Survey: In-Car Internet Will Hurt Radio Listening Nobody knows when WiFi or Wimax wireless Internet will be ready to be installed in cars, but Bridge Ratings says that, whenever it happens, it will be a "significant threat" to both broadcasters and satellite radio.
Bridge surveyed 2,200 people 16 and older and asked those who defined themselves as "innovators" or "early adopters" of technology how likely they'd be to buy a car with a wireless Internet device or install a device in a current car. Based on their answers, Bridge projects that 1 percent of the U.S. population will have in-car WiFi in the first year after it becomes available, rising to 10.5 percent by year five and 53.2 percent by year nine.
So how will that impact radio listening? Starting from an average weekly TSL of 21:36, Bridge says radio TSL after in-car wireless arrives will fall below 19 hours a week in year five and below 18 hours per week by year eight -- and satellite radio can expect its TSL to fall even faster.
Thirty million Americans now have wireless Internet access, and that's expected to rise to nearly 45 million by the end of this year. Forty-eight percent of those who access the 'Net wirelessly seek out Internet radio, according to Bridge.
