AM - Where are you going? Best formats for future

[12 In a Row]

True, the clock only goes forward.
I'm in my 50's and grew up with AM top 40 radio.
My wife is in her 40s growing up with FM radio.
She never thinks to push the AM button and wonders why they still have one.

More and more news/talk/sports stations are moving over to FM.
Not a bright future for AM.

 

[TheBigA]

This topic reminds me of a panel at one of the Public Radio Conferences years ago: "When is the Best Time to Air Radio Drama." I had a two word answer: The 1940s. AM's problem isn't programming, although that isn't helping. The programming problem came after the audience left. Great programming wasn't enough to keep the audience from going to FM. Ask the folks at WABC. So great programming won't bring them back. The future of AM is going after the great unserved: The ethnics who don't speak English, the minorities who have no voice, and anyone who wants a forum. Depending in the location, that could be a lot of people. But it's not very sexy and isn't a lot of fun.

 

[bturner]

Brokered Radio is simply selling airtime to individuals and groups who have full control over their shows, sell their own advertising and market their program to potential listeners. In cities with numerous ethnic communities, this is a great moneymaker. The station could care less if they have 1 listener or a million. It's all about selling every hour and collecting the cash. Best of all, troublesome programmers are charged 'studio time' ($25 an hour or so) to 'put up with them'. And if they're really a pain they have to put up their own studio since we only sell airtime. We made our people pay in advance. Forgot the check? Go home and get it! Sounds rough but if they get behind just 1 payment, it is rare they will ever catch up. I see how you could easily do a million or more a year with a daytimer.

High School and College Sports are BIG money. If you're going out to sell it yourself, you're missing the boat. High School Booster Clubs will sell it and you 'donate' a percentage back to the school's booster club. Likewise, college alumni groups will buy time for their games and sell their own ads. In each case, you have THEM do the on-air. When I did this I could get $200-$300 an hour and for crucial college game: thousands.

You might be getting the picture: consider your station a big building and you're renting them a storefront...you are simply the landlord. No need for air talent nor sales staff. When you have no budget for either, it works well. Who cares about ratings when you're running to the bank.

And, if you have an unsold slot, you can play radio, doing the show you always wanted.

 

[ok walters]

bturner - I am doing that right now on a beat down station with a huge signal that an 81 year old man was running into the ground playing nostalgia music. That approach gets you paid now, as opposed to trying to build an audience that isn't there over time so you can sell spots.

I have used the Booster Club approach for years and it works like a champ. I sell the evening out for games that they announce themselves - anytime you are making money at night on an AM you should be pretty happy, especially money someone else brings to you.

 

[bturner]

Earlier in the discussion, local play by play was mentioned. Someone said it was a poor choice, but I disagree.

A local game is great local revenue. Every business in the general area feels like they need to support the team. They know the parents are the trade area customer base they need to have in their store. Likely the businesses are smaller and cannot afford the higher dollar advertising in a metro newspaper, top rated radio station or TV station (even cable with all the production charges). You can command more of the advertising pie (sometimes all of it).

The locals will listen and love you for airing the game from their kid's school.

Can one sell this? Check a high school annual, football program or school newspaper. Remember, all these ads are sold by Booster Clubs or high school students. Imagine how well a fulltime salesperson can do.

I'd bet you could sell 20 little guys for less work than you put in trying to get that one ad agency to put your call letters on the buy sheet for that short term flight.

In a metro area, it is a beautiful advertising option for the local business that has no options for reaching the public. The brakes and muffler shop is begging for an option while the national chains eat at their customer base with national buys.

 

[johnbasalla]

And the best part of local sports coverage is you'll always have high school sports, you'll always have parents who will listen and like you for putting their kids on the air, and businesses who'll want to show their support for the community during the games.

 

[N1WVQ]

To me, if A.M. is going to survive, it's gotta go back to super-serving the local communities. No more rimshotting unless the target market is receiving a decent signal. Sadly, some A.M. radios are deaf (my girlfriend's car radio is horribly deaf). If more radios get that way then the only thing is to serve the C.O.L., which isn't a bad thing! Local sports, news, spelling bees, talk shows, etc.. Stations are doing it now. It may sound hokey but it can get an audience better than all-business! Plus, if you put the archived broadcasts on the web, people will go to your site to hear it or download it!

