BY KURT HANSON
In an environment in which consumers are being offered more media choices than ever before -- including thousands of Internet radio stations today and 200 channels of satellite-delivered radio soon -- Chicago's Infinity-owned WCKG/Chicago is running commercial breaks on "The Howard Stern Show" that can run over 15 minutes in length and last week sometimes contained more than 35 commercials in a row!

There may, of course, be a correlation between this phenomenon and recent news reports that listening to Stern's program this year is down several percentage points -- and perhaps the fact that overall radio listening in the U.S. has been declining somewhat as well.

To be fair to WCKG, I don't think this issue is particularly unique to Chicago. This tabulation confirms our previous non-statistical observation that spot breaks we've heard on Infinity-owned Stern affiliates in other major markets (e.g., KLSX/Los Angeles) also seemed surprisingly long.

And to be totally fair, I should note the fact that many of those 35 commercials in a single break were merely 10-second spots which were apparently sold in a co-op deal with a local beeper company's "#333" service. (It connects cellular phone users with the advertiser in a toll-free call.) (Note: This week, that schedule of :10s seems to be over.)

Nonetheless, I believe that a consumer heard every unit, no matter what its length, as a spot. (When McDonald's buys a :60 and splits it into two 30-second spots, I'm convinced a listener perceives that as the station playing two commercials.)

The following table documents just one of several long breaks that RAIN's crack team of interns monitored on Stern's program last week. (To get the full effect, I'd suggest that you try scrolling slowly down this list, actually reading each line of the table.)

Time	Advertiser	Length
10:08:55	Recorded Howard Stern promo	:30
10:09:35	Bill Jacobs Chevy / #333	:10
10:09:45	Davis Street Fishmarket / #333	:10
10:09:55	Scott's Pure Premium Seeds	:60
10:10:55	Illinois Vehicle Insurance / #333	:10
10:11:05	Village Ford / #333	:10
10:11:15	Chicago First Impressions	:35
10:11:50	ComputerJobs.com / #333	:20
10:12:10	Glendale Nissan / #333	:20
10:12:30	Catabolic Diet / #333	:30
10:13:00	Orchard Valley Apartments / #333	:20
10:13:20	Haines Oldsmobile / #333	:20
10:13:40	CBS / "Everybody Loves Raymond"	:10
10:13:50	Headhunter.net	:50
10:14:40	Country Daewoo	:15
10:14:55	The Shack nightclub	:60
10:15:55	Dontee Heating and A/C	:60
10:16:55	Curry Motors Ford / #333	:50
10:17:45	Bankers Nationwide Mortgage	:60
10:18:45	Cigars Around the World / #333	:10
10:18:55	Woodstock Harley-Davidson / #333	:10
10:19:05	Worldwide Wireless Wheels / #333	:10
10:19:15	Bob Walk dog walking service / #333	:50
10:19:12	Hassel Buick	:10
10:20:22	CBS Television / "That's Life"	:10
10:20:32	Cruise Car Company / #333	:10
10:20:42	Greeters Motors / #333	:10
10:20:52	E-Realty.com	:60
10:21:52	Scotts Super Winterizer / Frank's Nursery	:60
10:22:52	Northwest Valley Honda / #333	:20
10:23:02	AAMCO Transmissions	:60
10:24:02	Merle's Steak House / #333	:10
10:24:12	Williams Kia	:30
10:24:42	WorldwideWheels.com	:10
10:24:52	Irritable Bowel Syndrome research study	:60
10:25:52	Bill Jacobs Mazda / #333	:10
10:26:02	WCKG ID (Note: Not counted as a spot)	:05
10:26:07	MTV / "Sunday Night Heat" (Stern read)	:66
10:27:13	Recorded Stern promo	:30
10:27:43	Total length of stopset (38 units)	18:48

Long spot breaks, of course, are just one of several issues affecting the potential vulnerability of broadcast radio.

Another vulnerability-related issue, for example, is the phenomenon of smaller-market stations attempting to give the impression that a contest is local when, in reality, the station's listeners have to compete with listeners in dozens of other markets. (I assume this would alienate any listener who realizes what's going on and concludes they were scammed.)

