WLS AM/FM SOLD

[Tom Wells]

Yes, yes, yes, but there's already a world of yap of AM, and little music.
Given that the AM already covers the area of the FM, , let the "local" content be on a more local signal.
Anyone who really wants to hear the old FM music format will have no problem receiving it, plus the thousands of other listeners (that don't matter as they're out of market) who will stop for a good sounding music on AM.
Anyone who really wants to hear the old AM talk format can probably get it on the FM.

The value of the two formats will both be served better by a simple swap,  but doing so will mean some meaningful challenge to WGN must be considered.  Generic packaged oldies won't cut it.  There's going to have to be some kind of personalities.

[DavidEduardo]

Yes, yes, yes, but there's already a world of yap of AM, and little music.
Given that the AM already covers the area of the FM, , let the "local" content be on a more local signal.

No matter how much a station might cover beyond a larger home market, the ad revenue is based on, almost entirely, the home market. If an FM covers the Chicago Metropolitan Survey Area as well as an AM, then there is no advantage to an AM that gets into Urbana or Rockford.

The real issue is that oldies (defined in the advertising / radio sales arena as 60's based pop hits) reaches a 65 and older "geezer" demo, which is essentially never bought by advertisers who use ratings and demographics to place metrics on ad buys. By putting such a format on AM, you pretty much guarantee that nobody under their late 50's would listen, as below 55 to 60 people in this country grew up on FM, and are convinced that AM sounds bad and pretty much sucks overall.

plus the thousands of other listeners (that don't matter as they're out of market) who will stop for a good sounding music on AM

"Good sounding music on AM."  Oxymoron alert!

There's going to have to be some kind of personalities.

Anyone got a bunch of Howard Miller tapes? That would fit the idea of old music on the Ancient Modulation band.

[cyberdad]

Anyone got a bunch of Howard Miller tapes? That would fit the idea of old music on the Ancient Modulation band.

Sorry David.  I'm a step ahead of you.  I already suggested that for WIND!  :-)  Just keep loopin' 'em!  In their case, recycling "Moo-Moo" might be an upgrade....and it would certainly fit with Salem's political bent!

[Tom Wells]

   A tear for all the bad-sounding AM radios out there.

Such a waste of electronics.  Why not send them off to the dump, and seek out replacements that
don't sound like  mud?

I used to post audio proofs to refute such statements, but it's probably not worth the effort.
This is really like the animals in Animal Farm bleating, "Two legs BAAAd, Four legs good! ".

[radioman148]

I'm as sentimental as anyone. I would love to hear oldies on AM 89, but the fact is David is right about the demos.
Having said that the demos for most AM stations are old. At some point in the future it may not matter if WLS programs oldies or anything else.

[DavidEduardo]

A tear for all the bad-sounding AM radios out there. Such a waste of electronics.  Why not send them off to the dump, and seek out replacements that don't sound like  mud?

Fer starters, few people buy radios today. They buy devices that include radios. Or they buy devices that get radio stations through alternate delivery channels.

Then, of course, we have a variety of devices that have FM but not AM. If AM were in demand, I'd think the retailers who distribute those devices would add AM. There is a valuable lesson here, I think.

AM is to radio what the CRT is to television.

[cyberdad]

Three great points, David. 

As posted previously in another thread, I recently bought a GE Superadio (for a dollar) at a rummage sale.  Perfect condition and sounds fabulous on both AM and FM.  The kicker is that during a couple of recent family get-togethers, various nieces and nephews didn't recognize it as a radio (immediately or otherwise).  To an individual, these are all reasonably intelligent, good student, tech savvy high school and college-age kids.

[BRNout]

Since we're talking about hardware....

Yesterday, Mrs. BRNout went shopping and purchased a typical bookshelf system for the bedroom.  She wanted to be able to play music from CDs, her iPod and the radio.  And, she opted for a Sony CMT-LX20i bookshelf system - then asked me to take a look and "approve" it when I got home.   

As these sorts of systems go, I guess it's okay - which is to say that it does many things and that the radio portion of it almost seems an afterthought.  It came with this flimsy little POS AM/FM antenna that features thin-gauge wire connected to a plastic square (which, I assume is filled with the aforementioned thin wire).  It then plugs in to a receptacle that is located in the back of the stereo.  From my experience, it seems that the majority of the cheaper systems come with these antennas now.  And they're AWFUL.  My reception of AM and FM with a Walkman is far better than what this unit delivers.   And, it's not like you can buy a different type of antenna as there's nowhere to connect it.  Only that plug-in. 