This may not be the golden age of A.M. but with hard work & love it can be a silver age!

 

[TheBigA]

To me, if A.M. is going to survive, it's gotta go back to super-serving the local communities.

Only if that station is a monopoly on the local community. ut if you're in a town with 12 AM stations, only one or two can afford to "super-serve" the local community, because truthfully, there isn't the kind of local business advertising dollars that used to be there. Most cities have seen their locally-owned stores replaced by national chains, and that means local ad dollars are gone. Super serving the community costs money, and most AM stations simply don't have it. That's why they end up sounding the way they do.

 

[slarson]

I would have to add my "dream" team station, and that would be a classic full service country format, natl syndicated news on the bottom half, local news at the top, classic country music, and by that, it would mean nothing newer than 1998, and going back as far as the quality would let you. Hire qualified out of work folks that need gigs, cater to the demo that spends the most money. And flat out refuse to put people that want to "voice" their own spots on my air. That's why we have professional broadcasters, they sell your product better than you ever could, no matter how good your aunt bessie says your voice is. Bring in classic "Chicken Man" episodes as filler material where I need it. Read funeral announcements before Sunday Church services, air lost pets, hog futures and the like, create personality radio where presenters were that, friends that you can wake up to, count on and feel like you met the President when seeing them in public. Do all this on Am stations that are on fringe large markets, invest in the station and it's fan base will surely keep you employed and profitable. But again, that's all a "dream", noone in their right minds would ever do that.. or would they?
Larson

 

[TheBigA]

But again, that's all a "dream", noone in their right minds would ever do that.. or would they?

I think everyone on this board has a similar dream. Here's what you do.

Write me up a financial plan. How much it would cost to do what you do, including salaries, utilities, rent, insurance, and all other expenses. Then the cost per spot based on potential audience, an analysis of the market, indicating who the potential local advertisers would be, what their annual media budget is, and what percentage might go to your station. Compare the cost vs revenue, and see what you get. But be very conservative with revenues, because those advertisers will want discounts and bonuses.

 

[N1WVQ]

To me, if A.M. is going to survive, it's gotta go back to super-serving the local communities.

Only if that station is a monopoly on the local community. ut if you're in a town with 12 AM stations, only one or two can afford to "super-serve" the local community, because truthfully, there isn't the kind of local business advertising dollars that used to be there. Most cities have seen their locally-owned stores replaced by national chains, and that means local ad dollars are gone. Super serving the community costs money, and most AM stations simply don't have it. That's why they end up sounding the way they do.

I've worked in the south about 40 miles south of a medium city as well as in New England about 30 miles from Boston. In both instances there were local businesses that could & would advertise on the stations. The southern city's station was run better (& this is up against 100kW F.M.s too as well as 50kW A.M.s) than the New England station but both were profitable. Were they the best-sounding stations? No. But, we provided them with a service nobody else would & we aimed for the best whenever we could get it, programming-wise.

 

[N1WVQ]

But again, that's all a "dream", noone in their right minds would ever do that.. or would they?

I think everyone on this board has a similar dream. Here's what you do.

Write me up a financial plan. How much it would cost to do what you do, including salaries, utilities, rent, insurance, and all other expenses. Then the cost per spot based on potential audience, an analysis of the market, indicating who the potential local advertisers would be, what their annual media budget is, and what percentage might go to your station. Compare the cost vs revenue, and see what you get. But be very conservative with revenues, because those advertisers will want discounts and bonuses.

Fortunately for me I've recently found my first boss who is running a station & offered to do a business proposal. So I'll get training & not have to figure out all of that by myself!

 

[Nostalgia]

And the best part of local sports coverage is you'll always have high school sports, you'll always have parents who will listen and like you for putting their kids on the air, and businesses who'll want to show their support for the community during the games.

