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October 29, 2012

Comments

Mary Beth Garber

Unfortunately Harker is completely missing the point about digital radio — and the role it will play in the future for listeners who want to access their favorite stations on whatever device they're using. They're also missing the point that iHeartRadio is a completely different product from Pandora — providing access to listeners' favorite local broadcast radio stations from around the country, which Pandora does not and cannot do. Harker doesn't seem to be a fan of the concept of digital radio — which to me is a head-in-the-sand approach that, if followed, would surely limit any potential future for the radio industry. There's certainly no 'research' that went into this Harker Research blog post.

Jeff S

I'm sorry but I've heard broadcaster for years make this statement: “Broadcast radio’s greatest strength is a station's strong link to its community.”
BS - what have we (yes I'm in local radio) done for the community. I think we have long given up being "local" even when we are. Someone please tell me.

eman

Will iHeart radio kill broadcast radio?
An attention-grabbing question……

All I can say is, the folks who program iHeart need to be more conscientious to iHeart presentation elements.
(I know, cut backs, “More duties for me and now you want me to find time to do what for iHeart”)

I have personally, listened to iHeart, on line, for months and been empress by numerous new innovations. (Skip feature-make your own station (music selection) etc.

But-- (here it comes)--sloppy presentation, songs cut off, before there completed, clipping of stop sets and more.
The playing of, “A song you should know”, on iHeart radio stations, that would never play, that category of song on their terrestrial radio station. (Someone say, “Pay for Play”)

Except for a few, the majority of the iHeart radio stations sound as if no one is listening to them in the programming department. Or if they are, it is out of their control to fix the problems.

Will iHeart kill radio…?
No, not today.

Make iHeart a mirror to your terrestrial station, as an option to listening-very saleable and a valuable resource and tool, to extend listening.

If you tune it up, iHeart radio, is what radio needs right now, to keep people interested in terrestrial radio.
Were waiting, now go to work!

Ken Dardis

Not sure exactly what you are trying to say with "Yes, Pandora is the darling of new-media pundits, those people who can’t understand why anyone still listens to local radio."

Only the uniformed say no one listens to local radio. The pundits I read are pointing to opportunities attached to companies and services like Pandora - the accountability available to advertisers and programmers (data to help them improve).

You appear to vacillate between "local rules" and radio doesn't deliver local with "Too often one hears the same national playlists, and the same national personalities talking about the same national contests with the same national promos."

Having read your columns for years there's always one point of light that shines with each: You appear to not have a grasp on technology and how it is embraced by consumers.

Hold onto your buggy whip. You just may be able to beat the public into not leaving radio for device listening. Said another way, continue to sell impression when advertisers are buying accountability makes for dwindling revenue.

Just one request from this pundit: Please stop comparing Pandora with the whole radio industry. Start including some of the dozens of other audio providers, or online advertising networks. They offer what terrestrial radio has been urged to learn for over a decade.

You may have noticed that online advertising had a $17 billion dollar first half of 2012 (http://bit.ly/PpV1GJ). There's a reason for this, and it's the "why" Clear Channel is pushing iHeartRadio.

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