Emergence of Digital Radio in Iran: Opportunities and Threats

Although the digital world has opened to the media audience new windows through which they can add to the range of their audience, the universal phenomenon of digitalization of media, entering every country, is considered a new and unique experience, as the historical, economic, political, social, scientific, and cultural conditions of the society requires.Using the Q-method, the present study examines the views of experts, managers and radio professionals inside and outside the country and the variables related to digitalization in three sections of production, distribution and reception were considered as "dependent variables" and all the facilitating or limiting factors (including the two sections of intra- and extra- organizational factors) were deemed as "independent variables". Based on the research findings, the most significant challenge regarding the change from analog to digital radio system is persuading listeners to buy a digital radio. Furthermore, since today’s radios have no options but to get digitalized, the most important point for media managers is planning to change the necessary content, something on which little have been done.