Web-1,Broadcasting-0

It had to happen sometime...a webcast making more money than a TV show. Recently CBS streamed the NCAA March Madness games for free and raked in an impressive $4.83 in ad revenue for each of the 4.8 million viewers. But here's the interesting part...they took "only" $4.12 per person from TV. Granted, there were 132 million people who watched, so the broadcast took in far more cash-but for the first time a pair of eyeballs was worth more on the web than the same pair watching TV. I've said before that the line between the web and broadcast is blurring rapidly, and the recent FCC spectrum auctions dedicating former UHF channel 56 to mobile broadcasting as well as the explosive growth of Wi-Fi will eventually make the difference between webcasters and broadcasters go away. Maybe those "500 channel universe" predictions may be far more conservative than we think.

Even what you don't say can hurt you

There is the edge of insanity and there is the abyss, and Air America radio has jumped into it with both feet. The just-turned-4-year-old network has suspended host Randi Rhodes for something she said OFF AIR. Evidently she called Hillary Clinton and former VP candidate Geraldine Ferraro a "fucking whore" during an appearance in San Francisco. I don't disagree with the statement but that's another post. Air America says it “does not condone such abusive, ad hominem language by our hosts.” Remember, this was an OFF AIR comment. If it was on-air then I could understand, even agree with suspension or even termination.
You'd think in the hotbed of moonbeam liberalism that is SF, there'd be someone who believes in free speech...but being "PC" seems to be more important nowdays, even when liberals attack other liberals.
Shame on you, Air America.

It's good to be right...for a change

Despite the claims of my wife, I do get to be right once in awhile. A few months ago, I wrote about bruising staff cuts at CBS Radio (history repeated itself this week at the CBS-owned TV stations) and mentioned that the big corporations responsible for fucking up the radio industry could be its savior if they wished. CBS took a couple of baby steps toward that as they've launched some interesting new programming that's as "out of the box" as anything ever on radio.
How about psychic radio? Yup. It's online for now at http://www.psychiconair.com/ and is designed to be run on a stations' HD2 (or 3) channel. It's live, too. Really.
CBS also has a "Pride Radio" HD2 channel that's running in Chicago and Dallas that I know of. Look for it to expand in 2008. HD Radios are getting cheaper and better-click on the radio at top of the page to get one and check out the neat stuff on HD2 and HD3 channels.
Mad props to CBS for actually trying something new and different on the radio dial. Whether it works or not is another matter, but its damn nice to know they're trying.