Era uma vez uma rádio chamada Y100, com programação alternativa em Filadélfia, que o seu proprietário, o grupo Radio One, decidiu reformatar.

Quando isso aconteceu, faz agora um ano, os seus animadores abandonaram a rádio e recriaram a Y100 na internet. Estão a assinalar um ano de emissões. De borla!

* sobre o narrowcasting

De acordo com informações do último Expresso ("Geração 3,5 em Junho", manuel Posser de Andrade, 18/2/06, suplemento de economia), vem aí a evolução da 3G "que permite um aumento considerável da velocidade de transmissão de dados". Fica a saber-se que numa primeira fase a rede vai ter 1,8 Mbps, quatro vezes superior à actual 3G. "Mas posteriormente (2007/2008) a rede vai permitir atingir os 14,4 Mbps, ou seja 30 vezes a largura de banda da oferta actual" (ou seja, valores semelhantes à rede fixa).

Esta alteração terá efeitos visíveis em aplicações de internet, jogos, mas sobretudo televisão.

Na mesma edição do Expresso, outra notícia dá conta de que a Samsung vai disponibilzair no mercado europeu o modelo z560, primeiro modelo HSDPA, High Speed Downlink Packett Acess)

Desenvolvimento a 10/3/06: «A Vodafone inicia hoje a disponibilização em Portugal da nova tecnologia 3G Banda Larga, também designada por 3ª Geração e Meia (3,5G) ou HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access).A 3G Banda Larga é uma evolução tecnológica da rede da 3ª Geração que permite um aumento considerável da velocidade de transmissão que pode atingir 1,8Mbps. Com esta nova tecnologia é possível obter, já nesta primeira fase, velocidades de transmissão bastante elevadas, de cerca de 1,4Mbps que excedem em cerca de 4 vezes a velocidade actualmente disponibilizada na 3ª Geração.» (fonte Vodafone)

Excertos de um artigo (óptimo) do Público de ontem sobre as netlabels (editoras independentes na internet):

«Desde a sua criação, em Julho de 2004, a test tube já lançou 36 edições de músicos nacionais e estrangeiros. Há discos que chegam aos 500 downloads ao fim de dois meses on line - números consideráveis no diminuto mercado português. A test tube é uma das netlabels portuguesas, cujo número cresceu entretanto para uma dezena, quase todas surgidas no último ano.»

«As netlabels distribuem música em formatos digitais. As edições são semelhantes às de uma editora tradicional, mas estão disponíveis na Internet, regra geral, gratuitamente. Surgiram, a nível mundial, na década de 1990, mas têm raízes na chamada demoscene (equipas de artistas gráficos, programadores informáticos e músicos que competiam entre si). A maior parte destas editoras virtuais lança música electrónica ou experimental, mas há editoras dedicadas a outros géneros.»

«Indissociáveis do movimento de mudança na indústria musical imposto pela Internet, estas plataformas vêm colocar questões de direitos de autor, já que, ao contrário de outras formas de obter música na rede, pautam-se pela legalidade, através de licenças como as Creative Commons. Para Fernando Ferreira, da MiMi, existe nas editoras virtuais uma "atitude subversiva", mais do que "política". "As netlabels existem para provar que o universo da música digital não é uma afronta às companhias discográficas e aos seus artistas, mas sim uma forma de expressão por direito próprio, e de liberdade artística", argumenta.»

«Podcasting is an exciting format, though industry-watchers may have difficulty separating the hype from the actual long-term potential. For the radio industry – including terrestrial, online, and satellite sectors – the format offers a powerful time-shifting component, but can it ever drain away listeners en masse? Recent data shows conflicting trends. "The total audience for podcasts has shown meteoric growth, particularly in the US," eMarketer director Mike Chapman commented, while noting that "the active listening audience is much smaller". eMarketer’s latest research predicts that the total podcast audience will grow to 10 million listeners by the end of this year, and to 25 million listeners over the next two years. That’s impressive growth, though most will only be one-time users. Chapman sees repeat listeners as the key to advertising growth for the medium, though so far they are in the minority. Looking ahead, active podcasters are expected to reach 3 million this year, rising to 7.5 million in 2008 and 15 million in 2010. Those are solid numbers given the immaturity of the format, though they still pale in comparison to the 200 million Americans broadcast radio reaches»

fonte: Podcasting Growth Continues, Mass Market Potential Uncertain, Richard Menta, Digital Music News

Electronic measurement as currently developed relies on two technical methods; watermarking and sound matching. Arbitron, developer of the Personal People Meter (PPM), uses a watermarking technique that embeds identifying codes in a stations transmitted signal. The Swiss-developed RadioControl device uses sound matching.  Eurisko settled on sound matching. Requiring stations to embed codes in their signals was considered “impractical,” according to Mezzasalma. “It gives power to the stations to discontinue the service,” he said. (...) According to Mezzasalma, who has carefully studied watermarking methods, the PPM requires five minutes to identify a signal. “Five minutes is a lot of time,” he said. “Television clients would find this unacceptable.”

Radio measurement is not uniformly organized throughout Europe. Where joint industry committees are in place, broadcasters – public and private – and the ad industry, decide what is measured and how it is done. More common are individual and competitive market research companies who determine methods and sell the service to broadcasters and media buyers. GfK and TNS Gallup provide media measurement services in several countries. GfK, the licensed provider of Radiocontrol, offers its service in the UK and has conducted tests for broadcaster groups in other countries.

(fonte: Italian Company Enters Radio Measurement Competition, Follow the Media, Michael Hedges February 1, 2005)

«Arbitron’s Portable People Meter (PPM) is going to be a radio only ratings system. Nielsen Media Research has decided not to exercise its option for a joint venture with Arbitron to deploy PPM commercially across the US. Nielsen says it may license PPM for use in measuring out-of-home viewing, but is evaluating other options for measuring in-home viewing. (...) "We recognize the appeal of a portable, single source measurement tool. While it may offer considerable benefits for radio research, we believe that a one-size-fits-all measurement system is not the approach for a currency in today’s complex television markets," said Nielsen Media Research CEO Susan Whiting. Nielsen said yesterday it had concerns about sample quality, including fault rates, said PPM’s definition of "audience" resulted in "large and still unexplained increases in television viewership," which it attributed to PPM being designed to measure radio rather than TV, said that costs would be high and it appeared that TV would be subsidizing radio measurement, and questioned how many TV companies really support moving to PPM measurement. At Arbitron, CEO Steve Morris said his company will focus on its "radio only" option for rolling out PPM. Without having Nielsen as a partner, he noted that Arbitron will have "complete flexibility" for where and how to roll out PPM - - not mentioning that it will mean that the cost will be higher for radio broadcasters. Morris will hold a conference call with Wall Street analysts this morning to discuss the financial ramifications of the Nielsen decision to walk away. Just two days from now (3/3), Clear Channel is due to announce whether it and the radio groups which have joined in evaluating proposals submitted under its RFP on passive electronic radio audience measurement have selected PPM or one of its competitors as the best system to serve the US radio industry.»
(fonte: «Nielsen walks; PPM to be radio only»)

O presidente da Arbitron: «“I’m obviously disappointed since we and they [Nielsen] have invested a lot of time and effort in looking for a way to make this work,”(...) “Looking forward,” Morris added, “we now feel we’re free to focus on radio’s needs without having to negotiate trade-offs to accommodate television requirements.”» (fonte Billboard Radio Monitor, Arbitron's Morris: 'We're Disappointed', March 02, 2006, By Mike Boyle)

Excertos de um artigo do IHTribune, de 26/2/06:

« is the public broadcasters, like the British Broadcasting Corp., Radio France Internationale, Deutsche Welle or National Public Radio in the United States, that are flourishing by embracing new technology and strategies, while commercial radio operators are losing out to iPods, MP3 players and digital and satellite alternatives.

In Britain, the BBC has increased its market share to 55.1 percent, according to surveys, taking its lead over commercial radio to its widest point in three years. The same trends are taking hold in the Netherlands and in Germany.

(...) the public broadcaster Radio France Internationale revamped its news Web site, which includes podcasts and streaming. Podcasting allows listeners to subscribe to radio shows, with their music players downloading the latest episodes from the computer (...).

"Public broadcasters can have an advantage, as they can experiment and gain experience with new technology without the same financial constraints as commercial broadcasters," said Colin Donald, editor of Live Net Music, which tracks and lists the times when independent rock bands perform live through online radio.

(fonte: Seeking new wavelengths for radio, IHT, Doreen Carvajal , SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2006)

Mais uma rádio, exactamente (?) igual a muitas outras que existem em Portugal:

«Apesar de ter o mesmo nome da emissora do Algarve, a Kiss FM Lisboa é autónoma, uma garantia dada ao Diário Económico por Jorge Correia, responsável por este novo projecto. “Tem algumas semelhanças com a rádio do Algarve, mas não é um retransmissor”.
A nova rádio da grande Lisboa pretende fazer parte do conceito internacional da marca Kiss, que já emite em Londres, Paris, São Paulo ou Tóquio, ou seja, “ter uma atitude mais activa para com os ouvintes e destinada a jovens adultos entre os 25 e os 40 anos”, explica Jorge Correia. Para garantir o sucesso deste objectivo, foi contratada uma empresa de consultoria europeia, que está a trabalhar em Portugal, para garantir a adequada formatação da rádio.
A Kiss FM Lisboa vai apostar em grandes êxitos da música nacional e internacional, com uma ‘playlist’ cuidadosamente estudada pela consultora, tal como na informação curta de hora a hora. Não admitindo com que estações pretende concorrer directamente, Jorge Correia acredita que a Kiss FM Lisboa pode “ganhar ouvintes a todas as rádios”. Para aumentar as audiências está a ser feito um grande investimento em campanhas de marketing. Já na próxima segunda-feira, quem estiver atento à emissão vai poder habilitar-se a uma viagem até Londres para ficar a conhecer o estádio do Chelsea.»

(fonte Diário Economico, Kiss FM em Lisboa com conceito internacional, Ana Filipa Amaro, 2/3/06)

Dados interessantes sobre o consumo de rádio em Portugal (relativos a 2005):

«Os jovens até aos 35 anos são os maiores consumidores de rádio, segundo os dados do Bareme Rádio da Marktest, disponíveis no Anuário de Media & Publicidade 2005. 

Os dados globais do ano para o total rádio mostram uma curva ascendente dos 15 aos 24 anos e depois sempre descendente à medida que a idade aumenta. O grupo dos 18 aos 24 anos é o que apresenta maior audiência acumulada de véspera, de 74.6% - superior aos 58.9% da média do universo. A partir deste grupo etário, as audiências de rádio tendem a descer sempre, para atingir os 39.1% no grupo dos indivíduos com mais de 64 anos.»

