• Get involved.
    We want your input!
    Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.

    After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
    If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.

    After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
    https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/

    Thanks in advance and have fun!
    RadioDiscussions Administrators

Is HD slowing N/T migration to FM?

R

radiophiler

Other than Bonneville and a few other exceptions scattered across the country (Pittsburgh, Boston, New Orleans, New Jersey), companies have been painfully slow to migrate their successful news/talk stations to FM.

Unless you count HD-2 and HD-3 signals. Then, there's more. CBS is putting its largest market AM news or talk stations on its HD-2 and -3 signals, such as KYW Newsradio in Philadelphia being on 94.1 WYSP HD-2.

I'm wondering whether execs are thinking, "Well, if they really want N/T on FM, they can buy an HD radio."

There were a few reasons why more news/talk stations were expected to migrate to FM:
1. Signal (ex.: KYW's signal isn't too good at all in suburban Bucks County).
2. Younger demographics.
3. In the age of Ipods, satellite and online radio, local was supposed to be the savior of AM and FM radio. So why not move that AM news/talk station with more local hosts, news and traffic reports to FM?

The rumor that Bonneville is looking at LA is very interesting. There are also rumors that Greater Media might eventually consider a talk format for its ailing smooth jazz station on FM in Philly.

I have Sirius in my car. KYW is the only AM or FM station I still listen to, and that's for news, weather and traffic. I hate it when KYW's signal fuzzes out in between skyscrapers in downtown Philly, or when there's other typical AM signal interference due to things like power lines. And I'm not going to invest in an HD radio.

What does anyone else think?
 
KYW, WDEL and WILM are the only stations I listen to on a regular basis. Moving KYW's news to FM-HD2 is not going to make me rush out and buy an HD radio.

I still enjoy the fact, though, that I can listen to a WABC, WBT or WRVA if I want to catch what's going on in one of those cities. Moving the programming to FM takes away that option.
 
This is something I've never understood. If the programming you want is available in a market, what's preventing you from tuning it in regardless of it being on AM or FM? I'll grant you when the ability to receive a signal comes into play, that's a different story. Let's go back to the early days of UHF television. I recall my dad going and buying a uhf converter to get the one extra channel in our area at the time. But with the advent of TV's having VHF & UHF on one tuner, would anybody say, "I'm not going to watch 'that program' because it's on UHF." I've thought that putting a n/t station on a cluster's HD signal could only improve listenership to the AMer. But...are people just too lazy to switch bands for the program (or programming) they want? Or do I see the big picture all wrong?
 
CrankyYankee said:
This is something I've never understood. If the programming you want is available in a market, what's preventing you from tuning it in regardless of it being on AM or FM?
Click to expand...

CrankyYankee said:
But...are people just too lazy to switch bands for the program (or programming) they want? Or do I see the big picture all wrong?
Click to expand...

N/T on FM

Advantages:
* Better reception
* Younger demographics - 30 and under don't know what the AM band is or how to find it on their car stereos; and their iPods and mp3 players only receive FM
* N/T gets put on the FM menu - yes, people are lazy - and don't want to have to go back and forth from band to band and from station to station all day long - it can be a pain to switch back and forth between stations on the FM band and then between stations on the AM band - and then back again.

Disadvantages:
* Might have better coverage with current AM signal
* Talk & N/T is synonymous with AM band - by moving it to FM - it takes the station away from a cluster of similar talk stations - and puts it on a different band. As I noted above, people are lazy and don't want to have to go back and forth from band to band and from station to station all day long. So if your N/T listener also listens to sports talk and religious talk on the AM band - by moving to the FM band - you are moving into a new neighborhood on a different band - and hoping (& praying) your listeners will follow you.
* If it is working, why change it? - migration can cause problems.
 
radiophiler said:
Other than Bonneville and a few other exceptions scattered across the country (Pittsburgh, Boston, New Orleans, New Jersey), companies have been painfully slow to migrate their successful news/talk stations to FM.
Click to expand...

HD is a false messiah. It has more to do with the lack of courage and vision on the part of the people currently in charge of the industry.
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.


Back
Top Bottom