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WHAT-AM Philly doing SKIN Radio in HD

And the HD “fall-out” from this is posted within the topic “IBOC is the Radio Racket” here:
http://www.radio-info.com/smf/index.php/topic,61777.0.html

A paraphrase of the HD radio portion of an interview between “Radio Racket” hosts and the “Skin Radio” PD on last week’s live netcast:
http://www.radio-info.com/smf/index.php/topic,61777.msg441456.html#msg441456

“Radio Racket” co-host George Brusstar's comment regarding this fruitless endeavor (from the Philly board) is reposted under the topic here:
http://www.radio-info.com/smf/index.php/topic,61777.msg444284.html#msg444284

Or you can follow the local topic on the Philadelphia board:
http://www.radio-info.com/smf/index.php/topic,62594.0.html
 
1q2w3e said, "One of the first AM stations to flip to an alternative format and using HD Radio..."

I want to voice their new HD position statement....."Now hear WHAT's new alternative deep album cuts in crystal clear digital HD...from 7AM until 4:30 PM all this month!"
 
jim 8230 said:
"Now hear WHAT's new alternative deep album cuts in crystal clear digital HD...from 7AM until 4:30 PM all this month!"
Click to expand...

...And you may need to add the following TOS to that “image liner” just so all the “yutes” fully understand the REAL nature of HD radio and don’t rush the WHAT lobby in anger...

“...IF you live within FOUR-MILES of Fairmont Park”

and

“...HD reception intermittent during twilight hours due to adjacent-channel skywave interference... Telephone-quality analog will briefly be substituted.”

This is starting to sound like one of those car lease commercials :D

Do you possibly believe the typical 24-year-old with an iTunes account would understand this?
 
Whether HD or not, AM needs to be a little bolder with programming. Not every station can be news, sports, or conservative talk. The market for those formats may be large, but not large enough. I believe there ARE music and entertainment formats that WILL WORK on AM, if given a chance. Take the oldies formats that have disappeared from FM. People first heard these songs on AM to begin with! It was, is, and always will be about PROGRAMMING.

Give me an oldies format with jocks that are FUN TO LISTEN TO, and hey...I'll listen to music on AM. In fact I DO listen to music on AM. In lots of small markets, it's an AM music station that still dominates. That's true here in Wilkes County, NC, where heritage country AM WKBC (800khz) is still goin' strong. Ditto in Ashe County where heritage WKSK (580) with a monster signal that gets into four states keeps goin' strong.
 
Mike Walker said:
Whether HD or not, AM needs to be a little bolder with programming. Not every station can be news, sports, or conservative talk. The market for those formats may be large, but not large enough. I believe there ARE music and entertainment formats that WILL WORK on AM, if given a chance. Take the oldies formats that have disappeared from FM. People first heard these songs on AM to begin with! It was, is, and always will be about PROGRAMMING.

Give me an oldies format with jocks that are FUN TO LISTEN TO, and hey...I'll listen to music on AM. In fact I DO listen to music on AM. In lots of small markets, it's an AM music station that still dominates. That's true here in Wilkes County, NC, where heritage country AM WKBC (800khz) is still goin' strong. Ditto in Ashe County where heritage WKSK (580) with a monster signal that gets into four states keeps goin' strong.
Click to expand...

AM radio, is doing just fine, with news/talk/sports - AM talk shows are highly-rated and command more dollars, per advertiser, than FM.
 
"AM Radio is doing just fine" if you factor in the top handful of stations in a market. But MOST AM stations in major markets don't have Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, fulltime news or sports, a major team franchise, or any of the things that make that top two or three stations (say six or seven in the biggest markets) successful. My father used to say "a little knowledge is a dangerous thing". That's sure true with radio.

Take Charlotte for instance. Heritage 1110 WBT has monster ratings. So one could assert that "AM is doing great in Charlotte". WRONG! I've heard people from 'BT say numerous times that nothing would be better for them then for someone else, ANYONE ELSE on the AM dial to also do well. It would draw more people to the AM band, and be great for EVERYONE. MOST AM STATIONS ARE NOT "doing great". Most are also-rans, running tiny little minority formats. Audiences are often so small they'd do better to turn the transmitter off, save energy, and just open the windows and turn the studio monitors up LOUD! Some of 'em might even extend their coverage area this way! :'(

AM programmers need to think outside the box. If you think every AM can make it "just fine" with news/talk, then I don't know what market you're in, but I guarantee the ratings sure as hell don't back you up on that. I don't know a market where there are a handful of AMs near the top, and the rest are "bottom feeders". Some actual creativity might well be their ticket OFF THE BOTTOM!

(Relax Dittoheads, I'm not suggesting Limbaugh or Hannity stations change formats. I'm talking about the little guys who DON'T REALLY HAVE AN AUDIENCE!)
 
Mike Walker said:
"AM Radio is doing just fine" if you factor in the top handful of stations in a market. But MOST AM stations in major markets don't have Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, fulltime news or sports, a major team franchise, or any of the things that make that top two or three stations (say six or seven in the biggest markets) successful. My father used to say "a little knowledge is a dangerous thing". That's sure true with radio.

