[BC] Why FM took off in the 70's

[Phil Alexander]

On 23 Oct 2005 at 13:12, Barry Mishkind wrote:

> At 12:58 PM 10/23/2005, Rob Atkinson wrote
> >AM was okay (in fact only weirdoos listened to FM) when rock was all 
> >short little numbers no more than 4 min. long.  then around 1967 
> >concept albums started coming out like sgt. pepper with loooong cuts 
> >that AM didn't want to deal with except with short versions the 
> >purists rejected (light my fire).
> 
>          "... didn't want to deal with..." ???
> 
>          Around that time, given the income off
>          each spot, most stations were forced
>          to run 12-18 minutes an hour. No one
>          had yet thought of running 10 spots in
>          a row.
> 
>          We (KRLA-AM) played sets as long as 30
>          minutes or more in hours that were not
>          sold out. Full length versions, Moody Blues,
>          Yes, Led Zepplin, etc,
> 
> >FM stations started broadcasting whole album sides, long hairs and 
> >flower children dug it, and that started the end of AM rock and roll.
> 
>          FM had no spot loads to speak of at first.
> 
>          That helped in many places... where
>          there were no KRLAs.
> 

IMHO, this whole discussion misses the point. The rule that 
forced the end of simulcasting in the mid-'60's opened FM as  
second channel. At about the same time workable, stable FMS 
equipment became available. C-pol antennas went up to serve 
the mobile audience. Within very few years FMS with quad 
speaker sound systems became a "standard" option on new car 
orders. IOW it came on all but the most stripped down models. 
This created an audience and some clever programmers exploited 
it putting numbers in the book.

Without the channel availability, force fed by the FCC, FM 
might never have grown as it did. The automotive audience was 
the key because that is where AM had it's strength. TV had 
taken over the home audience beginning with the 6 PM news. What 
was left was morning and afternoon drive time and kids crusin' 
in the evening. Sets in cars were the beginning of FM success.

The tech phased in between 1965 and 1970, after that programming
and listening fed each other which caused listeners to buy more
tech, and in the late '70's FM had won, although the AM crowd
wasn't ready to admit it for several years.

It appears the lesson Ibiquity may have taken from this is that
the channel must be built before anything can happen.

BTW, when the FCC forced splitting FM's there was no great cry
from broadcasters or listeners for another service. What the
broadcasters were clamoring for were more AM channels. That's
is how we got the AM allocation mess we have today.


Phil Alexander, CSRE, AMD
Broadcast Engineering Services and Technology 
(a Div. of Advanced Parts Corporation) 
Ph. (317) 335-2065   FAX (317) 335-9037





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