In this article by Frank McCoy, former president of engineering for American Media Services, the practicality of streaming radio over the Internet is challenged.  With the current push for broadband expansion, Mr. McCoy makes a good point: 

 “…the greatest appeal to internet radio remains its most fundamental problem:  the requirement that every user have a separate, custom-per-user data stream.”

Read here:  “The Problem Isn’t Demand, It’s Bandwidth“