Here’s a paragraph from a press release heralding a new YouGov report which appears to slag off broadcast radio.

Digital Radio: needing a stronger signal
Just over one in five (22%) of 18-24 year olds have listened to the Radio via a portable radio set (including DAB). However, over one third (38%) of this age group has listened to radio streamed over the internet. Whilst the measurement of radio audiences has moved to the digital age with RAJAR’s introduction of its online diary – built in conjunction with YouGov – DAB take-up hasn’t quite lived up to the initial hype. To make this happen, says Brilot, “The radio industry needs to educate and support consumers as they become accustomed to new ways of listening and to ensure that reach and frequency opportunities are truly maximised – not lost – in the digital age.”

(Head in hands) Where does one start with this misleading presentation of their research?

A “have listened” figure with no timescale is pointless. I have eaten snails (once, in Brussels in 2000); that doesn’t mean I’d do so again, because they were disgusting. Given there’s no timescale given at all for this research, had I only listened to internet radio once in the past ten years, I’d be counted too. So, I’m unsure what the details above are intended to convey, other than the rather obvious observation that the opportunities for trial over the internet (in most homes in the UK) are considerably higher than DAB (in 39.4% of homes).

A “have listened” figure conveys nothing about consumption. The only thing that matters for radio is how long people listen. If every radio listener only listened to radio for five minutes a week, the entire radio industry would go bankrupt. (They actually listen for 22.8 hours a week.)

“Digital radio” and “DAB” are not the same thing. While even Digital Radio UK gets confused every now and again, “DAB” is the terrestrial-broadcast digital radio signal, which forms a part of digital radio. “Digital Radio” also includes internet radio, and radio over the TV: everything, indeed, except AM/FM. To put that into context, only 64.9% of all radio listening in the UK is attributed to AM/FM – the rest is either to “digital radio” (28.2%), or “don’t know” (6.9%). “Digital Radio” is in virtually every home in the UK, since it’s delivered via the internet, DAB, or digital television.

Digital television is surprisingly effective for certain demographics. Digital television – which is neither portable, nor ‘DAB’ – accounts for 33% of total listening for BBC 1Xtra, and 24.3% of total listening for Absolute Radio Classic Rock. This is radio, and we’re in a multiplatform world: yet, YouGov have ignored this method of listening to the radio.

Radio is not solely consumed on a portable device. The majority of radio listening isn’t done in a portable environment – only 20% of radio listening is done in a car, for example. The 80% of radio listening that is done “at home” or “at work” is not solely consumed on a portable device: indeed, while that radio in your kitchen may technically be ‘portable’, the fact that it’s plugged into the mains probably shows it isn’t really. Let’s not forget that a television is not ‘portable’: and nor is a desktop computer, for that matter. (Is a laptop a ‘portable device’? Yes, as long as you’re not planning on using it whilst on the move.)

You can’t compare “radio listening on a portable device” with “internet radio”, as this attempts to do. I get internet radio on my mobile phone. I get AM/FM radio on my decidedly non-portable hifi. Neither are mutually exclusive. It’s therefore a broken argument to compare one with another with the linking word “however”. Here’s another example of a similar comparison: I was born in London: however, I wear black socks. See how it doesn’t work?

This ‘research’ says nothing about the state of DAB takeup. While it’s true that DAB is slower to take-up than predicted – let’s not forget it took 44 years for FM to overtake AM in the US – this research doesn’t prove or disprove anything about DAB. Dan Brilot’s quote makes sense in isolation: but it’s got nothing to do with achieving faster take-up of DAB or any other radio technology.

Does this research say that lots of people have tried radio over the internet at least once during their entire life? Yes.
Does this research say that 22% of young people listen to the radio on a ‘portable device’ over some unpublished time period? Yes.
Is this press release accurate in any other respect? No.

Disclaimer: While my clients include RAJAR, RadioCentre and Radioplayer, I do not speak on their behalf.

The full press release is not seemingly openly published on YouGov’s website, so here it is, for context:

Smart TV, Smartphones, Tablets, DAB, Facebook: YouGov’s consumer technology predictions for 2012

London, 19th December 2011: YouGov, the most quoted research agency in the UK, today reveals its predictions for 2012 on people’s consumption and behaviour around Smart TV, smartphones, Facebook, digital newspapers and digital radio.

