Radio Networks and the Internet

Radio stations and networks have been a very succesful business for the last 80 years. In most developped countries, they got between 6 and 11 percent of total media ad sepending. They managed to keep low production, marketing and distribution costs and they were able to face the entrance of new strong competitors like TV.

In some way, the success of radio stations and networks has been based on their humility: on the one hand, they did not ask the listeners’ total attention; usually the audience is involved in other activities -eating, cooking, driving, walking…- while listening to the radio programms. On the other hand, managers of radio companies do not ask for high rates to the advertisers.

But the Internet has changed the rules of the game. Radio companies’ strenths have become weaknesses: Internet is not as portable as the radio; the users of Internet can not do other activities at the same time; radio is about sounds and Internet is mainly about texts and images… All those reasons are behind the lack of adaptation of radio companies to the Internat Age. The future of radio stations and networks depend on the ability of leaders in radio companies for sorting out such difficulties.