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Is there a disconnect with the leader of NPR and reality?
- Thread starter OKCRadioGuy
- Start date
A question I'd like to ask in regards to internet radio. Is there some prohibition keeping them from running ads like OTA radio? I listened to Jim Bohannan's radio show from Westwood One, online, and when the spot breaks occur, you get a few seconds of silence and then the bumper music for the show to continue. Why don't they air their national spots online? I like it better without the spots, but as Westwood One is a business, I'd figure they'd want to have paid sponsors for the online service.
That probably would be the thing that keeps cyber radio from growing is not being able to make money via spots. Most people probably are not going to want to pay to listen, as radio has for almost 90 years (circa 1920) provided free radio with commercials. Other than the non-comms (NPR, religious, college, cultural) that offer special programming not available on commercial stations have people been willing to fund as a donation, not pay to play.
That probably would be the thing that keeps cyber radio from growing is not being able to make money via spots. Most people probably are not going to want to pay to listen, as radio has for almost 90 years (circa 1920) provided free radio with commercials. Other than the non-comms (NPR, religious, college, cultural) that offer special programming not available on commercial stations have people been willing to fund as a donation, not pay to play.
Every station I listen to online just airs the post-dump feed, commercials and all.
WYSP actually used to air pre-dump, but that didn't last long.
WYSP actually used to air pre-dump, but that didn't last long.
gr8oldies said:
That's correct. We have streaming on a half-dozen of our stations and use an ad replacement system, inserting local spots to cover national spots. Effectively what it means is that all spots that air on our FM stations are replaced by different spots on the online version. And, yes, we sell the online spots separately, creating another revenue stream for our company. A small revenue stream, to be sure, at the present time... but, NTR.
So Westwood One could, either charge more for their spots so they could be used online to cover the added cost, etc, or sell other spots to be used with their online podcasts creating another stream of income as amfmxm suggested. Well, then as online radio listening grows, we may well indeed hear more spots online. That does sound like a possible future for radio as OTA radio eventually fades those stations all seem to stream online now, could be their future. This could also open the opportunity for other people to start their own online radio station. That could make for some "colorful" radio in the future as I believe the FCC isn't regulating online podcasting, at least not yet.
Turns out the actual transcript of Schiller is rather different from the liveblog version:
http://www.current.org/npr/npr1010liveblogged.shtml
http://www.current.org/npr/npr1010liveblogged.shtml
Can you say, covering your tracks before the next board meeting when really, really P.O. member station management will be present? 
Ummm...not really? Assuming the transcript is the more accurate record of what Schiller actually said, then blame must rest on whoever the liveblogger was.
That said, I do agree that there's likely to be some very unhappy member station reps on the NPR board at the next meeting. I suspect several of them will argue...possibly correctly...that while the liveblogger got the actual text wrong, they captured the spirit of Schiller's remarks accurately. In that sense, this could be a good thing - the long-simmering tensions between NPR and member stations over internet revenues is best decided sooner rather than later, IMHO.
Longtime pubradio watcher and consultant John Sutton has an excellent writeup on the implications of all this at his blog:
http://radiosutton.blogspot.com/2010/06/deadradio-2020-financial-implications.html
That said, I do agree that there's likely to be some very unhappy member station reps on the NPR board at the next meeting. I suspect several of them will argue...possibly correctly...that while the liveblogger got the actual text wrong, they captured the spirit of Schiller's remarks accurately. In that sense, this could be a good thing - the long-simmering tensions between NPR and member stations over internet revenues is best decided sooner rather than later, IMHO.
Longtime pubradio watcher and consultant John Sutton has an excellent writeup on the implications of all this at his blog:
http://radiosutton.blogspot.com/2010/06/deadradio-2020-financial-implications.html
I have a problem with Sutton's analysis, as it is predicated on a wrong-headed assumption that Sutton himself dissed in his previous column, that is "if, as Vivian Schiller suggests, radio broadcasting is dead in the next decade."
It's almost like he spent the week chatting with his pubradio station clients and found that they were not upset, after all, so he changed his tune--after spelling out all (or at least, many of) the reasons radio was NOT going to be dead in the next decade.
I accept that Schiller was misquoted. But I also believe that it is extremely obvious that she is leading NPR away from its member stations and toward a glimmering vision of the future when those 300+ pesky affiliates will be nothing more than a fading memory in her rearview mirror.
And the millions of listeners/consumers/users/citizens who value NPR will be the worse for it. And, FWIW, I think that her model of NPR will have trouble surviving financially.
The member stations have to get her out of there. Now.
It's almost like he spent the week chatting with his pubradio station clients and found that they were not upset, after all, so he changed his tune--after spelling out all (or at least, many of) the reasons radio was NOT going to be dead in the next decade.
I accept that Schiller was misquoted. But I also believe that it is extremely obvious that she is leading NPR away from its member stations and toward a glimmering vision of the future when those 300+ pesky affiliates will be nothing more than a fading memory in her rearview mirror.
And the millions of listeners/consumers/users/citizens who value NPR will be the worse for it. And, FWIW, I think that her model of NPR will have trouble surviving financially.
