Traditional Radio Faces a Grim Future, New Study Says

[abefroman329]

I was never a huge fan of WLUP, but I recognize the mark they made on the Chicago radio landscape.

That's about how I felt.

This is the closest I've gotten to getting satellite radio.  Unfortunately, our car is not satellite radio ready, and I'm not interested in having a separate receiver/tuner installed in the car.

Don't they still make little docking stations that allow you to use a portable head unit that can be used in a car and in a building?

I think so, that's what my parents had in their early-2000s Honda Civic.  I found it really hard to tune while driving, and I'd frequently snap it out of its docking station and have to pull over and reconnect it, or take my eyes off the road far longer than they needed to be.  I would really rather just be able to tune it with the car radio.  But I also don't spend that much time in the car, since I commute by train and bus.  If I ever start commuting by car, I'll probably buy a second car that's SiriusXM-ready.

[abefroman329]

My only real experience with The Loop was back in the late 80's when you could hear Kevin Matthews doing the night show on WLUP-AM 1000 and their 50,000-watt blowtorch station throughout the midwest.  I was a Kev-Head.

Kevin Matthews now lives in Grand Rapids and does a podcast from there that sounds exactly like his old radio program.  Jim Shortz is still with him.

[abefroman329]

WLUP went away on Saturday morning, replaced with a Christian contemporary station.  It's probably apocryphal but the story goes that the last song they played was Highway to Hell.

the last three songs played before the station nicknamed "the Loop" signed off were Motley Crue's "Shout at the Devil," Iron Maiden's "The Number of the Beast" and AC/DC's "Highway to Hell."

Source: http://ultimateclassicrock.com/wlup-last-songs-devil/

Thanks, it sounded too good to be true.

[US71]

On a related note, IHeart Radio has just filed for bankruptcy

http://variety.com/2018/biz/news/iheartmedia-chapter-11-bankruptcy-1202715566/

[bing101]

https://radioinsight.com/headlines/167202/entercom-ceo-david-field-pens-open-letter-on-iheartmedia-bankruptcy-state-of-radio/


Update Entercom Leader does an op-ed over why Iheart and Cumulus went the way they did. 

[kkt]

WLUP went away on Saturday morning, replaced with a Christian contemporary station.  It's probably apocryphal but the story goes that the last song they played was Highway to Hell.

[bing101]

https://radioinsight.com/headlines/167243/steel-city-media-kansas-city-files-for-chapter-11-bankruptcy/

Update Steel City Media files for Chapter 11

[bing101]

https://www.allaccess.com/net-news/archive/story/175058/steel-city-media-s-bankruptcy-includes-pittsburgh-  here is another update on Steel city.

[Henry]

R.I.P. to 97.9 The Loop; even though I never was a frequent listener, I knew a lot of people who were, and I share their sentiments about its sad demise, although the way it ended was fitting, considering that it's now a Christian station of all things.

[bing101]

https://news.radio-online.com/cgi-bin/rol.exe/headline_id=b15387


https://www.forbes.com/sites/geneely/2018/03/20/in-the-iheartmedia-bankruptcy-expect-a-major-selloff-of-radio-stations/#6eb508e312bd


Here is an update on Iheart and Chapter 11.

[bing101]

http://portlandtribune.com/ht/117-hillsboro-tribune-news/390339-281853-kuik-to-cease-operation-march-31

http://www.oregonlive.com/tv/2018/03/kuik-am_1360_radio_in_hillsbor.html

Update KWIK in Washington County, Oregon will cease broadcasts on March 31st. But new owners might restart the station in May.

https://www.twincities.com/2018/03/24/after-a-half-century-on-the-air-stan-turner-is-signing-off-from-klbb-for-now/

And A legend on KLBB is retiring.

[bing101]

http://themusic.com.au/news/all/2018/03/21/new-research-proves-australian-commercial-fm-radio-stations-arent-supporting-local-acts/


http://www.adnews.com.au/news/does-radio-have-a-marketing-problem


https://dailyreview.com.au/radio-is-the/72931/


Yes Even in Australia there is a similar discussion why Radio is facing a grim future in three links.

