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NZ Herald 8 June, 2025<\/p>\n
I learned something about RNZ the other night that could have saved a lot of time and effort in audience surveys.<\/p>\n
The bloke on the street isn\u2019t listening to them. Worse than that, this particular bloke on that particular street hasn\u2019t even heard of them.<\/p>\n
As it happened, I was out for a drink that night with a radio host. I\u2019ve known them for a while; I\u2019ve even popped up on their show a few times over the years giving expert reckonings on everything from advertising to aviation.<\/p>\n
We were sitting outside, so when my old mate Keith and his partner walked past, they spotted us and invited themselves to sit down.<\/p>\n
Keith\u2019s an interesting guy. As well as an importing business that seems to run itself, he installs pool fences.<\/p>\n
Now, you might think this is a bit niche, but he\u2019s gotten very good at it, so he and his crews have become a go-to business when someone is installing a new pool or getting one refenced. He\u2019s busy, he employs people and he pays a bunch of tax.<\/p>\n
I thought he might recognise the radio host I was having a beer with, so was a bit light on the introductions, which led Keith to ask what he did for a living.<\/p>\n
\u201cI work in radio,\u201d came the modest answer.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, that\u2019s interesting,\u201d Keith and his partner replied.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat station?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRNZ.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at Keith, hoping to read on his face that my being out for a drink with a high-profile host from our national broadcaster reflected pretty well on my own personal coolness. Not a bit.<\/p>\n
Keith, it turns out, hadn\u2019t heard of RNZ, even when it was spelled out for him. He\u2019d heard of the BBC, though, so when the idea of a state radio broadcaster was explained he got the idea.<\/p>\n
In a lot of ways, Keith is like me. Mid-50s, P\u0101keh\u0101 business owner living in Auckland, likes to go out for a drink on Karangahape Rd. Like mine, his business pays plenty of tax and a chunk of that presumably makes its way to fund RNZ. Unlike me, he doesn\u2019t get anything back for it.<\/p>\n
RNZ is trusted, relevant and popular with people like me. People who live in nice-but-not-too-nice suburbs (okay, I\u2019ll say it: Point Chevalier). People with a liberal world view and probably a university education. People who are into Teslas, Te Radar and Te Reo.<\/p>\n
But what about the rest of New Zealand? What about Keith?<\/p>\n
Why should being a bit blue collar, a bit right of centre, a bit rugby, racing and beer mean he misses out?<\/p>\n
Of course, Keith isn\u2019t missing out on radio entirely. He\u2019s part of its large and surprisingly growing audience across almost every minute of his working day. He listens to Hauraki. He listens to The Breeze. And like an enormous and growing number of New Zealanders, he listens to Newstalk ZB. He\u2019s not tuning in to RNZ, though, because it\u2019s not for him \u2013 even if he\u2019d heard of it.<\/p>\n
Which is fine, except Keith, like every other taxpayer, is paying for it.<\/p>\n
He deserves something back. Somewhere among the stuff that people like me love, among the interviews with novelists, the theatre reviews, the politics and science podcasts, the repurposed BBC shows, the media analysis and wall to wall Womad weekends, he deserves something that he and his crew can listen to when they\u2019re stuck in traffic on their way to installing pool fences in suburbs that are hardly ever Point Chevalier.<\/p>\n
THE FACTS<\/strong><\/p>\n RNZ National\u2019s radio audience has fallen to its lowest number in more than five years, according to figures released in May.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/li>\n GFK data showed RNZ had a cumulative audience of 467,700 \u2013 down 21,900, or 4.5%, since November 2024.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/li>\n RNZ, which once led the market, was eighth based on cumulative audience.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n