pureplay

Radio broadcasters are beginning to grasp the reality that, despite steady (and high) cume, the amount of time Americans spend listening to broadcast radio is falling, most notably in younger demos.

Arbitron RADAR data reveal broadcast radio reaches about 92% of the U.S. population regularly, but 12+ TSL is off 3.2% from April 2010-March 2012.

Inside Radio writes today that while "there's evidence (growing Internet radio listening) is a factor... The issue may not be whether listening to streaming is cannibalizing broadcast radio but rather how much it is increasing listening to broadcast radio brands."

In other words, is broadcast radio listening falling, or merely shifting to a different platform? How much of this Internet stream listening is to broadcast radio brand content?

Triton Digital says, in December, broadcasters accounted for 22% of the web radio traffic the company measures, which means 78% goes to pureplay Internet radio. And that percentage as dramatically shifted in pureplays' favor over the last three years.

So, the likely answer is: Yes. Yes, some loss of AM/FM TSL to streaming is recovered by broadcasters' simulcast (or supplemental) streams. And, yes, Internet-only radio, satellite radio, online music services, and very nearly any other entertainment option, are taking a toll on broadcast radio listening.

The Webcast Metrics October Domestic Ranker shows top streaming broadcasters all posting low double-digit percentage AAS (average active sessions) growth in the past month. Pureplay webcasters showed either modest growth of were flat.

One theory is that this growth was spurred by increased interest in political radio in the lead up to the November federal elections.

Cox Radio AAS jumped 30% since September in the M-Su 6a-12M ranking, and NPR Member Stations were up 28% (in the case of NPR, this is likely attributable to new stations's addition to the measurement panel). Cox and Clear Channel are both showing healthy growth over the past 12 months (AAS up 50% for Cox, and 87% for Clear Channel) and in calendar-year 2012 (49% for Cox; 40% for Clear Channel). (Note: Last late year, Clear Channel had just added other major broadcasters' streams to iHeartRadio, like Cumulus').

Pandora continued to pad to its enormous listening lead over the rest of the entire panel (Pandora's mere 3% increase in October represents a 40,742 AAS, which by itself is nearly twice the AAS of this ranker's current #6 webcaster). The leading webcaster is also up 35% this year.

Most other pureplay webcasters' performance wasn't nearly as impressive. Slacker is up 31% in the past 12 months, but that period began before it completely absorbed the AOL Radio streams. Note that former top pureplay webcasters 977Music.com and Digitally Imported are no longer in this ranking.

See the complete Triton Digital October Webcast Metrics report (with its cool new look) here. For comparison purposes, our coverage of the October 2011 rankings is here; and here for September 2012.

Those broadcasters who feel a need to reserve the term "radio" for over-the-air AM/FM signals received by a box on a nightstand or car stereo are actually missing out: they're missing out on the chance to show that radio is "very much a healthy, thriving, and growing medium."

That's an important point Edison Research's Larry Rosin gets across in his guest post in Jacobs Media's blog today. By cordoning themselves off in a strictly "AM/FM" world, some of these broadcasters are defining themselves by a medium that's no longer the dominant force it's been for decades. But when one considers all these other new technology delivery mechanisms "radio," it's clear that "radio is booming. When one thinks of all of radio, I have to believe there is more consumption than at any time in history," Rosin writes.

Rosin, Edison cofounder and president, encourages the industry to abandon the view that radio is limited to AM/FM delivery (which dooms it to a gradual slide from preeminence), and let on-air take its place among the variety of audio content delivery media. A good step in that direction, he argues, is to get behind Arbitron's efforts in building an "all radio" ratings system.

"In the UK, where all forms of radio are measured together, this assertion has already been made. As I travel around the globe I generally hear nothing but optimism about the medium and its expansion in creativity and influence."

Read Rosin in JacoBlog here.

We have an opportunity for a representative of a "pureplay" (Internet-only) webcaster to take part in a discussion panel at the upcoming RAIN Summit Midwest at The Conclave.

The event is a week from this Friday, July 20.

The panel, produced by Coleman Insights and RAIN, is called "Pure Play: Radio's Most Direct Competitors?" Panelists will discuss the highly competitive, quickly-changing landscape of Internet-only radio providers that offer listeners an experience similar to that of broadcast radio. Already confirmed for the discussion: Mat Bates, Slacker's Senior Radio Program Manager.

This is a great opportunity for an Internet radio professional to not only engage in a lively discussion on the competitive future of this industry, but a chance to network and engage with some of the best minds in the business. If you're part of an Internet-only webcasting team and would like to join our panel discussion at The Conclave in Minneapolis July 20, please e-mail us at: "feedback \at\ kurthanson.com."

Read more on RAIN Summit Midwest at The Conclave here.

Thefuture.fm is the new iteration of DJ-focused web radio service Dubset (which RAIN spotlighed in February 2011, here).

New features include "a completely overhauled platform, enhanced functionality, social sharing tools, an embeddable player, proprietary search and recommendation algorithm, and more music from the world's most prominent and talented DJs," the company says.

The service also includes an interesting bit of technology, called MixSCAN, which Thefuture.fm says can identify individual songs within a DJ's mix for royalty purposes.

You can find the new site here and Thefuture.fm's press release here.

Borrell Associates says "pureplay" Internet radio generated $206.3 million in streaming audio advertising in 2011, significantly topping broadcasters' $67.4 million. And while Borrell Associates’ new Benchmarking Local Online Media: 2011 Revenue Survey predicts radio will double its streaming audio revenue in 2012, it'll still be only half of what "only-online" radio does.

Borrell says streaming audio ads represented 22% ($67.4 million) of broadcasters’ 2011 online revenue. 

Local stations didn't have a great 2011 online. While the online advertising market grew overall, local radio's share of the pool didn't keep up. While the rest of the online media industry grew 20.6%, says Borrell, radio grew only 6.1%, giving them less than 2% of 2011's $16.4 billion total.

That said, Borrell is looking for radio to turn it around, with a nearly $410 million 2012 in local online ad sales, for a 35% increase over 2011.

(See Borrell's predictions from November here. We also recently reported on BIA/Kelsey's 2011 local online ad revenue recap here.)

Borrell Associates CEO Gordon Borrell will both participate in the "Charting Digital Audio Ad Dollars" panel, and present a "POV" (see story in today's issue) at our upcoming RAIN Summit West in Las Vegas (more here). Read more on the Borrell study here.