Notas para o sucesso das emissões streaming de música

«(...) analysts say that streaming audio's defining promise will be personalization: empowering listeners to tailor their own content. "Personalization is a real hot button," says Kurt Hanson, publisher and editor of RAIN (Radio And Internet Newsletter). "The technology is there. It's very complex and no one's doing all of that right now. But different people are doing different pieces of it already."Personalization opens the door to new collaborations, just as the Internet has in other e-commerce arenas. A recording company, for example, could conceivably work with an Internet broadcaster to develop new releases tailored to the tastes of individual consumers»

fonte: «Streaming audio takes on radio challenge», Infoworld.com, 22/05/2000

Sobre a plataforma Sync

«A Ford uniu forças com a Microsoft, líder do setor de informática, para desenvolver o "Sync", sistema para conectar aos carros diversos aparelhos eletrônicos. "Nós precisamos inserir o carro dentro dessa equação, mas de um jeito simples e seguro", disse Gates, via satélite. O "Sync", que inclui tecnologia sem fio Bluetooth, é desenhado para permitir comunicação telefônica móvel sem uso das mãos e transferência de informações sem fio dentro do carro, incluindo e-mail e download de músicas. (...) Mark Fields, presidente da Ford para o continente americano, revelou que a tecnologia "Sync" estará com certeza disponível em carros ainda este ano. "O potencial do mercado (para o "Sync") é incrível", afirmou Fields.»

«Mark Fields, presidente da Ford para as Americas, anunciou que a tecnologia estará disponível ainda este ano em 12 veículos da empresa, incluindo modelos mais baratos, como o Focus. "O potencial do mercado é absolutamente enorme, antecipou Fields. Inicialmente, o Sync estará disponível em inglês, espanhol e francês. O motorista poderá telefonar para seus contatos apenas ditanto seus nomes, ou dizer o nome de uma música para ouví-la. O sistema será compatível com os tocadores Zune, da própria Microsoft, e iPod, da Apple. A tecnologia terá a capacidade de ler, em voz alta, mensagens de texto recebidas no telefone celular, incluindo a "tradução" de expressões comuns em SMS. "O Sync ajudará a revolucionar a experiência do motorista ao prover um sistema simples que conecta, de forma inteligente, telefones celulares, tocadores de música e outros aparelhos", declarou Gates.»

 

A publicidade da rádio vai para a Net

«In the past three years, more than $100 million of radio advertising revenue has disappeared from Greater Media markets. That's according to President & CEO Peter Smyth, who wrote in his monthly newsletter, "These dollars, which were once used to fund ad messages to broad audiences, are being redeployed to the Internet in more personal, one-to-one marketing efforts. Advertisers are rethinking their approach to media marketing and are questioning their media mix." Smyth noted that interactive advertising is growing in excess of 25 percent per year, while radio revenues have been flat to negative for three years. "In the near future, the interactive world will be a larger, yet more diverse advertising medium than radio. What are we as an organization going to do to respond to this trend ...? It is time for us to more clearly define our business."»

fonte: «Smyth Says Let's Redefine Our Business», 12/01/07, RadioWOnline,

Quanto mais baratos, mais os telemóveis se democratizam

«A TI (Texas Instruments) está desenvolvendo uma série de chips para celulares de baixo custo voltados a países em desenvolvimento, e prevê preços abaixo de US$ 20 para telefones mais básicos e US$ 35 para aparelhos com GPRS (General Packet Radio Service), câmera e tocador de música digital até o final deste ano. A empresa tem um papel vital na determinação de preços dos aparelhos já que é a maior fabricante do mundo da parte mais cara do celular, o chip. (...) Hoje, um aparelho GSM básico, com tela monocromática, custa US$ 25 para produzir, disse Goren. Os aparelhos são vendidos pelas operadoras nos mercados emergentes com
subsídios, que permitem faturar posteriormente com serviços. Adicionar memória ao aparelho aumenta em US$ 10 a US$ 20 o custo, mas o ao fazer isso as empresas podem oferecer aparelhos GPRS, que permitem a navegação na web, a possibilidade de enviar fotos a outros usuários, entre outros recursos.(...)

fonte: «Mercado terá celular de US$ 20», Jornal do Commercio, 11/01/07

Más perspectivas para o futuro da rádio/carro (outra previsão)

«[Banc of America securities analyst Jonathan] Jacoby found that “many new devices/systems are making it easier to use your cell phone and MP3 player while you drive. Several products on display integrate the iPod and cell phone into the car. Our negative outlook for terrestrial radio are based largely on our view that radio’s in-car listening base will be eroded by compelling alternatives. Ford and Microsoft have developed a hands-free wireless system called Sync that enables any USB media player to connect and play through the car stereo and be controlled by voice commands. We note that Sync includes a feature that allows you to play music similar to a selected track based on your mood. More advanced music identification technology is making it easier to build/rearrange playlists – responding to the oft-cited criticism of the iPod era that playlists are static and become stale.”

