My industry is dying. Radio is dying. The Great Recession kicked it in the guts, the internet economy slammed it in the head, the Pandemic economy cut it off at the legs, and now the industry is starting to fold.
When I hit the internet with my first cup of coffee or tea every day, I usually check the Radio site called Radio Discussions. It's a forum of Radio industry insiders, experts, former Radio workers, and Radio hobbyists, and often it's a good source of news on what is happening in the industry.
Earlier this evening I was slammed by a news report on RD that two of the largest Radio companies in the United States -- Cumulus and Townsquare Media -- are shutting down 20 AM, and FM, radio stations. There are staff cuts, too, but they're not just cutting staff. They're literally shutting down radio stations as well.
Here is a link to the news article posted on RD.:
The stations' programming ranges from Country, to News-Talk (an FM as well as AM's), to Sports-Talk (with both Infinity Sports Network and Fox Spots taking a hit), to "Jack" style 80's-00's Classic Hits, to Classic Country (an FM at that), to 'Lite Rock' (an AM with an FM translator), to an FM Classic Hits station (in Missouri). That's just a sampling from the article linked above, and its source says that there are more station shutdowns to come.
MANY THOUGHT FM RADIO WAS IMMUNE
Up until recently, the revenue issues associated with Radio's new, shaky business model (FM, AM, HD, + online) have only hit the AM band, and staffing. I've reported on these AM stations going off the air over the past several years, since the Pandemic ended.
The stations that went off the air in this region, since 2019, are fairly numerous -- KNPT Newport OR, KUTI Yakima WA, KMED/KYVL Medford OR, KKPZ Portland OR, KDWN Las Vegas NV, CKMX Calgary AB, CFTE Vancouver BC, CKST Vancouver BC, CHED 630 Edmonton, CKGO 730 Vancouver (the last two were replaced by sister stations that were moved to their frequency) are just a few of the stations in the Western US and Canada that have shut down operations permanently. There have been other stations in the Eastern US and Canada that went off the air, too -- CHML Hamilton ON a classic example.
The most recent shakeup on the West Coast of the US was KGO 810 San Francisco being changed to play KSFO 560's conservative talk programming -- and KSFO 560 was then shut down. It is no longer on the air. 810 now identifies as KSFO.
Some of these stations that were switched off permanently may still have a small online presence. But most are gone, gone, gone. As you can tell, the stations I just listed above were all AM stations.
But now this trend is shutting down some FM stations as well. FM radio, as a medium, is NOT immune to the difficult economics of Radio these days.
SPORTS TALK TAKES A SMALL HIT
Several of the shut-down stations in the article linked about are Sports talkers. For the past few years, Sports stations have been able to survive on low ratings, because -- the prevailing wisdom states -- Sports talk stations don't need ratings. They have a lock on men. Advertisers that want to reach men will use Sports talk stations, regardless of their ratings.
But it turns out that Sports stations aren't immune to being shut down due to Radio economics. The advertising revenue crunch is hitting Sports radio, too.
IT SUCKS TO SEE IT HAPPEN
It is probably obvious I'm a MW/AM radio fan. I like tuning into the distant stations at night, and I'll listen to the programming -- be it Classic Hits, Classic Country, Sports talk, public radio from OPB (Oregon Public Radio) or the CBC, some religious music and programming, some news-talk, a lot of South Asian music, ranchero, etc.
And for the past several years those of us who are AM radio fans have had to endure the negative comments about AM radio being 'ancient' and needing to go off their air.
But now FM radio is also feeling the pinch. A bunch of the 20 stations owned by Cumulus and Townsquare Media that are being shut down are on the FM band -- the one that the AM decriers always like to say is the only 'Radio' that counts.
NEWS FLASH: FM radio is not sacrosanct. Ever since WPLJ -- once a TOP STATION in America's Market #1, New York City, sold for millions less than it was worth in the 1990's and 2000's, the writing for FM has been on the wall.
FM Radio is not beyond the reach of cost cutting.
It's sad, because from time to time I have been an avid FM listener, too. FM was where you could hear all sorts of great pop and rock music in the 80's through the 2000's. When I got a Sanyo FM-AM boombox on Christmas 1982, I was glued to it for years until that radio was stolen. I tuned the Rock stations and Pop stations and some R&B stations. And there is no denying that for decades, FM Radio has been a vital part of American music culture.
Now it is fading, along with AM.
GET 'EM WHILE YOU CAN
One of my mantras that I repeat periodically on this blog site is 'Get 'Em While You Can!'
This applies to Shortwave and Medium Wave, two media that are obviously in decline, and it appears with the recent shutdowns, staff cuts, stock price declines, and other Radio economics, the decline of Radio in general is only going to accelerate.
If you have a radio, switch it on, listen around -- both FM and AM, and SW too.
The day will come those bands will be all static and hiss, with maybe a couple pirate stations here and there. You never know when your favorite program, or favorite station, is going off the air.
My guess is that at this rate, the AM band has 10 years left. FM maybe 15. SW maybe 5.
DEAR RADIO:
DON'T EXPECT STREAMING TO SAVE YOUR STATION
At the same time, streaming will not 'save' Radio. There are still roughly 15,000 radio stations in the US. In no way will all 15K stations today be viable internet streaming channels tomorrow.
The competition is just too infinite, and online, visibility is everything.
RADIO DISNEY'S DEMISE WAS A HARBINGER OF THE FUTURE
Remember Radio Disney? They switched off their AM stations and sold them in 2015. At the time they switched off their AM stations, they admitted that 16% of their audience -- mostly teens and younger people -- were still listening to the AM's.
They sold off all their AM radio stations anyway.
They said their audience would automatically go online, to their stream.
Apparently, that didn't happen. Their predictions and prognostications about their new, preferred choice of broadcast medium were wrong.
Streaming was the new business model, they said. Streaming was the future, they said. AM and OTA radio is old school, they said.
For a couple years they were on HD2's (until late 2017) and then just on their own online stream.
Then they shut the entire operation down. The RD page is now a 404.
Streaming did not save them -- and their programming was good, backed by a plethora of Disney media and singing stars. Their DJ's and announcers were very good and engaging. Still, that business model failed.
When one of the largest media companies in the US has no more faith in Radio, in general, it says something. I think the shutdowns and layoffs since the Pandemic are the writing on the wall.
I hate to make such statements, but one thing I've learned over the years is that you have to be a realist. My former industry -- a dream job, really -- and one of my favorite hobbies, is on borrowed time. That's the reality.
Until next time, my friends,
Peace.
C.C. March 15th, 2025.
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