Industry News

Radioplayer’s Michael Hill honoured by The Radio Academy at Radio Festival 2017

Michael Hill, founder and MD of Radioplayer, was among the handful of radio industry stars who received a Radio Academy Fellowship at yesterday’s Radio Festival. The Fellowship is bestowed on individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the industry or the Academy.

Michael’s career started as a Studio Manager for the BBC. He went on to work as a Senior Broadcast Journalist at BBC News before moving into management positions with BBC Radio, overseeing operations and stations sound, as well as the launch of new digital radio networks. This culminated in taking up the role of Deputy Controller of BBC 5 Live and 5 Live Sports Extra.

After a stint at Channel 4, he returned to the BBC, where he was asked to lead a complex and high profile project designed to improve the online listening for all UK radio stations – the project that became Radioplayer, a unique, non-profit partnership between the BBC and commercial radio. The platform now has over 7 million active users and is available across multiple devices and platforms, providing a much improved radio listening experience online and helping to secure the future of radio on internet-connected devices. It is also licensed to 7 other countries around the world, including Germany and Canada.

Presenting the award, Matt Deegan, Creative Director of Folder Media and long-time friend of Michael, said that for a product like Radioplayer to be successful “it generally needs the drive and determination of a single individual with energy and vision to take a great idea and make it into a reality.”

He continued, “As I was looking through the list of previous Fellows, which range from Gillian Reynolds to Steve Ackerman, from Richard Park to Lorna Clarke, what stood out was how all of them had been able to have an impact and make a difference to the industry. It therefore gives me enormous pleasure to present a Radio Academy Fellowship to someone else who has just done that.”

On receiving his Fellowship, Michael said, “I’m privileged to have spent most of my career up to now working in Radio. And one thing I’ve realised, is that we’re at our best when we’re working together. There are huge opportunities for Radio in connected cars, smart speakers and mobiles, but we’ll only be able to exploit them if we continue to collaborate.”

Siobhan Kenny, CEO of Radiocentre and Chair of Radioplayer says, “Mike’s comment about the benefits of working as a team sums up one of his greatest strengths as a professional; he is the quintessential collaborator, a hugely well-liked and respected colleague who brings out the best in his co-workers. He is also a great innovator and it is unusual to see such skill matched by humility. The Radiocentre team couldn’t be happier for Mike, he is worthy recipient of The Radio Academy’s highest honour.”

(Photo: Vincent Lo / RadioToday.co.uk)