NAB debating the future life or death of AM Radio

[Steve.Gates]

I found this several weeks ago, while doing my research on HD Radio Tuners. I'll have another post that follows up to this one. Steve.

''NAB debating the future life or death of AM Radio

Posted on October 4, 2012 by Paul Riismandel

Old Dusty Radio (#48791)

Inside the radio industry there has been quite a bit of hand-wringing about the AM dial. Though conservative talk stations and sports stations in big markets continue to generate ratings and revenue, there’s an increasing recognition that other AM stations aren’t doing as well. Many blame overcrowding on the dial which leads to more interference, especially at night. Others claim broadcasters themselves are to blame, for not maintaining facilities and uncreative programming.

Over at DIYmedia.net John Anderson takes a critical overview of the solutions being examined by the National Association of Broadcasters, which has formed a task force to tackle the future of AM. John writes:

[EDIT]

Full article here:

http://www.radiosurvivor.com/2012/10/04/nab-debating-the-future-life-or-death-of-am-radio/




[EDIT-citation truncated per Terms of Service.]

 

[TheBigA]

Say what you will about the NAB....at least someone is concerned about AM.

The real organization that SHOULD be trying to revive it is the FCC. They're the agency charged with overseeing the public spectrum. But they have no idea what they're doing. They talk a lot and have held a lot of hearings and have done absolutely nothing in ten years. They've sat in their offices in Washington and watched how small AM stations have gone dark or fallen on hard times. They've basically taken a "hands off" approach to everything, including HD Radio. If it interferes with other stations, too bad.

The problem is that the radio industry really can't do much to fix AM without new regulations. Anything they propose, including digitizing AM, or expanding FM, will take the approval of the government. And the government is sound asleep. The radio industry knows it's not going to get leadership from the government, so they're doing whatever they can on their own.

Broadcasters know that any solution that requires the public to buy new radios won't work. They've had ten years to study HD Radio, and even satellite radio has been largely a failure. The public has already moved on to other devices. Any radio-only device is destined to failure. Programming isn't enough of a motivation to get people to buy radios. They can already get anything they want, so there's no programming radio can provide that will get people to buy new radios. The device itself has to be cool. You can see that in the competition over cell phones. Radio can't compete with Apple and Samsung. It's not even worth discussing. Radio companies aren't in the electronics manufacturing business, as they were when GE and RCA owned radio stations. So radio is dependent on existing technologies and devices to carry their content.

That's why the only real solution is to do what Clear Channel and CBS are doing, which is stream on-air programming online. Streaming can be received on cell phones and computers, devices the public will buy. Streaming doesn't require the FCC to do anything, which is good, because they won't. Radio geeks can complain all they want about the changes taking place, and how it's not like it used to be. But the train has already left the station.

 

[mp3RadioGuy]

Say what you will about the NAB....at least someone is concerned about AM.

The real organization that SHOULD be trying to revive it is the FCC. They're the agency charged with overseeing the public spectrum. But they have no idea what they're doing. They talk a lot and have held a lot of hearings and have done absolutely nothing in ten years. They've sat in their offices in Washington and watched how small AM stations have gone dark or fallen on hard times. They've basically taken a "hands off" approach to everything, including HD Radio. If it interferes with other stations, too bad.

The problem is that the radio industry really can't do much to fix AM without new regulations. Anything they propose, including digitizing AM, or expanding FM, will take the approval of the government. And the government is sound asleep. The radio industry knows it's not going to get leadership from the government, so they're doing whatever they can on their own.

Broadcasters know that any solution that requires the public to buy new radios won't work. They've had ten years to study HD Radio, and even satellite radio has been largely a failure. The public has already moved on to other devices. Any radio-only device is destined to failure. Programming isn't enough of a motivation to get people to buy radios. They can already get anything they want, so there's no programming radio can provide that will get people to buy new radios. The device itself has to be cool. You can see that in the competition over cell phones. Radio can't compete with Apple and Samsung. It's not even worth discussing. Radio companies aren't in the electronics manufacturing business, as they were when GE and RCA owned radio stations. So radio is dependent on existing technologies and devices to carry their content.