But, the thing is, it does what she wants it to do and it can pull in most Chicago signals well.  The fact that a dozen other semi-locals from Milwaukee cannot be received on this thing is of little concern to her, nor that my clock radio on the nightstand blows it's doors off as far as reception is concerned.  That's because, once up and running, she plugged in her iPod and used it that way.   

I bring all this up because it demonstrates what an afterthought radio has become in the overall marketplace.  Yes, there are radio geeks (such as your's truly) who buy the latest hot multi-band portable from China and who can pull in FMs from 130 miles away with it.  But we're insignificant in the marketplace.  The above-described, low quality radio which Sony put in as an afterthought in their music system is more typical of what's out there.  Crappy, crappy radios that sell because few even use them as radios.  They're more interested in the MP3/iPod function and that it has a CD player so that it can play a few of those old CDs that they may have lying around.  That it has a radio is merely a pleasant extra.  That the radio is functions poorly and only pulls in stations from within the 60 dBu contour is not noticed by anyone.   

Remembering my college days in the 80s when every guy worth his salt in the dorm had a high-powered receiver mated to awesome speakers, a dual cassette player, a turntable, perhaps one of those brand-new (and expensive) CD players and a killer antenna with which he could pull in every AOR station within 120 miles makes me feel like a geezer!  Clearly, those days are over. 

Hate to be a downer on this fine Friday morning, but the prospects for radio as we know it over the next 20 years are not great. 

[Dr Wayne]

You are so right. My radio with Cd Player in the office has problems picking up Chicago stations. 87.7 drifts in and out. My walkman sounds wonderful... WHY?

[howardm]

What a timely topic. I live 35 miles from Chgo FM transmitters & have a roof antennae. have had Sony & Scott FM receivers. Now I converted to a digital Sony 7.1 to one. Excellent for movies, TV cable, CD, etc, but FM stereo reception on many strong stations weak with roof antennae. Why does advancement in tech mean other functions are sacrificed? Thank you.

Since we're talking about hardware....

Yesterday, Mrs. BRNout went shopping and purchased a typical bookshelf system for the bedroom.  She wanted to be able to play music from CDs, her iPod and the radio.  And, she opted for a Sony CMT-LX20i bookshelf system - then asked me to take a look and "approve" it when I got home.   

As these sorts of systems go, I guess it's okay - which is to say that it does many things and that the radio portion of it almost seems an afterthought.  It came with this flimsy little POS AM/FM antenna that features thin-gauge wire connected to a plastic square (which, I assume is filled with the aforementioned thin wire).  It then plugs in to a receptacle that is located in the back of the stereo.  From my experience, it seems that the majority of the cheaper systems come with these antennas now.  And they're AWFUL.  My reception of AM and FM with a Walkman is far better than what this unit delivers.   And, it's not like you can buy a different type of antenna as there's nowhere to connect it.  Only that plug-in. 

But, the thing is, it does what she wants it to do and it can pull in most Chicago signals well.  The fact that a dozen other semi-locals from Milwaukee cannot be received on this thing is of little concern to her, nor that my clock radio on the nightstand blows it's doors off as far as reception is concerned.  That's because, once up and running, she plugged in her iPod and used it that way.   

I bring all this up because it demonstrates what an afterthought radio has become in the overall marketplace.  Yes, there are radio geeks (such as your's truly) who buy the latest hot multi-band portable from China and who can pull in FMs from 130 miles away with it.  But we're insignificant in the marketplace.  The above-described, low quality radio which Sony put in as an afterthought in their music system is more typical of what's out there.  Crappy, crappy radios that sell because few even use them as radios.  They're more interested in the MP3/iPod function and that it has a CD player so that it can play a few of those old CDs that they may have lying around.  That it has a radio is merely a pleasant extra.  That the radio is functions poorly and only pulls in stations from within the 60 dBu contour is not noticed by anyone.   

Remembering my college days in the 80s when every guy worth his salt in the dorm had a high-powered receiver mated to awesome speakers, a dual cassette player, a turntable, perhaps one of those brand-new (and expensive) CD players and a killer antenna with which he could pull in every AOR station within 120 miles makes me feel like a geezer!  Clearly, those days are over. 

Hate to be a downer on this fine Friday morning, but the prospects for radio as we know it over the next 20 years are not great.