(fonte: Os jovens e a rádio, Marktest.com, 2 Março 2006)

 PPM will provide never-before-available insight into station switching patterns and loyalty. For example, 58% of P1s switch their P1 station at least once over an eight-week period.

* The diary-based methodology and PPM agree that P1 listening drives the vast majority of the AQH rating, even with the much larger cume shown in the PPM.

* The longitudinal nature of PPM will provide for more stable ratings on a period-by-period basis, leading to more accurate data to assess the impact of programming and marketing initiatives.

Among issues before the industry:

* Understanding the effect and impact on measurement error of smaller, longitudinal samples of consumers versus cross-sectional diarykeepers.

* How and if the industry will benchmark or adjust for the ratings differences created from the switch to PPM, where consumers are listening to more stations but less to any given station.

(excerto da notícia: «White Paper Heralds PPM Potential», Billboard Radio Monitor,March 01, 2006, By Chuck Taylor)

«NAB president/CEO David Rehr accuses XM of wanting to purchase a block of WCS sepctrum in order to develop local, potentially terrestrial-based service. In its original mandate in granting licences to XM and Sirius, the FCC was careful to insist that the companies offer only nationwide broadcasting».
(fonte: NAB Chides FCC Over XM Interest In WCS, Billboard Radio Monitor, March 02, 2006, By Chuck Taylor)

Mas há rádios hertzianas a emitirem via satélite: «

One of America's pioneering AM broadcasters, station WLW in Cincinnati, is now being rebroadcast on XM channel 173. WLW becomes the first terrestrial station to be relayed fulltime via satellite.

Until the early 1980s, stations such as WLW were known as "clear channel" stations (not to be confused with "Clear Channel," the broadcasting giant!).  Such "clear channel" stations had, at most, only one or two other stations operating on their frequency at night,  used high power (50,000 watts), and usually non-directional antennas.  As a result, such stations could be heard throughout much of North America at night; stations such as WLW and WLS, 890, in Chicago could be regularly heard throughout the "lower 48" at night during the winter.

With increasing numbers of stations authorized to operate at night on AM, the "clear channel" era drew to a close by the late 1980s.  And now a pioneering "clear channel" broadcaster moves to the clearest channel of all, satellite.»

(fonte: WLW In Cincinnati Now On XM Channel 173)

É o que diz este estudo: 

Marti y Marti considera que se pode definir «la denominada nueva radio» a partir dos seguintes elementos:

- «Mayor posibilidad de elección» («un oyente medio de radio podrá tener a su disposición entre 100 y 200 programaciones diferentes de radio en directo»);

- «Hiperespecialización de contenidos» (para «diferenciarse y de conseguir la atención de los oyentes que navegarán por la jungla de las programaciones puestas a su alcance en los diferentes soportes»).

-«Nuevas estructuras programáticas» : («se caminará hacia una realización mucho más personalizada y (...) porque el contenido hasta ahora basado únicamente en el sonido se ampliará a los datos y a las imágenes»);

- «Nuevas formas de participación». («... el oyente actuará de una manera interactiva no únicamente sobre los contenidos, sino también sobre las estructuras programáticas»).   

Marti e Marti in Martinéz-Costa, 2001, 189 (intervenção feita em 2000)

(o que leva Marti y Marti a falar em nova rádio e a fazer esta caracterização)

«Está siendo utilizada actualmente por otros soportes como el teléfono móvil. Algunos contenidos de tipo radiofónico podrán ser producidos por agentes diferentes a los tradicionales del sector».

Marti y Marti, Martinéz-Costa, 2001: 188 

«El eficaz diseño técnico de la norma europea del DAB (Eureka 147), choca con la escasez de bandas puestas a disposición de los agentes para su explotación y en la falta de políticas que incentiven la producción de aparatos receptores. Cunde el desánimo entre los radiodifusores europeos; existe una cierra paralización en las políticas de inversión y de esarrollo de nuevos formatos. En los foros de debate se empieza a concluir que si el DAB no actúa como soporte de sustitución de la actual FM, no habrá avances significativos en un plazo inmediato».

(Marti Marti, Martinéz-Costa, 2001: 188)

«Las primeras encuestas sobre usuarios no ponen en evidencia que este sea un aspecto muy perceptible de la radio dital. Este es el caso por ejemplo, de los oyentes de música clásica que ha comprado receptores de DAB en el Reino Unido ; las críticas sobre las deficiencias de lo recibido son notorias».

(Marti Marti, Martinéz-Costa, 2001: 188) 

«a) ¿Qué tipo de radio ofrece/rá el DAB?

b) ¿Qué tipo de radio ofrecemos/remos a través de Internet?

c) ¿Qué tipo de radio escuchamos/remos a través del teléfono móvil?

d) ¿Cómo converge la oferta de radio on air con la oferta on line?

e) ¿La especialización musical es la única respuesta a la pregunta de los nuevos contenidos de la radio? ¿La especialización musical es tipo de radio que más desarrollo experimentará con el DAB, con Internet, etc.?»

Elsa Moreno Moreno, Martinéz-Costa, 2001: 202 

«a) La convergencia digital nos lleva hacia un nuevo modo de comunicación.

b) Implica un diferente concepto de radio del que puede derivarse una mayor diversidad en la especialización radiofónica.

c) Se dispone de un número mayor de soportes para distribuir la programación radiofónica.

d) Las tres consideraciones mencionadas con anterioridad implican cabios en la concepción, producción y realización del mensaje radiofónico así como en la recepción del oyente.

Este nuevo modo de comunicación permite que exista una mayor interactividad entre el programador y el oyente. Una relación que se torna más estrecha. El oyente adquiere mayor protagonismo al decidir en cada momento qué quiere escuchar, sea un contenido que esté en ese momento "en la antena" tradicional o a su disposición porque el programador lo ofrece a través de otros soportes de distribución».

Elsa Moreno Moreno, Martinéz-Costa, 2001: 201 

«Hablar de un nuevo sonido para nuevos tiempos significa recoger el sonido que ofrece la radio a través de los diferentes soportes de producción y distribución que convergen en la actualidad. Un sonido que se complementa con la información visual -gráfica y escrita- que la radio puede ofrecer a través de los diferentes canales digitales».

idem, 202 

mas isto é novo (para mim...)

«In Europe, three competing firms are vying to launch their own satellite radio services in the near future»

Diz este artigo da Red Herring («Digital Radio Gets Fuzzy», March 2, 2006):

«As radio providers like XM and Sirius battle for control of car dashboards, new digital radio standards are likely to increase competition and confuse consumers, a study released Thursday said. North Americans will soon have the choice among XM, Sirius, and HD Radio receivers, said Frank Viquez, director of transportation research at ABI Research, which conducted the study. What’s more, they will also soon be offered multimedia broadcasting services like Qualcomm's MediaFLO service and Crown Castle’s Modeo digital video broadcasting on handsets service.»

(consequência pós-segundo choque...)

AM interference from digital radio is in the Wall Street Journal. The paper reports that some AMs that have elected to remain analog are experiencing adjacent-channel interference from neighboring AMs that have gone digital.

Anecdotally, reports of such interference on AM from new digital signals have been circulating in the industry for some time and we've reported on those.

The WSJ article cites a listener in Elkridge, Md., who has had trouble tuning into WTRI(AM), 1520 kHz, since WTOP, at 1500 kHz in Washington, went HD Radio about a year ago.

In most cases, the interference is confined outside the FCC-protected coverage area, the account reports, agreeing with NRSC sources, quoted here in the past, who have tested the Ibiquity system. They and the FCC have known there would be some interference caused by IBOC and have maintained the levels would be acceptable.

FCC Audio Division Chief Peter Doyle is quoted by the Journal as explaining that broadcasters chose to go digital with Ibiquity's technology because it doesn't require new spectrum and that the advantages more than outweigh the shortcomings. Adding digital service is one way to combat the problem, although some small stations can't afford the cost. »

(fonte: «WSJ Reports on AM IBOC Interference», Date posted: 2006-03-02)

Filadélfia:

«From the San Jose Mercury News: "Philadelphia on Wednesday announced details of its deal with EarthLink Inc. for the construction  of a high-speed wireless network that will span the city, including provisions for EarthLink to pay for computers, training, and subsidize Internet access for low-income households...

"The 135-square-mile network is expected to be completed next spring. The contracts call for EarthLink to rent space on 4,000 city light posts for its equipment, and pay the city annually per light post — for a total of nearly 0,000 a year. EarthLink also agreed to give Wireless Philadelphia 5% of its access revenue.»

«Podcasting has a long ways to go before it becomes a mainstream medium, but is poised to grow exponentially through the end of the current decade and will increasingly become an attractive outlet for advertisers, says a new report from eMarketer.

By 2008, podcast advertising should reach 0 million, approaching 0 million by 2010, according to the report.

Currently, despite all the hype surrounding the nascent medium, eMarketer estimates that just 3 million Americans are active podcast listeners, and a total of 10 million people have ever downloaded a podcast to date.

And advertising on podcasts, "is in its infancy to put it mildly," says Mike Chapman, eMarketer editorial director, who authored the report. "Podcasting is not set to become a new mass-market venue, at least for the next half decade. By way of comparison, US broadcast radio still reaches close to 200 million Americans," he said.

However, the number of podcast listeners is expected to skyrocket over the next four years, reaching 50 million total listeners by 2010, with 15 million or so listeners being described as active - i.e. downloading podcasts on a weekly basis.

Part of the rationale behind these growth estimates is rapid adoption seen for the medium just in the past couple of years - as total listening levels rise by 400 percent since 2004.

"The total audience for podcasts has shown meteoric growth, particularly in the US," said Chapman. "The active listening audience is much smaller, but it is still set to grow rapidly".

(fonte: Study: Podcasting to Grow Ads, Mike Shields, FEBRUARY 28, 2006)

«Para McQuail es evidente que la aparición de las nuevas tecnologías han hecho posible la aparición de nuevas formas de interacción radiofónica hasta ahora desconocidas»

Carlos Ortiz de Landázuri in Martinéz-Costa, 2001: 172

(introdução: quais são as consequências do aparecimento das novas tecnologias? Elas não se limitam a garantir que a rádio sobreviva - ou não -; também têm consequências ao nível da programação e do comportamento do público)

«(...) el debate acerca del destino de la radio ha tenido un gran número de vicisitudes y no se puede saber lo que en un futuro deparará»

(Carlos Ortiz de Landázuri in Martinéz-Costa, 2001: 182)

«Durante las últimas dos décadas muchos profesionales, expertos y estudiosos, hemos construido la prognosis sobre el futuro inmediato de la radio, a base de unos cuantos tópicos y bastantes lugares comunes. Los cambios anunciados los hemos fundamentado en la potencialidad de las nuevas tecnologías de producción y de difusión. Ya podemos decir que esta apuesta con el tiempo ha resultado bastante equívoca y ello por muchas razones. En primer lugar, porque la experiencia enseña que la apropiación social de las tecnologías se acostumbra a realizar de manera bastante diferente a como es concebida por aquellos que simplemente basan su análisis en la bondad intrínseca de las mismas. En segundo lugar, porque existen una serie de factores contextuales en torno a la radio digital que están evolucionando a un ritmo bastante diferente al esperado. Podemos decir que hemos construido unos escenarios de futuro que, visto lo visto, se alejan progresivamente de cualquier realidad plausible a medio plazo».

