Investigation on radio and tv in Sweden is ready

Radio och TV-verket has released their report on digital radio. It is not one of the best reports I have seen. In fact it is not good at all.

I also think that Swedish Radio misses the point in their comment on the investigation. They are not the ones that should choose how their listeners get the material. The listeners are the ones that already choose. Over Internet, podradio (offline often), over Internet on their computer, using FM in their car. If they want to listen over the Internet they should do that, if they want to use FM they should do that, if they want to use DAB+, they should do that. The Government or SR should NOT tell people how to listen to radio.

So, there are many things in this report that is broken:

  • Swedish Radio chooses how people should listen to radio, instead of the listeners choosing

  • One mechanism is to be used for distribution, when a multitude is needed to reach listeners

  • DAB+ is proposed when it is not tested in Sweden

  • DAB+ is proposed when we see DAB being a failure, also in other parts of Europe

  • Many radio channels will attract listeners, when I think multitude of distribution mechanisms and high quality (of content and distribution) is key

  • Only radio production companies have been asked to give input to the investigation, not much input from the listeners, so the investigation talk about what radio companies dream about instead of reality

  • The report talk about VMA, when VMA is discussed in other fora already, and use of SMS messaging as one of the important channels seems to be a more important path forward than radio- And more…this list will most certainly be updated. I hope that the really interesting investigation about Public Service that will be delivered shortly to the Government will point out at least some of these errors.

I am also today interviewed by Swedish Radio about the proposal to move to DAB+. The summary of the interview is not wrong, but does not tell the whole story. I am not really saying that DAB+ is an old technology. But saying that we should have one distribution mechanism is old thinking. We can not throw away all the FM receivers we have. FM will be the main distribution mechanism for many many many years more. We can work on updating FM, and, as listeners choose other ways of getting the material from Public Service like SR, public service MUST start understanding the listener and viewer is in control. To keep the audience, public service must exist everywhere. On all platforms. Not only one.

Updated: Jonas asks whether I am not simplifying. That one would stay on one platform only if one never change. The problem I have is that first of all, the investigation seems to look for what the value of B is when one change from platform A (FM) to platform B (something else than FM). This is for me a wrong view. Because the listener choose what platform they use to take part of the material, the change is instead of from A to B, from A to B AND C AND D. Secondly that if one is to change from A to B, one have to test many different values of B, and specifically test the value of B that one select. That has not been done. SR material ended up in DVB-T the same day the report was handed over to the government for example!