Eric Rhoads and Deborah Parenti staged their fifth annual Radio Ink Hispanic Radio Conference last week in Coral Gables.  I attended to catch up on the growth story of Hispanic media in general, and radio in particular.  It was my return visit, having last participated five years ago.  They put on a great event at a wonderful venue (The Biltmore).

Geraldo Rivera (Cumulus Media Networks and the Fox News Channel) keynoted with an impassioned presentation on immigration reform.  There were a number of excellent panels.  Larry Rosin of Edison Research showed that Hispanic targeted media is benefiting from positive demographic trends.  It appears to me that Hispanic radio will continue to be a growth business well into the future.

The show was well attended and provided an opportunity to say hello to a number of friends.  You may want to consider putting it onto your calendar for next year.

George
Media Services Group

Radio Ink's editor Ed Ryan with Geraldo

And yet more from the NAB: Larry Rosin's speech which got a lot of buzz

"We are fast becoming an industry of old men and an industry with a glaring HR crisis."

". . . this is at least the twelfth straight NAB Radio show with mostly the same increasingly older men saying that radio needs to develop a digital strategy."

"We will start aggressively recruiting the best podcasters, the best talents from YouTube or whatever other new media stars we can find and say: "Take six months, hone your craft further on our HD stations - don't worry no one is listening any way -- and invent the future of our medium."

http://www.infinitedial.com/2009/09/radios_stimulus_package.php

More from the NAB Radio Show Panel: Tom Webster

Tom Webster (Edison Research) adds his thought-provoking comments from the NAB Radio Show:

http://www.infinitedial.com/2009/09/radios_looming_crisis_is_not_d.php

Edison Research and Arbitron release "The Infinite Dial 2009"

This is a must read for all broadcasters (at least those who plan to be in the business in the future). Edison Research and Arbitron this afternoon released their study entitled "The Infinite Dial 2009: Radio's Digital Platforms. It is the 17th in their series of investigations of the Internet and new media's impact on radio.

Click at the bottom of this post for the whole study, but here are some quick takeaways:

AM/FM radio has broad impact in the new digital world

• 92% of Americans 12+ use AM/FM radio each week
• One in five say AM/FM radio has a big impact on their lives
• Radio's "Total Impact" is second only to cell phones among audio devices/media
• Eight in 10 Americans say they will continue to listen to AM/FM radio as much as they do now despite increasing advancements in technology
• Online radio users spend more time with radio overall, not less

Recent Growth in Online Radio Usage is Promising

• An estimated 42 million tune to online radio on a weekly basis, which is more than twice the number from 2005
• The key radio demographic of 35 to 54 year olds are becoming more frequent online listeners

Radio's Digital Platforms Provide Advertisers with New Touch Points to Reach Desirable Targets

• Radio's digital platform users are a highly attractive segment
• Online radio users are well-educated, upper income, full-time employed and digitally savvy consumers
• Broadcasters are providing an increasingly wide variety of digital options for advertisers and new methods to connect ROI with media spend

Americans are Exercising More Control Over Their Use of Media

• Americans are increasingly enhancing their use of traditional media with new ways to control how, when and where they consume information and entertainment

Consumers Expect to Find Their Content Online

• Broadband access is the norm
• Media not meeting consumer expectations will suffer
• Pulling digital audio streams will accelerate adoption of alternative choices

Consumers Want Expanded Media Options in Their Cars

• One-third of Americans say they are interested in online radio in their cars
• Satellite radio continues to add subscribers
• iPod and podcast usage continues to grow with more car radios with auxiliary jacks

Audio Content Providers Should Not Ignore the Explosion of Online Video

• Radio station web sites must embrace online video
• Use of online video exceeds online radio
• Two-thirds of monthly online radio users also watched online video in the past month

Media Should Accelerate Efforts to Get Their Content on Mobile Phones

• Mobile phones are the next frontier
• Content providers should find ways onto mobile phones

Little Evidence to Date of Significant Interest or Uptake for HD Radio

• Awareness has not changed substantially
• Value proposition not clear to consumers

Social Networking is Now Mainstream

• One in three Americans (12+) and 2/3 of teens and 18-24s now have a profile on a social networking site
• Social networking is a vital communication channel for consumers; content providers should find ways to tap the power of this new digital platform

Take the time to read the entire presentation.

George

Media Services Group

http://www.mediaservicesgroup.com/

http://www.edisonresearch.com/home/archives/2009/04/the_infinite_dial_2009_presentation.php

Weekly online radio usage jumps to 42 million Americans

According to Arbitron and Edison Media Research:

"Seventeen percent (17% ) of Americans aged 12 or over listened to online radio in the past week, which equals an estimated 42 million people according to the latest in a series of studies conducted by Arbitron and Edison Media Research. The size of the weekly online radio audience has more than doubled since 2005, when the weekly online radio audience was estimated to be 20 million people.More details about consumer use of media and technology and radio's digital platforms will be presented during a free one-hour webinar, The Infinite Dial 2009, on April 16 at 2PM ET. Arbitron and Edison Media Research have been conducting these studies, which provide an unparalleled view on trends in usage of digital media, since 1998."

To register for the webinar:

https://arbitronevents.webex.com/mw0305l/mywebex/default.do?nomenu=true&siteurl=arbitronevents&service=6&main_url=https%3A%2F%2Farbitronevents.webex.com%2Fec0600l%2Feventcenter%2Fevent%2FeventAction.do%3FtheAction%3Ddetail%26confViewID%3D566240062%26siteurl%3Darbitronevents%26%26%26