KNX onto … 97.1??

[davideduardo]

Funny...I was Christmas shopping in a Best Buy today, and I saw a lot of AM/FM radios. One section had a large display of boom boxes, another had a number of clock radios, and then I saw some home receivers. I wasn't aware that boom boxes are still being made. But in fact they are, and there's a nice selection at Best Buy. Never had to ask anyone because they were out in plain site.

And several of the ones I saw recently at the same store have Internet connectivity so one can stream music onto the Big Bass speakers!

I think today they are being sold as much as portable amplifiers one can use for streaming as for the built in radio.

They did not, however, have CD or cassette players.

 

[TheBigA]

They did not, however, have CD or cassette players.

Neither of which are available in new cars anymore either.

 

[davideduardo]

Neither of which are available in new cars anymore either.

I wonder which was the last make and model to have a CD player... and when.

 

[michael hagerty]

I wonder which was the last make and model to have a CD player... and when.

Lexus, Subaru, Acura and BMW. There are actually 2022 models that have them.

 

[davideduardo]

Lexus, Subaru, Acura and BMW. There are actually 2022 models that have them.

An option?

Our last two rounds of BMWs did not have them, and that goes back about 8 years or so.

 

[michael hagerty]

As to who will be the last, my money is on Lexus, which was the last make with a cassette player (the 2010 SC 430). Subaru will probably be next to last. Given how long some of their models go without significant changes, maybe 2025 or 2026.

I just happen to be in a 2021 Toyota Land Cruiser this week—-the final year of that vehicle being imported to the USA. It has a CD player, as did it Lexus counterpart, the LX 570.

The ‘22 LX is all new and does not have a CD player—-but the slightly smaller GX 470 does.

 

[michael hagerty]

An option?

Our last two rounds of BMWs did not have them, and that goes back about 8 years or so.

Depends on the model. BMW offered them as options when they were standard on most other vehicles. They’re standard on the 1 Series. I’d need to go through the paperwork to see which BMWs I’ve had in the last year had them, and whether they were standard or optional.

 

[KilowattKat]

In fact here's a new study that confirms the use of smart speakers for listening to AM & FM:

Radio Has the Ear of Younger Adults Who Are Smart Speaker Owners.

Katz Digital reports smart speaker ownership in the home increased 53% from 2019 to 2021. Slightly more (41%) of smart speaker owners said they used their device to stream AM/FM

www.insideradio.com

Alexa, play "KNX News 97.1"

 

[Michael Rivers Kramer]

Funny...I was Christmas shopping in a Best Buy today, and I saw a lot of AM/FM radios. One section had a large display of boom boxes, another had a number of clock radios, and then I saw some home receivers. I wasn't aware that boom boxes are still being made. But in fact they are, and there's a nice selection at Best Buy.

Maybe some hope after all!

 

[michael hagerty]

An option?

Our last two rounds of BMWs did not have them, and that goes back about 8 years or so.

Okay, so digging through the paperwork on the cars I've had this year...(it's been a while since I mentioned it, so by way of explanation, I've been an automotive journalist for 24 years and currently write for Forbes Wheels, The Los Altos Town Crier and my own website, MikeHagertyCars.com)

None of the Acuras I drove ('21 NSX, '21 TLX, '22 RDX) had CD players.

The 2021 BMW 3-Series has "CD player prep" as standard equipment. Means the wiring is all there, and they'll sell you the player as an extra-cost option. The one I drove ( 330e) didn't have the option. And none of the other BMWs I drove ( 2021 430i Convertible, M3, M440i, X5, or 2022 X4 M Competition) even had prep.

It looks like BMW is close to having phased out CD players, but they're not there yet.

The 2021 Lexus IS 350 F SPORT, LS 500h, NX 300 F SPORT, RC F, RX 350, and UX 200 and the 2022 RX 450h---in other words, every Lexus I drove this year---has a CD player as standard equipment.

The 2021 Toyota Land Cruiser does, but it's the last year for that model. No other Toyota does.

The 2021 Subaru Forester Sport, the 2022 Subaru Forester Wilderness Edition and the '22 Outlander Wilderness Edition all have standard CD players. Subaru re-designed the interior on the '22 Outlander, with a large vertical screen that eats the area where the CD player used to be, but instead of walking away from CD, they hid a player in the center console box.

