Orbitcast: Competition In The Audio Market

A look at the Audio Entertainment market

via www.orbitcast.com, April 17th

Orbitcast posted this comprehensive summary of competition in the audio market:

Terrestrial Radio:
AM/FM radio is offered free of charge to all consumers and comes as a standard feature in virtually every vehicle, home stereo, and clock radio sold to U.S. consumers.
Nearly 14,000 radio stations exist nationwide.
Approximately 230 million Americans choose to listen to terrestrial radio each week.
HD Radio:
Over 1,200 HD Radio stations broadcasting across the nation.
Recent FCC decision allows radio broadcasters to provide HD Radio subscription services on an experimental basis. This allows HD Radio to compete not only for listening time, but also for subscription dollars.
HD Digital Radio Alliance—a consortium of broadcasters including Clear Channel Communications, CBS, and ABC Radio—the terrestrial radio industry has committed hundreds of millions of dollars to promoting this technology.
Internet Radio:
2006 Arbitron study found that weekly listenership is up 50% in one year, and now approaches 1-in-5 Americans among key demographic segments.
Internet radio broadcasts have no geographic limitations and can provide listeners with radio programming from around the country and the world.
Mobility coming soon. For example: Slacker will allow users to listen on a portable devices, including in their cars.
Various Internet radio offerings are already available on mobile phones, and Internet radio is expected to become widely available on portable devices, including car radios, by 2008...read more: here