FCC Audio Division Chief Doyle Unhappy With HD Conversion

[local oscillator]

Here's a case in point. A story in yesterday's RBR (http://www.rbr.com/radio/radio_deals/texas-am-station-sports-hefty-price-tag.html) gives the details of the sale of KBEC, Waxahachie, Texas -- an AM on 1390 with 480w days and 260w nights, DA-2 with both patterns pointed away from nearby Dallas. Jim Carnegie, who I assume wrote the story, is clearly amazed by the price -- $1.25M -- for a facility that would be hard to give away in many markets. But when you read further, you discover that KBEC is locally owned and programmed (classic country) and clearly is an important part of its market (Ellis County - NOT Dallas). Most stations with facilities like KBEC's would be fringe players, hoping to skim off a thin slice of the Dallas pie at the lowest possible cost, or maybe just going silent. KBEC is successful in the face of dozens and dozens of DFW stations on the dial because it knows what it is and what its local audience wants and needs. Stations like that will always have value.

 

[TheBigA]

You mention that 92% of people listen to radio. That number seems kind of bogus,

Believe what you want to believe. The number comes from Arbitron, but it's being documented in several other studies and services. And lately, the number has been going up. Are people sitting around the living room with the radio on, giving it 100% of their attention, like it's the 1930s? No. Do they use radio? Yes. Do they want to pay for it? No. Are they listening to it in stores and restaurants? Maybe. But stores and restaurants have commercial-free options, and they still choose to use local radio as the entertainment for their customers. They don't have to. No one's forcing them. Listening is listening, whether it's casual or active.

Do people get tired of the same playlist? Sure. So stations try to mix in unfamiliar songs, and the audience goes away. I've seen it in market after market. Play a broader mix of songs, and the people go away. If, as a programmer, you see audiences go away when you diverge from status quo, then it makes you less interested in playing deep cuts. If you were an artist on a stage, and saw people get up and leave while you were singing a painful ballad, you'd never sing that song again. And it's not like the people in radio hate music or want to "drive people away." They see what works for a majority of the people, and so they do it. That's what a mass medium is all about. Do people want a personalized playlist? Sure. But most don't want to pay for it, or do the work programming it. Those who do use Pandora or Slacker. But a local radio station can't become someone's personal music service. That's not our job.

 

[TheBigA]

Jim Carnegie, who I assume wrote the story, is clearly amazed by the price -- $1.25M -- for a facility that would be hard to give away in many markets.

The locally owned and programmed aspect isn't unique. What I'd want to know is what did the buyer get besides the license. How much property is involved. Based on what I see, the station owns its transmitter and tower site. Usually lots of land involved. How about the studio? If it in a cinderblock shack or it's own office space in a good location. Those are important factors in the price of a station, and they aren't reported.

 

[landtuna]

Are they listening to it in stores and restaurants? Maybe. But stores and restaurants have commercial-free options, and they still choose to use local radio as the entertainment for their customers. They don't have to. No one's forcing them. Listening is listening, whether it's casual or active.

In my personal experience the number of stores and restaurants airing OTA radio is much smaller than specialized commercial sat feeds. I know of no restaurant, and I'm even including drive-ins here, that has local radio blasting away - and forget the many sports bars. Most often it is the corporation's own sat feed and the commercials advertise only that specific chain. Sonic is a good example. Much the same in retail stores except there are a few that do use local FM's (such as KOOL-FM in Home Depot here in Phoenix). Professional offices are even more lop-sided towards commercial-free sat music. I've only experienced one that had OTA running.

 

[TheBigA]

In my personal experience the number of stores and restaurants airing OTA radio is much smaller than specialized commercial sat feeds.

I'm simply responding to another post. Zach wanted to know if the numbers were actual listening, or incidental from stores. By the way, in-store networks aren't encoded for PPM, so they shouldn't show up in the ratings. However, satellite channels from Sirius XM are. The obvious advantage to commercial-free services is you won't hear commercials from your competitors in your store. And they take care of things like licensing and royalty fees.

I've actually done content analysis of the private music networks from several chains like Walgreens and I've found the music selection and production to be exactly like OTA radio. In fact one service I studied hired a local OTA radio DJ to act as their 24/7 host. So if the programming of OTA radio is "driving away" listeners, it should have the same effect in stores. But it isn't, so the charge that this is a programming issue is false.

 

[local oscillator]

The locally owned and programmed aspect isn't unique. What I'd want to know is what did the buyer get besides the license. How much property is involved. Based on what I see, the station owns its transmitter and tower site. Usually lots of land involved. How about the studio? If it in a cinderblock shack or it's own office space in a good location. Those are important factors in the price of a station, and they aren't reported.

The sales agreement is on the FCC's website: stock sale, $714k for station, $536k for real estate.

 

[landtuna]

By the way, in-store networks aren't encoded for PPM, so they shouldn't show up in the ratings. However, satellite channels from Sirius XM are.

