• Reuters, Monday, December 5, 2005 10:45 AM

Over-the-air radio may soon find itself an irrelevancy, if one is to take to heart the dire warnings of industry executives who participated in the Reuters Media and Advertising Summit. "The industry could find itself at the kids' table in the media banquet hall, as new technology threatens the business," according to Reuters' own account of the New York City powwow. Radio revenue growth has been slowing for the last three years. Meanwhile, the new satellite radio services such as XM and Sirius have been coming on strong, podcasting is beginning to find a mainstream audience, and hard-drive music players are siphoning off listeners. What's more, say some observers, over-the-air radio is overcommercialized. On some stations it's difficult to find the actual content amid the clutter of advertising. All of this forms a perfect storm, threatening the very future of the industry as it has long operated.

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