Yoshihiro Taniguchi (Manager of Public Relations Department, FM802)
Wataru Goto (President, Tokyo FM Broadcasting Co., Ltd.)
July 2005
Radio that has been labeled a twilight industry for a long time is exploring ways to integration of Broadcasting and the Internet.
A rock music station based in Osaka, FM802, offers the most progressive service among them. Its around-the- -clock bulletin board system, where listeners can post their messages to which DJs answer on the air, has gained enormous popularity, and the website now boasts 50 million hits a month. Mr. Yoshihiro Taniguchi, FM 802's IT officer, says that the BBS has become a hub that promotes communication between listeners and station, and has lead to active scouting for artists as well as to market research on various industries.
President Wataru Goto of the Tokyo FM Broadcasting has been regarding radio as a medium with the highest affinity for the Internet since he launch “Visible Radio” through data broadcasting 10 years ago. Then, two years ago, he had the station develop “Ketai Radio (cell phone radio)” service that makes FM broadcasts available on mobile phones. Also the station launched a mobile website to distribute music played on the radio as “Chaku –uta,” a service that allows users to download songs to their mobile phone. And Mr. Goto is focusing on implementation of digital radio broadcasting to complete his efforts in this segment.
Examining the present and the future of radio that has stepped out into integration with telecommunications to seek for new types of business models, the report features interviews with two trendsetters of “integration” representing eastern and western Japan, along with a telephone survey conducted by Bunken in May 2005 targeting 97 radio stations throughout Japan.