The member stations have to get her out of there. Now.
The constitution on which NPR is based, that was re-written after the 1983 financial crisis, makes it very clear that NPR cannot wean itself from the member stations. They are the power, not Washington.
There is a way to interpret what she said as approaching internet distribution together, as partners, and we're seeing some of that in some station web designs. I'm not sure if that's what she meant, but the headline of "radio is dead" is a tough one to explain.
There is a way to interpret what she said as approaching internet distribution together, as partners, and we're seeing some of that in some station web designs. I'm not sure if that's what she meant, but the headline of "radio is dead" is a tough one to explain.
w9wi said:
Recent gubbmint stats show the average age of cars on the road today is just under ten years. Unless the economy picks up steam quickly that number is bound to age in the near future.
I own two cars and could be classified as belonging to that "small number of automotive enthusiasts" with the oldest one being 22-years old with just over 60,000 miles. It isn't a classic but is a survivor of a limited number of said models. I have replaced and upgraded the original AM/FM/Cassette with an AM/FM/CD but do not intend making any more improvements in the audio department since I don't drive it much. I keep it because I like it.
My other car is a 2000 model which is just approaching its first major maintenance appointment at 90,000. Absolutely nothing has gone wrong with this car since new so I see no reason to replace it. It also has a AM/FM/Cassette/CD unit which will not be replaced unless it dies.
Neither me nor my cars are breathlessly awaiting mobile Internet.
w9wi said:
The book is getting a little age on it (15 years maybe?) but you should seek out a copy of "The Millionaire Next Door".
I don't belong to the Millionaire Next Door club, but my older vehicle is leaving the fold. As a second vehicle I am keeping the 10 year old with 150,000 miles. I wrote a check for the new Lexus. I am informing the kids they can either drive the Lexus to my funeral, or bury me in it, depending on its condition at the time of the event.
It has a lot of bells and whistles..... but no Internet.
Yes, the stations have the power - not NPR (tail wags dog). Vivian's predecessor got fired for paying too much attention to new media. She's trying to say the right things to keep her job. To placate the stations, some Morning Edition and All Things Considered stories are "blacked out" from downloading. Still she can't serve an audience wanting online access to NPR programming and the stations trying to protect their on-air turf. She will have to make a choice (with bad consequences either way).
It won't take 30 or 40 years. It's happening already. Of course, some people will hang on to OTA radio until they die (from my cold dead hands as Charlton Heston used to say). But people are switching already.
Broadcasters are already losing in the switch because app developers (the online "gatekeepers") are developing for streaming music services like Pandora and for music downloads stored in a personal library. Streaming broadcasters are getting left out.
NPR news programming is largely not bulletins or headlines - it's features, background and analysis. Like chili, it's fine the next day. Many music player users are downloading and time-shifting NPR content (getting what they want, when they want it). Tivo has been around for TV for 10 years (VCR time-shifting for about 30). The on-demand principle applies just as well to NPR. For NPR, this is a missed opportunity - and there's not really an app for that (although some users are doing work arounds with software like Replay Capture Suite).
Full disclosure: I listen to Internet radio in my car. I have a multimedia smartphone and an unlimited data plan from my cell phone carrier. My phone has a built in FM transmitter to play through my car radio. Live audio streams are subject to the same interruptions cell phone calls are and for the same reasons but I've seen great improvement over the last two years. Even so, I've gotten in the habit of downloading stories from ME, ATC and Fresh Air and "Tivoing" them to my phone/music player.
People will hang onto OTA radio, like a hard core hangs on to OTA TV (no cable, no satellite). Early adopters have already made the move. Wireless/mobile Internet technology is improving rapidly. I say critcial mass in five to ten years.
It won't take 30 or 40 years. It's happening already. Of course, some people will hang on to OTA radio until they die (from my cold dead hands as Charlton Heston used to say). But people are switching already.
Broadcasters are already losing in the switch because app developers (the online "gatekeepers") are developing for streaming music services like Pandora and for music downloads stored in a personal library. Streaming broadcasters are getting left out.
NPR news programming is largely not bulletins or headlines - it's features, background and analysis. Like chili, it's fine the next day. Many music player users are downloading and time-shifting NPR content (getting what they want, when they want it). Tivo has been around for TV for 10 years (VCR time-shifting for about 30). The on-demand principle applies just as well to NPR. For NPR, this is a missed opportunity - and there's not really an app for that (although some users are doing work arounds with software like Replay Capture Suite).
Full disclosure: I listen to Internet radio in my car. I have a multimedia smartphone and an unlimited data plan from my cell phone carrier. My phone has a built in FM transmitter to play through my car radio. Live audio streams are subject to the same interruptions cell phone calls are and for the same reasons but I've seen great improvement over the last two years. Even so, I've gotten in the habit of downloading stories from ME, ATC and Fresh Air and "Tivoing" them to my phone/music player.
People will hang onto OTA radio, like a hard core hangs on to OTA TV (no cable, no satellite). Early adopters have already made the move. Wireless/mobile Internet technology is improving rapidly. I say critcial mass in five to ten years.
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