Some friends who work in the advertising business and I have been
brainstorming about the future of radio broadcasting and are
documenting what we think is going to happen. See http://Radio.RebuildingAfterFailure.com/

What do you think? Are we more right than wrong, or are we totally
off base?

I love radio. I’m an avid listener, pundit, critic, historian and
technologist. I believe traditional broadcast radio will morph into
something new and incredible and we're looking for a way to position
for future opportunity.

Most people still working in “corporate” radio today are probably in
their last radio job and may not know it. The future of commercial
radio broadcasting is bleak, at best. The bubble has burst, and we
have an emerging opportunity to rebuild.

Producers of compelling content will ultimately succeed in attracting
audience to sell to advertisers if they relentlessly promote their
product. My theory is that many of the same principles used to attract
radio audience 40 years ago will be reinvigorated in next generation
broadcasting. Personality driven radio is an incomparable way to
build and maintain time spent listening. The business model will
change. The barrier to entry will be lower, and the corresponding
revenue may be so low that corporate conglomerates may not even want
to play. But that’s not to say there won’t be money to be made.

Internet content delivery will reach automobiles in just a few years,
and traditional over-the-air delivery will be changed forever when it
does. This will be the final nail in AM-FM radio’s coffin, at least
in the USA. FCC licensees will be relegated to mere digital transport
providers. Content providers will buy transit from competing ISPs.
The branded product will not have FCC call letters. 4G LTE will become
the next standard broadcast band.

My money is on next-generation broadcasting, and it has very little to
do with radio frequency transmitters and receivers. Thanks for your
interest in my theory. I look forward to your comments.

In article
,
daryljones wrote:

Internet content delivery will reach automobiles in just a few years,
and traditional over-the-air delivery will be changed forever when it
does. This will be the final nail in AM-FM radio¹s coffin, at least
in the USA. FCC licensees will be relegated to mere digital transport
providers. Content providers will buy transit from competing ISPs.
The branded product will not have FCC call letters. 4G LTE will become
the next standard broadcast band.

This has not only already started, some of the more enlightened
broadcasters have been developing a variety of Internet distributed
services. I know quite a few people who are still "broadcast talent",
working to develop their relevance in terrestrial broadcasting's
"replacement"...which is, as we speak, being developed by none other
than the broadcasters themselves. Not everyone in the radio
entertainment business has his head in the sand!

My money is on next-generation broadcasting, and it has very little to
do with radio frequency transmitters and receivers. Thanks for your
interest in my theory. I look forward to your comments.

It's already well-underway. It's a safe bet; your money's risk is
minimal.

--
John Higdon
+1 408 ANdrews 6-4400
AT&T-Free At Last

In article ,
John Higdon wrote:
In article
,
daryljones wrote:

Internet content delivery will reach automobiles in just a few years,
and traditional over-the-air delivery will be changed forever when it
does. This will be the final nail in AM-FM radio¹s coffin, at least
in the USA.

This has not only already started, some of the more enlightened
broadcasters have been developing a variety of Internet distributed
services. I know quite a few people who are still "broadcast talent",
working to develop their relevance in terrestrial broadcasting's
"replacement"...which is, as we speak, being developed by none other
than the broadcasters themselves.

Can you give a bit more info on that, John? Are you saying that some
broadcasting companies are not just providing an Internet stream of
their AM/FM feeds, but are developing Internet-only products? I know
that some stations already offer additional Internet streams (KLIV
used to, but I don't see them there now), but it sounds like you're
talking about something way beyond that.


Patty

In article ,
Patty Winter wrote:

Can you give a bit more info on that, John? Are you saying that some
broadcasting companies are not just providing an Internet stream of
their AM/FM feeds, but are developing Internet-only products? I know
that some stations already offer additional Internet streams (KLIV
used to, but I don't see them there now), but it sounds like you're
talking about something way beyond that.

That's basically it. The interface will allow the listener to configure
his listening and locality (it is geographically sensitive, and provides
useful local features in the programming. In the situation that I am
thinking of, it is a work in progress, but it IS definitely moving
forward (to the point of building server rooms just for the programming
and commercial content origination. Since it is being done by radio
owners, it will dovetail with real radio stations and all of the content
will come from the broadcast entity. There is no need, however, for the
web streams to simply simulcast the air signals.

I'm really NOT being coy: I don't actually have a full grasp of the big
picture and as such I'm certainly not qualified to be a spokesperson for
any particular project. And of course, there will be competitive issues
until everyone starts doing it.

