Rádio e internet - uma ligação mais forte

Sucedem-se as aplicações que visam reforçar/facilitar a ligação entre a emissão on line e a consulta através do computador:

«If you are a user of the Firefox Browser and a radio fan, you may be missing out on some great radio freebies available which will enhance your browsing experience. Various third-party developers, hobbyists, and programmers have created a wealth of add-ons which put the world of streaming online radio as close as your mouse» (Corey Deitz, «Many Radio Add-Ons Available for Users of Firefox Browser», 12/11/06, Radio About)

Quando o satélite tiver 25 milhões de assinantes

Uma vez que a emissão por satélite é livre de publicidade, muito mais gente procurará estes canais (quanto mais assinantes tiver mais barato se tornará o produto, teoricamente). É certo que a rádio por satélite tem, nesta altura, pouco mais de 10 milhões de assinantes, contra os clássicos 230 milhões de ouvintes da rádio convencional, mas podemos estar a assistir a um processo de transferência com consequências ainda imprevisíveis: os assinantes do satélite são um público com (elevado) poder de compra, que faz falta à rádio convencional. Para já são muito poucos, mas quando atingirem os 25 milhões já estaremos a falar de 10 por cento do total de ouvintes da rádio convencional (que nessa altura serão obviamente menos, até por transferência directa). Quando isso acontecer a rádio convencional vai assustar-se

BBC on line bate recordes

«On demand listening to BBC Radio on the internet has reached record levels, with 12.5 million requests logged in September 2006, according to the BBC's latest monthly statistics. The Archers (BBC Radio 4) was the most popular on demand programme (listened to after broadcast) on the BBC Radio Player, with 682,304 listens over the month.»

fonte: «Monthly figures reveal record requests for BBC Radio online», BBC on line, 6/11/06

É pela música que o satélite vive

« The study, led by marketing professor Yoram Wind, found that 43 percent of current satellite radio subscribers would cancel their service if music disappeared tomorrow. The percentage easily outdistances other forms of programming, including sports broadcasts and talk radio. Moreover, current subscribers spent 49 percent of their time listening to music content, according to the report»

fonte: «Music Drives Satellite Radio, Wharton Study Finds», Digital Music News, 13/11/06

Ouvir música (digital...) no carro...

«Listening to the radio is fine when driving near your home, but if your trip is longer than half an hour, you're going to lose reception. You need digital audio in your car. (...) You'll need a way to connect your digital audio to your car stereo:»

Eis algumas hipoteses aqui

Faz sentido salvar a onda média?

Eis algumas reflexões que resultam da digitalização do espectro pelo HD:

- «many are still fearful of serious interference fallout when AM HD is widely deployed full-time»

- «Ibiquity has long maintained that any perceived nighttime HD Radio interference to stations from strong adjacent channels is not going to be a big deal»

- «Many respected engineers have long observed the AM band is already a disaster at night, choked with noise, interference and colliding signal wreckage on most channels. Only a few signals in most markets provide reliable wide-area coverage in most regions of the country. »

- «The sad reality about the AM band is that there are only a few stations in most markets that are truly profitable or that can deliver significant listener support»

- «If it were not for consolidation, many of these stations would have gone dark long ago. Owners keep them alive in hopes HD Radio will increase their value and music formats might again someday be competitive on AM»

fonte: «Let's Save the AM Band», RWOnline, 240505, Guy Wire

Jovens e (pouca) publicidade

«Younger listeners are most likely to respond positively to fewer commercials. As we have observed throughout this study, younger listeners say they are more “annoyed” by the amount of commercials. However, they are also the most likely to respond positively to radio stations that play noticeably fewer commercials. Over one-third of listeners ages 12 to 24 are already aware of stations playing fewer and shorter commercial breaks. When asked if they would listen to their favorite radio station more if it played a certain fewer number of commercials per hour, listeners ages 12 to 24 were much more likely than older listeners to respond that they would listen to the station more. A spot load strategy of fewer commercials is more likely to find fertile ground among younger listeners. (...)

