The future of radio...

[johnnykool]

Tonight, I was speaking with another of our own about the future of radio, mainly terrestrial. What's in store for radio, and we in the industry, over the next few years? Are we going to move away from terrestrial and more toward satellite or maybe some other media? My friend said his son can't tell you anything about Atlanta radio, but he knows over a dozen places to download podcasts. With Atlanta radio not really representing what should be the market for a major city, do you think entertainment in podcasts, mp3 players and CDs is going to replace radio? What can be done to save radio? I'm asking this here because I much prefer to find out what my fellow Atlantans think.

 

[tcsnrayp]

Terrestrial will always have a place--not as big as once--but always a place. Satellite will be smaller than predicted. Podcasts are for about another minute--then gone.

 

[lilburncommunityradio]

You know what? Ive never even heard a podcast! And if I have , I would not know it. I have wondered the same thing about radio, Im not in the biz anymore, but have wondered just what place radio really has in our society now in the year 2006.
I can hope that someone , somewhere will revive this medium. With the advent of the computer that can do the job,(Not as well mind you) of a jock, then what the hell gives? Will radio ever return to it's dominant force of yesteryear? Will Stations like WQXI ever be great again? Will Gary Mc kee ever come out of retirement?
Will Batman and Robin escape from the joker? These and other questions cause wonder, stay tuned tomorrow and in the future, Same radio time, Same radio channel !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[FloydB]

Will Batman and Robin escape from the joker? These and other questions cause wonder, stay tuned tomorrow and in the future, Same radio time, Same radio channel !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Too funny! Yeah, I agree. Terrestrial will always have a place, and radio will have to go back to the glory days to regain it's lustre. That's what terrestrial television did to regain it's lustre from cable and satellite, is that they emphasized that they were live and local. Canned radio destroyed the industry, and live and local will revive it.

 

[mouthoff]

As a 20+ year radio guy, here is my two cents worth:

THE DASHBOARD: It doesn't get a lot of press, but the car radio is TR's ultimate hope. And when wireless internet (WIFI) comes more prominently to the dashboard, all bets are off as to where the future lies for terrestrial (TR). At this point, not only will listenership be dillutted even further, plus monitoring, i.e., ratings and the like, but station values could face some unusual times. Music-based stations could face even greater hardship. Survivors will include top talkers, dominant morning shows and other high rated talent such as Delilah (And if TR doesn't do something now about it's farm system, even this area could become more vulnerable).

In my opinion, the car radio has to change! 50 years later and we still have those stupid buttons. Too many of them. TR needs to lobby manufacturers to build a car radio similar to a TV remote control, i.e., AM, FM, HD, Satellite, Internet, all on one continuous face. Like the remote, you have a volumn control and a up and down channel selector. If you don't subscribe to Satellite, it just says "Channel not available." A continuous dial levels the playing field. Otherwise, if a car is set to "Internet," I'm guessing it will stay there for awhile.

DISTRIBUTION: I'd like to see a more prominent relationship with the internet. One that offers insurance of greater visibility, greater distribution and more cross-promotion. HD will help, but frankly, until one or a few major car dealers get behind this technology I'm not holding my breath. We kind of date the internet now. I'd like to see more of a marriage.

CREATIVITY: TR has to be a lot more creative. Coming up with a latest and greatest new formula for rotating music, giving it a slick name, going jockless, or adding a sub-par morning show is not being creative. It's stalling. It's also living in the past. We, like the film or literary industry need more imaginative people, not catchy formats. People with ideas that bring hipness back to TR. Plus, we need owners willing to gamble on these ideas. A long time ago, Lee Iacocca brought a little car to Ford called the Mustang. Not a new way build cars, not a new assembly line, not an new gimmick. He brought a product and it turned the industry on its head. Suddenly, Ford was hip again.

Am I pessimistic about our future? No. I'm realistic. If we're more creative, more technologically advanced and quit trying to reinvent the past, we can enjoy a bright future don't you think?

 

[kingdaddy]

There's one rule of thumb that will never change when it comes to terrestrial radio...it's all about what comes out of the speakers. If you are not engaging the audience somehow, then you are at the bottom of a long list of choices. The problem now in TR is that there's a tendency to let General Managers make the programming decisions. Yes, there are PD's, but they are facilitators rather than creators. GM's are not the audience, have never been on the air, and they would be wise to let the people who learned how to program do their jobs. It's an art. A lost art. GM's are usually highly paid and so far removed from the lifestyle of regular folk. Yet, they make programming decisions according to their personal tastes, and the whim of their girlfriends/wives and friends. And of course when the chickens come home to roost and they must do something to plug the holes, guess who takes the heat? SMART GM's, who have their ego in check, will let the people who have a knack for creating something engaging for the listener to do their job. If your idea of good radio is a jukebox, then you are doomed. This is why radio must return to the days of what made it famous. Compelling radio. With a purpose. The listener wants to be entertained. Salesmen turned GM's will never get that.

 

[radionut925]

As a 20+ year radio guy, here is my two cents worth:

THE DASHBOARD: It doesn't get a lot of press, but the car radio is TR's ultimate hope. And when wireless internet (WIFI) comes more prominently to the dashboard, all bets are off as to where the future lies for terrestrial (TR). At this point, not only will listenership be dillutted even further, plus monitoring, i.e., ratings and the like, but station values could face some unusual times. Music-based stations could face even greater hardship. Survivors will include top talkers, dominant morning shows and other high rated talent such as Delilah (And if TR doesn't do something now about it's farm system, even this area could become more vulnerable).

In my opinion, the car radio has to change! 50 years later and we still have those stupid buttons. Too many of them. TR needs to lobby manufacturers to build a car radio similar to a TV remote control, i.e., AM, FM, HD, Satellite, Internet, all on one continuous face. Like the remote, you have a volumn control and a up and down channel selector. If you don't subscribe to Satellite, it just says "Channel not available." A continuous dial levels the playing field. Otherwise, if a car is set to "Internet," I'm guessing it will stay there for awhile.

DISTRIBUTION: I'd like to see a more prominent relationship with the internet. One that offers insurance of greater visibility, greater distribution and more cross-promotion. HD will help, but frankly, until one or a few major car dealers get behind this technology I'm not holding my breath. We kind of date the internet now. I'd like to see more of a marriage.

CREATIVITY: TR has to be a lot more creative. Coming up with a latest and greatest new formula for rotating music, giving it a slick name, going jockless, or adding a sub-par morning show is not being creative. It's stalling. It's also living in the past. We, like the film or literary industry need more imaginative people, not catchy formats. People with ideas that bring hipness back to TR. Plus, we need owners willing to gamble on these ideas. A long time ago, Lee Iacocca brought a little car to Ford called the Mustang. Not a new way build cars, not a new assembly line, not an new gimmick. He brought a product and it turned the industry on its head. Suddenly, Ford was hip again.

Am I pessimistic about our future? No. I'm realistic. If we're more creative, more technologically advanced and quit trying to reinvent the past, we can enjoy a bright future don't you think?

Agreed. Terrestrial radio must change with the times, otherwise the situation could go from bad to worse. That means learning to take risks. It also means not cutting budgets and staff just to meet the unrealistic expectations of stockholders and Wall Street analysts.