PAUL MALONEY
For the first time, Webcast Metrics has included an aggregate Average Quarter Hour measurement for the entire Net Radio Sales Network of online radio stations as part of its monthly online listening ranking.

Fifteen of the top 19 ranked online stations contributed to Net Radio Sales' June 76,250 AQH (Monday – Sunday 6a-12M) (Of the 19 ranked stations, only noncommercial outlets #14 KPLU/Pacific Lutheran University, #15 Christian KLVV, #16 Folk Alley, and #19 WNYC/New York are not part of the NRS network.).

Net Radio Sales calls itself "the largest aggregated network of commercial online stations" in terms of the number of stations they represent. (The online stations represented by ad reps Ronning Lipset Radio -- including those of Yahoo's Launch, AOL Radio, Windows Media, and Live365 -- account for more total listening.)

Note that the chart below is "Top 19 stations," as the Webcast Metrics Top 20 included the combined Net Radio Sales number in the chart.

In the chart below, AQH refers to "average quarter hour," the average number of persons who listened to a station for a minimum of five minutes within a reported day part. Cume, or cumulative listeners, is the number of unique persons (defined as the number of different IP addresses) who listened to a station for a minimum of five minutes within a reported time period. Numbers in bold maroon type indicate that this month's number held steady or increased over last month.

Finally, Webcast Metrics reports that Digitally Imported Radio's (*) servers provided incomplete data and are underreported for the month.

Top 19 Stations (June '05)
Rank	Station	Name (Format)	Monthly Cume (M-Su 6a-12M)	AQH 6a-12M
1		Digitally Imported Radio* (Electronic/Dance)	n/a	17,130
2		AccuRadio (Multiple formats)	851,357	9,925
3		RadioIO (Multiple formats)	530,828	8,799
4		Club977 (80s hits)	n/a	8,253
5		AirAmerica Radio (Political talk)	351,405	5,956
6		Big R Radio (Multiple formats)	207,905	2,617
7		Beethoven.com (Classical)	113,635	2,219
8		BoomerRadio (Multiple formats)	45,873	2,147
9		GotRadio (Multiple formats)	158,352	1,635
10		Wolf FM* (Hits radio)	55,124	1,221
11		3WK Underground (Alternative rock)	57,514	1,172
12		N.BOX Radio Network (Multiple formats)	77,187	992
13		MVYRadio.com (Adult Alternative)	44,020	876
14		KPLU/Pacific Lutheran University (Jazz, Blues, and NPR)	25,905	735
15		KLVV (Christian multi-channel)	23,647	726
16		FolkAlley.com (Folk)	37,307	614
17		Audible.fm (Multiple formats)	47,631	561
18		Super70s.us (1970s Hits)	12,936	550
19		WNYC/New York (Public Radio)	36,974	494

From Frank Barnako in MarketWatch.com: "The rainbow of content and programming ideas from homegrown radio producers could lead to a pot of gold.

"In a conversation last night with Mick Stanic and Cameron Reilly of The Podcast Network, based in Canberra, Australia, we got to talking about advertising and podcasts.

"The more we talked about the shows they're doing, and the shows I'm subscribed to, the clearer it became to me: podcasters don't need advertisers like car companies and condom makers. There's a whole community of financing in every town that's already supporting niche programming. It's made up of foundations and law firms and home builders who traditionally underwrite local public radio shows and stations.

"To my ear, the once-a-week, 'computer guys' show on WAMU-FM in Washington is similar to the tech shows on TPN. And WAMU's 'Stained Glass Bluegrass' show can't be that much different from the podcasts of the Bluegrass Preservation Society.

"Public radio stations WNYC, KCRW and WGBH are doing podcasters a great service by making so many shows available online. They are introducing listeners to programs by amateurs, produced informally, and focused on niche interests -- like movie reviews, Indian music, car repair, and local bands. Just like podcasts!

"Advice to podcasters: follow the money."

Read Frank Barnako in MarketWatch online here.

From Robert Feder in the Chicago Sun-Times: "Monday marked the debut of two new Chicago radio formats -- one 'straight jazz' and the other 'dusties' (R&B oldies and blues) -- courtesy of Clear Channel Radio.

"But there's a catch: Both services are available only on HD Radio channels, requiring special equipment that's still out of reach for most consumers. HD Radio receivers start at about $250.

"With Federal Communications Commission approval, Clear Channel launched the new digital services as spin-offs of two other outlets. 'Straight jazz' uses the second HD channel of smooth jazz WNUA-FM (95.5), while the 'dusties' format uses the second HD channel of adult urban contemporary WVAZ-FM (102.7).

Read Feder's entire Sun-Times column online here.