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In the case of Radio, a person can only listen to those programs
or songs broadcasted by station, he cannot hear the song he likes
to hear. But
U1Receiver enables a person to listen to his or her favourite
music anytime, anywhere.
NEW YORK-Article
- When I look at the radio on my kitchen counter these days, all I can
think about is change--how much radio hasn't changed and how much it needs to.
The radio is almost always on in my house. We like
radio so much that it's not uncommon to have two or three radios in different
rooms all tuned to the same thing.
But I'm also finding myself listening to radio more via
the Internet. I have a broadband connection and can stream stations from pretty
much anywhere in the world. I live in New York but listen to shows from Los
Angeles and Oregon. I record them on a schedule and save them to my Apple
(nasdaq:
AAPL -
news
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people ) iPod.
It turns out I'm not alone. A recent survey by the NPD
Group says that more than 53 million people tune in to radio via their
computers. That's up about 18% over last year. Meanwhile, people listening to
traditional radio fell by 4% to 194 million people.
People who pay attention to such things are gabbing
endlessly about podcasting these days. Podcasts are Internet audio programs that
you can subscribe to and store on your PC, iPod or other MP3 player.
Every radio station everywhere should be streaming its
programming live on the Internet and should also be making popular shows
available as single downloads that consumers can download and listen to as they
wish. Young people in particular are getting conditioned to consuming any media
they want whenever and however they want it. Radio is going to have to adjust
accordingly.
It's too new a trend to gauge how many people listen to
podcasts regularly, but it's already caught the attention of big media
companies. Viacom (nyse:
VIAb -
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people ) converted one ratings-challenged radio station in San Francisco to
an all-podcasting format. And just this week The Walt Disney Co.'s (nyse:
DIS -
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people ) ABC and General Electric's (nyse:
GE -
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people ) NBC announced the launch of news-oriented podcasts.
Apple Computer Chief Executive
Steve Jobs said that the next version of its iTunes software, due this
summer, will let users organize their podcasts. Sirius Satellite Radio (nasdaq:
SIRI -
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people ) is also getting into the act (see: "Karmazin's
Sirius To Create Podcasting Channel").
Lots of people think podcasting represents some kind of
populist media revolution similar to blogging. But that's missing the point.
What podcasting really represents is that consumers want Internet-based radio so
they can listen when and how they want.
Were I the owner of a radio broadcaster, I'd be
investing not only in streaming but in offering an archive of past shows, and
the ability to deliver fee-based specialty programs with high production values.
These could be shows that might not make the usual broadcast format but would be
exclusive to the Internet.
Beyond that, I'd look at getting heavily involved with
efforts at promulgating wireless broadband like WiMax and at encouraging
consumer electronics manufacturers to start designing radios to grab the usual
AM/FM and satellite broadcasts but also reach out to the Internet just as
easily.
Philips Electronics (nyse:
PHG -
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people ) has pushed the boundaries of this a bit with its Streamium line of
audio products, some of which support Wi-Fi. Another outfit, Australia's
Torian, has created a portable MP3 player with a Wi-Fi capability designed
to stream Internet audio.
Wi-Fi is a good start, but it has limitations. It's
useful when you're within range of an access point or public hot spot. WiMax,
which can deliver network connectivity over several miles, should be the
broadband technology that gets broadcasters excited.
Think of the potential: a reach far beyond the
boundaries of a single geographical region that will broaden the appeal to
advertisers. Specialized programming that might not work on a traditional
broadcast station can reach wider audiences and attract the attention of niche
advertisers.
Podcasts are great because they often cater to narrow
interests with programs that would not make commercial sense as traditional
broadcast shows. Throw high production values at a show with a targeted audience
and make it widely available, and you'd have the equivalent of cable TV on
radio. Think the Food Network or the History Channel for your ears. If you're
into old 78 RPM records or really into the finer points of beer, there's a
podcast for you, and there probably are advertisers who will pay to reach you.
Radio broadcasters should take notice.
There is no reason why my kitchen radio couldn't have
both an Ethernet port and a WiMax chipset within a few years. Throw in a small
LCD display and a nice interface, and you'd have a pretty tidy receiver that's
truly plugged in to the world. I'd pay for it. I suspect I'm not the only one.
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