Traditional broadcasters have been criticized by some as being too slow to embrace the Internet as new Web-based radio companies such as Launch Media Inc. in Santa Monica and NetRadio Corp. try to lure radio listeners online. The Internet and the advent of new services such as digital and satellite radio continued to be hot topics this year. The underlying question, though, was how the radio industry can sustain the growth pace it has enjoyed over the past several years. The start of this boom came with the Telecom Act of 1996, when radio ownership rules were eased, enabling big players such as Clear Channel and Mel Karmazin's Infinity Broadcasting Corp. to buy stations around the country, cut costs and create more efficient ad sales teams serving several stations in a single market. Even Infinity, which has been cushioned a bit from the recent decline in radio stocks because of majority shareholder Viacom Inc.'s plans to buy the entire company, has fallen 9 percent since Aug. 15.
Infinity is the second-largest U.S. radio company.
Some investors say the expected slowdown in growth represents a good buying opportunity, as many radio stocks had become expensive over the past year. The challenge to Mays and other radio executives will be to persuade Wall Street that radio is still worth getting excited about. 2000 CBJ, L.P. in association with The Gale Group and LookSmart.