Category Archives: Podcasting

Is Radio Really Dead

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Yesterday was a interesting 24 hours in the media cycle. In the morning, I get an email announcing radio was dead. Although I don’t listen to any commercial radio anymore, I was surprised to hear it was dead. But then again, this story seems to come around every year or so. And still I’m pretty sure that there are still radio stations out there.
Link: RIP radio? – Technology – smh.com.au.

But just hours later I got an email from AdNews saying radio adverting revenue was up on the previous year. A dead service making more money than before? Fascinating. Are radio stations making all their money from podcasting? I think not.

7, 9 & 10 v 80,000

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Eddy may control the high jinx on 1 v 100 but the network he controls is about to get a mass of competitors and not from Foxtel either.

Back in January amid the hype of Apple’s iPhone, Mr Jobs announced AppleTV, which is due to land any day now. This device is a little smaller than the smallest of pizza boxes and plugs into your widescreen TV. So what? So this; anything that you download to your computer, Mac and PC, that goes into iTunes will play on your TV. Sick of game show after crime show after reality show. No problem. Flick over to one of the video podcasts you subscribe to (for free) and watch the latest show.

Apple is already gearing up for the arrival the product into stores very soon with
AppleTV Podcast Showcase.

Also, the latest version of iTunes has a change in the preferences of great note. Now you can change the Parental settings to conform to Australian ratings. This has lead many to speculate that availabily of TV shows and movies from the iTunes Music Store is imminent – in the same way that Australia got access to the iTMS many, many months after other countries.

But right now the job I wouldn’t want is marketing director at a large multinational-carbonated-breakfast-cereal-snack-food-automobile-fast-moving-consumer-good manufacturer. Where am I going to place my ads? What shows are my eaters/drinkers/drivers/consumers watching? Fuel Time! TreehuggerTV! Southerby’s Private View! My media buyers haven’t told me about these shows. What networks are they on?

Bye bye TV stations

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Mr Packer Sn was quoted; “You get one Allan Bond in your life”. Mr Packer was of course referring to the fact that he sold the Nine network to Mr Bond for A$1 Billion and bought it back not so long later for about A$300 Million.

But they days of TV stations or even networks being cash registers are long gone. The producers, the content creators, are the winners now. This post os from my very good friends at The Unoffical Apple Weblog.

Now that cable companies are actually producing qulaity content (SATC, Sopranos et al), and releasing them as podcasts to the world for FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE, the opportunities for stations to grab cash from advertisers is long gone.

Imagine a world where news bulletins are put together every hour for syndication. No more are you reliant on the 6pm, 7pm, 10pm or later news bully. Your computer has already downloaded the latest news for you to watch at your convenince – not at theirs.

Comparing Video Podcasts with the iTunes Store TV episodes – The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)

Link: Comparing Video Podcasts with the iTunes Store TV episodes – The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW).

iPod wins Shonky award – National – smh.com.au

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This is sad. Sad that Choice has fallen to the crappy PR strategy of attacking a big brand for little gain.

Every other product mentioned in this story has failed. Not just one or two of each, but every single one. Can the same be said of every iPod failing? Of course not. I’ve all the people I’ve met I’venever met a single one who had an iPod with a cracked screen or dud battery. Where are all these people?

On the other hand, I would find it implausible that not a single iPOd of the millions produced was a dud. But for Choice to include it in their top 10 is nothing but PR hackery at it’s worst.

Poor show Choice.

Link: iPod wins Shonky award – National – smh.com.au.

Do we really have something to say?

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Every weekday morning from 9am for thirty minutes ABC local radio Sydney opens it’s phone lines and airwaves to anyone with an opinion about anything.

I have no interest in the ramblings of the ordinary person. I do not care about their opinions, thoughts or issues – unless they effect me. I hate their whinny voices talking about the flag, their neighbours, the government, etc etc. I hate that on the free airwaves of the greatest public radio network in the world I am forced to listen to drivel.

Many years ago I wrote a letter to the editor of The Sydney Morning Herald about an article on advertising. I got a phone call from the editor of the letters page to confirm that the letter (email actually) was from me, that the opinion was mine and that I was a real person. The letter appeared.

And the shit hit the fan. One of the directors of the agency I then worked for read the letters page avidly and was unimpressed with my take on things. I’d never really understood what was so important about free speach until that moment.

You may or may not agree with what you hear or read but the ability for someone else to write or say that thing is something no one should ever argue with.

We can argue quality. Why do the three commercial TV networks offer such rubbish as their current affair programs. They have no excuse bar economics as the ABC and SBS are able to provide high quality programming with less.

I hate the 30 minutes of listener call in on ABC. I love that they can do it.