Marti y Marty in Martinéz-Costa, 2001: 187 

"Las nuevas tecnologías implican en el panorama de la radiodifusión sonora la aparición de nuevos sonidos y la multiplicación de los modelos de radio (...) la tecnología abre camino a la multiplicación de sus canales de comunicación"

Avelino Amoedo, in Martinéz-Costa, 2001: 205

«La sacralización del directo como argumento absoluto embrutece las programaciones, pero la nueva radio puede verse obligada a abandonar este régimen perecedero para revalorizar su producción y atender como es debido, de manera más personalizada, a una audiencia cada vez más selectiva».

Gotzon Toral Madariaga in Martinéz-Costa, 2001, 211  

«La multiplicación de la oferta televisiva (en número de canales, de horas de programación, de géneros, de tecnologías de acceso. ..), la vertiginosa implantación de Internet y de los soportes digitales, y los consiguientemente cada vez menos estables hábitos de consumo audiovisual entre los segmentos menos adultos de la población amenazan con reducir la presencia y la influencia del medio hertziano si no se produce una inmediata adaptación -sobre todo- de sus esquemas programáticos a las nuevas demandas de la audiencia. Semejante cambio exige un serio análisis sobre la definición de las actuales parrillas con el fin de sistematizar las bases que permitan modificar su orientación hacia propuestas que afiancen para la radio un horizonte de sólida y real convergencia».

Pedrero Esteban in Martinéz-Costa, 2001: 213 

«-Más de 21O millones de europeos oyen la radio diariamente.

- Europa tiene más de 9.600 estaciones de radio.

- La radio es oída más de tres horas al día por persona.
- En cinco Estados miembros hay más individuos oyendo radio que viendo televisión.

En definitiva, la radio continúa siendo un medio pujante que mantiene altas cotas de credibilidad y aceptación en toda Europa. Además, se muestra culturalmente mucho más diversa que la cada vez más homogeneizada televisión, proporcionando servicios específicos para cada uno de los países, regiones y localidades».

Merayao Pérez, Martinéz-Costa, 2001, 282 

Desenvolvimentos do processo iniciado pela Clear channel para criar um sistema autónomo de medição de audiências, contra a hegemonia do PPM:

«Three advance for radio ratings
The Next-Generation Electronics Ratings Evaluation Team - - the new name for the multi-company team evaluating responses to Clear Channel’s RFP - - has selected three finalists for a new, electronic radio ratings system. MediaAudit/Ipsos, Arbitron (PPM) and Mediamark Research are being invited to provide more details later this month, with some then to be invited to proceed to a live test stage - - with commercial implementation of a new radio ratings system still targeted before the end of this year. (...) "The evaluation team was impressed with the ingenuity and proven track record of several of the finalists and is particularly interested in the cell phone as a measurement device," said Clear Channel Radio Sr. VP of Research Jess Hanson. RBR observation: Not really any surprises here. The three finalists were the ones known last year to already have a working portable measurement device, so no one has made it through to the finals with some new wizbang proposal that no one had seen before. Hanson’s comment about the evaluation team’s interest in using cell phones is good news for MediaAudit/Ipsos, which is known to be using such a device, but potentially bad for Arbitron, which sees problems with using cell phones and has resisted incorporating PPM into cell phones. (...) The third finalist, Mediamark Research, continues to decline to make any public comment about its entry. Its proposed system is believed to use the Eurisko Media Monitor, which was developed by a related company.»

fonte: RBR news, Volume 23, Issue 49, Jim Carnegie, Friday Morning March 10th, 2006

Sobre o uso do telemóvel como medidor/IPSOS:«The Media Audit reports that its Smart Cell Phone meter will measure broadcast audiences via watermarking (encoding) and audio matching. Watermarking involves encoding radio and television signals with an inaudible or invisible encrypted watermark code. Encoding involves the cooperation of broadcasters to insert a code into their transmissions. The watermark code is detected by the Smart Phone meter and provides the measurement of the stations that each respondent is listening to and/or viewing. The encrypted data is stored and transmitted back to the data
center on a daily basis.»

Does that mean satellite "wins"? Maybe not. But it does mean satellite is helping accelerate a wonderful change in the media world. (...) And that is where satellite radio is having an impact - not in employment numbers, not in revenues, but in format. Broadcast listeners have, since about 1995, been in revolt against narrowing formats foisted upon the ear by companies such as Clear Channel, Cumulus Media, and Infinity Broadcasting. What are listeners revolting against? Two things: advertising and homogenization».

(fonte: Philadelphia Inquirer, In radio, satellite is gaining ground, John Timpane,  Mar. 05, 2006)

«There used to be four Great Remaining Questions about future radio. With portability now with us, there are now three GRQs:

Can we make this two-way radio? Can I upload my stuff as well as download yours?

Can we integrate national with local? The FCC has discouraged XM and Sirius from competing with local stations (though this stricture may soon crumble). Yet most listeners still want a local component to whatever radio they use. How do you do that and still be national?

Can we randomize? Radio - especially radio news - does something no other media do as well, not even the Web. It preserves the random. It gives us things we didn’t know we’d like. National Public Radio is a fine example. You’re not going to like everything - but you’re going to learn something and probably like it.

It’s really important for radio to preserve the sweet random. The day someone figures out how to give me what I choose along with what I haven’t chosen but still might like - and make money doing it - that’s when radio will have changed forever.»

fonte: Philadelphia Inquirer, In radio, satellite is gaining ground, John Timpane,  Mar. 05, 2006)

Os primeiros! Em resultado de um conflito com a Clear Channel, proprietária das rádios retransmitidas pela XM:

«Now, an interesting situation involving Clear Channel could force commercials onto a number of XM stations. Most recently, the company pointed to an upcoming change as part of a 10-K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. XM noted that "commercial advertisements will resume on music programming currently provided to us by Clear Channel," part of a "dispute we had with Clear Channel relating to our respective rights and obligations" following a "1998 investment in us."

« the world's first 8GB Hard Disk embedded smartphone (...) The i310 works as a perfect platform for users by combining a phone, a digital camera, and a MP3 player with its immense storage capacity. It enables users to carry around 2,000 songs (4MB/song) wherever they go»

«(...) Podcasting has a long ways to go before it becomes a mainstream medium, but is poised to grow exponentially through the end of the current decade and will increasingly become an attractive outlet for advertisers, says a new report from eMarketer.

By 2008, podcast advertising should reach 0 million, approaching 0 million by 2010, according to the report.»

fonte: Mediaweek, Study: Podcasting to Grow Ads, Mike Shields, FEBRUARY 28, 2006)

«O EXPRESSO é o primeiro jornal online português a disponibilizar para os seus leitores entrevistas em podcast, permitindo que sejam ouvidas no computador ou num IPOD ou noutro leitor de mp3, em qualquer lado e a qualquer hora»

«O padrão japonês, o Integrated Services Digital Broadcasting (ISDB-T), é o preferido das emissoras de televisão porque permite que os celulares recebam e exibam as imagens dos canais sem que o sinal passe pelas operadoras de telefonia móvel – o que impediria estas empresas de controlar a transmissão e cobrar por isso. Por esse motivo, o governo está sendo pressionado pelas grandes redes de TV para adotar esse sistema. Os outros padrões discutidos são: o americano Advanced Television System Comitee (ATSC), o europeu Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB-T) e o Sistema Brasileiro de Televisão Digital (SBTVD).

A televisão digital permitirá no futuro a interatividade entre o espectador e o programa de televisão. A audiência poderá responder a perguntas, comprar produtos no momento em que são anunciados e também acessar a internet.»

fonte: «Japoneses financiam emissoras para escolha do padrão»

Excerto da intervenção de Bill Kennard (presidente da FCC) no congresso dos EUA sobre o futuro da rádio:

«The radio industry is robust and thriving and the prospects for future growth are excelent. Revenues in 1997 were over billion and radio stocks have seen record growth. Radio continues to connect people to their communities, perhaps more than any other medium. Just as the advent of cable television, direct broadcast salellites, and satellite radio did not adversely affect the success of radio, so is the fact that broadband Internet audio distribution will not kill free over-the-air radio broadcasting either. Radio remains unique as a local communications service, one that is the lifeblood of local information in all our communities and in our culture. To this day, radio stations provide local communities with vital local news and information -weather and traffic reports, agricultural forecasts, and school closings. Radio will continue to play a vital  and profitable role in our nation's communities» (McCoy, 1999: 22/23).

«"I’ve competed against Stern in New York," Jay Thomas says. "l think Stern is a phenomenon. He definitely knows what today’s listeners want to hear. He gets personal-straight to your sex life. If I was on the radio today, I couldn’t beat him. You can’t battle that."  (McCoy, 1999: 76)

"The similarities between radio in the seventies and what we're trying to do with satellite radio are unbelievable," says Abrams. "What was happening with AM versus FM back then - the migration of listeners from the AM dial to the FM dial - is exactly like what will happen in the year 2000. The headline will read 'XM Does to FM What FM Did to AM.' I think that's a pretty powerful statement (...)" (Lee Abrams, director de programas da XM).

(excertos de um memo interno enviado por lee Abrams em Janeiro de 1999)

«In 2000, FM Radio...

- Is not addressing most of the mass-appeal music styles (hard rock, jazz, reggae); XM will embrace these styles.

- FM no longer meets the audio standard for music, which has progressed from from stereo to digital; XM will deliver digital quality.

- FM doesn't play anything other than the hit single from any given artist; XM will go deep into a CD.

- FM doesn't reflect the look of the times. Its logos are too corporate and DJ look tired; XM will look, feel, and breathe modern culture in every way.

- FM is not part of the technological retooling; XM is an integral part of the digitizing of America.

- FM is making money, but listeners are suffering; XM will cash in simply by pleasing and exciting listeners.

- FM Sounds hokey and cliché; XM will be real, honest, and relatable.»

