WLS AM/FM SOLD

[radioguy39nj]

In the early '70s WIND moved from the oldies format (which actually was done well with interesting music choices) to more pop & rock.  Connie Szerszen did evenings when the music was heavier. 

In just this one aircheck, Connie plays music that's all over the genre map!  You could do that in 1975!  Not in 2011!  The big operators are too worried the listener will punch another preset button when they hear something outside their favorite genre!  Times sure have changed!

[rfichaser]

In the early '70s WIND moved from the oldies format (which actually was done well with interesting music choices) to more pop & rock.  Connie Szerszen did evenings when the music was heavier. 

In just this one aircheck, Connie plays music that's all over the genre map!  You could do that in 1975!  Not in 2011!  The big operators are too worried the listener will punch another preset button when they hear something outside their favorite genre!  Times sure have changed!

No doubt about it.  The stations and their formats in 1975 hadn't yet fragmented so severely.  That's what made a station like WIND genuinely fun to listen to.  It was the mix of programs and wide-ranging music and personality that did the job.  The business changed later with the emergence of FM as real competition that made slices of the advertising pie smaller, and station managers reacted by cutting costs and tightly focusing the demographic targets.

Ironically, in the face of this industry cutback mindset, when stations have done wide-ranging, personality-driven formats they've been successful. WLUP (in the 1980s) and WGN (forever) are two examples off the top of my head.  It's not just about music vs. talk, or rock vs. country, or anything else.  It's all about whether the station is compelling to listeners and ultimately to advertisers.

WIND pulled that off for a long time, as did WLS. 

[radioman148]

In the early '70s WIND moved from the oldies format (which actually was done well with interesting music choices) to more pop & rock.  Connie Szerszen did evenings when the music was heavier. 

In just this one aircheck, Connie plays music that's all over the genre map!  You could do that in 1975!  Not in 2011!  The big operators are too worried the listener will punch another preset button when they hear something outside their favorite genre!  Times sure have changed!

No doubt about it.  The stations and their formats in 1975 hadn't yet fragmented so severely.  That's what made a station like WIND genuinely fun to listen to.  It was the mix of programs and wide-ranging music and personality that did the job.  The business changed later with the emergence of FM as real competition that made slices of the advertising pie smaller, and station managers reacted by cutting costs and tightly focusing the demographic targets.

Ironically, in the face of this industry cutback mindset, when stations have done wide-ranging, personality-driven formats they've been successful. WLUP (in the 1980s) and WGN (forever) are two examples off the top of my head.  It's not just about music vs. talk, or rock vs. country, or anything else.  It's all about whether the station is compelling to listeners and ultimately to advertisers.

WIND pulled that off for a long time, as did WLS. 

Sadly the days of that kind of great radio are over forever.

[Dr Wayne]

Why is HD 2 becoming such a secret? Seems station's web site no longer have the link or even acknowlege their HD2. Also like to know who came up with High Definition for radio? What does that mean?

[Mark Jeffries]

Why is HD 2 becoming such a secret? Seems station's web site no longer have the link or even acknowlege their HD2. Also like to know who came up with High Definition for radio? What does that mean?

Technically, Ibquity doesn't call radio HD Radio short for "High Definition."  It's short for "Hybrid Digital."

And now I prepare for this thread to do what most HD Radio threads do--head off to TIO-Land.

[stormy01]

Why is HD 2 becoming such a secret? Seems station's web site no longer have the link or even acknowledge their HD2. Also like to know who came up with High Definition for radio? What does that mean?

Some stations are broadcasting a format on their HD2 and HD3 and in some cases, HD4 channels, that they would rather not have "compete" with their main Analog and HD1 channels. That might explain why the silence on that.

Additionally, if a station transmits an HD2 carrier, then the bandwidth of the HD1 carrier must be reduced, as the total maximum for FM "HD" is 96 kbps. There are more problems receiving the HD2 carriers further away from the transmitter site, as less power is allocated to HD2 than HD1. HD1, as many of us are well aware of, has it's own set of reliability of reception problems, often reception is less than reliable 10 to 20 miles away from the transmitter. Compare the reliable radius of an Analog signal, approximately 65 miles for Class B* and perhaps up to 100 miles for a Class C** station. So digital coverage does not even approach that of analog coverage. We have been seeing that happen on digital TV, with stations asking for power increases to regain lost coverage area.

*Class B   50kW ERP @ 150 meters antenna height (or equivalent)   **Class C   100kW ERP @ 600 meters antenna height (or equivalent)

The acronym "HD" for Radio is supposed to mean Hybrid Digital! (that is, Analog and Digital carriers are supposed to coexist in the same channel channel space for a broadcast station. However, many of us know the digital carriers produce noise on an Analog RF carrier, and it's likely that the Analog signal also degrades the Digital signal as well - though to a lesser extent, relatively speaking)

I don't believe anyone in the industry is calling HD Radio, "High Definition", as it's NOT!  Unfortunately, the highest bit rate currently for HD FM is 96 kbps, and for HD AM it's 32 kbps. We can do better with a smartphone...that's at least up to 128 kbps! And 128 k is not even considered "HD"...I believe many audio purists say nothing less than 256 kbps qualifies as High Definition, with CD's being 320 kbps.

[DavidEduardo]

Technically, Ibquity doesn't call radio HD Radio short for "High Definition."  It's short for "Hybrid Digital."

I thought that, too. But, per the iBiquity site, the initials have no meaning.

Huge Deficit?
Horrible Distraction?
Hightly Debatable?

[klutch00]

Technically, Ibquity doesn't call radio HD Radio short for "High Definition."  It's short for "Hybrid Digital."

I thought that, too. But, per the iBiquity site, the initials have no meaning.

Huge Deficit?
Horrible Distraction?
Hightly Debatable?

How about Heavily Distorted?

[secondchoice]

IMHO HD is effective for one use. If you can get the HD2 signal on one of the 250 watt translators, you have another “station.”  IIRC Cumulus is trying this in Atlanta.

[Dr Wayne]

Why don't stations that have HD 2 have a button on their website so you can listen to it? How many people have HD radios anyway