So, realistically, Lexus and Subaru are the only ones where you get a CD player with the car. Lexus' redesigned big SUV, the LX (based on the Land Cruiser the rest of the world gets) won't have one, which means Lexus is ready to move on as it updates its lineup. Subaru passed on the opportunity to do that with the Outback, so Subie could be the last CD on the market.

Interestingly (to me, anyway), I ran across some research that indicates that younger (under 40) buyers get into a vehicle with a CD player and wonder what the hell it's doing there ("What is this, the 90s? Am I my dad?"). So manufacturers had incentive to replace them beyond the cost of the units themselves.

Lexus' buyer base is older and more traditional and Subaru's is younger but loyal to a brand that almost never does shiny new tech. So it's logical that they're still offering CD players as standard.

 

[radiojomo]

I find it odd that 90 percent of adults still listen to radio. In my office, I polled several people and almost no one listened to regular terrestrial radio. I asked them after one of my coworkers wondered why I had a little CCrane in my backpack.

. Go to a Best Buy and you have to search hard to find one. I had to ask a clerk who said…. “Radio? Let me think, I think we moved them”.

It turned out they were in a small section on the bottom shelf and they only had 2 to 3 different models.

I'm a millennial and I catch myself surprised at how often I talk about radio with my peers. In fact, two friends recently told me about KNX moving to 97.1, which I couldn't believe. It is a promising sign for the industry.

 

[K108 Sacramento]

Radio in major markets has always been a "big business" because the number of stations is limited by the FCC and the laws of physics.

Back in the day of the Red, Blue and CBS webs, legislators in Washington feared letting owners have more than a few stations as they were concerned that any more would make them more influential than even the largest newspapers. This was all about politics and entrenched senators.

Until the mid-90's, however, broadcasters who did not own a network could only expand to 7 stations of a kind. That limited the ability of them to get financing because they were, to banks and lenders, "small" and not geographically isolated from downturns in business trends.

It was not until the aftermath of Docket 80-90 when half of all stations were not profitable (or, in the case of small owner-operators), nothing more than a guaranteed lifetime employment situation.

If there is an End of Life warning for radio, it has nothing to do with the owners. AM and FM radio are "one to many" services while many people want customized one-to-one personalized services. And commercial AM and FM depend on advertising, something many consumers will pay to avoid.

David whats more easy to personalize one to one, or one to many than internet radio done locally in a market that can now be received over your smarttv, smartphone, pc, laptop, notebook or tablet?? I'm surprised it isn't more popular locally by lots of America's fired and laid off former employees of radio, when the cost and maintenance of a broadcast frequency is eliminated entirely not to mention they would be free of the FCC. I realize that most stations are on the internet too but now most of them have very little local presence at all which the local internet only webcaster's could very easily provide. I HAVE noticed that a few of these web only broadcasters have started to have live personalities on in morning drive time. A few of them are very well produced also. I like All The Best Oldies and Boss Boss Radio and many other web only music sources while out driving in my work and personal vehicles. The web only choices for any type of music is amazing now add in local news and information breaks and it seems to me a winning combination because other than music licensing fees the overhead is very low. Also any local hosts could and should be the sales force to bring in local advertising business. Next biggest objective for these web only broadcasters is promotion of their presence on the web and of course gaining an audience to make it all profitable. That 70's Channel is fast becoming a profitable business for the owner and is another very well produced and manned web only broadcast. What say you David?

 

[davideduardo]

David whats more easy to personalize one to one, or one to many than internet radio done locally in a market that can now be received over your smarttv, smartphone, pc, laptop, notebook or tablet?? I'm surprised it isn't more popular locally by lots of America's fired and laid off former employees of radio, when the cost and maintenance of a broadcast frequency is eliminated entirely not to mention they would be free of the FCC. I realize that most stations are on the internet too but now most of them have very little local presence at all which the local internet only webcaster's could very easily provide. I HAVE noticed that a few of these web only broadcasters have started to have live personalities on in morning drive time. A few of them are very well produced also. I like All The Best Oldies and Boss Boss Radio and many other web only music sources while out driving in my work and personal vehicles. The web only choices for any type of music is amazing now add in local news and information breaks and it seems to me a winning combination because other than music licensing fees the overhead is very low. Also any local hosts could and should be the sales force to bring in local advertising business. Next biggest objective for these web only broadcasters is promotion of their presence on the web and of course gaining an audience to make it all profitable. That 70's Channel is fast becoming a profitable business for the owner and is another very well produced and manned web only broadcast. What say you David?

