It won't happen because the telecom companies won't let it happen. And they have far more money and power than broadcasters.
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Is Terrestrial Radio Facing Its Judgment Day With Fierce Digital Competition?
- Thread starter Bongwater
- Start date
It won't happen because the telecom companies won't let it happen. And they have far more money and power than broadcasters.
And, even if that happens, listeners are driven by content. So if the content they like is from their local radio station, they will listen to that station's stream.
Not only Big Telecom, but the local cable franchises and phone companies as well. They paid big bucks to set up their internet systems, and in most, if not all cases AFAIK, they are guaranteed exclusivity within a territory. If the local cable and/or phone company wanted to set up city-wide residential wireless internet, they'd probably have the right to do so, but not anybody else. I know some have tried in the last 10 years or so, but I don't know if any have been successful.
You're exactly right. Perhaps the most vocal attempt at community wifi was in Philadelphia, and it fell apart. Comcast is based there, and slammed the door on the idea. At one time airports offered free wifi, and the providers put a stop to it. Now most airports only offer 30 minutes free, after watching a commercial.
I'm pretty sure terrestrial radio will see its demise. It's just that these things take longer than people expect. A long time ago I read an article about a group of investors that was buying up newspapers. They were questioned about why they would buy print newspapers when they were in decline. His answer was memorable to me: "It took a long time for the dinosaurs to die." Now that may not be literally true, or maybe it is, but I understood his point. Between then and now, a lot of revenue continued to flow into newspapers. And so it is with radio stations. They won't be around forever, but neither will smartphone apps. Nothing is forever. But between now and the demise of terrestrial radio, whenever that is, radio stations will throw off a lot of cash even if it's not growing. The present value of that future revenue stream is what the stations are worth. Here's where I'm going with this. I never thought I'd want to invest in terrestrial radio, but I'm rethinking it. If multiple debt-laden operators are forced to dump stations to raise cash, prices might be further depressed. Do you think that's likely to happen? Will the market be flooded with radio stations selling for less than intrinsic value?
In coastal Connecticut and on Long Island, Optimum has been successful in implementing a huge network of hotspots.
https://www.optimum.net/internet/hotspots/
It's done by offering subscribers free modems with continuous updates in exchange for becoming a hotspot.
As an Optimum subscriber I use very little phone data anymore because I'm generally in the proximity of a hotspot, and my phone automatically connects.
The times they are a'changin'.
https://www.optimum.net/internet/hotspots/
It's done by offering subscribers free modems with continuous updates in exchange for becoming a hotspot.
As an Optimum subscriber I use very little phone data anymore because I'm generally in the proximity of a hotspot, and my phone automatically connects.
The times they are a'changin'.
There's a big difference between truly free wifi, and offering subscribers access. Subscriber access is available in lots of places via AT&T, Verizon, and Boingo.
But that's not the same as free over the air broadcasting, for which no subscription is needed.
Maybe. By the same token, all the FCC has to do is allow foreign ownership of broadcasting, and you'll see the marketplace change completely. At one time, US companies owned tangible assets like buildings and music catalogues. Now the Sears Tower, the Chrysler Building, and Rockefeller Center, as well as the recorded works of Hank Williams, Bob Dylan, and Johnny Cash are all owned by foreign conglomerates. A day will come when US radio stations may also be owned by Chinese or German companies.
Even a "free, community wi-fi" isn't going to allow enough streams to replace every terrestrial listener. This conversation is always driven by "I hate the terrestrial company that fired me, so I want to see OTA radio fail and the towers chopped down". Then there's still that pesky royalty issue.
Imagine the data charges and royalty payments for Z100 in New York alone to serve a stream to every current OTA listener.
Now, Pandora may even be selling....or trying to. You think OTA has problems?
Imagine the data charges and royalty payments for Z100 in New York alone to serve a stream to every current OTA listener.
Now, Pandora may even be selling....or trying to. You think OTA has problems?
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OTA TV is still available but how many people actually use it? Relative to cable or broadband subscribers, that is.
The population that's unwilling or unable to pay for entertainment is steadily decreasing.
I'm not suggesting that terrestrial radio will disappear anytime soon, but it will likely become as irrelevant as OTA TV, IMO.
Are they unsecured hotspots, or do they require a WPA passphrase? They'd have to figure out a way for each subscriber to have his/her own passphrase, otherwise there is no security and it would be almost useless.
Even an individual login to the service would be suspect. For example, our local hospital requires logging in with a code attached to the patient's wristband. But the connection is still completely open, and anyone could intercept the communications.
