Leighton Williams, Staff Reporter
AT THE beginning of 1989 there were limited choices for radio listeners in Jamaica, with Radio Jamaica Rediffusion's (RJR) AM and FM stations, as well as the Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation's (JBC) equivalents, being available nationwide.
Thirteen years later there are 10 national radio stations and two which are community based, with three more national stations scheduled to come on-stream in the near future.
Recently two stations have come on-stream in the form of KOOL 97 FM and Radio Mona, with ZIP 103 FM scheduled to join them soon. While 13 stations in a market of 2 million persons may seem too many, the new stations are confident they can hold their own.
"I'm confident about that (surviving in the competitive environment), but it's difficult. It's a confidence that recognises the difficulty of the thing. Not only are we starting at number 10, but we are talking about six new licences that have been approved," explained Rosamund Brown, station manager of KOOL FM.
She added: "So when you put 16 radio stations together in a competitive environment, all of us cannot succeed. You have to make sure it is not us (that fails). The possibility of a music radio doing well in a Jamaican advertising context it is very possible, simply because our rates are cheaper than talk radio and we have more numbers for the most part," she said. Currently KOOL FM, which started operations in November last year, has targeted the 27 to 55 year-old section of the market with its variety in music. It plays a roughly 40 per cent minimum of local music. The station, which is owned by Aerotel, broadcasts flight schedules on an hourly basis.
"The idea for the station came about because of the core business of Aerotel, providing communications services between air traffic control and all airlines arriving and departing in Jamaica," said Rosamund Brown.
In 1999, Aerotel received a license to broadcast flight information and road conditions continuously throughout Jamaica. Last year that license was modified to include commercial broadcasting, with the promise by the station that would it continue to broadcast flight information and to promote Jamaica as a tourist destination.
KOOL has no news, no public opinion talk shows and there will be no political advertising on the station in view of its government owners.
However, KOOL FM is not the only new station on the airwaves which is confident of surviving. Brian Schmidt, marketing manager of IRIE FM and ZIP FM, points out that his station will do well since they have a solid plan and strategy coming into the market.
"We wouldn't be doing it if we feel we couldn't do well. We have a solid plan and there's too much investment in it for us not to be confident," he pointed out.
The plans for ZIP FM's format are a closely guarded secret, with Schmidt unwilling to part with any information. He would only say that the "proof of the station will be in its listening".
For their part, the management team at Radio Mona has also expressed confidence that they can do well. Station manager Michael Anthony Cuffe is sure that his station will also do well. The station, which is owned by the University of the West Indies (UWI), has been in operation for over a year.
Niche-based
Cuffe pointed out that the station had carved out its niche based on the needs in the market place. He noted that the programmes on the station are for the "discriminating listener who is interested in hearing programming not heard on Jamaican radio, where any listener from any sector of the Jamaican society who wants to grow their minds can come to".
Radio Mona, which is non-commercial, can be found on the 93 FM band and will operate on the three basic tenets of radio, which are to inform, educate and entertain. There is no spot advertising; rather, the programmes on the station are owned by advertisers in the sense that they will be the only businesses mentioned during that programme.
The radio stations have been heading in the direction of niche marketing (targetting a specialised but profitable area of the market) and psychologist Leahcim Semaj, who has done research in drive-time listenership trends, agrees with the idea.
"It should be about market share and advertising, since the question now is about what size of the market can sustain a station," he said.
The psychologist pointed out that in his latest survey, conducted in March, pointed out that no one station had the majority of listeners during drive time, since most persons had their radio off and were playing CDs or cassettes.
However, he pointed out that the music stations' listenership was trending up. He said that talk, which was the popular choice of listeners during drive time, was trending down since people were tuning out the negativity that talk shows currently offer.
He explained, however, that while KOOL FM had now provided more variety in afternoon music, a station offering variety in talk could do well.
Talk radio fills hours of airtime. While there is not an 'all talk' station (yet), RJR's station group, Hot 102, Power 106, KLAS and even all-reggae IRIE FM devote several hours a day to talk shows.
Even more than music DJs, talk show hosts can be a 'franchise element' on a radio station. KLAS lost a considerable following when the Breakfast Club, Perkins Online and Nationwide all defected to HOT 102. However, in the course of this year, Perkins Online and Nationwide have defected to Power 106, as that station positions itself as a powerhouse in talk radio.
Still, none of the current new stations have gone into the 100 per cent talk programming format. They have also opted not to follow the radio trends of the 1980s where radio was all things to all people. Instead, they are carving out their own share - niche marketing had become the buzz word.
"It's not about broadcasting anymore. It's about narrowcasting and establishing a direction and holding your own. It's about being true to your market," said Cuffe.
Brown agrees with Cuffe and points out that as long as KOOL can get its message across through dynamic marketing, she is confident that they will survive, since they are targeting a market of people with disposable income.
Still, all the stations have different objectives they would like to meet in the near but testing future.
"In another two years we would like to look at the number four position. We ultimately want to be number one, but that's going to take eight to 10 years," said Ms. Brown.
Mr. Cuffe, however, has different plans in terms of the near future and one objective is to solidify their market position.
"Our biggest challenge is to give it (Radio Mona) a greater presence in the market place. Once we have established ourselves, we will take it from there. However, the reception for us has been tremendous so far," he said.
