For the first time since the launch of QUB radio in October 2018, Quebecor recently revealed an audience figure for its digital radio: 1.3 million listeners from Quebec tuned to QUB during a three-month period in the spring. “Very impressive” figures, said Jean-Nicolas Gagné, general manager of QUB radio, earlier this month, “good results comparable to many radios in Quebec”. However, it is difficult to make a real comparison, because Quebecor does not give the most important figure in radio: the number of hours of listening per week, which makes it possible to calculate market shares, the key data on which the market is based. advertising.
Published on 25 June 2020 at 700
La Presse
“The real measure is listening hours,” said Luc Tremblay, vice president, marketing of digital platforms at Cogeco Media, a competitor to QUB. If they [QUB radio] have not turned on the volume, we can presume that it is not interesting. ” Cogeco Media holds among others the 98, 5 FM, CKOI, Rhythm and Radio Circulation.
Here is an example to distinguish the listening range and total listening. Radio Circulation (approximately 900 00 unique listeners over three months) has a greater reach than ICI Première (824 000 single auditors over three months). But listeners listen to ICI Première much more often and much longer: ICI Première (3.4 million hours of listening per week) is 29 more listened to than Radio Circulation (119 000 hours of listening per week) note 1 .
QUB eighth on 10 in radio range?
In radio range, QUB radio would rank, with its figure of 1.3 million listeners over three months, eighth on 10 French radio stations in the region of Montreal (the comparison is not perfect, since the QUB radio figure includes all listeners in Quebec). QUB radio is available on four platforms: the web, its application, TV on Club Illico and virtual personal assistants.
But there is a but: Quebecor does not want to specify if its figure of 1.3 million does indeed represent unique listeners (as does the rest of the industry with polls from Numeris). Quebecor did not answer this specific question from La Presse and declined our interview request.
PRESS INFOGRAPHY
In its message intended for the general public, QUB radio speaks “[d’] listeners who have tuned QUB radio throughout Quebec” between the 24 February and 24 May, the period of Numeris radio polls .
“We don't know what this 1.3 million is made of. To compare, everyone [à la radio] must be evaluated independently [par Numeris], “says Professor Bernard Motulsky, holder of the Chair of Public Relations and Marketing Communication at UQAM.
Rather than having used Numeris, QUB radio indicates that it has used the services of Webcast Metrics, Podcast Metrics and Triton Digital. Quebecor did not want to indicate to La Presse if QUB radio was a partner of the firm Numeris.
PRESS INFOGRAPHY
Another detail: Quebecor has chosen to reveal a listening range figure over three months (13 weeks), while the radio industry usually broadcasts broadband listen over a week. To compare QUB with other radios, La Presse requested other radio stations' listening range data for this unusual period of 13 weeks.
Digital listening, a “heavy trend”
At Radio-Canada, digital live radio represents 10% of total live viewing of ICI Première, up three percentage points from six months (Radio-Canada does not reveal its catch-up digital listening figures.) On Ici Musique, the digital share increased from 2% to 12% of total audience live for one year.
The popularity of digital radio prompted Radio-Canada to launch its new digital application last November, OHdio , and to increase its podcast offer. “There has been a shift in listening from 10 years [de la radio traditionnelle vers la radio numérique] “, says Caroline Jamet, Director General Radio, Audio and Greater Montreal, at Radio-Canada.
Digital listening represents approximately 15% of total audience ratings of 98, 5 FM (Cogeco) in Montreal.
“Digital listening is a big trend. More and more people are listening to the radio on their phone or computer, “said Luc Tremblay of Cogeco Media, which wants to expand its digital radio offering in the fall.
The “Netflix” of audio?
In this context, Quebecor wants to become the “Netflix of audio for Quebecers”, said Jean-Nicolas Gagné, general manager of QUB radio. Quebecor launched QUB Music, its music streaming platform that competes with Spotify, last spring.
For the moment, QUB radio cannot be considered a “dominant player” in radio despite Quebecor's strike force, according to Professor Bernard Motulsky. “He is a significant player, but he is not yet dominant. His first challenge was to seek out an audience other than confidential, that seems certain. He enters [maintenant] in the major radio leagues, a fairly competitive world, ”he says.
Note 1: As the programming of Radio Circulation was interrupted during COVID – 19, Radio Circulation's listening figures are rather those of autumn 2019.
Why digital radio?
If Quebecor chose digital radio, it is mainly because the policies of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) prohibit it from having a radio station in Montreal and in Quebec. A single business can only own two of the following three media in a city: a daily newspaper, a mainstream TV station and a radio station. Quebecor already has a daily newspaper ( Le Journal de Montréal, Le Journal de Québec) e t a TV station (TVA) in Montreal and Quebec.