Entertainment

The radio industry is a multi-billion dollar business, with thousands of radio stations broadcast in the United States, and thousands more around the world. The radio stations broadcast a variety of formats, from certain styles of music–country, pop, rock, and so on–to talk, news, sports and faith-based. In other parts of the world, governments have their own radio stations, all contributing to the industry as a whole.

Radio Industry Commerce
One of the most common questions asked in regards to radio is: how do radio stations make their money since the listening service is free? The answer is quite simple. Radio stations sell advertising and air commercials between the content, charging fees determined by the size of their audience.

Ironically (even in an age where computers and digital technology are prevalent in the actual broadcasting of radio transmissions) the measurements of radio audiences in America depend on an antiquated methodology: listener diary keeping. Despite being far less than precise (as listeners rarely remember exactly when and for how long they listen to each station), it is the accepted barometer for a radio stations popularity.

Currently, the audience for over-the-air (called terrestrial) radio industry is being challenged by a variety of new competitors. Comprised mainly of satellite radio services and internet radio stations, these competitors drive a tough bargain. This is on top of other entertainment choices for the radio listener such as movies, video games, iPods and the like. To continue to compete, the radio industry will have to adopt state-of the-art technological advances, such as digital broadcasting, and improve the quality of their programming.