IRS 2009 R2: Mixed reactions from FM players, but decline in listenership a concern
There have been mixed reactions from the industry to the IRS 2009 R2 radio data. While the winners are obviously happy with the results, there is a general concern being raise about the decline seen in listenership, which many fear would impact advertising on radio.
There have been mixed reactions from the industry to the IRS 2009 R2 radio data released by the MRUC and researched by Hansa Research. While the winners are obviously happy with the results, there is a general concern being raise about the decline seen in listenership, which many fear would impact advertising on radio.
Industry Speak
Prashant Panday, CEO, ENIL, commented, “We are very excited with the IRS as always. We have done well as always. We’re clear leaders in the top eight markets in the country taken together. Even individually, we lead in six out of these eight. Overall, we are number 1 in 25 of our 32 markets. This is just one more data point that shows how strong Mirchi is as a brand. Don’t forget just a year back, Mirchi had been selected as the No. 1 media brand in the country – ahead of even The Times of India and Star Plus.”
On a similar note, Rana Barua, EVP and National Head - Programming and Marketing, Radio City, said, “We are extremely delighted with the IRS survey results. Our strong No. 2 position has been validated and we are especially happy that we have performed well in the key markets. Our focus on understanding listeners and leveraging the synergies of music expertise and innovative programming has paid off.”
On a different note, Harrish M Bhatia, COO, My FM said, “It is surprising to see that an industry that has been witnessing excellent growth would be declining in terms of listenership figures. It may be noted that discrepancies were quite apparent in the IRS 2009 R1 data as well that the methodology and results generated from it were far from satisfactory. Even the IRS 2009 R2 has thrown up results that are tough to put logic behind. The industry as a whole needs to critically analyse the data and find solutions towards a more credible metric system.”
The Listenership Factor
“FM listenership has been shown to be growing very slowly from 117 million listeners nationally to about 118 million now. This is certainly a little disappointing, but then we should remember that R2 and R1 both capture listenership post at least one year of almost all stations launching nationally. Besides, the best for radio is still to come – with Phase III coming (and assuming that we can have auctions – if music royalty is sorted out), we should see a dramatic increase in radio listenership across the country. What may cause anguish to some new broadcasters is when they find their listenership numbers low. The fact is that radio listenership is very sticky. Incumbents who have been around for longer time have a clear advantage in terms of listenership,” noted Panday.
Barua observed, “While IRS has validated our No. 2 network position, the data is showing a declining trend at an overall level which is a concern. If listenership is underestimated, it will impact radio advertising at a category level.”
Bhatia explained, “The IRS 2009 R2 reports that the industry has witnessed a 2.33 per cent decline in listenership numbers, which is a matter of some contention and unlike last round, only two of the Top 10 Radio stations( top 10 – basis the IRS report itself) have grown in listenership, rest, all players have declined in numbers. This again puts the report in doubt.”
IRS versus RAM
According to Panday of Radio Mirchi, “Obviously RAM is richer data. It gives you every 15 minutes’ listenership trends week after week but, RAM’s issues are well known. Most important of all is the fact that it is available in only four cities. How can you make a medium reach its true potential if it is measured in only four markets? That is why IRS is so important. It’s the only source of radio listenership across the country.”
“For a media planner, it is the only source of getting an idea of which radio station commands how much listenership across the country. Besides, I have always maintained that when it comes to the measurement of reach (cumes), there can be no fingers pointed at IRS – it has the largest sample size possible. Besides, it asks for yesterday and last-week listenership – it’s as accurate on recall as you can get. Even RAM is a recall research. IRS Reach data is certainly more accurate than RAM as far as reach is concerned,” he added.
Barua of Radio City noted, “IRS is the only multi-media study and advertisers are referring to the same. Also keeping in mind that RAM is present in only four markets, we have to refer to IRS for markets where RAM is not present. Moreover, we have experienced concerns on RAM in terms of data stability and sensitivity from time to time (which have been addressed to RAM) and hence also use other internal studies to validate the RAM data.”
Bhatia of My FM pointed out, “IRS data is not accurate and is also insufficient. Radio is a dynamic medium and the report, for instance of Round 2 2009, is based on field work done in the period – July’08 to June’09, would at best represent the situation pertaining to the period six to eight months back. RAM on the other hand is much more detailed and also widely accepted in the industry. But it is restricted in terms of the area it covers, once it expands it, we feel, it will be a better currency for the Industry. Moreover, since Industry is a part of RAM, endorses it largely, which isn’t the case with IRS, RAM can provide a better system for measuring Radio efficiency.”
Whether it is IRS or RAM, both have their own drawbacks, while RAM is said to be endorsed by the industry and that it has better system for measuring radio efficiency, it ironically has a limited reach. IRS, on the other hand, has a far greater reach and is said to be more accurate, which is still very debatable in the industry. While there are FM player excited about the results one of the concern which perhaps has come as a surprise to many is the decline in listenership which is feared to have some impact on radio advertising.
