AM/FM/HD/Satellite

by James Cridland

James Cridland's Future of Radio is a column by the Australia-based radio futurologist. THIS WEEK: James reviews the LG Stylus 2 with its DAB+ receiver. Also a look back at Capital Radio, deep debates of video vs. radio, and much more.

A couple of session summaries emanating from the Radiodays Europe conference earlier this month indicate that public radio in Britain and Nordic countries is facing challenges of reduced listening to traditional radio among young people.

by James Cridland

James Cridland's Future of Radio is a column by the Australia-based radio futurologist. THIS WEEK: Martin Kelner out from BBC; listening numbers and longevity for radio in the U.S. Also podcasts, ebooks, advertising, and much more.

After years of development and months of teasers, Nielsen formally launched its streaming measurement service, branded Nielsen Digital Audio Ratings. Part of Nielsen's broad Total Audience enterprise, which aspires to deliver comprehensive audience measurement of over-the-air and Internet television and radio, the new service offers analytics to Nielsen-subscribing radio stations that sell advertising across the digital divide.

This morning brings an announcement from Gen Media Partners of RetargetingPlus.com, a tech platform that anonymously tracks radio listeners across websites and serves relevant messages to them. This tool is marketed to radio stations to increase advertising revenue and reach, and also for station marketing to its listeners.

Today's reach is not necessarily tomorrow's revenue growth. That seems to be the lesson from Les Moonves, CBS CEO and Chair, following his announcement yesterday that the iconic broadcasting company would exit the radio holding business, selling or spinning off its 117 radio stations which serve 70-million listeners per week.

How do broadcasters and webcasters gather and use data about their audiences, and engage those audiences? That is the subject of a research project jointly conducted by Presslaff Interactive and RAIN News. The 12-question survey is open now to industry professionals.

The first smartphone equipped with built-in DAB+ radio was announced at Radiodays Europe 2016. LG Electronics introduced this feature for its new mobile device, the LG Stylus 2. The phone comes equipped with a DAB+ chipset and built-in app for listening to digital broadcasts.

Sirius XM announced that it will increase its subscription rates for satellite radio access. Beginning April 27, the Select subscription cost will increase from $14.99 to $15.99 per month. Standalone access to Sirius XM Internet radio will also go up $1.

Radio listening has kept its reach during this time of digital disruption. But an interesting fact in yesterday's Infinite Dial 2016 release was that radio ownership among consumers has seriously decreased. It's going to get worse as cars modernize to catch up with Americans' enthusiastic adoption of streaming. The disappearing radio is one of the most clearly predictable audio technology trends of our time.

The Infinite Dial, a consumer research project that tracks listening habits and trends of American teens and adults, was released today for 2016, co-produced by Edison Research and Triton Digital and presented via webinar.