What’s there to say about CES—it’s exhausting, exhilarating, a pain in the ass and there’s a lot of waiting in lines. My feet hurt, but I saw the immediate future of the media-technology world. It’s a world going in opposite directions. We are looking to connect everything together and we’re looking as having the freedom to roam. We want portability but we want to have all our gadgets and gizmos connected to alow us to play anything, anytime, where.

This “clip” is long, but has lots of cool stuff inside. Enjoy.

As everyone knows, Howard Stern makes his world debut on Sirius Radio tomorrow (Jan. 9) at 7 am local time (here in Arizona). I won’t be listening as I don’t have a Sirius Radio (and am unlikely to buy one).

I return to my question of a few months ago: How quickly will illegal recordings of Stern’s show make their way onto the Net? I doubt Sirius is encrypted, but even if it is, someone will figure out a way to crack/hack the content.

I contend, as I have for months, that Stern cannot be as funny as he was for the past few decades if he is uncensored. The big thrill for listeners is to see how much the King of all Media can get away with. His ability to drop the F bomb at will (or let his guests do it) could get very boring very quickly. Nonetheless, I am a big fan and hope he succeeds. I am just not confident he made the right decision to leave "free radio."

When my 72-mile commute from Marin County to San Jose came to an end, my car-radio relationship with Howard Stern came to an end. Love him or hate him, he got me from my home to work in the wee hours and distracted me from the horror of my ride.

 

Today marks the last time I’ll be listening to Stern, live on K-ROCK, from my hotel in NY. That has also been a bit of traditional for me as a way of kicking off my travel work day off with a laugh. Howard is done (for now) on over the air radio in two days. In fact, Yahoo! will have a special online event to mark the day.

 

I toyed with the idea of buying a Sirrus radio, but decided against it. I just cannot imagine listening to Howard in my home in the morning. I have no commute, so his time on air does not coincide with any time I am in my car. So, like many others, today I’ll be saying goodbye to Howard Stern.

Good luck Howard; you may need it.

Maybe this ad exec is trying to soften the blow that radio--as we knew it--is fading fast.

"Radio is at the center of a perfect storm of technological threats," said David Verklin, chief executive of media buying agency Carat Americas. "It has to reinvent itself."

As with every visit to New York, I listen to Howard Stern while I get ready for the business day. Howard still has a distracting energy that takes you away from your anxiety and makes you laugh—sometimes with him, sometimes at him. Every other word on his show today is about him leaving for satellite radio. Listeners call in to talk about it and every word of his banter with Artie and Robin has to do with negative issues related to his current show, and how wonderful his new gig will be.

 

It makes me wonder, will Howard Stern thrive in his new home? Half of his act is complaining about censors, so without someone to press the button every time he crosses the line, what will be the focus of his act? Who will be his new "Tom," a station manager at whom he can vent and target his rage? Does he now expect to let forth an endless stream of epithets? Whatever he does, where he goes, lots of folks will follow him to Sirius. My question is, will I be one? I am tempted and curious, but not enough to pay $10 a month and buy yet another radio (I already have a dozen). I will be one of the countless people who will comb the net looking for sound bites of Stern after he moves to satellite radio.

 

The clock is ticking and the “I’m so happy to be leaving” act is growing old. Time for the next chapter; I envision mixed results. Stern gets money and Sirius gets a franchise star. Will it be enough? I say no.

I don't listen to Howard Stern much anymore; I don't have a commute to work. He saved my life on my 72 mile ride from Marin County to San Jose (1994-2000) making me laugh to ignore the awful traffic. Well, that's a story for another day. Today, I listened as I had a short ride to "work" this morning. I didn't realize he was leaving his NY radio station for satellite radio in a matter of weeks. He's already saying goodbye and dreaming of all the cursing he can spew forth in his new satellite home.

Anyway, I wonder how many people will grab his live broadcasts and convert them to MP3 files and put them on their Websites? Countless, I'd say. Will "The King of All Media" need some sort of DRM to protect his new show, or maybe he doesn't care about reusage; the real value is listening live. As someone who does not see the value in satellite radio, I doubt I'll have trouble finding his show on the Web.

This one is a no brainer. By the end of the year, nearly all labels--indies and the big boys--will have Podcasts. What a great way to circumvent the political process of getting radio/TV airplay.

