 |
 BY
KURT HANSON
Real Networks released the latest version of its "RealPlayer"
software yesterday -- dubbed "RealPlayer8" -- and
giving it a test run apparently caused a virtual shutdown of RAIN
yesterday.
Here's the story: Yesterday's promised "news updates
throughout the day" turned into a single late-afternoon edition
because it was virtually impossible to FTP (in other words,
upload) finished pages to the RAIN server.
Here in the RAIN newsroom, we tried rebooting individual
computers, we tried rebooting the entire network, we tried turning
off the Internet radio we were listening to, we
tried switching from the cable modem to a 56K modem...and
intermittent upload problems continued to plague the LAN (local
area network) unpredictably.
Mysteriously, listening to Internet radio sometimes seemed
to cause problems and sometimes didn't.
Finally, after about 12 hours of massive frustration, we finally
isolated what seemed to be the problem: It
wasn't all Internet radio listening that caused problems
-- just the use of RealPlayer 8!
Previously, RAIN readers have written in calling RealPlayer
a "resource hog" -- implying, if I remember correctly,
that it grabs too much of your system resources and then doesn't
release them when you try to quit using it.
Does that sound right? If you understand this issue, please
e-mail me here with
your interpretation and I'll share your thoughts with all of RAIN's
readers.
Meanwhile, look for a full review of RealPlayer8 later in the week
in RAIN... maybe.
Reprinted
from yesterday's late edition
Kerbango, the Cupertino-based firm developing the world's
first stand-alone Internet radio  and
Arbitron announced today that the companies have entered
into a strategic alliance to enhance the Arbitron's InfoStream product.
However, "both companies will remain respectful of listener
privacy in collecting and using the data," the press release
assures readers in its opening paragraph.
According to the release, Kerbango will provide Arbitron with listener
data via its Internet audio Tuning Service  and
forthcoming Internet radio, and Arbitron will use Kerbango's data
in the development of Arbitron's Webcast measurement service, InfoStream.
"By incorporating Kerbango's information in the development
of InfoStream, Arbitron will gain further insight into the Internet
radio marketplace and listeners' preferences, and provide information
services to Internet broadcasters and advertisers that are broader
and more in-depth than ever before," the release says.
At the same time, "Kerbango will be using information compiled
by Arbitron to develop strategies and campaigns to manage the integration
of broadcast media models with new Internet business opportunities."
| I
have no idea what any of this means. It seems to me that
if a station is participating in Arbitron's InfoStream study
(which is a tabulation of the station's server logs), then
all listening to the station's webcast -- whether via
computer, Kerbango radio, or some other device -- would already
be included in the listening totals. I suspect that the press
release is being intentionally unclear on exactly how
the Kerbango data could or will be used. (Maybe they don't
know yet themselves.) -- KH |
Kerbango
also announced last week that Interep Interactive,
a division of Interep ("the nation's
largest independent full-service advertising sales and marketing
company specializing in radio") will represent Kerbango in
advertising sales for its website and audio Tuning Service.
"By encoding more information in their audio 'streams,' Internet
advertisers can receive direct feedback from listeners of the
Kerbango Internet Radio and Tuning Service," the press release
noted. (Note the Dr. Evil-like quotation
marks around the word "streams.") "Listeners
can respond to ads to get more information, take advantage of
special offers or make a purchase." The Kerbango radio includes
an "Information button" that consumers can press during
a spot to request additional info from an advertiser.
Adam Guild, president of Interep Interactive, added, "With
revolutionary products like Kerbango's Internet Radio and Tuning
Service, advertisers can see immediate results for the first time.
Our experienced team will move quickly to get traction for Kerbango
in this exciting medium."
Reprinted
from yesterday's issue. Includes 4PM
update!
BY
KURT HANSON
Arbitron has signed Minneapolis-based NetRadio.com
as its first multi-channel Internet-only broadcaster for its
InfoStream webcast ratings  services,
and "preliminary audience figures" contained in the
press release on the subject suggest that at least four of its
channels will be at or near the top of the Monthly Cume ranking
in its next report.
According to Arbitron, InfoStream has started measuring monthly
traffic levels for five NetRadio.com channels -- Hits, 80s Hits, The X, Vintage Rock, and Smooth Jazz.
Audience figures for the five channels were released this morning:
| |
Channel |
Monthly Audience (unique listeners)
|
| |
Hits |
261,000
|
| |
The X |
228,000
|
| |
Vintage Rock |
220,300
|
| |
Hits |
219,000
|
| |
Smooth Jazz |
176,400
|
The leading
station in monthly cume in the January 2000 report released
last week (here),
VirginRadio.co.uk,
had a cume of 176,600 people. (By comparison, some individual
broadcast radio stations in the New York City market may have
cumes of up to 2,000,000 people.)
It may be interesting  to
note that Arbitron's press release did not indicate which
month the NetRadio cumes quoted above were from (although
it's reasonable to assume that the numbers are from January).
NetRadio is a NASDAQ-traded stock with a market capitalization
yesterday of about $28 million, down from a market cap of $100
million last fall. (See data from Quicken.com here.)
4PM
UPDATE: Arbitron's PR firm has informed me that monthly
cumes for NetRadio stated in the press release are not
for January! Ha! The PR firm's representative admitted
that they're cumes from an unspecified but more-recent month.
(I believe there's a Lily Tomlin quote, "No matter
how cynical you get, it's impossible to keep up.")
|
Please feel free to check back
On Wednesday
(here),
I promised that I'd write an analysis of the latest Arbitron
InfoStream webcast ratings this week...
Coming soon!
 |
| May
22-26 |
Real
[Networks] Conference 2000, San Jose |
| June
12-14 |
Streaming
Media East 2000, New York City |
| June
14-17 |
R&R
Convention 2000, Los Angeles |
| June
14-17 |
PROMAX
& BDA, New Orleans |
| July
13-16 |
Upper
Midwest Conclave, Minneapolis |
| August
3-5 |
Morning
Show Bootcamp, New Orelans |
| September
20-23 |
NAB
Radio Show, San Francisco |
| October
5-7 |
Billboard/Airplay
Monitor Seminar, New York |
| November
5-7 |
NAB
European Radio Conference, Berlin
|
| Nov.
28-Dec. 1 |
Radio
Ink Internet Conference, Santa Clara, CA |
If you're hiring for a position that's radio- and Internet-related
this week, we'll post it -- free!  Simply
e-mail the job description here.
If
you're looking for new opportunities that involve
the Internet, you can take a look at the first three
available positions here.
|
New
and improved!
| xxx |
 |
|
Try it
out! Explore
the wide world of Internet audio by clicking the screenshot above.
Miss an issue?
Visit the RAIN News Archives here.
|
|
