By SETH SUTEL AP Business Writer
Infinity Broadcasting Corp., a terrestrial radio company whose
business model is being challenged by the iPod phenomenon, is
borrowing a page from its rival's playbook.
Next month, Infinity will convert an underperforming station in San
Francisco to a format that will play only "podcasts," or amateur
recordings distributed via the Internet to listeners' iPods and other
digital music players.
Infinity, which is part of the Viacom Inc. media conglomerate that
also owns CBS and MTV, announced Wednesday that it would convert its
KYCY-AM station in San Francisco to the new format on May 16.
Infinity said it would be the first time a radio station anywhere
played an all-podcast format. Robert Unmacht, a radio consultant in
Nashville who tracks radio formats, confirmed that it would be the
first such station in the United States.
- http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=48698920
Infinity Broadcasting Launches KYOURADIO, the World's First
Podcasting Radio Station, on Monday, May 16
- Apr 27, 2005 10:00 AM (PR Newswire)
New Radio Platform To Be Featured on San Francisco's KYCY-AM And
KYOURADIO.COM
NEW YORK, April 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Joel Hollander, Chairman and Chief
Executive Officer, Infinity Broadcasting, announced today the creation
of KYOURADIO, the world's first-ever podcasting radio station.
KYOURADIO's content will be created exclusively by its listeners and
available in San Francisco at 1550 KYCY-AM and streamed online at
http://www.kyouradio.com beginning on Monday, May 16.
- http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=48672968
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Something I guess I do not understand.
What is the difference -- if any -- between 'podcasting' and the
video/audio streaming from broadcasting stations which we have had
for many years? Is it 'podcasting' (as opposed to 'streaming a/v')
because there is no 'over the air' outlet as well (some of them are
internet only) or is it because they sell little terminal devices
which are limited in what internet they can recieve (streams only
instead of general purpose internet). What, generally, is the
technical distinction between 'streaming' and 'podcasting' if any?
Someone wanted to sell me a computer; the best I can describe it
is that it was very specialized, it was intended to be only a
constant stream of whatver 'radio' you wanted to send out over the
net. Mostly turn-key in operation, it was supposed to take about
two hours daily to program a 24 hour program format. He said it was
being sold for $7500 per unit with financing available and that I
should be 'easily able' to sell advertisements on it to make my
money back many times over. Look at http://www.ellsworthcountyradio.com
to see an example of it at work. Or look at http://www.nextgen101.com
for more details. I didn't (and still don't) know what to do about it,
but I do not think Infinity is going to be first. PAT]
Monty Solomon (monty@roscom.com)