Americans from pre-teens to adults are logging on to online radio stations, which means that marketers have another niche to investigate when it comes to online campaigns. Whether the stations are privately owned or streaming from local stations, more users means a bigger campaign ROI.

by Kristina Knight

Just over 33 million users are logging on to radio websites; up from 29 million in 2007. The question is how to attract the users listening online. A study from Arbitron and Edison Media Research indicates that marketers may not need to look any further than social networks. That is because more than 60% of online radio listeners have social networking profiles.

Nearly 33% of those users log on to their social hub daily, with most using either MySpace or LinkedIn.

“We found that Online radio listeners are more than one and half times more likely to have a profile on a social networking site as compared to average Americans and that they tend to be power-users,” said Diane Williams, senior analyst, custom research for Arbitron.

The correlation between online radio listeners and social networks is interested. This could be another way to advertise on a cross-platform basis. Using display ads on a radio station website to drive traffic to a branded micro-site in a social network or even sponsoring programming and pushing traffic in that manner could appeal to these social users.
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Losses are narrower-than-expected loss on Thursday as it added more than 1 million subscribers during the quarter that included the holiday season.

But the results failed to excite investors who have been waiting more than a year for regulators to approve XM’s plan to be acquired by rival Sirius Satellite Radio Inc (SIRI.O: Quote, Profile, Research). The proposed deal was first announced in February 2007.

XM reported a fourth-quarter loss of $238.8 million, or 78 cents a share, compared with a loss of $263.2 million, or 90 cents a share, a year earlier.

The loss includes 25 cents a share in merger and settlement related charges, XM said. Excluding those charges, its loss was 53 cents a share, better than the average analyst expectation of 63 cents a share, according to Reuters Estimates.

U.S. regulators have yet to decide whether to approve the XM-Sirius deal. They include the Federal Communications Commission as well as the Department of Justice, which will decide if combining the two U.S. satellite radio companies would be anti-competitive, as some critics have charged.

Analysts’ opinions about the potential success of the deal have been mixed. Several have recently said they are now more optimistic, while other remain skeptical.

“Since the one-year anniversary of the deal has passed with no word from the DOJ, risk continues to exist that the deal will not happen,” Barrington Research analyst James Goss said in a client note earlier this week.

On a conference call with analysts, XM Chief Executive Nate Davis said the company does “continue to look forward to a positive resolution to this matter soon.”

The return of the controversial Star to the air Tuesday on WNYZ (87.7 FM, Pulse-87) proves again that radio will eventually welcome back almost any exile it thinks can still draw listeners and make money.

But radio also hasn’t been afraid to get rid of people who can do that - Star, Imus, Bob Grant, Opie & Anthony - if they say something perceived as offensive.

In the long term, says one critic, this cycle could last until “corporations that own media live up to their own standards.”

John Liu, a city councilman from Queens, lit into Clear Channel after the company fired Star in May 2006 for rude remarks on Clear Channel’s WWPR.

Earlier, in January 2005, Liu had blasted Emmis over WQHT’s infamous “Tsunami Song.”

While Liu criticized the hosts in each case, he said yesterday the core issue remains “corporate responsibility.

“No one pickets Howard Stern, because he says up front he’s going to insult and offend people. But Clear Channel promotes itself as a fair-minded company that aims to serve families and the community.”

Ironically, Liu and Star are on the same page here. In a pending lawsuit against Clear Channel, Star contends he was told to do the things for which he was fired.

“Star has some personal responsibility,” said Liu. “But he was acting at the behest of the company. This is not about censorship. It’s about companies being held accountable for doing what they say.”

And have recent firings and sanctions, which many folks in media think have cast a deep shadow of uncertainty over on-air content, cleaned things up?

“We’re not in the clear,” said Liu. “But hopefully we’re addressing the issue.”

Controversial morning host Star returned to radio Tuesday a lot more quietly than he left it in May 2006.

In his first day on WNYZ (87.7 FM, Pulse 87), Star talked less about his noisy firing from WWPR (105.1 FM) than about a recent liver transplant and other major surgery that left him 62 pounds lighter and restricted to a diet heavy on baby food.

