Radio as a beacon in the 21st century, as an element that keeps society informed and stable, as a main generator of content and as a source of talent. With this idea, the radio, a major conference of the cultural and creative sectors took place this Thursday in Madrid on the occasion of the Spanish EU Council Presidency in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture and Sport. The executive president of Prisa Media, the publishing group of EL PAÍS, Carlos Núñez, has highlighted radio as “the great space of dialogue in which all voices are heard and in which all voices listen to each other”. Where the facts are presented nakedly, they are analyzed from different perspectives and different opinions are compared.” The conference discussed not only the technical dimension of radio, but also its use as a means of communication and social function. It offers universal and free access to information, entertainment, sport, culture and music and is a social integration medium and daily companion for millions of people. In addition, his contribution to democratic sustainability was highlighted.
Radio has a high level of penetration in our society, a reality reflected in the data presented by the CEO of Prisa Media:
1. 31 million Spaniards listen to the radio every month: that’s 3 out of 4 people, a reach of 76%.
2. While music radio records over 20 million listeners every year, general radio this year achieved its best viewership record in two decades: 18.5 million monthly listeners.
3. Digital radio consumption has doubled in four years. This is even more true when we think about audio-on-demand products (podcasts).
Added to this is its effectiveness as an advertising medium and its ability to accompany us “at home, on public transport and at work”. In the car and while doing sports. “It informs us, it entertains us, it listens to us.” Nuñez has placed particular emphasis on the radio industry as a generator of cultural content, which, he assures, has always been the case: “If not, think about the contribution that Cadena SER has contributed to the market of audiovisual creativity with its commitment to voices such as those of Andreu Buenafuente, David Broncano or Manuel Burque, to name just a few contemporary examples. Or the “social network” of aspiring writers that emerged around the La Ventana short story competition. Or the crucial role that music radio, with Los40 as the undisputed market leader, played in the creation of a solid record market in Spain. Or the dozens of radio programs that become podcasts, and the podcasts that end up filling cinemas across Spain.”
The speech by the Executive President of Prisa Media followed the evolution of the medium, an ecosystem that is always attentive to the major changes in society and also to the revolutions in the medium and language. “Audio, whether in linear broadcasting or streaming via the various digital distribution channels or in on-demand consumption, has resolutely addressed the changing consumption habits of audio content. As the experience of Prisa Audio shows, which leads the streaming market in Spanish and is the second largest producer in the world, radio has evolved and knows how to take advantage of the new digital environment to become a major driver of innovation in the world to become audio industry. Information and entertainment.”
The event highlighted the fundamental role of radio as a major cultural and creative industry, recognized by multilateral and international organizations such as the United Nations, UNESCO, WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization), the European Union and the Ministry of Culture and Sport itself becomes. The event was also attended by prominent figures from WIPO, the Ministry of Culture and Sports, representatives of the European Parliament, scientists, lawyers and prominent members of the Spanish broadcasting and media sector.
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