Growing New Media Options

Over the last 5-6 years we’ve seen so many new media options for entertainment. On the web there’s streaming, podcasts, blogs, audio downloads, and interactive online communities like MySpace. HD radio offers many a new wealth of channels to dial up already active in many markets and an important growth area for radio in the new media landscape. Satellite Radio has expanded audio media and soon we’ll also have cell phone streaming as a marketable product. Of course there will be more new ideas and options out there as well. All the new technology is clearly changing the face of audio entertainment and we are all right in the middle of it – or is it passing us by?

On one hand all these new media opportunities have to scare any programmer or radio operator. Often when we ‘explore’ some of these opportunities with the stations we work with at McVay Media you can see the confusion and concern. For the last 3 decades in radio we’ve lived and died in most markets with the results of the ratings. As signals moved in to the market or shifted to more attractive demos we fought hard to hang on to every quarter hour we could. Too often we view all the new media opportunities as competition and an assault on those precious ¼ hours recorded in a diary that we’ve fought to hard to obtain. We have become so defensive and protective of losing any audience that we have closed our eyes and opportunities to just about anything that doesn’t come out of our transmitter.

The other hand in this issue is that the growth and opportunities within the new media offerings are too valuable. The reality here is that the audience WANTS choices and they want to make them. Now the technology is accessible enough to make it happen. Becoming part of these new entertainment opportunities insures that your product and brand will live on in new forms. Just as recorded music has evolved in media from the wax cylinder to 78s, 45s, LPs, 8 Tracks, cassettes, CD and now MP3/I Tunes or media also has to evolve and spread it self over as many platforms as possible.

As CBS News launches a new look and style with Katie look at some of the new ‘viewing’ options. You can listen to her on the radio before the broadcast, log on to the blog and get behind the scenes thoughts, watch the broadcast streamed live on your computer anywhere in the world, and also watch replays streamed anytime. Many radio programmers and operators would shy away from some of these extensions. Think of the lost AQH and Cume that won’t be recorded on the Nielson Box from the people who streamed or caught the replay?

Yes there may be some loss, but not even close to the loss from passing up on the opportunity to build the brand and latch on to more viewers and fans. Giving them options to become P1s (or fans) is a much greater goal.

Look at ESPN who keeps launching options that probably costs them viewers to ESPN. There’s ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Classic, ESPNEWS, ESPN Deportes, ESPNU, ESPN Today, ESPN HD and ESPN2 HD, ESPN Regional Television, ESPN , ESPN Radio, ESPN.com, ESPN The Magazine, SportsTicker, ESPN Enterprises, ESPN Zones (sports-themed restaurants), and other growing new businesses including ESPN360 (Broadband), ESPN Mobile (wireless), ESPN On Demand, ESPN Interactive and ESPN PPV.. They are also developing a full membership program that will bring streams of all kinds of shows, podcasts, and plenty of downloads. In fact they just built a whole new wing to their studios mostly to organize and store all the highlights. And need we mention that they are THE profit center of Disney.

The real opportunity and lesson here is BUILD THE BRAND and don’t worry how the audience uses or receives it. As long as they use your brand you will win. I know we make our dollars from selling advertising and the more listeners the more money in theory. But, today’s advertiser is also looking for ‘new avenues’ to reach the audience, the old 30 sec. and we have to compete here. The good news is you already have a brand you don’t have to start from scratch. The key to getting more listeners and keeping the fans you have is to get in front of them in as many places as possible. Remember it’s not about your transmitter or frequency – it’s about your brand (the on-air product you create everyday). Make your mantra as you plan for 07 to EXPAND THE BRAND – instead of just protecting what you have left.