Alternative delivery (not in the broadcast band) is the future, either
in cooperation with or possibly as a replacement to terrestrial
broadcasting. My only point in my reply to the original poster was to
assure him and others that his revolutionary concepts have actually been
in development by entities who have to power to bring them to fruition.

Launch of these things is at hand.

--
John Higdon
+1 408 ANdrews 6-4400
AT&T-Free At Last

Look at Sheer Flannel's "I-Heart-Radio", CBS's similar offering.
They're using content-delivery nets (I think Ando or LimeLight).

Other big outfits like (ahem) 1e100 and the Purple Palace have their own
CDN's in place

(They might one day use IP multicast but not enough people trust it
right now.)

John Higdon wrote:
Alternative delivery (not in the broadcast band) is the future, either
in cooperation with or possibly as a replacement to terrestrial
broadcasting. My only point in my reply to the original poster was to
assure him and others that his revolutionary concepts have actually been
in development by entities who have to power to bring them to fruition.

Alternative delivery of programming is a great thing, and it's a thing
with a future.

The problem with broadcast radio, though, isn't the delivery system, it's
the programming.

If you have programming that nobody wants to listen to, they won't want
to listen to it via alternative methods either.

The primary asset that traditional broadcasters have isn' their delivery
system, but their programming. The problem is that too many of them have
neglected that for far too long.

Launch of these things is at hand.

That's great, and I will be able to adjust a channel selector on a
networked appliance and listen to Smoke on the Water on 300 of the 500
available channels.... and the other 200 will be playing Hotel California...
--scott

--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

In article ,
John Higdon wrote:
In article ,
Patty Winter wrote:

Can you give a bit more info on that, John? Are you saying that some
broadcasting companies are not just providing an Internet stream of
their AM/FM feeds, but are developing Internet-only products?

That's basically it. The interface will allow the listener to configure
his listening and locality (it is geographically sensitive, and provides
useful local features in the programming.

Such as maybe local weather and traffic reports?

In the situation that I am
thinking of, it is a work in progress, but it IS definitely moving
forward (to the point of building server rooms just for the programming
and commercial content origination.

Interesting.


I'm really NOT being coy: I don't actually have a full grasp of the big
picture and as such I'm certainly not qualified to be a spokesperson for
any particular project.

No problem. I was just looking for a little more info. I'll learn more
as time goes on.


Patty

"daryljones" wrote

I love radio. I’m an avid listener, pundit, critic, historian and
technologist. I believe traditional broadcast radio will morph into
something new and incredible and we're looking for a way to position
for future opportunity.

It's not the medium; it's the message. After Adam Corolla was fired from
KLSX in Los Angeles his podcasts took off. By the second week he had 2.4
million downloads, a far larger audience than he'd had on the radio.

I'd say not to think of radio as the technology but as the content. In
other words, it matters not to the listener whether the "radio program" they
heard came to them via a 20kw FM transmitter on a mountaintop, an IP address
on their Blackberry, or a podcast, except for the ease of listening. For
some people some formats are easier to listen to than others. It's far
easier for me to listen to a stream of "This American Life" than to listen
at any of the times our local PRI affiliates.

For instance, I was talking with the teenaged son of a computer customer of
mine. He was very familiar with WNYC's "Radiolab", but had never heard it
on the radio. The podcast was recommended to him by a friend and he's been
a faithful listener ever since.

On Fri, 29 Jul 2011 18:31:22 EDT, "David Kaye"
wrote:

For instance, I was talking with the teenaged son of a computer customer of
mine. He was very familiar with WNYC's "Radiolab", but had never heard it
on the radio. The podcast was recommended to him by a friend and he's been
a faithful listener ever since.

Heaven help us.
--
Phil Kane
Beaverton, OR

"Phil Kane" wrote in message
...

On Fri, 29 Jul 2011 18:31:22 EDT, "David Kaye"
wrote:

For instance, I was talking with the teenaged son of a computer customer
of
mine. He was very familiar with WNYC's "Radiolab", but had never heard it
on the radio. The podcast was recommended to him by a friend and he's
been
a faithful listener ever since.

Heaven help us.

Many of the teen-aged and college-aged kids I know, even those involved in a
college radio station, don't own radios, unless they're in cars. To them, a
computer or smart phone IS a radio. Streaming, or an iPod, are pretty much
the only ways they listen to anything.

Mark Howell