Exploding radio
: Viacom plans to sell some of its radio stations and Billboard says it’s because of the loss of Stern. Watch broadcast shrink and shrink. [via IWantMedia]
3 responses to “Exploding radio”
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Viacom is selling stations? That would suggest someone will be buying them, would it not? So the number of broadcast stations will not be shrinking. Will the broadcast audience shrink? As Bill Clinton would say, it depends on your definition of “broadcast.” Stern will be on Sirius, which can be received coast to coast — that’s pretty broad. And the stations Viacom sells will broadcast to other audiences. More diversity, less media consolidation.
Yes, it means that Stern fans may have to pay a nominal sum to get their fix of Bush hatred and “Lesbian Dial-a-date,” instead of suffering through ever lengthening commercial breaks. But if you want to get porn on your television, you have to pay for that, too — and that’s hardly the end of free expression as we know it. -
Looks like a reversal to the consolidation of the radio markets is going to occur.
Karl- like I said repeatedly… playboy, hustler and vivid video are not censored because of limits on who can buy or view or even peruse this material at the newstand or the video store. There has to be a way to accomodate these demands of television and radio. For TV it’s simple- you pay premiums for access to such satelite/cable stations or PPV or buy dvds/videos yourself. None of this is broadcast on TV which is essentially unrestricted access. Porn magazines can be found at newsstands (usually) who place them in specific area where children can’t get to them or behind the counter where the proprietor has reduced access to the same. None of that (most of which is due to local restrictions) limits Newsweek’s, Hustler’s or “Gigantic Rear Ends”‘ free speech rights.
There has to be a way to balance these things out for TV and Radio. I think the TV solution has worked out (with room for improvement) with the Vchip and the advent of Sat TV/Cable TV and premium tiers/stations. Radio doesn’t yet have that luxury, though Sat Radio is a big step that way. -
h0mi:
We’re basically in agreement. I would add that you can get “digital radio” over cable, satellite and the internet at home, now. So we’re really looking at options for the car. Satellite radio is one; podcasting is the genesis of another.
I posted because it seems as though some people reflexively view any news connected to Stern’s move to Sirius as a portent of the decline of Western civilization. They do so even while decrying the media consolidation that made Stern available nationally.
Personally, I think Stern’s move is largely a “win-win” situation. Stern gets another huge contract and loads of free promotion. Sirius gets a program that will spur sales and competition in the sat.radio market. Stern’s fans will get an even wilder show; his detractors will find it easier to restrict kids from hearing it.
The people who lose out are those who believe that the government can exercise eminent domain over the old broadcast spectrum, but having done so, cannot regulate its content. Put more bluntly, the losers are those who demand that graphic interviews with porn starlets be made available for free to anyone who can get near a radio, including children.
