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Between August 1998 and January of this year, the number of Americans who listen to Internet radio more than doubled, from 6% to 13% of the U.S. Internet population, according to Arbitron statistics detailed at a panel discussion on Internet radio at the RealNetworks Conference and Exhibition in San Francisco on Thursday.
May 7, 1999
marketplace . media . radio . cybercasting
Real '99 >> Arbitron Survey Says Internet Radio Healthy Medium
Between August 1998 and January of this year, the number of Americans who listen to Internet radio more than doubled, from 6% to 13% of the U.S. Internet population, according to Arbitron statistics detailed at a panel discussion on Internet radio at the RealNetworks Conference and Exhibition in San Francisco on Thursday.
Greg Verdino, vice president and general manager of Internet Information Services for Arbitron NewMedia, described results of a recent online survey on Internet radio and electronic commerce.
Verdino said that 76% of those who have tried Internet radio plan to use the medium more often.
Just as the Arbitron company built its name measuring broadcast audiences for television and radio companies, Arbitron NewMedia specializes in measuring Internet traffic and, in particular, webcast audiences.
Verdino said that 31% of Americans have visited a radio station web site. Respondents said they used radio station web sites for various purposes, including: to receive a streamed audio feed of the broadcast (59%), to get information on community events (70%) and concerts (69%), to research song titles and names of artists (61%), and even to learn more about advertisers (53%).
This last figure is significant because "the single biggest complaint advertisers have about radio is that the consumer can't see the product," Verdino said.
The alternative-rock audience constitutes the largest cross-segment of Internet users; 91% of the genre's fans are online. Top 40 and classical music fans are also largely online. Fans of country music, big band, and Spanish language programming are least likely to be online.
Panelist Chris Henger, director of business development for Tunes.com, said that web-based radio offers at least one significant advantage over traditional radio: "It lets a fan interact with their favorite music, with respect to extensive information and electronic commerce."
The panelists agreed that not only is terrestrial radio in no danger of being supplanted by Internet radio, the two may be used to support each other's respective models.
"The locality and portability of traditional radio is going to keep it around for good," Henger said. "But the more flexibility you can give online radio listeners, the more revenue opportunities for both will exist."
Survey respondents said that time spent on the Web results in less time watching television (37%), reading (29%) and listening to the radio (16%). Realizing that radio listeners are beginning to turn to the Internet rather than the dial, particularly in the workplace, where computers have become mainstays, is helping traditional radio become more motivated about forming online strategies.
Not surprisingly, a recent online panel hosted by Webnoize Live revealed the mounting friction between Internet-only radio and terrestrial radio ventures. In discussing the impact of Internet radio on traditional radio, Harvey Mednick, radio marketing manager for OnRadio, a new media company working to bring traditional radio to the Internet, tactfully inquired, "Has the word 'regulation' been brought up yet?"
audioFILES 04.15.99: Internet Radio is online at Webnoize Live and accessible using RealPlayer G2..
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