De-monopolizing Finland: the changing contents of Finnish commercial and public radio stations, 19802005

Abstract

This article examines the transition from a public service radio monopoly to a more liberal and diverse radio culture in Finland. In addition, the Zeitgeist of local radio culture and a theoretical framework for three separate stages of Finnish radio between 1980 and 2005 is presented. We argue that considerable changes can be discerned in the radio content, which had a distinct impact on the use of music and the way of speaking on radio programmes. The changes are studied mainly from the perspective of broadcasting rock music, its reception among young audiences and the ensuing public discussion. Two key commercial radio stations are discussed, likewise the change in their content towards a streamlined, American-style format radio. The current radioscape is assessed from the perspectives of commercial and public service radio.

Public service hit radio? Playlists and product differentiation in the competition for listeners

“…In the 1960s, it replied to the hit programming of the pirate stations by increasing the supply of light music and establishing programming slots named Sävelradio (Melody Radio). In the 1980s, YLE gratified the growing demand by starting Rockradio, a set of daily programmes that increased the music offerings for youth (Kemppainen 2010;Kurkela and Uimonen 2009;Vilkko 2010).…”

“…On one hand, both individuality and locality ruled; on the other hand, the socalled Suomi-rock, a national popular music style that became mainstream, blurred the boundaries between rock and pop, which meant that the same songs could be aired by very different stations (Tuominen 1993). However, in the 1990s, local stations started to form chains or were taken over by bigger stations, resulting in a corporate-based, strictly formatted commercial radio quality culture with playlists and rotation clocks (Ala-Fossi 2005; Kurkela and Uimonen 2009;Uimonen 2010). Kiss FM and Radio Energy, in particular, gave wings to the progress of formatted music radio when they, in 1995, obtained licences for their semi-national programming and expanded quickly into major urban areas.…”

“…Kiss FM and Radio Energy, in particular, gave wings to the progress of formatted music radio when they, in 1995, obtained licences for their semi-national programming and expanded quickly into major urban areas. The playlist procedure was also strongly promoted by the international Scandinavian Broadcasting System (SBS), which by 1996 had acquired major stations in major cities, as well as Radio Nova, the first truly national commercial station (Ala-Fossi 2005; Kurkela and Uimonen 2009;Uimonen 2010;Vilkko 2010).…”

“…Since 2000, concentration and internationalization of the radio business into the hands of big players (Sanoma Media, NRJ Group, Bonnier/MTV, SBS Discovery and, more recently, Bauer Media) has continued, and commercial stations such as Energy and The Voice have expanded their reach to become national. In 2003, YLE replied to the standardization of radio music by implementing a further reform of channels in which Yle Radio 1 and Yle Radio Suomi remained almost unchanged, but which saw Radiomafia replaced by YleX, a new station that aimed to serve as a hit-oriented youth channel (Kurkela and Uimonen 2009;Vilkko 2010). Consequently, competition within the industry has intensified, coinciding with a slight downturn in radio listening (Finnpanel 2015).…”

“…This is perhaps due to the strong position of public service radio, but also because small radio stations in small markets tend to copy each other's success recipes and slide towards a wider scope of music (Turner 1993). Even though we have tended to consider formats as an ideology of commercial activities, they have increasingly ruled all Finnish radio actions since the early 1990s (Ala-Fossi 2005; Kurkela and Uimonen 2009;Uimonen 2010;Vilkko 2010). Similar to the United States, radio licences in Finland too are categorized by the target group and the format.…”