From Podcasting to Private Broadcasts, Talk Radio's Future Is on Today's Internet

From Podcasting to Private Broadcasts, Talk Radio's Future Is on Today's Internet

SAN DIEGO, Sept. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- "Talk Show listeners, get ready. The future of radio is now, and it is found on your computer," says Internet Talk Radio pioneer Lee Mirabal. As a former top-market radio station owner and syndicated talk show host in nearly 250 markets, Lee should know.

It was nearly 4 years ago that Mirabal sensed a shift and made a change from traditional radio to the World Wide Web. In a leap of faith, she took on the duties as General Manager and Program Director of San Diego's startup Internet Talk Station, wsRadio.com, which they brand as the "worldwide leader in internet talk."

Says Mirabal, "From podcasting to private corporate broadcasts, radio is migrating to the internet." It all started years ago when radio stations began streaming their shows on the Web. The new audience clicked on. Although the revolution was slowed by some legal battles, the growth continued as technology improved from the pc level to new delivery platforms like Ipods and MP3 players. "To get a sense of the change in consumer acceptance, consider the wireless hot spots in your local Starbucks and other trend- setting companies," Lee explains. "Consumer demand fuels all revolutions and the consumer is finding that they can not live without internet access."

"Several aspects of Internet Talk Radio intrigued me, from the worldwide audience potential to the ability to actually track the number of listeners per show," Lee adds. Another interesting twist was creating and marketing shows that may never be supported in local or even syndicated markets. However, they would prove viable with world-wide audiences. One example on Lee's wsRadio is a stamp collecting show, APS Stamp Talk. Though the audience would be too small for a traditional station, it drew a lot of attention from internet consumers, and subsequently, from savvy advertisers, such as The American Philatelic Society.

"Another key success of internet talk radio is our ability to archive shows by topic or date, for listening on demand 24/7." "Radio on demand," as Lee calls it, has proved to be a big hit with the listeners. Over 95% of the total listeners on her network do so via the archives. Over the years, wsRadio has compiled more than 12,000 audio archives.

The key to any venture is the ability to profit from it. By combining audiences from various shows, Lee's network was able to attract marketers and advertisers that are beginning to see the advantages of an online audience. Even the American Marketing Association (AMA) headquartered in Chicago, Ill., the largest Marketing Association in the world, is utilizing the new media to get their own message out. "Marking Matters Live!" was launched in January of this year and broadcasts on wsRadio every Wednesday from Noon-1:00 PM Eastern Time.

An emerging use of "Internet Talk Radio" is for private corporate broadcasts. wsRadio has provided this service to The United States Postal Service (USPS) and IBM for their sales forces. Access to the shows is restricted by pin numbers and a comprehensive elearning package tracks who logged on, while incorporating short quizzes to ensure the information is well-received. The private broadcasts include "Best Practices," hosted by their top sales people.

The explosion of Podcasting with Apples' Ipod and other mp3 players is another example of how technology from the internet is fueling the revolution. It is pull technology with the consumer being offered a wide range of choices verse the push of traditional media.

"As internet access expands, the medium's marketability will expand," predicts Lee. "We'll see internet radio begin out-stripping traditional broadcast by growing strides. This will be accelerated when the internet is fully accessible in vehicles. That's coming soon to an automobile near you."

WsRadio has 32 remote studios world-wide and produces "eBay Radio" for eBay Inc., 7 shows for Entrepreneur Magazine, "Entrepreneur Radio" and HayHouse Radio for HayHouse Publications, whose famous authors include Wayne Dyer and Sylvia Brown.

For more information or to listen to the show,

log onto http://www.wsradio.com/

Source: wsRadio.com

CONTACT: Chris Murch of wsRadio.com, +1-858-623-0199, ext. 100,
CMurch@wsRadio.com

Web site: http://www.wsradio.com/

-------
Profile: intent