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Interested in a radio station management game?

B

brianshrader

Hi, all. Brian Shrader from Raleigh, NC, here. I started in radio when I was in high school back in 1994 (WEEB/WCRY, Fuquay-Varina, NC) and I had the joy of working at WPTF, Raleigh. I've been an anchor/reporter/meteorologist at WRAL-TV in Raleigh since 2006. I'm a long-time lurker here.

I've been working on a radio station management game called Airwave Empire. It's browser-based and (tries) to simulate real-world radio markets. You start in 1970. Pick your format, tweak your strategy, invest in marketing and programming, hire the right people, make some money and buy more stations (within real-world FCC limits). Bank the profits and see if you can compete with "ClearWave" as they gobble up stations in the late 1990s. Currently, the game offers several scenarios for a handful of markets (NY, Chicago, LA, Atlanta and Nashville) with more to come! Real-world multiplayer is coming!

It seems to work on my end, and friends are having fun playing it.

Here's the deal: I'm looking for some beta testers to take it for a spin and let me know what you think. Eventually, I'm going to have to charge something to pay for the AI logo and talent portrait generation (and some other features I'm working on) -- but I'd love to turn some of you loose on it right now to get your feedback and thoughts.

If you're interested, please send me a direct message here -- and I'll send you the link. Thanks for considering!

Screenshot 2026-04-01 at 8.51.29 PM.png
 
K.M. Richards said:
I'm all for the idea and hope all the people here who think they understand the business get to play it and find out that they don't.
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For the record, I try to be modest; I don't understand anything about the business, but I am very interested in learning more.

If I played that game now, I would probably crash and burn because I don't know much, but it would be a good learning experience, and it would spare me the consequences of crashing and burning in the real world, a distinctly harrowing and stressful experience.

And it sounds like fun, too!

I'll wait until it goes public.

c
 
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cc333 said:
For the record, I try to be modest; I don't understand anything about the business, but I am very interested in learning more.

If I played that game now, I would probably crash and burn because I don't know much, but it would be a good learning experience, and it would spare me the consequences of crashing and burning in the real world, a distinctly harrowing and stressful experience.

And it sounds like fun, too!

I'll wait until it goes public.

c
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The screenshot reminds me of "Football Manager", a very popular game series where the player manages and coaches a football (soccer) team, buys and sells players, and plays matches. The entire simulation takes place in what looks like an email inbox, a spreadsheet and a bank account in one, with no "playable" elements - you set up your team and watch them play.

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Brian I'm really enjoying this! Thanks!
I started out on the hardest option, one small AM in ATL in 1970. By Spring 2026 I had the #1 station, an FM sports talker @15.7 #2 FM CHR @13.0, #3 AM/FM news talk @ 12.4, #6, AM with translator Spanish language @ 8.7 and #7 FM classic hits @7.5... and $707M in the bank with zero debt.
Kinda like the time I got to fly the AirTran (Flight Safety) simulator in that I did crash several times until i got the hang of it. The first few times i found myself in the red before 1971 was over.
 
amos1001 said:
Brian I'm really enjoying this! Thanks!
I started out on the hardest option, one small AM in ATL in 1970. By Spring 2026 I had the #1 station, an FM sports talker @15.7 #2 FM CHR @13.0, #3 AM/FM news talk @ 12.4, #6, AM with translator Spanish language @ 8.7 and #7 FM classic hits @7.5... and $707M in the bank with zero debt.
Kinda like the time I got to fly the AirTran (Flight Safety) simulator in that I did crash several times until i got the hang of it. The first few times i found myself in the red before 1971 was over.
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Sounds like you're the king of Atlanta radio! 👏👏👏. Glad you're enjoying it!
 
Lots of new features added: Including a written ratings summary (in the style of a trade article), better AI logos, better info when renewing talent contracts, and now working on tougher AI opponents. :) If you want to test it out, drop me a line!
 
I started yesterday and then actual work got in the way. Looking forward to taking a deeper dive and starting for real over the weekend!
 
vw86 said:
I'm not a city planner but loved SimCity back in the day. Go for it!
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Exactly!
cc333 said:
And I did!

I did quite decently in the Atlanta market, with a budget of over $100 Million at one point, and two successful AC stations in the Top 5 (one a heritage mainstream AC with a 7.8 share, the other a Hot AC with a 5.6 share).

I tried all news, but got mired at #12 with a 4.0 share.

c
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Well done!
 


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