Hello Lou and Tom,
Lou I think you are right on the money. It is the money and what the
programmers think the young want that drives Commercial radio. At least as
far as I have experienced.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Lou Kolb" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Saturday, July 30, 2011 7:32 PM
Subject: Re: HD radio
> Tom,
>
> No offense taken. Actually, I think what you're hearing has little to do
> with HD as that mode of broadcasting has struggled to get off the ground.
> It's been poorly promoted and, as you say, is not even available in many
> areas, including mine. of course, you and I live in rural areas, so
> that's
> not really surprising but even in the cities, where HD is plentiful, it's
> not doing nearly as well as the industry had hoped. It's partly because
> the
> programmers are the same folks who are programming the main channels, and,
> perhaps mostly because there are too many other choices for people. to go
> with instead.
>
> As for OGL, last time I checked, there ratings were quite good. I think
> what you're experiencing is that radio constantly adjusts to reach mainly
> younger folks. As we get older, it becomes less relevant to us. And
> before
> anyone starts flaming me, I know all about the borring corporate
> programming
> that folks have complained about on here before. I'm not about to get
> caught up in that debate. I have to live it every day. 73, Lou
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "tom behler" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Saturday, July 30, 2011 8:36 PM
> Subject: HD radio
>
>
>> Hi, all.
>>
>> I am not sure if this will be considered by some to be "off topic", but
>> last
>> evening, I heard something on an FM broadcast station that has confirmed
>> my
>> long-standing suspicions about where commercial FM radio is going today.
>>
>> I simply thought it might be of interest to others.
>>
>> By way of introduction, I have noticed that the quality of many normal
>> non-HD FM stations seems to have deteriorated over the past few years,
>> especially in larger metropolitan areas. By declining quality, I mean
>> more
>> commercials, less music, and what seems to be a much less diverse
>> play-list.
>>
>> My theory had always been that normal non-HD FM stations were simply
>> being
>> operated for those who hadn't yet made the switch to HD radio, as kind of
>> a
>> necessary evil. It just seemed to me that more resources and efforts
>> were
>> being put into HD stations, so as to come up with a better-quality and
>> more
>> appealing product.
>>
>> As many of you may know, I am currently traveling throughout the east
>> coast,
>> and am now spending some time with my wife's mother in the Trenton, New
>> Jersey area.
>>
>> Last night, I was listening to W O G L--98.1 FM in Philadelphia. In the
>> past, that station had been an excellent oldies station, with what I
>> think
>> had been very good ratings.
>>
>> Now, the station has more of a "classic hits" format, with lots of talk,
>> commercials, and other stuff between the music.
>>
>> Anyway, shortly before the top of an hour, the station ID was played,
>> followed by a message that said something like this: "If you want more
>> music, more oldies from the 60's and 70's, and more home-town DJ's, tune
>> to
>> W O G L HD1".
>>
>> To me, this indicated, at least in this case, that the HD option was
>> clearly
>> being promoted over the normal non-HD programming.
>>
>> Am I onto something here, or totally "off base"?
>>
>> And, please: to those in the broadcast business (like Lou )WA3MIX), I
>> mean
>> no offense whatsoever by these observations.
>>
>> HD radio has not yet arrived in the part of semi-rural west-central lower
>> Michigan where I currently live, but if I lived in a bigger metro area, I
>> have the feeling that HD radios would quickly be added to my wish list.
>>
>> 73 from Tom Behler: KB8TYJ
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