Radio Trying to Survive In a New-Media World
When Jill Barshay, a political writer in Washington, D.C., turned on her favorite alternative-rock radio station early this year, she heard Spanish music. "They truly are alternative," she remembered thinking -- until the next song was Spanish, and the one after that, too. The station, WHFS, had switched formats to cater to the city's growing Hispanic population.
Format switches became the big news in radio this year, as many stations looked hard for fresh programming that would reel in more listeners.
THE JOURNAL REPORT
See the full Trends report.Radio is in a tough spot. Like many older media such as television and newspapers, it is losing audience time as people spend more hours on mobile phones, the Internet and even videogames. And it has to compete for music audiences with satellite and Internet radio and iPods.
So the industry is doing all it can to build excitement and new listener bases, including shaking up long-established stations and replacing them with programming that comes out of left field. Here is a look at some of the new things on the boil.
1 > A NEW LANGUAGE
The number of commercial stations broadcasting in Spanish climbed to 708 this year from 665 last year and 427 in 1995, according to Inside Radio Database in Princeton, N.J.
It's paying off in the ratings. Before its switch to Spanish, WHFS, now WLZL, sat toward the lower end of the ratings. The station has more than doubled its audience share since then. The situation is similar at almost every other radio station that has moved to Spanish.
While a few years ago even cities with large Spanish-speaking populations had just one or two Spanish stations, typically Mexican music, now they have several. More cities are likely to start sounding like Houston, which supports five traditional Mexican music stations, a Spanish hip-hop station, a Spanish pop station and a Spanish news-talk station. In cities like San Diego, throw a Mexican oldies station into the mix.
Entravision Communications Corp., Univision Communications Inc. and other traditional Spanish broadcasters need to watch out. They once had the field to themselves, but now face competition from the nation's biggest broadcasters.
Just over a year ago, Clear Channel Communications Inc. announced a big push into Spanish-language radio, while Viacom Inc.'s Infinity Broadcasting announced it would take a stake in Spanish Broadcasting System Inc.
2 > PLAY -- AND SELL
No longer ceding the field to iTunes, radio shows and stations increasingly list the songs they play and allow fans to buy them with a click. Clear Channel is partnering with Amazon.com Inc., although the service is still glitchy. Entercom Communications Corp. and Greater Media Inc. stations, among others, are working with a service called Tune Genie, owned by New York-based MusicToGo LLC.
"The revenue part is nice, but we like it because it's another way to connect with our audience," says Buzz Knight, who oversees Internet initiatives at Greater Media. After research showed that radio listeners who visit online music stores tend to spend a lot of time at the sites and buy several songs, Mr. Knight decided those were exactly the passionate music listeners his stations should become more engaged with.
Like many radio executives, Mr. Knight sees the online purchases as a research tool. If fans start buying songs from a relatively obscure band, that's a good indication the station should play more of its music, he says.
3 > JOIN THE CLUB
Turning sometime listeners into diehard fans is crucial for boosting ratings and attracting advertisers. Membership clubs now provide much more to help move an audience to that point, and many hosts are launching them. The clubs now go well beyond the old standard of getting people to submit their names and email addresses for occasional mailings.
Take Delilah Rene, whose nationally syndicated show features love songs mixed in with uplifting stories from listeners. She tries to get her fans involved in her "Friday Night Girls" club, encouraging them to get together with friends and bond. Every Friday, Delilah calls a few clubs, allowing members to introduce themselves on air and win goodies like CDs and gift certificates.
Other clubs charge for membership. Premiere Radio Networks, a Clear Channel unit, asks fans to pay about $7 a month for a "Backstage Pass" to comedian Phil Hendrie's show; the company offers similar packages for other shows. For that fee, fans can listen to the show online, or download it onto an audio player. They also get exclusive video clips, photos and the like.
4 > CHICK RADIO
Radio geared to women has largely limited itself to music along the lines of "lite FM" and "soft hits." Now a number of stations are experimenting with talk shows or even entire programming lineups aimed at women, with the idea of pulling in more radio advertisers that go after the coveted mommy demographic.
These stations offer personalities like Bob and Sheri, who talk about everyday life, and Joy Browne, a psychologist who dispenses advice. One of the pioneers of the genre, Jefferson Pilot Corp.'s WLNK in Charlotte, N.C., airs the "Why Weight?" diet show on Saturday mornings.
Satellite radio is jumping into the game, with Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. launching the "Martha Stewart Living" show and the "Lime" healthy-living show. XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc.'s new women's channel, Take Five, launched in October, features entertainment like the "Satellite Sisters," a show featuring five siblings with very different lifestyles who debate everything from child-welfare policies to bad dye jobs for their hair.
