You've reached our premium or archival content
To access this page, and more great content just like it, you need to become a paid subscriber.
If you already have an account, please login.
Otherwise, registration is quick and you'll have access instantly after payment.
Digital delivery via IP streams of radio content easily lend themselves for audience metrics. However, there are no 'terrestrial receivers' with a network connection on the market which are connected to an IP network.
Although IP networks can deliver quality audio as high as CD or DAB+ (or more depending on the bitrates) , the listener/consumer may have to pay more for consuming data via a ISP' data plan whether the audio stream is delivered live or by a file (such as mp3, mp4, ogg). This is whether the consumer is in the geographic market or outside the geographic market.
It is true that listening outside the geographic region can also mean another market to target the listener. Thus the capacity for audience metrics via IP streams to people outside the broadcsater's geographic market is a boon for the broadcaster.
Furthermore, a signal delivered by IP streams is not subject to the ionospheric fading and noise of long distance analogue listening via AM MW or SW. Though depending on network capacity, the dreaded "rotating circle" can interrupt the active listener's listening pleasure.
The topic of DRM+ terrestrial radio by commercial broadcasters is not on the legislative agenda.
Nevertheless, the audience metrics discussed by the author is not available to listeners consuming terrestrial AM/FM/DAB+ radio and that is a very large chunk of the radio audience compared to IP delivery.
Consequently as a listener I don't want to pay for consuming a free-to-air broadcast via IP streaming when the only net cost of listening to terrestrial radio is the power and my own time.
Remember it is the extra cost of the data plans that a consumer will pay especially for audiences listening to a broadcast in the car via the car's infotainment's Android or Apple Play. That's unless you want to listen to a station outside the geographic location and prepared to pay for consuming data.
In conclusion, the metrics to measure whether the listener is active or passive can only be delivered via IP streams. Broadcasters will miss out on valuable listening metrics when many listeners use terrestrial radios (AM/FM/DAB+) which don't have a network cable or micro-sd connection. In addition to measure audience metrics described in this article via terrestrial radio would require a human with a clipboard spending time with the listener. That is costly and an inconvenience to the consumer.
Thank you,
Anthony of Belfield, where excitement abounds.