Este analista acha, contudo, que «On the plus side for terrestrial radio, the supply of HD Radio units seems to be building(...) Many units are now available for less than $200, a price barrier considered critical in driving consumer adoption.”

fonte: «Jacoby From Vegas With Good News/Bad News For Terrestrial Radio», Radio Ink, 11/01/07

O negócio da recepção audio nos carros (estudo)

«Along with traditional forms of audio, such as terrestrial analog radio and CD playback, today's automakers are incorporating satellite radio, digital terrestrial radio (otherwise known as HD radio in the US), and portable MP3 player support into newer vehicles, as either factory-installed or aftermarket options.
 As the automobile market matures, automakers are seeking ways to differentiate themselves from the competition. The large installed base of portable media players represents an opportunity for automakers to build in-dash connectivity. Other forms of in-vehicle entertainment, such as satellite radio and multichannel audio, will also be compelling features to offer.
 Automotive manufacturers, portable media player manufacturers, and suppliers to each of these industries will benefit from this report because it seeks to understand the different types of digital audio found in today's cars.»

fonte: «Digital Audio in the Automobile», Outubro 2006, In-Stat

Um receptor internet portátil e convergente

Faz isto tudo. Por isso diz que reinventa a experiência de ouvir rádio («Imagine your clock radio being able to tune in to any radio station in the world that streams online, or listen to podcasts on your radio … without the need for a computer interface or peripheral») :

Features of The Phoenix radio include:

• alarm clock
• eight preset radio station buttons and search mode
• rechargeable batteries and integrated internal charger for portability
• lightweight – under two pounds
• integrated stereo speakers and spatialization enhancer technology for digital sound quality
• can plug into any hi-fi stereo system or headphones with analog outputs
• connects to any 802.11b/g wireless network with its easy Wi-Fi connection
• no computer interface necessary
• allows for Bluetooth^® connectivity with adapter offered through Com One
• bookmark favorite stations and songs for instant access
• listen to missed shows with radio-on-demand or podcasts
• embedded software for easy connection to the Internet-based service distribution platform, content & service customization, firmware upgrade over the air, push & pull interactivity and management of subscription or click & buy functions
• lets you listen to MP3, WMA or uncompressed audio (WAV and AIFF) and supports Real Audio

fonte: «Com One Reinvents the Radio Experience» BusinessWire, 9/01/07 

As primeiras do iPhone (nova categoria ou fusão de categorias)

- É ainda uma novidade e pouca coisa se sabe. AInda assim, o modelo original aparece associado a um operador de telemóveis dos EUA (a Cingular), não se sabendo se poderá funcionar com outros (e fora dos EUA?);

- para bater a mais-valia do Zune, o iPhone permite a troca de informações/dados por wi-fi («Mas, ao contrário do Zune, iPhone Wi-Fi é apenas para conectar a internet através de hotspots ou redes. Não será aberto a conexão peer-to-peer»)

- «O preço do iPhone, a atuação exclusiva da Cingular e a falta de usabilidade do aparelho para os negócios podem transformar o produto em apenas uma solução de nicho luxuosa para pessoas muito ricas?»

«Jobs vê o iPhone como uma revolução da mesma forma que o Mac foi em 1984 e o iPod em 2001. Nem todos têm a mesma opinião. O Mac e o iPod criaram categorias e indústrias de produtos completamente novas; o iPhone, enquanto que inovador no design, basicamente combina duas categorias de produtos existentes. Um feito? Sim. Quebra de paradigma? A conferir.»