That's why the only real solution is to do what Clear Channel and CBS are doing, which is stream on-air programming online. Streaming can be received on cell phones and computers, devices the public will buy. Streaming doesn't require the FCC to do anything, which is good, because they won't. Radio geeks can complain all they want about the changes taking place, and how it's not like it used to be. But the train has already left the station.

Amen!

I couldn’t have said it any better.

 

[jefflaurence]

A student in a production class said "Why would anyone want to listen to a radio station? That's like having to listen to someone else's iPod with commercials and stupid talking"

Ouch! But not really untrue is it?

(sigh)

 

[TheBigA]

A student in a production class said "Why would anyone want to listen to a radio station? That's like having to listen to someone else's iPod with commercials and stupid talking"

Depends. The student has lots of free time to load the songs in his ipod. If & when he gets a job and a family, he won't have all that free time, and the thought of having a service that delivers songs already loaded in exchange for some commercials isn't such a bad idea.

 

[Mike Sheridan]

Hey Dad can always get the kids to load some songs in his iPod or load them himself while paying bills on the computer. It doesn't take very long and it's not labor intensive unless you are seriously disabled.

A few commercials would be okay but 2 sets of 7 minutes worth of commercials is a bit much. I used to like to listen to music on the radio because if something newsworthy happened the station would give me the information, but that ship has sailed too. The medium we used to use to stay in touch with the world is itself out of touch.

 

[hschutte]

Say what you will about the NAB....at least someone is concerned about AM.

The real organization that SHOULD be trying to revive it is the FCC. They're the agency charged with overseeing the public spectrum. But they have no idea what they're doing. They talk a lot and have held a lot of hearings and have done absolutely nothing in ten years. They've sat in their offices in Washington and watched how small AM stations have gone dark or fallen on hard times. They've basically taken a "hands off" approach to everything, including HD Radio. If it interferes with other stations, too bad.

The problem is that the radio industry really can't do much to fix AM without new regulations. Anything they propose, including digitizing AM, or expanding FM, will take the approval of the government. And the government is sound asleep. The radio industry knows it's not going to get leadership from the government, so they're doing whatever they can on their own.

Broadcasters know that any solution that requires the public to buy new radios won't work. They've had ten years to study HD Radio, and even satellite radio has been largely a failure. The public has already moved on to other devices. Any radio-only device is destined to failure. Programming isn't enough of a motivation to get people to buy radios. They can already get anything they want, so there's no programming radio can provide that will get people to buy new radios. The device itself has to be cool. You can see that in the competition over cell phones. Radio can't compete with Apple and Samsung. It's not even worth discussing. Radio companies aren't in the electronics manufacturing business, as they were when GE and RCA owned radio stations. So radio is dependent on existing technologies and devices to carry their content.

That's why the only real solution is to do what Clear Channel and CBS are doing, which is stream on-air programming online. Streaming can be received on cell phones and computers, devices the public will buy. Streaming doesn't require the FCC to do anything, which is good, because they won't. Radio geeks can complain all they want about the changes taking place, and how it's not like it used to be. But the train has already left the station.

Big Money is the only thing that makes the FCC do anything.

Also, the poor little old guy who can't afford internet connectivity at home is just out of luck.. Make sure your IPOD is working ...

 

[TheBigA]

A few commercials would be okay but 2 sets of 7 minutes worth of commercials is a bit much.

Have you counted the number of commercials on TV lately? The percentage of ads on a web page? One of the biggest complaints users of Pandora have is the advertising.

An ipod is not a radio. An ipod is a modern cassette player. What made the Walkman so popular was when it was combined with a radio. You could even record off the radio and play it back. Now such a device is outlawed by the music industry for stealing music.

