"Let me state it as clearly as I can: internet radio cannot and will not replace over-the-air broadcast radio."
So says iBiquity's Bob Struble, and I could not agree more.
But I think Mr. Struble is making the wrong point.
Because Internet radio can and will cannibalize over-the-air broadcast listening, not replace it. And it will cannibalize radio's advertising pool, not replace it.
As Benjamin Franklin famously said, "A great empire, like a great cake, is most easily diminished at the edges."
And those edges are tasty, indeed.
Particularly as the speed-bumps to accessing and using and enjoying Internet radio are cleared – as they will be – over the next few years.
Particularly as advertiser demand continues to build for the highly targeted capability of Internet radio which, quite frankly, leaves its over-the-air alternatives in the dust.
Particularly as revenues for Internet radio build and agency acceptance of this new medium grows.
Particularly as the Internet becomes embedded in everything, everywhere – even in places where radios generally don't exist (or won't exist forever) – like, say, your pocket.
Particularly as Google and others provide new access ramps to monetization for publishers (formerly called "broadcasters") large and small.
It seems to me that our response to Internet radio should be more about developing effective strategies to transform this threat into a golden opportunity.
And less like Alfred E. Newman's timeless "What, me worry?"
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