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IRS 2009 R2: Listenership in Kochi, Pune on the rise
The recent IRS R2 2009 Radio data, is released by the MRUC and researched by Hansa Research, sees Radio Mirchi topping the charts. When it comes to different towns and cities in the country, there is always a favourite channel. Exchange4media takes a look at the listnership at five major cities – Ahmedabad, Bhopal, Kochi, Lucknow and Pune.
The recent IRS R2 2009 Radio data, is released by the MRUC and researched by Hansa Research, sees Radio Mirchi topping the charts. When it comes to different towns and cities in the country, there is always a favourite channel. Exchange4media takes a look at the listnership at five major cities – Ahmedabad, Bhopal, Kochi, Lucknow and Pune.
In Ahmedabad, Radio Mirchi is the clear No. 1 with a massive lead over No. 2 player Vividh Bharati. However, Radio Mirchi has seen a decline of 4.09 per cent. On the other hand, Vividh Bharti has grown by 5.34 per cent. My FM occupies the No. 3 position, but has seen a steep decline of 14.29 per cent. Radio City is at No. 4 with a 2.94 per cent decline, while Radio One is at fifth position with a substantial growth of 17.07 per cent.
In Bhopal, four of the top five stations have seen a decline in listenership. Vividh Bharati tops the list, but has seen a steep decline of 22.47 per cent. Radio MIrchi and Big FM are placed second and third, respectively, and both of which have seen a decline of 4.24 per cent and 4.35 per cent, respectively. My FM is placed No. 4 and has seen drop of 12 per cent. AIR FM Gold is the only station among the top five to have witnessed a growth of 3.85 per cent and is place fifth.
Kochi is picking up on listenership numbers and that too rapidly. The three stations that have recorded growth from the last round, have seen massive growths. Radio Mango, which is at No. 1 in this city has recorded a growth of 127.27 per cent. Club FM, too, has seen a huge growth of 157. 69 per cent and is placed second. AIR FM is the only FM player among the top five to have recorded a decline of 23.95 per cent. Red FM, which has not recorded listenership in Kochi in the last Round, has now recorded a listenership of 94,000 in R2. Vividh Bharati has recorded a growth of 133.33 per cent.
In Lucknow, three of the top five stations have seen declines in listenership. Radio City, which is at No. 1, has seen a minor decline of 1.23 per cent, while Radio Mirchi at No. 3 has recorded a 1.49 per cent decline. Vividh Bharati is placed fifth position and has seen a 12.40 per cent decline. On the other hand, AIR FM Rainbow, which is at No. 2, is the only FM player to have seen a growth in listnership among the top five stations in Lucknow. It has grown by 5.27 per cent. Like in the Kochi market, in Lucknow too Red FM had not recorded listenership in the previous round, but has recorded a listenership of 291,000 in R2 and is placed fourth.
Radio Mirchi tops the charts in Pune, but has seen a marginal decline of 1.35 per cent. Even with the decline, it is leading with a massive margin, leaving No. 2 player Vividh Bharati far behind. Vividh Bharati has seen a decline of 8.70 per cent. Radio City is placed third and has recorded a growth of 66.15 per cent, while AIR FM at No. 4 has recorded the highest growth among the top five stations in Pune at 125.58 per cent. Red FM has also seen a rise and is at fifth position with a growth of 50 per cent.
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ShareIRS 2009 R2: Mirchi massively leads Mumbai & Delhi amid decline in listenership
According to the Indian Readership Survey (IRS) 2009 Round 2 data (Radio Stations- last one week) for the radio industry, Radio Mirchi is the clear leader in both Mumbai and Delhi markets. Radio City is a distant second, followed by Red FM, which form the top three FM stations in both Mumbai and Delhi.
According to the Indian Readership Survey (IRS) 2009 Round 2 data (Radio Stations- last one week) for the radio industry, Radio Mirchi is the clear leader in both Mumbai and Delhi markets with massive lead over its competition. A distant second in both these markets is Radio City, followed by Red FM. What is interesting to note is that listenership in both Mumbai and Delhi markets has seen a decline in R2 as compared to Round 1. The only FM station to have seen growth in Mumbai is Fever FM, while in Delhi, AIR FM Gold is the only FM station to have witnessed a marginal growth.
The top three FM stations in both Mumbai and Delhi are Radio Mirchi, Radio City and Red FM in that order. Although Radio Mirchi enjoys a massive lead in both the markets, the FM station has witnessed a decline of 4.02 per cent from 3,480,000 in R1 to 3,340,000 in R2 in the Mumbai market. In Delhi, Radio Mirchi has seen a decline of 3.53 per cent from 3,728,000 in R1 to 3,601,000 in R2.
Ranked second in both markets is Radio City. In Mumbai, the FM player has seen a 9.59 per cent decline in listenership at 2,479,000 in R2 from 2,742,000 in R1, while in Delhi, Radio City fell from 2,798,000 in R1 to 2,629,000 in R2, a decline of 6.43 per cent.
