Digital Radio for Ireland: Competing Options, Public Expectations - BCI

there
are
now
numerous
alternative
ways
of
providing
radio
services
to
listeners
in
digital
form.

Live
audio
 streaming
 via
 the
 world
 wide
 web
 and
 podcasting
 have
 become
 highly
 successful
 alternative
means
 of
 distributing
 radio
 on
 the
 internet.
 Internet‐only
 radio
 stations
 and
 the
 development
 of
 a
variety
of
personalised
internet
radio
services
such
as
Spotify
or
Last.fm
have
also
provided
significant
challenges
 to
 traditional
 broadcasting.
 Rapid
 advances
 in
 mobile
 communications
 and
 the
development
 of
 multimedia
 services
 for
 mobile
 devices
 likewise
 compete
 with
 radio
 as
 outlets
 for
digital
audio
services
making
the
market
for
digital
radio
a
highly
complex
one.
There
 is,
 as
 a
 result,
 strong
 commercial
 pressure
 on
 the
 radio
 industry
 to
 fully
 engage
 with
 digital
convergence
in
the
media
marketplace.
Radio,
as
noted
in
the
2006
European
Commission
study
of
the
digital
content
industry, 18 
is
often
overlooked
when
thinking
about
convergence
and
interactive
media. 19 
Online
music
distribution,
by
contrast,
has
developed
into
a
major
new
industry
expected
to
be
worth
€1.1bn
by
2010
and
three
times
that
in
the
United
States.

The
same
study
estimated
that
there
are
currently
15
million
listeners
to
online
radio
in
Europe,
expected
to
reach
32
million
listeners
or
7
per
cent
of
Europeans
by
2010,
and
a
further
11
million
listeners
for
podcasting
also
by
2010.
Against
this,
the
total
revenue
anticipated
by
2010
for
all
digital
radio
will
be
just
5
per
cent
of
the
overall
advertising
revenues
for
the
radio
sector
and
as
a
result
there
is
major
pressure
on
the
industry
to
find
ways
to
ensure
it
builds
a
higher
profile
in
the
digital
content
market.
Mapping
the
future
of
radio
In
 a
 study
 published
 in
 the
 Journal
 of
 Radio
 and
 Audio
 Media
 in
 2008, 20 
 the
 DRACE
 research
 group
outlined
 a
 number
 of
 different
 scenarios
 for
 the
 future
 of
 radio
 post‐2015.
 Drawing
 on
 extensive
interviews
with
leading
radio
professionals
and
strategists
across
Europe,
the
DRACE
analysis
proposes
four
 scenarios
 based
 on
 two
 parameters:
 the
 nature
 of
 distribution
 and
 the
 way
 radio
 services
 are
consumed.
 The
 majority
 of
 radio
 experts
 in
 the
 study
 expected
 that
 future
 consumption
 would
 be
based
on
free
broadcast
delivery
but
over
a
plurality
of
different
platforms
while
consumption
would
remain
in
real
time
–
the
‘Towers
of
Babel’
scenario.
The
next
most
likely
scenario,
according
to
the
research,
is
"digital
diversity"
where
a
proliferation
of
distribution
networks
exist
as
in
the
previous
scenario
but
a
significant
proportion
of
consumption
has
shifted
to
on
demand
or
subscription.
This
consumption
 pattern
 would
 also
 be
 pronounced
 in
 the
 next
 scenario,
 "multimedia
 market",
 but
distribution
would
be
based
on
a
single
technology
or
set
of
complementary
standards.
Finally,
only
a
minority
 of
 professionals
 consulted
 believed
 that
 radio
 would
 continue
 as
 it
 is
 today:
 a
 dominant
technology
standard
offering
linear
services
(the
DAB
DReaM’).
18 
Screen
Digest
Ltd,
CMS
Hasche
Sigle,
et
al.
(2006)
Interactive
content
and
convergence:
Implications
for
the
information
society.

European
Commission,
Information
Society
and
Media.
19
Screen
Digest
Ltd,
CMS
Hasche
Sigle,
et
al.
(2006)
Interactive
content
and
convergence:
Implications
for
the
information
society.

European
Commission,
Information
Society
and
Media.
20
Ala‐Fossi,
M.,
S.
Lax,
et
al.
(2008),
'The
Future
of
Radio
is
Still
Digital
‐
But
Which
One?
Expert
Perspectives
and
Future
Scenarios
for
Radio
Media
in
2015',
Journal
of
Radio
&
Audio
Media,
15(1):
4‐25.
14