That Guillermo Franco is a champion of technology in multimedia broadcasting is no surprise — he is a former radio engineer with a successful history of building stations from the ground up. Today, he channels that drive and passion for technology as head of Grupo Multimedios, a Mexican media conglomerate with holdings in broadcast television, radio, publishing and entertainment.
RedTech: Tell us about yourself, your background and your journey in radio broadcasting so far.
Guillermo Franco: I started as a radio engineer back in 1991. I became a certified radio engineer through the Society of Broadcast Engineers in 1994 at the age of 26 years. I had the opportunity to build seven new stations for Multimedios in Chihuahua state. The company moved me to its headquarters in Monterrey in 1998, where, as an engineer, I was responsible for television and radio network engineering and operations. Today, we have 64 radio and 16 TV stations in Mexico, Costa Rica and the United States.
RedTech: Provide our readers with some background on the radio market in Mexico and the other markets Multimedios operates in.
Franco: Mexico has more than 2,000 licensed radio stations (and a further 500 unlicensed). There are 10 major groups, some regional and still several “mom and pop” operations nationwide.
RedTech: Within this context, how is Multimedios differentiating itself to grow audience and revenue share?
Franco: We are very focused on what the audience wants without depending on expensive on-air talent. We have embraced radio everywhere since the beginning and have built our stations using the best technology available to maximize coverage and secure a better sound. We explore mainstream formats and stay away from more niche ones. We’re more focused on music than talk radio; in regional music stations, we always use local talent as DJs. We do a lot of on-location promotions, bringing the talent close to where the audience is rather than always staying in the studios.
RedTech: How do you sustain the growth and profitability of music radio stations when audiences today have so many alternatives to finding the music they want to hear from streaming and on-demand services?
Franco: Consumer habits are unique to each country and region. In Mexico, we still use cars as the principle means of transport, and consumers choose carefully which services they want to subscribe to. Free will always prevail and radio is free. Local DJs provide local information that’s relevant on a daily basis, like news, weather, traffic. In terms of cellular data, in Mexico, around 80% of mobile data is prepaid, so consumers pay very close attention to how to use that data.
RedTech: What are the regulatory, operational or technical challenges that may be unique to your operating environment?
Franco: Government public service announcements — three minutes per hour — are a nightmare. They’re different in each market, and we have a team dedicated full-time to accomplish this. Unlicensed stations also are a challenge — they compete directly with legal stations without all the regulatory compliance.
Radio is only an outlet; what matters now is audio content. As I said before, staying local is very important, as is providing every means available to reach the audience
RedTech: What is happening to time spent listening and loyalty to radio in Mexico?
Franco: It’s not going up, but neither is it going down. Home listening is still dominant, while in-vehicle listening is growing quickly. Radio’s share of the advertising market has shrunk to 5% (for comparison, radio’s share of Mexico’s advertising market prepandemic was 8%), but it’s still a good business — in a country of 130 million people, radio advertising can still be effective. For example, supermarkets use radio a lot. They depend upon us to communicate their daily offers. Companies hiring people also rely heavily on radio.
RedTech: With increasing competition from online audio, both streaming and on-demand, how is Multimedios sustaining its audience loyalty and advertising support?
Franco: We’re also in streaming, and our listening numbers are growing. In order to compete with these new players, we rely on locally-focused content — local matters. Being part of each community’s activities and supporting local events is vital in these times.
RedTech: How is Multimedios commercializing its digital content? What are some examples of what you are doing, whether it’s succeeding or not yet achieving expectations and why.
Franco: Digital ad insertion is still immature in our country but will be relevant in a few years. Right now, we’re mostly simulcasting terrestrial advertising with streaming pairs.
RedTech: What have you learned about how young listeners (18–25 years old) in your broadcast footprints consume media and content and how has that informed your strategy?
Franco: In some stations, we try connecting with the youth while they’re still youngsters via family-oriented morning shows when fathers are driving their kids to school. For youth audiences, we have a strong brand presence in musical events and concerts and have young staff directing music formats featuring young DJs who speak the same language. And, of course, we make it easy for them to listen on their mobile devices.
RedTech: How are you using technology and software to strengthen your business — helping it grow or to cut costs?
Franco: Programming software lets us run several stations with a single program director. Right now, we’re using AI platforms to produce digital-only stations and will soon use them for over-the-air.
I believe the future for radio is optimistic. We need to learn to be more efficient while maintaining the audio content listeners want to hear
RedTech: Given the shift in audio consumption patterns, how important is radio in the car dashboard to Multimedios?
Franco: It is very important. We used to focus a lot on morning and afternoon drives, but now we have traffic all day long. Providing good content and valuable RDS information is a must for retaining car listening, as are ongoing weather and traffic reports.
RedTech: What has changed in your programming and sales divisions to ensure that your stations are relevant to audiences and advertisers as large screens become the primary entertainment source in the car?
Franco: Multimedios means “many outlets.” We sell reach to our advertisers, and for that, we offer many choices together with radio, such as TV, outdoor media, digital and music and sports events.
RedTech: What developments within audio broadcasting keep you up at night?
Franco: None for now. We have seen many supposed “radio killers” over the years, and after more than 100 years, this industry is still solid.
RedTech: Describe an ideal future for radio and audio — How do you expect a 30-year-old will consume their media, specifically audio, in 2030?
Franco: It’s good that you mention audio and radio together. Radio is only an outlet; what matters now is audio content. As I said before, staying local is very important, as is providing every means available to reach the audience. Catch-up of relevant content is also very important — this could be done by uploading this content as soon as possible to the audio platforms.
I believe the future for radio is optimistic. We need to learn to be more efficient while maintaining the audio content listeners want to hear. As a multimedia company, we benefit from being able to use across all platforms, creating identities that people recognize, whether they are listening, watching or following. Radio needs to embrace at least a second platform to work with, in most cases that may be social media, but not necessarily. It also needs to collaborate with their personalities’ digital channels. Studios must be conceived for formats other than only radio stations, this meaning that facilities should be ready for all outlets.
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