AM radio to disappear from more cars
Above: I was able to meet listeners to the Podnews Weekly Review, a podcast I do, in Las Vegas this week. So that was nice.
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The 2024 Ford Mustang won’t have AM radio in it. The company says it will “remove amplitude modulation — the definition of AM in this case — from most new and updated models we bring to market”. It’s notable that it isn’t an electric vehicle, which is new, I think - so far, AM has only been removed from EVs. US Senator for Massachusetts, Ed Markey, is batting for AM radio, but the auto manufacturers pointing out that they all have internet radio and HD in them.
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Fascinating decision from Bauer to remove Lincs FM’s three FM frequencies and, instead, to put their quasi-national Greatest Hits Radio on there instead. The curious thing is that Lincs “not-on-FM” will continue on DAB: their DAB coverage) appears considerably larger than their FM coverage - a transmitter in East Yorkshire meaning rather more will be able to hear the station. But, of course, fewer will listen. Fascinating to see how this all pans out, and how long we give Lincs FM.
- Lincs FM has a 14.8% share, making it the 14th most popular radio station in the UK. However, the 13th most popular is the neighbouring Greatest Hits Radio Barnsley, with 15.5% (matching BBC Radio 2).
- For regulatory reasons, sandwiched between Ken Bruce and Simon Mayo on Greatest Hits Radio in Lincolnshire will be John Marshall, who is also the mid-morning presenter on Lincs FM (and has been at the station for 26 years). I wonder which he’ll do live?
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Sean Ross has also listened to the Spotify AI DJ, which was announced a few weeks ago. It sounds a little better than at first thought.
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The ABC in Australia is to join the Australian Podcast Ranker. They said they were joining at launch in Oct 2019, but I understand they mean it this time.
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The NAB Show in Las Vegas will have more than 1,000 exhibitors, they say. That number is up 20% y/y, but the show had 1,600 in 2019, so there’s still some way to go. (I’ll be there!).
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I’ve been talked into running two events in the UK. Podnews Live - North, Jun 13 in Salford, and Podnews Live - London, Sep 27 in, er, London are already available for tickets at a very low early-bird price. The idea is an event built for networking, and for sharing knowledge in the business of podcasting. It’s still a difficult time for events, but I hope that we can make for a good event.
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Later this month, I’m at Radiodays Europe in Prague, where I’m speaking at both the Podcast Summit and the Audiodata Summit on the Sunday, and then in the event on the Tuesday.
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I’m at Radiodays Europe in Prague Mar 25-30; the NAB Show in mid-April; Spotify’s event in Berlin in mid-April too; the New Zealand Podcast Summit in mid May; the Podcast Show 2023 in London at the end of May; and Radiodays North America in early June. Here are my contact details if you’re there, too.
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