Spring Arbs Shockers - Now the Future of AM

[Dan Strassberg]

The simple answer is that, especially until HD receivers are in the hands of
most of the population, other approaches have MUCH higher return on
investment (largely because the investment for a station to add HD radio is
hundreds of $k and the investment for the other approaches is negligible).
The other approaches I am referring to are brokered ethnic, brokered
religion, and syndicated talk. The Boston market is home to two stations
(590 and 950) that do brokered religion (between Spanish and Irish, one of
these--950--actually does more brokered ethnic than brokered religion), and
nine stations (if I haven't missed some) that do primarily brokered ethnic
(650, 800, 1230, 1300, 1330, 1360, 1470, 1550, 1600). It's a foregone
conclusion that 1510 will flip to brokered ethnic when Paul Allen finally
sells it. 1430 is another candidate to go brokered ethnic after 1200 becomes
a full-market signal.

Remember that the ethnic makeup of all parts of the country is changing and
greater Boston is no exception. AM is fulfilling a real need for radio that
serves non-English speakers. The formats you've mentioned serve market
niches and will probably exist only on the HD-n channels of FM stations.
Although it has been pointed out that HD subchannels are technically
possible in the AM band, there is a real question about whether, given the
limited bit rate, such service, with its very obvious compression artifacts,
would be economically viable even for pure talk formats, let alone any sort
of music.

--
Dan Strassberg, dan.strassberg@att.net
eFax 707-215-6367

----- Original Message -----
From: "R Trovato" <xtrovato@yahoo.com>
To: "Dan Strassberg" <dan.strassberg@att.net>; <bri@bostonradio.org>; "Brian
Vita" <brian_vita@cssinc.com>
Sent: Sunday, May 28, 2006 5:15 PM
Subject: Re: Spring Arbs Shockers - Now the Future of AM


>
>
>
> > iBiquity reserves "CD Quality" for the FM-band
> > version of HD Radio.
>
> > They refer to the AM-band version as offering "FM
> > Quality."
>
> In that case.....with everyone is singing the funeral march for the AM
> band...
>
> Why couldn't the IBOC AM's fill in the gaps with the formats that are in
> need?
>
> Like Smooth Jazz.....and the soon to be homeless Classical?
>