“I don’t feel a need to discuss events of the past,” said Star (Troi Torain), who was fired after he made crude remarks about the young daughter of DJ Envy, a member of the morning team on rival station WQHT (97.1 FM).

Star was later arrested and did three days of community service. He has said his comments were taken out of context and were just a random shot in a manufactured “radio war” his bosses at Power’s parent Clear Channel encouraged him to escalate.

He said Tuesday, “There’s no bitterness, there are no scores to settle.” But he has a suit pending against Clear Channel, charging he was fired for doing what he was told, and he promised listeners yesterday that “I will tell you all about [the suit] someday.”

Otherwise, he only did a little mild and familiar sniping at former employers Tuesday, referring to Clear Channel as “Fear Channel,” WWPR as “Power One-Oh-Jive” and WQHT as “Shot 97.”

He focused more on current cultural events, saying he loves A&E’s “The First 48,” then deflecting most political discussion after saying he supports John McCain for President.

He spent considerable time promoting Pulse 87, which switched to its uptempo contemporary rhythm format Feb. 11 and has drawn raves from dance fans.

Star played several songs himself, all in the dance format. “It’s nice,” he joked, “not to have to wake up to Jay-Z and P. Diddy.”

He said he will feature a daily mix segment from DJ Yonny, formerly of WWPR and now Star’s new producer. The rest of the team is White Trash Helene, Buc Wild and DX21.

Star said he had “several offers” for other radio jobs before he joined Pulse 87, including a proposal last March from XM.

“XM was great,” he says. “We still might work with them. But playing rap records and cursing a lot wasn’t what I wanted to do.”

Part of the appeal of Pulse 87, he said, is that its signal comes from a low-power TV station, over which Star plans to produce a video version of the show. He also expects radio syndication.

One of his harshest critics, Queens councilman John Liu yesterday said he has no problem with Star back on the radio “if he’s learned his lesson.

“He has pledged to behave responsibly over the airwaves and now we will see if he lives up to that newfound conscientiousness. We’ll be watching.”

Joel Salkowitz admits 87.7 FM isn’t a place most New Yorkers are used to turning for contemporary hit radio. But he thinks that once “The Pulse” (WNYZ) kicks into gear on that frequency Monday, listeners will seek it out.

Right now, WNYZ is playing Russian music, as it has for the several years since it signed on. Come Monday, says Salkowitz, it will be playing “a kind of top 40 with a rhythmic leaning.”

He declines to be more specific, but promises “it will fill a hole. I think it will be a station that people will make a point of finding. It’s like satellite radio - you don’t buy it because you want to pay money for radio, but because it has unique content.”

But the music is only part of what Pulse-87 will be selling. On Monday, Feb. 18, it will bring back Star and Buc Wild as its morning team.

That was supposed to happen a month ago, but Star had a liver transplant. Now, Salkowitz says, all systems are go.

“I can’t believe the energy this guy has after major surgery,” says Salkowitz. “He can’t wait to get back in the game.”

Pulse is happy to have him, Salkowitz adds. “He moved the ratings needle in the morning at two different New York stations - and I think this time you’ll see a side of Star you haven’t seen before.”

Star has said he often had to play a character in his previous gigs at WQHT and WWPR, and that now “I’ll be myself. There will be less hip-hop nonsense.”

Salkowitz says Monday’s sign-on will be relatively low-key. “We’ll establish the music, then probably have a bigger production when Star goes on the air.”

Salkowitz says he’s also talking with other deejays and expects a lineup “soon.”

WNYZ transmits its signal from a low-power TV station, Ch. 6 on Long Island - which has raised some questions about whether it can compete against the likes of powerful WHTZ (100.3 FM).

Salkowitz says the Pulse signal will cover “80%” of the New York market and will be available online for anyone else.

There has also been concern that Arbitron doesn’t measure WNYZ listening, which would make it difficult to sell advertising. But Salkowitz says the station has been talking with Arbitron “and you might hear something in a week or so.”