(McCoy, 1999: 149/150)  

Uma das características do segundo choque é que ele parece ter chegado sem aviso; pelo menos é o que se pode concluir de um conjunto de declarações feitas na década de 90 dando conta da satisfação e da saúde do meio. Estariam distraídos? Ou apenas adormecidos todos aqueles que, até esse altura, se contentavam em glorificar a sobrevivência da rádio? Um exemplo:

«Quando a televisão tornou-se popular, na década de 1950, surgiram previsões anunciando a morte do rádio. Passados mais de quarenta anos, o rádio é, hoje, mais empolgante e diversificado do que antes. A rádio local está crescendo muito rapidamente em diversas áreas do Reino Unido, que podem agora ter a oportunidade de desfrutar de uma ampla escolha de estilos e formatos radiofônicos. E milhões de pessoas podem buscar um conjunto de notícias de seu interesse através do rádio» (Chantler, Paul e Harris, Sim, Radiojornalismo, Summus, São Paulo, 1998, pág 15).

«German company AVM just announced their new FRITZ! Mini. This handheld device combines a cordless phone and music player with an information service allowing you to view news, weather, and sports reports on the color display. Not good enough, well the handset will also alert you to incoming emails and text messages though how they accomplish the latter is a bit unclear. See, the 802.11g WiFi enabled FRITZ!Box is the key, it acts as a base station and information hub for the Mini by streaming music, information, and both VoIP or fixed-line calls directly to the handset. It doesn’t appear though, that the !Box packs any storage it’s own damned self, but you can slip in a Memory Stick or connect any MP3 player with USB support for playback to the Mini.»

fonte: Engadget, FRITZ! Mini: WiFi! phone, MP3! player, and! more, Posted Mar 10th 2006 9:27AM by Thomas Ricker 

Comentário: é possivel receber rádio via streaming.

"A adesão em massa de músicos a lugares como o Myspace, dando música a ouvir, ou mesmo oferecendo ficheiros mp3, mostra-se cada vez mais capaz de cativar público que o velho FM", diz Nuno Galopim, no texto de abertura de um dossier sobre a música na internet (suplemento «6ª», DN, 10/3/06)

ALguns excertos que mostram que a rádio, a rádio musical, está e vai perder influência não apenas do ponto de vista de quem está interessado em promover-se (os músicos e as editoras) mas também de quem está interessado em conhecer - nesse sentido, para que servirá a rádio musical?

»Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not, dos Arctic Monkeys, é a estreia discográfica com o maior sucesso de sempre no mercado blitânico. Na primeira semana, o álbum atingiu a generosa marca de 360 mil cópias vendidas, mantendo oscArctic Monkeys nas primeiras páginas da imprensa musical britânica e exportando a sua música para os EUA com relativo sucesso. Os Arctic Monkeys apostaram numa nova forma de divulgação. Em cada uma das actuações, a banda distribuia, gratuitamente, uma gravação dos seus temas e encorajava todos os presentes a fazer circular o disco pela Internet. Sucesso garantido muito antes de qualquer edição oficial, manobra de marketing ou investimento multinacional. (...) Depois de anos de namoros ilegais, de acções judiciais e proibições, os músicos tornaram-se eles próprios utilizadores do ciberespaço e assumiram, sem preconceitos, as vantagens que o meio oferece em tempos de incerteza, relativamente ao futuro da indústria discográfica. (...) O "método" mais recente é a utilização da Rede como forma de interacção com um público que os músicos ainda não conhecem, mas que com ele estabelecem uma relação de superior proximidade. O Myspace.com lidera este fenómeno, uma espécie de fórum em que cada utilizador registado pode dar-se a conhecer como bem entender, utilizando fotos, textos ou, no caso dos músicos, canções. São já muitos os que por ali se fixam, revelando temas, recolhendo opiniões e divulgando notícias ou concertos. O feedback é imediato e global"». («Música com rede», pág 6, TP)

«Antes de tudo, está alojado em www.myspace.com acessível a qualquer intemauta, até por não se tratar de um domínio exclusivamente dedicadoà música. O princípio passa por estabelecer uma rede de amigos, através de uma comunidade pessoal onde é possível enviar mensagens privadas, deixar comentários ou adicionar outras pessoas. Na "secção" de música, passa-se exactamente o mesmo, com a possibilidale das bandas poderem colocar quatro mp3, para audição, ou descarga, actualizar notícias e contar um pouco da sua história. Simples e prático, num meio termo entre site e blogue. No Myspace estão representados alguns dos majores nomes da actualidade, embora por vezes se tratem de criações de fãs. Mas há excepções; o Myspace dos Duran Duran é oficial e distingue-se pelos inéditos colocados não só na página principal como em subpáginas. Se exceptuarmos bandas consagradas, o número de grupos novos que se regista neste domínio é ainda maior» («Pessoal e transmissível, pág 7, DP).

«The minute-by-minute, mechanical measurement of radio audiences was first introduced in 1942. AC Nielsen’s Audimeter registered each movement of the radio tuning dial with the scratch of a stylus on a roll of paper tape, storing the information in a cartridge, which at the end of each survey period was mailed back to the company for analysis. From 1950 until 1963, the Audimeter-based Nielsen Radio Index served the US radio industry as its official currency. Technological change and legislative action brought about its demise:

The sales of new, portable transistor radios starting in the late 1950s and the advent of stereo FM broadcasting in 1963, adding to the already growing number of channels that could be received, undermined the practicability of the system;

In the same year, the radio ratings industry was in the dock, with a Congressional Hearing concluding that, based as they were on statistical estimates, all ratings were “inherently imperfect”.

Nielsen abandoned minute-by-minute measurement of radio, and the industry moved to a diary-based survey of radio audiences – an established methodology which was not without criticism. As one contemporary commentator noted in 1954: “…the placing of diaries can be a haphazard method scientifically, since many people refuse to accept them, which could throw an entire sample out of kilter. Also, there is a tendency to neglect filling out the diary until the last day of the week. Here, too, memory is unreliable and people will put down anything that comes into their heads—including, occasionally, shows which haven’t been on the air for years... As comedian Herb Shriner put it, “If you stop a woman leaving a supermarket and ask her to tell you everything she just bought, she won’t be able to. So how can she be expected to remember what she listened to a week ago?” Bill Davidson, “Who Knows Who’s on Top,” Collier’s, 29 October 1954.»

North, Nick e van Meurs, Lex,  «Radio Zapping», ESOMAR/ARF WAM, June 2004.

(obrigado Jorge)

A rádio do futuro terá ainda mais mobilidade, será mais portátil mas mais difusa. Não haverá um aparelho chamado "rádio" e as (novas) empresas de rádio serão fornecedores de conteúdos audio (não apenas).

Neste cenário em que o webcasting terá prevalência, em que a rádio chegará por todos os lados e não apenas pelo ar - como agora - será que o PPM (e os aparelhos de medição electrónica passiva em geral) está adaptado às novas circunstâncias? Ou será que o investimento brutal que será preciso fazer, por exemplo nos EUA, se mostrará desajustado alguns anos depois (um pouco como o DAB?)?

A questão é que, como mostra este texto, «As we saw forty years ago, a period of change for the medium can precipitate a change in measurement» (North, Nick e van Meurs, Lex,  «Radio Zapping», ESOMAR/ARF WAM, June 2004). Nesse sentido, a medição electrónica, tal como a conhecemos agora, não servirá para a nova realidade que se avizinha...

O grupo GfK tinha vários sistemas de medição electrónica, desde o sistema Eurisko, passando pelos relógio "radiocontrol" e "mediawatch".

Sobre o Radiocontrol, sabe-se que: «has been used in the UK for measurement of exposure to radio and TV by the Wireless Group since 2003. In the UK and across Europe, the technology has been used to measure in-home and out-of-home TV viewing of ‘hard to reach’ groups, and for cross media research on behalf of leading media agencies and international media owners.» De acordo com os seus responsáveis, «RADIOCONTROL is the electronic audience measurement system developed by Telecontrol, part of the GfK Group. RADIOCONTROL is a passive, electronic audience measurement device built into a wristwatch. Respondents are typically asked to wear the watch for a week during which time a built-in microphone records a short, four-second sequence of sound during each minute of the surveyed week. These sounds are stored not as sound files, but in a heavily compressed, digitised format, representing no more than audio ‘fingerprints’ of the original files. At the end of the surveyed week, the data from the watches are downloaded, and these listening records matched to a set of audio samples of every TV station and radio station monitored in the survey. If an audio fingerprint stored on the watch during a particular minute matches the sound sample of a particular station during the same minute, we may infer that this watch was exposed to this station at this time. By matching the sound samples recorded each minute by each watch to the stations’ broadcast output, it is possible to build up a minute-by-minute record of each respondent’s TV and radio listening. After extensive laboratory and field tests, the technology has been used in the national radio audience measurement system in Switzerland since 2000. In Great Britain, the system has been tested and trialled since 2001. In March 2003, The Wireless Group commissioned GfK to launch a continuous national survey of viewing and listening using RADIOCONTROL, from which the data for this analysis are drawn».

Pelo menos é que diz este estudo: «higher volumes of advertising on radio, in longer breaks or more frequent breaks, do not in themselves impact on the likelihood to switch».

«(...) the search for great radio talent around the country slowed. The majority of radio stations became stripped of personality - and personalities. The human touch was gone. In its place was the safe, predictable sound of radio-by-the-numbers. Many operators embraced this trend because it was cost-efficient. It offered the option of not paying big money for some zany morning man or wild night jock, because the research indicated that all they had to do was play the best-testing records and shut the air talent up" (McCoy, 1999:2).

«Buzz Bennett: Everybody today is surviving on research. People aren’t using their instincts. There’s no instinctual movement; it’s all rational movement, which is okay in a noncreative industry, but in radio, it takes people who want to drive themselves to create something new» (McCoy, 1999: 89) 

A empresa que realiza as audiências em Espanha comunicou que suspendeu o processo, depois de ter encontrado indícios de fraude. A Cadena COPE reagiu, dizendo ter realizado uma investigação que o prova...

«The only details revealed are buried in careful language, the lawyers obviously consulted. AIMC “detected the existence of false interviewers within the field-work groups attempting to manipulate the survey data.”  The AIMC Board, said the release, continues to investigate. Pending that, the first survey wave (January through March) might be called off. Wednesday night, early by Spanish custom but yet quite dark, Radio COPE’s Lantern program announced an investigation by its journalists, led by sports director Jose Antonio Abellán, had been conducted to “demonstrate fraud” within the EGM. The network had, by its own admission, infiltrated its “journalists” into the field-work groups.»

Mais: «Madrid, 10 de Marzo de 2006. La Junta Directiva de la Asociación para la Investigación de los Medios de Comunicación (AIMC), responsable de la realización del Estudio General de Medios (EGM) en su reunión de hoy 10 de marzo de 2006, ha decidido por unanimidad incoar expediente de sanción a la Cadena COPE con propuesta de expulsión por faltas muy graves atendiendo a lo indicado en los estatutos de la asociación».

