No.
Recently I have been listening to the 3rd cricket test between Australia and South Africa. Normally I would listen to this on the radio, but we happened to have an election yesterday and for some strange reason democracy is considered more worthy of airspace. No drama, I just turned on my phone’s wi-fi, launched media player and listened away happily to the streaming coverage, election in the background on television.
I believe it is inevitable that in next 10 years mobile broadband will be either free or so cheap that everyone will have it. I also believe that it will be speed-limited. Given this, why would anybody use a radio when they can use a computer and access any streaming station?
On the go, people will use their net-enabled phones (relegating those phones with FM tuners to a historical footnote). At home, they will use their desktop computers or standalone internet radios. By 2012 I believe that internet radios will be available for less than AU$50. At the moment they are hovering about the $200 – $300 mark. We’ll see whether it happens, or whether over-the-air radio comes up with some new tricks to stay viable.
