Some of my best memories growing up were listening to the radio in the car with my family. I’m a big fan of music, so that was always fun to listen to, but it was especially meaningful to me to be able to listen to sporting events on the radio.
A big reason why I work in sports radio today is the inspiration I received as a kid listening to Marty Glickman calling New York Jets games, Marv Albert on play-by-play for New York Knicks games, Phil Rizzuto at the microphone for New York Yankees games, and believe it or not currently Yankees radio voice John Sterling doing radio play-by-play for New York Islanders hockey.
If you think his home run calls have been legendary, you should have heard him call Islanders games!
“Trottier sets up Bossy…GOAL! ISLANDERS GOAL! ISLANDERS GOAL! ISLANDERS GOAL!”
The common denominator of all of those memories for me is that it was all on AM radio.
Many sports radio stations are now on the FM dial, but many still remain on AM. Unfortunately, listeners tuning in to hear sports talk and live sporting events on their favorite sports radio stations may soon find themselves in a bit of a pickle… especially if they are in the market for a new car.
That’s because some new cars are being built without AM radio receivers.
“It’s a disservice to the still-viable AM audience and the rural and urban communities they serve,” said Zach McHugh, Brand Manager for The Fan in Richmond. “AM radio is vital to a fair and equal conversation locally and nationally. Many iconic AM stations are their community’s revenue and ratings leaders. These voices should not be silenced.”
About 40% of the world’s mainstream automobile manufacturers, including BMW, Volkswagen, Mazda, and Tesla are removing the AM signal from new electric vehicles as a result of electric engines interfering with the AM stations. Ford is taking it a step further removing the AM signals from all electric and gas vehicles.
The radio industry continues to push the envelope in terms of technological advances when it comes to serving their listeners. For the AM stations that will no longer be heard on some car radios, executives and programmers have been preparing for this day and they’ve been proactive when it comes to finding other ways to reach their audiences.
“Frankly, we weren’t waiting around to see what would happen with the AM band,” said Jeff Austin, Manager of The Fan in Portland. “Sports radio is the format of early adopters, so we’ve met listeners’ needs with a multi-platform approach. Audio and video streams are increasingly popular.”
For stations like The Fan in Portland, the Audacy App has now become a critical and essential tool for all of their stations to reach listeners, not just for the sports fans who want to listen to sports talk or live games while driving, but for all listeners of any format on AM or FM to be able to connect with radio stations in new ways.
“The Audacy app makes us available anywhere,” said Austin. “Our desktop player is also popular during work hours and the smart speaker has put the radio back in the home. Throw in our FM HD station and we feel we’re showing our audience we live in their world. As long as we maintain the standard with our content, our listeners will continue to seek us out.”
For those who still want to hear sports talk and live games on AM radio stations in your car, there is some good news as there is a bit of a political push back in Washington towards the trend of removing AM from new cars.
Last week, a group of more than 100 bi-partisan lawmakers introduced the AM For Every Vehicle Act. If the legislation is passed, it would be music…and sports to the ears of 47 million Americans who listen to over 4,100 AM radio stations. The act would ensure that automakers retain AM signals without charging an additional fee for it.
My memories of growing up listening to sports talk and sporting events are all because of AM radio. Today, many people are listening to their favorite radio stations on their phone or other electronic device and they may have to use blue tooth technology to hear those radio stations in their cars.
It’s sad because while technology is good, especially for younger listeners, there’s still a charm of listening to AM radio in your car.
When I’m driving and I hear John Sterling say during a Yankees game “It is high…It is far…It is gone…All Rise…here come’s the Judge”, I’m generally listening to WFAN on AM radio. While the station that I work for is also on FM, not all sports radio stations have made their way to FM which means they may soon not be available in your new car.
Unless the political intervention works, a glory era of radio could be coming to an end.
Peter Schwartz writes weekly sports radio features for Barrett Media. He has been involved in New York sports media for over three decades, and has worked for notable brands such as WFAN, CBS Sports Radio, WCBS 880, ESPN New York, and FOX News Radio. Peter has also served as play by play announcer for the New Yok Riptide, New York Dragons, New York Hitmen, Varsity Media and the Long Island Sports Network. You can find him on Twitter @SchwartzSports or email him at DragonsRadio@aol.com.
