To quote:have not only seen new outlets and platforms emerge that have eroded traditional radio revenues, but the long Covid 19 Global Pandemic was also extremely consequential in contributing to traditional radio listeners forming new habits including parking the car, the number one source of radio listening, for a few years. The situation has proven a drain on cash and personnel resources. All broadcasters are now contending with the challenges of increased competition, a difficult media climate, and the residual effects of the pandemic
Personally, I've seen downturns in Downtowns, Restaurants are getting killed, Mass Transit has never recovered, and thing are "different." I know of radio folk where the nearest engineers are 200 miles away.
Is it really that bad? I've seen shifts lengthened, ads missing (running PSA's, promos instead,) and weekend/overnight shifts eliminated. FB and Google I'm sure are cutting into revenue, and yet there are those who DO survive and thrive.
Radio in Canada is in a lot worse shape than it is in the U.S. At least for the time being. Not saying it's that much better here. Stations going to national feeds, or flat out shutting down. This has been going on since before the pandemic, but since then it has really taken a turn.
Things in Canada since the pandemic have also been as bad if not worse on Canada's economy.
I think it's been this way long before the pandemic changed everything in 2020...And I do mean everything. Personality-driven radio that I remember has been long gone since Howard Stern bolted terrestrial radio for Sirius/XM Satellite Radio in 2006.
I don't know if it's because so many companies now own clusters of radio stations in the same market, such as Audacy owning 7 stations in this city, along with Hubbard Radio & Cumulus Media each owning 3 stations in the #3 market in the country.
The lack of overnight talent has been evident, even before 670 AM The SCORE overnight host Les Grobstein passed away in 2022 at age 69. Most stations air either syndicated programming or are now completely jockless from Midnight until the crack of dawn.
I think B96 and 104.3 still have live board ops overnight.
Then...why not interject a LIVE traffic report on WBBM - WCFS? It gets old when at 5:08, "the accident occurred at 2 o'clock" or "the freeway has been closed overnight" (I-55, 2023) or is this something that is job specific?
KNX Los Angeles KNX News 97-1FM, and 1010 Wins (NYC) are live & local overnight. Don't know of the others. KYW Philadelphia has traffic overnights.
1. I was recently in a diner in Chicago and was surprised to hear WKSC-FM/103.5 over their sound system. Due to the repetition of the CHR format, I'm surprised this station was chosen.
2. Great Clips where I've had my hair cut over the last 20 some-odd years, plays Spotify.
I'm not sure; perhaps WYTZZ95FM or Jeremy can answer. I thought WXRT-FM/93.1 was still live overnight.
As for all-news stations, in a major city; someone should be in the newsroom and ready to go on the air if a major accident snarls traffic or Chicago weather buries us in snow, ice, etc. History has proven a lot of snow falls overnights. Many people get up very early to shovel, plow, check to see if schools have been cancelled, race to the supermarket for bread, eggs, milk, etc.
The problem with watching a local Chicago station is many don't have time to "watch it." They're listening as they race from room to room. Getting up, preparing lunches for their kids, getting them up, shower, shave, etc. With Bluetooth, one can listen to any station throughout the house.
When severe weather strikes, there's a lot of confusion in many homes due to what I've illustrated.
With severe weather, the only station with coverage seems to be WGN. They tend to simulcast WGN-TV's audio and discuss it in between. I never hear anything about it when I put on WBBM.
iHeart (93.9, 95.5, 102.7, 103.5, 107.5) , and K-LOVE (97.9), Air1 (94.3) have the EAS go off automatically but that's about all you hear when there are tornado warnings in the Chicago market.
Milwaukee has a lot of EAS when there is a tornado warning, but Audacy has 2 people that go live on all of the stations remotely at any given time, wall to wall if needed. They can bring them all to a simulcast with the push of a button
Then...why not interject a LIVE traffic report on WBBM - WCFS? It gets old when at 5:08, "the accident occurred at 2 o'clock" or "the freeway has been closed overnight" (I-55, 2023) or is this something that is job specific?
