so let me get this straight

[wibgradio99]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the largest metro in the country and one of the largest on the planet, if you want to hear a Country or Alternative signal you have to buy an HD Radio, but if you want to hear an ethnic signal they are falling off both bands, sad.

 

[TheBigA]

What's so hard about getting an HD radio? They're not very expensive. It's not like forcing you into a subscription with user name and password.

 

[Mikey Radio]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the largest metro in the country and one of the largest on the planet, if you want to hear a Country or Alternative signal you have to buy an HD Radio, but if you want to hear an ethnic signal they are falling off both bands, sad.

Obviously those "ethnic signals" have owners and/or advertisers that are willing and able to support them financially, while country and alternative formats haven't been able to generate high enough ratings in the right demographics and/or interest from the right advertisers to make a go of it financially - or at least make airing those formats a strong enough bet that any stations owners have been willing to take that gamble.

Alternatively, you could look at this as your opportunity! If you think country and alternative are formats that aren't served in that market but would do well, put up your own funds or form a group of like minded folks, lease or purchase a signal and give it a go!

 

[davideduardo]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the largest metro in the country and one of the largest on the planet, if you want to hear a Country or Alternative signal you have to buy an HD Radio, but if you want to hear an ethnic signal they are falling off both bands, sad.

Among commercial band FMs (AM has less than 5% of all listening, nearly all of that among people over 55) there are 3 Spanish language stations. The market is 27% Hispanic.

On AM, there are many other options but those are mostly "last resort" formats for marginal AM facilities.

On FM, both country and alternative were tried and the shares of audience were declining and the share of revenue was even worse. The Spanish language stations are among the market's most profitable because advertisers want to reach those listeners.

The USA has had "ethnic" media since times prior to the Declaration of Independence. Dutch and French press thrived, and as the nation grew we found indigenous languages as well as Spanish and Portuguese and Gaelic and Italian and German and Chinese and... to be served by local media around the country.

And much of it is not "ethnic" as the United states was built with not just English speaking Brits. You could say that English speakers are the "ethnic" group of most of the land west of the Mississippi as well as the Gulf Coast.

 

[leftofthedial]

Alternative as a commercial format doesn't really work anymore. WFUV does a good job. SiriusXM even better--the streaming package is well worth it

 

[Barry]

Connoisseur Media operates WWSK The Shark on Long Island, and WFOX The Fox in nearby Connecticut. Both play fairly hard rock. I believe some of it can be considered alternative.
Would it make sense to flip one of these stations to alternative, or at least try a few Alt specialty shows? As Alt is primarily a suburban format in this area, perhaps it would have a better chance of succeeding on one of those two, than on a New York City based signal, such as 92.3.

 

[davideduardo]

Connoisseur Media operates WWSK The Shark on Long Island, and WFOX The Fox in nearby Connecticut. Both play fairly hard rock. I believe some of it can be considered alternative.
Would it make sense to flip one of these stations to alternative, or at least try a few Alt specialty shows? As Alt is primarily a suburban format in this area, perhaps it would have a better chance of succeeding on one of those two, than on a New York City based signal, such as 92.3.

One of those bills just under $2 million, and the other around $3 million. Neither is going to change format, as they are doing well in their individual coverage areas

 

[Rusty Muck]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the largest metro in the country and one of the largest on the planet, if you want to hear a Country or Alternative signal you have to buy an HD Radio, but if you want to hear an ethnic signal they are falling off both bands, sad.

Or pull out your smartphone and stream any country or alternative station in the world, whenever you want. Even those that transmit on HD subchannels in the market. You don't even need to buy an additional radio.

 

[Negin]

Or pull out your smartphone and stream any country or alternative station in the world, whenever you want. Even those that transmit on HD subchannels in the market. You don't even need to buy an additional radio.

Except smartphones sounds like crap unless you send the audio to a decent pair of headsets or speakers via Bluetooth or direct if the phone still has the audio jack on it.

 

[ScottBurns]

While I know the signals were limited, how did the Y107 trimulcast do back in the '90s? Did it make any inroads in NYC? I am guessing that the answer is no, as the station no longer exists.

 

[nd2023]

Connoisseur Media operates WWSK The Shark on Long Island, and WFOX The Fox in nearby Connecticut. Both play fairly hard rock. I believe some of it can be considered alternative.
Would it make sense to flip one of these stations to alternative, or at least try a few Alt specialty shows? As Alt is primarily a suburban format in this area, perhaps it would have a better chance of succeeding on one of those two, than on a New York City based signal, such as 92.3.

I felt like Alt should have moved to 94.7, and 92.3 should have flipped to The Block.

 

[frankberry]

This thread has racist undertones. I'm closing it.