"It's the programming, stupid!"

[Kevin Vahey]

If you are 55+ ( raises hand ) even we are tuning out AM

40 years ago Boston looked like this on AM

590 - CBS News and talk

680 - The Big 68

850 - Jess Cain and Red Sox

1030 - WBZ

1090 - R&B daytime

1150 - surviving with country

1260 - last gasp 50-50 format - Top 40 and oldies

1510 - Trying to stay alive with music but Mac Richmond had just passed

740-950-1330-1600 non players


FM was starting to evolve

96.9 was the monster with WJIB

104.1 was the hard rock crowd

98.5 was still automated

100.7 - MOR automated

103.3 was CBS-FM

102.5 classical

105.7 was getting more popular with Top 40

106.7  WBZ-FM was also Top 40 but automated

107.9 still country

NOW on AM we have 1030 and 680 still trying to compete

850 is a simulcast

590 brokered

1260 - If you are a parent of a young child - you know Radio Disney.

1510 somehow NStar gets paid

Back in 2004 - I know that WXKS-AM had a popular morning show with older
Bostonians. I can't remember who the morning drive person was but he had an
audience. CC decided to go to Talk America and WJIB got most of those
people.

Having a HD Radio I have to admit I have not gone to the AM band in months
- I listen to WBZ on the HD sub-channel on 98.5 - it simply sounds better.

Right now I have NO reason to go to AM - and I respect the band.






On Sun, May 20, 2012 at 11:33 PM, Sid Schweiger <sid@wrko.com> wrote:

> "And what do the Arbitron results say and what is its methodology?"
>
> The best explanation of the methodology comes from Arbitron:
>
> http://www.arbitron.com/downloads/guide_to_using_ppm_data.pdf
>
> The results are, heavily boiled down:  Demos for AM radio are skewed
> lopsidedly into the upper age brackets...essentially, 55+.  AM is not a
> go-to for radio listening by young people the way it was 40 years ago.
>
> Sid Schweiger
> IT Manager, Entercom New England
> 20 Guest St / 3d Floor
> Brighton MA  02135-2040
>