This will be solved by AI when someone in NYC or Bangladesh or Rome or Antarctica is running all the radio stations and voices that emanate from them, soon on your radio dial! What happens when there is no more money and people to cut and they have to fire the AI itself????? Funny, but it is not.
Personality-driven radio that I remember has been long gone since Howard Stern bolted terrestrial radio for Sirius/XM Satellite Radio in 2006.
Started in 1995 (when multiple station under one owner began). It exploded when technology can have AI be a DJ. Oh wait, that is happening now...... But I can assure you terrestrial radio will tell you, we are still #1!!!!!!
Things in Canada since the pandemic have also been as bad if not worse on Canada's economy.
Survival of the fittest. Radio is not surviving. Neither are those restaurants that are closing. Or anything else. I approached an eatery I never frequented about 6 months ago. "No credit cards accepted". But they were willing to charge me a 5% fee over my banks fee to withdraw money from their ATM. LOL really? I told them, conform or die. They died, now out of business.
Covid exposed the cracks in a lot of businesses (radio being one) and capitalism, you are seeing the effects roll now.
I think radio is in worse shape in Canada due to government regulations there, specifically the CanCon mandate that requires 35% or more of music played on Canadian radio stations is by Canadian artists. So Canadian radio stations are forced to add in music folks don't necessarily want to hear while competing against Spotify and Apple Music -- which aren't obligated to play a minimum percentage of Canadian music, and where folks can hear just what they want.
And not to be a Debbie Downer, but yes, it seems like the trajectory of the radio industry really is "that bad." All 3 of the largest US radio broadcasters have been through (or are still in) bankruptcy. Quarterly earnings for the big 3 have generally been either losses or very modest profits for years now. Station values and ad revenue are both plummeting -- look at the fire sale prices for formerly marquee properties like WABC and WPLJ in New York. Emmis still can't find someone to meet their asking price of $50M for WEPN 98.7 in NYC -- a station Emmis bought in 1994 for $68M (or about $140M in 2024 dollars, when adjusted for inflation).
Back in February, when Bell Media announced a sell-off of many of their Canadian radio stations, one of their execs said: "We've effectively sold off half of our radio portfolio. That's a significant divestiture and it's because it's not a viable business anymore ... We will continue to operate ones that are viable, but this is a business that is going in the wrong direction."
Here in the US, you can point to Audacy overpaying for the CBS stations and Cumulus and iHeart also racking up unsustainable debt loads. All of which was dumb, but that's in the past. In the here and now, radio listenership is in decline (look at the cume numbers or stats for people using radio now vs 10 years ago) and revenue is shrinking as ad spending follows users to online platforms.
So, given the large-scale decline of the industry, I roll my eyes when I see the complaints about the lack of live & local overnight hosts. There are so few people listening overnight, the ratings are meaningless, ad revenue overnight is near zilch -- why on earth would radio groups invest money in overnights instead of their daytime schedule, when people are actually listening? Put it another way, which would you rather do to balance the budget at WBBM: cut a news reporter or the overnight traffic reporter letting you know there's still nothing happening with traffic at 3am?
If you think things are bad because there's no overnight hosts in Chicago, you should check out an Audacy, Cumulus, or iHeart station in one of their smaller markets, where staff reductions make the loss of overnight hosts in the large markets look like small potatoes.
I don't think we're too far away from national formats here in the US (already common elsewhere), heavier use of AI "announcers" and wide-scale shutdowns of unprofitable legacy AM stations sitting on real estate that's worth more than the station. So for myself, I'd rather try to enjoy what's left of radio while I still can, instead of constantly lamenting what's already been lost.
I don't think the Cancon bothers as many listeners as it might seem.
The Windsor stations have a little breathing room with it since Detroit is right across the river. They only have to play 15% or so.
