Czech Radio Podcasts Reach Record High Audience. The mujRozhlas Portal Joins the World of HbbTV
In October, Czech Radio saw record high audience for on-demand content. Through its online platforms and third parties, the users listened to 5.4 million audios. In terms of individual downloads through podcast apps and the number of views on YouTube, Czech Radio reached over ten million audio plays and downloads.
“This autumn clearly confirms the importance of on-demand listening for the distribution of Czech Radio content. The ever-larger audience of the podcasts and programmes on the mujRozhlas audio portal and third-party platforms signals that we are going the right direction. Next year, we are going to focus even more on new audio formats and further their distribution,” says René Zavoral, Director General of Czech Radio.
Period | No. of downloads of on-demand content and podcasts | No. of plays of on-demand content and podcasts incl. downloads and YouTube |
November 2021 | 5.4 million | 10 million |
Sep – Nov 2021 | 14.5 million | 29 million |
A play is when a user plays an audio, where this action is measurable. Czech Radio measures the number of plays on its platforms as well as on measurable third-party platforms such as Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google podcasts, Seznam podcasty and YourRadio Talk. A download is when a user downloads a podcast into his or her application, but Czech Radio does not know whether the user actually played the audio. | ||
The most popular podcast has long been the “Vinohradská 12” news podcast. Since its launch in 2019, it has generated more than 21 million downloads on Czech Radio platforms and through podcast apps. Czech Radio Dvojka’s podcast series “Kriminálka” (Crime Series) is also very popular and its authors have prepared 40 new episodes for the next year.
For several years, Radio Wave has successfully focused on podcast series that home in on aspects of social relations topical for the young. Currently, the most popular is docu-series “Hrana” (Verge). It brings stories of young men who, in their desire to obtain a perfect body, battle with their own bodies and come to the verge of their physical and mental strength. Podcast “Neklid” (The Disquiet) about a relationship that has gone too far is also very successful.
On the Radiožurnál station, the most-listened-to programme is “Host Lucie Výborné” (Lucie Výborná’s Guest). Popular among the online audience in November were also report series “Hrdinové pandemie” (The Heroes of the Pandemic) and “Restart díky covidu” (“A New Start Thanks to Covid”) bringing stories of people who took the pandemic as an opportunity.
The programmes of the Plus station were also faring well. Highly popular programmes included “Radiokniha” (Radio Book), “Názory a argumenty” (Views and Arguments) commenting on current affairs, or “Osobnosti Plus” (Personalities on Plus) bringing interviews with prominent people.
Audiobooks are highly sought-after on a long-term basis. The most popular reading programme is “Četba na pokračování” (Episodic Reading) on stations Dvojka and Vltava. Vltava’s programme “Četba s hvězdičkou” (Reading with an Asterisk) saw record high audience this autumn. Currently, the most popular book on the programme is The Elementary Particles by French author Michel Houellebecq.
mujRozhlas Launches an HbbTV App
Early in December, the mujRozhlas television HbbTV application was launched in live mode. So far, it was only available in test mode on a handful of radio channels. The app is now available upon pressing of the red button on the remote control on all of the nine DVB-T channels of Czech Radio and in distribution systems of partnering IPTVs and cable distributors. Available in the application is live broadcasting of all Czech Radio stations as well as all archived programmes that are usually to be found on the mujRozhlas website and mobile app. New features such as login or myPlaylist section are to follow soon. Thus, the mujRozhlas HbbTV app adds another channel into the distribution mix used by Czech Radio for spreading spoken word on the Internet.