The company owns around 1,200 radio stations, but hasn’t done much with the Internet side of the business.
“Online radio” has been a phrase that inflamed radio industry executives for a few years. It looked like a threat to their business model, as numerous individually-run web sites began to appear when streaming audio technology was introduced.
Massive music licensing fees pushed most of these sites off the air, but a few remain. However, online radio has become an outlet for presences like Yahoo and AOL, among others.
Clear Channel dominates the US radio landscape, and has done so ever since the government relaxed rules on how many radio stations a company could own in a given market. But their acumen has never really manifested itself on the Internet side.
According to the New York Times, Clear Channel seems to have become more aware of the lucrative online advertising market. Just as NewsCorp has responded to its chairman’s call to improve their Internet business, Clear Channel looks ready to do the same.
The company has begun to call for improved radio station web sites, and more original programming online. Internet broadcasts would help Clear Channel reach listeners in offices and other places that lack good radio reception.
One recent promotion allowed listeners to hear the latest Backstreet Boys album online, four days before its official release date. The “Sneak Peek” feature of its newly redesigned web sites gave access to that content.
Though the various licensing hurdles for music have not been overcome, Clear Channel has caught on to the podcasting craze; they’ve had to do so with non-music oriented programming, like talk shows.
The big listenership still occupies the off-line space. While Clear Channel’s radio properties reach around 110 million listeners each week, its web sites only draw about 8 million on a monthly basis.
Yahoo rates as the leading online broadcaster, according to Arbitron/comScore Media Metrix. The Sunnyvale-based portal company reaches 2.8 million visitors each week, with AOL about a million listeners behind that figure.
David Utter is a staff writer for Murdok covering technology and business. Email him here.
