Air America Radio web listenership up for October

While many people, particularly certain failed weekend disc jockeys turned shitty bloggers, have been ghoulishly awaiting the hoped-for demise of Air America Radio, there are still quite a few people who don't feel the same way. At least that's what online listening ratings are saying.

Webcast Metrics, a firm that measures online streaming listenership, has released its monthly ratings for October, showing listenership to the official Air America Radio streams improving from September.

In October, 214,526 different computers accessed the official streams of Air America between the hours of 6AM and Midnight, Monday through Sunday, compared to 199,700 during the same period in September. For the time period between 6AM and 8PM, Monday through Friday, those numbers are 165,010 and 148,856 respectively. This is referred to as the 'cume', meaning the average number of unique persons (defined as the number of different IP addresses) who listen to a station for a minimum of five minutes within a reported time period.

The ratings report, similar in some respects to the terrestrial radio ratings measured by Arbitron, also measures average quarter hour (AQH) ratings, the average of the number of listeners recorded every fifteen minutes for each station. From 6AM-8PM in October, that number is 5,129, compared to 4,824 the previous month. From 6AM-Midnight, those numbers are 3,623 and 3,498. In both surveys, Air America holds the #10 position of the top internet radio stations. Keep in mind that all of the services in the Top 10 broadcast multiple streams. Air America's main stream and its secondary stream, which currently airs only the Thom Hartmann show, are included.

Here's how the top 15 stack up, from 6AM-Midnight:

1. Digitally Imported (Electronic/Dance)
2. 1.FM (Multiple formats) (Multiple formats)
3. AccuRadio (Multiple formats)
4. 977Music.com (Multiple formats)
5. ABC Radio Group (Multiple formats)
6. RadioIO (Multiple formats)
7. ESPN Radio (Sports Talk - two streams)
8. EMF Broadcasting (Multiple religious formats)
9. Soma.FM (Electronic/Dance)
10. Air America Radio (Political talk)
11. Big R Radio (Multiple formats)
12. WNYC (Public Radio)
13. Beethoven.com (Classical music)
14. HitzRadio.com (Contemporary hit music)
15. ChoiceRadio.com (Multiple Formats)


You can see Kurt Hanson's report on the October rankings here, or go directly to the Webcast Metrics site. A month-by-month reference can also be found there.

And finally, it should be noted that the numbers provided are for the official Air America streams only. They do not include the webstreams of individual affiliates, which make up a sizeable percentage of online listening.

Something for the Christmas list: The InFusion wireless streaming player

Hypothetical situation: You enjoy the vast array of radio programming available online, whether it be liberal talk, eclectic music, foreign radio, or maybe your favorite hometown station. Or, you like listening to Stephanie Miller but your local station thinks you prefer Jerry Springer (or vice-versa)? Unfortunately, to this point we've all been at the mercy of radio stations telling us what to listen to. But someday, the tables could be turned.

With many metropolitan areas building wireless infrastructures, it's inevitable that a device will come along to take advantage of a potential portable streaming boom. And now, that day is very near.

Torian Wireless, a small Australian company, will introduce the InFusion, essentially a 'Wi-Fi 'Walkman'. The InFusion is a portable, battery powered device which you can tune to any of thousands of Internet radio stations. It also has an FM radio, an audio recorder, and an MP3 player with a maximum 4GB capacity (via a memory card).

So, what will this neat little toy do? If you live in a Wi-Fi hot zone, you potentially have access to a vast array of radio and streaming audio choices. Let's say your town doesn't have an Air America Radio affiliate? No problem. You will now. Love the choices offered by Radioio? Bring it with you! Need a cool secret agent soundtrack while you're driving to Casino Royale to face Le Chiffre? Check. Or, for some reason, you feel the desire to listen to your favorite Clear Channel station that sounds remarkably like the Clear Channel station in your town and other towns? They've got you covered.

So, what's the catch? Well, InFusion relies on Wi-Fi connectivity. Meaning that you can only pick up programming in an area that offers wireless capability. This would include just about any McDonalds or Starbucks, many workplaces, and a growing number of municipalities that are building wireless networks. Someday, you will all be able to listen to live streaming audio in the car, bus, subway or even while jogging. Neat, huh?

And the price for this little slice of the future? Torian lists the InFusion for $189 on their site, thought the retail price could be up to $229. Not a bad price for what could be the next iPod. And probably easier than lugging around that big laptop.

Look for a November release, just in time for the holidays.

Air America Radio webcast listenership is up once again

Yeah, I know. it seems all you ever read about in the blogosphere is how Air America Radio is going bankrupt and is bilking nonprofit community centers out of money (which makes me wonder, would these conservative hacks even give two shits about an inner city youth center if Air America wasn't involved?)

Nonetheless, the latest Webcast Metrics, ratings (see this entry) give Air America some pretty positive news, and positive news for webcasting in general. In the just-released "Internet Radio Top 20" rankings of the top audio streaming services on the internet for August 2006, Air America's online listening audience is up.

In the current ratings, Air America Radio moves up from #12 to #11 overall from 6AM-Midnight, and stays put at #11 from 6AM-8PM.

In the 6AM-Midnight segment, overall listenership to the official Airamerica.com webstreams grows from 203,183 to 231,014 (with Average Quarter Hour listenership rising from 3,214 to 3,931). The listening audience from 6AM-8PM increases from 141,403 to 163,865 (AQH rises from 4,349 to 5,028).

The "Average Quarter Hour" estimate, or AQH, is defined as the estimated average number of persons tuned to a channel for at least five minutes during a 15 minute period. It can more simply be understood as "the number of people listening to a station at the average moment." Cumulative listeners, or "cume," is the non-duplicated number of different people tuning in at least once (for at least five minutes) during the time period in question.

It should be noted again that many of the services ranked have multiple channels with full-time programming. The only single-stream service that ranks higher than Air America is ESPN Radio.

Here's how they stacked up, from 6AM-Midnight:

1. Digitally Imported (Electronic/Dance)
2. 202.fm (Multiple formats)
3. AccuRadio (Multiple formats)
4. 1.FM (Multiple formats)
5. ABC Radio Group (Multiple formats)
6. Club977 (Multiple formats)
7. RadioIO (Multiple formats)
8. EMF Broadcasting (Multiple religious formats)
9. ESPN Radio (Sports Talk)
10. Big R Radio (Multiple formats)
11. Air America Radio (Political talk)
12. Soma.FM (Electronic/Dance)
13. Beethoven.com (Classical music)
14. WNYC (Public Radio)
15. BoomerRadio.com (Multiple Formats)
16. GotRadio.com (Multiple Formats)
17. WFUV (Public Radio)
18. KPLU (puclic radio)
19. WOXY.com (two alternative rock streams)
20. Saga Networks (radio station group)

You can see Kurt Hanson's report on the August rankings here, or go directly to the Webcast Metrics site.

And finally, it should be noted that the numbers provided are for the official Air America streams only. They do not include the webstreams of individual affiliates, which make up a sizeable percentage of online listening.