The Jacobs Media Blog

As more and more young consumers consider the iPod as the "go anywhere" medium, while radio is perceived to be tethered to cars and nightstands, the Steven Jobs assault continues.  The big news coming out of the auto industry is the announcement that iPod access will become even easier.  Ford, GM, and Mazda have teamed […]

"MTV is challenging the status quo in TV programming and transferring control directly to its audience." That’s a quote from an MTV press release, announcing a new TV channel for their UK and Ireland unit.  According to MTV’s Angel Gambino, viewers will be able to visit a website called Flux, where they can choose videos […]

Happy to share another guest blog from Jacobs Media’s Dave Beasing: In case you’ve been living under a rock, Katie Couric starts anchoring the CBS Evening News on September 5.  What with all the media exposure – not just on CBS, but everywhere – everyone knows that, right?  So what has Katie been doing since […]

Hats off to NAB President David Rehr, and his strong letter to U.S. Senators Patrick Leahy and Arlen Specter regarding Internet radio.  Recognizing the importance of streaming audio to radio’s digital future, Rehr laid out five reforms for consideration. In the letter, Rehr notes, "Broadcasters are concerned with the future and viability of Internet streaming […]

It’s been a rather slow summer for meaty morning radio material.  Until now… Thanks, big guy!

It is truly amazing how the rules of business continue to be written and then re-written.  A great example is Steve Case, AOL’s founder, who now rues the day his company merged with super-content provider Time Warner.  Speaking with Charlie Rose, Case noted that the best thing AOL could do was "de-merge" with Time Warner […]

My relationship with Lee Abrams has always been a little odd.  As a PD, I never had a consultant.  As a consultant in the early years, I found myself competing against Lee and his group for many years.  As he gravitated to Z-Rock, and eventually XM, we have stayed in touch. Lee has been kind […]

Way back in mid-April, we did a series of blogs about satellite radio, culminating in a plea to terrestrial radio broadcasters to dump their XM and Sirius stock.  The premise was that satellite is truly out to destabilize and destroy our business, so why would terrestrial broadcasters invest in these companies? Well, it certainly wasn’t […]

Headline:  Apple sold more than 8 million iPods during its recent quarter. Headline:  The #1 feature that teens would like to have in their iPods is an FM radio, according to a recent Ipsos study. So what’s going on here?  We’re certainly not surprised that iPods are still a very hot item.  Our two Technology […]

In the "Consumer Generated Marketing File," check out WCSX/Detroit’s newest campaign that focuses on letting listeners generate your buzz.  They dug deep into the fan/fanatics in their database to find a group of listeners willing to turn their cars into rolling billboards.  But they’re even better than that. CSX’s Jennifer Williams worked with a local […]

Today we have a guest blog from Jacobs Media’s Dave Beasing: If you have kids of your own, this is old news to you – but bear with me.  You’re used to the concept that children often teach us as much as we teach them, about life in general and about the rapidly evolving world […]

Nielsen SoundScan reports that while album sales continue to fall in 2006 (-4%), 281,000,000 individual tracks were downloaded so far – a jump of 77% over last year.  This data continues to confirm the trend that started years ago, as consumers move to digital downloads over CDs, and tracks versus albums. And it’s all the […]

You’ve undoubtedly seen the "Dr. Z" TV commercials for Daimler-Chrysler, featuring company CEO Dr. Dieter Zetsche.  Their research has told them they need to break from "The Big 2" – GM and Ford – by showcasing their differences – German engineering, association with Mercedes-Benz, etc. So, instead of "just the facts" ads or cars perched […]

Today we have a guest blog from Jacobs Media’s Tim Davis: We’ve talked many times about the various ways stations can engage their audiences, and bring them more in to the fold – listener created ads, web surveys, L.A.B.s, etc.  You may also recall our recent NeoRadio memo which deals touches on this as well […]

By now, you probably know the story behind "Snakes On A Plane."  Months before this movie was released, the buzz was audible.  As we move closer to its theatrical debut, it is roaring.  Promising to be perhaps the cheesiest movie of the decade, "SoaP" has already received huge coverage in media outlets ranging from "Entertainment […]

Ask anyone their feelings about comparison advertising, and they typically think of political attack ads.  As we know from "geniuses" like Lee Atwater, Roger Ailes, and Karl Rove, these ads aren’t often elegant – but they sure do work.  Yet, consumers hate them. In radio, we have long grappled with these same issues.  Oftentimes, we’d […]

Ask anyone their feelings about comparison advertising, and they typically think of political attack ads.  As we know from "geniuses" like Lee Atwater, Roger Ailes, and Karl Rove, these ads aren’t often elegant – but they sure do work.  Yet, consumers hate them. In radio, we have long grappled with these same issues.  Oftentimes, we’d […]

In our fast-paced new media world, the connected – and conflicting – stories continue to astound and amaze. Item #1 is that Google has selected Ann Arbor, MICHIGAN, as the site for a 1,000 person business center that will be focused on its AdWords unit.  For this beleagured state – and its beat up governor […]

It should come as no surprise to you that the leading radio broadcaster – when it comes to podcasting – is none other than National Public Radio.  Let’s face it – when it comes to content, they have the best of anything terrestrial out there.  But let’s also get real about how they’ve gone well […]

Household Income for Listeners of Top 25 Radio Formats Sports $82,728News $77,475Hot AC $77,147Adult Alternative $75,831News Talk $75,793Modern AC $74,867Talk $74,420Classic Rock $74,235Classic Hits $72,668Adult Contemporary $72,238Modern Rock $71,628Rock $71,155Smooth Jazz $70,840Soft AC $69,822Classical $69,616 CHR $68,158Oldies $67,724Contemporary Christian $66,426News/Talk/Sports $66,002Country $65,719Dance CHR $61,627Religious $61,510Urban AC $56,929R & B Urban $56,483Hispanic (Total)$49,861 Source: The Media […]