No. 3 player Red FM, too, has seen a decline in listenership in both Mumbai and Delhi markets. In Mumbai, the decline is from 2,173,000 in R1 to 1,983,000 in R2, down 8.74 per cent, while in Delhi, Red FM has seen a decline of -10.02 per cent in its listenership, from 2,098,000 in R1 to 1,907,000 in R2.
Mumbai
When it comes to the Mumbai market, the only FM station to have witnessed any growth in its listenership here is Fever FM, up 3.53 per cent at 675,000 in R2 from 652,000 in R1. Fever FM is ranked sixth in Mumbai. Ranked fourth is Big FM with a listenership of 1,679,000 in R2 as compared to 1,858,000 listeners in R1, a decline of 9.63 per cent.
At No. 5 is Radio One, which has dropped 6.92 per cent from 1,546,000 in R1 to 1,439,000 in R2. The other two FM stations in Mumbai include Government-owned FM stations AIR FM Gold and AIR FM Rainbow, both of whom have shown double-digit declines at 24.89 per cent and 22.99 per cent, respectively. While AIR FM Gold has gone down from 888,000 in R1 to 667,000 in R2, AIR FM Rainbow has seen a decline from 635,000 in R1 to 489,000 in R2. Meow FM, too, has seen a 2.56 per cent decline in listnership at 457,000 in R2 from 469,000 in R1.
Delhi
In Delhi, AIR FM Gold, which ranks fourth, is the only FM station to have witnessed any growth in listenership. The FM player has seen a marginal growth of 0.96 per cent from 1,544,000 in R1 to 1,559,000 in R2. Big FM, which is ranked sixth has seen a 8.76 per cent drop from 1,614,000 in R1 to 1,484,000 in R2.
Fever FM, which has seen a growth in the Mumbai market, has registered a double digit decline of 15.31 per cent in Delhi, from 1,205,000 in R1 to 1,045,000 in R2. Radio One, too, has declined from 935,000 in R1 to 846,000 in R2, a drop of 10.52 per cent. Meow FM is down 8.42 per cent at 713,000 in R2 from 773,000 in R1. AIR FM Rainbow has declined 4.18 per cent to 670,000 in R2 from 698,000 in R1, while Hitz FM has seen a drop of 13.93 per cent to 560,000 in R2 from 638,000 in R1.
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IRS 2009 R2: Radio Mirchi continues lead, but listenership declines; Red FM makes gains
The Indian Readership Survey (IRS) 2009 Round 2 data on the radio industry, released by the Media Research Users’ Council (MRUC) on January 8, 2010, once again shows Radio Mirchi as the lead FM radio station across India. While in the last round nearly all the Top 10 FM stations had witnessed growth, this time round only two of the Top 10 FM stations have witnessed growth in listenership.
The Indian Readership Survey (IRS) 2009 Round 2 data on the radio industry, released by the Media Research Users’ Council (MRUC) on January 8, 2010, once again shows Radio Mirchi as the lead FM radio station across India.
However, compared to the IRS 2009 R1 data (Radio stations - last one week), the listenership of the FM station has seen a decline of 2.36 per cent from 41,416,000 in R1 2009 to 40,438,000 listeners in this round.
What is interesting to note is that unlike in R1 2009, wherein almost all the Top 10 FM stations had witnessed growth, this time round only two of the Top 10 FM stations have witnessed growth in listenership, while others have witnessed a marginal decline.
Radio Mirchi, Big FM, Red FM, Radio City, AIR FM Rainbow, Suryan FM, AIR FM Gold, Radio Mantra, Radio One and My FM comprise the top 10 FM stations in the all India market. Red FM has registered the highest growth in listenership in R2 with a 24.15 per cent increase from 14,993,000 in R1 2009 to 18,614,000 in R2.
Ranked second is Big FM with a listenership of 20,380,000 in R2 as compared to 20,381,000 in R1 2009, thus making for no significant gains in its listenership. Ranked third is AIR FM Rainbow, which has seen a marginal 3.88 per cent decline in listenership from 22,153,000 in R1 2009 to 21,293,000 in R2 2009.
Radio City, which is ranked fifth, too, has witnessed a decline of 3.96 per cent in its listenership from 14,656,000 in R1 to 14,076,000 in R2.
Radio Mantra is the other FM station that has witnessed an increase in listenership in R2 2009 at 4,227,000 from 3,822,000 in R1 2009, an increase of 10.60 per cent.
Suryan FM, on the other hand, has seen a decline of 3.99 per cent in its listenership from 13,343,000 in R1 to 12,810,000 in R2 2009. Radio One has registered a listenership of 3,683,000 in R2 from 3,910,000 in R1, while My FM saw its listenership drop to 3,669,000 in R2 2009 from 3,937,000 in R1 2009.
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