Terrestrial radio doesn't have to be good to survive. It doesn't have to play all of your favorite music, present talk personalities that you like, offer enough news, traffic, weather or sports coverage to your liking - it just has to be free. There is a large percentage of people that wouldn't pay a dime for their entertainment. How else can you explain the latest Bridge Ratings Average Quarter Hour Pyramid "Device Usage Study" that shows percentages from top to bottom as Mobile (0%), Internet (6%) and Terrestrial (94%). What? The synopsis offered by Bridge is that "It is clear that traditional radio has begun the process of building a new paradigm of time-spent-listening conceived of more than just its broadcasting towers." A well-educated synopsis from a highly-regarded ratings company but I have a different take, as already noted...
Of the 19 hours of total listening to terrestrial radio programming in the Bridge study, 18 hours comes from AM/FM listening and 6% or about one hour comes from simulcast listening via the Internet. There is insufficient data, according to the study, to indicate how much, if any, listening is derived from mobile devices at this time. Projected Bridge Average Quarter Hour Pyramid figures for 2012 are: Mobile (2%), Internet (8%) and Terrestrial (90%). It's interesting to note that for some reason satellite radio is not included in the Bridge study...
Here's my uneducated projection for terrestrial radio usage - add the word local to free and they'll never leave...
10 Timeline Memories:
1.1901] Start to finish: Pitching for the Boston Americans, Cy Young beats the A’s 8-6 in Philadelphia. Since the Americans will become the the Red Sox, this is the first Sox game in history (4/30)…
2.1931] Happy 79th Birthday Empire: It was May 1, 1931 when President Herbert Hoover pressed a button in Washington officially opening the tallest building in New York City and the U.S., The Empire State Building (5/1)...
3.1952] Debuting on this date: Mama Potato Head gives birth to the son who will become Mr. Potato Head (5/1)…1957] Larry King broadcasts his first radio show (5/1)…
4.1961] Foursome: Using utility player Joey Amalfitano’s bat, Willie Mays of the San Francisco Giants becomes the 9th player in history to hit 4 home runs in a game as the Giants pound Milwaukee 14-4 at Milwaukee County Stadium (4/30)…
5.1967] Wedding Bells: Elvis Presley and Priscilla Beaulieu rock down the aisle (5/1). They will divorce in 1973…
6.1991] Seven zeros: 44-year old Texas pitcher Nolan Ryan pitches his 7th no-hitter vs. Toronto (5/1). No other pitcher in baseball history is even close to reaching that mark. No one ever will be either…
7.1993] Stabbed in the back: Top-ranked women’s tennis player Monica Seles is stabbed in the back during a match in Hamburg, Germany by a 38-year old Steffi Graf fan. Seles will never be the same player after the stabbing (4/30)...
8.1997] I’m coming out: ABC-TV airs the “coming out” episode of “Ellen” in which the title character played by Ellen DeGeneres admits to being a lesbian. Five days earlier she comes out herself (4/30)...
9.2001] Washington mystery: Washington intern Chandra Levy is seen for the last time at a health club near her apartment. Her remains are found more than a year later in a D.C. park. California Congressman Gary Condit was questioned in the case due to his relationship with Levy. He is not charged in her murder (4/30)…
10.2009] And down the stretch they come: Mine That Bird wins the 135th running of the Kentucky Derby (5/2)...
Music Memories:
- 1957] Recorded on this date: "Jailhouse Rock" - Elvis Presley (4/30)...
- 1960] Long live the King: Ben E. King leaves the Drifters for a solo career after signing a deal with ATCO Records (5/2). "Spanish Harlem" was the former lead singer's 1st solo hit in 1961...
- 1965] Released on this date: "Back In My Arms Again" - Supremes (5/1)...1971] "Brown Sugar" - Rolling Stones (5/1)...
- 1966] Number One on this date: "Ba-da, Ba-da, Da-da" The Mamas and Papas with "Monday, Monday" (5/2)...1976] "Welcome Back" - John Sebastian (5/2) (take a look at the opening of "Welcome Back Kotter". The school shown is New Utrecht High School in Brooklyn, my alma mater)...
"Happy Birthday...happy birthday": (4/30) Kirsten Dunst (28), Jill Clayburgh (66), Bobby Vee (67), Johnny Farina (Santo & Johnny) (69), Burt Young (70), Willie Nelson (77) and Cloris Leachman (84)...(5/1) Wes Welker (29), Curtis Martin (37),Tim McGraw (43), Triple Crown winning jockey Steve Cauthen (50), Ray Parker Jr. (56), Rita Coolidge (65), Judy Collins (71), Sonny James (81) and former astronaut Scott Carpenter (85)...(5/2) English singer Lily Allen (25), Olympic figure skater from Great Neck, Sarah Hughes (25), David Beckham (35), The Rock a.k.a. Dwayne Johnson (38), Donatella Versace (55), Christine Baranski (58), Foreigner lead singer Lou Gramm (60), Lesley Gore (64), Engelbert Humperdinck (74), Maury Allen (78) and Theodore Bikel (86)...
Timeline Countdown: 1 day until the Kentucky Derby, 9 days until Mother's Day and 31 days until Memorial Day...
