The Dawn of Internet Radio?
“In 2009, Internet radio may not just reinvigorate the medium of radio. It may reinvent it.” This prediction comes from the consulting firm Deloitte, which has published annual reports on upcoming media trends for the last eight years.
If the report is correct, 2009 will see much more widespread adoption of WiFi enabled internet radio sets (like the one pictured above). These sets, which retail for about $200, are designed to connect to digital radio signals from around the world via the internet.
“It’s the future of radio,” Alex Bowden, a salesman at Bay and Bloor Radio in downtown Toronto, said to The Financial Post. He said the store has seen an uptick in sales of the devices, especially over Christmas, as prices have gone down.
Deloitte sees this as a major opportunity for radio broadcasters.
There are about 2.5 billion analog radio sets in the world, and conventional radio broadcasts will continue to serve those listeners for the next few years, but the internet has 1.5 billion users, two-thirds of which have broadband. Serving the internet market properly could lead to substantial numbers of new listeners both from people listening at work on computers and from these new digital radio sets.
Digital radio also has the advantage over satellite radio in that the sets usually don’t require subscriptions. Currently only about a quarter of the worlds 44,000 radio stations broadcast online but that will likely increase as digital radio sets become more popular.
Not everyone agrees on the potential for internet radio though. David Bray, a radio industry analyst, told the The Financial Post, it was “wildly improbable,” that internet radio would led to widespread shift. He said it’s too early to tell if most consumers would spend a couple hundred dollars on new sets.
The Deloitte report concludes that although digital radio represents a big opportunity for broadcasters, they need to make the station easy to search and find by building electronic program guides and recommendation engines. Broadcasters also need to ensure that ensure that their content is listing on the large aggregators site like RadioTower. Finally there are still issues that need to be resolved about music royalties.
What do you think? Will internet radio change the face of the medium, or will it another internet related innovation that doesn’t live up to its promise?
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I set up a really cheap internet radio setup in my house. I plug my ipod touch into a dock attached to my stereo, and then using a $4.99 app, use it to connect to various radio streams. It lets me listen to the CBC radio 2 streams in my kitchen.
Mike, you spent over $200 to listen to CBC Radio 2, readily available with a $10 portable.
Paul, it’s great that you’re writing a blog like this, but you really need to re-read these posts before printing all these scrambled sentences.
“The Dawn”? Really? How long has radio3 been doing its internet radio thing? At least a year right? And Radio 2 has had internet radio since September 2008, and we’re really close to putting up the rest of the CBC live streams as well. I think we’re well into the morning, looking at lunch time with internet radio. Open up your iTunes Internet Radio Directory, Paul and check out the thousands (I kid you not) of Internet Radio stations available, and you will see at least 5 that are all CBC!
Hi Allen,
How do you figure Mike spent $200? He said he spent $4.99. I’m sure he bought the iPod to listen to other things too. Don’t be so picky dude!
I never worry too much about grammer in blogs. If you do you may want to rethunk your priorities. If you actually take the time to post aboot badd grammers in peoples blogs, you may want to find another blog to read or get a live.
Does it bothering you win peoples right wit da bad grammers? Doo use loose sleep over such a ting? Do use get madd at the dog when she no listening to you too? Do use sumtimes feel that use are smarterer than the hole world?
I just saw one of these internet radios in action. I really liked it and I am thinking of buying it for my wife and daughter, so they can listen to Asian music from back home. The one I was was a Sanyo. It was $199 in the store but Dell.ca has it for $169 with da free shippin.
Angela,
Did you ever try to use itunes on the main floor when your computer is in the basement office? You can take an audio feed from your computer to your audio system if
a) they are next to each other
b) you have long cables and a big drill
These little radios work anywhere in the house, garage or yard that has wi-fi and they have audio out so you can feed it into your audio amplifier/reciever.
I think they are cool.
It needs to be built into the next generation of stereo receivers; a network jack, wireless, and the required electronics. Add the ability to timeshift, import and export, and I might even retire my thirty-year-old receiver – which has a Slimp3 plugged into it..
Hey Angela,
I was using the term to describe the possible widespread popularity of the reception, as opposed to the distribution of the internet radio. I think these internet radio sets will impact the industry because they make it easy to find and listen to internet radio, while unhooked them from computers.
Tony standards are lower than I would prefer at a blog that is not really a blog.
This is a corporate site, paid for by the CBC. Is it too much to ask that if you want the publics attention that the writer would take a moment to re-read before posting?
The odd spelling mistake (such as with my name) is easily over-looked, but the numerous mistakes in sentences shows laziness and a disrespect for the readers.
You invite us to spend time contemplating an issue, but cannot yourself be bothered to make the posting legible.
Tony is subsequently also not concerned with making it any easier to read his response. We see that wasting peoples time is someone’s idea of fun.
There are alternatives to buying an internet radio, such as the Airport Express.
But the best device of all is the iPhone and the many applications available to bring in stations from around the world, including full TV broadcasts.
Paul, the reality is that these radios will have virtually no impact whatsoever. Just look at what one reader is listening to – Radio 2!
Were you thinking that people in Toronto would prefer to listen to Texas radio or German newscasts or the BBC rather than the CBC?
That’s not how things work.
People are interested in their immediate (ie local) surroundings.
People in Vancouver read the Vancouver Sun before they read the Toronto Star.
And very few spend time with The Guardian or the New York Post.
Alan, I wrote that I listen to the CBC Radio 2 streams over the internet. I listen to the regular CBC Radio 2 on my radio, but use my ipod setup to listen to the 4 additional CBC Radio 2 streams that are available as online radio stations (jazz, classical, singer-songwriter, and Canadian composer).
Allan
If you go to the Radio 2 blog, you will find that many listeners no longer tune in to Radio 2 but are listening to ABC Australia as well as classical and public radio in countries around the world.
Internet radio is becoming of interest, even to luddites such as myself.