• by March 1, 2004

Last week, Arbitron said it will stop offering weekly and monthly ratings for Internet radio. Arbitron had been providing MeasureCast ratings for the fledgling Internet radio segment for three years, practically an eternity, considering the category remains nascent.

Arbitron's move to track the emerging segment may have been premature given that advertisers have yet to really sink their teeth into Internet radio. However, I expect Arbitron to return to providing Internet radio measurement once it has enough customers to make a service viable. Meanwhile, Arbitron said it plans to continue basic monitoring of the Web radio audience via its VNU sibling Scarborough Research.

There are millions of people who tune into Internet radio stations. There are listeners out there. The challenge remains getting advertisers to look seriously at the medium. Could entrenched traditional radio interests also be an impediment? How quickly will the market take shape? Like streaming video and TV commercials on the Web which are picking up steam even as I write, Internet radio advertising will eventually hit critical mass. That is, once a business model emerges that makes sense and when a few major advertisers come forward to participate.