Net radio network goes off the air

Fans of Live365 have been forced to groove elsewhere after the popular Net radio portal was temporarily shut down this week--one event in a long stream of misfortunes that have plagued the industry.

A notice posted on the Live365 Web site attributes the glitch to a problem with the company's broadband provider. The notice said the company is looking for another Internet service provider, but "due to the volume of traffic we support, our requirements are not easily met. (We) hope to be back up very soon."

Representatives for Live365 did not return calls seeking comment.

The news punctuates a dark year for independent net radio stations, as bigger players such as AOL Time Warner, Yahoo and Microsoft strengthen their radio positions and legal disputes rankle the smaller players.

Cogent Communications, a national data telecom carrier that provides broadband services to Live365's ISP, said it shut down the unnamed service provider Monday.

"We have suspended service to their ISP for repeated violations of our acceptable use policy," said Cogent CEO David Schaeffer, citing "repeated spamming of material, some of which might be considered offensive."

Schaeffer said he did not know if the spam complaints were tied to Live365.

Live365 is one of the most popular radio networks online. Arbitron, a media research firm, reported that listeners tuned in for 4.74 million hours in October to Net radio stations accessed through Live365's site. Public Interactive, a public radio site, placed second with 1.18 million hours.