Will mobile Internet replace satellite radio as the new technology?

[Larry Mayer]

To all of my broadcast friends and PRPD folks who were in LA during the 2008 PRPD Conference:

I finally picked up the iPhone that I won in a drawing at the LohDown on Science booth at the PRPD. I had to drive to the Apple Store in Knoxville last Sunday to get it. There are not that many Apple Stores in this part of the country.

I kind of agree with others from the conference that the next technology will be mobile Internet and not HD or satellite radio. I am now able to listen to almost any radio station, through my iPhone, and route the audio into the speakers of my car. On my way to work, in Johnson City, Tennessee, I was listening to KPCC, KNX and K-Earth.

the only down side: just like any other cell phone, I lost reception driving thru the mountains between Tennessee and No. Carolina, losing my online radio listening.

[Greg Fitzgerald]

Maybe not replace it, but certainly vie for more listeners time. Given the number of listening devices that await my attention as I run out the door each morning, I'm sure a mobile Internet device will soon be competing for my attention. In the span of a few short years the FM in my auto has been pushed aside by a Sirius portable satellite radio, an iPod, a Palm with an MP3 player, and a Nokia cell phone with both mp3 and FM radio capabilities. Oddly though, I usually drift back to my local NPR station on a regular basis when I'm driving.

I'm already a huge fan of Internet radio in the house. It's already got more of my listening time than the satellite radio I'm playing $12.95 a month for. It's also got the one thing satellite radio will have a hard time gaining - and that's real time Morning Edition and ATC broadcasts. So long as there are local NPR stations, I doubt whether you'll see the tent post programs of NPR on satellite radio. But on Internet radio, it's there in whatever local flavor you like - from Boston to L.A. Want to avoid a fundraiser on the Denver station's Morning Edition broadcast --- switch over to the Chicago NPR affiliate. Meanwhile the HD radio I bought 2 years ago sits in the corner of my living room gathering dust (though it's got a nice auxiliary input for my iPod). I sometimes wonder why I thought it was worth $200 to get two or the extra public radio channels in Boston.

[Joe Cassara]

I've been dreaming about wireless internet radio since the days of the Apple Newton. I'm confident RoIP (radio over IP) will replace traditional radio broadcasting over RF. The only question is when.

Consider:

- The Society of Broadcast Engineers continues to face the dilemma of no young talent entering RF engineering. How many folks can build a directional AM station from scratch today in the US? A handful? FM engineers are fading away, too. Where's the young talent going? IT/Network Administration. Who will run the tower sites of tomorrow?

- Thanks to the iPhone and the "me, too" crowd of devices, use of cellular provided broadband is exploding and will remain a way of life. All you can eat data for $30. And that fee will shrink.

- We're on the cusp of free (or cheap as free) nation-wide WI-FI.

- Young people are not listening to FM. An entire generation of consumers will come of age in a world where radio is not a major media outlet.

- Yes, streaming can be quite an expenditure. But without having to pay for tower space, transmitter space, the electric bill from running an xKw transmitter 24/7, and the personnel/equipment associated with RF, I can channel those funds into wholesale 64/128+kbps stream aggregation.

- HD Radio, our knight in shining armor, is caught with no car to drive himself to the party -- and no one wants to give him a ride.

- RoIP can provide us, as program directors, with instant feedback from listeners. Did that segment on All Things Considered tickle them? Do they like that new cut from Mark Elf we just played? Even the portable people meter can't provide that level of feedback.

- Click to buy. Boom. Every cut they hear on our streams can be purchased instantly. What a way to prove to record companies that radio, and public radio at that, still matters in the music purchasing dynamic!

- Who needs to listen to Morning Edition in the morning or Jazz After Hours after hours when it can be delivered to you digitally and stored for later playback?

The BEST move to make radio matter again? Get Radio out of Radio Frequency.

Joe Cassara
Operations Manager
WDNA-FM

[Scott Hanley]

Hmm - I've been using my TREO to listen to internet radio for more than two years. I also use my ipod for podcasts and SOME music. But I still turn to the radio (and not always public radio) on the road and at home.

I'm not going to worry so much about HD vs Wireless vs analog vs satellite. I have a lot of platforms out there on operations I'm involved with. I measure my "bets" accordingly. Radio is still REALLY convenient for a lot of things, I know the amount that I pay for internet connectivity in many locales is much more than most people want to pay.

If you want to bet on "market timing" in media, ponder how much you want to do it on Wall Street right now.

Oh - and remember - public radio survives right now in an environment where the vast majority of listeners will never donate -- yet our revenue is more stable than commercial media.

Make good content. I'm not shutting out my 150,000-plus listeners on FM anytime soon.

Scott Hanley
WDUQ

[Imre Fitos]

I think eventually yes.