This week's Joint National Listenership Research/MRBI figures won't have caused too many changes to radio rate cards, but at least the stations in the survey will be able to sell on the back of the new listenership data.
Lite FM isn't so fortunate. The station, which began broadcasting in Dublin in May, is too new to make it into the survey. This leaves it in the increasingly difficult position of selling without figures - and it's a hard sell. "Agencies don't go with gut feeling any more" says Mr Block, Lite FM's managing director. "We have our own tracking figures which prove that we're on the right track, but it won't be until October when we have some meaningful figures to show the agencies." How convincing those figures turn out to be is also open to question. The October JNLR/MRBI figures are topline "listened yesterday" figures covering the period from April to September, but they won't show market share.
Mr Block is typically bullish about what the more complete figures will show When they come out in February. Last year, RTE was pleased when its new station, Lyric FM, showed it had gained a 2 per cent market share and a 5 per cent "listened yesterday" rating. Mr Block says that he would be "very disappointed" with similar figures. "We are confident that we can deliver 10 per cent in the first year," he says.
However, that would seem to be very optimistic, at least in the short term. One media planner suggests that a 1 per cent share of the total audience and a 3 or 4 per cent share of the over-35s are more likely figures. The one figure Mr Block can definitely sell to the agencies is awareness of Lite FM's existence. He says that its own research shows there is a 50 per cent awareness of the station among the target audience of Dubliners aged 35-54.
That's as a direct result of the station's extensive advertising, which is due for a second burst starting next week. The station has an advertising budget of £1 million for its first year - £500,000 of this was spent on the launch and a further £200,000 will be spent on the next phase. The importance attached to advertising and marketing a new radio station is clear when you consider that the total capital investment in Lite FM is £2 million.
Timing would seem to be equally important. Lite FM's experience of the difficult time-lapse between opening date and the availability of audited figures is something that the new independent radio licence holders might bear in mind if they ever get close to getting on air.