Owners of iPods and other portable MP3 players are more likely to find radio commercials to be intrusive. One in six respondents in this survey own an iPod® or another portable MP3 player. These MP3 player owners are more likely to say that radio commercials are “always” or “usually” intrusive (34%) than are those who do not own a portable MP3 player (24%). This group is more likely to be younger, and, as we have seen throughout this survey, younger radio listeners are more likely to have their amount of listening affected by commercials. However, as we have seen in our most recent survey, Internet and Multimedia 2005, the time spent listening to radio per day reported by owners of iPods and other portable MP3 players is only slightly less than average.»

fonte: «Spot Load Study 2005:Managing Radio Commercial Inventoriesfor Advertisers and Listeners», Arbitron/Edison Media Research Spot Load Study 2005:

http://www.edisonresearch.com/home/archives/SpotLoad_Study_2005.pdf

Ouvintes aceitam publicidade

A publicidade é ou não um problema da rádio comercial?

Muitos acham que sim, mas este estudo diz que não:

oito em cada dez norte-americanos afirmam que ouvir anúncios publicitários é o preço justo a pagar pela programação independente (ou seja, programação que é não é condicionada por interesses directos). Por isso dizem que não mudam quando chega a publicidade (embora no carro já não seja tanto assim, certamente pela facilidade de mudar de estação).

algumas recomendações:

-There is considerable evidence in this study that reductions in radio spot loads should lead to greater time spent listening to radio—provided that the spot load reductions are noticeable and that stations inform their listeners of the changes.

- The radio industry should promote aggressively to the advertising community the benefits of radio advertising compared to television advertising.

- Radio stations need to promote the value of commercial radio to their listeners.

fonte: «Spot Load Study 2005:Managing Radio Commercial Inventoriesfor Advertisers and Listeners», Arbitron/Edison Media Research Spot Load Study 2005:

http://www.edisonresearch.com/home/archives/SpotLoad_Study_2005.pdf

Sobre os canais de streaming (canais de rádio?)

Citações a partir de um artigo do El País:

«Primero fue Orkut y las redes sociales, después Flickr y el intercambio social de fotos. Ahora triunfa la música social, con servicios como Last.fm, Pandora o iRate, que permiten hacerse una emisora de radio a la carta.»

«Cada oyente tiene una web propia en Last.fm, donde se publica esta información, de forma que es posible saber qué tema está escuchando en un determinado momento o ver estadísticas de los grupos que más le gustan. Esta lista de canciones preferidas constituye su emisora de radio personal, a la que puede conectarse cualquier oyente de Last.fm, para escuchar juntos lo mismo, o crear grupos.»  El registro es gratis y existe una versión de pago (3 dólares mensuales), con contenidos extra y sin publicidad. Junto a las suscripciones, el negocio se entrevé en la cláusula de privacidad: "Nos reservamos el derecho de vender o licenciar los datos de la música escuchada para su uso comercial, aunque nunca vamos a vender información personal que pueda llevar a un usuario específico".

«Pandora es otro servicio que comparte protagonismo con Last.fm. Nació en 2005 y no es necesario instalar ningún programa: pueden escucharse las canciones en su web. La novedad de Pandora es que no recomienda la música a partir de grupos parecidos, como Last.fm, sino que usa parámetros más detallados, como el tipo de melodía, ritmo, instrumentos, letras, etc.»

«La diferencia de iRate con los otros servicios es que la música se descarga de las webs de los artistas. La música ofrecida es de grupos independientes que no quieren cobrar derechos de autor o usan una licencia libre. iRate no es un negocio, sino obra de voluntarios.»

LAST.FM: www.last.fm

PANDORA: www.pandora.com

IRATE: www.irateradio.com

JAMENDO: www.jamendo.com

MUSICSTRANDS: http://musicstrands.com

YAHOO!LAUNCHCAST: http://music.yahoo.com/launchcast

Satélite e terrestre não são inimigos

Por muito que nos custe entender (e custa...), esta frase de Mark Ramsey «Satellite is not radio's enemy. It is radio's partner» é muito mal compreendida, na medida em que a rádio tradicional (terrestre) entende o satélite como ameaça, embora tenda - por marketing - a desvalorizá-la. A ameaça resulta sobretudo da oferta de canais sem publicidade, mas talvez a industria terrestre não tenha percebido que o satélite pode ser um negocio para si...

