The Changing Game of Television and Radio

I have invested in a lot of time in the broadcast industry and over the past 5 years I have seen more change happen in Television and Radio than has occurred over the past 20 years. In the 1980's and 1990's radio stations were manned by a disk-jockey or air-personality on every shift, no matter the size of the station. Today only the larger market stations employ a full crew. Most of the smaller stations utilize a simulcast service for most, if not all, of their daily schedule.

Radio today is being challenged by Internet radio services such as iHeartRadio and Pandora. These services can be accessed over cellular data plans and offer a more tailored radio experience. Small station start-ups or music services can obtain a world wide audience without the significant costs of a regional or local radio station. This is presenting competition at levels never seen before.

Television has also experienced change. In the past, television stations or networks determined what programs or shows to air basically at the last minute. Today traditional television is being challenged by cable networks specializing in niche programming. Even more of a problem for traditional television are services such as Hulu and Netflix. With the introduction of On Demand TV (Roku and Apple TV) traditional television doesn't stand much of a chance. This is not to mention what online services such as YouTube has done to the industry.

YouTube has changed the rules to the entire game. One individual can film an event, documentary, or whatever is on his mind, with a single camera and poor audio equipment and have a world wide following in minutes. This person can advertise their video by email and social media with practically no cost. He or she can allow advertisers the ability to show ads on their videos which in turn makes the film producer a few dollars to support his or her Internet video making addiction.

The Internet and home based video producers are changing the game of television. With immediate access to both excellent and poor video content, YouTube viewers enjoy sifting through millions of online videos and share their favorites with their friends. What is the next step for television and radio? Are you the next Internet Video Producer?