 RAIN 12/17: More N/T stations than any other U.S. format; Most web connections will be mobile by 2020 ·Dec 17, 12:38 PM NOW MORE N/T BROADCAST STATIONS IN U.S. THAN ANY OTHER FORMATThere are now more News/Talk radio stations in the U.S. than any other single format, according to Inside Radio’s publication M Street. It says there are now 2,064 N/T outlets (there were 40 new entrants to the format last year, and 250 since 2003). According to Arbitron (here), “News/Talk/Information” is also the most-listened-to radio format in the U.S.
As David Hinckley in the New York Daily News points out (here), “The thinking in many radio quarters is that music fans have more and more alternatives to traditional radio, including the Internet and iPods, but that news/talk is something they can’t find anywhere else. So it becomes ‘unique content’ for radio.” Some industry experts, like LAUNCHcast founder David Goldberg, have long held that music radio’s future is on the Internet, and AM and FM will survive only as Talk outlets. Might this be a first small move in this direction? Music radio stations are traditionally cheaper to program and produce, since they don’t require high-profile talent and news departments. But national talent syndication, Internet-enabled news gathering, and drastic cut-backs in local news production have made News/Talk more affordable (and the 2-year run-up to the November elections made for attractively lucrative audiences). PEW SAYS MOBILE DEVICES WILL BE HOW MOST ACCESS NET BY 2020Wireless devices will be people’s primary way to connect to the Internet worldwide by 2020, according to a new Pew Internet & American Life Project report. The report, called “Future of the Internet III,” points to increased portability and affordability of mobile devices, and (eventually) universal standards for mobile telecommunications that will enable the shift. “By 2020, we’ll have standard network connections around the world…. Billions of people will have joined the Internet… They won’t think of these things as ‘phones’ either — these devices will be simply lenses on the online world,” said ICANN board member Susan Crawford in the report. Steve Jones, co-founder of the Association of Internet Researchers, told MediaPost, “By 2020 I don’t think it will be so easy to distinguish between a mobile phone and a laptop… These will blend into a general ‘mobile computing’ category of device (for which we probably don’t yet have a name).” Read MediaPost’s article on the Pew report here.
PRESS CONTINUES TO PRAISE RADIO FOR (FINALLY) ADAPTING TO INTERNET IN 2008AdWeek has named CBS Radio’s Play.It Internet radio platform one of its “Top Media & Marketing Innovations of 2008” (here). Of Play.It, AdWeek wrote, “(it) set(s) a new standard for how the oldest electronic medium can migrate to the newest.” AdWeek, like an earlier Reuters article (RAIN coverage here), also praised the additions of AOL Radio and Yahoo! online radio streams, and the new CBS iPhone app. “At a time when terrestrial radio stations are facing double-digit ad declines on air, CBS Radio has opened new integrated-marketing possibilities.” When the Yahoo streams are added early next year, the new combined network should have at least 3.5 million monthly listeners.
Similarly, in the UK, The Guardian’s Miranda Sawyer (here) saw the Internet as “the clear radio winner” in the radio industry in 2008. With Last.fm among other Internet-only stations moving “from strength to strength,” Sawyer asks, “How can DAB ever match that?” MASON NEW VP OF DIGITAL MEDIA AT CBSMark Mason has been named VP/Digital Media for CBS’ New York properties. Mason most recently was PD for news WINS/New York and VP of news programming for CBS Radio’s all-news stations.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 |
