As far as I can tell without driving every model they ever made, 100%
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Saving AM Radio
- Thread starter BruceB
- Start date
You mean, the same WBZ that runs this bottom-of-the-hour liner?
“Listen to WBZ NewsRadio on the iHeart app.”
The very definition of a self-inflicted wound.
“Listen to WBZ NewsRadio on the iHeart app.”
The very definition of a self-inflicted wound.
WBZ gets credit in Nielsen regardless of platform. It can be AM radio, TuneIn, a smart speaker, iHeart app, or WXKS HD2.
How does any of that hurt the station?
No, it's the very definition of a station with a clue about its future.
Except if it's being listened to through ear buds or headphones, right? Or has Nielsen fixed that flaw in its technology?
Nielsen says it has. But even if they haven't, the station can check online listening usage at their server.
In the 60's, much of classical radio had originated on FM... like WCLV in Cleveland... or migrated there like KFAC in LA.
Ad budgets using radio to reach teens had pretty much disappeared by the 1980's. So CHRs retargeted slowly away from teens to young adults to young adult women.That I did not know. When did this start? I have almost no knowledge of their history post-New Kids On The Block, because that was precisely when I immediately stopped listening to it.
Why? Not enough spending power in that demographic? Wouldn't the tendency of teens to impulse spend on new or trendy products still make them an attractive target for advertisers? Or is the 25-year-old woman thought of as the same sort of indiscriminate, easily influenced consumer?
Federal regulation of advertising to minors became a big factor by the 1980s on both TV and radio.
But we are talking about teens as far as former Top 40 audiences are concerned.
But the interest in Top 40 declined when Pulse and Hooper started to give discreet demos in the 60's, making it obvious that Top 40 had to become more adult or die. Among the changes was the focus on gold and recurrents, mostly added to attract more adults.
Thank you, Gobots and Care Bears.
I agree.
The problem isn't losing Nielsen ratings ... it's losing focus. I've been saying for years that stations shouldn't keep sending listeners away to the web. Once someone picks up their phone they immediately get sucked in all different directions ... 83 emails, calendar reminders, various pop-ups ... and now they're not focused on your content, including commercials.
This scattering of the audience's attention seems to be more common on radio than TV, although at the end of many TV shows we're told to "Follow us on X, Y and Z.
AM Radio has terrible reception inside high rise buildings (unless near a window) and inside many single story commercial buildings, too. AM radio waves have difficulty penetrating certain building materials. A good percentage of audio listening occurs somewhere other than a car.
Inside the home, microprocessors, LED lights, wiring and especially dimmer switches can create havoc when trying to enjoy AM radio.
Promoting accessibility via the app makes sense. iHM likely also gains valuable data on its app users.
Inside the home, microprocessors, LED lights, wiring and especially dimmer switches can create havoc when trying to enjoy AM radio.
Promoting accessibility via the app makes sense. iHM likely also gains valuable data on its app users.
You've just made the case for shutting down AM radio completely.
Just announce the date, tell listeners where to find the content and pull the plug.
Then, FOCUS on keeping the listeners engaged.
What you're missing is that they're not "sending listeners to the web." That's where the listeners already are. I saw a statistic yesterday that only 60% of people in this country have a radio in their home. That's down from 98% just 20 years ago. Even websites have lost relevance. Ten years ago, you sent people to your website. Today, you send them to your social media site.
There's a reason the president of the united states uses his own social media site to interact with the public. Ask yourself what does he know that perhaps you don't? He doesn't do fireside chats or weekly radio addresses. Even his YouTube channel is abandoned. It's all done on social media. That's where broadcasters need to be if they want to have any impact. The media world is changing. Perhaps not for you. But we can see it in usage statistics. Ignoring the reality is the definition of a self-inflicted wound.
Who would do that? The government? Of course not. But the fact is that for anyone under 60, the AM band doesn't exist at all. For them, it has been shut down, because they don't use it. FM radio isn't far behind. Broadcast TV is also on life support. The numbers don't lie.
The way to do that is on social media. Once again, look at the president. What medium is he using? You tell me.
One of the category errors I keep seeing in conversations like this is the idea that there will come one fixed date on which AM will just "turn off" in the US.
There are still more than 4,000 licensed AM stations nationwide, and as a consultant who's worked with several hundred of them, I can tell you every one is a universe unto itself.
No one AM station, whether it's WBT or KNX or WABH, can accurately tell you much about what's happening at any other one. Each is unique when it comes to the big questions of "who owns the site," "what shape is the tower and transmitter in," "is there still a local listener base using AM," "how committed is the ownership to keeping AM on the air," "how valuable is the land for development," "is there a decent translator that's picked up most of the audience," and so on.
The number of AM stations on the air will continue to decline. We know that much. It will continue to be harder to find engineers who know how to keep old sites running, and more expensive to try to build new ones or do diplexes.
But beyond that, if you don't like gray areas and uncertainty, you're in the wrong conversation. Our regulatory system isn't built for any sort of "on day X, all remaining AM stations will have to shut down" sort of policy. Even if it's down to only a few hundred surviving stations eventually, some of them will still actually be making some money or providing some public service, most likely.
I'm 54. It's anyone's guess whether there will still be AM radio on the air when I draw my final breath in a few decades. Don't believe anyone who tells you they have a certain answer to that question - but if I were a betting man, I would bet that on my deathbed, I will still be able to tune in a few AM stragglers out there.
There are still more than 4,000 licensed AM stations nationwide, and as a consultant who's worked with several hundred of them, I can tell you every one is a universe unto itself.
No one AM station, whether it's WBT or KNX or WABH, can accurately tell you much about what's happening at any other one. Each is unique when it comes to the big questions of "who owns the site," "what shape is the tower and transmitter in," "is there still a local listener base using AM," "how committed is the ownership to keeping AM on the air," "how valuable is the land for development," "is there a decent translator that's picked up most of the audience," and so on.
The number of AM stations on the air will continue to decline. We know that much. It will continue to be harder to find engineers who know how to keep old sites running, and more expensive to try to build new ones or do diplexes.
But beyond that, if you don't like gray areas and uncertainty, you're in the wrong conversation. Our regulatory system isn't built for any sort of "on day X, all remaining AM stations will have to shut down" sort of policy. Even if it's down to only a few hundred surviving stations eventually, some of them will still actually be making some money or providing some public service, most likely.
I'm 54. It's anyone's guess whether there will still be AM radio on the air when I draw my final breath in a few decades. Don't believe anyone who tells you they have a certain answer to that question - but if I were a betting man, I would bet that on my deathbed, I will still be able to tune in a few AM stragglers out there.
Not quite true for the millions of members of ethnic groups that depend on AM foreign language radio. Or religious group members who similarly depend on such services.
You have said that Hispanics don't listen to AM radio. Was that true?
Hispanics don't generally (save in some small markets where there is no choice) listen to AM radio. In fact, Latin America is well ahead of the U.S.A. in "decommissioning" AM radio. Mexico even passed legislation declaring AM to be obsolete (translation: "dead").
I was talking about the many, many other foreign language speakers who only get service on AM radio in the areas where those groups are concentrated.
For example, "The New York City metropolitan area is home to the largest Russian and Russian-speaking population in the Western Hemisphere, with over 600,000 Russian-Americans residing in New York City alone and up to 1.6 million across the broader Tri-State region." (Google AI)
And lets not forget the many speakers of Native American languages!