«De vez em quando chega um produto revolucionário que muda tudo. É sorte se pudermos trabalhar num ao longo da carreira... e a Apple é sortuda por já ter lançado vários", disse Steve Jobs. O novo telefone vai estar disponível em Junho, nos EUA, em duas versões: uma com 8 gigabytes (GB) de capacidade de armazenamento, que custará 600 dólares, e outra com 4 GB, a cerca de 500 dólares. À Europa chegará no final do ano, e na Ásia só em 2008. Tem uma câmara fotográfica com 2 megapixels de resolução e um ecrã táctil com 8,8 centímetros de diagonal. Nos EUA, o telemóvel da Apple funcionará na rede Cingular Wireless. O seu desenvolvimento levou ao registo de mais de 200 patentes, o que o torna numa das maiores inovações da empresa. O facto de ter o sistema operativo OS X - usado nos computadores da Apple - significa que o iPhone terá muitas das funções habituais naquelas máquinas. Permitirá aceder ao correio electrónico de forma automática ou ver os mapas do Google (...) Citado pelo site da revista PC World, Jobs comentou que já existem outros telemóveis que fornecem acesso ao correio electrónico e a uma "Internet bebé". Mas considerou que esses dispositivos - os smartphones - "não são assim tão "espertos" nem fáceis de usar." (Publico.pt, «Apple lançou o iPhone, o telemóvel mais esperado dos últimos tempos», 10/01/07)

«What happens when you shimmy the WiFi capability of the iPhone to the next generation iPods which, no doubt, will debut in time for Christimas 2007? Further, what happens when Apple soups up their radio streaming services in order to add value to this WiFi capability?The answser: Radio becomes portable again. Your station - along with thousands of others streaming from radio stations and bedrooms all over the world. Steve Jobs projects the iPhone will have 10 million units on the market in 2008 - at least 8 million more iPhones than there will be HD radios (at a price point hundreds of dollars higher, I might add). And that doesn't count many millions more WiFiPods which will bring thousands of new radio competitors to the ears of your audience.» (Mark Ramsey, Hear2.0, 10/01/07)

A Cisco Systems já tem um iPhone... «(...) One source to Digital Music News noted that "Apple will keep the iPhone name," but that Cisco simply "wants Apple to conclude its agreement".  The companies had been negotiating over rights to use the name, but terms were not finalized prior to the Macworld announcement.»

Microsoft interessa-se pela rádio (HD)

«Clear Channel Radio and Microsoft Corp. announced on Monday at the International Consumer Electronics Show 2007 that they have partnered to build a nationwide data delivery service using HD Radio technology, providing personalized and localized content to a variety of HD Radio receivers.
This initiative will be branded MSN Direct HD, an extension of Microsoft's existing MSN Direct service, which currently transmits information including traffic, weather, movie times, sports, and stocks to Smart Watches, weather stations, GPS navigation devices and small home appliances. Field tests of the data delivery service will be conducted with the support of iBiquity Digital Corporation, the developer and licensor of HD Radio Technology.
(...)Clear Channel Radio is currently offering HD digital radio primary broadcasts on more than 340 of its radio stations across the country of which two thirds are supplying additional audio content via HD Radio multicasting.
“Microsoft’s Spot initiative has illustrated their ability to turn personal objects into mobile tools with this impressive platform,” said Jeff Littlejohn, executive vice president, Distribution and Development for Clear Channel Radio. “Combining Microsoft’s existing technology and customer service background with Clear Channel’s unprecedented HD Radio delivery platform will provide customers with a world class data service.” »

fonte: «Clear Channel Partners With MSN For HD Data Application» Radio Ink, 9/01/07

Utilizadores do Pandora não querem publicidade

DE acordo com relatos diversos utilizadores do Pandora estão a reclamar pela introdução de publicidade on line antes das músicas. Como utilizador regular não só não me apercebi como até compreendo que o serviço tenha de ter contrapartidas, mas este texto remete sobretudo para uma característica da internet: quem utiliza de borla não quer começar a pagar...

«Pandora, a VC-funded Internet radio property that garnered huge amounts of media and popular attention in 2006 with its unique personalization and recommendation engine, is now coming under fire from fans who aren't pleased with the service's recent addition of in-stream audio ads.
The nine second audio ads, which according to Pandora CTO Tom Conrad, are being heard by "10%" of Pandora's audience, are being met by many bloggers with an overwhelmingly negative response.»

