Continuar a ser inovador na velha rádio

«The Radio-To-Go workshop was created to develop “new radio experiences”, combining old techniques with new. The workshop was put together by Mediamatic, a cultural institution in Amsterdam, and it covered broadcasting, online radio, micro transmitters and user generated content.

The best projects were transmitted live yesterday by Radio Rietveld, a temporary radio station broadcasting directly from the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam. If you missed that chance, don’t worry, because you can still build your own micro transmitter to broadcast your podcast directly from your iPod.

The workshop was centered in had speakers like the media designer Lotte Meijer, who developed the Broadcast-Your-Podcast and Wifio projects. Her work and research shows that you can always create something new, even in an old media like radio. Among the other speakers were Klaas Kuitenbrouwer, programmer of the former Radio 100, Radio Patapoe and VPRO, and the girls from Cut-n-Paste, which presented their innovative radio projects LoveControl, Teletap and CallCenter that mixes podcast, broadcast and mobile phones in unexpected ways. With initiatives like this, I’m sure radio has still a long way to go.

Find out more about Broadcast-Your-Podcast and the Radio-To-Go workshop. Found via Bright.»

fonte: «Radio-to-Go, a Workshop on the Future of Radio» 16/02/07

RFID no Brasil

A revolução que se prepara para os telemóveis pasará também por tecnologias como RFID?

«Mais de 60% das empresas brasileiras planejam implementar solução de RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) em até dois anos. Esse é um dos resultados da segunda pesquisa “Panorama do Cenário do Supply Chain no Brasil”, realizada pela Associação Brasileira de e-Business. O levantamento ouviu 86 grandes empresas dos segmentos industrial, comercial e serviços.

Na prática, no entanto, o RFID continua sendo apenas uma tendência para o futuro. A maior parte delas segue digitando diretamente os códigos dos produtos recebidos ou utilizando código de barras, já que apenas 8,8% dos ouvidos utilizam a tecnologia, enquanto 7,5% têm projeto piloto. Contudo, significativos 20% deles não têm interesse na inovação e não pretendem implementar.

Por vertical, os setores de veículos, alimentício e eletrônico são os maiores entusiastas no processo de conferência e identificação do recebimento e expedição de mercadorias, seguido pela localização de produtos no estoque. Outro campo de aplicação bastante promissor é o de rastreamento de cargas. Outro ponto do estudo analisado, o VMI (Gestão de Estoques de Vendas, da sigla em inglês), que permite o monitoramento inteligente com a reposição de produtos feita automaticamente, também vai receber atenção especial das empresas. Ao todo, 57% dos entrevistados pretendem iniciar projeto na tecnologia, enquanto 24% já estão utilizando. Por vertical, o setor químico e petroquímico é o mais receptivo à inovação.»

fonte: «Mais de 60% das empresas brasileiras querem RFID em menos de 2 anos», Computerworld, 14/02/07

Mais:

«Do you value your privacy, your freedom? Recently, I finished a book on Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags, about a world where everything you own - sneakers, driver's license, even your prescription medications - contains a tiny microchip that can transmit private information about you to marketers, criminals or government agents. These RFID chips may eventually replace bar codes, allowing strangers to study your purchasing habits, peek at your medical history and pinpoint your physical location by global corporations and government agencies. RFID has the potential to open the floodgates of civil liberties abuses. This is not science fiction, not Big Brotherism, but it could become a fact of life. Since I am retired, I subscribe to numerous news magazines, a major national newspaper and local newspapers, and have seen only one article about this threat. I have seen nothing on national newscasts (...)»

Os smart phones e a rádio

« (...)Smart-phones are no longer just for busy executives. With better styling, lower prices and easier interfaces, these high-end mobile phones are being snapped up by a much broader audience, from soccer moms to college students. Sales of smart-phones -- those with sophisticated e-mail-ready operating systems -- are expected to nearly double this year to 122 million worldwide, compared with 74 million in 2006, according to leading research firm Gartner. Nearly half a billion people will have one in 2010, the research firm says. (...) Mobile phone makers and wireless carriers are starting to work on that, and last month's announcement that Apple's iPhone would launch in June will only ``push the industry harder and faster to focus on the user experience,'' said Randy Eisenman, chief executive of Handango, a company that handles content for carriers and manufacturers. ``We're already having conversations with a number of our partners that will be Apple iPhone competitors who want to improve their consumer experience.''(...) ``Years ago, PDA-style devices were typically business devices with contacts,'' said Jason Dunn, executive editor of Smartphone Thoughts, a Web-based blog about mobile phones. ``Now, there's almost no one who uses their device strictly for business. There's a really strong personalization there.''»

