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TEN
SCOOPS IN TEN DAYS!
We've got a LOT of excellent, exclusive material in
the queue. Look for original reporting on brand-new stories
involving radio and the Interent every day for two straight
weeks in RAIN!
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 BY
KURT HANSON
Veteran programmer and radio sales executive Mark McClure
has developed  a
new type of radio portal that could making listening
to broadcast radio via the Internet easier and more convenient
for consumers -- and is currently in the process of pitching it
to various radio group owners.
McClure is pitching his concept under the name "StreamingRadioUSA."
(The site includes links to "StreamingCountryUSA," "StreamingAlternativeUSA,"
and so forth.) He was developing his concept when
we met last spring at the Radio Ink Internet Conference in Boston
and I got to see some preliminary sketches. He's now got
a fully-functioning demo site
up and running.
Here's how
it works: The first time a listener visits the site, he or she
is asked to enter their  zip
code and select a format. (The individual
selects from the various choices at the bottom of the page, which,
in addition to the two formats mentioned above, also include jazz,
oldies, rock, classical, and several other formats).
That first click brings up a page that shows the radio station
that's geographically closest to the listener's  home...plus
several other stations in the same format in other cities that are
owned by the same broadcast group. (See screenshot at right
-- or click on the screenshot
to see an enlarged version.)
Just one more click brings up a player window -- with that station's
broadcast playing (see screenshot below).
"Utilizing sites such as BroadcastAmerica.com,
Yahoo Broadcast,
or WindowsMedia.com
to stream is time consuming, confusing and a prime example of the-more-clicks-to-stream-the-merrier
mentality," McClure explains. "Difficult navigation, too
many clicks, and flashy useless graphics make a listener give up
and pop in a CD."
"Our strategy is decidedly different than our competitors,"
he explained. "Our focus is traditional
radio only with emphasis on local
properties. The first station  the
user hears is the local property in their format of choice." And
with McClure's approach, the listener has several other options
for listening that still keep that listening within the broadcast
group owner's family of properties.
What are McClure's plans for his concept? "StreamingRadioUSA
was developed to be a nationally brandable site, customizable to
a major broadcast group, a consortium, or the entire industry,"
he explained. "We anticipate populating StreamingRadioUSA with one
major broadcaster's properties," McClure said, although
he noted he was also still open to other possibilites.
McClure's background includes programming and sales executive
positions at Jacor's KRFX/Denver and the legendary stations WROK/WZOK/Rockford.
His partners include his wife, Robin Renzenbrink, who is
a former marketing executive herself, and Internet developers Erik
Kliphuis and Matt Overholt.
He says he has also registered "Streaming" domain
names for the top 50+ markets -- StreamingNewYorkCity, StreamingLosAngeles,
StreamingChicago, and so on.
...
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...
My first thought was that what McClure has here,
except for the URLs, is a navigation
concept that anyone could, I believe, copy.
However, McClure says that he believes some
aspects of it are patentable and says he
has applied for the patent. (And Amazon seems to be successfully
defending their "One-click ordering" patent, which
seems totally indefensible to me.)
In any case, it's an interesting approach -- and shows
that McClure and his team may be miles ahead of some multi-billion-dollar
broadcasters in their thinking.
And he's right: To listen to, say, Susquehanna's 99X/Atlanta
by going through Yahoo!,
you have to click on "News & Media," then click
on "Radio," then click on "Live Radio,"
then click on "Browse by Location," then click on
"Atlanta," then click on "WNNX," then finally
click on "Click here for the Yahoo! broadcast."
And if a listener decides to change stations, there's
virtually no likelihood at all
that he or she would stay in the Susquehanna family of properties.
(On the other hand, there's currently no
value to Susquehanna if an Atlanta-based listener
listens to other stations in the group. But that could change
if the stations are using geographically-targeted ad insertion
-- or even simply covering up local spots with national ones.)
... |
Contribute your thoughts about this story on the new RAIN
message boards (here)
or using the form button immediately below.
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Thanks
to the work of RAIN's crack team of interns, clicking
the headline at left should bring up a nice pop-up form.
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RCS
Teams With nTunes.com
 From
Radio & Records: nTunes'
customized, private-label online CD stores will be linked to RCS'
RadioShow web technology. RadioShow allows a station's website to
follow the station's  broadcast
in real time, with song background information, artist notes and
other data constantly changing with what's happening on-air. The
partnership with nTunes will offer users the ability to buy the
music the station is playing. (Read more in R&R Online here.)
Streamedia reports revenues
(and losses)
From Radio Business Report: Streamedia (O:SMIL) hardly even
existed a year ago, but booked $123K in revenues for Q2 this year.
That  brought
year-to-date revenues to $131K. The streaming company’s net loss
also ballooned, to $3.7M for the first half of this year, compared
to a bit over a half million a year ago. Streamedia sold its IPO
last December at $12.75 for a unit of one share of stock and one
option to buy another share at that same price of $12.75 through
the end of 2004. Right now you can buy the stock on the open market
for a buck and change. (Read more in RBR.com here.)
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As
near as I can tell from their website, these guys seem to
be simply repping voice talent. How in the world
could they lose $3.7 million in a half-year?! (If
you know, please explain here.) |
American Communications Readies 'Influentia'
From Radio & Records: The
Austin-based radio group, whose goal is to collect small-market
stations a nd
build a 400-station group through a "radio Wal-Mart" approach, plans
to launch a new division that will create and develop consumer products
and personal development websites, along with lifestyle programming
for its networks. American
Communications Enterprises President/CEO Dain Schult says
Influentia gives the company new opportunities to develop e-commerce
businesses that will tie into the company's broadcast and Internet
divisions.
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