Jacobs Media

Earlier this week, Saga Communications announced it would no longer substitute "online only" content for the on-air ads on its station's Internet streams (RAIN coverage here). Saga EVP Warren Lada said he's not worried about losing streaming inventory because it's really not that profitable compared to other areas.

Radio Ink editor Ed Ryan reports other broadcasters may be leaning in the same direction. He writes (here), "While broadcasters know they need to be everywhere consumers want them to be, losing gobs of money to be there is not something they signed up for... When you tack on the cost of the technology paid out to make ad-insertion a part of a radio station stream, it adds to the financial headache."

And besides the costs, there's the subpar experience for the listener to consider. "Nothing sounds worse than 7 minutes of Public Service Announcements in a row."

Nothing, perhaps, except 7 minutes of ads, argues Angel Street Capital's Bob Maccini. Especially when compared with the offerings from pureplay competitors.

"This movement if successful will sound the death knell for terrestrial stations that are streaming," Maccini writes on the Angel Street Capital blog. "Given the other Internet radio listening options consumers will not choose to listen to a stream that is running 10-14 ad units an hour complete with some 60 second spots... Stopping ad insertion may save a few shekels in the short run but long term it will have more significant costs."

Instead, Maccini suggests (here) "rather than inserting PSAs and other filler content that music stations insert songs."

Audio Graphics' Ken Dardis agrees that just "regurgitating" over-the-air signals online won't work. "Radio's place online is to use what the Internet offers to expand limitations of over-the-air content. NPR does this in a remarkably successful way. So why do we not hear it being done by commercial radio industry groups?"

He continues (here), "The radio industry belongs online, just not in the way it presents itself over-the-air."

Jacobs Media's Fred Jacobs appreciates Saga's move in that it should help improve the overall quality of its streams. "Radio streams uniformly sound like crap," he writes. "PSAs, bad music, comedy cuts, crickets, and other interstitial material has made the customer experience on radio streams a nightmare."

But he also argues, like Dardis and Maccini, that radio's digital product shouldn't just be a clone of its over-the-air signal. Web efforts required a dedicated team. "Treat digital revenue as a separate business and hire reps with digital sales experience."

Jacobs continues, "it’s time to realistically assess what’s working and what’s not. Radio needs to come to grips with the fact that in many situations, traditional radio salespeople cannot take on this effort, and that digital selling doesn’t cannibalize the traditional spot sales effort."

You can find more of Jacobs' thoughts on Jacobs Media's jacoBLOG here and here.

Jacobs Media's fourth annual survey of public radio listeners shows "the high-tech revolution continues," with big growth for mobile device ownership, the use of Internet radio, social networks and other digital services.

The fourth Public Radio Techsurvey (PRTS) found that nearly half (46%) of respondents listen to Internet radio weekly or more. That's up 16% from PRTS3, which was released in early 2011 (RAIN coverage here). Moreover, 18% use Pandora weekly or more (up 17% from PRTS3), while 14% use SiriusXM (up 5%). As for AM/FM, 87% say they listen to at least one hour per day. That's down 2% from PRTS3. 

More than half (52%) of public radio listeners said they own a smartphone -- a growth of 50% from PRTS3. Of those folks, more than 90% download apps. A little under a third of respondents (30%) own a tablet (up 407%). Of those who don't, 37% said they are very or somewhat likely to buy one this year.

Around half say they are able to connect a smartphone or mp3 player to their car and nearly 10% own a car with a "digital dashboard" like Ford's SYNC. That's a desirable platform for web radio -- and a dangerous one for AM/FM to lose -- as 41% of respondents say they do the majority of their radio listening in cars.

Jacobs Media's study found "spectacular growth" in Twitter usage, with 18% of respondents using the service. That's up 57% from the previous study. A little over six in ten respondents (63%) have a Facebook profile. All told, 70% of respondents use social media in some way, up from 64% in 2010.

"The data from PRTS4 continues to point to the public radio audience rapidly using new media and gadgets in the pursuit of informing themselves," said Jacobs Media president Fred Jacobs. "Station programmers and managers would do well to better understand the fast rate of adoption, and shape content offerings accordingly."

The fourth-annual PRTS involved 49 public radio stations across the U.S. and more than 30,700 respondents. You can find more information from Jacobs Media here.

