SA's first online radio seeks Web-savvy listeners and won't be targeting a rural audience.
2oceansvibe Radio is SA's first mainstream online radio and is powered by MWeb through its uncapped ADSL offering.
MWeb says that, with the Internet becoming more accessible for the everyday South African with cheaper and faster broadband, entertainment on the Internet is now a reality. However, co-founder of the radio station, Richard Hardiman, says until mass accessibility, 2oceansvibe will not target a rural audience.
“We are not looking for rapid take-up - it will be a number of years before the idea of Internet radio becomes an obvious choice for the masses. Internet penetration is low per capita versus access to the Internet but we are aiming at an audience who is Web-savvy and enabled. To listen to us you have to have access to the Internet, iPhones or BlackBerries.
“We are not after a large rural audience so in this case it's [low Internet penetration rate] not a concern to us. In line with global trends, it will only get cheaper, faster and more accessible.”
Brave step
WWW Strategy MD Steven Ambrose says Internet radio is the next logical step in this medium. “We consider this initiative brave and forward-thinking.
“Internet penetration, specifically broadband, is set to skyrocket in the next five years in South and Southern Africa, especially once mobile broadband connectivity is taken into account.”
He says, because of this, ultimately all forms of entertainment and communication will occur over the Internet in some form or another, both live and on demand. “The blending of online live with search, location awareness, and other on-demand content, will be the new frontier that channels such as this will need to master.”
Carolyn Holgate, GM of MWeb Connect, says: “Uncapped ADSL is all about allowing Internet users to have a fun, interactive and entertaining experience online.”
The partnership with 2oceansvibe Radio makes use of MWeb's uncapped offering for broadcasting daily shows through live audio streaming, using Skype for guest interviews and phone-ins, to allowing listeners to download podcasts after the live shows, according to the Internet service provider (ISP).
It adds that 2oceansvibe Radio focuses on providing audio entertainment via live streaming on weekdays between 08h00 and 15h00.
Hardiman adds that many of the station's listeners already listen to the shows in their car via iPhones, iTouches, Blackberries and via Nokia's radio setting.
Sniper approach
Co-founder Seth Rotherham says the online radio already has over 10 000 listeners.
“We are using a sniper-shot approach here rather than a shotgun - we want to get a very defined audience.” He adds that it's less about how many are listening but rather who is.
“We always maintained that radio listening has always been device-driven. We started listening to music when we had radio in our cars, then tapes when cassette players were added, then CDs, etc. The moment Internet radio hits the mainstream in our daily lives will be the moment we start accessing it collectively.”
Holgate says since the launch of uncapped ADSL offerings, South Africans are no longer constrained by what they can and cannot do online due to high prices and restricted cap sizes.
“We can now use the Internet like the rest of the world and that includes listening to online radio stations. Internet penetration in South Africa has grown considerably in the past couple of years and will continue to grow.”
This means that the potential listenership for online radio stations is far greater than for traditional ones, she adds.
Ticking boxes
In explaining how this station is different from live streaming of other radio stations, Hardiman says it is in fact not much different.
He says 2oceansvibe does not differ by its being online since most commercial stations in SA are available on the Internet, but rather by content and music played.
“Our idea from the start was to create an audience who wanted to hear about real happenings in the world that directly impacted on their world, and not be another conversation about Julius Malema, poaching or the government; interspersed with music from the latest Idols winner, and badly made and irrelevant advertising.”
He says the station's biggest winner is its music choice. “We are aiming at a niche audience rather than trying to appease and please a majority - not everybody will like it but those that do we are convinced will reward us with loyalty.”
Ambrose says the issues this new format may face are no different to any new venture. “They need to offer a compelling product, one that people will actively listen to and participate in. There are sufficient people online to support the medium currently, and if the station has compelling, entertaining, and interesting content, they should survive and in fact thrive going forward.”
He adds that Internet stations will continue to develop and proliferate as broadband becomes more ubiquitous and will tend to be niche and fairly specialist in nature.
Cost considerations
Hardiman says improved coverage is an advantage of Internet radio.
“It means you don't lose signal once out of transmitter range. How often do you lose your favourite station because you went over a hill, or are in an area where they don't broadcast to? We are only limited by cellphone coverage in your car or Internet access points - fortunately in SA as we become more wired up these provide us with pretty much total countrywide access.”
He adds that a downside of Internet radio is cost. “We are pretty scared in SA of racking up huge Internet bills via our phones and laptops. We make sure we broadcast at a relatively low bit rate to keep costs down.”
As ISPs continue to beak ground in uncapped Internet, this is fast becoming less of a worry, according to Hardiman.
MWeb was the first ISP to launch competitively priced uncapped ADSL packages in SA earlier this year.
It says that since the launch in March, it has attracted more than 70 000 subscribers to its low-cost uncapped ADSL broadband offering.
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