RADIO MUST RESPOND TO 'NET

Fmqb quotes an extensive survey conducted by MediaSpan, which observed: “Clearly broadcasters who offered integrated online programming via innovative features such as podcasting and streaming will meet audience demands and strengthen their relationship with their audiences. By providing these services in a local environment, stations can compete online with the large streaming portals that have been challenging them for listener mindshare.”

Along these lines, the Wall Street Journal notes a survey from the Audit Bureau of Circulations, which shows sharp 6-month percentage drops in many of the nations largest newspapers’ circulation levels. As the WSJ notes: ”The growing worry in the industry is the numbers reflect not just a slump, or a simple extension of a long-term decline in readers, but a more tectonic shift in habits.”

Much as Internet news and information sites representing traditional news outlets, as well as increasingly popular Web destinations like drudgereport.com and freemarketnews.com are offering effective alternatives for TV listeners, radio can also straddle this divide. Fmqb quotes MediaSpan’s instructive recommendation. They state: “There is a huge opportunity for stations and advertisers to gain consumer loyalty through streaming … Nearly half (of the respondents) said they would visit the local radio site if a quality streaming service was offered. This is a big opportunity for local streaming portals.”