For Country and Rock formats, there are entire artists and bands that almost get no airplay here but are really popular in Canada, streaming and otherwise. About 6 hours east of Chicago, in Sarnia for example they flipped CHOK from Classic Hits to Country about 4 years ago. There is an American Country station right across the river in Port Huron, MI WSAQ. This didn't particularly bother anybody, since the FM station did not play any of the Canadian Country artists and it seems like they wanted to hear them in Lambton County. A lot of comments from people were people who were happy that they didn't have to tune to an American station to hear the music.
HUNTER: "in a major city; someone should be in the newsroom and ready to go on the air if a major accident snarls traffic or Chicago weather buries us in snow, ice, etc. History has proven a lot of snow falls overnights." WBBM repeats 3:00 to 4:30AM weekdays. To 5AM on Saturday/Sunday mornings...so there is a BODY there.
BILBO: "you can point to Audacy overpaying for the CBS stations and Cumulus and iHeart also racking up unsustainable debt loads."
But, when they bought, they obviously thought these would go up. I think these folk are competing against EACH OTHER vs the STREAMERS, ETC.
BILBO: " balance the budget at WBBM: cut a news reporter" So, and this is what I can't figure out. You get rid of Keith Johnson and then hire easily 3-5 names I didn't hear a year ago. I know: He had vacation, a better wage, but WHERE THE HELL WAS THE UNION?
Maybe it's me: Now that the corporate broadcasters have killed off the AM band, they have moved to killing off the FM band as well, in my original post.
Sad
Absolutely LOVE the exchange of ideas. I learn there is plan A B C and too, I'm not always right. I have a lot to learn and will learn until my last day on this earth.
Maybe it's me: Now that the corporate broadcasters have killed off the AM band, they have moved to killing off the FM band as well, in my original post.
They are trying to turn off all the terrestrial signals, hand in the licenses, go digital online and squeeze out the small independent net casters. It is already in motion. Notice the lack of interest in FM translators and LPFM which EMF has seized upon? The AM station exodus. Changing TX sites all the time. (You think it is irony they have moved the AM 780 stick to a 3rd home, so far? It is detuning it more and more every time, no need for it anymore).
What happens when the Chinese, Russia, or some hackers march in and take over? Shut off the Internet. How do people communicate? (they do not). In the 30s/40s WBBM-AM was a fortress with the ability to shoot anyone that approached the transmitter if we fell into enemy hands. Those behemoth AM stations were meant to communicate with the people, the citizens. Great idea, shut off the AM and FM bands to make the corporate pigs richer and the working class poorer, including losing the ability to communicate in emergency.
I think radio is in worse shape in Canada due to government regulations there......
Canadians are much more apt to be national proud especially in the non Urban areas, so this is not as much an issue as you might think.
And not to be a Debbie Downer, but yes, it seems like the trajectory of the radio industry really is "that bad." All 3 of the largest US radio broadcasters have been through (or are still in) bankruptcy.
All of it was brought upon themselves. Bad decisions. Bad drunk sailor opening at corporate level with nonsense bonus clauses when the plebes are drowning at the local level.
So, given the large-scale decline of the industry, I roll my eyes when I see the complaints about the lack of live & local overnight hosts.
So.... Titanic is sinking, you do not try to bail her out? You cant keep choking it, have to feed it some money to make it survive or thrive. Cut it, will only hasten the death of it and send people forever to other sources. Radio STILL can't find the niche they have over lockless streams online. They are about to cut the last breath of jocks, their last hope and hand it over to AI.
There are so few people listening overnight, the ratings are meaningless, ad revenue overnight is near zilch -- why on earth would radio groups invest money in overnights instead of their daytime schedule, when people are actually listening?
This is no longer 1970. Or 1980. There is a healthy overnight lifestyle. Not clubbers, but people working in various trades. Once again, offer nothing, so have them go reply on apps or other sources for info!
