Beginning today, "RAIN: Radio And Internet
Newsletter" will be working from the offices of Strategic
Media Research. We're currently in the process of moving from
the Lakeview location into downtown Chicago.
As a result of this change, the entire RAIN staff
can now be reached at 312 726-8300. All e-mail addresses will
remain the same.
Naturally, there may be a bit of a lapse in communication
while we make this transition. We apologize for any inconvenience
you might experience in trying to track us down, and appreciate
your understanding.
From MSNBC.com: "
Clear
Channel, which had to be talked into the experiment, is
now embracing
WorldClassRock
as a possible model for future Webcasting efforts. After all, the
station, which made a small profit in its previous life, has quickly
achieved something that has eluded most Web entertainment ventures:
It’s making a profit on the Internet,
says John J. Martin, president of Clear Channel Radio Online.
"So far, the key to WorldClassRock’s profitability has
been Clear Channel’s partnerships.
Microsoft
Corp. and
RealNetworks
Inc. pay WorldClassRock a fee to link to sites where their
Internet-streaming software can be downloaded.
Akoo.com
Inc. gives the station a commission on the wireless Internet
audio devices it sells to WorldClassRock listeners. These and other
agreements generate enough revenue to keep the station in the black,
Mr. Martin says.
"The scale is small. People from as far away as Brazil
and Germany listen to the Webcast, but only about 130,000 tune in
each month. That’s way below the
246,000 people who listened to the station each week when it broadcast
over the air, according to Ceridian Corp.’s
Arbitron...
"Even with a sagging economy, Kevin Mayer, chief executive
of Clear Channel Internet Group, forecasts that the company’s overall
online ventures — from SFX Entertainment’s online concert-ticket
sales to online radio — will be
profitable
by next year. Toward that end, Clear Channel announced
a deal last week with
Hiwire
Inc., a Los Angeles company that provides the technology
for inserting ads into streamed Webcasts, to deliver targeted ads
to listeners of WorldClassRock. The deal gives Clear Channel an
early lead
in tapping into the $140 million that Jupiter Research expects advertisers
to spend on streaming audio and video online by 2005...
"Until last week, advertising revenue at WorldClassRock
came from a few banner ads and e-commerce deals. Now, using Hiwire’s
technology, WorldClassRock plans to stream about 10 minutes of commercials
each hour within the Webcast, says Ms. Sandler. Hiwire Chief Executive
Warren Schlichting says that based on his company’s experience so
far, advertisers are willing to pay
$30
to $60 per 1,000 listeners for a targeted audio commercial."
Read this entire story
here.
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Although the amount of time most users spend online seems
to be down compared to
a
year ago, "online radio listening is up significantly."
Once again, the "ability to listen to the station" was
ranked the most popular feature of radio station sites.
That's according to a study by
Arbitron
and
Edison Media Research.
The firms released the details of the study, "Internet VI:
Streaming at a Crossroads," Friday at the RAB convention in
Dallas.
The study also revealed some interesting points about how
users feel about the Internet in general, the possible ramifications
of lower dot-com ad spending, the use of broadband and streaming
media, and a list of recommendations for the streaming media industry
from the researchers.
Results of the study indicate that the the 'Net is hitting
a maturation point, as for the first
time the number of "web veterans (those whose first time online
occurred more than three years ago)" is larger than those whose
first time was between one and three years ago, and those who first
got online this past year.
If the "novelty factor" of the Internet is indeed
wearing off, that may explain why it appears that stations aren't
doing as good a job of promoting their sites as in the past. The
number of respondents who've heard a station mention their site,
and the number who've visited a station's site, have both dropped
to near August of 1998 levels. That appears to be the first recorded
drop for both of these measurements.
Although it appears that the amount of time spent online
is down nearly an hour per week as compared to a
year ago (8:01 in January 2000 to 7:08 in January 2001), 30% of
respondents say they plan to spend more time with the Internet in
the future (second only to radio at 34%). Even more compelling,
those who actively use streaming media would be as willing to give
up use of the television (47%) as the Internet.
It's interesting to note that streaming audio users seem
to be driven by musical content (44%) more than anything else --
though radio, news reports, and music from Napster all get relatively
the same share (24%-25% of respondents). Unfortunately, only 24%
of "audio streamies" could even name a single Internet
audio provider.
Based on the results of the study, the research firms recommend
that webcasters and broadcasters promote "the compelling marketing
attributes" of streaming media users, such as the higher average
time spent online and higher-than-average online spending rates.
Click here
to download the study in .pdf format (Adobe Acrobat reader required).
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Try
it out! Explore the wide world of
Internet audio by clicking the screenshot above.