But OTA radio in-store are coded for PPM, right? Just like the OTA signal?

So if the programming of OTA radio is "driving away" listeners, it should have the same effect in stores. But it isn't, so the charge that this is a programming issue is false.

I'm guessing an in-store listener (a) isn't paying strict attention to whatever is playing so tends not to be as enthusiastic or irritated as if they were listening in-home or car and (b) even if they were being "driven away" by commercials or music they don't like they are only in-store for a limited amount of time.

I know when shopping at Home Depot I enjoy the Classic Hits of KOOL-FM but do not like the constant interruptions of the in-store announcements. That tends to irritate me much more than the occasional OTA commercial block. Most other stores don't have that many noisy interruptions though so maybe it is limited to a select few.

 

[TheBigA]

But OTA radio in-store are coded for PPM, right? Just like the OTA signal?

Yep. But you say most stores don't do this, so then it shouldn't impact on the Arbitron figure.

I'm guessing an in-store listener (a) isn't paying strict attention to whatever is playing so tends not to be as enthusiastic or irritated as if they were listening in-home or car and (b) even if they were being "driven away" by commercials or music they don't like they are only in-store for a limited amount of time.

Most people listen to OTA for a limited time too. They have lots of other things to do besides listen to radio. But the point here is listening is listening, and Arbitron counts them as listeners even if they're not paying attention. Those are the rules programmers operate under, like them or not.

 

[Savage]

Sometimes posting on these boards is illuminating. Sometimes, it's just a waste of time and bandwidth. When the thread gets taken over by a name-calling smug lamebrain know-it-all twentysomething and TheBig "arguing for the sake of argument" A, you know it's the latter.

Zach, remember your post when you're 61. And be sure to note how quickly you got there.

In the meantime get some class.

 

[tomservo]

Sometimes posting on these boards is illuminating. Sometimes, it's just a waste of time and bandwidth. When the thread gets taken over by a name-calling smug lamebrain know-it-all twentysomething and TheBig "arguing for the sake of argument" A, you know it's the latter.

Zach, remember your post when you're 61. And be sure to note how quickly you got there.

In the meantime get some class.

What did I say that offended you so? Calling you a curmudgeon? I mean that as a term of endearment. I'm a cranky coot at heart in a younger man's body, believe me. And what makes you think you're anywhere close to correct on my age? I've always been told that in radio, you play what "sells" even if it's something you don't like. So dismissing today's awful music as awful music, while accurate in my viewpoint as well, is a bad thing to do if you're trying to make money off the demos that listen to it.

You guys gotta remember, I am not a radio insider. I'm not even a radio outsider looking in. I'm just a fan of the medium, occasional DXer and someone who hates to see radio slide down the ramp into oblivion like some of you folks. The difference is I see it from a different viewpoint because I am not biased by "my" industry. Maybe I'd feel differently if I worked in the business, but I imagine it would cloud my judgment because my paycheck would be a major influence.

I suppose if I worked the drive-through at McDonalds for 20 years I'd think everyone in the world ate there. But from my viewpoint, I don't know a single person who likes it, much less patronizes the chain. That doesn't mean they don't exist, just not within my sphere of influence. I figured you guys were smart enough to 'get that' when I talk about radio.

It's a counter to the absurd "everyone's listening even if they're not paying attention" fact. Last time I checked, radio stations don't make money off of people who are listening but not paying attention. Or any HD feed, since no one is listening OR paying attention. However, BigA's explanation of why the percentage is so high makes sense, and I appreciate learning something new.

I'm sorry for threadjacking, it's a bad habit of mine. I'll shut up now. You're all right, I'm all wrong and I have no business being here. It's no use discussing topics of contention with people who aren't interested in listening to different points of view.

 

[stacker]

Sometimes posting on these boards is illuminating. Sometimes, it's just a waste of time and bandwidth. When the thread gets taken over by a name-calling smug lamebrain know-it-all twentysomething and TheBig "arguing for the sake of argument" A, you know it's the latter.

So true. Thanks Savage.

 

[KB1OKL]

By the way, in-store networks aren't encoded for PPM, so they shouldn't show up in the ratings. However, satellite channels from Sirius XM are.

But OTA radio in-store are coded for PPM, right? Just like the OTA signal?

So if the programming of OTA radio is "driving away" listeners, it should have the same effect in stores. But it isn't, so the charge that this is a programming issue is false.

I'm guessing an in-store listener (a) isn't paying strict attention to whatever is playing so tends not to be as enthusiastic or irritated as if they were listening in-home or car and (b) even if they were being "driven away" by commercials or music they don't like they are only in-store for a limited amount of time.

I know when shopping at Home Depot I enjoy the Classic Hits of KOOL-FM but do not like the constant interruptions of the in-store announcements. That tends to irritate me much more than the occasional OTA commercial block. Most other stores don't have that many noisy interruptions though so maybe it is limited to a select few.

In store announcements cutting in on music no matter what's playing make me crazy too.