The BBC’s Tim Davie opened RADIODAYS EUROPE

400 participants from 35 countries are attending the new international conference RADI0DAYS EUROPE, which was opened in Copenhagen today. The conference is the place for European public service and commercial radio to meet and discuss the challenges facing the radio industry and the future of radio.

In the opening keynote, Tim Davie, Director of BBC Audio and Music, delivered his views on the future of radio. 

- I could talk about the strong position of radio in the UK and the BBC’s stable listening share, but there are some worrying signs. The question is whether we are growing, whether we are known for innovation and for driving the market, said Tim Davie.

Tim Davie emphasised the importance of building a creative contribution, “a relationship with audio” and the necessity of much faster digital innovation for the radio industry. Radio has to go digital, he said.

− The idea of radio without a digital platform scares the hell out of me. But it’s not about technical distribution; it’s creative and appealing content that will attract listeners.

Tim Davie talked about the need for public service and commercial radio to find ways of cooperating and showed the new joint industry UK Radioplayer, which will be launched later this spring.

Radiodays Europe was opened by Raina Konstantinova, Director of EBU Radio (the European Broadcasting Union), representing the public service broadcasters, and by Alfonso Ruiz de Assin, Chariman of AER (Association of European Radios), representing 5 000 commercial radio stations. They both embraced the idea of the conference as the new European meeting point for the radio industry.

Radiodays Europe continues until Friday 19 March. The programme offers 40 sessions in two days addressing diverse topics such as strategy, programme development and the challenges on the commercial market.