What do you call a radio station that shows video? A TV station! No longer satisfied to be an audio only platform, the light bulb has gone off to show video too. This is not a new concept; Howard Stern and Don Imus had been offering a video feed of their radio programs for many years. If you feel it is necessary to watch your talk show host as he or she pontificates is up to you.
"The new platform, powered by WorldNow, gives CBS 140 radio stations the ability to create personalized branded video players to feature station content, such as music videos, artist interviews, live concert performances, breaking news and original programming, and allows stations to syndicate content or embed clips to be shared via social networking."
For most of us, the radio allowed us to multi-task; to listen in the background as we engaged in other projects. For some, it may prove appealing to gain a video perspective; for others, it may prove not relevant. But radio needs to think multi-platform and multi-screen and this approach gives their content added value to advertisers if it engages more users. And while radio has been linear in nature, the next evolution may even become on-demand, allowing users to choose the music, interviews, and other bits, by accessing online what they want when they want it.
Ultimately, the content they create with both an audio and video feed has to be more interesting to the user. Like satellite radio, terrestrial radio faces increased competition and this approach may prove to be a winner. "The video platform debuted Wednesday on four of the company's New York stations: WWFS-FM (www.fresh1027.com); WCBS-AM (www.wcbs880.com); WXRK-FM (www.923krock.com); and WFAN-AM (www.wfan.com)."
