Radio World and Radio.NL report that the government of the Netherlands is considering sunsetting that country’s FM band and transitioning to digital radio broadcasting. This would mean DAB+. The decision rests on the pace at which Dutch consumers adopt the standard via DAB+ receiver purchases. An economic minister says radio receiver buyers will trigger the […]
This was a particularly active week in Washington with regard to legislation that affects radio and our overall communications technology landscape. Here’s what happened. Innovation Act Passes the House The Innovation Act passed the House on Thursday by a vote of 325 to 91 with broad bipartisan support. The bill is intended to fix some […]
First podcasts, and now HD Radio. Patent trolls are looking at new radio forms as potential cash cows to milk. Earlier this year we covered a company called Personal Audio that is suing independent podcasters like Adam Carolla along with big companies like CBS for allegedly violating its patent for a “disseminating a series of […]
To say that public comments on the FCC’s AM revitalization proposals are barely trickling in could be charitably called an understatement. As of yesterday there were a total of three comments filed. Two of these are from amateur radio operator Nickolaus Leggett, which Matthew reviewed last week. In the absence of more commentary on the […]
My friend John Anderson wrote his dissertation on the complex policy machinations behind HD Radio becoming the digital radio standard, and now he has a book coming out telling the story. He knows more about the topic than just about anyone else. So when he says that the all-digital option for AM revitalization is very […]
It looks like Commissioner Ajit Pai got a special Halloween treat from his fellow FCC commissioners with the adoption Thursday of a proposed rule making to revitalize the AM radio band (PDF). This looks like a parting gift of sorts from Acting Chairwoman Mignon Clyburn as she gets ready to pass the gavel to new […]
Federal Communications Commissioner Ajit Pai spoke at the National Association of Broadcaster’s Radio Show gathering on Friday. He talked up AM radio “revitalization,” a topic suddenly hot now that The New York Times explored it earlier this month. Here are some of Pai’s ideas (some firm; others more tentative): 1. Repeal the FCC’s “ratchet rule” […]
This week the New York Times moved AM Radio into the mainstream consciousness with a story about FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai’s ambition to save the oft-forgotten broadcast band. There’s nothing new in the story that we haven’t covered here at Radio Survivor. But the attention of the Old Gray Lady may add a little steam […]
I’m starting to think that HD Radio sub channels are turning into the land of misfit formats. Last Friday Seattle’s 22 year-old Adult Album Alternative station The Mountain 103.7 FM flipped to the Hot Adult Contemporary format with nearly no notice from Entercom, its owner. But instead of disappearing, The Mountain’s format lives on as […]
Road trip radio listening is a great way to get a snapshot of what radio is like around the country. I just completed a move to Portland, Oregon from Chicago. We had movers take the majority of our possessions, but my wife and I, along with two aging tabby cats, packed into a rented SUV […]