Smart TV: not quite a smart bet…yet
Only 15% of UK consumers say they will own one within the next 12 months

Smart TV ownership (a TV set able to be connected directly to the internet via Ethernet cable or Wi-Fi) is slowly growing. Consequently, the television set will soon become a key device that people use to access internet content either directly, via a games console (such as the Xbox 360) or other ‘plug-in’ box such as Boxee or YouView (a new partnership between major broadcasters such as the BBC and Channel Four as well as BT).

Already 1 in 10 people in the UK own a Smart TV and, while intention to purchase is currently very low, sales could well be stimulated by several key events such as the UK launches in 2012 of Google TV and Netflix, as well as major sporting occasions such as the European Football Championships and the Olympics. There are even rumours that Apple will release a smart TV device: ‘iTV’. Dan Brilot, Media Consulting Director at YouGov, says “Smart content producers must continue to develop their services to make it increasingly easier for people to watch what they want, when they want, wherever they want.”

A main driver for adoption of Smart TV in the future could be the increasing availability of content which is currently only available on broadcast television. Just over one third (36%) of UK respondents aged 18-24 claimed that they would be encouraged to purchase a Smart TV set if more of the TV content they normally watch was available on the internet.

There are already more and more services becoming available on Smart TV’s such as YouTube, MSN, Twitter, Skype and web browsing using Bing or Google. It could well be the ability to use social networking services in conjunction with television services, so called ‘Social TV’ that could be the ‘killer app’ for the Smart TV. According to Brilot “This next evolution of our TV sets is enabling viewers to share and comment on media content using Facebook and Twitter, or even to set up ‘virtual living rooms’ where programmes are watched at the same time between friends but at different locations with social networks enabling the sharing of the viewing experience.”

Smartphones: marketers must get smarter
86% of smartphone users ignore advertising on mobiles

In the UK, 40% of people own smartphones, increasing to 68% within the next upgrade cycle. Smartphones’ increasing ubiquity and functionality – location-based services, paying for goods, TV on demand – will result in increasing control and interaction with the ‘real’ world, whether though smartphones, smart watches or other personal devices. For example:

In the home: interacting with TVs, tablets and even heating systems
For goods and services: interacting with location based marketing, point of sale vouchers and special offers, targeted video billboards, QR codes etc.
For brand marketers it’s clear that, when engaging with consumers through mobile, this is the type of interaction that provides the real opportunity – not advertising. YouGov research shows how ineffective advertising on mobile phones is; 86% of smartphone users ignore advertising on it; 79% say ads on their smartphones are irritating.

Facebook: the #1 web portal
60% of UK online population now use it more than once a day

Facebook could well become the main portal that people use all over the world to interact with the web. In terms of visits, it’s already the No.1 site in the US and a close second to Google in the UK. According to YouGov’s own social media tracker, three fifths (60%) of the UK online population now use Facebook more than once a day. If the expected IPO goes ahead in 2012 Facebook will have even more financial clout to challenge Google as the global No.1 web company.

Digital Newspapers: putting print to bed (with a tablet)
24% of tablet users access the web whilst in bed

“The decline of print media sales will only accelerate during 2012,” says Russell Feldman, Associate Director of Technology at YouGov. “Tablets and apps will increase the digital cannibalisation of paper copies as they erode more of those previously inaccessible locations to digital devices; for example, nearly one quarter (24%) of tablet users access the internet whilst in bed.” Tablet usage is still small (currently only 4% of the UK population own one) but that number is growing and, as the market develops and new entrants such as the Kindle Fire gain traction, newspaper and magazine publishers will focus more effort on specific tablet versions of their publications.

Digital Radio: needing a stronger signal
Just over one in five (22%) of 18-24 year olds have listened to the Radio via a portable radio set (including DAB). However, over one third (38%) of this age group has listened to radio streamed over the internet.

Whilst the measurement of radio audiences has moved to the digital age with RAJAR’s introduction of its online diary – built in conjunction with YouGov – DAB take-up hasn’t quite lived up to the initial hype. To make this happen, says Brilot, “The radio industry needs to educate and support consumers as they become accustomed to new ways of listening and to ensure that reach and frequency opportunities are truly maximised – not lost – in the digital age.”

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