AM has no future. Almost no one under 45 listens. It might last longer than 10 years because what few 55+ buys exist go to talk radio, but I'd be surprised if it has much of any audience at all in 20. Some would argue it already has virtually no audience as it's already less than 10% of all listening in many areas. I don't see any way it can come back from that.
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AM has no future. Almost no one under 45 listens. It might last longer than 10 years because what few 55+ buys exist go to talk radio, but I'd be surprised if it has much of any audience at all in 20. Some would argue it already has virtually no audience as it's already less than 10% of all listening in many areas. I don't see any way it can come back from that.
I feel like most of the audience are DXers and obviously there’s no money in that.
The issue with ages is mostly one relating to agency buys. Smaller stations in bigger markets and most stations in smaller markets just don't get agency buys or get only an occasional one. They sell to local business and service providers, and those local residents don't think "demographics"; they think "what rings the cash register".
I disagree. I believe AM for music has no future, but AM News/Talk and Sports are still quite viable. AM was once the dominant broadcast band for music, however that eroded in the 1970s and 1980s, when the audience began a migration to FM, which sounds much better. And it’s in stereo.
My experience has shown that News/Talk on FM has yet to gain any traction. “News 92” is one example. KUHF’s failed all-news attempt was another.
HD has much potential, but I think the station owners have squandered that potential by rebroadcasting what is already available locally. KTRH is one example. Even the translator owners, many of whom lease (or not) an HD subcarrier use it as simply a feed point for an FM translator. HD penetration into the consumer market has been less that stellar.
I don’t see AM going away unless the News/Talk format goes away. And I believe Conservative News/Talk is increasing in popularity rather than decreasing, fueled by increasing voter discontent with the status quo
Not in Houston. And the audience is mostly people who grew up with AM. Not anyone under 50.
If I want to hear an old white guy getting angry and yelling, I’ll just tell my dad Creedence Clearwater Revival is the worst band ever.
That audience is overwhelmingly 55+.
News/Talk struggles on FM because younger listeners, in general, don't want to listen to it. Angry political talk has very little appeal to anyone in the money demos. Putting the same garbage their parents and grandparents listen to on FM isn't going to appeal to them just because it's on FM.
Political talk is decreasing in popularity, at least among listeners under 50. That has been happening for at least the last 10 years, probably closer to 20 now. Very few news/talk stations are strong 25-54 performers, and most of the ones that are focus more on news and local stories than on political talk.
That demographic for “conservative” news/talk you mention is mostly angry old white men, a group that decreases in size as people die off.
Maybe if the FCC had mandated the change to Digital in 2009 along side with the TV change, it could have worked. Not today, that train has left the station, to use another outdated analogy.
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Deleted member 108832
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I don't know about that, Stan. Plenty of angry, young white men were on the steps of the Capitol on January 6th too. Women, as well. If you review the footage, you'll see Blacks and Hispanics were also represented. This narrative of it only being angry white guys representing the conservative viewpoint and values associated with them is, to keep it clean, straight bologna.
Talking about radio here. Keep it about radio.
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Deleted member 108832
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Ok. So, "angry white men" are not the only demographic consuming right wing radio.
Those "angry, young white men" are probably listening to conservative podcasts and watching online personalities on X, YouTube, or Facebook. They're not listening to AM radio. Younger people of both political camps are consuming digital media in bigger numbers than older people.
To my knowledge, it has never been a key demographic for conservative talk. I'm not saying they don't exist. But collectively, they're not as big of a group to go after with conservative talk.
Yes, and those minorities are already listening to AM radio conservative talk in English or watching/consuming digital media These aren't the type of people who are going to be listening to AM radio in Spanish because they're already assimilated.
Furthermore, it is widely accepted that the events of January 6 only had the fringest of the fringe. These are the type of people who think Tucker Carlson isn't conservative enough or that Alex Jones is a "deep state" agent.
But it is the majority. Despite how you feel, the demographics don't lie. Older white men are the biggest group of listeners for conservative talk on AM radio. They're the only reason why the AM band hasn't been completely abandoned like it was in Mexico (well, almost completely abandoned)
Here's what we know: Statistically, the audience for news/talk is 60% male, average age is 59, and 86% white.
Draw whatever conclusions you want. Statistically, we can't say they're angry.
D
Deleted member 108832
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Which nullifies the essence of Stan's post. He made it a point to get his jab in at the "angry old white men", I offered the counterpoint that not all of the audience is angry...or white.
86% is a big majority. Less than 10% under 35. Less than 25% under 50.
The median age of known rioters in the Capitol was mid-40's. Young people were certainly involved, but the Capitol riot wasn't what most people would consider a youth movement. Talk radio might want to reach those younger people involved, but there's little to no evidence it's very successful at doing so.
When you listen to talk radio, the hosts are mostly white guys. You can find a few female and African American conservative talk hosts (Dana Loesch and Larry Elder immediately come to mind), but they are few and far between. As The Big A mentions, talk radio is mostly white men talking to white men. I suppose I don't know the hosts and can't really say whether they're angry, but some of them definitely sound that way.
Talk radio isn't extreme enough for that group. They live in their own world, driven by primarily social media, or off the grid.
Will they're definitely not listening because they're happy. We know that much.
The television train left the station in 2009, and just changed to a different track with ATSC 3.0. However, the radio train hasn’t left yet.
Whether a digital transition for both radio and television occurs simultaneously or not makes no difference. Digital is progress and digital is the future.
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