fonte: «New smart phones: Good looks and brains too», By Sarah Jane Tribble, Mercury News, 12/02/07

LA cidade wifi em 2009 (e Houston também)

«Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa outlined plans Tuesday to blanket Los Angeles with wireless Internet access in 2009, in what would be one of the nation's largest urban Wi-Fi networks.
The L.A. Wi-Fi initiative would give Los Angeles residents, schools, businesses and visitors uninterrupted high-speed Internet connections — for work, research, Web browsing or even phone calls.
More than 300 municipalities nationwide already have launched plans for similar networks based on the Wi-Fi technology that has become popular at coffee shops, bookstores, public parks and countless other so-called hot spots. Such networks are operating in parts of such cities as Anaheim, San Jose, Philadelphia and Portland, Ore.
"With L.A. Wi-Fi, we are dedicating ourselves to the idea that universal access to technology makes our entire economy stronger," Villaraigosa said. Municipal Wi-Fi networks cost on average $125,000 per square mile to set up and maintain, depending on building heights and the city's terrain, according to city officials. At that cost, the price tag for covering Los Angeles' 498 square miles could reach more than $62 million.Internet providers and equipment makers have estimated such costs at about $40 for every home covered by the network. That would work out to almost $54 million in Los Angeles. (...) "This is pretty amazing," said Esme Vos, who founded MuniWireless.com, an authority on municipal projects nationwide. "It's a large area, yet an urban project. That's kind of new." (...)

fonte: LA Times.com, «L.A. mayor wants citywide wireless access», By James S. Granelli and Tony Barboza, Times Staff Writers
February 14, 2007

«Earthlink will be the company building out the network at a cost of as much as $60 million. The Atlanta-based company will foot the bill, not the city. For its part, the city will provide right-of-way access for Earthlink's network infrastructure. • Earthlink will allow access to the network to other Internet service providers at a wholesale cost of $12 a month. Those ISPs will then charge their own rates to users, using markups or other means to make money. How this happens is key to the plan's success -- more on that in a moment. • The network will cover the city's 600 square miles. In theory, you'll be able to connect anywhere within the Houston city limits. • Discount rates will be set for low-income residents, possibly as low as $10 a month. The city is investigating how to best get them the often-costly hardware necessary for accessing the wireless network.  • There will be free zones, in places such as parks and libraries. When the project is completed in about two years, Houston will have the largest citywide Wi-Fi network in the country. That is, unless until Los Angeles beats us to it.» fonte: «City Wi-Fi coming, but will it be worth what you'll pay?» Houston Chronicle, 15/02/07

As audiencias medidas pelo telemóvel (dificuldades)

«(...)“If you look at the way cellphone penetration and usage works out it’s heavily skewed toward certain demographic groups, and as you get older, people simply don’t use it nearly as much. Or if they have one they don’t carry it with them, and it makes it much harder to execute a disciplined research study, as opposed to recruiting people to carry a device. It’s just a cleaner, purer way to do research, using a separate device.

“Long-term, we certainly aren’t of the belief that the separate device is the only way to do it or that there won’t be better ways to go forward. But I’m not sure that we would conclude that the cellphone was the be all and end all of other devices. There are people who are addicted to their cellphone and there are people who are addicted to their iPod. If we can take a broader view of devices and be, in effect, agnostic as to which device we use, we move to a world where software as opposed to hardware is the driver. I think we would see a more flexible future in terms what device people carry. And the further we can go down that road the higher level of cooperation we’re going to get.” »

fonte Radio Ink, «Arbitron Chief Discusses Potential Cell Scenario», 16/02/07

O que pode ter uma página na net

«First, radio must not only be streaming on its sites, but actually providing a quality stream that is clear, clean, doesn't buffer, and is reliable. The "stuff" that covers commercial clusters must be well-produced - not endless promos, boring PSA, or sound effects.

Second, imagine what these numbers could be if web content were actually more attuned to listeners' wants and desires. This might include more music information and links, better interactivity with the station and its personalities, a chance to network with other listeners, and better concert/entertainment resources. It means providing archived material on the site, from the morning show and other key contributors to the station's sound. As digital mavens are discovering, web usage and actual listening can increase the more listeners access Internet material. But when there's one Web master servicing a half dozen stations, it's hard to expect better, updated, and compelling content.