Como diz Kurt Hanson, do RAIN: «As noted in Dan's article above, they're vociferously objecting to the presence of a single nine-second-long audio spot per day! And if Pandora's venture capitalists are ever going to recover the more than $20 million they've sunk into the venture to date, Pandora is going to have to run a lot more advertising than that. (Or be more succesful with subscriptions than other webcasters have been.)--KH»

fonte: «Pandora's problem: fans won't tolerate in-streaming advertising», RAIN, 11/01/07

A digitalização está me marcha ou só nos EUA e GB?

« Research firm In-stat says that the conversion from analog radio to digital radio is well under way around the world and gaining momentum rapidly. According to recent research from the company, the worldwide market for digital radio receivers will grow from 5 million units in 2005, to almost 25 million unit shipments in 2010.  The study, More Consumers to Tune Into Digital Radio in 2007, cites the primary factors of the expected growth are falling receiver prices, an increase in the amount of compelling digital programming, significant boosts in promotion and advertising of digital radio, and enhanced functionality of digital radio receivers. The report also notes that digital radio is still an emerging market with opportunities for retailers, broadcasters, automobile OEMs and receiver manufacturers. In-stat notes that in 2006, 73 percent of respondents to an In-Stat U.S. consumer survey were aware of HD Radio on some level. In-stat also notes that digital radio is outpacing analog radio in Europe and especially in the United Kingdom.»

fonte: «Digital Radio Worldwide Set for Growth in 2007», Beradio/Radio Currents Online, 07/01/07 

Mais (que confirma que estamos perante uma realidade anglo-americana):

«Recent research by In-Stat found the following:

• XM will hit 8 million subscribers, and Sirius will hit 6.3 million subscribers, by the end of 2006.
  
• In 2006, 73% of respondents to an In-Stat US consumer survey were aware of HD Radio on some level.
  
• In Europe, primarily the United Kingdom, digital audio broadcasting is the pervasive form of radio, with DAB radio receiver shipments outpacing analog radio receiver shipments this year.»

 

Mais um exemplo de convergência e conectividade no carro

«Currently at hdradio.com, there are just over 600 stations currently listed. Although they are all FM stations at this point, I was assured that this would work for AM as well, which would make listening to sports on the radio (which are usually broadcast on an AM station) much more dynamic to listen to. And yes, after going to hddice.com (they make HD Radio for cars) and checking out the listings there for my state, there were indeed AM radio stations on their list. Of the remaining 12,500 or so radio stations in the US, 3000 are committed to converting to HD Radio, so if the stations where you are haven't converted yet, there's a good chance they will soon. So is it worth it? Well, if you're buying a BMW, Mini Cooper,  Toyota, Lexus, or Scion, you can just get one from Dice Electronics installed from the factory (the major American car makers haven't hopped on board just yet). And the Dice models also come with an iPod interface, so you can have AM, FM, HD, and your own personal music collection all available through a single in-dash unit. The average home unit appears to be running around $300 right now.»

fonte: «The Next Gen In Radio», AUdrey's blog, 7/01/07

ACT «O início (hoje) da medição electrónica das audiências de rádio» (EUA)

«O dia de hoje fica marcado, no mercado dos media nos EUA, pelo início da medição electrónica das audiências de rádio. O primeiro mercado a usar este sistema será o mercado de Filadélfia. Em Filadélfia, serão hoje entregues ao mercado os últimos resultados de audiência de rádio recolhidos através do preenchimento de diários em papel. Estes dados serão usados no mercado publicitário, como "moeda", até Março deste ano, altura em que a empresa conta divulgar os primeiros resultados definitivos da medição pelo Portable People Meter (PPM). Os dados da medição electrónica de Janeiro e Fevereiro terão apenas um carácter demonstrativo. A Arbitron irá distribuir aos seus clientes dados semanais e mensais, que terão como base um painel de 2 040 indivíduos de 6 ou mais anos residentes em Filadélfia. A Research-Live divulgou, entretanto, na passada segunda feira (8 de Janeiro), que uma das principais estações de Filadélfia, a Clear Channel, ainda não tinha acordado em codificar a sua emissão por forma a ser reconhecida pelo PPM.Desta forma, permanece o clima de expectativa, já que agências como a Carat já disseram que apenas poderão comprar espaço publicitário em estações que tenham concordado em participar neste sistema de medição electrónico. Recorde-se que o PPM é um novo tipo de audímetro que detecta sinais inaudíveis, embebidos na emissão das estações, apresentando como principal vantagem o facto de poder medir as audiências de televisão e de rádio tanto dentro como fora de casa. Este sistema já foi testado em Portugal pelo Grupo Marktest.»