O primeiro «receptor» wiMax

«Samsung Electronics Co. on Tuesday showed off a three-way gadget that's a phone, personal computer and music player tailored for an emerging wireless broadband technology. The Mobile Intelligent Terminal was unveiled at a Samsung-sponsored industry conference on Mobile WiMax, which is just coming into use and promises fast broadband connections over long distances. The device weighs about a pound and contains a fold-out keyboard, 5-inch screen and 30 gigabyte hard drive. It runs the full version of Microsoft Corp.'s Windows XP operating system and also supports the CDMA mobile phone communications standard, which is used in South Korea and other countries including the United States. Kim Hun-bae, Samsung vice president for mobile research and development, told reporters that the gadget is the world's first WiMax device that also works as a mobile phone. It also can access the Internet, make video phone calls and display television as well as other video. The Suwon, South Korea-based company said it plans to launch the device in South Korea during the first half of 2007. Samsung didn't mention any plans for marketing the device in the U.S. and other markets. It also didn't provide a price. WiMax has been strongly backed by Samsung, which is cooperating with U.S. companies Intel Corp., Sprint Nextel Corp. and Motorola Inc. to commercialize it in the United States. South Korea is the first country to commercialize WiMax, which promises fast wireless broadband connections and mobile roaming. Limited trials of Mobile WiMax are under way in South Korea, with plans to cover the capital, Seoul, by early next year. Sprint Nextel has said it aims to launch WiMax networks in some U.S. markets by late 2007, working with Samsung, Motorola and Intel. Samsung is confident WiMax technology will soon become a global standard, a top executive said Tuesday. "We have established a standard in (South) Korea, but it won't take long to spread throughout the world," Lee Ki-tae, president of Samsung's telecommunication network business, told reporters.»

fonte: Washington Post, «Samsung Unveils 3-Way WiMax Gadget», By KELLY OLSEN, The Associated Press
Tuesday, November 7, 2006; 4:55 PM

O streaming pode dar lucro

Pelo menos neste caso:

«(...) That's not a problem for KPLU-FM (88.5), says interim general manager Kerry Swanson. Last year, the station raised more than $200,000 from outside its signal area, from listeners as close as Spokane and from as far away as China and Japan who were "tuned in" on www.kplu.org or www.jazz24.org. In fact, Swanson says, revenue from beyond the region has been sizable enough that "we're recovering (the cost) -- and more." As the non-commercial jazz and National Public Radio station officially celebrates its 40th birthday this month, Swanson predicts the greatest growth in listenership audience -- and revenue from listener pledges -- will come from audiences delivered by those new technologies.  (...) On reason for that growth, Swanson believes, is KPLU's status as a jazz station. Competitive life would be much tougher, he says, were KPLU a Top 40 station competing with several others in that format in every market including its own. Jazz, on the other hand, provides an audience with an intense interest in the music but not many places on the dial to hear it (smooth jazz, a format played by such commercial stations as KWJZ-FM locally is an entirely different entity, he adds). With the advent of streaming a decade ago, KPLU made itself one of the top Internet-radio destinations. Now the station is looking at how to take advantage of new technologies that can deliver wireless Internet service -- and stations like it -- to laptop computers, handheld devices, cell phones, even the dashboards of cars. »

fonte: «On Radio: New technologies deliver listeners and revenue to KPLU», Seattle post intelligencer, November 9, 2006, By BILL VIRGIN

WiFi e WiMax

«WiFi, which is about as close to a wireless form of wired network as you can get. In its various flavors, WiFi is truly just a last-millimeter extension of an Ethernet network, allowing the same functionality as its wired brethren, but without the wire, over a short distance.
Thus one model of broadband wireless Internet service would simply expand upon WiFi to enable higher bandwidths, longer connection distances and seamless handoff between access points for mobile users.
The other model evolves from cellular data service, which is very different. WiFi is a technology, while wireless telco data is a business. WiFi is inherently unlicensed and intended for private uses, while mobile data is licensed and operated as a for-profit commercial industry. Yes, some companies have set up commercial WiFi hotspots, but generally, these are again equivalent to a pay-as-you-go ISP. Meanwhile some cities have set up free or subsidized municipal WiFi networks. (...)

