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ONLY B’DCASTERS CAN KILL RADIO, SAYS EDISON’S ROSS: Sean Ross from Edison Media Research writes that radio — if it’s done right — is still an excellent music experience (and not simply “the most convenient” as some are contending). He points to CBS/New York’s two year experiment in which they replaced WCBS-FM’s Oldies format with “Jack.” “In that time, WCBS-FM’s many disenfranchised listeners had no shortage of choices that could have taken them away from terrestrial radio,” Ross writes. Yet not only have WCBS fans returned post-Jack, ratings are actually higher for the Oldies format now than when the format was dropped. “They were directly targeted by Sirius Satellite Radio and its hiring of Cousin Brucie. They had their iPods. They could have found no shortage of customizable Internet-only Oldies channels,” but they returned to radio. “Those listeners, at least, did not come to the realization that they never really liked radio to start with.”

DEL COLLIANO: YOUNGER GEN’S DON’T WANT RADIO: But perhaps it’s about age. Jerry Del Colliano contends it’s more than than simply doing radio right. In his Inside Music Media blog today, he writes, “The next generation doesn’t like radio. Not the stations. Not the concept. There’s simply less need for it in their lives.” Keep in mind that the format Edison’s Ross uses is an upper-demo format: Oldies. “New technologies will not only replace radio among the next generation, they already have. And this generation is huge — with as many Gen Y’ers as there are baby boomers,” writes Del Colliano.

XM-SIRIUS MERGER WILL BRING NEW CONTENT SOURCES: As the proposed XM-Sirius merger churns towards approval, consumers should see new satellite radio content — and new programming sources — appear. The satellite radio giants announced they will be leasing 8 channels to minority owners. Among those owners is Georgetown Partners, who have been aggressively demanding a share of XM/Sirius’ spectrum. Elsewhere, satellite radio company Primosphere, who originally lost the bid to one of two satellite radio slots, says if approved for a satellite license, could have its satellite service up and running in six months. Citing Congress’ ruling that there should be two satellite radio providers, Primosphere is aiming to be XM/Sirius’ competitor. Read Radio & Records’ full article here.

ONLINE AD FIRM EYES MOVE TO RADIO: Inside Radio is reporting that online ad sales firm Spot Runner is considering extending its reach into the radio biz (a la Bid4Spots, TargetSpot, and Google’s Audio Ads), though a company spokesman was noncommittal in speaking to the news source. Spot Runner, which counts CBS and the UK’s Daily Mail and General Trust as investors, recently announced a $51 round of new funding.

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