fonte: «Arbitron prepara lançamento de audiências pelo PPM em Filadélfia», Marktest.com, 11/1/07

Mais:

«Arbitron announced Friday that Radio One, which for some time has been reluctant to encode its stations for Arbitron's Portable People Meter audience measurement system, has agreed to encode its radio stations in Philadelphia and Los Angeles to work with the PPM. No further details were given. Last year, Radio One quietly began encoding its stations in Houston, where Arbitron is currently conducting a PPM test» (RadioInk, 8/01/07) 

«Based on a target install of 2,040 persons age 6 and older, Arbitron says they are currently more than 90 percent installed.
Cell phone-only households are being recruited for the PPM service in Philadelphia. Nearly 10 percent of the installed panel are cell phone-only homes.  “We have truly ended an era with the delivery of the Radio Market Report for the Fall Survey. These are the very last ‘currency’ radio ratings for Philadelphia that we intend to tabulate using entries written in diaries,” said Jay Guyther, senior vice president, Rating Services, Arbitron Inc. “The arrival of the PPM service also means the end of Arbitrends for Philadelphia. Instead of Winter Phase 1 and 2 Arbitrends reports, subscribing stations will receive monthly PPM-based audience estimates using the installed PPM sample»

ACT «A medição electrónica de audiências de rádio começou a ser feita no dia 11 de Janeiro nos EUA, mais precisamente em Filadélfia, o primeiro dos 50 estados norte-americanos a adoptar o sistema, de acordo com a newsletter da Marktest.
A última medição com base em entrevistas foi divulgada no mesmo dia, sendo que estes dados serão utilizados até ao mês de Março, data em que a Arbitron, empresa que implementou o sistema neste mercado, conta divulgar os primeiros resultados oficiais da medição por PPM (Portable People Meter) (...)» (meios e publicidade, «Audiência de rádio em Filadélfia já é medida pelo PPM», 15/1/07).

Como a internet vai mudar a música

«O conceito de copyright será extinguido num prazo de 10 anos e as noções de autoria e de propriedade intelectual vão ser postas em causa. A música será um bem utilitário, tal como electricidade ou a água. É assustador e,  ao mesmo tempo, excitante. Mas no fim de contas não interessa se estamos ou não excitados. É o que vai acontecer e ponto final» (David Bowie, em 2002, num artigo publicado no New York Times, antecipando as profundas transformações na industria da musica) (via Publico, 31/12/06, «é POSSIVEL REGULAR O Caos da Internet?»)

No original:

«His deal with Sony is a short-term one while he gets his label started and watches the Internet's effect on careers. "I don't even know why I would ant to be on a label in a few years, because I don't think it's going to work by labels and by distribution systems in the same way," he said.  "The absolute transformation of everything that we ever thought about music will take place within 10 years, and nothing is going to be able to stop it. I see absolutely no point in pretending that it's not going to happen. I'm fully confident that copyright, for instance, will no longer exist in 10 years, and authorship and intellectual property is in for such a bashing." "Music itself is going to become like running water or electricity," he added. "So it's like, just take advantage of these last few years because none of this is ever going to happen again. You'd better be prepared for doing a lot of touring because that's really the only unique situation that's going to be left. It's terribly exciting. But on the other hand it doesn't matter if you think it's exciting or not; it's what's going to happen." (http://babellist.xnet2.com/0206/msg00035.html)

«OPeradores portugueses querem 4G»

«o WiMax deverá ser concorrente da tecnologia 3G em Portugal já em 2008. Os operadores portugueses de telecomunicações estão a estudar a entrada da tecnologia WiMax no mercado, previsto para 2008. EStá na mira da Vodafone, TMN, PT Comunicações e Novis, que admitem realizar investimentos nesta rede, assim que seja definido um enquadramento pela ANACOM, actualmente em consulta pública. (...) Permite velocidades de transmissão de voz e dados três vezes superiores às actuais redes celulares de terceira geração móvel (3g ou 3,5G) com custos de infraestrutura mais baixos. (...) Tecnologicamente o WiMax é uma evolução do já existente wi-fi (...). A questão que se coloca é saber até que ponto o WiMax poderá vir a ser um sério concorrente do 3G, já que muitos operadores móveis fizeram pesados investimentos nesta rede que ainda está em fase de rentabilização. (...) não se prevê uma expressão alargada do WiMax, apesar destas redes poderem, potencialmente, cobrir cidades inteiras.»

