Triton's Agovino says customizable pureplay programming more compelling than simple simulcasts

The 826 million hours of online radio listening Triton Digital Media tallied in September is 20% more than January's total. And while listening to broadcast radio simulcast online is indeed growing, it's the huge gains made by Pandora (and, to a much lesser extent, other "pureplay" Internet radio outlets) that's powering that growth.

As a matter of fact, two years ago, 70% of online listening Triton measured was credited to simulcast streams of broadcast radio. As of September's numbers, it's online-only radio that accounts for 70%. During those two years, Pandora saw its AQH (note: we're switching here to the AQH number) more than quintuple from 147,673 in September, 2009  (Mo-Su 6a-12M)  to 752,816 in September, 2011.

[Take a look at the chart on the right. The "outlier" is Pandora. A larger and easier-to-read-sized graph is here. Also, see RAIN's coverage of the September 2011 Triton Digital Webcast Metrics ratings here.]

Triton Digital COO Mike Agovino thinks pureplay outlets that allow the listener to influence the music they hear have a clear advantage over basic online simulcasts here. "The broadcast simulcast model does not translate online, where you have so much choice, so much less clutter and the opportunity to customize the experience," Agovino explained, as reported by Inside Radio today. "Broadcasters need to look at how to take the best of their brand experience over the air... and combine it with more choice, less clutter and the ability to customize the content."