# AM radio being removed from cars **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** radio-podcast\ **Created:** [May 15, 2023, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-radio-being-removed-from-cars/984081 "2023-05-15T14:29:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2023, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-radio-being-removed-from-cars/984081/142 "2023-06-05T13:52:48Z")
A very big problem for many of us is that about a third of radio is advertising. So even if a top 40 or country or whatever format is fine for us, we can’t stand the ads. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2023, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-radio-being-removed-from-cars/984081/143 "2023-06-05T18:43:51Z")
Yes, this. On the rare occasions I turn on broadcast radio I change channels the instant an ad begins. I can often scan the entire dial in my major metro area before finding a station not broadcasting an ad. We’re in a chicken-and-egg arms race. I refuse to be exposed to advertising and yet the content provider industry almost refuses to offer an ad-free experience at any price. So we skip or filter ads one way or another and they respond by producing ever more intrusive ads in every greater quantity. It’s mutual enshittification. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2023, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-radio-being-removed-from-cars/984081/144 "2023-06-05T18:52:08Z")
I have hypothesized a form of “quiet collusion” wherein all the commercial stations in a market end up clustering ad time blocs at the same points of the hours so that everyone is on ads at the same time. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2023, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-radio-being-removed-from-cars/984081/145 "2023-06-05T18:54:18Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > I have hypothesized a form of “quiet collusion” wherein all the commercial stations in a market end up clustering ad time blocs at the same points of the hours so that everyone is on ads at the same time It wouldn’t surprise me; it’s long seemed to me that, particularly at :50 past the hour, every commercial station on my presets is in an ad break. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2023, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-radio-being-removed-from-cars/984081/146 "2023-06-05T19:10:32Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > I have hypothesized a form of “quiet collusion” Collusion isn’t necessary when they’re all owned by iHeartMedia. ---
**Author:** ![leahcim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b4bc9f/32.png) [@leahcim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leahcim)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2023, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-radio-being-removed-from-cars/984081/147 "2023-06-05T19:14:51Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > I have hypothesized a form of “quiet collusion” wherein all the commercial stations in a market end up clustering ad time blocs at the same points of the hours so that everyone is on ads at the same time. I have noticed that commercials on our local stations are a _lot_ more frequent at typical morning and evening commute times. If I for some reason am driving at 2:30 in the afternoon, I get nothing but music and station identifications like, “you’re in the middle of three hours commercial free on …”. I infer from that that some commercial slot times are a lot more valuable than others, and perhaps at least some of the perceived collusion is just all stations loading up at those times. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2023, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-radio-being-removed-from-cars/984081/148 "2023-06-05T22:04:29Z")
I find it interesting WSM AM 650 still hosts the Grand Ole Opry. I get it in Little Rock. There are occasional drop outs. The live feed [Listen Live | Opry Nashville Radio](https://wsmradio.com/opry-nashville-radio/) works very well. WSM is the exception. I can’t think of any clear channel stations that still air popular music. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2023, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-radio-being-removed-from-cars/984081/149 "2023-06-05T22:25:30Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > WSM is the exception. I can’t think of any clear channel stations that still air popular music. It looks as though, at least for the major U.S. clear channel stations, there aren’t any others. Taking a look at the Wikipedia list of clear channel stations, and focusing on the “General Order 40” stations (the ones in bold), WSM is the only one with a format that isn’t news, talk, and/or sports. > **[Clear-channel station | List of all clear-channel stations](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clear-channel_station#List_of_all_clear-channel_stations)** > > The following two tables show all of the class-A stations in North America. > First is the Canada, Mexico, and contiguous United States table, for the former class I-A and class I-B stations. General Order 40 allocations are in bold. > Second is the Alaska table, for the former class I-N stations. > Under the most recent treaty, Mexican Class A stations that previously operated with 50 kW or less (but a minimum of 10 kW nights) may increase power to 100 kW days while retaining their 10 kW night oper... ---
**Author:** ![XOldiesJock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/ec9cab/32.png) [@XOldiesJock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XOldiesJock)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2023, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-radio-being-removed-from-cars/984081/150 "2023-06-05T23:02:15Z")
A music format done exclusively on AM (without an FM simulcast) is destined to fail, no matter how well it’s done. People just won’t listen to it in sufficient numbers to make it profitable, though there have been many attempts. Back in the day, 1520 WKBW Buffalo had been the kind of Top 40 station that people over half the United States and Canada could hear at night and listened to in numbers that today are unimaginable. KB was a personal favorite of mine. A few years back, after failing at various formats, they tried to bring back the glory days by running a 60s/70s-based Oldies format. Danny Nevearth came back for morning drive, a time slot he ruled for years. Sandy Beach was in there too, and the incomparable Jackson Armstrong voice tracked nights from his home down South. It was great radio on a 50,000-watt signal…and it utterly failed. There are exceptions, but by and large, news, conservative talk, sports, religion and ethnic formats are the only thing you’ll find on the AM dial, because they all have the potential to make a profit. ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2023, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-radio-being-removed-from-cars/984081/151 "2023-06-06T03:34:54Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > We’re in a chicken-and-egg arms race. I refuse to be exposed to advertising and yet the content provider industry almost refuses to offer an ad-free experience at any price. I don’t know how you envision broadcast radio could ever be supported via anything other than advertising. If you want an ad free radio experience, that’s been available via Sirius for over a decade now and yet you seem to refuse to pay for it. ---
