The Radio Station

Broadcasting, Podcasting, and Streaming

John Hendricks, Bruce Mims

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2018
• ISBN:
  9781351816328
• Edition: 10
• Topic: Languages & Linguistics
• Subtopic: Journalism
• Index: Languages & Linguistics

The Radio Station offers a concise and insightful guide to all aspects of radio broadcasting, streaming, and podcasting. This book's tenth edition continues its long tradition of guiding readers to a solid understanding of who does what, when, and why in a professionally managed station. This new edition explains what "radio" in America has been, where it is today, and where it is going, covering the basics of how programming is produced, financed, delivered and promoted via terrestrial and satellite broadcasting, streaming and podcasting, John Allen Hendricks and Bruce Mims examine radio and its future within a framework of existing and emerging technologies. The companion website is new revised with content for instructors, including an instructors' manual and test questions. Students will discover an expanded library of audio interviews with leading industry professionals in addition to practice quizzes and links to additional resources.

CHAPTER 1

State of the Industry

BROADCASTING

As radio enters its second century of existence, although it remains healthy, there is no denying that the AM/FM radio industry, or terrestrial radio, has entered into a time of change or a paradigm shift. The competitive landscape of terrestrial radio has changed dramatically in the last few years. Many radio insiders would argue that the industry has always been an industry that experienced change and evolved with change. Specifically, the radio industry is experiencing change in the method in which listeners consume audio and new competition from audio platforms based on the Internet. Yet, well into the second decade of this new millennium, broadcast radio—the original portable electronic medium—continues to exhibit a dominant presence in the face of these newer, very competitive audio technologies such as podcasting, streaming, satellite radio, and HD Radio side channels. Jay Williams, Jr., president of Broadcasting Unlimited, states:

Buoyed by deregulation, consolidation and Wall Street money, then buffeted by increased competition and new technology, terrestrial radio executives are bracing for a challenging future by exploring programming and format options, more sophisticated advertiser relationships, and new digital distribution platforms to more robustly compete and grow.

A brief afternoon email discussion between the two authors of this book, one of whom lives in Texas and the other in Missouri, demonstrates how listeners navigate between different audio platforms throughout the day and, with an abundance of options, listening habits are no longer kept “local” either. During this discussion, one author casually noted:

I only listen to either Pandora or iHeartRadio while working from my campus office and I only listen to satellite radio in my vehicle while driving (which includes terrestrial radio stations on satellite radio such as Los Angeles’s KIIS-FM and New York’s Z100).

Further, he shared with his colleague that he only listened to the Music Choice stations offered on cable television when at home and only listened to local terrestrial radio stations when a local sporting event was on the air and he wanted to know the score. Likewise, the other author shared, outside of the local NPR affiliate, “I too don’t listen often to ‘radio.’ But, I do listen to quite a few ‘streams’ of AM and FM stations, and the occasional pureplays.” As he was typing his email, he shared he was listening to WQUN, the commercial AM owned by Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut. Without dispute, the radio landscape is shifting and evolving.

Despite the shifting radio landscape, the listening numbers for terrestrial radio are very healthy and encouraging for the industry. In its Tech Survey 13 report in 2017, Jacobs Media reports radio has the engagement of 91% of those surveyed compared to 21% engagement with podcasts, 23% engagement with satellite radio, 47% engagement with an MP3 player, and 58% engagement with streaming audio. Moreover, the Tech Survey 13 study found that 40% of the respondents shared that they listened to less radio because there are too many commercials and repetitive music; 32% said that it was because of music streaming services; 28% said that it was because of satellite radio; 27% said that it was because of mobile phones/apps; and 16% said that they listened to less radio because of podcasting.

FIGURE 1.1
Too many commercials and repetitive music discourage listeners

Source: Courtesy of Jacobs Media

FIGURE 1.2
Listeners have many reasons why they like to listen to radio

Source: Courtesy of Jacobs Media

Conversely, Jacobs Media found that people listed numerous reasons for why they did listen to radio. The primary reason provided is to hear their favorite song/artists (64.1%) and because they like the deejay, show, or host. Others say they like to listen to the radio when they work (54.9%), some listen just out of habit (50.5%), some for the news (41.0%), and others to get in a better mood (39.9%), and, understandably, some just want to know what is happening in town (36.3%). Interestingly, weather (28.5%), traffic (24.6%), and sports (17.8%) rank very low as reasons why people are motivated to listen to radio.

