Why has the DRM system been developed, surely the internet will be the future of broadcasting?
While it is clear that the internet is indeed developing as an important new tool for broadcasters to use in disseminating their programmes, for the moment it lacks any credible method of delivering programming to a mobile audience. Ignoring connection charges, the need for the user to have a PC, typically with a cost many times that of a radio, and to provide a connection to the internet also means that, as a delivery method, it remains out of reach for the majority of the world’s population. In time this may change, but the internet will for many years, if not forever, be a very inefficient method of delivering programmes to a mass audience. Broadcasters today have to strictly limit their listenership over the internet due to cost elements that scale almost linearly with the number of listeners. The great advantage of broadcasting using radio transmissions is the ease with which a huge number of people can be covered by a one-to-many delivery system. The internet retains its origins
