Podcasting and Satellite Rocking Radio

Broadcast radio execs concerned about the future of their industry should closely watch the tumult in the newspaper industry. Newspapers continue to report declining subscriptions as readers turn to free online news and blogs. Newspapers lost 2.6 percent of their paying customers in six months this year, and have responded by offering RSS feeds, blogs, and online subscription services to boost revenues.

Radio is seeing its audience turn to satellite radio and podcasts, especially for rock music. According to the Washington Post "radio executives are increasingly ceding the rock audience to iPods and satellite radio."

The two primary reasons that mainstream print and radio are losing millions of people are the same: convenience and selection. Just as Internet news can be accessed at any minute and blogs provide a wider variety of viewpoints, podcasts provide most-favored music on demand while satellite offers genres specific to individual tastes.

However, podcasting is still in the "needing to be fed hourly" stage of its infancy and XM and Sirius are quickly growing toddlers, so there is time for radio to react. The medium needs to come up with ad-supported alternatives now to make up for the revenue that will erode quickly over the next 18 months.

Clear Channel, Zenith Radio, and even NPR are now delivering podcasts of programs, and local radio stations such as Kink in Portland are offering online-only channels focusing on specific genres. A percentage of listeners, just like news readers, want access to the content that suits their taste on demand.