Podcasting Makes Radio Waves

Radio stations coast-to-coast in the U.S. are looking for ways to exploit the podcast buzz, some as promotion, others as a revenue source. From a roundup on Wired News:
– San Diego station KFMB-FM/100.7 Jack — that’s the same format that derailed oldies stations in NYC and Chicago earlier this month — is charging $4.95 a month for podcasts of the morning show.
– KCRW-FM, an LA public radio station, has scored underwriting from local Lexus dealers for its 22 podcasts.

Podcasts of WNYC’s “On The Media” are being downloaded 15,000 to 18,000 times a week. “We’ve already been migrating to a digital environment, so (the cost) is really negligible,” Phil Redo, VP-station operations and strategy, told Wired News.
Following the link to KFMB, owned by Midwest Television, Inc., brought me to a station determined to mine its digital potential. Jack Online members get a lot more for that $4.95 a month than the right to download a few podcasts: live, commercial-free streaming audio, MP3 downloads of artist performances, weekly hour-by-hour podcasts of that morning show, archived bits for download. Beyond the subscription area, Jack fans can go to a co-branded music store powered by TuneGenie, click on on any hour for the playlist and download songs for $0.99 a tune. There’s a music search feature, recommendations, the ability to sort by Jack “top hits” or celebrity playlists. The station offers its own shwag for sale but the real e-commerce gem may be the Jack Advantage — a dicount shopping “channel.” The major misstep: “Jack’s Blog” — promoted on the front page but not updated since May 9.

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