The most likely form of mobile broadband wireless Internet connectivity to follow the WiFi model is called WiMAX, while the wireless telco offerings are lumped under the generic heading of “3G.” But even WiMAX may take multiple forms, in that it may be offered in both licensed and unlicensed forms. In the licensed case, who will be the licensees? (Probably telcos.)
The network neutrality issue therefore is critical to radio stations that look to the wireless Internet — either via WiMAX or 3G — as a future service platform. First, one bit of good news is that an audio service doesn’t suffer from the variations in screens and input devices noted above — audio is audio (and generally in stereo) throughout the environment, more or less. But Internet radio services may want to offer some visual metadata to accompany their audio signals, so verifying how this data displays on a wide range of platforms and devices will be required.
Also consider that if the telco-controlled model prevails, extensions to include higher audio quality or surround sound might be difficult to achieve. New codecs or other downloadable plug-ins may be unavailable, and content rights-management may make user experiences painful, if not transparently applied.
More important, if legislation or regulation does not explicitly prohibit it, certain signals might be blocked, or their bandwidth constrained, in any given region. This could allow a radio station’s streaming audio signal to be rendered unreceivable in a certain area, based solely on a unilateral decision of the wireless service provider. Of course, this decision might be made because another customer of the wireless telco requested (or paid for) it.
Consider the two-edged sword that might be wielded by radio stations in such a case: A station could arrange for its local wireless telco(s) to block certain out-of-market competitors from delivering their similarly formatted station’s signals into the home market — but, of course, stations in other markets could do the same thing. It seems a slippery — and expensive — slope to traverse, and one that may be made moot in the interim by new telecom legislation anyway. Wouldn’t it be better to just allow competition on a level — albeit much larger — field?
This is one reason for broadcasters to be interested in the ongoing net-neutrality debate in Congress. It’s also a time for close observation of how the U.S. wireless broadband Internet environment will be shaped by the FCC and other market forces. Where these current variables settle will have great influence on the impact of wireless Internet service on the radio industry — for better or for worse.

fonte: «What a Wireless World It Will Be», Rwoline, by Skip Pizzi, 10.25.2006

 

Medir as audiências no carro

É antiga a preocupação de rádios, anunciantes e fabricantes de encontrar uma forma de medir as audiências nos automóveis - não só porque é grande a percentagem de ouvintes nos carros como porque seria possível encontrar uma tecnologia que, via satélite, descodificasse as preferências radiofónicas dos ouvintes.

O problema parece ultrapassado com as recentes tecnologias da Arbitron (PPM) e da MediaAudit (o Smartphone), mas em 2004 uma empresa - já desaparecida - chamada Navigauge apresentou um sistema (destaque no IHT de 25/8/06, «Tracking radio listeners via satellite») que pretendia corrigir os erros dos diários da Arbitron. A Arbitron não recebeu bem o desafio e a empresa nunca chegou a passar de um teste feito em 2004 em Atlanta que, pelos vistos, produziu resultados «radicalmente diferentes» dos diários da Arbitron.

«To measure in-car radio listening, Navigauge equips cars with a videotape-size device that tracks radio tuning. The device also uses global positioning software, which could potentially be used to provide data about outdoor exposure.  “Navigauge’s passive in-car measurement devices are vastly superior to the diary methodologies still used to monetize over $20 billion annually in U.S. radio advertising,” said Frank Maggio, chairman and CEO for erinMedia.»

Ou seja, a Navigauge apareceu cedo de mais...

Como funcionam os canais de audio streaming

«(...) Básicamente, un sistema de recomendación se parece a un motor de búsqueda como los de Google o Yahoo, pero enfocado a contenidos de un tipo determinado. En el caso de la música, estos protocolos se unen al reproductor multimedia del ordenador, sea el que sea, y registran qué tipo de temas se escuchan y con que frecuencia. Paulatinamente, el software busca estilos musicales similares a los que gustan al usuario y los incorpora a la programación. El oyente puede vetar o definir determinados géneros en función de lo que le apetezca escuchar en cada momento. Este tipo de sistemas son especialmente atractivos para los jóvenes que se muestran muy activos en la escucha de música.(...) Muchos considerarían una intromisión casi orwelliana el hecho de que un programa espíe el tipo de música que escuchamos, pero, en realidad, los sistemas de búsqueda no saben qué tema concreto está sonando o cuál es su procedencia. El corazón de estos protocolos es un programa inteligente que analiza el sonido de la música en función de parámetros como la intensidad, el ritmo, el timbre, la progresión de los acordes o las octavas.

