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Are 50KW Clear Channel Stations in Jeopardy?

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Deleted User 14935

Are 50KW Clear Channel Stations in Jeopardy?

Post by Deleted User 14935 » Sat Mar 23, 2019 9:10 am

With this revitalization of the AM Band will the 50 KW Clear Channel Stations no longer be protected, Apparently the next phase of revitalizing the AM dial is to allow smaller AM Stations to increase nighttime coverage this could jeopardize the 50 KW Clear Channel signals which are there for our national security in a time of a national emergency, What do you think is this an issue? Do we need 50 KW signals on AM anymore? Do we need AM radio anymore? What are your thoughts.



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ZenithCKLW
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Re: Are 50KW Clear Channel Stations in Jeopardy?

Post by ZenithCKLW » Sat Mar 23, 2019 9:20 am

Revitalize shortwave to allocate new stations.

Just kidding.

I think we do need AM and the 50kw stations. It’s one of the “easiest” way to compete with clear FM signals. I don’t think it’s a question of “do we need AM anymore, and should we let it naturally die,” as much as it is a question of “are we killing it?” AM sounds worse in sound quality than it did in the past, manufacturers don’t take it seriously, and now the government was to “revitalize” the band, all of which is made by decisions of those providing the service, not the consumer, further ensuring AM’s death.

I’ve heard some amazing sounding AM in my life. It’s my opinion that the current struggle is imposed by manufacturers and the FCC, and to a lesser degree, some awful programming decisions.



Deleted User 14935

Re: Are 50KW Clear Channel Stations in Jeopardy?

Post by Deleted User 14935 » Sat Mar 23, 2019 9:31 am

I believe we need to thin out the amount of stations on the band, And we need to preserve the 50 KW stations all of them not just the non-directional but all 50 KW’s, We also need to keep all non-directional stations of any power level for two reasons, First for local broadcasting and Second they’re easier to maintain, One tower is cheaper to maintain then a six tower array, And things could be more organized on the AM Dial with fewer facilities. Just my thought on this issue.



innate-in-you
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Re: Are 50KW Clear Channel Stations in Jeopardy?

Post by innate-in-you » Sun Mar 24, 2019 12:15 am

Most Class A AM stations are not concerned about their skywave coverage since they cannot count listeners outside their market.

Most of them do not care about listeners outside their market, but a few might say they want the channels protected because their stations in other markets could find new competitors going to air and competing with them (broadcasters are universally against expansion - unless they're the ones doing the expanding).

A very few Class A may have something to lose. WSM still has some listeners listening to them by skywave, as their format is truly unique, and it brings a few advertisers in from afar, particularly from chain stores.

Some Farm format stations in the interior West might be selling their skywave as well.

Does anyone know if there are any AMs broadcasting to truckers at night? Or did Sirius end that?



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Re: Are 50KW Clear Channel Stations in Jeopardy?

Post by k8jd » Sun Mar 24, 2019 10:24 am

It used to be easy for clear channel signals to reach coast to coast but then the 750 mile non interference rule came along ! Now, even inside the 750 Mile "protected" area there is spill over from new stations sharing the channel.
But even those that can reach a vast area are only using a few syndicated shows, so you hear the same programming on many spots on the night time AM dial !
What a waste but I guess the budgets are tight when you are competing with satellite radios used by many of those long haul drivers. I wonder if they listen to satellite radio in the houses on isolated farms and ranches today.



Deleted User 14935

Re: Are 50KW Clear Channel Stations in Jeopardy?

Post by Deleted User 14935 » Sun Mar 24, 2019 10:31 am

Look and see how many sat subscribers vs. how many people that listen to terrestrial radio. The number of terrestrial radio listeners will always out number sat radio because regular radio is free and free is always the winner.



Deleted User 14935

Re: Are 50KW Clear Channel Stations in Jeopardy?

Post by Deleted User 14935 » Sun Mar 24, 2019 4:47 pm

ZenithCKLW wrote:
Sat Mar 23, 2019 9:20 am
Revitalize shortwave to allocate new stations.

Just kidding.

I think we do need AM and the 50kw stations. It’s one of the “easiest” way to compete with clear FM signals. I don’t think it’s a question of “do we need AM anymore, and should we let it naturally die,” as much as it is a question of “are we killing it?” AM sounds worse in sound quality than it did in the past, manufacturers don’t take it seriously, and now the government was to “revitalize” the band, all of which is made by decisions of those providing the service, not the consumer, further ensuring AM’s death.

I’ve heard some amazing sounding AM in my life. It’s my opinion that the current struggle is imposed by manufacturers and the FCC, and to a lesser degree, some awful programming decisions.
The Shortwave idea is in all honesty Genius, Why not put AM Stations from the overcrowded band onto Shortwave have them run no more than 1kw, Since the SW Band is thining out, And we don’t use but one of many bands and each continent could be assigned one specific meter band.



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MWmetalhead
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Re: Are 50KW Clear Channel Stations in Jeopardy?

Post by MWmetalhead » Sun Mar 24, 2019 8:21 pm

I’ve heard some amazing sounding AM in my life. It’s my opinion that the current struggle is imposed by manufacturers and the FCC, and to a lesser degree, some awful programming decisions.
There are some wonderful wideband AM & stereo AM examples to be found on YouTube.

A fella in New Jersey has made several videos featuring AM 1450 WCTC, AM 1170 WWTR, and other stations. Some of these stations sound incredible on Denon & other audio receivers manufactured in the late 80's & early 90's.

Horrible manufacturing standards, lax FCC regulations, and consumer indifference are all to blame.

If narrow band is supposed to reduce AM band noise, I've not noticed a gigantic difference in practice. The noise reduction seems minor.

