Since 2010, Radiodays Europe has been one of the most-admired radio conferences worldwide. The Radiodays brand has been extended to both Asia and Africa. Several years ago, veteran Canadian broadcast executive Ross Davies returned from RDE impressed by its positivity and excitement about the radio business, at a time when those commodities were challenged among North American broadcasters.
Last October, Canadian Music Week — which has become that country’s equivalent of South by Southwest — announced that its adjunct radio conference would become Radiodays North America, with an expanded focus on radio’s international success stories. The first RDNA will be held June 8-9 at Toronto’s Westin Harbour Castle hotel. Over the next eight issues, Ross on Radio will preview the RDNA agenda as part of our Road to Radiodays North America coverage.
This year’s Radiodays Europe, held last month in Prague, was RDE’s third post-COVID gathering, and by all accounts its biggest since. Attendees were clear-eyed about radio’s challenges, but the excitement about the business that Davies noted was evident. It was also the busiest hallway I’d had to negotiate at a radio convention in recent memory, a rush unto itself. RDE’s radio promotions session is recapped here. You can also see the conference tweeted in real time here. I’m looking forward to seeing that translate to the North American gathering.
Some of RDNA’s initial sessions are still taking shape, but there are already enough speakers and panels announced that I’ll be sharing the highlights with you over the next few weeks, along with more typical Ross on Radio columns previewing some of the topics to be discussed. Futuri CEO Daniel Anstandig is the conference’s opening keynoter, in conversation with Broadcast Dialogue’s Connie Thiessen. Anstandig also spoke at RDE, but by June, Futuri’s initial AI-driven RadioGPT launches will be on the air at Canada’s Rogers Media stations (as well as Alpha Media here), and developments in AI are evolving minute-by-minute.
Here are some of the other already-announced highlights (descriptions are mine except when quoted directly from the panel summaries):
Navigating PPM: What We’ve Learned: After 15 years, both American and Canadian programmers are still trying to make sense of metered-audience measurement. Edison Research’s Larry Rosin moderates a panel that also features Coleman’s Warren Kurtzman, iHeart Radio Canada’s Sarah Cummings, Rogers’ Christian Hall, radio coach Angela Perelli, and Audacy’s Chris Ebbott, whose KRTH (K-Earth 101) Los Angeles has been one of PPM’s most indisputable success stories.
Radio: Can You Handle the Truth? “In the always-on/on-demand digital era, radio is going to have to evolve into something more and greater to compete and stay relevant. Can the industry do it? Does it have the imagination to make it happen? Where will talent come from? How will it be distributed?” Those “life and death questions” will be tackled by moderator Alan Cross, veteran researcher John Parikhal, author/broadcast trainer Valerie Geller, and CBC News GM Susan Marjetti.
Where is Local Radio Going? The Path Forward: This panel is focused on the increased competition for radio’s local-news and information franchises, but has relevance for all formats, as radio looks to localism as a point of differentiation. Fred Jacobs moderates a panel that includes WTOP Washington, D.C.’s Julia Zigler, the CBC’s Iris Udai, and City Cast’s David Plotz.
Carolina in Conversation: UK-based radio consultant/veteran programmer John Simons interviews Carolina Bermudez, co-host of the Carolina with Greg T in the Morning Show at New York’s WKTU.
The View from Australia: Part of Davies’ mission for RDNA was to expose broadcasters to “knowledge and insights” from international radio. ARN’s KIIS 106.5 Sydney is home to one of the world’s most successful morning shows, Kyle & Jackie O. ARN’s portfolio contains everything from the recently launched national youth-targeted Hip-Hop network CADA to the first TikTok radio venture to some of the world’s most successful Classic Hits stations, including one still winning on AM. ARN Chief Content Officer Duncan Campbell will be interviewed by Stingray Radio’s Josie Fenech.
Look for more panel highlights in next week’s Ross on Radio. Full details are available here.