Duas perguntas a Filipe Ribeiro, CEO da Greenwich Consulting

P Quais as vantagens do WiMAX face às actuais redes 3G?

R Estas tecnologias (baseadas no standard IEEE 802.16) podem essencialmente ser comparadas em velocidade e mobilidade com as actuais redes 3G: o WiMAX apresenta vantagens em termos de velocidade (ex. HSDPA pode permitir a prazo 14Mbps «versus» 50Mbps para o WiMAX), mas também tem mais limitações de mobilidade.

P Pode-se apelidar o WiMAX como quarta geração móvel (4G)?

R É essa a nomenclatura que muitos dos intervenientes no sector utilizam, dadas as suas características evolutivas quando comparado com as redes de 3G. A título de exemplo, um executivo de um dos grandes fornecedores de telecomunicações disse recentemente que “WiMAX é 4G. Somos bastante claros neste ponto”.

fonte: «OPeradores portugueses querem 4G», Expresso Economia, 30/12/06 Manuel Posser de Andrade

A rádio deve procurar o video

diz o presidente da Bridge Ratings:

«"Traditional radio should heed this development," Bridge wrote of the latter prediction. "Just because radio has specialized in audio content for 100 years, doesn't mean it can't and shouldn't develop video to complement their brands. And with that will come a new stream of revenue. CPMs are much more lucrative with video on the net." Also, he believes, advertising in digital venues will become more contextual; small-screen devices will have limited appeal as a media platform; and marketers will make some mistakes as they move into new digital spaces.»

fonte: «Bridge: Radio Should Heed Digital Video Online», 4/01/07, RWOnline 

A industria musical descobre o podcast?

«After two years of hesitancy, the music industry is finally taking its first steps toward embracing podcasting. When podcasts attained prominence in 2004, amateurs and advertisers alike heralded the downloadable audio programs as the next step in the evolution of broadcasting. But they have failed to make headway in one key area: music programming. For a variety of reasons -- including fear of piracy and the need to be paid -- the major record labels and music publishers that control the rights to about 75% of the commercially released music in the U.S. have refused to make deals that would allow songs to be used in podcasts. Consequently, podcasts have been blocked from using this music, at least legitimately. That has stopped music-oriented radio programming from being available as podcasts. That is starting to change. San Francisco-based Rock River Communications Inc. has struck some of the first deals to license major-label content for podcasts. Rock River, which specializes in making the mix CDs sold at the check-out counters of retailers like Gap Inc. and Williams-Sonoma Inc.'s Pottery Barn, is creating a series of promotional podcasts on behalf of corporate clients including DaimlerChrysler AG and Ford Motor Co. (...)»

fonte: «Music Industry Changes Its Tune on Podcasting», Wall Street Journal, By ETHAN SMITH, January 2, 2007; Page B4

«Commercial radio stations in Britain are close to signing a deal with a major music rights organization to allow portions of music played on the airwaves to be included in podcasts. Under the deal, The Guardian reports, radio stations would be able to podcast up to 30 seconds of music tracks in the proposed deal with PPL, the UK royalty collection company that represents 3,500 record labels and over 40,000 artists. The one-year deal would cost commercial radio companies a total of around £100,000 ($193,000). Radio stations would also have to work with a variety of other licensing fees, which would bring the estimated costs of podcasting to about £210,000 ($423,000). Radio stations in the UK already pay between 8- and 12 percent of their revenues to cover licensing fees. A consortium of commercial radio stations has agreed to share the costs.»

fonte: «Music Podcast License Deal May Be Near For British Commercial Radio», Posted by David Kaplan, 05 Jan 2007 (Paidcontent.org)

 

 

Que sentido faz continuar a atribuir licenças de FM?

Porquê?

