AM Stereo, 50 years ago

[RadeoEngineer]

RadeoEngineer, two qeustions, please-
1. Approx when did KSON use the Kahn system?
2. When was the "old" 440' tower installed?
Thanks!

I believe it was in 1986 or possibly 1987 when the Kahn system went up on KSON-AM. We wanted to beat KCBQ to the stereo game. The tower was erected in 1960 after having been purchased from a Denver TV station, disassembled and sent down on a train. It replaced a standard 1/4 wave guyed tower and was shunt fed to compensate for its height.

 

[davideduardo]

I don't know that wide spread adaptation of AM stereo would have really done that much for the band. There are enough FM's to cover every music format and as good as AM stereo can sound it still can't match the noise level of FM nor can it match the frequency response.

I think you miss the importance of perception. In 1978, when we expected the FCC to determine which of the 5 systems we would be able to use, AM still had just about half the audience.

FM was gaining due to the perception of fewer commercials. AM stereo, just like the digital "myth" today, could have helped make AM competitive if accompanied with lower commercial loads, etc. While the fact is that even FM is listened to in stereo by even a majority of listeners, the word "stereo" in the 70's was as powerful as "digital" today. And AM in '78 was still viable and used by nearly everyone.

This is a Betamax / VHS issue. Marketing. Perception. Reality.

By the time the litigation was put to rest and a decision was made, AM was not viable for much of the audience. The window of opportunity had gone by. AM did not focus on talk in the 80's because of the band's fidelity... it focused on talk because the under-40 listeners had all gone to FM.

 

[RadeoEngineer]

David I may be a little rusty in the memory but I don't remember the AM stereo battle heating up until closer to the mid 80's. Sure if a decision on a system had been made earlier and implemented there might have been some acceptance of AM stereo as a nifty new technology, but as you argue all the time AM listening is mostly done by geezers such as myself and I think that would be the case even if AM stereo had been fully implemented en masse in 1975. Or '78 or whenever. Maybe I'm missing your point.

 

[davideduardo]

David I may be a little rusty in the memory but I don't remember the AM stereo battle heating up until closer to the mid 80's. Sure if a decision on a system had been made earlier and implemented there might have been some acceptance of AM stereo as a nifty new technology, but as you argue all the time AM listening is mostly done by geezers such as myself and I think that would be the case even if AM stereo had been fully implemented en masse in 1975. Or '78 or whenever. Maybe I'm missing your point.

It was around 1978 when the decision about the five companies that presented their systems for FCC approval was expected; I had order #1 for two of the 5, giving me a 40% chance of having the first licensed AM stereo station. At the time, AM had enough audience so that it might have been able to make AM stereo compete with FM. The cume of the band was still in the 80% of all population range so radio could promote itself on air effectively. Of course, manufacturers would have had a lot more incentive to release AM stereo radios, which they did not have in the early 80's when the FCC allowed stations to install stereo due to the steep further decline in interest in AM.

By the time the FCC acted, AM had lost another 20% of overall listening, and FM was totally dominant. Anyone under 40 was listening to FM and AM had no effective way of promoting itself as the huge cume reach was dwindling. Thus, stations found that the only formats that had growth potential were talk based and with the elimination of the Fairness Doctrine later in the decade, AM became, audience wise, a talk medium.

If Kahn had not sued, and delayed AM stereo by about half a decade, the band might have survived. Of course, receivers would have had to appear, and stations would have needed to promote.

As it is, AM has aged, listener-wise, and added no new listeners so that the average AM listener is today about 57 or 58... well outside the sales demos. And in many large markets, like Houston for example, AM listening is only about 10% of the total, and less in the under-55 ages. So, yes, nearly all AM listening today is by seniors... and there is little advertiser interest in that group.

 

[RadeoEngineer]

OK. So you're saying that AM stereo at an earlier stage may have helped AM retain some additional listenership temporarily but eventually would have declined to present levels with or without an early AM stereo standard? I have no argument that Leonard was the biggest reason that a standard wasn't adopted in a timely fashion, but I would also argue that the FCC should have made a choice and stuck with it, even though I was personally a Kahn proponent over the other systems. I don't remember the issues peaking around 1978, rather I recall all the standard heat at about 1986 or 7, 1 or 2 years after I started at KSON. My memory is admittedly fuzzy because I had been at XETRA for about 9 years before KSON running a Kahn system there until it became The Mighty 690 redux. I would like to see AM stereo used at more stations and decoders for C-Quam included in car radios even today, but I don't think it would even slightly impact listening. By the way, I also installed a C-Quam system for KURS and it worked fine as did the other San Diego stations that went C-Quam over Kahn. I still think that Kahn was the superior system, but then we never have quite gotten it right in the USA starting with FM stereo, color TV and right out to Hybrid Digital to name just three.

 

[davideduardo]

OK. So you're saying that AM stereo at an earlier stage may have helped AM retain some additional listenership temporarily but eventually would have declined to present levels with or without an early AM stereo standard?

No, I am saying that AM lost the window of opportunity to establish a perception of being comparable to FM ("we're stereo too...") that existed only when FM had not taken the dominant position. While all stations, due to AM coverage issues, might not have benefited, there was certainly the opportunity to keep AM from losing the younger generation via AM stereo... coupled with changes in commercial load, etc.

I don't remember the issues peaking around 1978, rather I recall all the standard heat at about 1986 or 7, 1 or 2 years after I started at KSON.

The 5 manufacturers who presented AM stereo systems did so (and I am of course fuzzy on exact dates) around early '78 and we expected a decision within perhaps months. I can pin it to that year, as the station I managed then was the one where I got confirmed orders for the equipment should certain systems be approved. By March of 1982, when the FCC finally authorized AM stereo, I was just moving from a Miami AM to a pure FM focus...

I still think that Kahn was the superior system, but then we never have quite gotten it right in the USA starting with FM stereo, color TV and right out to Hybrid Digital to name just three.

Again, perception and marketing. Betamax vs. VHS is another example. Remember, FM stereo was considered a "last gasp" effort to make FM viable around '61. In the decade between 1950 and 1960, total FM station licences had gone from nearly 1000 to around 600... a loss of about a third of all stations. If you look at post-War issues of Broadcasting...

http://www.davidgleason.com/Broadcasting Individual Issues Guide.htm

... all the equipment ads were for FM equipment (1946 and 1947, particularly).

It was not until 20 years later that an FCC rule, not technology, saved FM by prohibiting most simulcasting.

 

[johndavis]

As it is, AM has aged, listener-wise, and added no new listeners so that the average AM listener is today about 57 or 58... well outside the sales demos. And in many large markets, like Houston for example, AM listening is only about 10% of the total, and less in the under-55 ages. So, yes, nearly all AM listening today is by seniors... and there is little advertiser interest in that group.

Part of the problem you have in Houston (other than the ancient demos for anything other than sports talk) is the city has outgrown most of the AM signals, especially at night. Even if there's something you'd want to listen to, you can't pick it up after dark. I'd expect that's an issue in San Diego with the North County suburbs, too.