More Proof That Radio & The Web Belong Together…

The highlight of the New York State Broadcasters Association meeting was a speech delivered by RAB President/CEO Jeff Haley and it strikes a familiar theme, one you’ve read before in this post.  Marrying radio and the Web works - sounds familiar doesn’t it?  ”Around 10 to 11% of radio’s total audience listens to radio through their computer screens.  The idea that you can do contests online and use the Web to create podcasts helps to take our brand from an audio experience to an audio and visual experience.”  Those are the words of Jeff Haley who also adds that “local radio website traffic has increased 27% in the past year and website-related revenue is now at about $255 million.”   Check - check.  Is anyone listening out there???

Although radio has been facing an uphill battle with the electronic media, a comparison of the monthly ComScore Internet ratings with RADAR 97, June 2008 radio listening estimates shows that 191 million Americans accessed the Internet during the month of May but 235 million heard radio over the course of just one week.  Search leader Google and various sites that include YouTube, reached 143 million viewers in May.  That’s 75% of all Americans who went online but it’s still 92 million fewer people than are reached by radio in any single week…

That radio audience is out there.  Your mission Mr. Phelps should you decide to accept it is to find that audience and bring it to your radio station.  This post will disavow any knowledge of your actions if you or any of your I.M. force is caught or killed.  This post will self-destruct in five seconds…

10 Timeline Memories:

1. 1876] Curtains: Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer and the U.S. 7th Cavalry are wiped out by Sioux and Cheyenne Indians at Little Big Horn (MT). And yes, this was known as “Custer’s Last Stand“…
2. 1950] War…what is it good for?  Absolutely nothing: War breaks out on the Korean peninsula  as forces from the communist North invade the South…
3. 1968] Talkin’ Baseball: Bobby Bonds  (father of you-know-who) becomes the 1st major leaguer to debut with a grand-slam home run…
4. 1970] Beep It!: The FCC makes it illegal for radio stations to put telephone callers on the air without the permission of the person being called. A beep was then installed on the phone for that purpose…
5. 1973] Ratted out: White House Counsel John Dean admits that President Nixon took part in the Watergate cover-up…
6. 1985] Two and a half men: ABC-TV’s “Monday Night Football” announces a new line-up in the booth: Frank Gifford, Joe Namath and O.J. Simpson. The worst play-by-pay team ever…
7. 1993] TV curtains:  The last original “Late Night With David Letterman” airs on NBC-TV with guest Tom Hanks.  Re-runs will follow until September.  On August 30th, Letterman takes his show to CBS-TV where it still resides…
8. 1996]  Death in the desert:  A truck bomb kills 19 Americans and injures hundreds at a U.S. military housing complex in Saudi Arabia…
9. 1997] “Happy Trails“: Oceanographer Jacques-Yves Cousteau dies of a heart attack at 87…
10. 2005]  Trouble in Tehran:  Hardline Tehran Mayor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad  is declared the winner of Iran’s presidential runoff election…

Music Memories:

• 1966] #1 on this date: “Paperback Writer” - The Beatles…
• 1967] Live from London: The Beatles sing “All You Need Is Love” on the BBC’s “Our World” music special that reaches 350 million viewers globally. The 6-minute segment also featured Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and a host of friends singing backup…
• 1969] Recorded on this date: “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother” - The Hollies (Elton John played piano)…

Commentary:

Well we now know that Arbitron is turning deaf ears to the six radio groups (Clear Channel, Cox Radio, Cumulus Media, Inner City, Radio One and Saga).  Late yesterday they responded to those opposed to their PPM methodology by sending a letter of their own  to those groups “vowing to improve on the delivery of their published sample targets and to continuously improve PPM sample delivery going forward.”   They also added:  “The support that you and your fellow broadcasters are expressing for high-quality electronic measurement is right in line with our goals and initiatives.”   The six radio groups also wanted an Arbitron committment to win PPM accreditation by the Media Rating Council (MRC).  Arbitron replies uh, I don’t think so.  More to come… 

“Happy Birthday…happy birthday”:

“E.R.’s” Linda Cardellini (33), Carlos Delgado (36), George Michael (45), Phyllis George (59), Jimmie (”J.J.”) Walker (61), Carly Simon (63), Willis Reed (66), Eddie Floyd (73), June Lockhart (83) and Sidney Lumet (84)…

Timeline Countdown: 9 days until July 4th, 20 days until the MLB All-Star Game and 44 days until the Summer Olympics…

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June, 25, 2008 at 08: 10:10 p06 and is filed under Today's Post. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.