RAC 1: Keys to the success of a radio station

Abstract

The factors that have contributed to the position of RAC 1, a radio station belonging to the Godó Group, as the audience leader in Catalonia, despite being the most recent channel available, are defined and explained. This detailed analysis of audience data for Catalan broadcasting is a line of research carried out by the Observatori de la Ràdio a Catalunya. The last 10 years have seen an increase in the number of people who listen to radio only in Catalan, regardless of the language they typically use for communication. This phenomenon is unprecedented and requires an analysis beyond casual interpretations. According to EGM data, RAC 1 accounts for more than 40% of the daily share of talk radio (2019), placing it as the first preference for listeners in Catalonia. In addition, this radio station has become the fifth most important conventional radio station (837,000 listeners) in Spain, with many more listeners than stations that have national coverage. RAC 1 celebrated its 20th birthday on 1 May 2020. Its contents focuses on infotainment and has a successful image among the media. Addressing and describing the keys to the success of a radio station represents a new approach in the scholarly literature. This case study of RAC 1, which has been an audience leader for a decade, thus represents a pioneering approach. The methodology applied to determine the causes of this phenomenon includes an analysis of the positioning of the channel’s overall offering, its programming strategies, and its program content, based on reports from the Observatori de la Ràdio a Catalunya, the Institut de la Comunicació (InCOM) of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), and the Generalitat de Catalunya. The analysis is completed by in-depth interviews with the main stakeholders of the radio station.