 

[TheBigA]

It's the lead story in RadioInk today:

http://www.radioink.com/Article.asp?id=2576707&spid=30800

Cromwell Group CEO Bud Walters has filed an application seeking to make it easier for AM stations to move an existing FM translator a greater distance than now allowed to a location where it can re-broadcast the AM station. The application says this one regulatory change would bring relief to a number of AM stations.

The comments are interesting. One from a guy who still wants to fight for AM stereo. Talk about living in the 80s. Another from a guy who wants to regulate against simulcasts. Don't these people understand that you can force people to lose money? This isn't a radio problem. It's an audience problem. The audience is done with AM. It's seen as old fashioned. AM stereo won't solve the static and interference problems. Regulating simulcasts won't force manufacturers to put AM radios in cars and other electronic devices.

 

[Kent Dorsey]

This is a good discussion, Jeff's comment about the guy in production class was someone saying what I had been thinking before.
But now my stupid question, we grew up listening to the radio and knowing what were the groups and hits...
How do young folks keep up with the new songs today?
I know of great new releases by Donald Fagen, Jeff Lynne, The Fixx, and the Beach Boys... but they don't really fit anywhere on a format anymore to gain much attention...

 

[TheBigA]

How do young folks keep up with the new songs today?

Everything. Social network, YouTube, etc. Some get played on the radio. The country format is typically 25% new music. CHR is more than half. Then again, Classic Rock has no new music. So old artists go on TV. That's why Steven Tyler did Idol for two years. It brought him to a new audience. Donald Fagen just did Letterman. The Beach Boys did a tour to promote their new music.

The thing about it is today there are so many artists and genres, it's tough to decide who or what to play on the radio. I was watching the American Music Awards last night, and some of that couldn't be played on the radio just because of the language or subject matter. Back in the AM days, there were five musical genres, and the labels limited the number of artists. Not any more.

 

[Steve.Gates]

This is a good discussion, Jeff's comment about the guy in production class was someone saying what I had been thinking before.
But now my stupid question, we grew up listening to the radio and knowing what were the groups and hits...
How do young folks keep up with the new songs today?
I know of great new releases by Donald Fagen, Jeff Lynne, The Fixx, and the Beach Boys... but they don't really fit anywhere on a format anymore to gain much attention...

I listen to all different sources of music - yesterday I was on Sirius Satellite Radio, today I was listening to Country Gold AM1410 out of Concord. The best way is to explore every possible channel and every possible technology. YouTube can be a good source of music as well. The other thing I do is make the most of my time --- if I end up in a Traffic Jam, that's an opportunity to ''scan the band'' and see what's out there. 8)

 

[turkeydance]

since this is about producing advertising revenue
using the AM band to broadcast programming:

1. the AM band is relatively 'full' in the NC RDUTriangle,
which gives me the idea that it's doing OK.
2. forget about the under-20 demographic. just stop.
ex: they have deserted 'old-fashioned' email.
3. accentuate the positive (talk) eliminate the
negative (music) latch on to the affirmative
(simulcast) don't mess with mister in-between
(HD radio).

 

[N1WVQ]

The comments are interesting. One from a guy who still wants to fight for AM stereo. Talk about living in the 80s. Another from a guy who wants to regulate against simulcasts. Don't these people understand that you can force people to lose money? This isn't a radio problem. It's an audience problem. The audience is done with AM. It's seen as old fashioned. AM stereo won't solve the static and interference problems.

I don't understand why all of the hatred for A.M. Stereo, especially C-QuAM. A good portion of the comments I read are from Kahn supporters who are still pissed 20 years later that their boy's system wasn't chosen (from what I heard, it sounded the worst with no stereo separation above 6kc.) & the others seem to be from people who HATE A.M. radio in general & wish it would DIE. A.M. stereo should be available because it's available for F.M. & T.V. stations! It's not a cure-all but it would be one step towards parity.