Finally, at what point is radio going to get serious about generating revenue? Of course, most radio companies are now scrambling to create web policies and practices that will do just that. The future of radio profits is not about adding more units (which of course, only makes matters worse), but beginning to shift the emphasis to digital revenue. That's what "old media" outlets - television, newspapers, cable networks, and magazines - have been doing for some time now.»
Fred Jacobs, http://jacobsmedia.typepad.com/jacobs/2007/02/web_impact.html

Acabar com as protecções DRM na música

«Music label EMI Group is in talks to release a large portion of its music catalog for Web sales without technological protections against piracy that are included in most music bought over the Internet now, sources said on Thursday. Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs called this week for record companies to drop anti-piracy measures. That would dramatically change the way digital music is sold over the Web, making it much easier for consumers to move songs between devices -- and between people. The question is whether sales would rise because of easier use or fall as piracy increased.(...)
The second industry source also said EMI was in talks with Snocap, a company founded by Napster creator Shawn Fanning, to release music in MP3 format on News Corp’s popular MySpace social networking site.(...)»

fonte: Yahoonews/Reuters, «EMI mulls unprotected Web song sales: sources», By Sue Zeidler Fri Feb 9, 5:11 AM ET
(http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070209/media_nm/emi_web_dc_2) via NETFM

MAIS: «Referindo-se a esta situação, Steve Jobs afirma que, a abolição do DRM permitiria a todos utilizadores de mp3 o acesso às músicas de qualquer loja virtual, incluindo a iTunes. «É claramente a melhor alternativa para os consumidores, e a Apple iria envolver-se a 100% nesta iniciativa», declarou. Os analistas referem que esta medida iria reforçar a posição da Apple como líder do mercado da música digital. A loja virtual de música da Apple, iTunes, vendeu cerca de 2 mil milhões de músicas, desde que foi lançada em 2003, e conta com mais de 70% do mercado de música digital dos Estados Unidos. Segundo Steve Jobs, caso a protecção DRM seja retirada, a Apple estará em condições de criar um sistema de download, que permita a compatibilidade das suas músicas com outros leitores, para além do iPod, inclusive o Zune, recentemente lançado pela Microsoft. Neste sentido, apelou às quatro maiores editoras discográficas - Universal Music, EMI, Sony BMG Music e Warner Music - que iniciem a comercialização dos seus catálogos de música sem restrições DRM. A EMI está já a avaliar a proposta, mas a Universal Music não quis adiantar qualquer comentário. O Emusic, site de download de músicas livres de DRM, no formato mp3 compatível universalmente, reagiu positivamente à ideia de Steve Jobs, das editoras abolirem o software anti-pirataria. «O DRM serve apenas para restringir as escolhas dos consumidores, impede a evolução do mercado da música digital e torna os consumidores cúmplices involuntários das ambições das empresas tecnológicas», afirmou David Packman, responsável da Emusic. «Os consumidores preferem um mundo no qual o material que compram possa ser lido por qualquer aparelho, independentemente da empresa que o fabrica, e livre de restrições de utilização arbitrárias». fonte: http://diariodigital.sapo.pt/news.asp?section_id=9&id_news=261785

 

Um sistema para medição de consultas na net

«A publicação regular de um ranking independente de sites nacionais é um passo fundamental para a maturação da Internet como veículo publicitário.(...) Com a publicação deste primeiro Ranking Netscope de tráfego de sites, a Marktest inicia a divulgação mensal do tráfego dos sites nacionais que são medidos pelo Netscope e seguem os critérios Marktest de padronização de medição site-centric. Depois da apresentação à CAEM da metodologia e critérios de padronização, a Marktest fez uma primeira apresentação pública da sua medição padronizada de tráfego de sites, no Seminário de ESTUDOS QUANTITATIVOS da Apodemo, em Novembro de 2006. Os dados então divulgados eram relativos a um período de apenas 2 semanas e serviram como introdução à iniciativa que agora arranca.
A medição Netscope é realizada a partir dos sites (site-centric) e é complementar à medição a partir dos utilizadores (também apelidada de user-centric). Em Portugal, esta última é realizada através do Netpanel, também da Marktest, que conta com a colaboração de um painel de 1000 lares. (...)»
fonte: marktest.com, «1º Ranking Netscope de Tráfego de Sites», 13/02/07
(http://www.marktest.com/wap/a/n/id~d08.aspx)