"Sports radio fans are highly engaged, into gadgets, and especially likely to be connected via Twitter. They know how to access the sports news and happenings they crave, and they deftly use the available tools."

So found Techsurvey8, the latest study from Jacobs Media and the first to include all radio formats (earlier surveys focused on just rock radio listeners, more RAIN coverage here).

The study found that sports radio fans are more likely to spend most of their radio listening time in the car, where they're also more likely to connect smartphones or mp3 players to the dashboard. "In-car listening is the next battleground," comments Jacobs Media.

Additionally, more than 60% of sports talk respondents own a smartphone and more than 25% have a tablet, found Jacobs Media. They're also more likely to download radio apps and prefer streaming audio on a mobile device.

Sports radio fans are also big Twitter fans. "While Facebook and LinkedIn are popular social media channels, Sports Talk fans lead the league for tweeting," found Jacobs Media. More than 50% follow a sports radio station and/or personality on Twitter.

Tomorrow, The Conclave will host a free webinar about Jacobs Media's new Techsurvey 8. The webinar will feature Jacobs Media president Fred Jacobs (pictured). It starts at 2PM Central on Wednesday, May 23.

Jacobs Media's Techsurvey 8 was the first to include radio listeners of 12 different radio formats (not just rock radio listeners). It found that nearly 4 in 10 "core radio listeners" stream Internet radio weekly, and that nearly half of respondents said they can connect a smartphone or mp3 player to their car stereo. Find more coverage from RAIN here.

Pre-registration for the webinar is required. Find out more from The Conclave here.

Nearly 4 in 10 of "core radio listeners" stream Internet radio weekly, according to Jacobs Media's new Techsurvey8. "The high-tech revolution continues," notes the company, pointing out that nearly half of respondents can listen to their smartphones in cars, a quarter own a tablet and more than half begin their day with media and gadgets other than radio.

Jacobs Media says 45% of "streamies" listen to Pandora to some extent, compared to 19% for iHeartRadio, 7% for Spotify, 7% for TuneIn and 5% for Slacker. (Interestingly, 49% of Pandora users said they don't consider the service "radio"... a classification that apprently hasn't stopped them from using Pandora).

Additionally, nearly half of respondents said they can connect a smartphone or mp3 player to their car stereo. And 9% already own a web-friendly dashboard system like Ford's Sync. "The car is becoming a major battleground for radio," Jacobs Media writes.

They also point out that 57% of respondents start their day with media or gadgets other than radio (like TV, email, Facebook, newspapers or other websites). Indeed, 52% of respondents said they own a smartphone, 24% a tablet and 79% are on Facebook.

Among so much competition, why does AM/FM remain important in consumers' lives? According to respondents: "Favorite songs," local personalities, easy access to a radio at work, radio's mood-lifting abilities, a feeling of companionship and an "escape" from everyday life.

"The data from Techsurvey8 strongly suggest that focusing on connecting emotionally and meaningfully with listeners is radio's best avenue toward remaining relevant and vibrant in the face of new digital competition," said Jacobs Media president Fred Jacobs.

This is the 8th edition of Jacobs' annual tech study, but the first survey to include radio listeners of 12 different radio formats. In the past, Techsurveys were focused on rock radio listeners.

The results were presented at the recent Worldwide Radio Summit, where Fred Jacobs was named "Consultant of the Year" (more info here).

You can find more on Techsurvey8 from Jacobs Media here and the company's full infographic here.

Like a landlord changing policies for tennants, Jacobs Media president Fred Jacobs writes Facebook is shaking-up the way brands use the popular social networking service.

Last week Facebook hosted its first "Marketing Conference" and revealed a host of changes. One of them is the Reach Generator, in which brands can pay to reach more fans through Facebook. "Up to now, most brands have only been able to reach an average of about 16% of their fans (for radio, it’s even lower)," writes Jacobs. "Now Facebook offers brands the opportunity to purchase a packaged solution to reach all those fans (they’re guaranteeing 75%)." 

He continues: "This is just the beginning. As brands tackle their 360° digital strategies, understanding how they can use the channels they 'rent' to feed the assets they 'own' is key... If you want to reach all your fans on Facebook, you’ll have to pay the owner."

You can read Jacobs' full blog post at the Jacobs Media Blog here.