Put it another way, which would you rather do to balance the budget
No balancing budgets, it is paying out nonsense bonus clauses and corporate greed. Want to cut fat, cut the losers on top that bankrupt the system. A lot more fat there, than going automated overnight in market #3 with traffic jams, road construction, shootings....
If you think things are bad because there's no overnight hosts in Chicago, you should check out an Audacy, Cumulus, or iHeart station in one of their smaller markets, where staff reductions....
Staff reductions? Most of those markets have more roaches in the building because the PD is the sales person, secretary, AM Drive and IT person. When they leave, the roaches outnumber computers!
I don't think we're too far away from national formats here in the US (already common elsewhere), heavier use of AI "announcers" and wide-scale shutdowns of unprofitable legacy AM stations sitting on real estate that's worth more than the station.
Yes, Yes, Yes! You get it, most people do not.
So for myself, I'd rather try to enjoy what's left of radio while I still can, instead of constantly lamenting what's already been lost.
Not sure what you enjoy? It is like trying to jump start a 1960 Corvette that has been stripped to the frame. Just not happening. 🤦🏻♂️🤷🏻♂️
All of it was brought upon themselves. Bad decisions. Bad drunk sailor opening at corporate level with nonsense bonus clauses when the plebes are drowning at the local level.
I get all that, but all that (other than the bonus clauses, I guess) is now 'baked in,' so to speak. The ship has sailed, the money is gone. The more pressing issue is that radio ad revenue is down 15% from pre-pandemic levels and projected to decline further (https://www.spglobal.com/marketintelligence/en/news-insights/research/broadcast-outlook-2024-challenges-opportunities-facing-us-tv-radio-stations). So, with less ad revenue coming in, radio is going to have to make some choices. Just continuing to do things they way they've always been done isn't going to cut it.
This is no longer 1970. Or 1980. There is a healthy overnight lifestyle. Not clubbers, but people working in various trades. Once again, offer nothing, so have them go reply on apps or other sources for info!
Well, this is from 2019, but study from Westwood One showed overnight (midnight - 6am) represented less than 5% of radio listening:
That percentage may be higher in Chicago, and I respect what you're saying about the tradespeople working overnights, I just still think it's such a small pool of listeners overnight that if radio has to start making choices on where to cut, making cuts that will affect the least amount of listening seems like a smart choice.
(I'll go out on a limb and assume that no, the execs aren't going to cut their own salaries, so some other savings will need to be identified.) And we're talking about a whole 3 hours in total (midnight-1am, 3-5a) where WBBM isn't live.
Not sure what you enjoy? It is like trying to jump start a 1960 Corvette that has been stripped to the frame. Just not happening.
I get that, I feel that way about newspapers -- I used to love reading the Trib and local papers when traveling, now it's not even worth picking up a copy of the Trib or most other local newspapers.
As for what I still enjoy about radio? I still like finding new music on the radio. I still enjoy listening to WXRT, as much as I miss Lin and dislike some of the cuts Audacy made (like Mary Dixon). I love XRT's Saturday morning flashback. Even with 'only' 21 hours of live news a day, I think Chicago still has some great radio news coverage, from WBBM and WBEZ. I admittedly don't listen to these stations as much, but I'm also a fan of the Drive and Bob Stroud's midday show. And Chicago has one of the best classical music stations in the country in WFMT.
So yeah, there'a lot I miss from radio's heyday, but I think there's still plenty of good radio out there to enjoy today.
Radio is dead John. Bottom line is they did not take digital serious when it emerged in the 90s. They thought by ignoring or "suing" it, they would win. They did not. You are seeing the chilling effects now.
They could have embraced digital. Been part of it. Learned how to harness it and be more important that it alone. They did not. WCBS-AM, need say no more. (waiting for the next AM shoe to drop followed by the whole shoe display......)
on September 5, 2024, 1:04 pm