The Market for Web Radio

• Publication date: January 2009

Online audio services are expected to achieve revenue of EUR2.1 billion in 2012 to account for 10% of the total audio services market. This study examines the various distribution modes, tools and technologies associated with Web radio. It reviews the strategies pursued by key players and also the dynamics of audience and advertising growth in the market. Key questions What will determine market growth between now...

Online audio services are expected to achieve revenue of EUR2.1 billion in 2012 to account for 10% of the total audio services market. This study examines the various distribution modes, tools and technologies associated with Web radio. It reviews the strategies pursued by key players and also the dynamics of audience and advertising growth in the market.



Key questions


What will determine market growth between now and 2012?
How will advertising revenue be affected by audience migration from broadcast radio to online audio services?
How is radio listening being incorporated into the leading Web applications?
What advanced features and functions complement radio (e.g., community-based websites, video offerings, etc.)?
What strategies are players adopting: from content production to aggregation and radio program syndication, player control, in-stream advertising, etc.?

Radio Broadcasting Industry in Europe

1. Executive Summary
1.1. New Internet audio services
1.2. Marginal growth in the radio audience
1.3. Operator strategies: spinoff, aggregation, syndication
1.4. Online audio services experience high growth but represent only 10% total audio services market in 2012


2. Methodology


3. Market structure & key factors
3.1. Market overview
3.1.1. Definition
3.1.2. Market segmentation
3.1.3. Product and service trends
3.2. Estimate of the current market
3.2.1. Market by segment and platform
3.2.2. Market by geographic region
3.3. Key factors
3.3.1. Key technologies
3.3.2. Regulatory environment
3.3.3. Usage


4. Industry organization and strategy
4.1. Industry structure
4.1.1. Value chain
4.1.2. Competition structure
4.1.3. Business models
4.2. Player strategies: case studies
4.2.1. RTL Group
4.2.2. Lagardère Active Media
4.2.3. Cadena Ser (Unión Radio Group)
4.2.4. BBC
4.2.5. CBS
4.2.6. Clear Channel
4.3. Strategic options


5. Market forecasts
5.1. Growth factors
5.1.1. Analysis of factors driving growth and shifts in the market
5.1.2. Forecast assumptions
5.2. Market forecasts
5.2.1. Forecast for 2008-2012
5.2.2. Detailed forecasts by region


Tables & Figures
Table 1: Segmentation of online radio services
Table 2: Three models of Web radio development
Table 3: Segmentation of online radio services
Table 4: Protocol compatibility
Table 5: Operating system compatibility
Table 6: "Container" file format compatibility
Table 7: Average weekly radio audience in the United States
Table 8: Three models of radio groups evolving to the Internet
Table 9: Market for online broadcast services in advanced countries
Table 10: Online share of total audio services market in 2012
Table 11: Market for audio services in the United States
Table 12: Market for audio services in Japan
Table 13: Market for audio services in Western Europe
Table 14: Market for audio services in Germany
Table 15: Market for audio services in Spain
Table 16: Market for audio services in France
Table 17: Market for audio services in Italy
Table 18: Market for audio services in United Kingdom
Table 19: Market for audio services in Eastern Europe
Table 20: Market for audio services in Poland
Figure 1: The audio services market in advanced countries
Figure 2: Listening to a broadcast in catch-up mode using the BBC iPlayer
Figure 3: Web radio station NRJ Nouveautés
Figure 4: NRJ radio widget
Figure 5: Registering and creating personalized radio stations on Goom
Figure 6: The Goom player
Figure 7: The Last.fm player
Figure 8: The Mi-Xfm player
Figure 9: Deezer smart radio service
Figure 10: Purchase link on the Live365 player
Figure 11: Purchase link on the Yahoo! LAUNCHcast player
Figure 12: BBC Radio application on a Facebook user profile
Figure 13: BBC widget and LabPixies Radio widget on iGoogle
Figure 14: Sprint Radio
Figure 15: AOL Radio player
Figure 16: Podcast offerings on the BBC Radio 1 site
Figure 17: Play.It personalized radio station generated from artist name Bruce Springsteen
Figure 18: Creation of a personalized radio station by a registered user based on the user's music preferences
Figure 19: Excerpt of a user listening profile on Radio Pop
Figure 20: List of programs bookmarked by a "pop"
Figure 21: Distribution of the online audio services market in advanced countries in 2007 by geographic region33
Figure 22: Distribution of the online audio services market in advanced countries in 2008 by geographic region33
Figure 23: Unicasting
Figure 24: Multicasting
Figure 25: P2P broadcasting
Figure 26: Examples of new dedicated terminals
Figure 27: Media most-consumed on the Internet by French Web users
Figure 28: Percentage of French Web users who consume one medium on the Internet daily or nearly daily
Figure 29: Frequency of listening to Internet-specific linear radio services in France
Figure 30: Percentage of US Web users listened to the radio online during the previous week
Figure 31: UK Web users who listen to Internet radio
Figure 32: Percentage of UK Web users who listen to the radio while surfing the Internet, by age group
Figure 33: Radio listening by platform in the United Kingdom
Figure 34: Frequency of radio access by platform in the United Kingdom
Figure 35: Weekly online radio audience in the United States, by employment status
Figure 36: Online radio audience in the United States, February 2008
Figure 37: Broadcast radio audience in France
Figure 38: Online radio audience in France
Figure 39: Composition of weekly online radio audience in the United States
Figure 40: Profile of users of Internet-specific linear radio services in France
Figure 41: Modes of online radio consumption in France
Figure 42: Devices used for mobile online radio consumption in France
Figure 43: Online radio content consumed in France
Figure 44: Audio podcast consumption in the United States
Figure 45: Audience for audio podcasts in the United States, by most-used listening device
Figure 46: Web radio edition and distribution ecosystem
Figure 47: RTL2 3G video portal
Figure 48: Musiline portal
Figure 49: Last.fm widget
Figure 50: Podcast library search engine
Figure 51: Podcast playback on the iPhone
Figure 52: Hit parade of iTunes best-sellers