"There's not a perceived need for something like this," says Todd Fisher, general manager of Hubbard Broadcasting Inc.'s WFMP in St. Paul, Minn., "but it makes so much sense." Hubbard switched the station to women's broadcasting three years ago.
5 > GO FORTH AND MULTIPLY
A new radio technology enables radio companies to squeeze two or three stations into a place on the band that used to carry just one. That will allow broadcasters to better compete against satellite and Internet radio and the hundreds of channels they offer.
In Chicago, Infinity Broadcasting's country station WUSN runs a side channel that plays new country music. Beasley Broadcasting Group Inc.'s Power 96, a Miami hits station, runs a side channel playing electronic dance music. All three Greater Media stations in Detroit run side channels: The company's classic-rock station has a side channel for rarely played songs; its light-music station has one with Broadway hits, jazz and some classical music; and its rock station has a side channel for unsigned bands, especially local talent.
But listening to these stations requires owning a radio that can pull in the digital signals that are sent out by the multicast station. Currently, a few new-model cars come with these digital radios, or listeners can upgrade existing in-dash radios by buying a digital receiver from manufacturers like Kenwood Corp., with a model selling for $480. Some manufacturers, including Polk Audio Inc., Boston Acoustics Inc. and Radiosophy LLC, are rolling out in-home models, retailing for $599, $499 and $269, respectively.
6 > SATELLITE RADIO
By year's end, XM is likely to have six million paying customers, Sirius three million. Even though regular radio dwarfs those numbers with its 227 million listeners, measured by rating service Arbitron Inc., satellite has roughly doubled its subscriber base this year and has grown into a legitimate competitor.
Every week, it seems, satellite radio lands a celebrity hire or innovative new show, bringing it back into the news. Regular radio garners a fraction of the attention. Now that Howard Stern, one of the nation's best-known radio hosts, is moving to satellite, expect the attention devoted to the upstarts to intensify.
Whether Mr. Stern's show will prove as enticing on satellite, unbound by restrictions on profane or indecent language, is an open question. Many fans say listening to Mr. Stern's relentless testing of the boundaries on regular radio provides half the fun of tuning in.
7 > FM TALK
At a conference earlier this year sponsored by RAIN Publications Inc., an online newsletter for radio and Internet issues, David Goldberg, vice president and general manager for music at Yahoo Inc., told broadcasters that he believed over-the-airwaves radio would soon be relegated to talk, with people choosing to go online for music.
Of course, Mr. Goldberg was speaking from his online perspective. But as ways multiply for people to access music, including digital players, satellite radio and online radio, over-the-airwaves radio may find it easier to turn to fresh nonmusic formats, particularly talk formats aimed at young men.
"You can get music in nine bazillion places," says Joel Hollander, CEO of Infinity Broadcasting, who predicts more chat on the FM dial. "It's really hard to duplicate good talk." Michael Harrison, who edits the trade magazine Talkers, expects an "explosion in FM talk over the next year, certainly over the next two years."
With political and sports talk just about tapped out, radio groups will likely try more edgy banter dwelling on women, beer and the like. Think along the lines of the nationally syndicated Tom Leykis, who counsels men on how to get the most out of women for the least amount of commitment and cash, or Drew Pinsky of Loveline, a physician who dishes out advice on sex and relationships.
8 > WILL FEWER ADS MEAN MORE?
In many markets across the country, station groups are cutting back on the time they devote to advertising. Radio now sets aside an average of 10.6 minutes an hour for commercials, compared with 11.7 minutes a year ago, according to the brokerage firm Harris Nesbitt.
Clear Channel jump-started the trend, announcing a "Less Is More" plan last year. Its stations in top-10 markets have cut advertising by more than 20% since then, but once the program hits the one-year mark in January, the cuts will level off. Audience ratings at many of the stations appear to be on the rise, but until the stations consistently win fatter advertising rates to match, the fate of the initiative is in jeopardy.
Revenue at Clear Channel's radio group fell 4.3% last quarter from a year earlier, to $919.2 million, which the company attributed to the cuts in ad time. But it said it was getting better prices for its remaining spots, and its market share among listeners in 30 top markets rose 4%.
9 > GETTING TOGETHER
While opponents of media consolidation around the country rail against it, radio executives are still angling for more. They say that even after a frenzy of acquisitions in the late 1990s, radio ownership is much less concentrated than the public realizes.