In the State of the Media: Audio Today 2017 study by Nielsen Audio, it was discovered that 271 million Americans aged six years old and older listened to radio on a weekly basis. Impressively, radio reaches 93% of all American adults, 92% of 18- to 34-year-olds, and 95% of 35- to 49-year-olds. Because streaming and podcasts are consumed on smartphones, tablets, and personal computers, it is worth noting the same Nielsen study found that 83% of the American population uses a smartphone, 37% uses a tablet, and 50% uses a personal computer on a weekly basis. For the coveted 25- to 54-year-old demographic, 117.8 million consumers are reached weekly by terrestrial radio, but for the most coveted demographic, 18- to 49-year-olds, 125.4 million consumers are reached on a weekly basis. Radio boasts an audience of 42.4 million Hispanics, 32.3 million blacks, and more than 175 million listeners identified as falling into other ethnic categories. Also, according to Nielsen, 18- to 24-year-olds listen to 10 hours and 15 minutes of terrestrial radio each week. Interestingly, by the end of 2016, Nielsen found that 90% of all Hispanics were reached by radio on a weekly basis. That is the highest penetration of radio reach across all demographics, ethnicities, and platforms.

FIGURE 1.3
At 93% of the American population, radio is a ubiquitous medium and remains in the lead among audio listening by a good distance

Source: Courtesy of Nielsen

FIGURE 1.4 More than 125 million consumers who fall within the coveted 18- to 49-year-old demographic listen to radio weekly

Source: Courtesy of Nielsen

FIGURE 1.5
Hispanics and Blacks are a large demographic for radio

Source: Courtesy of Nielsen

Bolstering the argument that a paradigm shift is occurring in the radio industry, Nielsen reported in 2016 that terrestrial AM/FM listening had only “inched” higher, while listening to online streaming audio with smartphones and iPads had “skyrocketed.” Placing the data in context, Jon Miller, Vice-President of Audience Insights, told Inside Radio “With all the challenges and the new places for people to listen to music, the fact that radio usage is flat or even a little up is pretty significant. I think it speaks to the power of the medium.” Data revealed that the average American adult listened to AM/FM radio for 13 hours and one minute per week. For comparative purposes, the same report revealed that adults spend 11 hours and 36 minutes per week on their smartphones and six hours and 43 minutes a week on their personal computers.

Radio—whether it be of the terrestrial, satellite, online streaming, or podcasting variety—continues to be one of the most pervasive media on earth, even more so than the Internet, which is virtually nonexistent in many parts of the world, especially in Third World countries. It is a position the commercial radio industry vigorously and aggressively promotes. The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) is its trade organization, and it lobbies government from its Washington, D.C., headquarters. Gordon Smith, President and CEO of the NAB, speaking to Radio Ink in 2017, disputed the suggestion by some industry observers that terrestrial radio’s future is in peril:

FIGURE 1.6
The media pyramid shows audience engagement with different media platforms. For now, radio reigns supreme

Source: Courtesy of Jacobs Media

There is a misperception being promoted by some that broadcast radio’s influence has somehow been diminished. Advertisers sometimes lose sight of how powerful radio really is. Local radio is still the most popular place for listeners to discover new music. Every week, 262 million listeners tune into their hometown stations. Radio is a top medium for a return on advertisers’ investment. These are the facts that hardly get mentioned when the future of radio is discussed. … In terms of attracting consumers, while we remain the most-used form of media, we can’t rest on our laurels. We need to be available to listeners wherever and whenever they want. We need to continue innovating with streaming and services like NextRadio. We need to keep pushing Apple to activate radio chips on the iPhone so consumers can listen to their hometown radio stations without eating into their data plan.

Results of a 2017 study conducted by Nielsen reinforce the NAB president’s claim: more adults overall consider AM/FM radio to be their number one source for learning about new music, with 66% of music listeners discovering music through AM/FM radio and 47% of the music listening audience choosing AM/FM radio. Notably, not too far behind was streaming (online audio) at 26%, online radio stations at 22%, radios that stream their signal online at 19%, satellite radio at 11%, and live streaming at 5%.

One report in 2017 showed that Pandora listening in specific media markets had declined. This decline was only discovered after Nielsen started asking the question of its survey respondents if there had been any “listenership to Pandora in the past month.” Response to this question provided some parity to enable AM/FM radio stations to compare their weekly listener patterns to Pandora’s listener patterns. Westwood One looked at data from nearly 40 individual markets and found that its reach was five times larger than Pandora’s. Brittany Faison, a Westwood One/Cumulus Research analyst, asserts: “Pandora can’t compare to AM/FM radio, America’s No. 1 mass media reach.”

In many ways, radio is indeed the number one mass medium. There is no patch of land, no piece of ocean surface untouched by the electromagnetic signals beamed from the more than 40,000 radio stations worldwide. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), sponsor of World Radio Day, recognizes on its website the pervasive nature of radio, observing:

Radio is the mass media reaching the widest audience in the world. It is also recognized as a powerful communication tool and a low cost medium. Radio is specifically suited to reach remote communities and vulnerable people: the illiterate, the disabled, women, youth and the poor, while offering a platform to intervene in the public debate, irrespective of people’s educational level. Furthermore, radio has a strong and specific role in emergency communication and disaster relief.

FIGURE 1.7
Share of Ear Methodology: Edison Research conducted a nationally representativ...