[abefroman329]

I'm not sure how common it is to drive across Australia, either vertically or horizontally, but with most of the population clustered on the coast, if ever there was a place where satellite radio would be popular, it would be Australia.

[bing101]

https://news.radio-online.com/cgi-bin/rol.exe/headline_id=b15392


Here is an update on Cumulus

The stations that Cumulus wants to divest include Sports WTOD-FM (106.5 The Ticket)/Toledo OH, Country WPCK-FM (Nash FM 104.9)/Green Bay WI, Oldies KJMO-FM (Cool 97.5)/Columbia MO and Country WNUQ-FM (102.1 FM Nash Icon)/Albany GA. All will be placed into the newly-created Mainstay Station Trust headed by San Francisco-based media broker Elliot Evers of MVP Capital.
Cumulus also told the Commission that it had revised two of it local marketing agreements (LMA). The company is now paying $15,000 per month to Merlin Media to continue operating Alternative WKQX-FM/Chicago. It was paying a whopping $600,000 per month. The filing also reveals that it's paying $583,333 per month to operate Sports KESN-FM (ESPN 103.3) Dallas under a lease agreement with Disney/ESPN Radio.

Meanwhile, UCC and Cross Holders have filed objections to the company's Plan of Reorganization under Chapter 11. In a statement, a Cumulus spokesperson said, "Today's objections to our Plan of Reorganization by the UCC and the Cross Holders were anticipated -- they are normal parts of the restructuring process and will not impact our restructuring timeline."

[bing101]

https://radioinsight.com/headlines/167457/station-sales-week-of-3-30-matrix-broadcasting-files-for-bankruptcy/

Update Matrix Broadcasting files for Chapter 11.

[bing101]

https://news.radio-online.com/cgi-bin/rol.exe/headline_id=b15425


Update on Cumulus and Chapter 11 fallout

[briantroutman]

De-tinyed:

https://news.radio-online.com/cgi-bin/rol.exe/headline_id=b15425


Update on Cumulus and Chapter 11 fallout

[bing101]

De-tinyed:

https://news.radio-online.com/cgi-bin/rol.exe/headline_id=b15425


Update on Cumulus and Chapter 11 fallout

Now corrected

[bing101]

https://radioinsight.com/alert/168778/cumulus-exits-bankruptcy-unveils-new-logo-branding/

Update on Cumulus and its exit from Bankruptcy.

[bandit957]

For those who say the FCC can't ensure that a station keeps its format, the FCC actually did get involved in a format decision once. Read about the KCBI/KNON controversy in Dallas.

[MikeTheActuary]

For those who say the FCC can't ensure that a station keeps its format, the FCC actually did get involved in a format decision once. Read about the KCBI/KNON controversy in Dallas.

I thought the only format issue there that impacted the FCC was the fact that the format of one of the stations at the time was essentially "off the air".

KNON was licensed for 100kW, but was either silent or running at limited power.  KCBI wanted to increase power, but couldn't do so on its original frequency.  It sued to get access to KNON's un/under-used frequency and power assignment.  KCBI won, and the two stations swapped authorizations.

At least, that's how the published history reads.

[ET21]

Spotify and Podcasts are my commutes now. The only time I listen to radio is for specific shows (Steve Dahl Show on 890AM or late night on 99.9 FM), when I'm running low on data and can't stream music on the road, or when SiriusXM does their free weekends. Other than that, radio is pretty much dead

[abefroman329]

I finally broke down and listened to Pandora in the car on the way to work this morning (I commute to work by car maybe once a month, if that, and that's almost always because I have a doctor's appointment before work).  The only station on my presets that doesn't have some inane Madman and the Bear-esque morning-drive show is MeTV-FM, and I don't like every song they play.

[jon daly]

I'm one who actually listens to terrestial radio. I don'rt have a smart phone and my CD player has a CD stuck in it. (Otherwise, I'd listen to a lot of audiobooks.) Fortunately, there's plenty of jazz and classical on college and NPR stations during my commute.

[jon daly]

BTW, I've regressed over time. BITD, when I had my own office, I'd play Pandora when I worked or a mix I created by uploading my CDs.