Bank of America ran a Radio Sales Survey recently at the RAB 2007 Conference, and one thing jumped out at me: Satellite radio is "fading as a threat" in the eyes of radio professionals.First, I just want to point out that this isn't a statistically significant study. It polled 34 radio sales professionals and general sales managers at RAB 2007, so this isn't to be taken as a scientific survey. Still, the change in attitude is interesting and it can give a glimpse into the changing focus of terrestrial radio itself.
So back to the survey: Only 7% of respondents felt that satellite radio is the biggest long-term threat to terrestrial radio - this is down from 34% just two years ago. This is curious because two years ago, Stern had not yet made the jump to Sirius yet. But we were in the middle of the hype and fanfare over content deals being signed, and his pending move. He was still on terrestrial at the time, and was talking about Sirius ("eh, eh, eh") pretty much constantly.
So what changed in the past two years that is making terrestrial let down it's guard?
Last year, while not necessarily the best year for XM, was a break out year for Sirius. Two years ago, XM had less than half the number of total subscribers than they do currently, and Sirius had less than one-quarter of the subscribers they have now. That's funny then, back when there were less listeners, terrestrial radio was more scared.
On the flip side though, 30% believe that the Internet/Internet radio poses the biggest challenge to terrestrial radio,and 26% see iPods/MP3 players as the greatest threat. So maybe they are looking at the numbers... or maybe it's just the "fear of the unknown" now that Stern has made the jump?
The biggest threat to terrestrial radio is terrestrial radio. I think that looking at sat radio as a threat is the wrong perspective. Terrestrial radio, like broadcast TV, will always be there and will always have more listeners. The question is whether sat radio can get enough listeners to survive. I don't care if sat radio hurts terrestrial radios revenues. I have no problem with terrestrial radio surviving. I just want my XM - I've tasted the other side and can't go back. I'm sure the other XM and Sirius subs agree...
i think its more not admitting a threat and saying no big deal to something that they are quietly very nervous about
I wouldn't put much weight behind what those clowns think. I get the feeling they're only repeating whatever 10 second sound bite their limited attention spans can handle.
As terrestrial radio suits have shown over and over again, the depth of their knowledge is limited; as is the ability to see beyond their own noses...
That being said, I do think iPods or some other personal device (Hello, iPhone) are bigger threats (at the moment, at least) to censored, shitty, testicle radio. XMSR/SIRI have alot of growth ahead of them, though...
RAB works to increase and expand the Radio industry’s share of advertising revenue by designing, developing and implementing appropriate marketing programs
That being said, Satrad from the start was known to be a low advertising competitor for the people that were polled. Why they ever had it at 34% is beyond me. Go ask the NAB how much of a threat Satrad is and then ask why they are trying to defeat almost every FCC application they (Satrad) apply for?
It's all about Stern, Stern, Stern! What about the O&A Effect? You're articles are a little biased Ryan.
The 30% who think that Internet radio is the biggest threat to their livelihood are friggin' idiots!
Internet radio will continue to have a tiny audience (per station) so long as each listener represents an individual phone call. There is no "economy of scale" with Internet radio as there is with terrestrial and satellite radio.
In other words, your cost to operate goes up with each listener in the world of Internet radio, as opposed to terrestrial and satellite radio where your cost to operate is the same whether you have one listener or a million. You can't run a business like that--not if you want to make a profit, anyway.
The biggest threat to satellite radio? THEMSELVES!
They were too busy fighting each other and let other technologies slide in and threaten to overtake them! Like it or not, iPod, HDRadio, internet radio and even built-in harddrives in vehicles will be a threat to the future of satellite.