The music licensing fees for Internet "stations" is so high that, unless there is a subscription model, nobody has come up with a way to make them profitable..

Very small streaming operations have a lower rate that is more or less a "hobbyist" concession, but when the number of simultaneous streams approaches the levels historically obtained by AM and FM the costs are so high that they can not be matched by ad revenues.

My decades of experience tell me that, with rare exceptions, on-air personalities are not good salespeople. Competing for local ad revenue means challenging the local radio, TV, print, outdoor, direct mail and online services that have professional and trained sellers, managers and operations.

 

[RadioGuy1864]

Lexus, Subaru, Acura and BMW. There are actually 2022 models that have them.

Yep, I have a 22 Subaru Forester with a CD.

 

[TheBigA]

Also any local hosts could and should be the sales force to bring in local advertising business.

That sounds easier than it actually is. Bringing in advertising money isn't easy. Advertisers expect results for their money. They want programming to deliver customers. On the other side of the equation, listeners dislike commercials and commercial interruptions. So there's an inherent conflict between radio programming and advertising. Much better to operate on the listener sponsorship model.

 

[semoochie]

The music licensing fees for Internet "stations" is so high that, unless there is a subscription model, nobody has come up with a way to make them profitable..

Very small streaming operations have a lower rate that is more or less a "hobbyist" concession, but when the number of simultaneous streams approaches the levels historically obtained by AM and FM the costs are so high that they can not be matched by ad revenues.

My decades of experience tell me that, with rare exceptions, on-air personalities are not good salespeople. Competing for local ad revenue means challenging the local radio, TV, print, outdoor, direct mail and online services that have professional and trained sellers, managers and operations.

...and the more listeners you have, the more you pay! Ask Pandora!

 

[Andy Ludlum]

But my point is they're neck & neck in San Fransisco, while KNX is a clear winner in LA.

KNBR didn't add a lot of share when they added the FM simulcast. I don't expect a big jump 6+ for KNX.

You might want to look closer into your statement that KNX is the "clear winner" over KPCC. While I only see the 6+ demos these days, KPCC was beating KNX 25-54 in the past. That alone would be a strong reason to broadcast KNX on FM. Even without content changes tailored to a younger audience, KNX should increase audience and lower its demos.

 

[radiojomo]

The music licensing fees for Internet "stations" is so high that, unless there is a subscription model, nobody has come up with a way to make them profitable..

Very small streaming operations have a lower rate that is more or less a "hobbyist" concession, but when the number of simultaneous streams approaches the levels historically obtained by AM and FM the costs are so high that they can not be matched by ad revenues.

My decades of experience tell me that, with rare exceptions, on-air personalities are not good salespeople. Competing for local ad revenue means challenging the local radio, TV, print, outdoor, direct mail and online services that have professional and trained sellers, managers and operations.

I have only heard of a handful of independent, internet streamers who have been able to transform their hobby into a business.

Anyone who was able to do so got lucky in a way, either by attracting a loyal, niche audience that consistently tuned in and/or being on the air for a very long time. And that's even after years of operating the station at a loss.

 

[powers]

I happened to see an LA News Conference this morning. What stood out to me was the mike flag that was still being used. Usually when a station changes branding they try and get rid of anything with the old branding right away. I guess not everyone got the message.

 

[TheBigA]

I happened to see an LA News Conference this morning. What stood out to me was the mike flag that was still being used. Usually when a station changes branding they try and get rid of anything with the old branding right away. I guess not everyone got the message.

Ha! That's funny. Most of the broadcast supply houses take a couple months to process a custom order. I remember one station had an interim mic flag with a sticker on it to cover them until the new ones arrived. It looked a little cheesy though.