Amazing Radio disappears from DAB
Follow @mediaukdiscuss
James Cridland posted on Tuesday 15th May 2012 at 16:18Amazing Radio, the new music station, has unexpectedly disappeared from DAB Digital Radio. There’s still a “station” called Amazing there, but it’s a placeholder containing other content.
Writing a blog post on the website, Paul Campbell, the boss, writes:
But we’ve got into a barney with the people who own the transmitter network. It’s about money. ‘Nuff said.
Bad news for the radio industry? Was Amazing too niche for mass-market broadcasting? Is it a service that belongs online? Is it a service that, dare I say it – needs a skip button?
It’s a shame to see this service disappear from DAB digital radio – it was good to communicate how different digital radio was, and how much additional choice it adds. It will be missed by those of us who like additional choice: though we don’t know, of course, how many listeners will miss the service. Shame: since I heard it was going on RAJAR soon.
A shame considering that when Digital One was left with the existing national analogue stations, they took the risk and went on the platform.
However, considering the way people listen to unsigned artists, continuing as an online only station may be the way forward.
It’s amazing (no pun intended) how their business has evolved and will continue if Paul Campbell’s blog is to go by.
Either that or they have upped the price of the slot to an extent that they can’t afford it anymore?
I don’t get the ‘if they can’t make it work’ argument. They were running their station in a very non-traditional way, no ads and trying to fund it from a different part of their business (seemingly their instore arm). They were also a station playing predominantly unfamilar music.
I’m very pleased they were on DAB and ploughing their own furrow, doing something different – but it could be argued that their funding and format added some extra difficulties. They were right in trying to look at the funding differently though.
Launching a radio station on any broadcast platform – FM, DAB, Sky etc – is an expensive business – from infrastructure, staff to the transmission bill. I don’t think it’s uniquely a DAB issue.
To use Fun Kids as an example – the radio station is a profitable part of our business. We’re on London DAB, online etc. DAB provides the vast majority of our listening – we wouldn’t be able to support ourselves based on the volume of IP listening.
Part of the reason Fun works is that we keep a tight rein on costs, produce it in a very non-traditional way and have a number of different revenue streams.
For new startup stations you can’t just look at how the big boys generate revenue and assume you can do the same. The agency model does not work well for new, small stations. Low CPTs and low audiences mean you do have to think differently.
They’re currently broadcasting to 27 people online (source), suggesting that there wasn’t an especially large loyal audience out there, or at least one that scrambled to find them when the DAB feed went silent.
It’s a tough economic climate and while I believe Amazing Radio had good financial backers (and a lot of money was clearly put into the station), I did see this coming. Unsigned music radio is just something that, I’m afraid, is difficult to see work on a national scale – There’s some great unsigned music, but there’s some dross too, and judging from my Twitter feed they often had the same bands from the local area in repeatedly.
For me, unsigned profiling is much better suited to smaller, specialist programmes on broader radio stations, or an on-demand service such as a podcast.
You got to love unsecured streaming ports
I wonder what will hppen to that slot? Smooth get an increase? maybe Real Radio going national?
It could be that the main player stream is a different stream to Shoutcast so maybe only Amazing will know how many listeners are online.
It could be that the main player stream is a different stream to Shoutcast so maybe only Amazing will know how many listeners are online.
Denis – a quick view-source on the Amazing Radio radioplayer reveals radioplayer.emp.flashvars.url = ‘http://stream.amazingradio.co.uk:8000/;stream.nsv’; so it would appear that it does use that server.
On the player used on their website, the code also says getplayer().load( { file: “http://stream.amazingradio.co.uk:8000/;stream.nsv”, provider: “sound” } ); so that looks fairly conclusive!
Was the national service the only ‘ofcom regulated’ broadcast? does that mean they have to move off radio player?
I am surprised that they have not gone for a couple of regional DAB to cover the areas they are more involved with.. (and also stay on radioplayer etc)
You can use an account you already have, or register. More info
By logging in, you are consenting to a cookie that personally identifies you to us. Here's more about our cookies.
I think it’s a real shame for them to leave the platform… their business model (aside from the DAB costs) was very interesting..
My worry is if they cant make it work.. can anyone?
It does also beg questions over DAB operation, I know they have to make profit, but surely more stations = better DAB growth = long term commercial success for all. I have always questioned (and it might sound a bit Marxist) that DAB broadcasters dont own their means of broadcast so have limited control.