Calling it a radio station might be going a bit far. It's really a set of playlists of children's songs, each about 20 minutes long. The concept, I think, is that kids can listen to their favorite sets, over and over if they like, but 20 minutes probably matches the average child's attention span.
The Munchkin Radio web site apparently sells ads to local kid- (or parent-) oriented businesses in the Salt Lake City area. So even though it's available over the World Wide Web, it is tightly targeted to one community. I picture a mom sitting at the computer with her tyke in her lap, letting the kid enjoy the music while she peruses coupons and ads for Chik-fil-A and Jumpin' Jacks.
Munchkin Radio also provides the entertainment for your child's birthday party. I guess they deejay and play music, but maybe they go the whole way with clowns, balloons and everything. Again, this is restricted to the Salt Lake City area.
Munchkin Radio was launched by Mike Peer, who until recently was program director at SLC's terrestrial (over-the-air) station KENZ, which plays album adult alternative music. According to a news story, KENZ (101.9 FM) this week dispensed with on-air personalities in favor of an entirely automated playlist.
The same story noted that some industry analysts speculate that Internet and satellite radio are peeling listeners away from traditional terrestrial stations. Mike Peer disagrees, but in an instance of making lemonade out of lemons, he turned to the Internet for his own kids'-music enterprise.
I'm intrigued by the idea of starting an Internet radio "station" that is deliberately targeted to a particular locale for its business model. If it works, it could certainly copied in other towns and cities.
Also ... I was in the mood to hear "Little Bunny Foo Foo." Thank you, Munchkin Radio!
No comments:
Post a Comment