 RAIN 4/10: More Americans tuning in Internet-only radio ·Apr 10, 12:12 PM STUDY INDICATES GROWTH WILL ACCELERATE WITH IN-CAR NET ACCESSA new study from American Media Services found that 27% of all Americans have, at some point, listened to Internet-only webcasts. The percentage jumps to 47% for 18-24 year-olds. Though AMS says these stats show Net radio is “rapidly gaining acceptance,” the press release doesn’t indicate by how much listenership is growing (though it’s likely the full study does).
Earlier this week, a study by Arbitron and Edison Research’s latest Infinite Dial revealed 17% of Americans were regularly tuning in to any Internet radio streams, including broadcast radio simulcasts (RAIN coverage here). The AMS study also found that among those who haven’t tuned in to Internet radio, 48% said they would if they could in their cars. 74% of Internet radio listeners said they would listen more if they could tune in while driving, while 46% simply want Internet in their cars. Traditional radio hasn’t suffered from increasing Net radio listening though, according to the survey, with 73% of respondents saying they listen to broadcast radio as much or more than they did 5 years ago. For more, find the AMS press release here. MLB BRINGS RADIO BROADCASTS TO THE iPHONEMajor League Baseball has launched the “MLB.com At Bat 2009” iPhone application which, for a one-time cost of $9.99, streams all MLB radio broadcasts for every game of the season. The $10 price not only beats out Sirius’ $13 a month fee, but also MLB.com’s own $15 charge to tune in to radio broadcasts from your desktop PC. The app also features a “Live Scoreboard” with stats and pitch-by-pitch info. Video streams of game highlights are included as well. For more, check out MacWorld’s coverage here.
RUMORED iPHONE FM UPGRADE THREATENS BROADCAST RADIO, SAYS RAMSEYSome have pointed to the rumored inclusion of FM broadcasting and Bluetooth streaming in upcoming iPhone and iPod Touch models as the end of satellite radio, but industry analyst Mark Ramsey disagrees. It “isn’t what iPod-style radio does to satellite but what it does to the average music-intensive terrestrial radio station which, thanks to belt-tightening and PPM, is stripping away any characteristic distinguishing it from the lowest common denominator of music boxes,” he writes (here).
The new iPhone and iPod Touch devices are rumored to support FM broadcasting and Bluetooth streaming, meaning users can stream audio content (including Internet radio) from their iPhone to car radios. Computerworld’s Mike Elgan recently argued that these features would kill satellite radio (RAIN coverage here). Other rumored updates include 802.11n Wi-Fi and unregulated FM reception. Interestingly, current iPhone and iPod Touch models also support FM reception, but Apple has constricted its use to limited functions, like communicating with the Nike+ peripheral. Opening FM reception means users could “get real-time traffic information as well as music, news, and sports broadcasts.” For more, check 9to5Mac.com’s coverage here. 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 |
American Media Services’ numbers account for any listening, but only to Internet-only webcasts (e.g. AccuRadio or Radio Paradise). 
