Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) Radio manages and operates three radio stations, ONE FM 91.3, UFM 100.3 and Kiss92.
ONE FM 91.3 is an English music station targeting males above 30. Programs and promotions are male centric with up-to-date sports and lifestyle updates. The station saw increases across cumulative listenership and market share in the latest Nielsen Radio Diary Survey Results for 2015.
Kiss92 targets women and families while UFM100.3 is a Mandarin music station targeting working professionals aged between 35 – 49 years.
UFM recently saw a jump in its cumulative listenership and Time Spent Listening in the recent Nielsen Survey.
Sim Hong Huat, General Manager, SPH Radio speaks to AsiaRadioToday.
1. Your Mandarin station UFM100.3 saw a jump in listenership in the recent Nielsen radio diary survey, but Mediacorp stations continue to lead by a wide margin. How do you plan to bridge this gap?
UFM100.3’s format has gone through numerous changes over the years and the current format has seen listenership increasing steadily for the past three years, this clearly signifies that we are on the right track in attracting listeners. It is no easy task bridging the gap, but UFM100.3 will continue working on what we’re strong in – music, programmes and listener promotions. Radio listening is afterall a habit, and changing people’s habits takes time and lots of effort.
2. Your English stations have been giving tough competition to Mediacorp. How do you plan to further consolidate your position?
By being focused on what our stations are about. Each of our three stations has a very clear and distinct identity which fans have come to love, hence our plan is to strengthen what has worked for us and increase visibility for the stations.
3. What are the emerging trends in the local radio landscape changing in Singapore?
The re-emergence of podcasts means that fans can listen to their favourite segments at their own time.
4. What are your plans for 2016?
Our plan is always to stay the course and not get distracted by what our competitors are doing. We have been proactive rather than reactive, and that has worked well for us and we will continue to do so.
5. Are there any plans to expand your presence on other platforms?
Our priority is the on-air platform, but we will continuously explore other platforms where our listeners are or going to.
6. Two of your stations – ONE FM and Kiss FM cater to a very specific target audience. Tell us more about them.
When there was an opportunity for a new radio frequency in this very saturated market, SPH Radio decided to jump in on it with a well thought out strategy. Market studies were done to identify gaps in the market and that is how Kiss92 started. It turned out to be a success as there wasn’t any radio station serving women aged 30 – 50 years old at that time. The very focused targeting meant that everything from programming to branding and promotions was very clear as the station has a very specific direction versus the traditionally mass targeting that most other stations will pursue. With the success of Kiss92, the only female targeted radio station in Singapore, we decided to embark on this bold move to serve the male demographics.
ONE FM 91.3 became Singapore’s only station targeting males over 30, offering guys the music they love together with up-to=date Sports and Men’s lifestyle news from leading sources. Even the station name was chosen by the target audience and named to reflect the fact that it is the only radio station of its kind. Positive feedback from fans and advertisers reinforced our belief that this strategy works. The listeners get to hear programmes and songs, that we know suits them, based on target groups and the advertisers can target them more specifically.
7. Are there plans to launch more of such differentiated stations?
This will be determined by the availability of frequencies in the Singapore and the radio scene when the frequencies are made available. But we are definitely keen to re-shape and re-energise the radio landscape in Singapore.