Internet Radio Just as Popular as Broadcast Radio

Although traditional broadcast radio continues to attract 93.1 percent of the U.S. population, Internet or digital radio proves to be just as widespread, drawing in 43 million weekly users and showing no signs of slowing down, according to Arbitron’s analysis entitled The Infinite Dial 2010: Digital Platforms and the Future of Radio.

As popularity of the Internet rose in the 1990s and 2000s, many people thought that as broadband gained consumers, it would knock traditional forms of media such as newspapers, television, magazines, and film into obsoleteness. However, instead of the Internet becoming a primary competitor, the online world allowed for collaborations with traditional media and even enhanced their interactivity. And radio was no exception. Despite the fact that many critics continue assert that radio is a dying medium, Target Spot suggests in their 2011 study, entitled Digital Audio Usage Trends: A Highly Engaged Listenership, that 86 percent of respondents listen to both online-only Internet radio and broadcast radio streamed on the Internet websites.