[BC] Listenership down

[Harold Hallikainen]

>From Benton Communications Headlines (http://www.benton.org)

CHANGING ITS TUNE
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Richard Siklos]
While more than 9 out of 10 Americans still
listen to traditional radio each week, they are
listening less. And the industry is having to
confront many challenges including streaming
audio, podcasting, iPods and satellite radio. As
a result, the prospects of radio companies have
dimmed significantly since the late 1990?s, when
broadcast barons were tripping over themselves to
buy more stations. Radio revenue growth has
stagnated and the number of listeners is
dropping. The amount of time people tune into
radio over the course of a week has fallen by 14
percent over the last decade, according to
Arbitron ratings. Over the last three years, the
stocks of the five largest publicly traded radio
companies are down between 30 percent and 60
percent as investors wonder when the industry
will bottom out. Now, radio?s woes have spurred a
new wave of deal making. Clear Channel
Communications, the nation?s largest radio
operator, is now considering selling some of its
1,200 stations in smaller markets after years of
acquiring everything in sight, according to
industry analysts. The CBS Corporation did the
same thing recently and now says it is looking at
further station sales. The Walt Disney Company
struck a deal this summer to get out of the radio
business altogether, and in May, Susquehanna
Broadcasting, the nation?s largest privately held
radio group, was sold to another broadcaster. But
rewriting the ownership map is just part of
radio?s scramble to find a new groove. In the
last year, the industry has moved into overdrive
by increasing experimentation with new formats
and starting digital initiatives like HD Radio --
a nascent format that will allow listeners with
special tuners to hear more specialized channels.
Radio companies are moving fast into Web
businesses that incorporate video and other
features that could not have been imagined when
commercial radio first appeared nearly nine decades ago.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/15/business/media/15radio.html
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