FoME Symposium 2014: Audience research in media development Making media markets work: Emerging experience in Nepal 7 th November 2014 Gavin Anderson Development.

FoME Symposium 2014: Audience research in media development

Making media markets work: Emerging experience in Nepal

7th November 2014

Gavin AndersonDevelopment consultant

[email protected]

Audience research

Purpose Key outcomes

Global level research

Macro level policy ?

National level research - all media (ongoing)

Understanding media habits at a national level

Influencing advertising and communication revenue flows: both +ve and –ve

Potentially levelling the competitive playing field (transparency)

Influencing investment in media and content.

Reducing corruption

Media house level research (ongoing)

Understanding a media house’s audience.

Quality control within media houses

Product development within media houses

Influencing media content and content mix

Influencing internal investment in media and content

Development/donor level research (occasional)

Donor/ development policy Intervention strategy

development

Influencing donor communication and media development strategies,

Influencing donor investment. Impact assessment

Samarth- NMDP (Nepal market Development Project)

• 5 year DFID funded Programme

• Rural income-poverty reduction programme

• Primarily focused on agricultural and rural small business development

Why media development?

Nepal

A large and diverse media industry in Nepal

~ 370 radio stations

~28 TV stations

~ 400+ daily publications

~2000+ weekly publications

Population : 31 million

Non Urban population: 82.7%

Literacy: 60.3%

HDI ranking: 145/187

Usage of media / information channels: Rural

Preferred media channel for agricultural information

Radio TVSM

S

print/n

ewspaper

Inte

rnet

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

3rd preference

2nd preference

1st preference

Radio: A sector in crisis

• 4 in 10 radio stations reported reduced profitability over the past 5 years

• More than half of stations had reduced staff numbers in the past 5 years with an average reduction of 14 staff

• More than half of all radio stations believe radio is not a profitable sector to be in.

• More than two thirds of stations believe that their profitability will decrease in the next 5 years

• 43% of commercial radio stations believe that it is likely or possible that they will close down in the next 5 years.

Impacting on quality of radio content

Journalism in existing agricultural / business radio programmes

Field based Issue based Multiply and appropriately

sourced

Balanced Investigative with follow up

Total0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

41%

34% 34%

19%

16%

29%

25%

40%

23%

8%

15%

19%

Commercial Community

Advertising Expenditure in Nepal: small for the size of the economy

Nepal Sri Lanka Uganda

Ad expenditure (2010-11)

$43.4 million $416.8 million $178.3 million

Population 31.0 million 21.2 million 35.6million

GNI per capita $ 1,137 $ 5,170 $1,168

GDP- economy $ 18.96 billion $ 59.42 billion $ 20.03billion

Ad Ex / GDP 0.23% 0.70% 0.89%

050

100150200250300350400450Million

US$

Nepal Sri Lanka Uganda

Advertising expenditure comparison

Print TV Radio Other0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

47.0%

20.0%17.0% 16.0%

22.7%

16.9%

58.8%

1.6%

NepalUganda

$0

$20,000,000

$40,000,000

$60,000,000

$80,000,000

$100,000,000

$120,000,000

NepalUganda

Proportion of income

Actual income to radio

Why is audience research important?

A large and diverse media industry in Nepal

~ 370 radio stations

~28 TV stations

~ 400+ daily publications

~2000+ weekly publications

Emerging media – internet, mobile phone channels etc.

?Advertisers/

communicators- Which media should I use to

reach...?

?Media

- How can I prove that I am better than the

rest?

uncertainty

Lower advertising spend generallyLower advertising spend on local broadcasters in particular

Inability for media to compete transparentlyIncreased corruption in advertising markets

The winners and losers of this lack of transparency

Mainly losers But some winners

• The media overall (most media)

• Non-urban media (local media)

• Smaller media houses

• Broadcast media

• Advertisers / communicators

• National broadcasters

• Network broadcasters

• National print media (high

circulation)

• Corrupt marketing staff

/agencies

• Direct marketing

Samarth NMDP: rationale

Income for the rural poor

Need for information

Need for advocacy platforms

Media Development

- Primary focus: local radio

• Lack of and poor quality of existing info channels

Audience research • Need to increase revenue to local radio to increase potential for improved programming

• Importance of radio to rural poor• Demand for local information• Need for mass information

Paul Haupt – Feasibility study into restarting audience research in Nepal