Internet radio is facing an uphill battle in Australia. The latest casualty is Talk Australia, which is nursing a defalted ego after ceasing transmission less than a month after going to air.
Launched the week bigfatradio went belly up (after just four months) the privately-funded Talk Australia has followed its forerunner's fall from grace - fading into oblivion over a week ago.
"November 16 is believed to be the day they ceased transmitting," a source told ZDNet.
"Presumably it didn't have the type of money in place to support operations," the source added.
Fish-i Communications, media liason for Talk Australia, said although it hadn't received a formal statement from Talk Australia, it "had heard" one of its financial backers wasn't able to commit to continued investment.
"Basically we tried to contact [Talk Australia] last week and were informed by its executive producer (Maria Valercou) that they weren't broadcasting at the moment," a Fish-i Communications spokesperson told ZDNet.
Fish-i said the feedback it was getting was that Talk Australia might try to relaunch in a "slightly different format".
At the time of bigfatradio's demise and its own debut, Talk Australia hyped up its own particular format as a distinguishing factor from competition that went along the path of free-to-air radio.
"bigfatradio was destined to failure," Talk Australia MD Paul Hodges told ZDNet at the time.
"We believe we'll create a great deal of an impact in the marketplace and grow our audience quickly," Hodges said, by going for "bulk audience" as opposed to "niche markets".
All that talk has trickled into silence now as telephones go unanswered at the Talk Australia studios in Glebe and services are defunct at the still accessible site, Onair@talkaustralia.com.au.
Back to the drawing board will be the much talked-up team of high-profile presenters, including ABC-TV's weatherman Mike Bailey, former 60 Minutes reporter Ian Leslie and game show host Larry Edmu, formerly of Channel Nine's The Price is Right.
Twenty-five full-time staff, plus a crew of freelance and casual workers will also be forced back of the job queue.
Maria Valercou refused to comment and Paul Hodges didn't return calls to ZDNet.
