By Adam Wakefield

At the time of Cliff’s departure, he hosted a morning show that reached over a million people every morning. As such, when it was announced he and Broomberg, who has decades of experience in South African radio, were launching CliffCentral.com, the jury was out on whether it would be a success.

Roll the film to February 2017, CliffCentral.com is still standing and it has only gotten stronger.

“We’ve grown steadily and gained a better understanding of online broadcasting, with CliffCentral.com being a hybrid of live listening and podcasting,” Broomberg explains.

“We produce some 40 original shows a week and have created opportunities for many talented people, and built a tribe of loyal supporters and listeners. There was no way we could predict what might happen when we started, because we were sailing into uncharted waters.”

According to Broomberg, CliffCentral.com targets engaged early adopters, connected in a digital world, with its niche audience leading the way to what could be mainstream in the future. 

With the platform’s launch, both Cliff and Broomberg knew Cliff was sacrificing a mass audience in order to build something new, to create options for alternative content from traditional radio, and create opportunities to develop talent.

“We’re very happy with the progress and excited about the future,” Broomberg says.

CliffCentral.com becoming a mainstay within the local digital content space paved the way for Tbo Touch to launch Touch Central , following his own departure from terrestrial radio.

According to Broomberg, leaning on CliffCentral.com’s infrastructure and knowledge, Touch Central was able to reach the airwaves, digital and otherwise, as quickly as was possible, even though it is a completely separate entity from CliffCentral.com.

Asked what his opinion is on terrestrial radio in South Africa, Cliff says he does not have anything negative to say about the medium, especially as he does not listen to much FM radio anymore.

“I gave many years of my life to the medium and I love it. I think things have moved on though, and there are more opportunities and options online,” he says.

What Cliff can say is that the move to digital has allowed a freedom in terms of programming and content unknown to those who have worked within the terrestrial radio space.   

“If freedom of expression exists anywhere, it’s in our shows. We have a diversity of opinions and views that we encourage fully,” Cliff says.

With the vast majority of 2017 still to go, Broomberg says CliffCentral.com intends on curating their content offering over the rest of the year, and adding more visual elements.

“That means a big focus on quality and distribution of the branded content offerings,” she says.

Beyond lower data costs, Broomberg says the best ways for digital radio to appeal to the public is already out there.

“We believe the content is already better than anything mainstream media can offer. The audience that have come to us are, while still limited, engaged, loyal and influential,” Broomberg says.

“The mass market will catch on eventually, but changing habits takes time. More and more people are catching on to the ease and convenience of podcasts, especially with most of the terrestrial radio stations now podcasting as well. While CliffCentral.com was ahead of its time, others are catching on.

For more information, visit cliffcentral.com. Alternatively, connect with them on Facebook, Twitter or on Instagram.