I was reading the article about all the Indy radio shakeups (http://www.indy.com/posts/4973). It made me wonder, does anyone really listen to broadcast radio?

About 2 yrs ago, I got my first XM radio. That now lives in our mini-van and is usually tuned to Radio-Disney, which coincidentally is WRDZ 98.3 here in Indy. The thing is I don't mind one bit paying the $12/mth so we don't get inundated with commercials. So I do realize that Disney does push some commercials. However the stuff I listen to does not.

When I got my new Jeep this past year, it too came with a satellite radio, this time Sirius. Again, same deal, no commercials and with that many channels if I can't find something then I am just dumb. I also get to listen to the TV feeds of channels like CNN or Fox News. Yes, they have commercials of which I quickly avoid by switching to a commercial free station.

What does this mean for broadcast radio? Is it possible to even run one without commercials, that is unlikely. Will they simply change format every year, seems costly.

Is this a sign of the times? What will come of it all? How will the radio giants like Radio One stay viable? And does the iPod or MP3 player fit in?

-matt-