10-31-13
MaryBeth Garber can spot a radio basher a mile away. And, like a sniper sitting in a tree waiting to take out the
attacker, she loads her weapon, patiently waits, and when ready, she fires. Responding to Paul Goldstein's All Things D column entitled Seismic Shifts Remake the Radio Industry, Garber loaded up her bag of stats, facts, figures, and charts and set out to correct Goldstein. "While there truly is a seismic shift in perception of broadcast radio and the facts surrounding it, it?s not the one that Goldstein claims, and the facts ? and the research ? bear that out." Goldstein believes radio is being seriously threatened by online competitors. Garber responds: NOT!
Goldstein writes in his column that "multiple metrics make it clear that serious threats imposed on the FM/AM platform by new online competitors are escalating exponentially." Of course, that goes against everything we've been hearing from radio CEOs who say radio listening is as strong as it's ever been, radio is experiencing a renaissance with advertisers, online listening is still small compared to all audio listening and live and local content is being created and delivered all across the fruited plain to happy listeners on a daily basis. And you can see a slight aggravation from some who are tired of hearing that radio will be toppled by the latest new media. The old 8-track/cassette/CD story we've all heard thousands of times. Garber adds to that, "Broadcast radio has not died; it?s keeping 242 million people company every single week for an average of two hours and 45 minutes each day."
Goldstein wrote in his column that as the velocity of change accelerates, broadcasters need the equivalent of the Manhattan Project for content ? particularly original online content. "And among the increasingly crowded personalized radio/on-demand music services, companies that couple their appealing personalized/on-demand attributes with extraordinary original content will break out from the pack just as HBO and Discovery did. The companies that best execute a strategy to build out-of-this-world original content are the ones that will become the kings of audio media. The shakeout is well underway."
The truth is many stations are already using video, podcasts of morning shows, and on-demand listening, so it's not as if the entire industry is ignoring this shift. To expect radio to instantly compete with those whose primary focus is creating original online content - and video to make their money - is asking a lot. They would be taking their eye off the moneyball. Radio creates original content every day on thousands of stations across the country.
Garber writes, "USA Touchpoints puts the percentage of people 18-64 using Internet music players on a weekly basis at just 20 percent reach currently ? a significantly smaller voice for messaging, especially when compared with Arbitron?s 92 percent weekly reach by broadcast radio. Scarborough USA Plus data shows radio has actually increased its reach of adults 18-54, 25-54, and 18-34 over the past five years. Radio accounts for more than 90 percent of almost any demographic segment of the consumer market every week. And many are surprised to discover that radio is the leading source of reach among media entertainment. Based on current trends, broadcast radio will continue to be the dominant player in the field of audio entertainment ? and the only one capable of offering the kind of personal connections to listeners that are afforded by locally focused content."
Read Goldstein's article HERE
Read Garber's article HERE
We have reached out to both Garber and Goldstein and asked them to debate the topic for a Radio Ink podcast. We'll keep you posted on our request.
(11/2/2013 11:49:31 AM)
@Alan Fendrich:
To sell a product, don't you need a product to sell?
Or maybe not.
First off Denial is not a river in Egypt. Radio is already dead and has been. It's also at least a bit humorous that Paul Goldstein is reporting it now (thank you Captain Obvious) when you consider that he helped kill it. When a PD of a radio station decides not to play a great song because the vocal comes in ten seconds later than the 'accepted' norm by the killer consultants, well there you have the recipe for the death of radio. RIP.
(11/1/2013 4:05:29 PM)
Indeed as a playing field for sales people, radio is well marked out with goal posts and lines an' everything. Skilled sales-folk may continue to do well.
I do, however, cringe when the pom-poms are getting wagged by delerious cheerleaders who haven't noticed that our squad can only put 8 guys "out there on the foo'ball field."
Is it any wonder the other teams keep inviting us to not bother and just mail in the points.
43 years ago,learning the radio/tv biz I wrote GM complaining about their new antenna built into the window in my Dad's new Buick. In those days GM openly talked about costs of business. "Too many broken radio antennae plus the ignition systems were higher voltage requiring reductions in the audio quality for reducing the engine noise".
Only friendly fire has hurt the business of broadcasting.Live and local,30 years we've dreamed? Still many small markets where the dream lives on.
(11/1/2013 5:58:49 AM)
Radio has, and continues to be, the playing field for the world's greatest salespeople. Excellence in sales has been our strength historically -- and only through continued sales excellence will we hold our ground.
Alan Fendrich
http://www.advancedhiring.com
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