Radio Consultant BCI: "We Are Looking for Better Answers Every Day"

Mr. Hördt, radio is facing growing competition from music streaming, podcasts, and social media and is finding it increasingly difficult to keep listeners tuned in. How much pressure is this putting on the decades-old concept of format radio?

Stefan Hördt: Radio used to have a unique added value for people. The whole block on the hour – news, weather, traffic – was exclusive content in its immediacy. Even the first smile in the morning didn't come via WhatsApp or Instagram. Or music: I heard 'Verdamp lang her' by BAP on the radio for the first time. Where else? So, yes – of course, radio has to change. If the immediate product advantage disappears, we have to come up with something so that people want to continue using this product because they no longer have to.

Radio used to be seen as a community medium and could claim to be a music authority. Today, TikTok, Instagram, and Spotify have taken these functions away from it. There are also countless influencers on the web, and news is everywhere. Why should people still listen to the radio?

Hördt: I don't agree with the thesis you put forward. TikTok or the influencer sector don't employ better people. They create content tailored to their bubble. It's much easier than radio. We create a mass medium and have to constantly look for compromises. And yet, there are countless reasons to listen to the radio.

Which ones?

Hördt: We all see the same things on social media all the time thanks to the algorithms. No surprise, no inspiration. Radio can change this and provide people with diverse offers. Radio has another advantage that is often seen as a disadvantage: it is a secondary medium. All the content on social media is a time waster, demands our direct attention and lulls us with more and more autoplays. With radio, I can continue to live my life. I get a good, perhaps not always perfect for me personally, but a good mix of music, news, local content and a personal connection. And all this while I can do something completely different. The idea of community still lives on in radio. The knowledge that you are part of a large group and not alone is still important. We also saw this in a BCI study for a young, urban station in 2022.

Access to special content is easier today

Social media and streaming services base their success with audiences and advertisers on the fact that they can offer personalized content. How should linear radio, which cannot do this, react to this development?

Hördt: Of course, radio can't defend itself against the fact that someone who wants to listen to something very specific right now will do so. But that has always been the case. When I wanted to listen to 'The Five Friends' as a child, it wasn't on the radio but on my radio play cassette, and 'Queen Live Killers' was played so often that my record player needed a new needle – there was no radio in my room for weeks. Now it's just much easier to access special content outside the home.

What conclusions should radio producers draw from this?

Hördt: We should freeze less like rabbits in front of snakes and instead work on ourselves so that people enjoy listening to our programs. What is enormously important here is the passion and persuasiveness of the presentation. We are still often quite clever about the content and a little too rarely about enthusiasm and enjoyment. That's why radio absolutely must continue to invest in its employees who can do just that. In group discussions with listeners, we notice time and again how great the personal connection is with presenters such as Simone Panteleit at Berliner Rundfunk, John Ment at Radio Hamburg, Wolfgang Leikermoser at Antenne Bayern, or Robert Kratky at Hitradio Ö3, to name just a few. This is the emotional glue that unites the different target groups. These personalities can still be built up today. Certainly a little differently than in the past, but the connection to people still has great power.

"Only a strong bond – with the brand and the people behind it – can save us"

Nevertheless, there is a threat of a generational break-off among young people, as figures from the ARD/ZDF Massenkommunikation study and Funkanalyse Bayern suggest. Do you still see ways in which this can be prevented?

Hördt: Radio has different product advantages today than in the past. But it does have product advantages. Of course, the music and the content generally have to be right for the respective target group. But that alone will not save us. The only thing that can save us is a bond – with the brand and the people who embody it.

BCI looks after many mainstream programs on private and public radio that are under pressure in the listener market. What responsibility does this entail for your consulting company with regard to the well-being of radio as a whole?

Hördt: At BCI, we are all radio makers with heart and soul. We love radio. We do a lot of studies. We work all over Europe, look at trends, listen to an incredible number of stations, and observe how people are communicating in general these days, what big brands are doing to connect with their target groups. We learn every day because we get to work with a lot of passionate people who think the same way we do. Our job is to help find the right balance of risk, innovation, and reliability. Yes, we have a responsibility towards radio as a media genre, but that is far too abstract. We also have a responsibility to the on-air promotion staff, the listener service staff – and not least to the listeners. That's why we look for better answers every day. We are confident! Radio is not a YouTube star or a podcast, nor should it pretend to be. We are radio. And that's great as it is!"