NL Media Monitor , let's talk about RaiPlay Sound (and more)
In this episode of Newslinet media monitor we explore the new RaiPlay Sound platform with Andrea Borgnino and some issues relating to the role of the media in the conflict in Ukraine. In a second appointment, which we will publish shortly, we will talk about RAI Teche and Radio Techetè. The full interview, which also touches on topics not included in this article, is available in Podcast format.
Andrea Borgnino
A great radio lover, he has been working on it at RAI since 1997. He is the author of the Golem program on Radio 1 , then he was involved in the Radio Techetè channel . For over ten years he has had a weekly space called Interferenze in the Radio 3 Mondo program and since July 2021 he has been editorial manager of RaiPlay Sound , the RAI platform dedicated to live listening , on demand and podcasts.
The interview
(Newslinet) - Tell us about RaiPlay Sound .
(Andrea Borgnino) - RaiPlay Sound is the sister of RAI Play, the RAI video on demand platform. We are born instead for audio and have been active since mid-December 2021. We offer all 12 live radio channels plus dozens of on-demand programs and original podcasts produced by us. We distribute audio books and the audio of many television content, including fiction and films: all of which can be listened to quickly thanks to a simple and intuitive app.
RayPlay Sound inspired by BBC Sounds
(NL) - Was BBC Sounds , born in 2018, an inspiration for you?
(AB) - Absolutely yes. We still lack the musical part as a matter of rights, but the idea is to offer something very similar: they are certainly a model to be inspired by.
Users / listeners
(NL) - Are you satisfied with the spread of the application?
(AB) - Yes. It is increasing, a little also due to the contingent linked to the war, but in any case in these first four months the numbers are going in the direction we expected.
DAB + and IP
(NL) - DAB or IP, which is the technology of the future?
(AB) - Look, I'm a huge broadcast fan. I think that the fact of spreading on the air and allowing everyone to receive the contents is very important. Then whether it is done with analogue or digital technology does not matter. Broadcast also makes it possible to inform in times of calamity, when we know very well that IP networks may not work.
Inadequate 5G for millions of listeners
Broadcasting allows you to reach many people at the same time, something that IP still cannot do. I was lucky enough to work at EBU for two years and my colleagues continued - and continue - to remember that even with 5G we cannot even imagine serving all the millions of users who currently use the radio.
Perfect duopoly
Furthermore, I think that radio lives this duopoly very well: fresh live content, updated over the air and another, perhaps more worked, distributed via the network even on demand. For many years I still see this duality in the radio offer, indeed let's call it “audio” by now.
Podcasting
(NL) - Let's talk about podcasts. Your press release states that you aim to be the leader in the podcasting industry . But the platforms used by users today are Spotify and Apple Podcast .
(AB) - I'll give you a preview. We are about to land on Spotify with some of our content. Since we know that they are quality products, it is important to make them available - perhaps only partially - also through this channel. The other public broadcasters do too. I can't tell you the opposite. To date RaiPlay Sound was born as an offer of RAI content.
Online radio and censorship
(NL) - In these difficult days we cannot fail to talk about communication in times of war. Digital technologies can be filtered, once authoritarian states did but now it is also common practice in democratic Europe . Can VPNs be a solution?
(AB) - Well, look, the VPN seems to me a solution for four geeks. I don't think the average user can use it as an alternative to medium and short waves, which knew no state lines.
A vehicle at risk
And anyway we remember that the VPN is a risky medium. There is always a way to know if someone is using one: maybe not what they are doing with it, but certainly the fact that they are using it is already an important element. A citizen who uses the VPN exposes himself more than one who does not use it.
Medium waves
In this conflict then I have seen a great revival of the Medium Waves. Let's think of Radio Ukraine which had turned off the AM network and turned it back on in a hurry, precisely to be present everywhere in front of the bombed FM stations.
Russian waves
Likewise, the Russians have activated a huge transmitter in Moldova on 999 KHz since 5 April. And - I must say - seeing the BBC rekindle some frequencies in shortwave to overcome censorship is something sobering . (MHB for NL)
The RaiPlay Sound platform and the role of Radio in the Ucranian conflict, with Andrea Borgnino (RAI)