Feel Good Radio: a tight format with classic hits and regional news

During a conversation with owner Joey Koeijvoets, we discuss such topics as the original idea behind Feel Good Radio, the challenges, special moments and profiling toward the future.

How was your experience at the DAB+ days organized by Broadcast Partners?

Fun. Cozy and above all informative. A lot was told about what was known at that time regarding the DAB+ distribution. I remember hearing some things I didn’t know yet, so that’s definitely valuable.

What was the original idea and inspiration behind the creation of Feel Good Radio?

The broadcaster originated in Rijswijk in 1986. The broadcasters from Rijswijk and Pijnacker-Nootdorp merged in 2014, under the name Feel Good Radio. We are also engaged in local news. We were soon the biggest in the region in that area. I think as a local broadcaster you can also just be very professional.

What target audience(s) does Feel Good Radio primarily focus on?

With Feel Good Radio we focus mainly on a format with classic hits. Especially the 70s, 80s and 90s. Furthermore, we focus on people who want to know local news or information from the community.

Are you involved in forming a regional broadcaster? How would you like to shape this regional broadcaster and what resources are needed to do so?

We are currently in talks with two other municipalities. Those talks are going well. You sometimes hear in regions that things are difficult, but fortunately not with us. It seems to me that it is also very difficult to merge as different broadcasters. You have to adjust your product, but of course you have to make sure that the listener is not affected. We are really committed to that. Safeguarding that for the listener so they can continue to experience what they are experiencing now.

What are the biggest challenges facing Feel Good Radio? In what ways are you trying to address them?

Simply put, the finances. We are funded by the state, but when you have paid your fixed costs you end up with 0 euros. We are expected to create online platforms and news videos in addition to radio. Then we can’t hire professionals. We solve that by working a lot with students and volunteers. That works out well.

What has been your experience with Broadcast Partners and how has this partnership contributed to the growth and development of your broadcaster?

Sleepless nights, high blood pressure. No, haha. We’ve been working with Broadcast Partners for a long time. From the previous local broadcasters where I worked as well. The experiences are good. The people at Broadcast Partners have been working there for a long time and know a lot about it. You really build a relationship with the people. They look at our wishes a lot, and we really know how to make the products together. That’s how you help each other. And that’s especially what I like about Broadcast Partners. It’s not just customer to Broadcast Partners, it’s just wanting to make the most beautiful thing together.

Would you like to share a special moment or special achievement you are proud of?

We are working on reaching listeners. We look at Feel Good Radio not necessarily at what we like ourselves, but more: what do people in the neighborhood want to hear, and how can we reach them? Coincidentally, two weeks ago we reached a peak of over a thousand listeners on the stream at the same time. That’s really unique as a local broadcaster, though. When you see that people want to be part of that community, it’s really great. Then we can be really happy that we make Feel Good Radio every day. That listeners can turn it on every day and that we can be a part of their day.

Can you tell us more about Feed Good Radio’s role within the local community and how you are strengthening it?

If you look at Rijswijk, for example, with Rijswijk TV, we have almost 13,000 followers on Facebook. So if you look at the number of Facebook accounts in Rijswijk, you’re talking about 35-40% people following us. So that share is quite large.

We regularly reach more than 200,000 read articles per month. So we really are the biggest news provider in the community. We’re pretty much the only team that shoots video on a daily basis. So we also capture cultural heritage. We bring classic hits in a tight format with regional news, so a lot of people in the Haaglanden region listen to Feel Good Radio every day.

How do you ensure that the content of your programs remains relevant and engaging for your audiences?

We provide fun items from the neighborhood. Also very simple things, a swan was born. That actually scores very well. But we also focus on local politics, to bring that a little closer to the people. We also think that non-partisan reporting of that is very important. So the balance between entertaining and informing is very important to us.

What are your plans in terms of technological innovations within the broadcasting sector, such as AI-driven content creation or new platforms like podcasts?

We are working on that, including in the news area. Coincidentally, I got another version of an AI news story yesterday. With podcasts, we’re not really working on that yet. That is a wish, but it just takes a lot of time. We do have a studio that we can use for that, but there is no crew for that at the moment.

What is your vision for the future of the radio industry, especially with regard to the rise of digital technologies such as DAB+?

I am now slightly more positive about DAB+, although I don’t feel that many people listen to it because they are used to FM. In my opinion, DAB+ can go one of two ways; it can be a success or it can disappear at the expense of online. In any case, we have a lot of confidence in the latter and are therefore already making a very firm and stable commitment to online. We profile ourselves online with the quality of a national station, but with local and regional news.

How do you see the future of Feel Good Radio?

We really do fight for that. As a local broadcaster, you’re really there to bring the local stories, and offer that with the help of a lot of volunteers. We hope that with the advent of regional broadcasters that won’t disappear. We want music to continue to be about what the listener wants to hear. That should not be lost.

In conversation with Joey Koeijvoets of Feel Good Radio.

Photo: Dannis van der Heiden

Website: Feel Good Radio