ABC comes off iHeart

Hello, I'm James Crittland, the radio futurologist, and this is RadioLand, my weekly radio newsletter.

It's January the 27th, 2026, and this podcast is sponsored by RSS.com.

RSS.com is a very good podcast host, which you should go and have a look at.

It includes a little program called Paid, which helps you get paid for your podcast.

I know, amazing.

Now, in Australia, the ABC is coming off the iHeartRadio app.

It's operated in the country by ARN.

RadioInfo has covered the news with a familiar set of reasons, rights issues, and audience data,

both of which are, I would suggest, red herrings.

The rights issues are already covered by the ABC.

If you listen to ABC local radio online during sports coverage, you get alternative programming anyway.

And the ABC's streaming servers get full streaming data from listeners, however they tune in.

For now, the ABC's radio stations are also available on RadioApp, the CRA's uninspired copy of radio player.

They've never been on listener as far as I can see.

Now, I understand that the ABC got free carriage on the iHeart app, so this isn't a cost-saving exercise.

Instead, it's relatively clear what's up, I think.

The ABC is planning to restrict access to its radio stations online from anything other than its own ABC Listen app.

Now, the ABC Listen app doesn't require login currently, but it's almost impossible to get into the app without registering,

and there are plenty of reasons why it's a good idea.

That then gives lots of data about listeners to the ABC to help them.

But it's a bit disappointing seeing the ABC, which is currently enjoying among its worst-ever audience shares,

willfully making it even harder to tune into its stations.

So let's hope it's only a temporary change, all Australians pay for it after all.

There again, nobody ever lost their job by copying the BBC.

Congratulations to Cristiano Connell, who has done over a week now on his new National Breakfast Show in Australia.

His show on Gold Brisbane sounds technically flawless with the nicest traffic guy you could ever wish for, by the way.

The show is time delayed by an hour, which I can only assume means it'll be rare to hear anyone call from Brisbane,

but he's much as I remember him warm, friendly, and respectful of the listeners.

However, let's hope nobody's trying to tune in on the Gold Brisbane website, which I will read to you because it's brilliant.

The website is Brisbane. Thegoldwebsite.com.au, yes, thegoldwebsite.com.au.

Wow. Anyway, if you try using that, well, it doesn't have a working audio player.

It's got a listen-live button, but it doesn't do anything when you touch it.

It's not either got any details of how to tune in, which seems a bit of an issue.

In case you're wondering, it's on DAB Plus, which a third of Australians use every single week, a higher figure than the iHeart app,

which is also bewilderingly not referenced bewilderingly, I should say.

And, by the way, as a fun fact, when Christian was on Virgin Radio, which he was in the UK,

the how to listen page was the number two most traffic page after the listen-live page, which was number one.

Also, the iHeart radio page for Gold Brisbane says just great hits, but when you listen to the radio station,

they say just great songs. One of those is not like the other.

Congratulations to Vinny Low for the 25th anniversary of the Radio Feeds website at radiofeeds.co.uk.

Some people might say it looks 25 years old as well, but it works, and it works very well.

If you want to listen to any UK or Irish radio station, I can only guess at how much work it is to keep it all updated.

On Radio Feeds, I notice that Petersfield's Shine Radio has just begun broadcasting on DAB.

On the small scale East Hampshire DAB Multiplex, which is now in testing,

a proper local radio station run by volunteers with quite the range of programming.

It's probably worth a listen. When I tuned in just now, one of the local school kids told me the time,

which is a really clever idea. Just record school kids telling you the time. Great plan.

AM, it's time for the AM Death Watch Corner, and in Japan, NHK Radio 2 is to close on March 31st.

NHK operates two national AM stations. It was decided to close Radio 2 in 2021.

It was specifically funded as an educational radio station, with language courses and other educational programs like

junior high school basic English level one and two, and Radio Business English.

Portuguese for beginners, time for religion, and visual impairment, Navi Radio.

NHK has been slowly moving some of these educational and language programs from Radio 2,

over to NHK's FM station and to NHK Radio 1, which will continue on AM,

although we'll get a new name I understand.

Europe R, which is a news and talk station, has launched a television channel last month.

Europe R TV is free to air on Astra 19.2 East. I can't find a web stream of it, though.

Although I do link to a clip of Europe R live on canal pluses, Senus.

Hope I pronounced that right. Anyway, it's a right-leaning rolling news channel in France.

A competitor, BFM, a business news station, started in 1991 on FM,

but added a full rolling news channel in 2005, and a business channel off-shoot in 2010.

And whenever I've seen BFM, I've been struck by the way it sounds like a radio station,

but looks like a TV channel. It's a nice trick, if you can.

Perhaps some podcasters might find that useful to just say.

And last week I suggested that US broadcasters were asking the FCC to make it easier

to switch their AM stations to FM. That wasn't entirely correct.

They're asking for it to be easier to symbol cast their AM service to FM as well,

which is known in US speakers a translator.

Now, while the vast majority of listeners will indeed switch to FM, I oversimplified.

So apologies for that, but if you do remember the WJLX Stolen AM mast,

there are at least some radio stations in the US,

quietly turning their AM transmitter off in favour of the FM translator doing all the work,

which by the way is illegal.

Now, where am I speaking next? I am speaking at Radio Day's Europe in Riga in Latvia.

In March, I'm talking about the future of audio being people powered.

I'm not panicking at all because I haven't written it yet. No, there's no panic going on there.

But it will be a great thing. I'm at the end of the first day.

So no excuse for not coming. I think I'm in the third stream and you can come and see me there.

The podcast show also I am speaking. I am opening up the event and also recording a pod news weekly review live on stage at the end of the event as well.

And that will be not hidden away in a tiny little room by the way.

I think there's something exciting going on there.

So I'm looking forward to that.

Thank you to Greg Strassell and Sam Phelps and Richard Hilton and Emma Gibson,

Jocelyn Abbey and James Masterton for being regular supporters.

Thank you also to the good folks at Play It Software at MediaRail and at Brun Audio Consulting for your kind support as well.

Richard also thank RCS who have a little banner in the news letter version of this.

So thank you RCS for signing again for another year.

That's very good of you.

So thank you so much if you would like to support my work in any way.

You can buy me a coffee.

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You can do that at buymeacoffee.com slash James Cridland.

I'm on, I said Blue Sky here at James.Crid.land.

I'm really not on Blue Sky.

Let's go in and edit that right now while we talk so that I don't end up saying it again.

I'm on, edit.

I'm on Masterton as James at BNE.Social.

You should come and follow me there.

That would be a lovely thing.

And my website has more details about who I am, what I do and whether I can help you further,

you will find that at James.Cridland.net.

And until next time, keep listening.