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...and the death of radio is here. Wifi now in cars.

Wifi will only be the death of local radio if we don't get off our collective fat and start providing compelling local content.

But that might cost money and be a lot of work. So forget it. Right?
 
Most broadcast stations stream online. It would be great to switch to the stream of the station once you're out of its coverage area. That's what broadcast radio would like to limit in-car Internet radio to.

This is how cable TV started, and then soon came channels that were only available on cable.

Once this becomes more widespread, Internet stations will get a big increase in listeners.
 
Ford Motors, which in 1965 (debuting September 15) will offer 8-track players as an option in their complete line of 1966 model cars. RIP Radio. blah blah blah blah blah.
 
8 tracks couldn't provide traffic conversation, news, and weather. The internet can. I get the point that people thought that radio was dead when 8 tracks were added, but that generation and the one following it still listened to radio extensively. This generation and by that I mean those under 30, eh, not so much.
 
I've had Wi-Fi in my car since 2005, using a Treo smartphone on Sprint's data network. The Treo rests in a cradle connected to the car's stereo system so I can listen to internet radio on the highway. With good quality streams it sounds every bit as good as FM and of course I can choose from a seemingly unlimited number of stations.
 
I love people who live in denial. Is this the death of radio? Nope but it's gonna hurt and to think any different is simply BS'ing yourself. You're not even worth discussing the issue with because you're being disingenuous from the start. Sorry, people go to the net with different expectations and we've been delivering those expectations long before terrestrial new what the 'net was. Now it's really gonna get fun on the interactive end.
 
wbmx said:
I love people who live in denial. Is this the death of radio? Nope but it's gonna hurt and to think any different is simply BS'ing yourself. You're not even worth discussing the issue with because you're being disingenuous from the start. Sorry, people go to the net with different expectations and we've been delivering those expectations long before terrestrial new what the 'net was. Now it's really gonna get fun on the interactive end.
Click to expand...

No truer words have been spoken.

And to think I was negotiating with a company about potentially launching a syndicated show...why would I do that now that I have the ability to syndicate myself pretty inexpensively and keep the revenues myself...I know the help they would get in pushing me out in the market but they also take a TON of the revenue too...so, I like to keep control of my product.

I almost looked back...I could have been a pillar of salt by now! :-*
 
"Most broadcast stations stream online. It would be great to switch to the stream of the station once you're out of its coverage area. That's what broadcast radio would like to limit in-car Internet radio to."

This is the most telling statement so far on this thread. Not too "geeky" and not too "foreboding" ... but it is immensely telling and, I believe, true.

Even discounting whether or not "most" broadcast stations stream (one would be surprised how many still don't, especially in the smaller markets,) the connotation to "switch streams" with coast-to-coast receiving of LOCAL radio (just like never having to switch from a satellite radio station,) will throw MANY loopholes into this equation and anger a lot of broadcasters wo depend on local listening.

Right now, technology has opened the barn door. The cows haven't gotten out yet. But just watch. And soon.

The NAB and other trade organizations for broadcasters will, if and when this technology (and we're just talking radio, here,) gets out.

How soon before that major market station in LA starts to gain more mobile popularity than that station in Modesto? Or Chicago? Or Orlando? You'll see local broadcasters storm the halls of Congress because of the competition by their own industry. With interactive traffic, etc. ... there will be little "use" for over the air terrestrial "service" as we know it. Radio in the car will become a music medium, an entertainment venue and/or a custom "on demand" information center. We won't need AM or FM to provide what it does now ... especially advertising. Who listens to local radio for local advertising? Come on ... you know who you are.

Further, when you count in the little "Internet broadcasters," don't think there won't be a hue and a cry then, big time. "The non-com Internet kids are taking the mobile audience away (and we know how important that is to terrestrial radio.)

