Posted by Bill Scheffler on November 03, 2009 at 16:00:43:
In Reply to: Clear Channel Creates 2 New NC FMs for Rush posted by Craig on November 03, 2009 at 10:04:59:
Besides bringing revenue from Rush's show totally into the Clear Channel house and then leveraging the three hours a day into a 24-hour audience for one of their stations, this move to FM may also be an attempt to expand Rush's audience in the younger demos.
It was widely reported years ago that in many markets people under forty rarely, if ever, listen to AM radio. And as each year goes by, that group gets a year older.
The problem is that listeners who never even sample AM will never hear Rush, while if he is just down the FM dial from their favorite music stations they may tune down during a song they don't like or a spot break. And if they like what they hear they may stick around a while and even come back often and stay.
While there have been FM talk stations for years, this could signal the beginning of a movement of Big Time Talk Radio from AM to FM, at least in some markets. Certainly, Clear Channel has enough stations available to establish a trend, which would have to be challenged by their competitors.