I believe Mr. Pittman is correct, but radio is changing and consolidating with old formats being phased out.
In the New York market rock radio is dead. There is only one rock station in New York city and two on Long Island and Jersey.
But on those stations, there is a connection to the fans that you can’t get from streaming services.
That holds true for urban and Latino stations.
Also take into consideration religious and Country music. Those stations are very popular as you get into out into the country and down south.
The bit we do a bit on our show called God or lover, the object is we have to decide in a less than a minute is if a song is about god or a lover.
Davin and I got this idea when we were on the road and all that was available on the radio was country and western or religious radio stations.
What the article does not mention and is of major concern is the elimination of AM radios in new cars.
BMW and Volvo claim it’s due to audio quality problems rooted in electromagnetic interference, of which EVs’ drivetrains produce a significant amount. Cars’ engines and other complex electronics have always made EM interference, but low-wattage static is relatively easy to shield against. It’s not as simple with EVs that may pull hundreds of kilowatts from their batteries, generating far more interference, reducing audio quality to a level both BMW and Volvo told me they consider insufficient.
It’s amazing that with all this technology they can’t remedy this problem. Where do people go for Traffic, sports, and in the case of a natural disaster or crisis the life line is AM radio.
Also of concern is that conservative talk radio is on AM and most people listen to the radio in their cars and access to this perspective will be deeply curtailed.
A Pew Research Center survey last fall found that nearly 50% of US adults get their news from radio and about 47 million Americans still listen to AM radio regularly, which represents about 20% of the radio-listening public.
A recent Nielsen report says AM listeners tend to be older (about one-third are over 65), but the amount of time they spend listening to AM has increased slightly over the last five years, to just over two hours a day.
AM signals travel farther and reach more people, especially at night; they’re a critical news source in rural areas.
WABC radio CEO John Catsimatidis is fighting back against efforts by carmakers to eliminate AM radio from vehicles.
He has been leading the charge to save AM radio, and at the National Association of Broadcasters conference in Las Vegas, he met with members of the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
He also has been speaking with some of our leading politicians in Washington, and urging the public to do the same and speak to their representatives about preserving the AM option in all new vehicles.
The Wall Street Journal reported in late February that seven former FEMA administrators wrote to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and several congressional committees asking for the government to seek assurances from automakers that AM radio will remain a feature in vehicles.
So two radio executives are on two missions, one to assure that FM is alive and well, and the other to keep AM radio from dying in new vehicles.
We discuss this live June 6th on Davin’s Den 6:30-9:30 pm et. Go to davincomedy.com and the Davin’s Den link or go to our Facebook page to join us live.