«La Cadena COPE pide, a la luz de los resultados de este trabajo de investigación, que se ponga en marcha de forma inmediata una auditoria sobre el sistema de medición de las audiencias que utiliza el EGM por el bien de las empresas, de los anunciantes y de la audiencia que tiene la radio española»

«As their system is being tested in England, the Media Audit is now requesting permission from Houston radio station owners to encode their signals in order to conduct a test of their Smart Cell Phone system of electronic media measurement.»

Mais: «Radio One Houston properties are the first Houston stations to agree to encode their signals as part of a series of tests The Media Audit will be conducting with its Smart Cell Phone media monitor (...). Abernethy said, "It is well recognized that the radio industry needs to move to an electronic measurement. I appreciate the efforts that Arbitron has put into testing its proposed solution. At the same time, we need more information and more ways to sell the advertising strengths of radio. The Media Audit/Ipsos solution addresses this need for more information as it includes multiple media platforms as well as retail information. I am encouraged with The Media Audit/Ipsos Smart Cell Phone solution as it addresses many concerns that we and others in the industry share about the potential flaws in electronic measurement." (Radio Ink, «Radio One Agrees To Encode Houston Stations For Smart Cell Phone Media Measurement Testing»).

Why Smart Cell Phones are a Better Media Measuring Device

The cell phone is an integral part of people's daily lives, which makes it the ideal mode for passively monitoring activities from media exposure to retail activity. Our proposed passive measurement system incorporates the latest technology into smart phones for measuring radio, television, radio and television streaming via the internet, cable, satellite television, billboards and other out-of-home media.

Cell phones are a part of our culture. We take them everywhere we go. A popular online web site notes, "With high levels of mobile telephone penetration, a mobile culture has evolved, where the cell phone becomes a key social tool." Cell phones have been adopted faster than any other consumer product or service from its inception to its penetration in the market. In less than twenty years, mobile phones have gone from being rare and expensive pieces of equipment used by businesses to a pervasive low-cost personal item.

Over the past ten years, the number of Americans carrying a cell phone has increased by 500 percent for an estimated 200 million people. Based on this estimate, 70% of Americans have a cell phone. In addition, a recent NPD survey shows Smart Phone penetration up seven percent during the third quarter of 2005.

Using a smart phone that carries specially developed software from Ipsos, this solution offers a number of unique advantages over other proposed media measurement devices:

- The cell phone is a familiar device. It is more likely that respondents will carry around a cell phone than other types of proposed meter devices.
- Smart Phones can continue to monitor media exposure in places where users would be required to turn their cell phones off. Users can put them on "quiet mode" wherein the phone won't ring but can be used for other functions that includes the ability to monitor media exposure. The "always on" feature will result in greater accuracy in the data.
- Finally, cell phones are gaining use for playing music, audio and video downloading, playing interactive games, and even conducting credit card transactions.
- Continuing advances in cell phone technology and increases in usage underscores why The Media Audit/Ipsos Smart Phone will be able to measure radio audiences that a pager type meter will not be able to measure.» (fonte: Radio Marketing Nexus, Audience Measurement by Smart Phone?, Posted by Mark Ramsey on February 23, 2006)

«Arbitron said the conversion from its current paper-based diary method would begin with Houston in July, with plans to convert the top 10 radio markets by the fall of 2008 and the top 50 within three years following that. ». No entanto, «To date, only two broadcasters - Spanish Broadcasting and Beasley Broadcasting - have committed to its use, even though most of Madison Avenue's biggest radio buyers have endorsed the service».

Além disso: «Some influential radio broadcasters, especially, Clear Channel Communications, have been fishing for an alternative to the PPM. Clear Channel recently issued a request for proposals for a new, state-of-the-art electronic radio audience measurement system, and last week narrowed the list of candidates to three finalists including Arbitron, Mediamark Research Inc. and The Media Audit, all of whom have some form of passive radio audience measurement. The Clear Channel-lead initiative, which includes Madison Avenue executives, is expected to make a final selection and begin a field test soon».

Fonte: «Arbitron Begins Portable People Meter Rollout», Media Daily News, Joe Mandese, Tuesday, Mar 14, 2006 8:01 AM EST

The cult of iPod is a dominant force among US consumers, and one that Apple cultivates well. But analysts also point to excellent device functionality as a major success contributor, typified by a smooth iTunes+iPod connection. And globally, the picture is actually solid overall. iPod market share has been pegged at about 55 percent worldwide, though figures differ. In Asia, the iPod has caught fire in Japan, though other markets are far less hooked. Those countries offer the greatest challenge to Apple moving forward. Meanwhile, the mobile phone remains an inseparable appendage for most Asian consumers, and that is already having an impact on the portable MP3 market. Most recently, Samsung introduced an 8GB, HDD-based phone, offering a glimpse at next-generation storage and convergence possibilities» (fonte: Digital, Music News, iPod Dominates in US, Asian Markets Harder to Crack, 14/3/06).

«The radio research firm projects in its latest report that HD receivers will be in the hands of 1.06 million consumers by the end of 2007, 2.0 million by the end of 2008 and 8.84 million by the end of 2010. Meanwhile, Bridge predicts that XM Satellite Radio will grow to 9.0 million subscribers by the end of 2006 as rival Sirius grows to about 6 million subscribers over the same period. The study comes as part of Bridge’s ongoing review and analysis of audience attrition of traditional radio and subscriber and user growth of alternative digital media.»

Fonte: «Bridge Ratings: HD Radio To Reach 1 Million By End Of ’07», 14/3/06, Brida Connolly, R&R

(informações do Edgard Costa)

«Podcast GavezDois atinge hoje aos 200 episódios

O podcast português GavezDois, encontrado em http://www.gavezdois.com, atinge hoje os 200 episódios. Lançado no dia 16 de Agosto de 2005, o GavezDois é o podcast de música mais ouvido em Portugal e um dos três mais ouvidos entre todos, segundo o principal directório de podcasts de língua portuguesa, o português Lusocast (http://www.lusocast.com/top/10) . É importante ressaltar que todas as músicas ouvidas nos episódios do GavezDois são legalmente autorizadas para este fim, pelos mais de 1.000 selos independentes em todo o mundo que o podcast manteve contactos neste primeiros meses de trabalho. Mais alguns números: 31.652 é o número de descarregamentos de todos os episódios, desde Setembro de 2005, quando começou a contagem e até ontem, 14 de Março de 2006; 221.564 é o numero aproximado de músicas legalmente distribuídas, numa média de sete por episódio; 820 é a média diária de visitantes; 10.000.574 bytes (100 GB) é o recorde de descarregamentos num só dia, correspondendo a mais de 500 episódios descarregados; O episódio de Natal de 2005 foi o que obteve maior número individual de descarregamentos, somando 1.126.

 "Nielsen//NetRatings... announced today that the number of active broadband users from home increased 28% year-over-year, from 74.3 million in February 2005 to 95.5 million in February 2006. Broadband composition among the U.S. active online population has seen vigorous growth during the past three years, increasing at least ten percentage points annually and hitting an all-time high of 68% for active Internet users in February 2006...

"Overall Internet penetration in the U.S. has stabilized over the past few years, reaching 74% at home in February 2006... Since February 2003, the average PC time per person among active Web users has increased approximately five hours from 25 and a half hours a month to 30 and a half hours a month."

Fonte: Nielsen ratings; 14/3/06

«The report points out that a typical base-station, can handle an area between 3-to-10 kilometers in a non-line of sight environment. Or about 40 Mbit/s per channel, which basically boils down to this: one cell could theoretically allow hundreds of business connections at 1.5 Mbit/s and thousands of residential connections at 256 kbit/s. It is easier to see why I have always believed that this is a long haul technology, which can then work in tandem with WiFi meshes, for local connectivity»

«A set of emerging wireless technologies is posed to greatly increase the range of high-speed wireless broadband. The technologies behind WiMAX should allow for wireless data speeds of up to 40 Mbit/s over a distance of 10 kilometres using relatively inexpensive equipment. These same technologies could also offer faster data transfers to mobile devices than is possible over current third-generation mobile networks under certain conditions. WiMAX-certified equipment should become available in late 2005 and should significantly increase the speed and reach of wireless data networks.»

«uptake of DAB grew around 100% in Q4 2005, but still only 11.1% of UK homes own a set. Is this an acceptable figure, considering that DAB was launched in 1995, or could this explain the government’s reluctance to set a switch-off date for analogue radio? (...) The UK media also remains unconvinced – recent reports proclaimed the potential market for digital radio on mobiles and hailed Channel 4’s bid for a nationwide digital radio multiplex. Simultaneous broadsheet reports attacked digital radio for sub-FM audio quality and insufficient UK coverage. This mixed media message is not aided by the multiple forms of radio (DAB, Digital Radio Mondiale, HD Radio) that are continuing to emerge and compete for mainstream support» (fonte: «Future Radio: Will Digital Kill The Record Biz Star?»)

Relativamente a este caso, surgem notícias de que há cada vez mais apoio para o sistema da MediaAudit, o que não pode deixar de ser interpretado como uma espécie de cartão amarelo ao PPM - afinal a indústria não está tão convencida como parece.

Agora é a CBS Radio, depois da Radio One e da Cox: «"We are impressed with how quickly The Media Audit /IPSOS team is hitting its milestones in bringing the radio industry an alternative electronic ratings service. The Media Audit/Ipsos formally applied to the evaluation committee in December and is now preparing for a market test 3 months later. That's impressive. Clearly they have a plan and they know what they are doing." commented Hollander.» (http://www.radioink.com/headlineentry.asp?hid=132847&pt=inkheadlines)

fonte: New York TImes, «South Koreans Clearly See Mobile TV» By SU HYUN LEE, March 16, 2006

ACT a 23/3/06: a partir de um relatório da Datamonitor: «World domination battle: DMB Vs DVB-H Vs MediaFLO. There are essentially three different technologies fighting it out to be the standard for mobile TV broadcast technology – DVB-H, DMB and MediaFLO – with a fourth, ISDB-T, unlikely to gain any traction outside of Japan. DMB is the only technology currently being used in commercial services (in South Korea). Commercial services from DVB-H and MediaFLO are expected to launch by the second half of 2006. Each technology has its own pros and cons, but in global market share terms Datamonitor expects DVB-H to be the long-term leader.»

«Mercury Radio Research has released the results of a survey of 1,000 people conducted in Jan.-Feb. about HD Radio and the iPod. Given the choice between the two technologies at the same price, better than 50% preferred HD over the iPod.  In polling men and women aged 12-54 of various ethnicities, Mercury gave participants a description of HD radio and asked for their preference versus iPods. Overall, 53% gave the thumbs up to HD, while 37% chose the iPod and 10% answered “don’t know.” Broken out, 18-34 adults chose HD by a 51% margin compared to 43% who selected iPods and 6% answering “don’t know.”  HD led by 59% to iPod’s 28% in adults 25-54, with 13% of respondents answering “don’t know.”