You can feel the momentum change. It’s palpable. The acceptance of Podcasting is growing by the day as major media companies see the opportunity. It’s so easy and effective; the Media Giants are shaking their heads and wondering “what’s the catch?” There is none. It’s personal and timely and portable. Money can be made, directly from the ‘casts themselves (by inserting ads) or by tying back to other assets in the brand.

 

WMAQ, Chicago, is the latest to join the Podcasting phenomenon. The lightning speed at which Podcasting is making an impact is unprecedented because of the buzz that transfers from user to user to non-user. Once media players have imbedded tools to manage Podcasts, this trend goes to the next level. Products such as Ipodder and Doppler need to be pre-loaded in iPods, I-rivers, etc… A story for another day.

 

Who’s next to join the Podcasting parade? A better question is, who wants to be left behind?

What will the radio market look like over the next few years? Can anyone be a radio star?

Also, we ponder why we haven't heard anything on the Podcasting front from Mark Cuban, founder of broadcasting.com.

And, as an extra bonus, we sing the theme to "Have Gun Will Travel."

Note: We're working on a theme song--well, more of an intro--for show.

 

More evidence that our endless prattling on and spilling of digital ink about consumers-as-content-creators is on the mark.  Admittedly, this story details a slight variation on the theme, but still . . .

Why shouldn't an "underpaid radio producer/DJ" get some love by creating a cool mash-up? His station owners should be beside themselves with joy at the the major branding campaign he's done -- alone.

Why should record labels go after this guy? (We don't think they should but they might, being record labels and all.) Heck, it might even lead to greater sales of Oasis albums. (Not that I'll ever change my mind about Oasis.)

Mike and I talk about Adam Curry's move to replicate his MTV success on satellite radio with a new show about Podcasting. Sound curious? We think so.

Also, more drivel on baseball blogs.

 

Mike and I talk about Infinity's plans plus the impact of some new distribution models on content creators. Are we all going to be the next round of Dot.Com millionaires or just a bunch of pretty faces (and voices)?

Plus, is it true consumers are starting to realize network sitcoms are...well...not that good?

I found this new radio site that (I think) is being launched by Infinity Broadcasting. It’s called KYOU radio and bills itself as “open source” radio. It gives you the ability to register and upload your Podcasts (one at a time, and not the XML feeds). Not clear as to what manner the “station” will use to air the Podcasts or how creators will be compensated, but it looks interesting.

 

The more of these kinds of operations that launch—like Open Media Network—that take your Podcasts and videoblogs and componentized them (that is, take them out of the context of the blog in which they appear), the more I will need to mention my blog or other relevant information in the blog-casts. I also wonder how these sorts of sites will be able to report traffic or other usage stats to those who submit content.

 

Sportsjuice appears to be a great place to find a vast array of minor league games that are broadcast over the web.

 

I am reading a lot about Major League Baseball’s lumbering plans to offer blogs (not sure if they will be by fans or players) and how the NFL is shifting gears to become more fan friendly on the Web, but the revolution will start in the minor leagues.

 

If you follow Minor League Baseball (and most people have better things to do), you already know it’s an exploding market. Yes, it has consolidated, but 20 years ago there were far too many teams, and now it’s down to a manageable two or three leagues in each division (Low A, High A, AA, AAA and Independent). There are three or four new sponsored stadiums/palaces being built each year in each league and there are serious owners spending serious money to draw fans looking for good entertainment at a fair price.

 

Minor League Baseball is the perfect place for the digital revolution to start. Every baseball fan wants to hear about future stars, especially if they are players on the way to help their team. And every team wants to build a base beyond their market to make their teams/stadiums a draw for baseball-hungry travelers. Check out the baseball fan blogs—many are devoted to minor league teams.

 

Each minor league team should have its games broadcast on the Web and offer a blogosphere for fans to put up stories, pictures and video. Any revenue they may think they will lose will be made up on merchandise sales. Baseball America, the bible for baseball nuts (like me) has a story in each issue about the painstaking care minor league teams take in crafting new logos and designing hats, t-shirts, etc..

 

This summer, I hope to have video from at least a few minor league games. I wish it were more; some summer, my wife and I will hop in an RV and cruise the country seeing as many minor league games as possible. and posting video, of course.

In a world gone mad:

 

Martha's $30 Million Sirius Deal

That's how much the satellite radio network is guaranteeing over four years. Plus: It'll help develop some of MSO's lesser stars

 

Are those agents queuing outside San Quentin?