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Now
you can easily click through previous issues of RAIN
by using the blue arrows to the left and right of the issue
date. This navigation element has been added retroactively to
all of March's issues.
(Thanks to RAIN reader Jim Smith for suggesting
the idea) |
In a comprehensive, multi-part story last Sunday, the Gannett-owned
Cincinnati Enquirer newspaper
ran a detailed profile of Clear
Channel Communications and the  changes
it is bringing to the radio industry.
While the overall tone of the article is not particularly favorable
to Clear Channel ("Clear Channel is 'the company that made radio
unlistenable,' says  Bruce
Drushel, a Miami University broadcasting professor and assistant chairman
of mass communication studies"), there's an incredible
amount of fascinating detail on how Clear Channel is using digital
technology to change the way radio does business.
Some of the most interesting points are excerpted below, but I encourage
you to read the entire four-part article on the Enquirer.com
website here.
"Big radio airs the sound
of sameness"
"Radio has changed radically from a decade ago, when federal
law limited companies to  one
AM-FM combination in each city, and each had a distinctive sound...Now,
Clear Channel Communications, the largest radio company in the world,
is engineering the next step.
"Building on a radio empire it bought from Jacor Communications
here last year, Clear Channel is using digital technology to
create virtual clones of stations coast to coast.
"'We are continuing Cincinnati's tradition of being on the
cutting edge,' says Randy Michaels, former Jacor CEO and now
president of Clear Channel's radio division..."
"Local" from far away
"It's shortly after 10 a.m. in Rochester, N.Y., and Randi
West is explaining to her Kiss106 listeners how they can win Ricky
Martin concert tickets. At the same time, she's telling listeners
in Louisville how they can win Britney Spears tickets. She's chatting
with a caller to her Toledo show, promoting a lunch giveaway on her
Charleston, S.C., station and promoting a free 'spring break' trip
to her fans in Des Moines. She does all this while hosting the mid-morning
show on Cincinnati's WKFS-FM (107.1) from the Kiss107 studios in Mount
Auburn, thanks to a digital computer network linking the six Clear
Channel stations...
"Because most of this cross-utilization of talent occurs on music-intensive
formats, DJs only need to fill about two minutes an hour, spread over
four or five breaks in the programming. Customizing comments for 'a
four- or five-hour show can take anywhere from 25 minutes to an hour,'
says [Gary Jeff] Walker, who became Cincinnati's first DJ to
use the technology three years ago..."
Bigger prizes, longer odds
"It sounds so easy: 'Just listen and win.' But the odds against
winning Clear Channel contests have leaped exponentially since 1998,
when the company initiated 'group contests' conducted simultaneously
from coast to coast...
Playing chess with stations
"Nationally, radio listening has steadily declined in
the past decade. Only 15.4 percent of the population age 12 and older
regularly listens, down from 17.5 percent in 1989, according to analyst
Duncan's American Radio. Thom Moon, Duncan's research director,
blames, in part, “much higher commercial loads and not as much programming
innovation...”
More excerpts tomorrow -- or you can read the entire four-part
Enquirer series here.
Department
of Viral Marketing:
If you have
friends or colleagues that you believe might enjoy reading RAIN
-- e.g., friends who work for Clear Channel -- please click
here
and we'll help you them about us. Thanks! |
WebRadio.com announced this morning that it has entered into
a multi-year deal with Infinity-managed  radio
network Westwood One to offer audio streaming and e-commerce services
to the network's 24/7 music format affiliates.
Under the terms of the deal, Westwood One will immediately receive
a 6% stake in WebRadio.com. WW1's  ownership
position may grow to 10.5% based on their performance in signing up
affiliates.
WW1 has over 1,000 affiliates to its eight full-time music formats,
according to WebRadio marketing director Scott Zafran. (Click
here for
WW1's description of its eight formats.) Under the deal, WebRadio
may set up individual websites for each of those stations.
"Just as we're a turnkey streaming provider, giving stations
all the tools they need to stream, Westwood One
is a turnkey provider for their business," Zafran explained.
"In essence, Westwood One has brought to the table a group deal
for all of their affiliates, so they don't have to negotiate pricing
-- they've got them 'favored nation' pricing."
WebRadio.com,. a subsidiary of GEO Interactive Media, offers
a "plug-in-free" Internet broadcasting solution that uses a Java-based
technology called "Emblaze" in place of RealAudio or Windows
Media Audio and says it has a client list of about 200 radio stations.
Westwood One is managed by Infinity Broadcasting (CBS's 82%-owned
radio arm), which owns about 28% of the company.
 Pictured:
WW1 SVP/Affiliate Sales and New Media Peter Kosann;
WebRadio.com President Hamid Kohan; WW1 President/CEO Joel
Hollander and WebRadio.com CFO Joseph E. Budenholzer.
.jpg) BY
KURT HANSON
In the world of cable Internet access, there's something called the
"last mile" problem -- how to get a fast connection
that final mile of distance from the supplier's network to the consumer's
house.
In the world of Internet radio, I believe that there should be something
called the "last ten yards" problem -- how to get
an audio stream from the user's computer to his or her home
stereo. When that problem's solved, consumers will have the ability
to listen to webcasts on a quality sound system rather than on the
tinny speakers that come with most home computers.
One firm  that's
developing an answer to that problem is a Silicon Valley-based startup
called Sonicbox. They're working on a system that allows consumers
to listen to webcasts on any stereo in their house -- with
the ability to change stations via a wireless remote control...
Read the full story in yesterday's edition of RAIN here.
 |
| Drew
Bennett: "Being an internet only station owner, I think
the Sonicbox is very cool. I'll have one when they show up in
stores, but I don't see it being a huge seller. Internet radio
is going to take a few more years to get to everybody. Only
now is it becoming the next alternative "format." Don't look
for Sonicbox to come out full speed but do expect it (and others
like it) to be around in the not so distant future." |
| Alan
Reische: "It does make a lot of sense if the listener
has some control over content. if I'm buying a device which
is filled with heavy metal stations just because that (1) reflects
the programmers taste; or (2) those stations were high bidder,
forget it." |
| Dan
Davornikov: "Hmmmm Looks interesting but what would
the FCC think about picking an FM station to transmit locally
on? What happens when two people next to each other have a "Sonicbox"
in an apartment complex?" |
| Eric
Faison: "Interesting, but isn't this already dated
technology with Internet appliances like the Kerbango product?
This seems like playing an 8 Track or CD through an FM tuner.
Once Kerbango or some other Internet Radio reaches an affordable
price point who would need this?" |
| Robert
E. Richer: "Maybe it's just me, but I find that audio
streaming is still so far in its infancy as to be almost impractical.
By that, I mean that although I am connected to the Internet
via a cable modem, many stations will not stay tuned, and will
drop out or drop in, as traffic increases or decreases. There
is only so much buffering and error correction that can occur,
and then..........nothing. I cannot imagine how bad it must
be if you're listening to a distant station on a mediocre server
by way of a twisted pair. Buying a device such as the one you
detail sounds great, but I think a lot of people are going to
get disillusioned pretty fast when the signals keep dropping
out." |
| Lou
Josephs: "I've been using a 2GHZ device from x10.com
for the last 6 months that takes audio from my pc and puts it
into my stereo. I'd much rather see a portable device that I
can take with me. And Voquette is not the answer..as it barely
works." |
Contribute your feedback here. |
More
coming soon! Contribute your suggestions here.
(Suggestions already in the hopper include RadioWoodstock.com, Nerve
Radio, Radio Gogaga, and HotCountryHits.)
Miss an
issue?
Visit the RAIN News Archives here.
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March
22, 2000 
