While reading the "Coast to Coast AM" thread it was noted again and again that overnight radio is virtually impossible to sell to advertisers and thus yields little revenue for even the biggest stations. And the fact overnight radio (especially on the AM side) is heavy on station promos and PSAs is reflecting that. Is there any chance stations would simply stop broadcasting overnight? What value does overnight radio provide if it's so unimportant revenue wise?
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Would radio stations abandon overnight broadcasting?
- Thread starter installLSC
- Start date
It's really easy to run the automation all night.
As BigA says, it's easier to do and costs very little.
When equipment began to be so reliable that it did not need regular down time for adjustment and servicing, stations began running 24 hours a day 6 days a week, going off on Sunday night / Monday morning for a little maintenance.
When we did that, we found that listeners who might have an early or late shift or those who got up to feed the baby or just had a little insomnia found having their favorite station with them even at 3 AM was helpful in building loyalty and usage.
I put my first station on the air in 1964 in a large market. Within 6 months of doing a 6 AM to Midnight schedule, we went 24/7 and became the first out of 34 stations in the market to do so. I really think that being on helped us to reach #1 and it kept us there for years... even though the hours themselves were not profitable.
That depends on the size of community or market. As you probably remember; back before automation became so cheap, stations used to sign off. Especially in smaller communities. Doing so saved utility costs of a power-hungry tube transmitter, and didn't require hiring an overnight jock/board op. Listeners always seemed to come back the next morning. Now, solid state transmitters and $1,500 automation allow the station to be there 24/7, no matter what the market size. Agree with David and BigA that it's definitely an advantage to listeners if the station is always there, but I wouldn't go so far as to say even one listener wouldn't come back should the station go down, scheduled or not.
Listeners expect someone to be there - SOMEONE - I doubt the garbage run overnight on most stations now is building any loyalty. Yes the station is "on" but no one is home. Used to always put on WBZ when up late with live overnight talk - now I'll stream WECK with live overnight host or put on WABC also now live overnight. That has directly led to me rarely listening to BZ when I used to have it on 80% of the time so I suppose this partially proves the argument that overnights can build loyalty - but can also destroy it when the content is garbage. Its not just a matter of leaving the transmitter on. At least we have WECK and WABC. TV is really bad wall to wall infomercials overnight. I would rather watch a test pattern. No choice but to go to the DVR or a streaming app.
Really?
Ever call the gas company or the power company at night or on the weekend? I have. No one's there.
In the radio biz a handful of loyalty doesn't pay the bills, advertisers do. There are few to none overnight. If there was a large number of loyal listeners to radio past ten PM, then stations or syndication companies would provide programming to stations. There isn't.
But you just commented that you listen to various stations or streams at night. There are many choices these days for listening, even in the middle of the night. And your listening habits aren't indicative of any majority. Loyalty of a few radio nerds won't keep the lights on.
Oh, that's not a general statement... Garbage? Garbage to who?
I hear different stuff overnights. There's the C2C and RER programs mentioned upthread, but there are sports shows overnights like Ben Maller, and ESPN has a guy overnights doing rundowns -- and there are early, early morning newscasts. And early morning news roundups. Not everyone who listens to radio works daytime hours, or standard 8-5 hours. Those shows may persuade them to keep the radio on that station later in the day during the morning drive, instead of tuning to a different station instead.
Well, lots people here always disagree when I make my points in some of the forums. All I can say is if you expect and plan to fail you will. If you try to put something on air worth listening to it may work and be competitive. Instead so many advocate that the battle is already lost so why bother. Put on prerecorded news, infomercials, maybe the sound of a fog horn. Who cares - no one is listening so why bother trying to get anyone to listen. It's amazing to me how so many are in favor of just standing by and watching the ship go down without a fight.
I'm just a listener - I have no stake in the game. I love good radio and will listen when I find it - but if the radio industry won't provide that anymore it doesn't affect my my income and I'll find something else to do for entertainment. Those of you losing radio jobs because you resigned yourself to defeat can take my order at the McDonalds drive thru.
I'm just a listener - I have no stake in the game. I love good radio and will listen when I find it - but if the radio industry won't provide that anymore it doesn't affect my my income and I'll find something else to do for entertainment. Those of you losing radio jobs because you resigned yourself to defeat can take my order at the McDonalds drive thru.
What about truckers who drive all night?
THey have Sirius XM but at one time it was important for wide signal range AM. They used to sell all-night remotes at truck stop where the Truckin' Bozo would broadcast all night
Exactly, and they drive in and out of local radio signals all night.
Working in a college town, there was one time the phones especially lit up was finals week, both at a classic rock/active station and an A/C station.
What are you talking about? There hasn't been any revenue coming from overnight radio in decades.
What would that be? Something that you like?
Advertisers dictate where and when they want to place ad dollars. Not stations.
That's pretty clear.
An AM daytimer here in NJ used to broadcast live from 6 AM to 6 PM, all year 'round (even when sunrise was after and sunset was before 6 -- they claimed they had FCC authorization to do so), and then repeated it from 6 PM to 6 AM on their web stream, so that way the time checks would be accurate.
H
Harvey_Dogg
Guest
I haven't been connected with a station that has signed off overnight for more than 30 years. You only save a couple bucks per day on the power by going off anyway.
Storms and other emergencies can happen at any hour and it's important to provide the information.
Storms and other emergencies can happen at any hour and it's important to provide the information.
You're trying to tell other people how to spend their money, and then you get upset when they disagree with you.
But how many actually do, besides relaying EAS alerts?
One of my now-former stations located along I-90 between Eastern WA. and the Seattle metro, I could literally log in live remotely from my home in Virginia, or drop in an I-90 pass closure announcement during the winter. I would get an alert from WDOT to my cell phone, record the message, and drop it into the automation at the station. All using this new tech called the Public Internet.
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