Posted on 12/30/2006 9:02:48 AM PST by kiriath_jearim
Radio broadcasts on medium wave will end within a few years if a powerful coalition of commercial radio interests has its way.
Ofcom, commercial radio's regulatory body, will launch a debate in the coming months on the future of radio.
Many predict that it will result in the end of AM broadcasts as we have known them since the days of the Home Service and Light Programme.
The growth of digital broadcasts, either on radio, over the internet or through digital television, has left commercial AM broadcasts with only 3.8 per cent of the national audience this year.
While the BBC remains on the sidelines — the vast bulk of its weekly Radio Five Live audience of 5.7 million still listens on AM — leading figures in the commercial sector are determined to sound the death knell of medium wave.
The commercial stations are having to face up to the dwindling numbers tuning in to AM stations as people opt for FM broadcasts or, increasingly, the higher quality of digital broadcasts.
"The current AM licences are up for renewal in 2011 and 2012," an Ofcom spokesman said yesterday. "The question we have to address is whether or not these stations will be commercially viable by then."
Fru Hazlitt, the chief executive of Virgin Radio, is an outspoken critic of AM.
"We pay huge amounts of money to Ofcom for the AM licence," she said. "Within the next year or two we should switch it off. It just isn't worth it."
Andy Duncan, the chief executive of Channel 4, predicted that, over the next five to 10 years, AM and FM listening would wither away.
Capital Radio bosses have also been calling on the Government to set a date to switch off both AM and FM.
Not everyone agrees, however, that AM is a dead duck. Emap, whose Magic AM has been relaunched nationwide, believes there is still a place for medium wave.
Ofcom said it hoped to begin a wide consultation over the future of AM.
"There could be much more effective uses for this spectrum — it could be used for community radio," the spokesman said. "The growth of digital at the cost of analogue cannot be ignored."
Admirable
It's always nice to find someone who sees through talk-radio
for the biased propaganda that it is. Spin sucks, whichever direction its spun.
AM is not going away ... too many foreigners are listening to native language channels here in Texas. Mexican, Chinese, Vietnamese and Arabic stations are all here.
Some probably are. "Minuteman" gave the link to follow in post #51. That should lead you to a listing of HD stations in you area.
Correction: I said FM signals but should have said AM or FM signals.
Nonsense. This is just bad marketing propaganda. Much like Air America being the savior of the libs. Or Howard Stern and Serius Radio being the next wave.
Get real.
In Germany, you used to be able to hear an hour of Rush on the Armed Forces Network. It came on at 7 PM, so it was either his second hour in real time or his first hour delayed (I don't recall which).
Some of the stations are reportedly still operating, but I don't know the status of the EIB on them.
Umm,
What are you talking about?
A station's decision to adopt, or not to adopt, AM stereo had, and has, no bearing on its assignment of frequency from the FCC.
It could happen that a station had a transmitter and/or antenna incapable of being converted to stereo, and decided to go for a new stereo-capable facility at the same time they moved to the expanded band.
But I don't think it did.
Just like Lynn Anderson saved 8-track tapes.
It's a dead-arsed lame medium, please accept it.
Your revr'n Jim Jones Limbaugh has some Kool-Aid available for the mourners.
I got tired of all of the commercials and of the DJ's that rambled on none stop.
I know they have to make money but if they could cut out most of the Childish Behavior of the people running the show, I don't think they would be doing so bad.
Several years ago when out new dept store player in town opened their new warehouse store they had a DirectTV display and a DirectTV salesman. Then after a few weeks it all disappeared. Seems at latitude 64 north the angle to commsats is not favorable to small dishes. If you want a 12 foot dish on a substantially tall pedestal in the yard you can do something. Look around town at the dishes and they all have one thing in common besides being large: they point nearly horizontal.
It won't do any good. There are no digital processors in my model 27. Unless the receiver is digital, it doesn't matter.
New Hampshire has a total of 4 digital broadcasts; two public broadcastong stations, one AM too far away to receive and a crappy FM in Manchester (60 miles).
Analog rules up here in the great white north.
I hope AM radio meets the same fate in the U.S. The signals from the station's are lousey,Too much interfearance and Way too many commercials.
True.
I looked into HD radio with the thought of getting distant stations with less interference. I lost that thought when I learned the digital signal is dependent on the analog signal.
And there aren't many HD radios extant. Radio Shack, Boston Acoustics and perhaps a few more.
KOUU 1290 in Pocatello, ID is AM stereo.
It might help to check your facts before making a grossly incorrect pronouncement. A web page with current AM stereo stations is available here
This would be an end run around to get rid of stations that carry mostly talk radio. Talk radio that offends mostly RATS!
That's why it's FREE!!! What on earth have you got against salesmanship??? It's called Free Market Capitalism and it's way better than any other system on earth!!!
>To read some news, just like most folks. Not to listen to some egotistical blow-hard spout opinions.
Then you should stop reading after you've read the top article and not read any of the "egotistical blow-hard spout opinions" that follow. And again the news that is at the top is available many places. So why are you here again? And not only are you simply reading many of the "egotistical blow-hard spout opinions", you are going so far as to actually reply to them!
If you ask me, AM radio has seemed to lose its "spark" (even during the day when these stations are at full power) in Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex... I would NOT be surprised if radio stations were working with the makers of HD radio to get us simple folk to fork over $s to invest in new hardware (aka HD radio).
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