They have a point. Giant Clear Channel, with some 1,200 stations, still owns less than 10% of the national total. By revenue, the company accounts for 19% of the industry. No. 2 player Infinity accounts has 11% of revenue. After that, the business fragments considerably.
"I'm a big believer in consolidation," Cumulus Media Inc.'s chief executive, Lew Dickey, told radio employees at the National Association of Broadcasters radio conference in September, shortly before buying the radio assets of Susquehanna Media Co.
"I think we're about to embark on a second major wave of it," Mr. Dickey said. He, like many radio executives, is looking toward the radio holdings of Walt Disney Co.
A big company like Clear Channel may be up against station limits -- the government allows a company to own no more than eight stations in a single market. But in many markets, smaller companies like Citadel Broadcasting Corp., Cumulus, and Entercom have plenty of room to grow.
And don't rule out an easing of station limits. Certainly, Clear Channel is pushing hard for that. In an October speech in Washington, chief executive Mark Mays urged Congress to allow radio companies to own as many as 12 stations in the biggest markets.
10 > BETTER RADIOS
Radio manufacturers are catching on to the idea that people want to listen to their favorite radio shows on their schedules, not the radio station's. Increasingly, the manufacturers are building radios that will allow digital recording of shows. Some are smart enough to keep recording that same show on an automatic basis, if that's what the listener wants.
Delphi Corp.'s portable player for XM, the MyFi, stores as much as five hours of XM programming. Some audio players integrate recordable radio with MP3 players, including several from Reigncom Co.'s iRiver. A few new digital audio players from Philips Electronics NV allow FM recording, though it can't be set up ahead of time -- the listener has to press the "record" button at the start of the show.
广播业－在新媒体时代艰难求生
当哥伦比亚特区的政论家吉尔?巴莎(Jill Barshay)今年初打开她喜欢的另类摇滚电台时，她听到的却是西班牙音乐。“它们真的变得另类了，”她记得当时这么想──下一首歌仍是西班牙歌曲，接下来还是。这家名为WHFS的电台已经调整了模式，转而迎合城市中不断增多的西班牙人的口味。
转变模式成为今年广播业的一个焦点，因为许多电台都在艰难地寻找能吸引更多听众的新节目。
广播电台目前举步维艰。和电视、报纸等许多传统媒体一样，它正在渐渐失去听众，因为人们把更多的时间花在打手机、上网甚至玩视频游戏上。另外，它还不得不与卫星和互联网电台与iPod音乐播放机来抢夺音乐听众。
因此，该行业正在想方设法开设有吸引力的节目，建立新的听众群，包括调整长期一成不变的电台，制作非主流的节目等。下面我们就来看一看这个行业中的一些新趋势。
1. 使用新语言
