BigFatRadio Axed from Airwaves
- — 13 October, 2000 16:21
Staff at the five-month-old online radio station were advised of the organisation's shut down at the beginning of the month. A haven for ex-Triple J presenters, staff and DJs including Helen Razer, Debbie Spillane, Angela Catterns, Ian Rogerson and Michael Tunn have been made redundant.
"The issue is the market has been a lot tighter particularly for B2C and internet radio play," said Chris Gilbey, co-founder of BigFatRadio and CEO of parent company InterActive Media Network.
"The failure of KGrind and the closure of Spike Radio had a significant impact on the selling of our story," he said. "I am not blaming them, but when the competition dies it doesn't make it easier to operate."
Gilbey said that BigFatRadio's failure is not a result of a bad concept or an immature market. The venture failed to attract investors for its second round of funding despite consumer interest.
"Since April, people have felt a lot more nervous about investing in dot-coms than before. It's hard to work against market forces," Gilbey said. "It doesn't matter how strong the concept is if investors question the space. I believe that online entertainment, music and media are absolutely going to be the future, but the question is timing."
Gilbey believes that business-to-business opportunities have more potential in today's market . The inability for advertisers to capitalise on web and streaming media has affected the B2C market, he said. "I think a lot of advertisers are still coming to terms with what the online environment has to offer. The B2B space has a lot more potential for revenue generating right now than B2C ... without having a reliance on advertising. That's why the B2B space has underlining strength."
With the failure of its consumer product, Gilbey said InterActive Media Network plans to change tack and focus on the B2B space. BigFatRadio was InterActive Media Network's first channel streaming audiovisual entertainment.
