things (radio with pictures, or a “more info” button which lets you get more detailed information on the thing you’re listening to, etc) then this allows many changes to content. For example, a large amount of people read the ‘livetext’, the scrolling text that accompanies a radio broadcast on DAB, every single day – new content that can enhance a programme.

Additionally, if new platforms allow you space for more radio stations, you can experiment with more specialised stations, and different ways of making the content and for paying for it.

Examples from DAB Digital Radio have been additional visual content from commercial broadcasters and the BBC – pictures of traffic cameras in London on a local station there, or pictures and information about the current band being played on-air.

And all broadcasters have launched new services – catering for different music or different types of people. These are increasingly popular. Examples include the BBC Asian Network (offering music and programming especially for the asian community), BBC 6 music (a music station playing a wider choice of music including archive tracks from BBC sessions), Chill (a station playing relaxing cafe-del-mar type music), or Planet Rock (a classic rock station).

3 – How much does it cost to broadcast with DAB system for a radio?

That’s a difficult question. DAB multiplexes normally carry a wide variety of radio stations, which means that each station will share the cost; while the frequencies used by DAB means you need more transmitters to cover the same area in good quality (which then pushes the price back up again). It’ generally felt that the cost of transmission for each station should be roughly similar to FM, depending on many factors; though in practice it is rather more expensive to broadcast DAB than FM.

4 – Could or should DAB replace the analogue radio?

It could – it has in my house! My own personal belief is that any talk of switchoff should be informed by what listeners are doing, and that we should not kill analogue while it remains a popular way of listening and economical to broadcast. Some radio stations have already switched off their analogue broadcasts (albeit for other reasons).

5 – I have also noticed that BBC is in many social networks: it has profiles on Last.fm too that should be considered an enemy of the traditional radio. Is it a way to be online as much as possible or another strategy?Could you explain it?

last.fm and traditional radio aren’t enemies; traditional radio gives companionship and trusted guides to introduce you to new music and new ideas, which automated online services are incapable of doing. I use last.fm a lot, and I notice that my music compatibility with BBC 6 music is “super”, while with BBC 1Xtra is “poor”, so I now know exactly what station I should be listening to.

But all radio stations try to be in as many places as possible to reach as many listeners as they can – for commercial radio, it’s to increase their revenue, while for public service radio, it’s to achieve best value for the licence-fee payer.

6 – BBC looks like the leader in up-dating the radio system. What I mean is that you are doing a big work on the web radio offering a lot of applications and services which are still futuristic for a lot of FM radios. Why is BBC doing that?

The internet is capable of much more than just live broadcast. The BBC’s iPlayer gives me, as a licence-fee payer myself, a fantastic way of discovering the tremendous range of content that is available from its radio stations. And, through some of the things we’re doing, we’re trying to keep radio relevant for a younger generation, used to Facebook and YouTube.

7 – Interactivity is the nowadays’ trend; everybody justifies new technology with this issue. Since the origin the radio has been a medium which we can use also while we are doing other things. Could this excess of interactivity destroy this original characteristic? What I mean is that the listener has to concentrate so much to interpret more data, and a lot of times to generate data. Could interactivity lose audience in the long run?

I’m not sure. I think people expect to interact, and to shape their media choices. The days of a broadcaster just ‘broadcasting’ and not listening to their audience are, I hope, long gone.

Where interactivity gets in the way of the pleasure of just listening to the radio, I agree, it’s unwanted. I don’t see this being a large problem at the moment, though.

8 – How is the new web’ 3.0’changing the tradional radio?

The phone-in programme on radio was doing, in the 1970s, what Web 3.0 is doing now.

But radio stations with vibrant online communities enables a broadcaster to get closer to their audience in a way we’ve never been able to do in the past.

9 – How can you explain one of the latest BBC service as ‘Soun Index’?
10 – How can we consider an application as ‘Sound Index’? What is the benefits of this application for the audience?

Sound Index is a way of tracking the ‘buzz’ around new music by monitoring online conversations. It’s not specifically there for BBC Radio; but tools like this are used by many radio stations to ensure they’re spotting new music to play.

11 – Could you explain ‘Radio Labs’ project?

Yes, Radio Labs is where my team share some of their thinking about radio and other projects they’re responsible for. We’re experimenting with lots of things, and trying to share that learning and understanding with the rest of the industry. We firmly believe in “agree on technology, compete on content”, and by sharing our understanding around technology, we hope to keep radio relevant for many years to come.

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