The move has been seen as a response to the increase in competition that terrestrial radio now faces from other media such as satellite radio. Until recently, Yahoo! and Time Warner’s AOL provided the most popular internet radio sites, but it has been reported that terrestrial radio now want a piece of the action, as demonstrated by Radio One who bought a majority stake in Reach Media to gain access to Reach Media’s web site.
Infinity attempted to exploit the advantages of the internet in 2003 through a deal with America Online to broadcast five name-brand music stations online in Chicago, New York and Los Angeles. In February, the company launched WHFS-FM online, and the previous success of WCBS-AM all-news outlet online, which began in December last year, prompted this latest announcement, according to Joel Hollander, CEO of Infinity.
Hollander added: This format is a huge category for us. At some point, it will also be another source of revenue for us. He expects the advertising to be a combination of audio and visual.
In addition, the Wall Street Journal has reported that the company will attempt to sell a separate commercial inventory to air over the internet, in place of the spots heard by terrestrial listeners.
And as more and more listening is being done away from home and the car, we must extend our stations beyond their dial positions to meet the needs of the consumer, said Hollander. We believe streaming our stations online will not only exceed their expectations, but will also create an outlet with which we can target a larger audience and increase time spent listening.
