"Brenda Ann" wrote in message
...


Fact: IBOC radio sales are in the dumpster- nobody cares.

The fact is that HD was never budgeted by radio for immediate income or
ratings. It is very low cost in the top 100 markets, and some of the niche
and third party formats are actually starting to produce some small income.

It's evolutionary, not revolutionary.

Fact: There are millions of radio listeners who do not live inside a city
contour and yet still listen to the radio. Even in places where there is
a local rural station (i.e. Richfield, UT, home of KSVR), many listen to
'out of market' radio in Provo, Orem, and even Salt Lake City.

KSVR is in Washington, not Utah. KSVC is in Utah. This is another of your
almost-right pieces of data, like saying a 50 kw station in Portland was 5
kw.

There are 13 stations in the Richfield non-market, meaning roughly 50 miles
around. That is hardly a paucacity of signals. In general, you really
underestimate the number of decent signals available outside of rated
metros.

Example: in the early 60's northern Leelenau County, MI, had two daytime
signals, both AM, it could get except during storms and under power lines.
At night, nothing closer than Chicago an Detroit came in. Now, there are
over a dozen stations with city grade, 70 dbu, FM coverage and two AMs with
5 mv/m or better signals daytime.

You can not get any more rural than Leelenau County.

Fact: AM radio is still a primary service in a great many areas,
especially rural areas, throughout the country. I know that these people
mean nothing to you bean counter types.. but for anyone else, anyone who
is important, these people count.

In most cases, the AMs are dying due to excessive Docket 80-90 FMs with more
coverage. Like Blythe, CA, where KYOR handed back the AM licence and kept
the FM one since the AM did not get out enough to cover the agricultural
area up and down the Colorado.

Fact: Those of us over 50 still have more disposable income than most
folks in your precious 18-35 demo. This is because we don't have to worry
about raising a family, paying a mortgage (most of us have long since paid
that off) or paying for our kids' college. Those who are 50 still have,
on average, another 17 years of productive work and another decade or more
after that of life wherein a great many will wish to have a comfortable
life with all the niceties. In other words, we have over a quarter of a
century of consumerism. We buy things. We DO buy things that are
advertised on the radio and television (cars, beverages, radios and
televisions, nutritional supplements, exercise gear, etc.).

Ad agencies are specifically instructed by their clients as to the
demographics of advertising placed for them. 55+ is essentially never used
in radio, as the return on investment is poor or negative. It simply takes a
lot more adds and repetition for an older person to make a change in buying
patterns, and that often eats up the entire profit on a sale.

Until you begin to recognize that all these folks exist, and that they
count, and that they have everything to offer, then you cannot expect
anyone to believe anything you say, or have any form of respect for you.

The fact that there is no revenue for stations catering to 55+ comes from
the marketing departments of the companies that use ad agencies or have
their own ad departments. Stations can not program for an audience that
advertisers do not want.

In other words, this is not my decision, it is not radio's decision. It is
the fact that agencies are instructed to buy certain ages and radio, a
relatively small medium, can not change that.

That's
just the way it is. If you don't like that pointed out to you, then you
always have the option of taking your speil to someone that would be more
receptive to it (like the IBOC consortium).

I'm not in the HD Alliance, and disagree with its marketing and focus...
which is why we have some HD channels that are actually working.