新泽西州Inside Radio Database的数据显示，以西班牙语广播的商业电台的数量由去年的665个增至708个，大大超过1995年的427个。
语言的改变带来了收听率的提高。在转用西班牙语广播之前，WHFS──目前名为WLZL──一直排在收听率的后几位，而在此之后，其收听率增加了一倍多。其他改为西班牙语的广播电台几乎无一例外地遇到了类似的情况。
几年之前，即使在讲西班牙语的人口众多的城市也只有一或两家西班牙语电台，而且通常播放的都是墨西哥音乐，但如今，每个城市都有几家这样的电台。更多城市可能开始像休斯顿一样，后者拥有5家传统的墨西哥音乐电台、一个西班牙hip-hop电台、一个西班牙流行音乐电台和一个西班牙语新闻电台。在像圣地牙哥这样的城市，传统的墨西哥电台已经把这些节目兼收并蓄了。
Entravision Communications Corp.、Univision Communications Inc.和其他传统的西班牙语广播公司需要保持警惕了。它们曾经牢牢占据这块阵地，但如今已经面临来自美国大型广播公司的竞争。
就在一年以前，Clear Channel Communications Inc.宣布大举进入西班牙语广播领域，而维亚康姆(Viacom Inc.)的Infinity Broadcasting表示，将收购Spanish Broadcasting System Inc.的股份。
2. 试听──然后出售
为了不再把阵地让给iTunes，越来越多的广播电台将它们播放的歌曲列表，允许听众在网上付费下载。Clear Channel正在与亚马逊公司(Amazon.com Inc.)结盟，不过该服务仍存在一些技术问题。Entercom Communications Corp.和Greater Media Inc.的广播电台也在与纽约MusicToGo LLC所有的Tune Genie合作。
“这方面的收入十分可观，但是我们喜欢它的理由是它是与我们的听众交流的另一种方式，”Greater Media负责互联网策划的布茨?奈特(Buzz Knight)说。在研究显示，访问网上音乐商店的电台听众往往会在网站上花大量时间然后购买一些歌曲之后，奈特认识到，这些人正是他的电台应当花大力气吸引的音乐爱好者。
和许多电台的管理人士一样，奈特将网上购买量作为一种研究工具。他说，如果歌迷开始购买一个不太出名的乐队的歌曲，那么这就有力地说明，电台应播放更多这个乐队的音乐。
3. 加入俱乐部
把偶尔听听的人变为忠实听众对于提高收听率和吸引广告客户至关重要。会员俱乐部在这方面发挥了很大的作用，许多主持人都推出了这种活动。目前，这些俱乐部已经远远超过了传统的模式，除了让人们提交姓名和电子邮件地址偶尔通通信之外，它们还组织各种各样的活动。
以黛莉拉?瑞恩(Delilah Rene)为例，她在全美播出的节目主要是播放爱情歌曲，并穿插听众的一些感人故事。她努力让她的听友参与她的“Friday Night Girls”俱乐部，并鼓励他们带朋友一起参加。每个星期五，黛莉拉都会举办一些活动，让会员在广播中介绍自己，并赢得一些像CD、礼品卡之类的小物品。
也有一些俱乐部是向会员收费的。Clear Channel的子公司Premiere Radio Networks要求听众每月支付约7美元获得喜剧明星菲尔?亨德利(Phil Hendrie)的节目的“后台通行证”(Backstage Pass)、该公司在其他节目中也有类似举措。获得通行证的听众可以在网上收听节目，或者将其下载到一个媒体播放器上，他们还可以获得独家的录像片断和照片等。
4. 开辟女性电台
针对女性的广播节目基本上限于音乐方面。目前，许多电台正在尝试推出针对女性的谈话节目甚至一整套节目类型，希望藉此吸引更多看重妈妈一族无限的消费需求的广告客户。
这些电台选用鲍伯(Bob)、谢瑞(Sheri)等明星主持谈论日常生活，由心理学家布朗尼(Joy Browne)向听众提供建议。这方面的先行者之一Jefferson Pilot Corp.的WLNK每周六上午播出“Why Weight?”的饮食节目。
卫星广播也不甘落后，Sirius Satellite Radio Inc.推出了“Martha Stewart Living”和“Lime”两档健康生活节目。XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc.10月份推出了新的女性频道Take Five，内容以像“Satellite Sisters”那样的娱乐节目为主。Satellite Sisters是5个生活方式不同的女性的谈话节目，她们谈论的话题从儿童福利政策到糟糕的染发效果等五花八门。
Hubbard Broadcasting Inc.旗下WFMP频道的总经理费舍(Todd Fisher)说，没想到人们在这方面还有需求，可是现在它有了很合理的存在理由。Hubbard在3年前将WFMP改为了女性电台。
5. 多频道
一项新的广播技术使得广播公司可以将两个或三个频道压缩到一个波段中，这将使其能够更好地应对卫星电台、互联网电台及其数百个频道的竞争。
在芝加哥，Infinity Broadcasting的国家电台WUSN开辟了一个播放新乡村音乐的子频道。Beasley Broadcasting Group Inc.旗下的Power 96则开设了一个播放电子舞曲的子频道。Greater Media在底特律的三个电台都开辟了子频道：古典摇滚电台有一个几乎不播放歌曲的子频道；轻音乐电台有一个百老汇歌剧、爵士乐和一些古典音乐的子频道；摇滚乐电台有一个未签约乐队的子频道。
