One of the scenarios I see coming together is the devaluation of AM and FM radio stations as technologies like WiMax take hold.
WiMax is a technology which can distribute an Internet signal over several miles. It's a more powerful version of the Wi-Fi "hotspots" often found in hotels, airports, restaurants, and other public places.
WiMax will help to migrate Internet Radio from desktops to autos and other portable devices.
Passing the Distance Test
WiMax radio signals (carrying broadband content at 70 megabits per second) should initially have a range of 30 miles. So, theoretically, an Internet radio station made available through a WiMax transmitting station centered in the middle of any American city will have the power to easily cover a 60-mile circumference, easily providing enough reach to rival most AM and FM stations being measured by Arbitron. (When - if ever - Arbitron includes webcasts in traditional AM and FM reporting is not the issue.)
What’s important to realize is that in a few years entrepreneurs will be able to create Internet radio stations with the potential to reach most of the people traditional AM and FM stations have been measured by.
The Devaluation - Basic Supply and Demand
So, when the time comes when any enterprising programmer can create an Internet radio station which has the reach potential of terrestrial AM and FM properties, what does that do to their value?
Well, I’m no financial genius but it seems to me it lowers their value – substantially. Before Internet radio, satellite, cell phones, and podcasts, AM and FM stations were considered non-renewable resources. In other words: the radio spectrum could hold only so many and no more could be created.
This limited supply kept the value of radio properties high.