Take Charlotte for instance. Heritage 1110 WBT has monster ratings. So one could assert that "AM is doing great in Charlotte". WRONG! I've heard people from 'BT say numerous times that nothing would be better for them then for someone else, ANYONE ELSE on the AM dial to also do well. It would draw more people to the AM band, and be great for EVERYONE. MOST AM STATIONS ARE NOT "doing great". Most are also-rans, running tiny little minority formats. Audiences are often so small they'd do better to turn the transmitter off, save energy, and just open the windows and turn the studio monitors up LOUD! Some of 'em might even extend their coverage area this way! :'(

AM programmers need to think outside the box. If you think every AM can make it "just fine" with news/talk, then I don't know what market you're in, but I guarantee the ratings sure as hell don't back you up on that. I don't know a market where there are a handful of AMs near the top, and the rest are "bottom feeders". Some actual creativity might well be their ticket OFF THE BOTTOM!

(Relax Dittoheads, I'm not suggesting Limbaugh or Hannity stations change formats. I'm talking about the little guys who DON'T REALLY HAVE AN AUDIENCE!)
Click to expand...

I never said, every AM station - the ones with the Limbaugh-types.
 
All so true... VERY WELL stated Mike!

I know a WBT staff member, and they REALLY DO say what you quoted!

The remainder of Charlotte AM Radio is very lackluster considering its very rich history. There are several decent AM facilities there that are merely unattended "plug 'n plays"... :'(
 
Maybe Danny Fontana can "kick up some dust" in Charlotte!
 
Mike Walker said:
"AM Radio is doing just fine" if you factor in the top handful of stations in a market. But MOST AM stations in major markets don't have Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, fulltime news or sports, a major team franchise, or any of the things that make that top two or three stations (say six or seven in the biggest markets) successful. My father used to say "a little knowledge is a dangerous thing". That's sure true with radio.

Take Charlotte for instance. Heritage 1110 WBT has monster ratings. So one could assert that "AM is doing great in Charlotte". WRONG! I've heard people from 'BT say numerous times that nothing would be better for them then for someone else, ANYONE ELSE on the AM dial to also do well. It would draw more people to the AM band, and be great for EVERYONE. MOST AM STATIONS ARE NOT "doing great". Most are also-rans, running tiny little minority formats. Audiences are often so small they'd do better to turn the transmitter off, save energy, and just open the windows and turn the studio monitors up LOUD! Some of 'em might even extend their coverage area this way! :'(

AM programmers need to think outside the box. If you think every AM can make it "just fine" with news/talk, then I don't know what market you're in, but I guarantee the ratings sure as hell don't back you up on that. I don't know a market where there are a handful of AMs near the top, and the rest are "bottom feeders". Some actual creativity might well be their ticket OFF THE BOTTOM!

(Relax Dittoheads, I'm not suggesting Limbaugh or Hannity stations change formats. I'm talking about the little guys who DON'T REALLY HAVE AN AUDIENCE!)
Click to expand...

How is WBT doing in the younger demographics. There are plenty of fairly successfull AM outlets. Their problem is that the audience is made up of people in the upper demos. That doesn't work for agencies who want younger demos. In my markjet we have some AM's the have much larger overall numbers than the FM's, yet the FM's get the money demos and so are much more profitable. You can have 90% of the market but if it's all composed of 50+ and up, you won't last long in this industry.
 
RF that's one of the reasons I believe AM MUST do something besides conservative talk, and the "Music of your Grandma's Life". AM has two choices...find a younger audience, or die. There's no second choice. If your demographic is men, 50 to dead, you quite literally have no longterm future.

To answer your question, WBT is doing pretty well. But how long can it last? I have no idea. Do you meet many 20 year old Limbaugh or Hannity fans? Any young women who listen to AM for ANYTHING? AM programmers MUST innovate. There is no other choice!
 
Mike Walker said:
WRONG! I've heard people from 'BT say numerous times that nothing would be better for them then for someone else, ANYONE ELSE on the AM dial to also do well. It would draw more people to the AM band, and be great for EVERYONE.
Click to expand...

Mike is definitely right on this. Have you ever noticed that if McDonalds is on one street corner, there is a Burger King, Wendy's, or similar operation nearby? That isn't coincidence. It's because the restaurants draw people to an area. Having your biggest competitor across the street is a positive thing, not a negative. Having more than one great station on AM gives people a reason to go to that band. Once they do that, if your product is good enough, they will listen.

Success breeds success.
 
The response to HD on “music AM” in Philly is OVERWHELMING!

It’s been over a week since Alternative Rock/Hip-Hop/Reggae AM music station WHAT AM fired up the IBOC ‘puter and planted its “promo seed” on MySpace and the Philly board the early-morning of 2/4. In nearly nine days the topic has generated under 300 views and ONLY TWO REPLIES in a very high-volume forum. As a reference, the thread on Oldies WOGL, started the prior day, has racked up over 2200 views with 22 replies! Even the engineering-specific topic dealing with the insignificant night signal on WNTP AM (a bottom-feeding Salem talker with little-better than a half-share) has attracted nearly 700 views and 22 replies.

Consider that major-market boards usually attract a very large number of younger twenty-something male participants, and their music-of-choice is NOWHERE to be found fulltime on Philly’s FM band. By and large, WHAT’s decision to implement HD AM was met with a chorus of laughter and skepticism.

“Radio Racket” netcast host, George Brusstar seems to have had “the final word” in a highly-critical post:

http://www.radio-info.com/smf/index.php/topic,62594.msg443801.html#msg443801

It appears that NOBODY decided to disagree with ole' George—and that's an uncommon reaction in their neighborhood. Is it because the “yutes” for once unanimously agreed with their senior—or do they simply fail to give a flip?
 
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