How to shoot oneself in the foot

[PhilJSmith67]

MarkW, I was listening to 'LAV when they read off the severe weather warning. Granted, I think 96.1/Max probably wouldn't have given the warnings. There are bound to be a few stations that only wait until and EAS tones are necessary, but for stations that aren't totally "from the bird" or wee-little stations running brokered programming, I'll put my faith in local stations to inform the public. Anytime the weather looks extreme, I have *always* been able to tune around the dial and find info in a short time (short meaning under 2 minutes). I have heard FM stations with a sister station on AM read a tornado warning, then direct people to flip to the AM for weather coverage, then continue with music on FM. That's not a bad way to handle the situation either, by giving people an option... Some people actually hate weather warnings, always ignore them, and would rather listen to music right up until the "frieght train" sucks their house up with them in it. One of my friends says he likes Sirius exactly for that reason, because he hates when stations give weather or other warning information, for any reason, ever.

 

[MarkW]

BTW as a fellow poster...thanks for the thought provoking, civil exchange. Quite refreshing.

My pleasure, Clouseau -- likewise to you!

To Philip, 97LAV generally does a pretty good job. At one time, they used to be the EAS primary for the GR market. Not sure if that's still the case or not. They do have a live / local airstaff in most dayparts, and I believe they still air hourly weather updates from the ABC affiliate.

LOTS of stations up there, though, use voicetracking, automation, and / or syndicated evening shows.

I agree with the earlier point about XM & Sirius -- they would never do an adequate job serving the small & medium markets.

If satellite radio becomes a real threat, I agree that it should make local radio better.

As other posters have written, though, I believe its position in the marketplace will continue to be that of a relatively niche product -- at least compared to traditional radio. I have trouble envisioning more than 15% of the general population using satellite radio at its peak.

The key to HD radio will be achieving factory-installed status in automobiles and mass-produced home receivers. If / when that happens, listenership will soar. With so many HD radio stations already on the air, I'm surprised at the lack of developments in this area.

The typical consumer is not going to shell out $199 or even $99 for some lame table top radio, especially at this juncture when there are a ton of misconceptions of what HD radio even is.

So, the HD Alliance got Radio Shack on board -- I am not impressed. Quite frankly, I'm surprised that retailer is still in business.

When the receiver offerings (greatly) improve, and when the alliance can get a retailer people actually patronize such as Best Buy on board, then and only then will sales hit respectable levels.

 

[IBOCRocks]

BTW as a fellow poster...thanks for the thought provoking, civil exchange. Quite refreshing.

My pleasure, Clouseau -- likewise to you!

To Philip, 97LAV generally does a pretty good job. At one time, they used to be the EAS primary for the GR market. Not sure if that's still the case or not. They do have a live / local airstaff in most dayparts, and I believe they still air hourly weather updates from the ABC affiliate.

LOTS of stations up there, though, use voicetracking, automation, and / or syndicated evening shows.

I agree with the earlier point about XM & Sirius -- they would never do an adequate job serving the small & medium markets.

If satellite radio becomes a real threat, I agree that it should make local radio better.

As other posters have written, though, I believe its position in the marketplace will continue to be that of a relatively niche product -- at least compared to traditional radio. I have trouble envisioning more than 15% of the general population using satellite radio at its peak.

The key to HD radio will be achieving factory-installed status in automobiles and mass-produced home receivers. If / when that happens, listenership will soar. With so many HD radio stations already on the air, I'm surprised at the lack of developments in this area.

The typical consumer is not going to shell out $199 or even $99 for some lame table top radio, especially at this juncture when there are a ton of misconceptions of what HD radio even is.

So, the HD Alliance got Radio Shack on board -- I am not impressed. Quite frankly, I'm surprised that retailer is still in business.

When the receiver offerings (greatly) improve, and when the alliance can get a retailer people actually patronize such as Best Buy on board, then and only then will sales hit respectable levels.

I agree with Clouseau...I am admittedly pro-IBOC, but I find myself agreeing with much of what you say. Very well thought out!

I'd take your thoughts one step further. While I think that HD being standard in car radios is key, I really believe that we HD Radio supporters need to be honest and realize that this isn't something that will be adopted overnight, nor is it a sure thing. I do believe that IBOC is here for the long haul, and that adoption will be along the lines of HDTV, which after many years, doesn't have a huge adoption rate. I don't believe that (other than early adopters) people will run out and buy an HD Radio, but I do see a day where people will buy a radio with HD when replacing an old one. HD Radio is on a multi-year trajectory, not a multi-month one.

I also firmly believe that broadcasters need to step up and make sure that they offer some compelling programming on the secondary channels because that is what will sell radios.

My $.02!