The Next Radio Tsunami?

Today's guest blog comes from Paul Jacobs, who provides insight on the challenges of radio's listening audience:

Like all media, radio faces significant consumer and technology-based challenges that have been well-documented in this blog and others.  But there is a potential macro event taking place that radio requires awareness and action.  This is because a major portion of our listening base - the in-car environment - is being challenged.

We know from "The Bedroom Project" and other research that radio's stranglehold on "portability" has been compromised.  Gone are the days when listeners carried a Walkman radio around with them.  For many Americans (especially young ones), even the existence of a radio in their homes is a thing of the past.  Today, in-car listening is the last bastion of radio dominance.

But what happens when people abandon their cars and take the bus, the train, or the subway?

That's right, with gas prices above $4, a recent article in USA Today shows that mass transit ridership increased 3% in the first quarter compared with a year ago - the highest levels in 50 years.

And it's likely that a large portion of these consumers may be no longer listening to the radio on their way to and from work.

So we have two choices:  we can sit around and lament our bad fortune, or we as an industry can aggressively fight back.  In big mass transit markets, could deals be cut with Sony or other providers to purchase portable AM/FM radios and hand them out at train stations?  Can the NAB take the lead here?

Should radio buy transit advertising promoting listening to the radio while riding?

Let's not sit back and let outside forces impact our destiny.  Morning and afternoon drive is the lifeline of many of our brands, and the dayparts that traditionally drive ratings.  We have to adapt to changing conditions, and stay relevant.

(And you thought I was going to talk about iPods in cars, right?)

Comments

[Alan Fishel]

I enjoy talk commuter time radio and I take the Blue Line to LA as well as the Gold Line to South Pasadena weekly as well as the Red Line to the Valley. I have an AM/FM radio that straps to my upper arm with a short earphone lead. It allows me to listen to radio as I travel. Unfortunately the radio does not work in the subway.

Also my MP3 player has a FM radio as well as MP3 playback, but the talk radio I normally listen to is on AM. So I can only listen to the radio part of the time. Radio on the LRT makes the trip go much faster and I almost always have my radio with me when I travel by transit or even walking.