El software registra cada dato y los compara, mediante ecuaciones, con otras composiciones musicales en busca de similitudes. El desarrollo de estos programas inteligentes ha avanzado mucho en la última década y ha traspasado el umbral de los consumidores privados para llamar la atención de la industria discográfica. Numerosas emisoras de radio ya utilizan sistemas de recomendación para ayudarse en la programación diaria de un menú musical variado»

fonte: el comercio digital, Radios que escuchan, 25/10/06

Video streaming nos carros?

Mais uma ameaça?

«Auto manufacturers are notoriously slow when it comes to implementing new OEM equipment, so this information comes to me as a surprise (and requires a grain of salt). According to WKJeeps.com, the 2008 model year of Jeep vehicles will include Sirius Satellite Streaming Video as a feature/option.

Models to include Sirius Satellite Streaming Video are the Jeep Grand Cherokee (including Laredo, Limited, Overland and SRT8 trim packages), the Jeep Commander (Sport, Limited, and Overland trim packages) and the Jeep Liberty (spy photo pictured).

Remember that Mel Karmazin stated that Sirius Video is "well under way" and will be available later this year. More info on this as it comes in»

fonte: 2008 Jeeps to feature Sirius Satellite Video? Orbicast, 22/8/06

O tempo de escuta de rádio entre os jovens

A partir deste quadro percebe-se que os jovens entre os 12 e os 17 dos EUA passaram de 65 horas por semana em 1993 para 51 horas em 2006 (Edison Media Research, via Arbitron). Menos 22%.

Se o universo passa dos 12/17 para 18/24 percebe-se atraves deste quadro que a quebra é de 24%

O HD para os jovens?

«(...) For 'terrestrial' radio to co-opt this vital audience, it should just give the entire HD 'band' to the kids.

Let's face it, the 'killer ap' for FM radio, 40 years ago, was (what was then known as) Progressive Rock. Programming on FM truly compelled young listeners to demand FM radios in their cars, at home, etc.

Why not give all the HD channels to kids? To people under 30 of every stripe? Imagine if ALL the HD stations in every market were geared to young people. Doubtlessly some outrageously creative programming would come, and the kids would follow.»

fonte: The Infinite Dial, Don't trust programmers over 30, 20/09/06, Larry Rosin

A batalha pela escuta no carro

«(...) the car has become a battle zone.  An astonishing number of cars roll off the lines today with built-in DVD systems to keep the kids occupied in the back seat. The GPS systems are rapidly moving from novelty to standard equipment, and all of them plan to replace the 'old-fashioned' radio traffic report.  And car companies are jumping over themselves to make integration with the iPod easier, through Bluetooth or other solutions. Can radio successfully compete in this environment? Of course. It will still be the leader for a long time to come...but today's radio companies must start to see themselves as being in the 'in-car' entertainment and information' biz, not just the AM/FM biz.»

fonte: «Car Trouble», The Infinite Dial, Larry Rosin, 12/10/06

«Investimento em rádio foi o único a cair até Setembro»

«A rádio é o único meio onde o investimento publicitário baixou até Setembro deste ano, em relação ao ano passado,segundo os dados da Medimonitor, que baseia a sua análise nos valoresde tabela dos meios (...) Em termos de investimentos reais, as previsões das agências apontam para ligeiros decréscimos na rádio e na imprensa no final de 2006. (...) Os aumentos de investimento na rádio acontecem normalmente nos anos de campanhas ligadas a grandes eventos como o campeonato do mundo de futebol ou o Rock in Rio. «Nos anos em que não existem esses eventos, o perfil das marcas procura outra direcção. Preferem concentrar o investimento num único meio para optimizar os resultados e aí a televisão é privilegiada porque a resposta é mais imediata», explica Mário Mateus(, da Iniciative).»

DIário Economico, «Investimento em rádio foi o único a cair até Setembro» (ass), Carla Castro, 25/10/06