O digital na GB é um caso especial

«The digital revolution and the expansion of new ways of accessing information through the internet has given a huge boost to one of the older and more traditional forms of electronic media - the radio. According to figures released yesterday, the digital age has created a new golden age of radio, with the number of listeners in Britain at a record high of more than 45 millionevery week. The figure for the last three months of 2006 is the highest since Radio Joint Audience Research (Rajar) began compiling records in 1992, and is attributed to growing numbers of people tuning in on the internet, digital television and mobile phones. Rajar said almost 8 per cent of people aged 15 and above listen to the radio on their mobile phones, a 24 per cent increase over the same period of 2005. A quarter of 15- to 24-year-olds said they tuned in this way. Listening over the internet rose by 10 per cent and by 9 per cent on digital television. Podcasts are also more popular. More than two million people, the equivalent of 17 per cent of all owners of MP3 players, listen to the audio downloads - a rise of 15 per cent on the previous three months. The figures are likely to rise as more content is made available as a podcast. Jenny Abramsky, the BBC's director of audio and music, said: "It proves radio still plays an incredibly important part in people's lives and, despite the range of new media available, listeners continue to value the close relationship they have with radio." (...) Radio 2 remains the nation's favourite station with an audience of 13.27 million - up 530,000 in three months. (...) Radio 1's audience of 10.26 million was down 320,000 on the previous quarter, which the station attributed to a seasonal dip. (...) Jane Thynne, a broadcasting critic and writer, said BBC radio was benefiting more from the digital era than television. "The figures show that early adopters are prepared to embrace what has traditionally been seen as the more fustier of mediums. "Radio, as something which is intensely personal, is also a much more suitable medium for podcasting than television... It's essentially what radio has been doing for a long while anyway."»

fonte: The Independent, «Radio enters a new golden age as digital use takes off», Terry Kirby, 02 February 2007

Mais um software para identificar músicas

«Do you ever find yourself humming a song whose title, to your frustration, you don't know or can't remember? New search Web site Midomi is designed to actually identify that song for you in as little as 10 seconds. Launching in beta mode on Friday, Midomi allows people to search for a song by singing, humming or whistling a bit of the tune. The site then offers search results that include commercially recorded tracks or versions of the song recorded by others who have used the site. The technology also lets people listen to the exact section of each of the results that matched their voice sample. People also can type in a song title or artist to get results. The system recognizes misspelled words. Melodis, the company behind the site, has licensed 2 million digital tracks that can be purchased and has accumulated about 12,000 more from users. Users, who range from aspiring American Idol contestants to professionals, can create profiles and rate one other's performances on the ad-supported site. »

fonte: «This Web site can name that tune», Elinor Mills, CNET News.com, January 26, 2007, 6:00 AM PT

A rádio e a web2.0

«(...) One of the buzz words of recent years in the media industry has been disintermediation, referring to the Internet's ability to connect consumers directly to producers, eliminating “the middleman.” While this movement has been largely embraced in some spaces, it has been more successful in connecting individuals to one another and to small businesses (witness eBay and other similar sites). This trend is expanded in Web 2.0 with a host of social networking and user-generated content sites, greatly empowering individual expression, and allowing birds-of-a-feather to meet and interact in a rich yet inexpensive virtual way.  (...) Web 2.0 builds on this, with recommendation engines and other discovery/sharing processes building appeal. This is where a high-quality, “radio-like” service fits in. It's therefore no surprise that several popular music download sites include “radio” services among their offerings. Retail 101 tells us that there's no better way to stimulate sales than by free samples of good stuff. This has always been one of radio's key values to both consumers and record companies, but the connection has always been indirect, and airtime has always been scarce. Web 2.0 will change this, with “radio” services proliferating almost infinitely, while providing a showcase for a wide range of samples from an online vendor's inventory. (...) Finally, music services aside, the strong social networking culture of Web 2.0 may also warrant the development of streaming audio services that address specific subject matter or interest groups — much like trade magazines do in the print world. Again, aggregation of audience builds the commerce of the site, and popular radio-like services could be a key component of this. So while the implementation and business models may change, it seems there will always be a place for well-presented audio services. We call them radio today, and probably always will, but the term may someday become simply a recognition of its roots. Web 2.0 will likely widen the opportunities for new, targeted, radio-like services, and who better to provide them than experienced broadcasters? Keep your eye on this ball as it bounces into a new court.»

