San Antonio
iHeart going Chap 11. You’ll see the list of iHeart’s St. Louis props in the article, and all of those have their studios in the office space that replaced the old Arena on Oakland.
Which means it’s not going going gone. What it does mean is that the radio business is finally having to stare down the barrel of reality, as many have predicted for a long time. The upcoming decade of the ‘Twenties is going to bring about a lot of changes. Just as it’s going to be the decade where Baby Boomers start ageing out of power in big numbers, and out of life itself in lesser numbers, it’s going to be the decade where the 530-1700 and the 88-108 will be way different at the end than the beginning.
For what I’m thinking, 2030 is going to be drastically different than current year in ways we can’t even fathom.
ICYMI, about two months ago, there was yet more profound St. Louis radio news.
Maybe the 20s will bring the phase-out of analog radio entirely. That has already started in Europe. 2020 will mark 100 years of broadcast radio in the formal sense. See “KDKA”.
P.S. What changes do you see coming?
Thanks.
Fewer stations overall, far less mainstream music stations, more talk radio, and more local orientation. Far reduced pay scales for talent, execs and engineers.
I am hoping that the ’20’s’ will bring out more 1488.
More sports religion and foreign language stations. Driving across the country this week you have to keep punching for a station in English
Or, keep punching until you find something that isn’t sports (with black commentators), “the Nashville Sound” (not country), jungle-grunting, talk, or screeching female “vocalists”. All of them have 25 minutes of commercials per hour. In short: most stations today are unlistenable.
The days of stations having their own unique flavor are also long gone. Thanks to outfits like iHeart and other format packagers, many stations are the same, right down to the station idenification. In the late 70s, you could start off in Los Angeles with “Ninety-three Kay Aich JAAAYY..!” Travel a bit and hear “Double-You Jay El Kewwwwww…! Travel some more and it was “one-thirtysix Kay Jeee BEEEEEE!” Same tune, same chorus, same format. The radio equivalent of Mc Donald’s. The only local flavor left were 250W stations in small towns, or college stations that still play jazz, classical, bluegrass, and LOCAL public affairs.
Some of my friends think I am batty for having XM activated. I do because I can hear jazz, swing, classical, bluegrass, the occasional opera when the mood strikes, and old-time radio programs, some of which I listened to when I was a youngster. Clean language, clean jokes, plenty of variety, true talent.
Six stations and they racked up 20 BILLION in debt!