More info on the study, including format breakouts are available at radiomarketingnexus.com»

fonte: Billboard Radio Monitor, Report: HD Radio Preferred Over iPod, March 15, 2006, By Mike Boyle

(algo que me dizia que fazia sentido pôr uma interrogação no título deste texto. É que, na verdade, e como lembra no comentário Carlos Marques da Cotonete, «o primeiro serviço de rádio nos telemóveis em Portugal foi lançado há cerca de um ano pela Optimus e pelo Cotonete. Está disponível através do portal móvel da referida operadora». Passou-me, mas ainda bem que há leitores atentos. Via Optimus tentei saber mais sobre o serviço, mas não encontrei nada de relevante. A pesquisa continua e agradeço contributos)

Vodafone introduz serviço UMTS de rádio para telemóveis

Como juntar o FM com o computador? Este sistema grava e guarda tudo o que ouve no FM para o computador!

«Snaptune, Inc. has released Snaptune™ One, a new software product that ‘downloads’ complete songs, talk shows, interviews and live sessions directly from FM radio to a PC.

Snaptune One records, isolates, and identifies complete songs, talk shows and other interesting segments automatically.

Users pick their favorite local radio stations from a list for their location, and Snaptune does the rest. Snaptune One displays a list of the songs playing on the radio as it finds them. Users can sort them, play them, write them, burn them, or transfer them to an iPod or other media player.

Snaptune uses pattern-matching techniques to find songs without any reference to play lists or other external data allowing it to work on almost any radio station.

Snaptune One can podcast directly across a home network to iTunes on a user’s laptop and from there onto an iPod. »

(fonte: Corey Deitz, Radio About, New Software Downloads Complete Songs From FM Radio to PC, 11/3/06)

«OTTAWA (CP) - Music via the Internet, satellite, IPods and a new generation of cellphones is taking its toll on old-fashioned commercial radio, and the industry wants federal broadcast regulators to help level the playing field.  In a submission to the CRTC, the Canadian Association of Broadcasters warns that "a new generation of unregulated competition is upon us." That, plus huge increases in music copyright payments in recent years, means the outlook for private radio is uncertain.  "This does not mean that more regulation is required, but rather more effective regulation needs to be designed," says Glenn O'Farrell, president of the CAB which represents more than 400 radio stations across the country. (...) The CAB projects a loss of listeners over the next decade to new audio technologies, warning the revenue losses could be as much as million by 2010, and even worse beyond that.» (fonte: Faced with new media competition, private radio makes proposals to CRTC, Canoe Money, 2006-03-16 13:50:00)

Dia 1 de Abril de 06, no Porto.

Com Duarte Velez Grilo (Blitzkriegbop), Carlos Jorge Andrade (Lusocast), Filipe Homem Fonseca e José de Pina (O horror inominável), Edgard Costa (GavezDois) e José António Moreira (Sons da escrita) (fonte: A rádio em Portugal)

(fonte: «At a glance: BBC White Paper», Tuesday, 14 March 2006, 18:46 GMT) 

mesmo perante os desafios do satélite. Ou por causa disso mesmo...

«The bill says that "because radio programming is supported by advertising, the ability of local stations to continue to provide local news and other services and to ensure communications during emergencies could be jeopardized by a diversion of the listening audience away from local radio programming." (...) It is crystal clear that both XM and Sirius – with nearly billion in combined losses last year and having failed as a national programming service – are skirting the intent of their original FCC licenses. This bill holds satellite radio accountable to those licenses."»

(fonte: FMQB, Senate Proposes "Local Emergency Radio Service Preservation Act", March 16, 2006)

Perante a indefinição dos suportes de emissão no futuro, o aumento das plataformas que fornecem música em concorrência com a rádio, a falta de convergência com leitores de audio digital que a rádio tem demonstrado, o crescimento da publicidade on line (em detrimento - mais cedo ou mais tarde - do elo mais fraco), a incapacidade de perceber que o podcasting pode ser um trunfo valioso ou a falta de verdadeiras webradios (apenas temos o simulcasting, à excepção do Cotonete), são estas as "Questões importantes, que exigem uma reflexão profunda" segundo a Associação Portuguesa de Rádios: «Além dos direitos de autor, da concentração de propriedade dos media e do recurso (cada vez mais recorrente) a métodos publicitários, outras questões prementes irão incendiar o debate. O presidente da APR engrossa a lista de preocupações gerais com o novo regime de taxas, o futuro código dos jornalistas, as quotas da música e o papel da nova Entidade Reguladora para a Comunicação Social (ERC)»

«The race for exclusive content on satellite radio is costing some serious money and could delay that industry's move from red ink to black ink, says Banc of America Securities analyst Jonathan Jacoby in a report published March 7. The BofA report comes at the same time Sirius Satellite Radio announced it had signed Candace Bushnell, New York Times bestselling author and Sex and the City creator for a weekly four-hour call-in Talk show. The show, called Candace Bushnell's Sex, Success and Sensibility will debut this spring. Sirius' latest deal follows a month after XM Satellite Radio announced it will pay Oprah Winfrey's Harpo Productions million to program a channel, including original content and regular segments from personalities on Oprah's TV show, her magazine O, and a weekly reality show with Oprah and Gayle King. Although Jacoby wrote that he remained "positive" on the satellite radio industry, he also expressed worries about "rising fixed costs (e.g., content)" that could "create uncertainty over the timing of positive free cash flow." Sirius will spend about 0 million this year on programming and content -- and about million of those costs this year will come from deals already announced, including Cosmopolitan, Playboy, Blue Collar Comedy, the renewed Fox News/Fox News Talk deal and the recently announced Court TV deal. Sirius' NASCAR deal will add million in programming costs in 2007»

(fonte: Mediaweek, Content Costs Could Delay Satellite Profits, Katy Bachman and Tony Sanders, Billboard Radio Monitor,MARCH 07, 2006; via Obercom)

(Zits, via http://www.kingfeatures.com/features/comics/zits/about.htm)

Excertos de um artigo muito bem informado de João Pedro Pereira, no Público de hoje («iTunes pode vir a ser ilegal em França», pág. 25):

«a França pode tornar-se o primeiro país a forçar a compatibilidade de formatos na área da música digital. De acordo com o Ministério da Cultura francês, o Governo vai ainda tentar que seja posta em prática regulamentação semelhante ao nível europeu»

«A loja on-line do iTunes disponibiliza ficheiros que apenas podem ser lidos nos leitores de música digital da popular gama iPod ou em computadores com o software iTunes ou Quicktime instalado. Ambos os programas são da Apple, embora estejam disponíveis gratuitamente, nomeadamente para o sistema operativo Windows, da rival Microsoft.
Mais recentemente, uma parceria com a Motorola veio também permitir que alguns telemóveis desta marca pudessem ler as canções protegidas pelo formato da Apple.»

«A proposta de lei vai ainda contra as restrições actuais dos iPod, que não são compatíveis com muitos formatos de música vendidos pela concorrência. A Apple poderá ter que fazer com que os franceses que compraram estes leitores sejam capazes de os usar para ouvir música vendida por outras companhias.
Muitos analistas defendem que as restrições do iTunes e do iPod, bem como a interacção entre ambos, estão na base do sucesso da empresa neste sector. A aprovação da lei poderá significar o fim da loja iTunes naquele país, mas a Apple ainda não comentou a situação.
Também a Microsoft, que actualmente tem cerca de 15 por cento do mercado de música on-line, será afectada pela medida, uma vez que usa um sistema semelhante de protecção. Os ficheiros descarregados a partir da loja MSN Music estão num formato que apenas pode ser lido pelo Windows Media Player, um programa que já vem incorporado no Windows»

ACT a 24/3: «O arlamento francês votou favoravelmente uma proposta do Governo que deverá forçar os vários distribuidores de música online por download a partilhar entre si os seus sistemas de protecção de copyright. A Apple, Sony e Microsoft serão, assim, obrigadas a adaptar os seus ficheiros a um modelo "universal", compatível com qualquer leitor de ficheiros digitais.

A medida, no entanto, é vista como uma posição de força do Governo francês contra a Apple (e a sua loja iTunes e leitores iPod), que detém uma posição maioritária neste sector, com 70% do mercado. O projecto de lei francês sobe agora ao Senado para aprovação e só depois será lei, impedindo que as tecnologias de protecção destes ficheiros bloqueiem o funcionamento entre sistemas diferentes. A ser aprovada, a lei forçará a Apple a tornar os seus ficheiros musicais compatíveis ou a ter de encerrar a loja iTunes em França».

O furacão Howard Stern continua a fazer estragos... na XM.

A Sirius acaba de anunciar o assinante nº 4 milhões, o que a põe muito mais próxima da XM. O objectivo é fechar o ano com mais de 6 milhões. E bater a XM?

A questão é novamente suscitada no Wall Street Journal de ontem:

«An estimated 30 million Americans listen to Internet radio stations each week, up from 20 million a year ago, according to a January survey by Arbitron Inc. and Edison Media Research.

"The audience has reached ’a critical mass’ and ’advertisers are starting to take an interest in it,’ said Andy Lipset, managing partner of Ronning Lipset Radio, a New York ad agency that sells ads for several big Internet radio stations.

"But efforts to attract advertisers to the nascent market have been hampered by a debate over how individual stations -- everyone from small broadcasters like WOXY.com to giants like Yahoo Inc.’s Launchcast -- should measure their online audiences. There is no agreed-upon method. Instead there are dueling systems that can produce different stats.

"’If we all settled on using [one set of numbers] it would be better,’ said Jennifer Lane [pictured right], president of Net Radio Sales, a Providence, R.I., ad agency for small- and mid-sized Internet broadcasters. »

(fonte: «Ratings divide mey be hampering internet radio ad sales market», RAIN Newsletter, 21/3/06)

ACT a 2/4/06: « Clear Channel Communications Inc. is keeping a closer eye on who’s logging onto the company’s 1,200 radio station Web sites these days. Clear Channel (NYSE: CCU) selected WebSideStory Inc. to furnish its HBX Analytics application to measure and analyze visitor activity across Clear Channel Radio’s online network. WebSideStory (NASDAQ: WSSI), a company located in San Diego, develops and markets digital marketing and customer analysis applications. HBX Analytics will give Clear Channel the ability to track the popularity of audio and video content on each station site. It will also track what people are watching from Clear Channel Radio’s video-on-demand service, how many people are logged in to watch live radio station broadcasts, and what people are downloading on podcasts. Gerrit Meier, senior vice president and general manager of Clear Channel Radio’s Online Music and Radio division, says this agreement will give the broadcaster a more unified view of the performance of its online operations. »

fonte: «Clear Channel taps WebSideStory to track online behavior» San Antonio Business Journal - 2:14 PM CST Monday

O Radio Advertising Bureau (RAB) acaba de lançar uma nova versão do «White Paper» sobre o HD. Um documento muito interessante, até pela simplicidade, mas com muita informação.

