 RAIN 8/13: CBS Radio says growing digital revenues spurred by online ratings spike ·Aug 13, 11:42 AM CBS: ONLINE OFFERINGS A BRIGHT SPOT AMID RECENT RED INK: Though CBS president Dan Mason admits that, “Advertising is going through some difficult times now,” he PANDORA CTO SAYS WINDOWS MOBILE PLAYER STILL IN DEVELOPMENT, BUT PROGRESSING: Pandora “THE NEW UTILITIES OF THE 21ST CENTURY” SEND SOME CONSUMERS INTO THE RED: A plethora of subscription-based gadgets and services are swarming consumers “that might not seem like a lot individually, but can add up to hundreds of dollars in new expenses.” IndyStar reports on a number of families and individuals who have seen their monthly bills soar from cell phone services, music downloads, movie rentals, Internet connections, and online games. “It’s not even an optional cost. It’s the cost of my lifestyle,” says Jordan Edelson. “I consider it just another bill, like the electric bill,” reported Jessica Spencer. “[Consumers] tend to think of [these services] as the new utilities of the 21st century.” Read the full article here. SLATE CITES DIGITAL MUSIC DEVICES AS EXAMPLES OF DECLINING “PLANNED OBSOLESCENCE: Slate uses digital media devices as examples of an influx of products share: del.icio.us.  Reddit  Digg  Yahoo  Wink  Windows  Google  Newsvine 
CommentCommenting is closed for this article.  Other stories RAIN has upgraded (and moved)! RAIN 9/13: RAIN Summit Chicago takes place today! RAIN 9/12: First Summit in RAIN's hometown takes place tomorrow RAIN 9/9: Summer holidays, "doldrums" impact July Webcast Metrics, but audience up over last year RAIN 9/8: Clear Channel launches new customizable iHeartRadio beta; RAIN goes hands-on RAIN 9/7: Meet more speakers you'll hear at RAIN Summit Chicago in less than a week RAIN 9/6: Clear Channel taps The Echo Nest to take on Pandora RAIN 9/2: RAIN reviews Spotify's radio-like product Artist Radio RAIN 9/1: UK online radio aggregator Radioplayer campaigns b'dcasters to create "all radio" ratings RAIN 8/31: Execs from Merlin, Triton Digital, jacAPPS and more to appear at RAIN Summit Chicago |
asserts that the company’s online offerings will continue to grow, providing a bright spot amongst shrinking ad revenues. 
is still “actively developing” a player for Windows Mobile smart phones, according to 
that improve over time rather than slowly becoming worthless. The Sonos digital music system, the iPhone, and even the Zune are cited as devices capable of being updated with new features. “It used to be that a gadget worked the best on the day you bought it; every day afterward, it would fall deeper under the shadow of something newer…[but now, gadgets] gain new functions and become easier to use, giving you fewer reasons to jump to whatever hot new thing is just hitting the market.” Read the full article 
PR won’t pay the bills.
CBS web performance means very little to the company’s financials. While the audience size is about what a 10 or 11 share NYC radio station would deliver, its revenue generating potential is limited – maybe $10 million /year if they do a fabulous job of selling it (the reasons are multiple – AFTRA rules, adding lots of ads to AOL radio would send listeners packing, etc.).
When a company generates revenues in the billions, ten million isn’t even a rounding error and neither is 20 or 30 million. Actual dollars generated is a much more important number than growth percentage.
— Bob Bellin · Aug 14, 10:39 AM · #
All real internet radio stations have the capability to stream on Windows mobile right now as-is. Some broadcasters like me have made pages which the listener is redirected to if they visit the site with a mobile browser: www.oldies104.net/wap.html
— Matt Gunter · Aug 14, 01:10 PM · #