There will be regulations on who can and who can't "stream" on the Internet. "Why should I spend millions on towers and transmitters, people and content to get a 17 year old kid in his basement cranking out all Classic Rock Indie Trance 24/7 over and above my investment for local advertising and programming? How soon before car manufacturers cave-in to the regulation, making sure only "streamed" commercial broadcasters (and NPR) make it into your dashboard? It already has been tested with the Clear Channel "Format Lab" for what was to be a great innovation for Motorola and Ford ... which hasn't seen the light of day ... yet.

I can see the day ... not far off ... before the NAB demands "licensing" of Internet radio to cut down the vast choices of selection, due to the "but we spent huge investments in our communities," for the terrestrial owners. It's very simple to see coming. Even with satellite radio ... it's not hard to not hit the dial (commercial free) and leave it on the sat-rad instead of button pushing the AM or FM bands looking for what we want ... or avoiding what we don't.

And for AM ... if it sounds lousy in your car now ... imagine what it will sound like when the "Internet option" is installed. It will either sound as bad as it does now or will stream in better quality, making it unnecessary to switch to real "analogue" AM in a mobile environment.

You mean the choices of "HD" won't suffice? No, not if the Internet and satellite are in the mix on the same unit.

Broadcasters will scream bloody murder over this.

Not "change" to adapt as they should. But scream loudly, nonetheless. That's the regulation I fear.
 
HALLELUJAH!!!

The day of reckoning is HERE and I couldn't be any happier.

Now of course the NAB and corporate broadcasters are going to scream bloody murder over this and I want them to scream...until they have NO VOICE LEFT.

For all these years of lousy, profit driven drivel, for Telecon '96, for silencing LOCAL stations and moving them into bigger cities, for the greed, corruption, payola and general self-righteousness, I hope they're satisfied. Karma's a bitch.

And if they think for one iota of a second they are going to stop this and attempt to drive everyone to their crappy little "HD" channels, I have a news flash for them: It's IMPOSSIBLE. Once the people get their hands on this - IT'S OVER! There ain't no putting the genie back in the bottle. Like MP3 file sharing, (legal or not), it's here to stay. The people are awfully restless right now and they want some good news for a change and this is the best damn news in YEARS.

The marketplace will decide. The corporate broadcasters had better not even THINK of doing the Commie thing and whine to their beloved GOP politicians to take that FREEDOM OF CHOICE away (although they all will inevitably attempt it - so much for the "free marketplace")....and with the popularity of internet radio as it is, there will be an EXPLOSION of GREAT new radio avaliable anywhere and made by anyone once Wi-Fi becomes standard, which it WILL be in about 10 years. And since terrestrial radio REFUSES to give up these worn out old "formulas" they have been recycling for nearly 30 years (probably because they simply can't think of anything actually innovative anymore - god forbid they don't ruffle those shareholder's feathers anymore than Clear Channel already has), Wi-Fi is not only going to be the final nail in the coffin of radio as it is, it's also going to be it's grave digger.

Now, I predict iPods with Wi-Fi capability soon. As well as Wi-Fi radios of ALL varieties...

Goodbye radio, hello Wi-Fi!!
 
Many AM stations around the country run the same programming except morning drive.

Does this mean that we will have Rush, Hannity, Savage...... on all of these stations?

If it is the death of anything, it is the death of local radio.

Heck, it could work that way with FM radio too.

How many country, classic, classical, rock, station choices do you really need?

Again, local radio may suffer or become extinct over time.


On the other hand I don't think radio will ever die because no matter, people want to hear radio that eminates from their own local.
 
Just one more step in the evolution of the business. No big deal. Either grow and adapt or get back on the porch. I like Kurt Hanson's definition of "radio" and that it's simply a delivery system, so that means "radio" encompasses terrestial, internet, satellite, digital downloads, etc. It's all "radio". The whole thing really boils down to content and choice. If your content is not compelling and entertaining then it doesn't matter how or where you are listening to it. Don't worry about the way someone can pick up what you do. That's changing right before our ears. In fact embrace it that they can listen in more places and more ways than ever before. But make sure that you have the right product to sell. Local radio can no longer hide behind the mantra that's it's "local" and that will save the day. You now have to compete with everyone so what you produce had better be good. That to me is the bigger problem! 
 
