Boston.com will bring WFNX staffers back online

[Peter Murray]

Internet-only radio certainly works - there are stations that are doing
fine that are stream-only. The better question is how many were formerly
FM/AM broadcast outlets? I suspect the number of successful transitions is
low - but that may be due to a lack of good content (or content/brand
management) rather than just economics.

The big trouble with streaming is that there is no economy of scale. ISPs
don't have much incentive to provide support for multicast, so for every
listener, the stream provider originates another instance of that stream. I
have seen data (provided by a large public radio station outfit) that shows
that it costs them approximately 20 times more to deliver station
programming to a streaming listener than it does to reach an on-air
listener.

For an outfit like WFNX to distinguish itself to their international
audience (without a FM broadcast to anchor them), they need to offer
compelling content - in their case, it will be the alternative rock that
established their brand, plus the people (in the form of DJs) that gives
them personality. Their identity and association with Boston is important,
though their advertising certainly can be focused to the English-speaking
world, rather than just areas within their current FM coverage area.

Ultimately, it will continue as long as it is financially viable. How they
monetize that is up to them (advertising in the stream, dedicated listening
app for $0.99, whatever). They need to do everything they can to keep
whatever momentum they have now. Losing some key personalities (Julie
Kramer, Adam-12) doesn't help, but headliner people are expensive.

-Peter

On Mon, Jun 25, 2012 at 4:25 PM, Donna Halper <dlh@donnahalper.com> wrote:

> On 6/25/2012 1:56 PM, Sean Smyth wrote:
>
>> Steve O. wrote:
>>
>>
>>> Are they volunteering their services?  I highly doubt that a webstream is
>>> going to generate enough revenue to support a paid staff.  The Globe
>>> isn't
>>> exactly flush with cash to subsidize this venture either.
>>>
>>>
>> I still wonder if internet radio really works-- Sam Kopper tried to bring
> back WBCN as an online station, but it gets very little media buzz and I
> wonder how many people actually do listen to it.  Sam of course will say he
> has a lot of  listeners, and he is to be commended for trying.  But the
> issue of monetizing internet radio is still a question, as is how you can
> accurately  measure listenership, and how you can grow the audience-- while
> we on this list are generally in possession of good internet connections
> and a knowledge of what's out there to listen to, there are still many
> folks who either cannot listen (while they are at work or in the car), or
> they lack the sufficiently fast (or affordable) internet connections.  I
> assume the WFNX folks will get some compensation for their time, but once
> they go on-line, will Boston.com be able to effectively promote this
> venture, or will it turn out to be too costly and cumbersome to maintain?
>