My X1 cable box interferes with reception of AM stations at 630 kHz, 700 kHz, 1270 kHz and 1400 kHz every bit as much on my current home theater receiver (which filters out everything above 5 kHz) as my previous one (which allowed 10 kHz of bandwidth).

My great uncle had a Panasonic hi fi stereo system of late 70's or early 80's vintage that was in virtually mint condition when I had the opportunity to play with it more than 15 years ago. He resided near Atlanta. Every AM station I tuned in sounded great, and a couple sounded absolutely incredible (AM 750 WSB being one such station). The sound field was nothing short of awesome. The audio had incredible depth and clarity!

The big conglomerates have placed nearly all of their eggs in the FM basket, and frankly, it is to their advantage to suppress AM radio's appeal. And guess where most of the NAB's funding comes from...that's right; the big conglomerates!



Deleted User 14935

Re: Are 50KW Clear Channel Stations in Jeopardy?

Post by Deleted User 14935 » Sun Mar 24, 2019 8:30 pm

Are the big conglomerates eventually going to put their eggs in the FM HD Radio basket or has that ship sailed, What do you think?



innate-in-you
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Re: Are 50KW Clear Channel Stations in Jeopardy?

Post by innate-in-you » Sun Mar 24, 2019 8:42 pm

Steve Korvette wrote:
Sun Mar 24, 2019 10:31 am
Look and see how many sat subscribers vs. how many people that listen to terrestrial radio. The number of terrestrial radio listeners will always out number sat radio because regular radio is free and free is always the winner.
Well, free hasn't won out in television, though the pendulum seems to be swinging back a little.



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Re: Are 50KW Clear Channel Stations in Jeopardy?

Post by ZenithCKLW » Sun Mar 24, 2019 9:38 pm

Steve Korvette wrote:
Sun Mar 24, 2019 10:31 am
Look and see how many sat subscribers vs. how many people that listen to terrestrial radio. The number of terrestrial radio listeners will always out number sat radio because regular radio is free and free is always the winner.
Many of my friends prefer to pay for Spotify Premium than listen to free radio. My best friend doesn't even know what radio station plays his favorite music (95.5). I pay for Slacker Radio to supplement my AM/FM listening. Free isn't always the winner on an individual level. Station owners better not become complacent and believe they will always be the winner simply because they're free to listeners, or they will find themselves suddenly with no listeners, and they will wonder when that happened. Call them the Sears of broadcasting.



Deleted User 14935

Re: Are 50KW Clear Channel Stations in Jeopardy?

Post by Deleted User 14935 » Mon Mar 25, 2019 7:28 am

I agree with what you’re saying, So demographically the 30 and younger age groups don’t have an interest in over-the-air radio, Streaming is where it’s at and I agree I stream a lot also, So why is the industry wasting time and money on HD Radio and Translators when they should be more concerned about streaming, The way I see it is the youngest demographic that embraces regular radio would be the 40 and older so regular radio could have maybe 30 years left, Just my theory.



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ZenithCKLW
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Re: Are 50KW Clear Channel Stations in Jeopardy?

Post by ZenithCKLW » Mon Mar 25, 2019 7:59 am

I don’t think HD is necessarily a waste of technology. I believe broadcasters “waste their time” on HD and translators because they believe sound quality is enough to adjust a business model by. I know people my age who are willing to listen to (and love to listen to) 580 CKWW even though its a crackly AM station.

As for HD’s future, HD stations need to promote themselves. Most people have no idea what HD is. Those who do may be unimpressed with programming. 97.1 rebroadcasting WWJ? 92.3 rebroadcasting another K-Love? 99.5 (or maybe its 93.1) broadcasting 3 country channels? iHeart broadcasting redundant music channels with no talent? That’s not what options are. More of the same isn’t more options. Different, compelling programming is more options. Use HD to experiment while it’s still new. I’m quite convinced broadcasters don’t make any money from HD anyways, so play with it. Otherwise, why bother?

HD needs to promote itself, and people need to learn how to use it. In most radios you can’t just “scan by it.” You have to stop on a station, then hit a different button to cycle through the HD subchannels, waiting while it buffers. That’s not enticing, nor does it help people use it.

For translators, knock them off the air except for those AM stations in mountainous terrain or otherwise completely unlistenable situations. Quit clogging up an already jam packed FM band.



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MWmetalhead
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Re: Are 50KW Clear Channel Stations in Jeopardy?

Post by MWmetalhead » Mon Mar 25, 2019 8:16 am

Radio ad revenue is, for the most part, a finite pie. Spending more money on HD side channels is only going to lead to ratings cannibalization of primary stations.

HD radio was intended to serve as a marketing gimmick to make lame AM/FM radio look "cool." That effort has failed miserably.



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Re: Are 50KW Clear Channel Stations in Jeopardy?

Post by ZenithCKLW » Mon Mar 25, 2019 8:32 am

MWmetalhead wrote:
Mon Mar 25, 2019 8:16 am
Radio ad revenue is, for the most part, a finite pie. Spending more money on HD side channels is only going to lead to ratings cannibalization of primary stations.
If they're concerned about the finite pie, and cannibalization, then why do the likes of iHeart, Entercom, and Beasly buy clusters of stations? The reason is because they don't duplicate programming, and they can make money off each. If a country station has 2 or 3 country subchannels, they're duplicating themselves, and then I agree with you. But saying a grocery store shouldn't add a general merchandise department and a clothing department because customers have a finite disposable income was proven wrong by Meijer in 1962- they just had to build a bigger store. If we're going to decide ad revenue is finite and the only way to make money, then there is no growth potential, and radio will die a miserable death.

Having these subchannels is a built-in way of generating more revenue. And with HD, maybe the answer isn't ad revenue. There may be other ways to monetize the audience.



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