Radio stations are dropping their streaming, over the royalty issue.
Fred Stiening at StreamingRadioGuide.com tells T-R-I that “it’s a clear pattern now. The ‘peak’ of full-power [AM/FM] broadcast stations streaming was around 7,400. The number now is down now to about 7,100.” Fred’s organization tests each stream, and they’ve still got about 2,500 left to go of the original 7,400.
Stiening says “none of the ‘Big Radio Guys’ have dropped streaming. It’s the independent owners who are saying ‘No, thank you.’” Stiening speculates that the determining factor for many stations is who’s doing the online ad sales. He thinks the stations that have pulled their streams tend to be those who don’t have an easy way to monetize their listening.
Fred’s handy site breaks out statistics for stations that stream and/or have websites, by format and by AM/FM status. Find it at StreamingRadioGuide.com.
Interesting sidebar: check the three largest formats still streaming. Click on the image to see it entirely.Discuss on the STLMedia Message Board. (Registration required)