但是收听这些电台需要拥有一台能够接收多家电台发送的数字信号的收音机。目前，一些新型汽车配备了这种数字收音机，听众也可以从Kenwood Corp.等生产商手中购买一个数字接收器升级现有的收音机，其中一款接收器的售价为480美元。Polk Audio Inc.、Boston Acoustics Inc.和Radiosophy LLC等生产商正在推出内置机型，零售价分别为599、499和269美元。
6. 卫星电台
到年底，XM和Sirius可能分别拥有600万和300万付费用户。尽管与收视率服务公司Arbitron Inc.提供的传统电台2.27亿听众的数字相比，这显得微不足道，但卫星电台的用户人数今年内几乎增长了一倍，已成为广播行业一个不可小视的竞争者。
每周，卫星电台几乎都会推出一个名人主持的节目或创新的新节目，引起人们的注意，而传统电台很少赢得人们的关注。目前，美国著名的电台主持之一霍华德?史登(Howard Stern)将移师卫星电台，预计这将进一步增强人们对卫星电台的关注。
史登主持的节目在不再限制下流语言使用的卫星电台能否同样受到欢迎还不得而知。许多听众说，史登在传统电台大胆尝试突破界限是他们乐于收听他的节目的主要原因。
7. 谈话节目取代音乐节目
今年早些时候，在广播和互联网问题网上时讯公司RAIN Publications Inc.发起的一次会议上，雅虎公司(Yahoo Inc.)音乐业务副总裁兼总经理戴维?高德博格(David Goldberg)向广播公司表示，他认为无线广播电台很快会向谈话节目转型，因为人们往往会选择在网上收听音乐。
诚然，高德博格的预言是基于他的网络观点。但是，由于如今人们可以通过很多途径来收听音乐，如数字播放器、卫星电台和网上电台，传统的无线电台可能会发现如果转向全新的非音乐节目模式会更容易生存，特别是针对年轻男性的谈话节目。
Infinity Broadcasting的首席执行长赫兰德(Joel Hollander)说，人们有许多渠道来获取音乐，可是好的谈话节目却是难以复制的。他预计，在FM广播中会出现更多谈话节目。行业杂志Talkers的编辑(Michael Harrison)预计，明年FM谈话节目可能风起云涌，这肯定会成为未来两年的趋势。
由于政治和体育类谈话节目渐失人气，广播公司可能会尝试关于女性、啤酒之类更轻松的话题。不妨参考参考汤姆 ?莱可斯(Tom Leykis)节目的话题，他告诉男人如何充分利用女人的承诺和金钱，还有Loveline节目的主持人品斯基(Drew Pinsky)，这位医生为听众提供两性关系问题的建议。
8. 更少广告会带来更多收入？
在美国的许多市场中，广播公司正在削减广告时间。经纪公司Harris Nesbitt的数据显示，目前电台每小时的平均广告时间为10.6分钟，而一年以前为11.7分钟。
Clear Channel是这轮趋势的先行者，去年宣布推出“Less Is More”的计划。此后，它在前十大市场中的电台都把广告削减了20%以上，但如果节目的推出时间到1月份满一年，广告时间的削减将会停止。其中许多电台的收听率似乎都呈上升趋势，不过，在电台的广告价格得以稳固提高以前，这种策略还是蕴含著危险。
Clear Channel广播集团上季度的收入比去年同期减少了4.3%，至9.192亿美元，该公司将此归因于广告时间的缩短。但是它表示，它剩余时段的广告价格有所提高，在前30大市场听众中的收视率提高了4%。
9. 业内整合
虽然美国反对媒体整合的呼声高涨，广播公司的管理层还是在积极地推进并购。他们说，即使在20世纪90年代的并购潮之后，广播业的所有权也并不如公众想象的那样集中。
这种说法是有道理的。拥有约1,200个电台的Giant Clear Channel在全美电台总数的比重仍不足10%。从收入衡量，该公司的收入占整个行业的19%。排名第二的Infinity的收入比例为11%。在其之后，市场规模相当分散。
Cumulus Media Inc.的首席执行长迪可(Lew Dickey)在9月份的National Association of Broadcasters会议上称，他是行业整合的坚定支持者。不久后，该公司刚刚收购了Susquehanna Media Co.的广播资产。
迪可认为，广播业将展开新一轮的并购潮。和许多业内管理人士一样，他也看中沃尔特-迪斯尼(Walt Disney Co.)的广播业务。
像Clear Channel这样的大公司或许会遭遇电台数量的限制──政府规定一家公司在一个市场中拥有的电台数量不能超过8个。而在许多市场，像Citadel Broadcasting Corp.、Cumulus和Entercom这样的小公司仍有大量的增长空间。
目前并不排除电台数量限制可能会放开的可能。当然，Clear Channel正在努力促成此事。在10月份的一次演讲中，公司首席执行长梅斯(Mark Mays)敦促国会允许广播公司在大型市场中拥有的电台数量能够达到12个。
10. 收音机创新
人们越来越希望根据自己的时间收听喜欢的节目，而不是依照电台的播放时间。收音机生产商们正在设法迎合这种需求，它们开始生产允许节目数字录音的收音机。一些产品已经能够自动按时录制听众喜欢的节目。
德尔福(Delphi Corp.)为XM生产的便携式收音机MyFi可以存储5个小时的XM节目。一些媒体播放器集合了可录音收音机与MP3的功能，比如Reigncom Co.的iRiver。飞利浦电子(Philips Electronics NV)新推出的一些媒体播放器具有FM节目录音的功能，不过不能提前设置，听众必须在节目开始时按下“录音”键。
