REACH By its nature, the Internet can distribute the “signal” or show around the world to every nook and cranny. And it can do it while providing high quality at each locale.

ON DEMAND Because the product has to run through servers anyway, there is an on-demand aspect to Internet radio that cannot be duplicated by transmitter-based radio without the use of ancillary TiVo-like equipment. And there are no such devices available. Internet radio can stream in real time or be obtained on demand as needed. You can listen to what you want when you want. This is a big competitive advantage.

LOW COST The death blow, though, always comes down to money. The expense of streaming over the Internet is a fraction of what transmitter-based broadcasting costs. There is no big antenna, no transmitters, no special studios. Nothing within reason can change this metric.

This same argument could be made about TV, with IPTV being the future of TV distribution. Internet radio will pioneer this transition of media to the Net, if for no other reason than it got a head start.

So, you have to wonder: When will the last terrestrial transmitter get turned off? Well, this sort of thing never happens overnight, but certainly by 2020.