«Though certainly not the waves of new licenses offered a decade and a half ago when market liberalization ended State broadcasting monopolies, the consistent interest in FM broadcasting shows that both regulators and broadcasters see considerable value in the terrestrial analogue spectrum. Of course, regional differences exist: fewer new licenses offered in Western and Northern Europe, far more in the central and eastern countries»

a verdade é que:

«Regulators in Spain and France are moving toward optimizing the entire FM spectrum. Last summer the Spanish government opened about 1000 FM frequencies. Regional regulators or governments will then determine which will be reallocated to existing broadcasters and which will be offered to new licensees. The Consell de l'Audiovisual de Catalunya (CAC) will offer about 100 FM frequencies and began the process in October. “Many stations actually were operating without license, under different degrees of piracy, so a large part of this new licenses are intended to give legal coverage to what already exists,” said CAC’s Joan Botella. At the end of 2005 France’s Conseil Supériér de l’Audiovisual (CSA) announced plans to reallocate 57% of all FM frequencies used by private broadcasters, about 1600 frequencies, set to expire between 2006 and 2008. Rolling region by region over two years, new authorizations will be announced beginning in spring 2007. Most will be given to existing operators with provisions in place to protect community, not-for-profit stations.  The only slow-down detected is in Scandinavia. Swedish regulator Radio- och TV – Verket (RTVV) has not licensed new FM stations in the last year and “has no plans to allocate new ones,” according to spokesperson Eva Bengtsson. Sweden, like the rest of the Nordic countries, is moving quickly to digital platforms. There is no slow-down in new FM broadcast allocations across Central and Eastern Europe. From Latvia to Cyprus, regulators are rapidly opening new license allocations, almost exclusively for either private, commercial or community radio`»

fonte: «More FM Radio Allocations and Licenses in Europe»,Followthemedia.com, Michael Hedges - January 3, 2007

A rádio chega às consolas via wi-fi

«Channel 4 Radio is claiming to be the first broadcaster to target its audience via a wi-fi network. Available free of charge for a two-month trial period as of today, PSP owners will be able to download 4Radio podcasts, which they can then listen to at their leisure.
Users get to choose from a selection of 4Radio content including Morning News, SlashMusic and Celebrity Big Brother (which starts tonight) as part of programming specifically designed for PSP owners.
Channel 4 Radio's deal with wi-fi network operator, The Cloud, means the content is available on demand from any of The Cloud's 7,500 public wi-fi hotspots across the UK. Users clicking on the PSP's internet browser while in a Cloud hotspot are automatically directed to the landing page with a link to the PSP-optimised Cloud/4Radio portal.
4Radio sees this as a natural evolution for its broadcasting. "Radio has the potential to be the most powerful and influential medium in broadcasting, but to achieve this in a digital world it needs to start innovating and fast," admitted Nathalie Schwartz, Channel 4 Radio director. "Making 4Radio's content available on demand, on the go through The Cloud's WiFi network enables us to target listeners who want bold and mischievous radio programming but don't have time to tune in before they leave the house."
In what would be another logical step, Channel 4 is believed to be also considering making its TV content available via PSP in the future, although this has not been officially confirmed.»

fonte: «Channel 4 Radio news, music and Celebrity Big Brother on your PSP», Pocket Gamer.co.uk, João Diniz Sanches, 3/01/07

Delphi vende 13 milhões de receptores satélite

E pergunta: «podem 13 milhões estar enganados?»

«January 03, 2007 - LAS VEGAS — Delphi Corp. has just sold its 13-millionth satellite radio receiver, setting a new milestone. Delphi will showcase its satellite radio products next week at the 2007 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Delphi introduced satellite radio receivers to the OEM market in 2001. As satellite radio service providers revolutionize the U.S. radio landscape, Delphi has steadily ridden the wave by providing a variety of original equipment and retail receivers. The satellite radio market now boasts more than 13 million subscribers. Delphi is the leader in the OE satellite radio market and produces receivers for more than 10 new vehicle manufacturers. (...) Satellite radio is changing the paradigm of radio in the U.S.," said Ken Erickson, Delphi Electronics & Safety general director of the Entertainment & Communications product business unit. "Satellite radio has not only taken a long-time analog medium and made it digital, but it has also opened a new world of offerings to customers by providing more than a 100 additional channels of programming." (...) "Consumers now demand this level of flexibility and ownership, fueled even more today by their ability to personalize their listening experience through MP3 players," said Max Rogers, Delphi consumer electronics executive. "Satellite radio’s 170 channels of individual programming offers the same type of tailored listening experience with no downloading hassles." Many of the offerings are commercial-free and categorized by chronological time periods music genre and other defined segments that add another dimension to satellite radio that is not offered by traditional AM/FM radio.»

fonte: «13 Million Satellite Radio Consumers Can’t Be Wrong!»,Delphi Corp. 3/01/07