Destaques:

«HD Radio has propelled the medium into the digital space, and marks the most significant advancement in radio broadcasting since the introduction of FM stereo more than 50 years ago»

Porquê: «HD Radio has provided expanded programming choices, radically improved audio quality, and new wireless data and text services. Its anticipated impact on consumers is so significant that HD Radio received top honors with CNET’s “Next Big Thing” Award at the 2005 International Consumer Electronics Show. Signal fading, static, hisses, and pops are a thing of the past as HD Radio delivers FM quality sound on AM and CD quality sound on FM. Real-time text messages including song title and artist, weather, news, and traffic alerts, and local information for nationally advertised brands are revolutionizing the way consumers experience AM and FM radio. Surround sound, a “buy” button, and traffic data overlaid on in-car navigational systems are on the way. And, as always, it’s FREE»

Sobre o multicasting: «Alliance member stations are coordinating the formats on the new HD2 multicast channels to ensure a variety of program choices within the HD2 multicast markets. More information is available at www.hdradio.com. To date, 3,000 U.S. radio stations covering all major markets and reaching 90% of Americans, have committed to upgrading their stations. Over 700 stations are already broadcasting their primary signal in HD Radio including stations in all top 50 markets. Over 150 stations are currently multicasting an HD2 channel with over 250 HD2 stations expected on the air in the coming months. A few stations are experimenting with HD3 multicasts».

A recepção: «Boston Acoustics’ Receptor HD tabletop radio is widely available, as is Yamaha’s home component receiver. High-end home component units are on the way from Audio Design Associates, Day Sequerra, and Rotel. Polk is scheduled to launch a tabletop radio in April.  After-market auto receivers from Alpine, Kenwood, JVC, Eclipse, Sanyo, and Panasonic are selling in retail stores across the country. New automotive aftermarket technology will debut in 2006 allowing consumers to easily convert their existing analog car radios to receive digital HD Radio signals. BMW is the first car manufacturer to offer HDRadio receivers as a factory installed option in its 2006 “6” and “7” Series models.»

Está tudo aqui (http://www.rab.com/secure/white_papers/HDRADIOWhitePaper.pdf)

«"Nesta altura, os dados recolhidos mostram que a rádio é o meio que concentra menos atractivos para o investimento, quer ao nível da publicidade, quer ao nível do investimento do Estado, mais do que em anos anteriores", afirmou Amável Santos [do Obercom]. O barómetro mostra um decréscimo do investimento publicitário nesta área. O top 20 dos sectores empresariais que mais investem em rádio baixou de 98 mil milhões de euros no primeiro semestre de 2004 para 94.500 milhões de euros no período homólogo de 2005.»

Mais sobre as rádios locais: «(...)o Barómetro 2005 mostra um ligeiro decréscimo do volume de negócios, de 477 milhões de euros em 2004 para 390 milhões em 2005. Há também um ligeiro decréscimo do número de horas de emissão, das 35.660 para as 33.495 de 2004 para 2005. O Barómetro frisa no entanto que apenas 22 por cento do mercado deste segmento respondeu a este trabalho. Mas é em relação às rádios locais que o Barómetro tem mais dúvidas sobre a aplicação dos sistemas digitais. Só no médio a longo prazo o Barómetro prevê o aparecimento das rádios digitais, principalmente pelos condicionalismos económicos e tecnológicos do meio local. Só com a intervenção do Estado se poderão estimular, no longo prazo, projectos inovadores concebidos para novas plataformas de distribuição no âmbito da radiodifusão. E nesse contexto as rádios locais poderiam beneficiar».

(fonte: «Rádio é o meio de comunicação menos atractivo para a publicidade», Ana Machado, Público, 22/3/06, pág 42 e 43)

«In a Wall Street conference call yesterday arranged by Bear Stearns, The Media Audit President Bob Jordan revealed that his company will propose a roll-out schedule even more aggressive than the one that Arbitron unveiled for its Portable People Meter earlier this month (3/15/06 RBR #52). Jordan said The Media Audit/Ipsos will commit to deploying its Smart Cell Phone-based electronic audience measurement system in 11 markets in 2007. "We can move fast in America because it's already been done in Europe," said The Media Audit Exec. VP Phillip Beswick. He also said that the proposed system will be entering phase one of the accreditation process with the Media Ratings Council in a few weeks, with completion expected in 6-12 months. Look for pricing information in a few weeks, but Jordan says it will be "very competitive." And if its proposal is accepted by the radio industry, The Media Audit/Ipsos plans to start talking with TV owners as well about competing with Nielsen.(...)».

(fonte: «Ratings RFP selection in high gear» RBR News, Volume 23, Issue 58, Jim Carnegie, March 23rd, 2006) 

As contas são (penso) muito falíveis (porque não têm valor científico) e a afirmação só pode ser tida em conta como simbólica, mas não deixa de ter piada que, somados alguns números, haja mais podcasts registados no iTunes do que estações de rádio a emitir em todo o mundo.

Rádios hertzianas serão 36 mil; podcasts registados 38 mil! Alguma coisa isto quer dizer...

Os pormenores aqui e o autor da contabilização é este Brian Greene.

(fonte: breve na última página do Jornal de Notícias de hoje a partir das fontes citadas)

«o rádio na rede não vai substituir o rádio hertziano. Muito pelo contrário, ambos existirão concomitantemente e as emissoras se vêem, agora, obrigadas a gerar “algo mais” ao usuário»

«RÁDIO NO CIBERESPAÇO – INTERSEÇÃO, ADAPTAÇÃO, MUDANÇA E TRANSFORMAÇÃO», Raquel Porto Alegre dos Santos Alves, Intercom

De acordo com Carmen Gómez Mont («La radio en la convergencia de las nuevas tecnologias», in Revista mexicana de Comunicación, nº 65, setembro-outubro 2000, pág 45) as três espécies diferentes de rádio na rede são:

1) A estação propriamente radiofônica que busca traduzir matérias em linguagem digital e que existe previamente em ondas hertzianas. É o caso da CBN7, aqui no Brasil; da BBC de Londres8 e da Rádio França Internacional9, para citar alguns exemplos.

2)  aquele que nasceu na própria rede, é embrionariamente digital. Um exemplo desse tipo de emissora é a espanhola Rádio Cable10, que, pioneiramente, iniciou suas transmissões em 17 de maio de 1997.

3) a rádio pirata que luta para ter voz no ambiente eletromagnético e que encontra na internet o espaço ideal para a expansão livre, sem temer à censura e à perseguição dos órgãos regulamentadores. Exemplos: a mexicana Pirata Web3, estação hospedada no servidor da Universidad de Guadalajara, e a RádioPirata11 de Taubaté (SP), hospedada no portal IG.»

«RÁDIO NO CIBERESPAÇO – INTERSEÇÃO, ADAPTAÇÃO, MUDANÇA E TRANSFORMAÇÃO», Raquel Porto Alegre dos Santos Alves, Intercom

(esta classificação parece-me errada - o terceiro exemplo não tem justificação para se distinguir do segundo - e esquece os serviços de audio que começam a aparecer, como se fossem rádios classicas, mas geridos apenas por computador) 

«Internacionalmente, um dos primeiros registros de rádio na rede [Os dados referentes à primeira emissora na internet são demasiadamente desencontrados. Não há registros oficiais dos governos internacionais e nacional a respeito de emissoras no www] se deu em maio de 1997, na Espanha. A Radio Cable foi a primeira emissora daquele país presente na internet.»

fonte: «RÁDIO NO CIBERESPAÇO – INTERSEÇÃO, ADAPTAÇÃO, MUDANÇA E TRANSFORMAÇÃO», Raquel Porto Alegre dos Santos Alves, Intercom

Mais um texto entusiasmado com o HD, agora no Detroit News.

Mais um sinal - se era preciso - das potencialidades do podcasting: Redbarradio [um programa de conversa, de duas horas, a partir de Chigado] é o primeiro podcast que passa a ser retransmitido a nível nacional nos EUA.

«Mike David and Ron Galperin created the show in 2003 with no previous radio experience. They ran it from Galperin's basement, funding the daily two-minute audio clip show with funds garnered from side jobs as film editors and graphic designers. With syndication from the Genesis Communications Network, the show gets a new night and time, Saturdays 9-11p.m. central.»

Operadores com o Pandora, Launchcast ou o Cotonete identificam as músicas que estão a passar no visor; na rádio retransmitida por Cabo há a possibilidade de identificarmos a música olhando para o visor; nos EUA, os visores dos receptores via satélite trazem o nome da música e o intérprete.

A pergunta é: para que serve o animador, se já nem a música tem de apresentar? Mais, os serviços de difusão audio (tipo Pandora) não têm voz.

Se o animador se limita às tretas do costume (sendo que muitas vezes nem as músicas anunciam), então podem ajustar contas com o futuro!

«An Arbitron survey from 2004 found that 85% of listeners actually look at the TV when a new song comes on, to check who the artist is. This suggests that we still want to learn about the music we’re hearing-- at least to get artist and title, and through the news and trivia, a little context on the music. But we don’t need a voice. "Now that there are DJ-free alternatives, if the DJ doesn’t actually add to the experience, there’s no reason to have one. The bar is set higher," says Kurt Hanson, the CEO of Internet radio service AccuRadio and publisher of the Radio and Internet Newsletter. The satellite radio services, XM and Sirius, display the artists and titles on the receiver, and Internet radio stations almost never bother with a DJ; in fact, more and more of them-- including AccuRadio-- give users the power to skip songs or to filter what they’re hearing, a feature that some of Sredzienski’s listeners might appreciate.»

(fonte: Who Needs the DJ? Mon:03-20-06, Story by Chris Dahlen)

A BBC vai mudar a sua oferta na net, de modo a personalizar os conteúdos e permitir compras individuais.

«The BBC has outlined plans to redesign its online offering for an era of on-demand TV and radio, and personalised web services (...) "Audience needs are changing. They want to consume media on their own terms, anytime, anyplace, anyhow," Mr Highfield told the audience at the Microsoft Mix06 conference» (dica NetFM)

Já aqui se falou no Roku, um aparelho que recebe, em qualquer parte da casa, webradio, libertando-a do computador e dos fios.

Agora é o Wall Street Journal que se deixa impressionar:

«Many folks would rather listen to Internet radio in rooms where their computers don't live, or where they'd rather not lug a laptop. To do so today, you have to buy a device that transmits music from a computer to remote speakers... None of these devices includes its own built-in speakers...

"But, this week, we tested a new Internet radio product that's totally self-contained and requires almost no setup. It doesn't depend on a computer to bring in Internet radio, but does the job itself, wirelessly connecting to your broadband service, just like a computer does. And it doesn't require an external audio system. It has its own built-in subwoofer and speakers, just like a traditional radio. It even looks like a traditional radio, but it does much more.