I don't know...the broadcast TV networks consistently get more viewers than any of the pay-only channels. I wouldn't call that irrelevant.
They may be willing to pay for video entertainment, but less than 10% are willing to pay for audio-only entertainment. If people can get adequate entertainment for free, and the quality of the signal isn't an issue, then why should they pay for it?
It's somewhat apples and oranges, because local television gave up its distribution system to cable in the 80s, with less than 20% still receiving their signal off the air. There's no real equivalent to that situation with over the air radio.
It is true that the big 4 still get the lions' share of viewers. What were you saying about all those obscure music streams everyone was going to flock to?
It is true that the big 4 still get the lions' share of viewers. What were you saying about all those obscure music streams everyone was going to flock to?
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The numbers are in for Spotify and they aren't pretty. You say IHeart has problems?
http://radioink.com/2016/05/24/spot...?&utm_campaign=TUESDAY+May+24+iHeart+to+court
http://radioink.com/2016/05/24/spot...?&utm_campaign=TUESDAY+May+24+iHeart+to+court
I have no idea what Spotify's prospects are but the point of the story is that things are looking up. Revenue is growing faster than losses.
Good point. I hadn't considered the prospect of foreign owners. The heads of American radio traditionalists would explode.
The goal isn't generating revenue. The goal is generating profit. The way the music royalties are set up, it's almost impossible to generate a profit.
This article says music royalties cost 83% of their revenues:
http://rainnews.com/spotify-2015-financials-eye-opening-revenue-growth-losses-widen-a-bit/
But the real question here is if Spotify is in the radio business or the music distribution business. My sense is that a large part is simply music distribution.
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Interesting points here.
RE: "radio" in businesses. Every store I go to has music from either an online service like Pandora, or another 'muzak' type online provider playing pop or other modern music over their intercom. And you don't necessarily have to program a playlist in to use an online service in a business apparently -- it's already pre-programmed. For example, an Hispanic restaurant I frequent tunes to an Hispanic music Pandora channel, running off a smart phone into a stereo amp that drives the intercom speakers -- they don't have to program a playlist, there are apparently channels built into the service.
Local gas stations and delis have the same, usually South Asian music.
The dentist office has a local AC FM station -- most of the staff are Gen Xers or Boomers, if that makes any difference.
Public wifi sounds great until you realise you're located in a deadspot -- which, with all the interference that can muck with wifi reception, is fairly common. I live within 500 meters of a public wifi antenna that hasn't been receivable on any of my devices for several years. The antenna either burns out or the box running it burns out or the company running it (in this case it's the City) doesn't want to mess with it (for funding reasons or whatever). It's not a priority. And many wifi spots are very small in area, with many devices (like tablet computers) having poor wifi antennas built in. I can't see public wifi replacing FM radio for a long, long time.
RE: "radio" in businesses. Every store I go to has music from either an online service like Pandora, or another 'muzak' type online provider playing pop or other modern music over their intercom. And you don't necessarily have to program a playlist in to use an online service in a business apparently -- it's already pre-programmed. For example, an Hispanic restaurant I frequent tunes to an Hispanic music Pandora channel, running off a smart phone into a stereo amp that drives the intercom speakers -- they don't have to program a playlist, there are apparently channels built into the service.
Local gas stations and delis have the same, usually South Asian music.
The dentist office has a local AC FM station -- most of the staff are Gen Xers or Boomers, if that makes any difference.
Public wifi sounds great until you realise you're located in a deadspot -- which, with all the interference that can muck with wifi reception, is fairly common. I live within 500 meters of a public wifi antenna that hasn't been receivable on any of my devices for several years. The antenna either burns out or the box running it burns out or the company running it (in this case it's the City) doesn't want to mess with it (for funding reasons or whatever). It's not a priority. And many wifi spots are very small in area, with many devices (like tablet computers) having poor wifi antennas built in. I can't see public wifi replacing FM radio for a long, long time.
Yes as usual for a price. If you don't pay, your business could get in trouble with ASCAP or BMI, who will call expecting payment. They have a staff of people who call businesses all across the country telling them they're liable for music royalties.
That's interesting...it's my experience as well with my iPad. Very surprised how bad the wifi reception is in this device vs laptop. Obviously the best is Ethernet, but then we're connecting wires, which seems to defeat the purpose. And of course iPads have no Ethernet ports.
I often hear how FM reception in phones is often limited by bad antennas, and it's interesting that bad antennas also hamper wifi use. The weakest link.
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