Posted on 01/28/2024 3:10:41 AM PST by NautiNurse
Conservative talk show hosts, FEMA are fighting carmakers, tech industries in lobbying battle over drive-time radio
A motley crew of AM radio advocates, including conservative talk show hosts like Hugh Hewitt and federal emergency officials, are lobbying Congress to stop carmakers from dropping the old medium from new vehicles.
Tesla, Volvo, and BMW are among the companies that have already stopped providing AM tuners in some models. Last year Ford said it would join them—until CEO Jim Farley reversed course “after speaking with policy leaders.”
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Sens. Ted Cruz (R., Texas) and Ed Markey (D., Mass.) are leading the Senate effort, and on the House side, Speaker Mike Johnson—himself a former conservative talk radio host in Louisiana—and progressive “squad” member Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan are among about 200 co-sponsors.
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Moore said the bills’ opponents are at a disadvantage because “every member of Congress knows their local broadcaster. Those relationships are strong.”
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Automakers say the rise of electric vehicles is driving the shift away from AM, because onboard electronics create interference with AM radio signals—a phenomenon that “makes the already fuzzy analog AM radio frequency basically unlistenable,” according to the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, a car-industry trade group. Shielding cables and components to reduce interference would cost carmakers $3.8 billion over seven years, the group estimates.
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The Federal Emergency Management Agency says that more than 75 radio stations, most of which operate on the AM band and cover at least 90% of the U.S. population, are equipped with backup communications equipment and generators that allow them to continue broadcasting information to the public during and after an emergency.
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Automakers increasingly want to put radio and other car features “behind a paywall...They see this as another profit center..."
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(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com ...
I got different numbers, but the cost is NOISE level compared to what they charge you for the PRIVLEDGE of driving!
Vehicles per year 3.8 BILLION cost each
2015; 17,404,970.00
2016; 17,500,719.00
2017; 17,212,565.00
2018; 17,323,849.00
2019; 17,023,894.00
2020; 14,697,837.00
2021; 14,926,900.00
2022; 13,899,871.00
112,585,635.00 3,800,000,000.00 $33.75
This is because there are literally THOUSANDS of ways to get 'information' these days, and the number of advertisers have remained basically the same.
Thus, less money available per each.
Ask HAMS what type of radio they are running?
(Leave out packet and SSB)
Cheapfans have inefficient brushes, EV have brushless motors.
You ain’t gonna pick up Sirius or FM on your crystal set!
How many have a CB in their garage?
...over and over and over.
(’Streaming’ TV is no better!)
‘plate modulation’ is used in TRANSMITTING, not receiving.
I have NO idea where it is in todays vehicles.
In our GC the FM went out after about two weeks after we bought it.
The AM worked.
The service folk said it was a bad antenna connection.
I never got to see the bad part(?).
Youtube Is very usable...for $22/month.
So many great old movies are on YT in high quality and ad free that I finally sprung for a subscription.
All of our subscribed services are more than cable tv ever was, but selection and quality is much better plus it’s all on-demand when I want.
So you are telling me there would no RFI from an electric motor that would interfere with an AM radio?
That’s interesting.
all the car/truck’s had a cig lighter in them too
“This is because there are literally THOUSANDS of ways to get ‘information’ these days, and the number of advertisers have remained basically the same.”
Very good point. This speaks to the viability of any advertising vehicle these days.
Its almost to the point (maybe its just me) where marketing is increasingly pointless for a large swath of consumer goods.
For those, your marketing strategy is simply price. As an example for me, i like to have a diet soda every now and then. Coca cola products are nearly 8 bucks a 12 pack. Generic brand is 40% or less. So i tried the generic, found it acceptable. Others where I shop have also noticed this, as the shelves are always depleted of generics, but always full for coca cola. No amount of marketing can fix that. But marketing is what used to allow them to dominate. I have no idea how their business is going, but i am not exposed to any marketing from coca cola. So broadcasters are not getting that revenue....or other consumer staples.
That has to spell doom for old-school advertising. Coke can lower their prices if the unload the high cost structure, and it is inevitable they will do exactly that.
I guess its time for more ambulance chaser ads....
Ad-supported content does not seem to be viable in the long term.
Broadcast TV/radio without technological innovation are doomed, and will continue the glide into oblivion.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zero-crossing_control
I see that! What a beautiful, mild winter for a change. At least I’m saving the earth by not burning as much propane to heat my buildings up there.
I sleep so much better, knowing that Greta is pleased.
Yes it’s what the issues is all about not listening duh.
Radio waves propagate differently based on frequency. The am broadcast band transmissions at certain times of year and most often at night can travel great distances. I recall my dad saying that in ww2 he could listen to the Des Moines station some nights while on Midway.
I have listened to hundreds of stations from around the globe.
Not mentioned here is 50 years ago it was determined that the hf/lf radio spectrum would be the first to recover after an EMP nuc detonation.
Cell towers for your cute little pocket toys?? Sure!
A monthly SUBSCRIPTION for heated car seats?? ROTFL
We have heated car seats in our 2015 Subaru Forester, but *no way* would we ever consider paying a monthly subscription for them.
(Not using the heated seats much these days in South Carolina anyway, lol.)
My F150 has a “Hot Spot”.
My iPhones can connect to that and then bluetooth to the truck audio and I get great “reception” of no shortage of AM stations from all over the country.
It’s majick.
Have you seen the MSRP on the window stickers of late?
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