"This new product is called the SoundBridge Radio, and comes from Roku LLC. It's due to hit store shelves in a few weeks at around 0, which includes a remote control.

"By including speakers, Roku eliminates the intimidating extra step of fiddling with wires to attach the device to a separate sound system. With its own sound system, the SoundBridge Radio can also function as an alarm clock, and it can receive your local AM and FM stations over the air, in addition to Internet radio.

"And, even though it doesn't require a computer for radio, the SoundBridge can pull music off your computers wirelessly and play it. It can even play music stored on a SecureDigital memory card.

"In addition to playing roughly 100 preprogrammed Internet radio stations, the SoundBridge Radio also detects and plays music from all libraries within range of your wireless network — without having to install any special software on your Windows or Mac computer...

"To add your own Internet radio stations onto the SoundBridge Radio, you must use a convoluted method involving iTunes. This summer, Roku plans to upgrade its software so as to include many more preprogrammed stations on each device... (...) (fonte: RAIN)

A previsão é de um responsável da Nokia: tal como aconteceu com as máquinas fotográficas analógicas, e vai acontecer com as digitais, os telemóveis vão matar os leitores de audio digital (ou será que, como se fala com o iPod, este também será um telemóvel?):

«O sucesso dos telemóveis, enquanto dispositivos multimédia, vai provocar o desaparecimento de muitos fabricantes de leitores de áudio e câmaras digitais. Quem o afirma é um responsável da Nokia, em declarações ao Financial Times.
Anssi Vanjoki, director da divisão multimédia do maior fabricante mundial de telemóveis, recordou antigas previsões da Nokia, em 2000, relativamente à "morte" da indústria de fotografia.
Para o responsável, as empresas que se dedicam apenas ao fabrico deste tipo de equipamentos têm o futuro em cheque, na medida em que os telemóveis, se convertem, cada vez mais, em opções de compra.
Mais avançados e versáteis, os terminais actuais cruzam aparelhos de telecomunicações com leitores de áudio e câmaras digitais. É este "tudo em um" que poderá condicionar a opção dos consumidores. Os musicphones , por exemplo, poderão vingar no mercado, em detrimento dos leitores específicos.
A Nokia produziu, em 2005, 100 milhões de telemóveis com câmara, tornando-se assim a maior fabricante deste tipo de componentes no mundo. Em Janeiro, a Konica Minolta anunciou o abandono do mercado da fotografia (ver link). A Agfa-Gevaert, por sua vez, vendeu en 2004 a sua famosa divisão fotográfica.
«Nos próximos 6 a 12 meses, virão a público mais anúncios destes. Os próximos a desaparecer serão os fabricantes de aparelhos de música», disse Vanjoki, citado pela Reuters.
No ano passado, a Nokia produziu 40 milhões de telemóveis com capacidade para reproduzir música e pretende duplicar as vendas em 2006. Funcionalidades como a gravação de vídeo, outrora disponível apenas nos terminais mais caros, são hoje comuns. A tendência é para que a qualidade melhore e a tecnologia se torne mais acessível». (fonte: «Nokia prevê desaparecimento dos leitores de MP3 e câmaras», JC, 2006/03/25, Ciberia)

Bill Gates disse o mesmo há um ano!

«About the same time the internet gained measurable use audiences seemed to tune out traditional “one-to-all” programming. Narrow-casting to tightly defined audiences was a distribution problem, among other stressful issues. Broadcasters, public and private, depended on big audiences. Narrow-casting meant finding more distribution points. Digital services, from the internet to DAB (et alii digitalis), seemed to be the answer. The worst for the broadcasters, now narrow-casters, would be that audiences in aggregate might carry the same weight (...).

It was idyllic when TV was offered a bit on cable and a bit free-to-air or when radio was offered on FM and AM. Of course, now everything is everywhere. And, to confound anybody trying to pin down the one, perfect distribution point, thousands of clever techies – some with a lot of money – are creating new possibilities every day (...)

Broadcasters now offer podcasts by the thousands. Most downloads are previously aired programs. Marks believes that simply offering archive material for retrieval misses the plot. Broadcasters have, he says, succumbed to the popular assumption that listeners want to interact with the station. “No,” he says emphatically. “They want to interact with their friends.” (...)»

(fonte: Podcasters (And Broadcasters) Are Losing the Plot, Follow The Media, Michael Hedges March 27, 2006)

«Panasonic a présenté trois nouveaux modèles qui seront disponibles le 21 Avril au Japon. Ces trois modèles ne disposent pas, comme c'est souvent le cas chez Panasonic, de mémoire interne. Ils sont également tous déclinés en version "V" c'est à dire avec tuner FM et microphone!»

(obrigado E.)

«National Public Radio has begun delivering 45 of its podcast programs to mobile phones using a service called Mobilcast. The Mobilcast service, run by Melodeo, offers various podcast channels that users can choose to stream their preferred program. No downloading is involved»

(fonte: Billboard Radio Monitor, Mobile Podcasting Gains Momentum, March 28, 2006, By Antony Bruno)

«According to a recent consumer survey conducted by Bridge Data, the relevance of portability to podcast usage has been vastly overstated. In fact, more 80% of podcast downloads never make it to a portable player or another device - they are consumed on the PC (or, worse, never listened or deleted)»

(fonte: «Recasting the Concept of Podcasting: Part I», TDG ResearchMarch 23rd, 2006

Quando a Clear Channel anunciou que escolheu três sistemas para a fase final daquilo que pretende que venha a ser o seu sistema de medição alternativo, houve um do qual nada se soube (os outros dois são o PPM e o telemóvel da MediaAudit/Ipsos). Finalmente, a Mediamark Research esclarece pormenores: vai apresentar-se com o já conhecido Eurisko Media Monitor:

«Mediamark's entry is based on the Eurisko Media Monitor, developed by a related company in Europe. Unlike Arbitron's PPM, which requires stations to encode to be counted, the Eurisko device uses sound matching, where snippets of sound from the device carried by a panelist are compared against electronically monitored broadcasts. Mediamark Research's VP of Research and New Ventures Jay Mattlin says the system will be able to calculate shares for all stations, regardless of whether they subscribe or wish to participate. As for the third competitor, The Media Audit/Ipsos system using Smart Cell Phones, Mattlin questions whether it is a good idea to use the microphones built into cell phones "which are really designed to block out extraneous noise" to better pick up the user's voice. While Arbitron has been testing for months in Houston and The Media Audit/Ipsos is preparing for a spring test, also in Houston, Mediamark Research doesn't have any US test on the drawing board. "That's really up to the industry. We are not planning to fund one on our own," Mattlin said. As for proof of performance, he points to the results of tests by RAJAR, which has been comparing PPM and the Eurisko device for radio ratings use in the UK. Mattlin says his company has talked with Clear Channel (which launched the RFP process) about a potential US roll-out schedule, but that's not being disclosed outside the evaluation process.

"I think that our device has the advantage that I mentioned before - - it doesn't rely on the cooperation the broadcaster, and at the same time has a slightly longer track record than the Ipsos/Media Audit one," Mattlin said, noting that the Media Monitor has gone through RAJAR field testing, while the Ipsos system has not. "I also, just from my perspective, think that the look of the device is very appealing," he added. And he noted that there are ways for the battery life to be extended so it does not have to be recharged every night. "It would still pick up as much audio as the PPM does, but doesn't have to be recharged as frequently," Mattlin said.

RBR observation: Now this is where the fun begins and it comes down to the Next-Generation Electronic Ratings Evaluation Team but for the most part only two are the real keys to opening this lock. As for one of the keys RBR has stated from the beginning - Money - and lots of it as this quote from Jay Mattlin sums it up - "That's really up to the industry. We are not planning to fund one on our own," just as Nielsen said it was not interested in being a part of the funding or Money»

fonte: «Mediamark Research says its device trumps cell phones, PPM», RBR, Volume 23, Issue 61, Jim Carnegie, 28/3/06)

«An ubiquitous radio experience from Motorola is getting closer to launch, according to a top executive with the company (...). iRadio uses Bluetooth connectivity to port streaming music channels and personal collections across multiple environments, including the home and automobile. And during activities like exercising, the phone simply broadcasts directly. If successful, the strategy will position the Motorola device as the nucleus of a broad listening experience, offering an alternative to the market-leading iPod. Already, content relationships have been finalized with both Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group, and deals with the remaining two majors are forthcoming. Meanwhile, more announcements are slated for CTIA in Las Vegas next week, including a slate of talk radio programming channels».

fonte: Digital Music News, «Motorola iRadio Bubbles, More Content Deals Imminent», 29/3/06)

ACT: a 6/4/06: «Sony BMG has just licensed its catalog to Motorola for its upcoming iRadio initiative»

«As a range of paid music solutions struggle to gain traction, an underlying question is whether or not younger listeners will ever pay for their tunes. The proverbial genie in the bottle may have been uncorked in the late 90s, thanks to a paradigm-shifting application called Napster, created by then-college student Shawn Fanning. That disruption plunged the traditional industry into chaos, though a wide range of new, paid models are now percolating. But the younger demographic remains elusive, especially with tight wallets and a super-savvy internet outlook. Several digital music executives addressed the issue on Wednesday at Digital Hollywood, offering different takes on the matter. "At some point in the life cycle, people have more money than time," commented Karin Gilford, director of On-Demand Services at Yahoo Music. But will younger buys simply go legit once factors like time-constraints kick in? Or will this super-digitized generation always tap-dance around paid gateways? "The kids are not going to pay, and at some point some of them will convert into a buying audience," said Mercora chief Srivats Sampath, who seemed bearish on the possibilities. Others, including RealNetworks executive Drew Denbo, pointed to a strategy that courts an older demographic, which may be a better fit for a carefully-cultivated subscription service like Rhapsody.»

fonte: Digital Music News, «Courting the Younger Listener: Will Kids Ever Pay?»)

Um estudo mostra que a Internet se está a afirmar como fonte de informação privilegiada. O que tem duas consequências de sentido contrário: por um lado significa uma desvalorização da rádio como meio informativo; por outro, a rádio - on line - pode e deve aproveitar para ocupar o «espaço vago»: ouvir a rádio enquanto se navega na internet (e isto remete para uma constatação: pode ser a rádio a afirmar-se como fonte de informação privilegiada na internet; em vez de se demitir de concorrer nesse campeonato, a rádio pode ser uma boa web-fonte)

A apetência multimédia dos grandes grupos de comunicação pode ter como consequência a necessidade de atacarem outras frentes, até agora desvalorizadas por falta de vocação.

O facto de o Washington Post ter anunciado o lançamento de uma rádio não pode deixar de ser saudado. Falta saber o formato que seguirão. (ACT): estive dois dias a ouvir: é claramente um all-news, em formato de horas-relógio: