Programming Online Radio is More Difficult Than Its Sound
by Ken Dardis
Audio Graphics
440-564-7437
How difficult is it to program an online radio station? Depends on who’s asked.Broadcast radio station programmers, for the most part, think a stream of their over-the-air content will satisfy the masses. We also have pure-play internet stations split into two camps: 1) former radio industry professionals who fashion online audio content to resemble the terrestrial radio industry, and 2) the online-only radio programming pros who consider streamed content as a portion of what the crowds look for and thereby supplement it with forums, social media and music/celebrity information delivered on their web site.
Which of the above does your internet radio station reflect? How much of your programming is created based on data that shows what your audience responds to? What is based on your own definition of “good radio”?
Do you use data to make adjustments, or is data merely a measuring stick used to tell how your concepts are working?
What got me thinking in this direction is spending the past few days going over reams of data from Audio Graphics’ RadioRow – a radio station portal that sits high on all major search engines. There are enough visitors in each of RadioRow’s 25 format categories to draw conclusions about online radio listening. Here’s one striking stat: Since May 2009, there’s been a 37.1% increase in the number of international visitors using RadioRow to find their radio online.
I admit a station in Kansas may not see a similar increase in international visitors, but its portion of audience from outside the DMA and state is sure to be more this year than last. Which brings back the question of whether your station is programmed to satisfy a growing number of audience members who are not connected to the local community. Perhaps another way to phrase it is this: Do you even consider programming for outside your local, online?
To date, most of the internet radio stations I’ve visited are content with presenting songs and little else. Audio commercials, if any, reflect a predominantly national leaning, the opposite of that found within the broadcast-side of the radio industry. Banner ads are heavy on national, thanks to ad networks, and seldom highlight happenings of local nature outside of a station’s physical location; i.e., an internet radio station does not advertise a business in Los Angeles if its operation is based in Chicago, even if a substantial portion of its audience is in L.A.
As for content, the portion of broadcast that attracts audience, I’ve yet to hear an online station based in Detroit speak about an event like, say, Burning Man held annually in Black Rock, Nevada. There are car, sports, concert, and cultural events held across the world that are of interest to an internet radio station’s audience. Do any of them appear as part of your online radio station’s program content?
Realizing that trying to cater to only your immediate DMA will result in low visitor counts and lower Time Spent on site/stream is a huge step, but it can only be taken after looking at your online radio station’s data. Do you use data to help determine what programs and events your online radio station should mention?
Internet radio attracts people from across the world. Satisfying their appetites with interesting content means spending time determining where your audience is coming from, what it desires in non-radio features, and how to best present this information in the audio stream and on the station web site. Yes, gathering information on what can be used to set your programs apart from those of thousands of others takes effort and time. Do you devote either to improve programming?
If your station is part of a major group, the above is thought out for you. But if your radio station is playing to the world, unencumbered by corporate dictates (as many stations claim in notation on their home page), then creating relevant and interesting programming means doing more than stringing your favorite collection of rock songs together or subscribing to a generic celebrity news feed.
Programming “good radio” is every bit as difficult today as it was twenty years ago. The difference is that the radio industry, online, needs to break from geographically-confined thinking and start offering items of interest to listeners across the nation – or globe.
If not, your destiny is to remain within that group of 10,000+ internet radio stations offering little more than music.
And, music, it must be understood by now, is available at many online destinations other than just internet radio stations.