Bob_Hudson said:
I've had Wi-Fi in my car since 2005, using a Treo smartphone on Sprint's data network. The Treo rests in a cradle connected to the car's stereo system so I can listen to internet radio on the highway. With good quality streams it sounds every bit as good as FM and of course I can choose from a seemingly unlimited number of stations.
Click to expand...

...and how much does that unlimited internet access cost you? $80/month? $40? $20?

You're doing the smart thing and using your phone - makes that high internet cost much easier to swallow cuz you can use that thing anywhere there's Sprint service.

My question: will people pay a separate fee for internet access in their cars just to get streaming radio (and presumably, text and video)?

I already pay for god-awful slow DSL and unlimited edge internet (112k, woo) on my phone; I don't really want another internet fee. And since wi-max is probably a decade off in my rural area, the only option is cellular internet. Only one carrier offers anything close to broadband in my entire region and as far as I know it's $60/month for unlimited use.

$60/month for all the internet radio and video in the world (as long as I'm within range of a cell signal) or $13/month for satellite radio, with a limited set of poor quality audio channels and the same syndicated talk radio?

I'll take the $13/month. Much better deal.
 
or local radio.....free!!! that will be one selling point as well as others.
 
AugC said:
or local radio.....free!!! that will be one selling point as well as others.
Click to expand...

Yup, local radio will always be a great option for those who like what they hear. I didn't realize it at the time that this thread was in the Columbus market forum, but if I lived there I'd probably not have internet radio or satellite since it's a big market with lots of standard-fare choices.
 
From what I understand, there is a bill going to be hitting congress about what is called "net neutrality." This would forbid people like the NAB for getting car companies to only carry their stations etc. It would also forbid Time Warner for example of having their CNN news site load faster than the drudge report. So, if that bill's passed, the NAB is screwed. Additionally, there is no doubt in my mind somebody will have a service down the road where you can get internet in your car, at home, etc for a flat fee per month. It might be a hefty one, but it'll happen.
Finally, you and I both know that in this heated election year, there will be liberals who will want to control the internet and spread things like the fairness doctrine to it, so the internet may not be worth having in another 10 years anyway. That also goes for listening to radio watching TV, etc.
My point is, enjoy the pretty-much unregulated internet now, because I am pretty sure when my kids are my age, the internet they have will be very very different.
 
Ohio radio man said:
My point is, enjoy the pretty-much unregulated internet now, because I am pretty sure when my kids are my age, the internet they have will be very very different.
Click to expand...

Meh... The government is usually slow and stupid. The second they regulate the "net", some nerds will start another net via different servers. There's already the abilene (Internet 2) network. It's extremely fast but only available to educational institutions and Microsoft.

Also, the web is global. If we think people worldwide are going to stand by while the US government tries to regulate the web, I call bullcrap.
 
Don't get your forks ready yet. It'll be years before "everyone" has WiMax in their cars for one thing. The broadcasters, local and national, who can figure out how to deliver content in this form will do fine, those who look back to 1967 (that includes radio employees wanting a return to "the good old days' too), won't. First, let's dispell this myth that every listener will only listen to his or her specific micro-niche of music or talk programming and that there won't be any such thing as mass appeal music or programming. Seems like even with 200 channels of TV, the Big Four always dominate the ratings, and I don't even remember shows like the Soproanos or Sex in the City winning their timeslots. So, let's say I'm less than convinced that all of those towers are going to come down, and all the broadcasters who stopped serving boarded up buildings to move into the city willl get their "just desserts".

Can a web based show work in the WiMax world? Sure it can, but it's still going to take knowing how to actually market a website and a promotional budget. They won't just find you while you're in your basement studio.
 
"The Death of Radio" has been rumored for years, but it's never happened...and most likely, never will. I remember when CDs first were introduced that THEY would be "the death of radio". Also, who wants to pay for WiFi access in their car when they can listen to the radio for free? This is exactly why i've never bought an XM radio. Anyhoo, local radio will eventually adapt and survive the latest supposed performance of "Taps". ;D
 
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