Groundhog Day… All Over Again!

Yesterday, we recognized Groundhog Day. Traditionally, we put our faith in a marmot each February 2nd to predict winter’s end. This year, Punxsutawny Phil emerged from his burrow to see his shadow, meaning we have six more weeks of winter in store.

Shadow or not, I am over this winter and its cold temperatures with record snowfall. Done. No more, please.

Of course, what Groundhog Day used to mean has changed in modern-day nomenclature.

Today, it’s used as a reference to something repeating over and over. Unchanged. Coming from the 1993 movie starring Bill Murray and Andie McDowell, the reference, as it applies to radio, would be how we keep doing the same thing over and over without change. We expect radio to have a resurgence, but we do nothing to make that reality. We brag that radio is well, when we know that we’re not as healthy as we once were.

When one closely examines radio and its history, there have been very few changes since the launch of the format that was once known as Top 40.

That was a seismic shift that happened more than 70 years ago. Album Oriented Rock was another. That happened more than 55 years ago. While talk radio existed before Rush Limbaugh became a nationally syndicated host, he is acknowledged as the talent whose show brought an audience back to the AM while creating a genre known for its focus on politics. That was nearly 40 years ago. The average broadcaster, let along the average listener, would be hard pressed to identify new formats that have been launched in recent years.

In reality, there have been a few variations of existing formats, like Adult Variety (think “Jack”), and we are seeing growth for Contemporary Christian Music formats as they splinter into AC, Rock, and Hits. iHeart’s launch of the Black Information Network a couple of years ago has spawned a new approach to talk. The Bilingual format is performing well in pockets like Miami, Orlando, Houston, and is new to New York and Las Vegas. But very little in recent years to create a seismic shift in content.

Maybe my desire for a new approach is futile.

When radio was in its “good ole’ days,” there was only Radio & TV, Newspapers, and Magazines. That was it. When I speak to friends of a certain generation, they brag about the once huge listening audiences of legacy media. There’s seldom acknowledgment that the level of competition today is greatly magnified because of technological, social, and familial changes. Entertainment and information are portable and on demand. Radio isn’t just competing with radio today. It’s competing with everything.

But so are our competitors.

Television is facing an even greater challenge than radio. In some case they’re being attacked by their own network partners who have all launched streaming services. They’re moving more and more compelling content to those platforms. There is a new focus on Sports content. That’s one thing that attracts viewers and listeners. Radio was ahead of television in recognizing the value of sports. Radio has it tough, but not like Television.

A dissection of what could be a possible lifeline would necessitate a willingness to change and break away from “Groundhog Day” behavior. We must first realize that audio listeners today curate their own experience. That means that radio content has to be everywhere. Over the air (OTA), Online, On Demand, On Podcasts, and mobile by being on apps. Not just a landing page for an app. Apps that are high-tech and enable live, on-demand, and rewind. Provide unique streams. Information and communication between the listener and the talent. Looking to the future … the ability to skip songs.

The changes in technology enable radio to be more than one platform. Technology enables radio to capture first-party data, be a marketing machine on all of its platforms, and to live in the center stack of the car. Technology also allows for the downsizing of space, broadcasting from remote locations, and sharing content across regions and a nation.

Smart speakers put radio back in the home and in the workplace. Which is a great opportunity for the medium, but too few have balanced audio levels, created glitch-free transitions, missed the opportunity to have a gateway welcome and advertisement, and allowed their digital inventory to be wasted. As a result, the ignorance of how digital can work, radio has downgraded the listening experience.

Perfect sound quality should be the standard. Not the exception. Generating revenue should be a central purpose, but not at the expense of losing an audience. Market and message wisely.

Digital delivery is nearly equal to OTA listening. The same can be said for those who have not considered the opportunities available to radio with the Connected Car. Quu is one example of a company that is enhancing the in-car radio experience for advertisers and listeners by employing the senses of sound and sight. Xperi is gathering incredible information using its DTS platform.

The validity of such services as Quu and Xperi offers is already being widely acknowledged and generating revenue.

The metrics exist for broadcasters to capture audience measurement on many platforms and listening locations. If you owned a TV station and you simulcast a radio show, wouldn’t you look at the location where the message was received and use those numbers in pitching a client? Why can’t they be combined? Who listens to the radio and a podcast at the same time? Why can’t the locations and the delivery platforms be shown individually and collectively?

My perception is that too few in radio are focusing on being a multiplatform product.

There are other businesses whose success is dependent on delivery that are more committed to perfection than radio. That concerns me because I believe in radio and its reach. It’s not enough to be “good enough.” Content has to be at a higher level. Be that investing in local personalities, using great syndication, or talent who know how to maximize voice-tracking. Radio is being judged today against media that you can’t ignore.

Like the movie Groundhog Day, we continue to live the same day every day, expecting a different outcome. Where are those that will leave their burrow without fear of seeing their shadow?