Bongwater said:No, if AM is dying off, then give back the licenses and move all AM programming to FM HD. It would SAVE a lot of money wouldn't it?
Well WOULDN'T IT??
Jeez, settle down there big guy... First of all the jury is still out as to the viability of even FM IBOC listening. Consumer acceptance won't be there unless all radio manufacturers provide HD chips in all new radios. Relying on the aftermarket to drive acceptance when probably 98% of frequent listeners don't know the difference between satellite radio and terrestrial IBOC broadcasts. The Ibquity model requires radio manufacturers to pay for the decoder chips in order to recover the R&D and development costs. Manufacturers are not interested in paying because they'll have to pass the cost along to consumers.
There are still plenty of older generation folks listening to news and talk on AM, but as stated over-and-over, younger ones aren't listening to AM let alone know it exists. Keeping one's head in the sand while listening decreases with no plan going forward does not make good business sense.
Bongwater said:And the FCC can make the AM band a local community radio band.....
Fair enough, eh?
Oh and by the way, THC beats CRACK anyday.....
Funny you should mention that..(again). I was reading an article just the other day in some trade magazine about the increasing number of AM and FM stations going silent, some of them turning in their licenses. Believe it or not even Clear Channel was on the list with a couple AM stations. According to the head engineer at CCU, the particular AM station's transmitter sites had lost, or were about to lose their already expensive land leases. After looking at the declining revenues of the markets because of economic conditions, Clear Channel actually offered to give the stations to schools and churches in the community, only to have no takers. Just as the analysis Clear Channel had done, there was no upside nor chance of recovery within the expense of moving, then operating an AM station.
Oh and another interesting observation was that probably 50% of the FM stations on the silent list were new Low Power (community) FM licenses. In these economic times, even community stations are struggling to stay on the air.
Based on the realities of life as we know it Bong, your continued comments about more community-based stations whereas quite noble, are completely impractical.
Regarding your 'taste test' comparison between forms of illegal drug usage, I'll defer to your opinion. :