Radio’s digital future
At the turn of the 21st century, the most important ongoing change was the inception of digital radio. In the 1990s countries in Europe had inaugurated digital audio broadcasting (DAB), which was distributed both by ground transmitters and by means of orbiting communication satellites. Late in 2002 the FCC authorized an American terrestrial digital radio service. But digital radio grew very slowly, because receivers were expensive and there was little original programming to attract listeners. Moreover, the U.S. government did not set a deadline (as it had for television) for stations to convert to digital transmission; all stations would retain their existing AM or FM channels even after going digital. The slow changeover led some critics to argue that radio broadcasters were missing an important chance to play a part in an increasingly digital media landscape.
In late 2001 and early 2002 two American digital satellite services, XM and Sirius, began operating from satellite systems, each providing 100 channels of specialized music and talk programming, some with no advertising. Would-be listeners had to pay a monthly subscription fee (paying for audio content that most had long considered to be “free”), and they also had to purchase special receivers and antennas for listening in cars (the primary market) or at home or the office. In 2009 U.S. government officials allowed the two services to merge, eliminating their overlapping channels. The satellite radio audience (chiefly in automobiles) continued to grow slowly, and it seemed likely that satellite radio would remain a niche service.
Both terrestrial and satellite radio faced competition from new ways to transmit audio programming—the Internet and mobile services. Most radio broadcasters had a presence online by the start of the 21st century, nearly all of them simply streaming their over-the-air signal. Streaming made it possible to reach new listeners, enabling stations to extend their appeal beyond local markets and into other countries. Indeed, stations that were once “local” could now be heard anywhere. Internet distribution also promoted further splintering of radio formats—and their audiences—into even more specialized minicategories. Some “broadcasters” appeared only on the Internet and thus avoided much of the trouble and expense of station operation, including the need to get a license.
Generally free for users, and sometimes lacking commercial interruptions, countless Web audio services began to tempt many onetime broadcast listeners to “tune in” with their computers. Moreover, Web-only services such as Pandora, which had its debut in 2000, allowed users to “program their own station” by selecting only the music they wanted to hear—and without a word of talk to interrupt. In addition, portable media players such as Apple Inc.’s iPod, introduced in 2001, created a growing market for carrying recorded music, and perhaps radio-type services, wherever the consumer went. Many people simply downloaded music (legally or otherwise) for use on their mobile devices, further threatening broadcasters. The many Internet music (and other) services thus constituted the most serious competitive threat facing radio broadcasting since the advent of television.
Christopher H. Sterling