Radio research firm Bridge Ratings projects HD receivers will be in the hands of 1.06 million consumers by the end of 2007, 2.0 million by the end of 2008 and 8.84 million by the end of 2010. Meanwhile, Bridge predicts that XM Satellite Radio will grow to 9.0 million subscribers by the end of 2006 as rival Sirius grows to about 6 million subscribers over the same period. (R&R via RAIN)
Category Archives: Media & Culture
Seven in 10 watching TV news?
That’s one of the findings in a new Harris Poll of about 3,000 U.S. adults.
While broadcast television news appears to be the most popular medium sought, many adults also get their news several times a week or daily by going online to get news (64%), reading a local daily newspaper (63%), listening to radio news broadcasts (54%), listening to talk radio stations (37%), listening to satellite news programming (19%), and reading a national newspaper (18%).
Update: Table on Media Usage from Radio Business Report. The most disturbing stat? Radio news tied with online in the 59+ group. Shudder.
Current TV
I finally got a taste of current TV tonight (DirecTV 366). I say “finally” because I’ve heard about the channel but never bothered to find it and take a look. I thought it was interesting, fresh. If you’re not familiar with the idea behind the channel:
“We slice our schedule into short segments that we call “pods” — each just a few minutes long. And much of it comes straight from you. We call it viewer-created content, or VC2. Right now, VC2 makes up about a third of our channel — and that share is growing. Anyone who wants to contribute can upload a video. Then, everyone in the Current online community votes for what should be on TV.”
It was sort of like 60 Minutes for people under the age of 70. Very sharp graphics. And they include a little status bar near the bottom of the screen to let you know where you are in the segment. Nicely integrated with their website. I’ll be going back for another taste.
Couch Change: 02.19.06
Single-digit revenue gains for commercial radio (US) forecast for 2006 (iloveradio.org) … Friday was Rick Sellers’ last day on the the air at KMRY, Cedar Rapids, IA. I knew Rick during his WMT days. Rick owns and manages KMRY … Hadn’t checked on the Frappr map for a few weeks but delighted to see that didgeridoodler Jamie Nelson (Larkspur, CA) has made it coast-to-coast. Looking forward to seeing Jamie (and all the rest) at Gnomedex 6.0 in late June … Jim Mathies is developing a feed reader. I don’t pretend to understand what he’s doing but I can tell you that he’s a clever boy and likely to come up with something wonderful. Stay tuned … Andy Rooney wonders if we should be honoring all presidents. Me too.
All we need is an ending
I have this idea for a screenplay but I’m thinking it’s already been done. And, if not, I don’t have an ending.
Famous female rock star breaks off high-profile engagement to equally famous sports figure. This tough, smart, independent woman hears her biological clock ticking and decides to have a baby on her own and worry about meeting Mr. Right later (or never). But she needs sperm donor. The normal procedure sounds cold and sterile so she decides to do it the old fashioned way and starts looking for the lucky guy. Several humorous, unsuccessful candidates later, she’s about to give up when fate brings her together with The Guy.
He’s a romantic who wants nothing to do with the scheme but gets tricked into the sack and the deed gets done. She tries to give him a bunch of go-away money but he doesn’t want it and just goes back to his anonymous life.
A few months pass and the media notices that Famous Female Rock Star is in a family way and goes searching for the father. Relentless Reporter tracks down The Guy.
So we’ve got Girl-Meets-Boy…Girl-Loses-Boy… but I’m stuck on how to get them back together.
And I’m thinking this movie has already been made but I can’t come up with the title. Sounds a little like Notting Hill. Any of you film buffs out there help me out on this? Have I seen this movie and just forgotten it?
I kind of see Kevin Connolly as The Guy. And maybe Sienna Miller as The Rock Star? Would help if she could sing but not critical.
I’m gonna keep working on this because I want a happy ending for the Famous Female Rock Star.
Value of New Media vs. Old Media
Jeff Jarvis on the the Rockeboom ad auction:
And here we have in a microcosm the explanation of why media is so horribly out of sync today: The public is valuing new media much more than the old, but the advertisers still value the old. Most every newspaper and in many cases TV networks and magazines have much larger audiences online, but the revenue for their old media properties remains much higher because the advertisers and agencies still value the old and the safe. They want metrics. They want control. They want guarantees. This, in turn, makes big publishers and producers play it safe because they don’t want to mess with the cash cow. And that means that advertisers miss the opportunity to reach a larger, younger, smarter audience in the new medium, which is — supposedly — what they’re dying to do. And that means that big media companies now face competition from a thousand Rocketbooms and a million Gawkers.
And if you are in the media/advertising business and you’ve never heard of Rocketboom or Gawker… you’re probably already screwed. Tick, tock…tick, tock.
Podfading
Podcasting is easy and inexpensive which has a lot to do with why so many people are doing it. But, like with many “hobbies,” it can be difficult to sustain over the long haul and some podcasters are starting to pack it in. They call it podfading. Rob Walch (Podcast411) estimates at least a fifth of podcasters don’t make it to their 10th show and he won’t interview a podcaster until the show has at least 10 episodes. This week Henry and I recorded our 16th podcast and I see no signs of fading. I think we both have sort of an unspoken target of 52 shows. Would be fun to make it a full year.
You = Your iTunes
Tom Peters says his #1 belief about management is: You = Your Calendar.
“All we have is our time. The way we distribute it is our ‘strategic plan,’ our ‘vision,’ our ‘values.’ Period. So how’d you spend your precious time today? Tell me, and I’ll tell you what you actually care about — it’s simple and unerring.”
Maybe. But I don’t want to be my calendar. Nobody has to guess what bloggers care about. It’s all right here. But if I weren’t a blogger, you could look at my iPod and get a sense of who I am. In fact, here’s what you can do in lieu of a memorial service for smays: Plug my nano into a good sound system…put it on shuffle… and let it play until the battery runs down. Friends can stop by for a few minutes and listen.
The Onion: Writers not fans of Sheryl Crow
From the Onion: “Seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong found his endurance stretched “almost to the breaking point” last Friday by a three-hour, 30-song concert presented by his fiancée, pop-folk singer Sheryl Crow.”
I’m posting this because a) I’m a fan and subscriber of the Onion and b) my friend/co-worker Bob took the time to forward. But it just isn’t up to the Onion’s high standards. Shit, I could have written that. Somebody must have been on deadline.
Retirement: Relic of the Industrial Age
“Funny thing about getting older. Time goes faster. When you’re young you do time on the bunny slope, easing along at a slow and careful pace. Then as you grow up and become an adult, you go over to the intermediate slope, making the most of time rushing by. Not quite finally, as your dotage approaches, you move over to the black diamond slope, and you carreen downward to Certain Death. … I’m enjoying work now more than ever, running life’s slalom like a wacko skier in a Warren Miller movie. The certainty of death doesn’t bother me. If anything, it motivates me. But the word “retirement” creeps me out. It’s a relic of the Industrial Age I’ve devoted my life to ending.” — Doc Searls
Every time the idea of “retirement” comes up, I’m the only one in the room who hopes to work until the day I die. It’s comforting to know there are others out there.