fonte: «Where Will Radio Go in Web 2.0?», Radio World, Skipp Pizzi, 17/01/07 

Os problemas do HD

«The problem for the broadcasters, who continue to see their audience become fragmented and struggle to boost ad revenues, is that HD radio "is not a new offering. It's a defensive move," says Ted Schadler, an analyst with Forrester Research (FORR). "It's better radio, but it's not a whole lot better radio." He calls it a replacement product and likens it to the transition from black-and-white to color TVs.»

fonte: Business Week on HD, 29/01/07, Orbicast 

Um software que reconhece música apaga a publicidade

«Does the idea of being able to by-pass radio advertising and DJ-chatter appeal to you? That's what Sweden's PopCatcher MusicDock is offering. "Simply tune in to any radio station of your choice," it says. "The PopCatcher MusicDock MD-601 recognizes any music category and captures the separate songs automatically, free of charge and legally.  "The songs are saved on the mp3 player as 192 kbps MP3 files. The MP3 files are easily dropped onto a computer, an iPod or a mobile phone." Interesting, with the likes of Google, Microsoft, Yahoo and all the others going blind trying to figure out ways to force us to watch and/or listen to their brainless ad-babble. Do ads really make people buy? Or have manufacturers and retailers been connned into believing they do? Meanwhile, PopCatcher doesn't say how much this unit will cost, or when it'll be available. The online blurb doesn't list the price, but in a Reader's Write, "I'd just like to add that this product already is for sale in Sweden, for 1199 SEK ($170)," says Magnus Nilsson. Meanwhile, the patented technology will also be available to developers under license, says PopCatcher.»

A tendência para as audiências de rádio diminuirem

«weekly cume for traditional radio will slide from 94% of the U.S. population in 2007 to 77% by 2020»

«Bridge Ratings also predicts that weekly cume for traditional radio will slide from 94% of the U.S. population in 2007 to 77% by 2020.

Though that's a huge drop, this estimate is up somewhat from Bridge's previous quarterly projection.

"These new estimates are based on interviews with current listeners of traditional radio (AM/FM). Their overall perception of the medium and their outlook for future use improved during this quarter's interviews," President Dave Van Dyke stated.»

fonte: «... And a Tweak Up for Terrestrial », Radio world, 26/01/07

O pay per listen via satélite na Europa?

« The European Space Agency has developed a prototype satellite radio system which uses old television satellites nearing the end of their working lives to provide high-quality satellite radio in Europe—along with video and data services. If the service were to go into commercial operation, it would be the first in-car satellite radio system available to Europeans, who do not receive service from leading North American satellite radio providers, XM and Sirius. The ESA's prototype system rides on an existing network of satellites originally put into orbit to broadcast television signals. These satellites typically have operational lifetimes of 10 to 15 years, but eventually run out of fuel to correct their orbital trajectories. However, the satellites are still operational, and even if they're useless for television services which require stationary satellites, they're still useful for data transmission. The proposed satellite radio system would broadcast its programming as data files, rather than traditional radio signals: the data would be picked up by in-car receivers which would store the programming to a local memory cache; thus, even if a car goes out of range of a satellite—say in a tunnel, parking garage, or other structure—the system can continue to play programming from cache uninterrupted. The data-based approach also means the system can be used to distribute any sort of digital media or service, including navigation information and video content (...)»

fonte: «Europe Eyes Old Birds for Satellite Radio» Digital Trends, 26/01/07

As audiencias na internet (e a publicidade)

«Internet radio audiences are growing rapidly and revenues associated to that growth are following suit, according to a new report from J.P. Morgan.
Analyst John Blackledge says in the report that Internet radio audience grew 33% from January 2005 to January 2006, jumping from 20 million to 30 million listeners per week over that 12 month period.
Unique overall visitors also grew at a strong clip, climbing 22% year over year to 59 million visitors in December 2006.(...)»

fonte: http://www.kurthanson.com/archive/news/012507/index.shtml

O telemóvel será o proximo rádio

Mark Ramsey:

«Like it or not, the phone will be the new portable radio, even as the definition of "portable radio" ebbs and flows. Just remember, right now consumers feel that radio isn't portable at all. So this might actually be a growth opportunity - but only if you have the streaming capacity and if you have the right partner deals in place.»

Porquê?