 

[Mike Sheridan]

The comments are interesting. One from a guy who still wants to fight for AM stereo. Talk about living in the 80s. Another from a guy who wants to regulate against simulcasts. Don't these people understand that you can force people to lose money? This isn't a radio problem. It's an audience problem. The audience is done with AM. It's seen as old fashioned. AM stereo won't solve the static and interference problems.

I don't understand why all of the hatred for A.M. Stereo, especially C-QuAM. A good portion of the comments I read are from Kahn supporters who are still pissed 20 years later that their boy's system wasn't chosen (from what I heard, it sounded the worst with no stereo separation above 6kc.) & the others seem to be from people who HATE A.M. radio in general & wish it would DIE. A.M. stereo should be available because it's available for F.M. & T.V. stations! It's not a cure-all but it would be one step towards parity.

I don't want to kill AM, I'm just tired of watching it's slow death.

 

[TheBigA]

It's not a cure-all but it would be one step towards parity.

Unfortunately, parity doesn't matter anymore. All of this is 20th century thinking. Same with HD Radio. The idea was to improve the audio quality with digital. But that train left the station already. There is no exclusive content that would motivate people to buy a new radio for AM stereo or AM HD. If they're going to buy something, it will be a new phone or tablet.

 

[Steve.Gates]

It's not a cure-all but it would be one step towards parity.

Unfortunately, parity doesn't matter anymore. All of this is 20th century thinking. Same with HD Radio. The idea was to improve the audio quality with digital. But that train left the station already. There is no exclusive content that would motivate people to buy a new radio for AM stereo or AM HD. If they're going to buy something, it will be a new phone or tablet.

It Actually Occurred To Me The Other Evening --- Reading This Reminds Me Of What Happened To The Computer BBS'es That Were Around Before The Internet Boom. It Is A Very Similar Situation. Once The Internet Took Hold, And Major ISP's Set Up Shop, That This Left Little Future Possibilities For The ''Mom -&- Pop'' BBS'es That Were Out There. BBS'es Quickly Were Forgotten And/Or Were Run Out-Of-Business. It Is Sad But True.

I Know RD-Members Have Fond Memories Of ''Community Radio'' And A ''Local Scene'' But I Am Forced To Wonder If Those Will Just Continue To Stay Memories. After All, Who Can Afford To Start An ''Oldies Station''? Who Is Willing To Take ''A Chance'' To Bring ''Beach Music'' Back To The Carolinas?

Steve.

 

[N1WVQ]

Steve: 1. You don't have to capitalize every letter. It makes it harder & more frustrating to read. Just the 1st letter of every sentence as well as callsigns & acronyms. 2. WVCO in Myrtle Beach plays Beach Music as do WPCM, WLWL, WODR and others.

Big A: What you're suggesting is that there is no future for a radio station as an RF entity. Yet I can think of no faster way nor more convenient to get local information out to the public & it still has its own infrastructure. If the web goes down any streams are toast. Adding AM Stereo is, for me, about providing the best to the community from another aspect. Why broadcast in mono? It sounds horrible and yes, I know a lot of that is the receiver rather than the transmitter. Plus, if we're talking centuries, AM is late-19th/early-20th & FM is early-20th as well.

 

[TheBigA]

Big A: What you're suggesting is that there is no future for a radio station as an RF entity. Yet I can think of no faster way nor more convenient to get local information out to the public & it still has its own infrastructure.

I agree, but people don't always do the smart thing.

 

[w9wi]

Adding AM Stereo is, for me, about providing the best to the community from another aspect. Why broadcast in mono? It sounds horrible and yes, I know a lot of that is the receiver rather than the transmitter.

Switching to stereo does what for listeners with mono radios? (nearly all of them) IMHO, while there's nothing *wrong* with AM stereo, that boat has sailed -- and sunk -- decades ago. AM stereo quite simply is not a factor, either for good or bad.