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

3.1 Overview
3 
ONLINE
DIGITAL
RADIO
While
the
implementation
of
terrestrial
digital
radio
in
Ireland
is
at
an
embryonic
stage,
Irish
radio
has
a
 well
 developed
 presence
 on
 the
 internet
 and
 most
 Irish
 radio
 stations
 have
 an
 online
 life
 which
ranges
from
live
streaming,
listen
again
facilities
to
downloads
and
podcasts.

As
part
of
our
research
we
conducted
two
studies:
one
comprising
an
audit
of
the
presence
of
Irish
radio
stations
online,
and
the
other
a
comparative
study
across
European
public
radio,
including
the
Irish
national
broadcaster,
RTÉ.

Our
aim
was
to
map
how
broadcasting
radio
is
using
online
to
market
its
services,
connect
with
its
audience
and
finally
to
create
a
new
delivery
platform
for
radio.
In
Ireland
32.3%
of
the
population
have
internet
access,
27%
have
access
to
high
speed
broadband
30 and
recent
research
shows
61%
of
Irish
people
spend
5
–
11
hours
time
online
every
day.
 31
Figure
3.1
Number
of
Hours
spent
online
per
week
Source:
ComReg;
Consumer
ICT
Survey;
February
2009
Our
online
audit
of
Irish
radio
is
based
on
an
analysis
of
91
Irish
radio
stations
(10
public,
2
commercial
national,
 31
 commercial
 regional
 and
 local,
 25
 community,
 institutional
 and
 special
 interest
 and
 22
temporary
services). 32
30 
ComReg.
Irish
Communications
Market:
Key
Data
Report
–
Q4
2008,
ComReg,
Ireland,
March
2009.
31 
ComReg.
Consumer
ICT
Survey
Q4
2008,
ComReg,
Ireland,
February
2009.
54