Radio: What Is It?

Radio—or as some might argue, audio content—now comes in many flavors. By the way, the radio biggies already get the fact that they are really in the content business. The name “radio” originally came from radio waves, a part of the electromagnetic spectrum that was licensed to stations to broadcast their programming to the public. However, in all its present forms, the term radio seems somewhat archaic. Audio content is now available in many ways: tower broadcast (regional), satellite broadcast (global), iTunes and podcasts (time shifting and global), Internet radio (global), and many other audio content competitors such as CDs, audio books, etc.

Traditional radio, faced with growing audio content competition from other sources, has had a difficult time maintaining growth. Part of the challenge for traditional radio stations is finding a niche. They are broadcasters in what is increasingly a narrowcasting marketplace.

Although its audience penetration is still relatively small, one of the biggest growth areas for audio content is Internet radio. According to Arbitron, the Internet radio audience has grown 50 percent in the last year. The biggest audience for Internet radio is in the 18-34 age group with 19 percent of that demographic listening to Internet radio in an average week.

Internet radio can include both traditional radio stations broadcasting on the Web and also independents. While starting a traditional radio station can be a costly and difficult endeavor, starting an independent radio station on the Web is relatively easy (more info here).

One thing limiting Internet radio growth is the lack of a Web connection in the automobile. That puts Internet radio at a distinctive disadvantage compared to broadcast and satellite radio (for cars so equipped). That could change as technology facilitates a way to conveniently and inexpensively bring reliable Web access to moving vehicles. Web access in planes is becoming a reality, so it isn’t unreasonable to expect that this problem will be solved for autos in the near future.