«According to the "Outlook for the Global Mobile Music Market, 2005-2010" report, just released by Gartner Dataquest, worldwide mobile phone users spent $13.7 billion to have music delivered to their handsets, and that figure will rise to $32.2 billion by 2010. 'Mobile music, which includes everything from ringtones, realtones and ringback tones to full-track downloads and streaming, is the second most popular mobile data service — although it is considerably behind short message service (SMS) in both usage and revenues'.»

fonte: Hear2.0, Phone = Radio, 25/01/07

«Downloads através do telemóvel cativam 766 mil portugueses»

«Durante o mês de Outubro 766 mil portugueses efectuaram downloads diversos a partir do telemóvel. Este número abrange utilizadores com mais de nove anos e possuidores deste tipo de dispositivos, afirma a Marktest salientando que os valores recolhidos, através do Barómetro das Telecomunicações, são representativos de 10,3 por cento do total de utilizadores enquadrados nesta amostra.
De acordo com o gráfico apresentado pela empresa de estudos de mercado, os utilizadores que mais usufruem desta funcionalidade são os que se inserem nas classes etárias entre os 10-14 e os 15-24 anos, com, respectivamente, 26 e 23,3 por cento dos indivíduos inseridos nestas faixas a responderem afirmativamente à questão.(...)»

fonte: «Downloads através do telemóvel cativam 766 mil portugueses em Outubro», 26/12/06, TEK, casa dos Bits

A rádio está a tirar partido? A reagir? (telemóvel)

«(...) For younger audiences, daily entertainment options now include visits to online sites like YouTube, and video has become part of radio's outreach strategy. WKST's Web site, for example, features on-demand music videos in addition to podcasts of some of its "Morning Freak Show" bits. Younger listeners are using cell phones as the new request line connection, text-messaging song requests to their favorite radio stations instead of phoning them in. Some cell phone companies now offer the capability to see a radio station's recent playlist, download audio or take part in contests. A terrestrial station's cyberspace presence has become an important programming tool. "We're really tuned into the audiences that utilize our sites" says Clear Channel's Rohm. "We know who they are. They tell us what they want. We've begun to develop a tremendous amount of proprietary content. In a variety of platforms, we're trying to make the best entertainment value to consumers. No matter how much on the go they are, we're accessible to them." "What comes out of the speakers over your radio is the most important thing," adds CBS Radio Pittsburgh's Clark. "But there is content that comes out of those speakers that people might want to hear again, at a more convenient time. Making a lot of our content available in short Webcast form is going to be an important part of the future."

fonte: «Radio competes against downloads, file-sharing, satellite broadcasts», Wednesday, January 10, 2007, Adrian McCoy, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

A rádio está a tirar partido do podcasting?

O que é que significa que, na loja iTunes dos EUA, o podcast mais ouvido seja o de um programa da NPR, «This AMerican Life», de Ira Glass? que a rádio está a aproveitar o podcasting? que os ouvintes querem bons conteúdos e que os melhores conteúdos podem ser os da rádio? que os ouvintes da rádio estão a aproveitar as novas tecnlogias?

«Although iPod remains a four-letter word to many in the radio business, the top podcast on the iTunes chart, week after week, is a radio show: "This American Life," the weekly syndicated public radio show hosted by Ira Glass. It's a sign that radio, instead of fighting the competition from online and satellite radio, is adopting the same tools to serve -- and keep -- its listeners. It wasn't so long ago that terrestrial radio was just called radio, a business ruled by revenues, formula and conventional wisdom. But now it's exploring new ways to reach listeners. That strategy includes inventing new or hybrid formats, running multiple formats via HD Radio and stepping away from a nuts-and-bolts radio altogether -- by offering programming on-demand through online podcasts and even featuring video content on stations' Web sites. High Definition Radio's digital broadcasts may be terrestrial radio's most effective weapon as it rallies to maintain its relevance in the face of downloads, file-sharing and satellite radio. These receivers give FM signals CD-quality sound and convert AM signals to a clearer, FM-like signal. The technology also enables broadcasters to air more than one channel on the same frequency, opening the door to new formats and more choices for listeners. (...) "Terrestrial radio remains a medium of choice for millions of Americans," says Jeff Pollack, chairman and CEO of Pollack Media Group, a Pacific Palisades, Calif.-based music and programming media advisory firm that works with TV and new media companies as well as radio stations.  Pollack notes that a large majority of Americans -- 93 percent -- listen to radio at least once a week. "That is not going to change in the near future. During 2007, we expect that more and more U.S. stations will be streaming their signals, as well as offering their broadcasts in digital form. Some will also create new sub-channels of specialty formats, which will be available to those with HD radio receivers and also on the Web."»

fonte: «Radio competes against downloads, file-sharing, satellite broadcasts», Wednesday, January 10, 2007, Adrian McCoy, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette