• by Paul Gough , September 16, 2002

Despite industry worries about radio, consumers in a new survey seem to like it just fine, thanks.

In a survey done by Arbitron and Edison Media Research and presented at the NAB Radio Show on Saturday in Seattle, consumers gave radio the highest marks as "most improved." Fifty-nine percent said radio was "getting better lately," compared to 43 percent for the Internet, 37 percent for newspapers and 33 percent for TV.

At the same time, radio took among the fewest hits on the other side. Nineteen percent said radio had been getting worse lately, compared to 14 percent for Internet, 23 percent for newspapers and 52 percent for television. Bill Rose, vice president and general manager of Arbitron Webcast Services, said the survey flies in the face of conventional wisdom about radio's standing following industry consolidation.

"The consumers feel otherwise. Radio is in pretty good shape in the consumers' eyes," Rose said Saturday following his presentation in Seattle. In another measure of consumer preference, radio trailed TV as the most essential medium. Thirty-nine percent said TV meant the most in their daily lives, compared to 26 percent for radio, 20 percent for the Internet and 11 percent for newspapers. Among 12- to 34-year-olds, radio was almost tied in importance. Radio has the fewest people by far saying that it's the least important medium, only 14 percent compared to the Internet's 33 percent and newspaper's 31 percent.

Three in 10 said they're listening to radio more lately, with TV leading the pack (nearly four in 10) and the Internet and newspapers behind radio. Among 12- to 34-year-olds, radio is tied with the Internet and TV in this category. The study also explored consumer attitudes about satellite radio, a technology that could potentially threaten to siphon off some of the listening audience.Arbitron's survey projected that 18 million Americans were strongly interested in satellite radio. Rose said that it could be seen as a warning for station owners. "Many in the radio business haven't taken satellite radio as serious as they should in competition," he said. The radio industry should find ways to satisfy the needs met by satellite radio. One approach could be to adopting streaming media to provide niche content not available on a station's narrow bandwith.”

Rose said the gloom-and-doom scenarios don't bear out in the results of this survey. "Consumers like what they hear. The question is how you're going to retain that strength in the face of all these choices. That's when it gets difficult," Rose said.