Of course, this development seems like a positive one for Internet radio: If broadcast radio is overloading its spot breaks, that spells opportunity for new entrants in the field!

Your comments -- including your view on the implications of this phenomenon and, if you've got them, examples from stations in other markets and owned by other broadcasters -- are invited.

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The following is regarding the RAIN's exclusive piece on Infinity's decision to run 35-spot stopsets on Howard Stern's program.

"The party is over for these beancounting geniuses..."

After reading the latest numbers on how impossible the record companies and the RIAA are making it for us fledgling webcasters to make a living (reported in RAIN here) I just about fell off my chair when I read the list of commercials on Howard Stern's show. I had to slowly read the list of commercials in one break, and let it sink in -- 18:48.

Overlay this business model with some streaming media company getting hosed by RIAA -- and what has been happening with the DMCA -- and "voila," there it is. Mel and his band of two that own all the radio stations in the country are protecting their "golden goose" -- AT ALL COSTS.

OOPS, wait - trouble is, that "golden goose" (the poor audience) has HAD IT with this kind of forced feeding. They are voting with their ears, and feet. The party is over for these beancounting geniuses that decided that radio was best served by pillaging the pockets of the poor schlub media buyer who has spot number 36 in the cluster, and to hell with the folks that actually listen to the drivel that passes for "entertainment" on little Howie's show.

Tom Jeffries BdB Media Inc.

"People are listening to Internet radio to avoid the gluttony of spots..."

Just another reason why we laugh when radio stations stream their signal online. People are listening to Internet radio to avoid the gluttony of spots being run by the "iron clads". Anyone who is an aggregator of radio station's signals is in for a sad situation if they think they're going to run 35 units of "net spots" to fill up the online broadcasts. No one will sit around for it...

Sal Lepore CyberRadio2000.com

"...short term gain of more revenue is more than offset..."

Managers who know how to manage their inventory take length of breaks as well as clutter (number of impressions) into account. The short term gain of more revenue is more than offset by clutter and tune-out.

A good Traffic manager will make sure the examples you give do not happen if they are given the authority. If management sees Traffic as just a "data entry clerk" then this is the result you will get, and listeners will look elsewhere...and that may not be to another radio station.

Liz Lane

"I-radio could operate with stopsets MUCH longer than 20 seconds..."

Jupiter Communications (see RAIN story here), while it may live up to its moniker as the expert on Internet Commerce, obviously doesn't have a clue when it comes to Internet radio programming. Your article on Stern shows that I-radio could operate with stopsets MUCH longer than 20 seconds and not only retain listeners-but bill itself as virtually (pardon the pun) ad-free...

Gary Bennett Policast.com

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As we wait for the courts decide on Napster's future, here's some analysis and speculation on the file-sharing software's future.

From CNET News: "While the world waits for a panel of appeals judges to decide Napster's fate, dedicated file-traders already have their eyes on other technologies: Gnutella, Freenet, OpenNap and more.

"But whatever their potential for spurring the evolution of peer-to-peer technology, the alternatives may be poor replacements for Napster if it is deemed illegal by the courts and shut down. A combination of young technology, ease-of-use issues and vulnerability to potential record industry enforcement actions make it improbable that any of these options could ever gain the reach of Napster." Read the CNET News story here.

From Reuters: "Several major universities, including Stanford and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, have rejected a lawyer's demand that they ban students' use of Napster song-swap software. Los Angeles attorney Howard King, who represents recording artists Metallica and Dr. Dre in copyright infringement lawsuits against Napster, called for the ban earlier this month in letters to about a dozen universities. But officials said Friday they had rejected King's requests. While they don't condone piracy, they don't censor Internet access, they said."

Sept. 29-Oct. 4	MOBE/Internet & Technology, Chicago
October 5-7	Billboard/Airplay Monitor Seminar, New York
October 9-12	QuickTime Live! Conference, Beverly Hills
October 10-12	Streaming Media Europe 2000, London
November 5-7	NAB European Radio Conference, Berlin
November 12-14	Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) "Broadcasting 2000: On-air / On-line," Calgary (NEW!)
Nov. 28-Dec. 1	Radio Ink Internet Conference, Santa Clara, CA, featuring a brand-new national study on Internet radio usage presented by Eric Rhoads & Kurt Hanson