Why, oh why don't they just get rid of AM HD altogether? Nobody is promoting it, few radios can receive it, and it makes the analog sound like crap. Absolute stupidity.
Or, do what the brighter nations to the north and south of us have done and continue to do, which is to eliminate the majority of AMs and restrict the remaining ones to the larger cities that may need and can support niche programming.
Canada has transitioned more than half its AMs to FM, and Mexico is attempting to move nearly all stations... in some states, not a single AM will remain.
In Latin America, nearly all audience has moved to FM and the number of AMs is thinning... and since Disney has been mentioned in this thread, there is not a single Radio Disney in any of those countries on AM.
How was the listenership in Mexico and Canada, compared to AM listenership in The US, when
they started to migrate most of the stations to FM. Was it comparable to US listenership, or lower?
The problem I see is, that the FM dial, like the AM dial suffers from overcrowding. Where would we
move all the stations too? Wouldn't there be a lot of stations, particularly smaller stations or groups
that would be left out?
I'm not saying your idea is not worth talking about, but, even if this were to happen, it would take
some time.
If HD AM was turned off today, it would be one problem that would be solved now.
When you mention Radio Disney, within the last couple of years, ABC tore down the towers,
and rebuilt them on WRDZ AM 1300, La Grange/Chicago, Il.
They then added the HD, my nephew and niece, like to listen when there in my car.
I let them, and the AM never bothered me, since the HD however, it's really grinding
to listen too. I still let them listen, but, there are times I just want to say no, because
the HD sounds so bad. Like I said, the music on AM didn't bother me, the HD however
is so irritating. I often times wonder how many other people with kids in the car, aren't
as patient as me, and simply won't turn it on.
