Hamad Nasser On What Makes Rotana Radios Popular

HAMAD NASSER, THE GENERAL DIRECTOR OF ROTANA RADIOS NETWORK, IS OPTIMISTIC ABOUT THE FUTURE OF RADIO. IN HIS TALK WITH ARABAD, NASSER EXPLAINS WHAT HE’S DOING TO FORTIFY ROTANA FM’S POSITION AS ONE OF THE MOST PROMINENT AND WIDELY LISTENED TO RADIO STATIONS IN THE ARAB WORLD, AS HE SPEAKS ABOUT CONTENT, INNOVATION, AND THE GREAT POTENTIAL THIS MEDIA STILL HOLDS.

What are Rotana Radios Network’s mandate and mission? Rotana Radios’ main focus is on entertainment and music. We belong to the biggest music production company across the Middle East: Rotana that is. We focus on broadcasting the latest hits for our artists, in addition to presenting entertainment content to our listeners and engaging with them on daily basis, following their interests in this field.

Is listening to music and news on the radio still a central and habitual part of daily Saudi life? And if so, what makes radio popular in the KSA?

Of course, music is one of the main interests in the daily Saudi life, and proof to that are the huge concerts and festivals held across all Saudi cities, in addition to the most trending events on social media and Youtube when it comes to music. As for the news, we offer the bulletins to our audience as a service, so that they can follow up on daily events around the world. Therefore, we focus on diversity in Rotana Radios content and live shows, and we always make sure to follow up all the daily events and that’s what make us as a radio station popular.

What would you say to people who believe that radio is an old-school medium?

We did huge steps in evolving our radios through many plans. We succeeded in transforming our broadcast to be on all phones through our Apps. Also, we are streaming Audio – Video for all our live shows on the social media platform from our biggest studios in the Arab World. We even focused on our content to be up to date with all that matters for our listeners. Not only that, we also joined hands with more than ten podcasts platforms. Doing that and more, you cannot still say that radio is still an oldschool medium.

Now radio is the latest industry facing massive disruption from the digital age. To survive, radio must innovate, learn from other media and take control of its path to maintain its unique position with advertisers, audiences and other stakeholders. What are you doing to fortify Rotana FM’S position as one of the most prominent and widely listened to radio stations?

As I mentioned before, we saw this huge shift in all the media platforms, and we followed the audience interests and produced content that suits their needs; in addition, we created new divisions in Rotana Radios Network specialized in digital platforms to publish Rotana FM content on all the social media platforms and now we are not only streaming audio, but also audio-video streaming live from our studios, in addition to other tools for broadcasting, which I already mentioned.

Are radios still relevant to the modern world when podcasts, Spotify, Apple, Amazon Music and Youtube Music are everywhere, and practically everyone uses them?

It is important to differentiate between these digital platforms and the live radios. What we broadcast live on air is totally different from what is happening through these Apps. We play music, we produce live talk shows, we offer event coverages and reports around the clock, and the most important thing is the live interaction with the listeners on air. This type of content cannot be done the same way on the podcast. That’s why the radios are still relevant to the modern world. We are just using the technology to develop the radios and its content so that we can get closer to our audience. On Youtube, we have our content through our official channel and live streaming. On Spotify, Amazon, Google and other apps we are also available with Rotana FM podcast content.

It is said that radio is facing a crisis over youth audiences. Are you —like most radios the world over—facing a worrying exodus among young listeners because of streaming? And if so, what are you doing to retain them?

It is all about the content. If you make your content to target the youth, and you use a good marketing strategy to promote this content, then you will hit the target. Also, you need the proper team on air to deliver your message to the youth, and talk with the same tone and use the same expressions and words. To engage and attract the youth, you need youth presenters and youth content.

On the advertising front, would you say that radio still has plenty of potential... and plenty of relevancy?

All of us know in the past two years, the entire world was struggling with the pandemic and we struggled just like all media sectors around the world. Now that we are going back to a normal life, advertising too is back. And fact of the matter, we are doing great since the beginning of 2021, and the market looks promising in the near future. We can assert that radio has still plenty of potential. We have new clients, and we have new shares in the market.

Where do you see Rotana Radios Network in three or five years?

If things go like we planned, we think that we will make a huge success in this field. We have many ideas that we are working on to support our clients. We have brought in new opportunities to the market, and the more digital platforms we have, the more diversity our clients will get in marketing their brands.

Any additional comments you’d like to add?

I want to thank you for this interview, and it is my pleasure talking about our experience in Rotana Radios Network. We are really optimistic about the coming future, and we think we have so many plans that will be launched for the first time via the Radio. We have the biggest studios, the latest technology, and a brilliant team, that’s why we are optimistic about the future.

We have the biggest studios, the latest technology, and a brilliant team, that’s why we are optimistic about the future.