I couldnt help commenting on this. I have a small AM in a small town doing most of the things suggested in this thread: community radio, psa's for the churches, local news, ect. I approached the local HS about their games and was told they would be happy to let me broadcast their games for $500 PER GAME! When questioned about this figure they had calculated that our broadcast would cut into their gate and this was the figure they came up with! So, although most of the citizens and advertisers I had asked wanted us to broadcast the games, we are not. So no, johnbasalla, you will not always have high school sports!

 

[12 In a Row]

Once the baby boomers are gone so will AM radio.

 

[davideduardo]

Once the baby boomers are gone so will AM radio.

The oldest boomers are not even 65... and the youngest still in their 40's. It will be decades before they are gone.

 

[landtuna]

The oldest boomers are not even 65... and the youngest still in their 40's. It will be decades before they are gone.

The youngest Boomers turn 50 this year.

It will be decades before they are gone.

Hopefully. ;D

 

[N1WVQ]

Once the baby boomers are gone so will AM radio.

The oldest boomers are not even 65... and the youngest still in their 40's. It will be decades before they are gone.

Which will gave radio (BOTH bands need help) time to correct its path towards irrelevance. I'm not arguing with you, just using your post as a launching pad for my thought.

 

[N1WVQ]

Once the baby boomers are gone so will AM radio.

Not necessarily so. A.M. still caters to ethnics, religious, hometown folk & it varies by area. Plus, it seems that if A.M. goes so does F.M. as F.M. has stolen just about every A.M. format! What will F.M. do for innovation if A.M. goes? Jammin' Oldies? F.M. Talk (hot talk, not traditional talk on F.M.)? Variety Hits?

 

[TheBigA]

Which will gave radio (BOTH bands need help) time to correct its path towards irrelevance.

By doing what? People seem to have made their minds up. And when that happens, there's not much you can do. You can put some cool new format on AM, but it won't change the perception. And people don't sample or scan the dial anymore. So you program to an existing audience, as long as they're around, and look forward to your own retirement. That's the boomer way.

 

[N1WVQ]

Which will gave radio (BOTH bands need help) time to correct its path towards irrelevance.

By doing what? People seem to have made their minds up. And when that happens, there's not much you can do. You can put some cool new format on AM, but it won't change the perception. And people don't sample or scan the dial anymore. So you program to an existing audience, as long as they're around, and look forward to your own retirement. That's the boomer way.

Who has made their minds up? I'm (thankfully) not a Boomer so I only know MY way. What is the boomer way?

F.M. was stagnant for about 35 years (1933-1968) before it started taking off. It was looked down upon as the "egghead band" (this told to me from someone who used to listen to F.M. back in the Bad Old Days, circa 1958). Perceptions can & do change. Recently my fiance & I had her 20-year-old & 13-year-old nephews over. Do you know what piece of equipment stood out to them as cool? The record player. Yep, "ANTIQUATED" VINYL! Then I gave them a test, I played a fairly scratchy record. Do you know what they said? THEY HAD NO PROBLEM LISTENING TO IT! THEY ACCEPTED THE SCRATCHES! Records, which predate them by about 90-100 years are seen as COOL to this age bracket! I'm talking about Emile Berliner's invention (the flat disc record) with Peter Goldmark's refinements (the L.P.)! So, if the record has hope then so does A.M. radio, BUT NOT AS IT EXISTS NOW. Not with programming that doesn't interest them. If it suits them, they will use whatever tools are available to them. So, if there's an A.M. station that broadcasts what they want they'll discover it & use it. Same with F.M., but these stations in a closet with no presence they can touch, hold, see, hear will be useless to them. I'm talking personalities, promotion & yes the dreaded ACTUALLY PLAYING THEIR REQUESTS & not the usual "it's coming up in a little while" & never actually playing it!

I read a statement that said that in some ways, Baby Boomers are more receptive to changing brands than the current teens. The current teens stay true to Apple whereas their older counterparts will bounce around. I'm waiting for this to bear itself out but it will be interesting to watch. If this turns out to be true then the advertising agencies & their clients won't be able to afford to write off ANY demographic!