Re:Is Am Radio Dead?
by Kon-Peki on Tuesday January 31, 2023 @03:19PM
(#34601326)
The OP listed some AM stations that were near the top of the rating in the Chicago market. I looked at the list and the top two AM stations were no surprise: WBBM and WGN.
It's not really a good idea to look at these two stations to get an idea of the health of the entire AM market. These two are giant class A clear channel stations that date back to the 1920s and the origination of AM radio licenses. Being in the center of the continent they can do omnidirectional broadcasting without "wasting" power like a station on the coast would. They're among the few that can still afford to be "local" station with very little syndicated content (and broadcast a lot of sports to vast swaths of the US and Canada that have no local professional sports team), and they'll probably be among the last of the AM stations to shut down.
It's not really a good idea to look at these two stations to get an idea of the health of the entire AM market. These two are giant class A clear channel stations that date back to the 1920s and the origination of AM radio licenses. Being in the center of the continent they can do omnidirectional broadcasting without "wasting" power like a station on the coast would. They're among the few that can still afford to be "local" station with very little syndicated content (and broadcast a lot of sports to vast swaths of the US and Canada that have no local professional sports team), and they'll probably be among the last of the AM stations to shut down.