Satellite, Internet radio provide variety of
flavor.
Right now Internet and satellite radio are only
little bubbles in the great ocean of AM/FM radio.
But they're bubbling, bubbling, bubbling away.
In time, radio analysts say those bubbles could
become a wave whose ripples will be felt all across the spectrum
of radio listeners.
The reason is variety.
Through consolidation, the majority of radio
stations are in only a few hands, and the music and programming
tend to be homogenized - no different in Virginia than Texas.
Satellite and Internet radio stations provide
different flavors for different tastes.
Time magazine reports that satellite radio has
about 2 million subscribers and about 19 million people listen
to online radio at least once a week.
That compares with the 228 million Americans who
listen to weekly radio broadcasts overall.
Still, the market is growing for alternative
radio on Internet and satellite broadcasts, which is offering
everything from bluegrass and the blues to comedy and kids'
programming.
(Let's go back to small-town radio, where the
announcer would read funeral lists and take your requests for
the next record. Maybe we didn't know how good we had it.)
