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Why are FM Sports stations all popping up everywhere?

R

RadRadio23

I am reading radio news online of all these new Sports FM and also News stations that are appearing on the FM dial. Why is this happening everywhere? Honestly I'm not a talk radio fan so it's disappointing to hear this instead of good music. And also why is this happening now instead of a couple years ago?
 
I cannot speak for radio employers/employees, but I'd say it's a case of more music being downloaded nowadays, iPods/iPads, basically folk getting their music anywhere they want, without having to wait to hear it on the radio (waiting through commercials and such). Even the Billboard charts don't rely on radio near as much as it once did.

Add to that the fees that the music industry may be imposing on the stations, to a point that they feel it's not worth the hassle, especially if less people are listening to radio for music, anyway.

Music on AM died pretty much 25-30 years ago, to the point where talk dominated. And in 2012, people want their talk & news on FM instead of AM; AM is severely struggling. Now, FM has to innovate, or else *it* will become like AM---so the formats (sports/sports talk, for example) that were once AM-only have moved (or are moving) to FM.

Give FM 5 years---and see how the landscape will change even more!

(Am I about right here?)

cd
 
The stations are just going where the audience is. Dallas has three sports talk stations and all three are on FM, although one of them is primarily an AM and simulcasts on FM.
 
Because of satelite/MP3 etc, today's FM is yesterday's AM. To folks like me brought up on AM, listening to FM sports stations is a major improvement.
Added to the fact that a lot of classic rock and country stations are playing the same tired old $hits, sports talk is a natural progression.
 
Add in the fact that with a sports network (FSR, ESPN, Yahoo) you don't have to pay big ASCAP or BMI fees and you can put it automation and ignore it most of the time.... FM Sports will save a group money that can be put into the group's more higher profile stations.

It's not a bad move.
 
The reason is simple. talk formats (both news and sports) cater to men. Men in the 25-54 demo for the most part aren't interested in music on the radio the way they used to be. Why would they be? Why would you sit through six terrible songs to get to one you aren't as sick of? Talk and sports provide new content all the time. Music formats just don't. When people say radio is a dying industry what they mean is music radio is a dying industry.
 
CBS actually took KCBS in San Francisco to FM before the Chicago and LA AM/FM simulcasts.
 
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