**Author:** ![Uncle\_Jocko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uncle_jocko/32/2932_2.png) [@Uncle\_Jocko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncle_Jocko)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2023, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-radio-being-removed-from-cars/984081/152 "2023-06-06T04:02:11Z")
> [@leahcim](#): > > I infer from that that some commercial slot times are a lot more valuable than others, and perhaps at least some of the perceived collusion is just all stations loading up at those times. You are exactly correct. “Drive time” hours in the morning and afternoon are the prime “real estate” for radio advertising, as that’s when more people are (well, used to be anyway) trapped in their cars on their commute with nothing but the radio for company. Radio stations charge a premium for ads in those hours, and sell as many as they dare while still allowing a few free minutes for a song or silly “morning zoo” skit. Also, yes, from my experience with “music wheels” (the old-school radio programming system where the hour is represented by a circle depicting when which categories of formatted music would be played during each “day part” and where the ad breaks are placed) the traditional ad breaks are usually around 20 past, 40 past, and 50 past the hour. Ten past can be another ad break, although historically many stations would run news at the top of the hour and then not have an ad break until 20 past or so. Old traditions die hard in radio, and it’s not surprising that many stations may still stick with this general schedule. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2023, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-radio-being-removed-from-cars/984081/153 "2023-06-06T11:52:22Z")
> [@Shalmanese](#): > > I don’t know how you envision broadcast radio could ever be supported via anything other than advertising. If you want an ad free radio experience, that’s been available via Sirius for over a decade now and yet you seem to refuse to pay for it. I was speaking generally of content beyond just radio. E.g. magazines, newspapers, TV, websites, etc. But yes I agree completely that the only way current tech AM or FM radio could operate economically is via advertising. My point there was that as consumers’ habituation to avoiding ads increases (e.g. “commercial skipping” on a VCR / DVR) they will evade more ads than before. Which in turn will drive the stations to insert more ads to achieve the same ad exposure. Which will increase the consumers’ avoidant behavior. It’s a mutually destructive “arms race” leading towards a crash. And as I said earlier, I do pay for SXM. Specifically for the absence of ads, other than their somewhat intrusive promo spots for their own channels. I just wish I could buy broadcast & cable TV, magazines, newspapers, and websites with the same ad-free experience without the need to bootleg it via things like adblockers on websites or pre-recording on DVRs to later jump past the commercials. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2023, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-radio-being-removed-from-cars/984081/154 "2023-06-06T12:52:46Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > I just wish I could buy broadcast & cable TV, magazines, newspapers, and websites with the same ad-free experience without the need to bootleg it via things like adblockers on websites or pre-recording on DVRs to later jump past the commercials. Not happening unless you go all-PPV and even then they still do it. We used to be OK with papers/mags who were half advertising, but that was because we could easily ignore it. ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2023, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-radio-being-removed-from-cars/984081/155 "2023-06-06T20:13:45Z")
I noticed that ads in magazines tended to be on individual sheets (1 sheet=4 pages). I’d take a minute before I started reading and tear them out (pre-creased, they almost always tore cleanly (sometimes the staple caused a small issue)). Made reading much easier, particularly long articles that might continue after a set of ads. ---
**Author:** ![Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/face_intentionally_left_blank/32/288_2.png) [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Face_Intentionally_Left_Blank)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2023, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-radio-being-removed-from-cars/984081/156 "2023-06-07T08:19:54Z")
Wow, 40mpg? I think mine was a little under 30, but I lived in Pittsburgh, with all its hills. Yeah, I dont’ think you are AT ALL wrong about it taking 30 seconds to get up to highway speed. It was scary merging onto a highway. The thing was so small and light, I once pushed it up a snow-covered hill it couldn’t drive up, while also steering it. It was a small hill, but still. No power steering was a pill when parking, but no power brakes were great fun when parking on a hill as well. Mine was metallic grey. At least it was cheap. I think we paid $800 for it, and after 4 or so terrifying years, I sold it to a friend (I warned him, but he was desperate) for $400, ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2024, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-radio-being-removed-from-cars/984081/157 "2024-05-02T01:37:21Z")
> **[AM radio law opposed by tech and auto industries is close to passing](https://arstechnica.com/cars/2024/05/am-radio-is-a-lifeline-lawmakers-say-tech-and-auto-industries-disagree/)** > > A recent test of the emergency alert system found only 1 percent got it via AM. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2024, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-radio-being-removed-from-cars/984081/158 "2024-05-02T02:17:12Z")
Some good news at last! Sometimes – in fact, quite often, it seems – it takes regulation to give carmakers a well-deserved kick in the ass! ---
**Author:** ![CaveMike](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cavemike/32/16379_2.png) [@CaveMike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaveMike)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2024, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-radio-being-removed-from-cars/984081/159 "2024-05-02T03:44:04Z")
> [@](#): > > "Democrats and Republicans are tuning in to the millions of listeners, thousands of broadcasters… A thousand listeners per broadcaster? Sounds about right. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2024, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-radio-being-removed-from-cars/984081/160 "2024-05-02T12:39:15Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > Some good news at last! Sometimes – in fact, quite often, it seems – it takes regulation to give carmakers a well-deserved kick in the ass! The market as a whole doesn’t want useless AM radio in cars. A tiny and sorta-vocal minority _needs_ AM radio in cars. Mass markets will always suck at delivering minority desires well. The car manufacturers are no different in that than anyone else. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2024, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-radio-being-removed-from-cars/984081/161 "2024-05-02T13:43:10Z")
So now we all have to pay more for something that a very tiny minority uses. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-radio-being-removed-from-cars/984081.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-radio-being-removed-from-cars/984081.md?page=9)