The future of terrestrial radio

This isn’t quite where we’ll end up, but it is a sign of where we are going. A newly released (to the US market) IP radio  from Sanyo comes in at a price point that signals the race to zero has begun.

As Sanyo’s vice president, Tom Van Voy states, the device needs no tethering to a computer. It seems that it has an own database for Internet stations. Oh, and it looks quite ugly. You have to wait until January to get one for $169.99. (Crunchgear)

How does this simple internet audio player fit into the Third Pipe world? The answer lies in the seed change we are witnessing for all media. We can debate how the bits will wirelessly travel to the new IP receiver be it Wifi, Wimax, 3G or a combination, but the fact is wireless IP is the future of terrestrial radio. What about satellite? When we have national wireless IP coverage, not even the truckers will care. What about HD or digital broadcast radio? Too little, too late. It will likely survive as a replacement for it’s analog ancestor for a time, but why invest in transmitters that cover a limited area when you can push your signal world wide for less? This is bad news for broadcasters that rely mostly on syndicated programming.

With a new group of zealots taking charge of the US Congress in January, the move to IP could accelerate if they are short signted enough to reinstate the so called “fairness doctorine”. Soing so would push many nationally syndicated programs to IP only creating a big shift from broadcast to IP for most talk radio listeners.