There were potentially thousands of people worldwide tuning in over the Internet and listening to dead air. The local radio station isn't just local anymore. Thanks to the Internet, radio stations that once could be heard only within a 20-mile radius can now reach anyone in the world with a modem. But not everyone with a modem is listening. Although the technology has extended the reach of local stations, it has yet to make a significant change in the size of the confirmed audience used to set advertising rates.
Experts say the technology needs to be refined.
To hear an Internet broadcast with the same clarity as a conventional on-air broadcast, computer users need a fast Internet connection that can carry robust audio signals more quickly than a standard modem and phone line, Gillman said. Only 4 percent of Internet users currently have this capability. However, Gillman predicts that number will jump to 21 percent by 2003 as more Internet service providers begin to supply so-called broadband connections at cheaper prices. That's not the only barrier to putting stations on the Web. Though the station doesn't offer a live Webcast, it has the most advanced radio Web site among urban contemporary stations, Roberts says.